Ive been interested in politics for a long time. I remember watching Dick Nixons Checkers speech and telling my parents that I dont like that man. I watched the riots at the Democratic National Convention and questioned the future of our nation. I saw the bruises on a reporter who apparently shot a photo that President Nixon didnt want taken. I intensely followed the Watergate cover-up, the Iran-Contra affair and all the other despairing moments since then. Through it all, I considered myself an independent.
No longer.
Through all my years, I have never seen such a morally and ethically bankrupt group of politicians as todays Republicans. Never before have I seen members of one party vote so consistently for the wealthy and for big business. Never before have I seen such blind partisanship despite so many attempts by the party in power to include their counterparts. Never before have I seen Congressional representatives call our President a Socialist, a Communist and a Nazi. And never before have I heard a Congressman scream You lie during a Presidents speech to a joint session of Congress.
Now, following the announcement of President Obama being named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize we hear a chorus of boos from conservative radio and TV hosts, conservative columnists and even the chairman of the Republican Party. These pillars of conservatism were stunned. And before they could summon up some semblance of tact, they state that President Obama should refuse to accept the prize. They say that its undeserved. They play the race card by suggesting the honor is the result of affirmative action. And that self-anointed paragon of patriotism, Rush Limbaugh, says Something has happened here that we all agree with the Taliban and Iran about, and that is he doesnt deserve the award.
Nice. These kinds of statements should make everyone question those who made them and the politics they support. They should cause all Americans to scrutinize the party they represent and the positions of that party. They should cause voters to look at the Republican senators who chose to vote against an amendment that would ensure that women subjected to sexual violence by employees of a defense contractor could seek legal remedies against the corporation. They should cause voters to wonder about a party that tries to stonewall legislation designed to protect consumers from greedy insurance companies. They should cause voters to wonder about a party that tries to limit regulation against large financial corporations who nearly collapsed our economy with their risky bets.
The list is far too lengthy to detail here. Suffice it say, that there is precious little evidence to suggest that Republicans have the best interests of average Americans at heart. And there is overwhelming evidence that they support large corporations and the wealthy.