Whether it’s raping the environment or the treasury, pillaging a nation or plundering the social welfare of the poor and disenfranchised, the Republican Party of today has finally shown itself to the world as “the Party of Rape, Pillage and Torture ” for the New American Century.
The modern day Party of Lincoln quaintly calls itself the “Grand Old Party” while it usurps what honor may have remained in the title “Republican.” It has taken control of our government and stolen our past, present and future. A party of modern-day pirates, the Republicans have pillaged our country, plundered our resources and laid waste the principles of an entire nation. Now, it’s time to take names and enforce accountability for their crimes.
The list of corruption, excess, abuse and criminal behavior extends far and wide. Each word used to describe this band of cutthroats, jarring in and of itself, has several shades of meaning in which it can be applied. The Republicans of today, sadly, do a yeoman’s job of meeting and exceeding each subtle difference in definition as if to demonstrate full compliance with each and every one. It is not a record a to be proud of. Indeed, it is not a record we, the people, should ever have been confronted with.
Let’s take them one at a time.
“The Party of Rape”
Taking the basic definitions from Dictionary.com, we are presented with the following:
1. The crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse.
2. The act of seizing and carrying off by force; abduction.
3. Abusive or improper treatment; violation: a rape of justice.
We see evidence of Republican “fulfillment” in the first definition through several areas, most notably the recent torture bill which allows for the rape and sodomization of suspects are part of their interrogation. I submit, however, that as heinous as it is, this bill is not the only one with which we as a nation and our female population as a whole have been violently screwed by this rogue party.
I’ll cite two more examples. (For all the ones not included, I ask readers to add them to comments with the subject of “More ‘party of rape'” so that we have a more complete list for our fellow citizens. A list that these criminals cannot run away from.)
Second: on the international scene, the ongoing controversy regarding CNMI (), an offshore sweatshop/forced abortion/ unholy mess that ties Jack Abramoff to over 65 GOP leaders, not to mention directly to the White House itself.
That’s the “quick and dirty” (very dirty) short list of the physical method in which the GOP satisfies the first definition of “rape.” There are two more subtle variants to go — and, unfortunately, plenty of examples to provide.
The third and final variant on the definition of rape pertains to abuse or improper treatment, or violation, such as a “rape of justice.” This one’s a biggie. We’ve got several areas covered here — the Republicans have been working overtime on this one.
Simply unbelievable, yet true.
And completely unacceptable.
“The Party of Pillage”
Let’s return to Dictionary.Com for the definition of the next Republican descriptor: “pillage.”
pillage [pil-ij] verb, -laged, -laging, noun
-verb (used with object)
1. to strip ruthlessly of money or goods by open violence, as in war; plunder: The barbarians pillaged every conquered city.
2. to take as booty.
-verb (used without object)
3. to rob with open violence; take booty: Soldiers roamed the countryside, pillaging and killing.
-noun
4. the act of plundering, esp. in war.
5. booty or spoil.
[Origin: 1350-1400; ME pilage (see pill3, -age), modeled on MF pillage (deriv. of piller to pillage, orig., to abuse, mistreat, tear, of uncert. orig.)]–Synonyms 1. rob, sack, spoil, despoil, rape. 4. rapine, depredation, spoliation. 5. plunder.
Now, where were we? Oh, yes…the final Republican descriptor – “Torture.”
“The Party of Torture”
We watched in horror from whatever vantage point we had as the Republican Party staged a kabuki theater on the topic of what type of <s>torture</s> “aggressive interrogation” techniques were acceptable. This went far beyond the pale. It not only broached a topic regarding something that should be completely foreign to our principles and sense of humanity in a formerly august body known as the Congress of the United States of America, it also included a scripted “revolt” to arrive at a faux compromise in order to satisfy some of the less mindful of the citizenry and save face for a few ethically challenged congresscritters. But it yielded a capacity to deny the right of habeas corpus — something recognized as a staple tenet of civilized society for over 900 years — to an already out-of-control Executive Branch.
There’s too much currently going on and being covered in far more detail for me to do anything more than note, sadly, that this is one of the single most devastating denials of a right and freedom that has always been central to the heart and soul of what our nation stands for.
And the Republican Party will be the stain that surrounds and defines it.
The Pirate Party.
The Plunderers.
It’s time to start a new meme — one for our generation, and that of our children.
The Republican Party has given this nation — and, indeed, the world — a “Raw Deal.” Our nation is now at the brink of disaster on several fronts, and the Republicans are the ones driving the bus. They are the ones steering the ship of state. They are the party that betrayed a nation.
Once again, just as in FDR’s time, our nation finds itself in the slowly swirling and stagnant quagmire that Republican policies and control have inevitably delivered. We need to counter the Republican “Raw Deal” with a new “New Deal” to set the records straight, balance the books and crush the silly sycophants into the obsolescence they so richly deserve.
Take action. Focus your outrage; don’t restrain it, don’t fire it off wildly. Use your mind, your wits, your mouth and fingers to communicate the truth. Refute the lies. Expose the talking points for what they are.
Resist complacency.
But we must stay strong. We must remain steadfast. And we must not hesitate to speak up, to speak out, and to speak our minds.
Oh, yeah – by the way: has anybody seen Osama…? (just wondering)