The Pain Of Republican Hypocrisy

Republican Hypocrisy Headerby Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.

The Pain Of Republican Hypocrisy

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, an interesting phenomena has been observed. Something of a shark feeding frenzy has been occurring amongst Republicans.

Those Republicans who’s districts are located along the Atlantic seaboard, where hurricane Sandy did most of it’s devastation, are suddenly coming face to face with the consequences of their own policies and rhetoric. Who are they at war with? Interestingly enough, their fellow Republicans!

The TEA Party

If we’re going to be honest and objective, the Republican philosophy has been proven to be a farce for years now. It is one of the most dramatic examples of false advertising imaginable. What are the primary planks of the Republican platform? I’m sure you know them. These are the things that come immediately to mind when you think “Republican.”

  • Smaller Government.
  • Strong National Defence.
  • Lower Taxes.
  • Self-Reliance/Independence/Personal Liberty.

You might be able to add one or two more, however they’re going to be in this same vein. When you look at the history of Republican administrations from the 50’s to now, what you see is nothing of the sort. Consider the national debt. Does it go up or down under fiscally conservative Republican Administrations?

National Debt by President

The Inconvenient Truth

You might be surprised to know it goes up dramatically under the Republicans. While they are talking East, they’re walking West. How did Ronald Reagan defeat the Soviet Union? He spent them into oblivion. They simply could not match our spending and in trying to do so, they ruined their economy forcing their breakup. Is the world safer for having them gone? Simple question: Who now is controlling and monitoring all their nuclear weapons?

Slowest Spending President

President Obama is the most frugal President we’ve had in modern history

Is President Obama the biggest spender in the history of our nation? The thing about statistics is, figures lie and liars figure and sometimes it is difficult to tell who is doing which. Republicans like to simply take the raw numbers out of context. They forget that President Obama is dealing with a much higher GDP and he’s also dealing with a debt that his predecessor – “Lord Voldemort or He Who Shall Not Be Named” – ran up. Thus, by simply paying on the debt already in existence, his spending is going to be – by the pure numbers – higher. However, when you compare his numbers to the rest of the economy and look at the adjusted and thus more correct big picture, it turns out that President Obama may be the most frugal President we’ve had in modern history.

Vicious Attack Dog

Sometimes a dog will turn on it’s master.

This fact has not been lost on the American voting public. In an effort to generate enthusiasm, energy and new blood into the foundering Republican Party, they formed an unholy alliance with the TEA Party. These misguided souls, mostly racist running under the banner of people angry about paying too much in taxes, are like an attack dog. People seem to enjoy owning an attack dog. The concept of having an ever vigilant ally on one’s side seems comforting. But what happens when your dog turns on you?

Hurricane Sandy And Republican Hypocrisy

Peter King Is Livid

New York Republican Representative Peter King is livid.

This past week, Congressman Peter King of New York took to the airwaves to deliver one of the most scathing rebukes I’ve heard, to the Republican Party. What makes this so unusual? Rep. Peter King is himself a Republican. Within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina, the House voted to appropriate 60 billion dollars in relief and rebuilding aid for the stricken Gulf Coast. It has been 9 weeks and they haven’t appropriated a cent to aid the Atlantic seaboard. Frankly? I do not blame him! This shouldn’t be about politics. There are over 517,000 people who have had their lives devastated. Many have lost everything. You can have insurance, but what happens when the insurance company runs out of money? What happens when you cannot get building supplies to your lot to rebuild your home because the roads are impassable? Each day that goes by, the damage is compounded. If you’ve ever experienced a basement flood, you know that getting the water pumped out and the basement dried as quickly as possible is of paramount importance. It doesn’t take mold long to grow. Once mold sets in, you’ve got to start tearing out walls.

An Angry Chris Christie

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – the presumed Republican Presidential nominee for 2016 – also had quite a lot to say. What made his comments so Earth shattering was the fact he was the keynote speaker at the most recent RNC convention. He is considered the “working man’s blue collar Republican Champion.” Caustic, bombastic and extremely “real,” truth be told, Hell! I don’t know that I wouldn’t vote for him if I lived in New Jersey. I would rather have someone with whom I disagreed with on some issues but whom I knew was doing the best job for the welfare of my State. When Chris Christie called out the Republican House and John Boehner, it got people’s attention and rightly so! Why? Because the needs of American citizens who through no fault of their own, were being thrown under the bus in the name of Republican and TEA Party ideology.

America Is An Idea – Nothing More

Quite often we become confused with borders, State and Federal and we think our geography is what defines us. We are not a homogeneous society defined by ethnicity like China or Japan. You cannot look at someone walking on our streets, note their ethnicity or how they’re dressed and conclude that they are or are not American citizens.

What makes us American is we all believe in the idea of America. “Out of many one.” From California to New York, from North Dakota to Mississippi, from Texas to Maine, we all consider ourselves one nation. When trouble rises or disasters strike, historically we all have pulled together as Americans… until now. When the events of September 11, 2001 happened, we didn’t say, “bummer! Too bad about New York.” We felt that we all had been attacked. We were ready to go to war… with somebody… anybody… turns out that’s just what we did.

Republican Hypocrisy

Pork

Pork is always something benefiting someone else’s district.

The definition of “Pork” in a congressional bill is anything that doesn’t directly benefit your State and your constituents. The same Republicans from the Atlantic seaboard who have decried wasteful government spending and who have demanded that there be cuts and offsets for every dollar spent, are now facing their Republican counterparts from States who were not affected by Hurricane Sandy. It’s a case of political Karma. How does it feel? It’s like being in the “Emergency Room” bleeding to death and before the doctor will operate to stop the bleeding and save your life, he pulls up a chair and begins discussing who your insurance carrier is and wants to check if you’re paid up on your premiums.

Tea Bagger

Crazy as a Mad Hatter.

Is this what the TEA Party has brought us to? We will either stand together or hang separately. The TEA Party mentality is exactly the same as that of the Southern Secessionists. The bloodiest war in our history was fought to lay that idea to rest. Many of these States who’s representatives promote these ideas are also the very States first in line with their hands outstretched seeking Federal aid. While Governor Rick Perry was making political points with his base talking about Texas seceding from the Union, wildfires were burning across his State. He was at the front of the line asking President Obama for Federal aid for his State. Like a rabid dog, he was busy biting the hand that feeds him while whining for more food.

It is time we say, enough is enough and get rid of our current crop of Republicans. No, you cannot make the “false equivalence” argument and try and claim that the Democrats do the same thing. They don’t. It is time to belly up to the bar, call a spade a spade and hold accountable the Party who is busily engaged in destroying our homeland. It is time to call Republicans on their hypocrisy. America will exist only as long as it’s citizens embrace the idea of America. That idea is under all out assault by the wing nuts in the Republican Party.