The fact that the Republican Party was basically evil dawned on me very slowly. I mean, I’ve never voted for a Republican in my life. Wait. No, that’s not true. The first time I voted, I cast a ballot for a friend of mine’s father who was running for some local office. It was only because I knew his son and his son asked me directly to vote for his father. But that’s the only Republican I have ever voted for. At first, I just preferred the Democrats. I didn’t like Ronald Reagan and I didn’t like George Herbert Walker Bush. When Clinton got elected and the Republicans started talking crazy about Vince Foster, and cocaine trafficking out of the Mena, Arkansas airport, and Paula Jones, and TrooperGate, and Whitewater, and the Travel Office, I basically assumed that there must be something there. And, I guess, there was. Clinton did have an unhealthy taste for the ladies. But the rest of it was garbage, and that only became completely clear when Kenneth Starr delivered his report and it had nothing in it about anything except a couple of blowjobs.
It’s been getting worse ever since then, and I am beginning to wonder how much more brazenly evil this party has to get before people stop considering them a viable alternative to the Democrats. They used to make some small effort to disguise what they are really about, but I don’t see them even making the effort anymore.
It’s good, at least, to see them called on it from time to time. It gives me some small measure of hope.
Thank you for using the word evil. This is the first time the Republican Party has scared me. You can’t reason with them at all.
First time? I knew a lot of them were evil a while ago, and I knew they’d passed beyond evil when Cranky McSame nominated The Quittah to be his running mate.
What other word can you use for what Jim Inhofe is doing with himself?
Crazy?
I just don’t understand this stuff. The implication is that he is doing it for money (through campaign donations). But how much money does a person need? He’s an old man! Losing an election is not the end of the world. It can’t be money, at least not money all by itself. I assume he just likes to be friends with sociopaths.
And that is crazy.
.
Boo:
There is no shame in occasionally voting GOPer. I think most of us have voted that way for the same reason you describe. Since you know generally where I live, you know the Democratic Party is pretty weak locally. Since I don’t know any of the Pukes running for stuff like County Commissioner, I’ve written my dad’s(or mom’s) name in. Next time, I might just write your name in. 😉
THANKS for using the word EVIL…cause that’s what they are.
In 1980, I voted for the entire Democratic ticket except for one Republican. It was in Western NC when “Mountain Republicanism” was still alive – the remnants of Unionist Republicanism from the Civil War handed down through generations of certain families. In this case, the race was for county commissioner and the remaining Democratic candidate was corrupt. And I knew the Republican to be a good guy who promoted the local anti-poverty agency (he was chair of the Board). And had worked hard to rid county government of corruption by either party. (Historical footnote: in the 1950s, the county was known for moonshine running and was one of the birthplaces of stock car racing. The Democratic judge in this period always impeded moonshine investigations. The local radiator shop was a front for a still-maker.)
Republicans did not used to be evil, except for a few like Nixon and McCarthy. Jacob Javits and Nelson Rockefeller were strong advocates of civil rights. A lot of the Middle West Republicans advocated for New Deal-era farm policies.
The metastasis happened in two phases: when Jesse Helms gained prominence early in the Reagan administration and then when Newt Gingrich started Michele Bachmanning his way to Speaker of the House. It reached stage 3 with the W administration. And now is stage 4. The only question is whether the cancer dies or the patient. It’s kinda hard to hide Stage 4.
Nixon wasn’t as bad as Bush,Cheney,McCain,Gingrich, et al.
And looking back in time, I have a new appreciation for Eisenhower, Rockefeller, and Percy. I still prefer their Democratic counterparts, but these were men who actually did good things for the people, not the Koch puppets we have today.
In fact, compared to today’s Democratic Presidents and candidates, Eisenhower seems downright radical.
My dad always voted Rep. When he died, I had his phone call forwarded to mine just so I would be able to catch important calls for a bit. I live 1,400 miles away. Come election time, I got a call from his local Rep office asking if I’d like to have someone come by and pick him up and give him a lift to the polls.
You betcha I replied and here’s the address…
Never voted Republican, and I never will as of their current incarnation.
Locally it’s understandable to vote Republican, I think. Some local Democrats are nothing but scoundrels. Nationally and state-wide, though? Hell to the no. Now if that blue dog asshole in Michigan would have won in the primary, I would have voted for Snyder over him. Snyder was more liberal based on their records. But after this Tea Party craze, I don’t think you can even look at Republicans who had a more liberal past than their opponents anymore. Anything they did in the past doesn’t matter until the crazies lose power.