Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Defending America Part 1
A Republican Myth
For 60 years the Republican Party has been fomenting the illusion that it is THE political party concerned with national defense. It is an illusion built on lies and deception and it has been the bread and butter issue for the radical right for every election since WW II. After the war the Republicans were in dire need to find something to hang their hat on. Their social policies had proven to be complete disasters during the twenties and thirties, so much so that it boggles the mind that they resurrected them in the eighties. Their foreign policy was just as bad. A surprise attack by the Japanese and the impatience of Adolph Hitler in declaring war against the United States could well be the only things that saved America from the Republican isolationism of the thirties and forties. Had the Republicans had their way we might be wearing brown shirts and marching in goosestep today. Of course there are those who say that doesn’t sound so far off from some of the radical right’s current wishes.
So with nothing but bankrupt and failed policies after WW II the GOP went looking for new ideas with which to seduce the American people.
They found the answer to their prayers in Communism, that giant monolithic threat to world peace, mom, apple pie, and the soon to be American way of life as provided by good ol’ corporate capitalism. It provided both foreign and domestic devils to rail against, and so they did for the next 45 years
Rather than admitting that the Soviet Union was a post war imperial nation not unlike us, the Republicans branded Communism as a unified world wide conspiracy. They branded the Democrats as the Chamberlains of the new world, appeasers that would not stand up for America. This has proven to wildly successful for the far right, they still use it today. It was as false and misleading then as it is now. With the aid of hindsight it is obvious that the Republican tactics of fear, hate, and lies of the post war era were much more detrimental to American security and freedom.
Defending America Part 2
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
A Republican Myth
For 60 years the Republican Party has been fomenting the illusion that it is THE political party concerned with national defense. It is an illusion built on lies and deception and it has been the bread and butter issue for the radical right for every election since WW II. After the war the Republicans were in dire need to find something to hang their hat on. Their social policies had proven to be complete disasters during the twenties and thirties, so much so that it boggles the mind that they resurrected them in the eighties. Their foreign policy was just as bad. A surprise attack by the Japanese and the impatience of Adolph Hitler in declaring war against the United States could well be the only things that saved America from the Republican isolationism of the thirties and forties. Had the Republicans had their way we might be wearing brown shirts and marching in goosestep today. Of course there are those who say that doesn’t sound so far off from some of the radical right’s current wishes.
So with nothing but bankrupt and failed policies after WW II the GOP went looking for new ideas with which to seduce the American people.
They found the answer to their prayers in Communism, that giant monolithic threat to world peace, mom, apple pie, and the soon to be American way of life as provided by good ol’ corporate capitalism. It provided both foreign and domestic devils to rail against, and so they did for the next 45 years Rather than admitting that the Soviet Union was a post war imperial nation not unlike us, the Republicans branded Communism as a unified world wide conspiracy. They branded the Democrats as the Chamberlains of the new world, appeasers that would not stand up for America. This has proven to wildly successful for the far right, they still use it today. It was as false and misleading then as it is now. With the aid of hindsight it is obvious that the Republican tactics of fear, hate, and lies of the post war era were much more detrimental to American security and freedom.
Defending America Part 2
The Bush Credo - No Sacrifice Is Too Great For Others To
Make.
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