Less than three weeks to go until November 7. The republicans have been in charge of Congress since 1994. The White House since 2001. Not to mention our judicial system as well. Everything we have and don’t have, every consequence of the path chosen by those who “lead” this country, every uninsured American, everyone working three jobs just to pay the bills, everyone who earns less and pays more, everyone who was wounded, killed, or had a family member wounded or killed, every freedom we have lost – all has been a direct result of the republican policies.
Oh sure, they may try to scrub their websites to hide their true colors. And they may try to falsely label their black sheep as Democrats. And yes, they can try to play the “blame game”. But the fact still remains that these are the people that drove this country right into a ditch. And when a friend drives into a ditch, you don’t let them try and get you out of it – you act responsibly and take away the keys.
Quick – name one thing, one policy, one law, one act – that was undertaken by the republicans which was (1) for the benefit of We the People and (2) intended to be for the benefit of We the People. I’ll give you a few moments, although it may take all week to think of one, if you can at all.
It touches on just about everything – just about everywhere, every aspect of life, every aspect of politics, policy (foreign or domestic) and even the way they treat their own fellow Americans. And it is the republicans who drove this country in to a ditch, perhaps even willfully. They can’t be trusted to drive anymore.
Take the foreign “policy” for starters. Just today, there is news from the WSJ that is a scathing indictment of the US training program of Iraqi forces. According to not one but two Lt. Cols. who participated in the training:
President Bush has touted such advisory teams as key to the U.S. strategy for stabilizing Iraq and bringing American troops home. So Col. Demas and his troops expected some of the best instruction the Army had to offer. What they got was a “phenomenal waste of time,” the colonel wrote from Iraq last fall, in a report to his superiors.
“In my 28 years of military service I have never seen such an appalling approach to training,” he wrote. “Nowhere else in the Army system would this have been acceptable.” His soldiers received only a few hours of instruction in Arabic language, Iraqi culture and advising foreign forces, says Col. Demas, who had previously served in Special Forces units.
Other advisers have been just as scathing. “By the time the training was finished, soldiers were demoralized, motivation was nonexistent and the team motto came from the Jo Dee Messina lyric, ‘my give-a-damn’s busted,’ ” wrote Lt. Col. James Goodwillie, who led advisers in Iraq, in a review that was passed to senior Army officials last fall.
Also today, NATO is reporting that the US completely screwed up Afghanistan by “cutting and running” back at the end of 2001:
The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan failed to follow through as it should have after ousting the Taliban government in 2001, setting the stage for this year’s deadly resurgence, the NATO commander in the country said Tuesday.
The mistake consisted of adopting “a peacetime approach” too early, British Gen. David Richards told Pentagon reporters. He said the international community has six months to correct the problem before losing Afghan support, reiterating a warning he issued last week.
Of course, we know how well things are going in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the entire Middle East for that matter. When you have people in charge of the House Intelligence Subcommittee not know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites – when you have people in charge of an illegal invasion and occupation who would rather give sound bytes than properly arm and equip our troops (or even provide them with a mission) – when you have a “Commander in Chief” who refuses to listen to reality and refuses to employ any tactic other than “fuck you if you don’t like my decision” – when you have foreign policy dictated by people who have no credible foreign policy experience or a clue about how this world runs, well, it is time to take away the keys.
When you have a ruling party that would rather protect its own sexual predators, and then lie about it, just to keep power – when that same party is more concerned about corporate welfare and handouts to their lobbyist and crony friends than they are about the shrinking middle class – when they are more concerned with protecting credit card companies, insurance companies and drug companies than they are for We the People – when they substitute a true education policy for bells and whistles, fancy names and more handouts for your families as well as giving out sweetheart deals to friends who make inferior products all at the expense of educational standards, well, it is time to take away the keys.
When “protecting America” is more important than protecting the Constitution, and even that is done in a piss poor manner. Need I mention any of the following: illegal wiretapping. Waterboarding, rendition, torture, secret CIA prison camps. Suspension of habeas corpus. Military tribunals for anyone that looks at the President funny. Arresting of people for the bumper sticker on their car or the t-shirt they are wearing. Decimating the Armed forces. Ports, power grids, railways, nuclear plants, hell, even the Department of Homeland Security’s HQ isn’t even secure. Osama Bin Forgotten. Katrina. New Orleans. The Gulf Coast.
“Clear Skies”. Proposed estate tax cuts. Not raising the minimum wage. Hundreds of billions of dollars for an illegal invasion and occupation, all borrowed. The highest deficits ever. Diebold. “Help America Vote Act”. Paid propaganda by the SCLM. Leaking classified information for political gain. Destroying the country’s intelligence abilities with respect to nuclear materials and Iran and Pakistan. Lies about Saddam. Lies about Afghanistan. Lies about Iran. Lies about Democrats. Lies about spying. Signing statements. Rubber stamp republican congress. Purple heart band aids. Swift Boat Veterans.
All on the republicans’ watch. All while they were driving this country into a ditch. It’s time to take away the keys. Hell, it’s time to take away their license.