Caution: political rant.
The time has come for me to say some things that have been weighing on my mind for some time. My thoughts are stemming from various events and influences. I have not been "liberal"-ized by college or my continuing struggle with my faith; in fact, I'm still as conservative as ever.
But I'm ashamed to call myself a Republican.
"My party" is a facade: a shell of moral superiority on the outside, the inside a rotting, cavernous den of sleaze and smut that reaks of sewer stench. "My party" is politically advantageous yes (I'm sure the Democrats would love to get their version of Karl Rove) but has pulled off their stunning political victories through campaigns of egregious and awe-inspiring deception that makes your average crooked car salesman look angelic.
From Jack Abramhoff to Tom Delay to, now, Mark Foley -- and there were others too -- the Republican Party has immorally acted and immorally exploited the power it has expertly gained via appealing to, of all things, morality. Well-intentioned, if not soemtimes homophobic and reactionary, Republican stalwart voters -- like my own father (not homophobic) on his knees thanking God when George Bush was elected in 2000 -- have been conned. On the whole, these guys are a bunch of assholes. The corruption, depravity and lawlessness of this administration (and this Congressional majority) is breathtaking.
We were told: "We're the party of the moral majority." What we got: liars, crooks, perverts, and cowboys who think they can piss on the Constitution. What we wanted: our conservative values honored. What we got: our conservative values defiled. I hardly even want to expose my political affiliations anymore, lest I be grouped in with the rest of them.
Why so disillusioned?
I've watched a neo-conservative administration force an immoral war upon this country. I've seen them lie to defend it, and I've seen them advantageously pounce on gripping events to further justify it (see: Jessica Lynch, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the extermination of Zarqawi... and, well, 9/11). I've seen them fail to act properly as thousands of our fellow citizens suffered in New Orleans. No, they didn't bomb the levees, and I'm not sold that it was all race-motivated (in other words, I'm not buying whatever Michael Moore is peddling) but I do know we had a duty to look out for our fellow man (this is in the Bible our government swears they read daily) and our government blew it. I've watched an administration try to use fear to get what it wants done, rather than honesty. I've seen them try to act above the law in their capture, torture and interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. (I don't really want to Dean-screm about Abu Grahib, but it's worth mentioning.)
Perhaps a perfect example of our administration's utter disregard for the truth is the NSA wiretapping scheme. If you don't recall it, Bush wanted the right to tap the phone lines of calls going outbound from the US to international destinations if he felt it was justified in the name of national security. The Foreign Intelligence Standards Act (FISA) expressly gave Bush the right to wiretap, so long as he got a retroactive warrant for it from a federal judge. Bush defended his desire to not have to get the warrants by claim that such warrants would be unnecessarily time-consuming and difficult, when history shows this isn't true: the process is essentially a mere formality, and of the tens of thousands of requests submitted by presidents for retroactive wire-tapping, less than ten have been turned down. All Bush had to do was ask. But he didn't want to (perhaps, however, he did find the work too burdensome; perhaps he could've passed it on to the behemoth new Department of Homeland Security, a giant bureacractic body created by a president who was supposed to cut back on the size of the government). This is a fine example of our chief executive showing the completely lack of dignity and morality to play by the rules. What a joke.
Honestly, I'm sick and tired of this bullshit. To draw a metaphor that's perhaps as pungent as the noxious order eminanting from Washington, D.C. right now: I'm sick and tired of looking at the menu, ordering salmon, and getting a plate full of five-day old tuna. Oh, and all you that are going to say the Democrats do it to: you're right, they do. But at least they have the foresight and -- dare I say, honesty? -- to never make promises of being morally superior in the first place. I'm sick and tired of unknowing churchgoers, conservatives, and people who generally compassionatelly believe in their principles being duped by power-hungry politicians. Of course, there are some fine Republicans... but you might have to look kind of hard to see them right now.
Call me idealistic. Being a realist is just too painful right now. And what do I do now? I don't believe in the core principles of the Democratic Party, and they certainly don't seem to be accepting of my core tenents. It's the quintessence of being between a rock and a hard place.
But part of me is looking forward to the chance that is going to come come Novemeber (and you can count on it coming). Maybe my party needs to have its tail between its legs too long. Perhaps they had too much power too long, and when they're the minority again, they'll re-learn how to act with class. I don't know.
As for me, I have to go figure out who the hell to vote for.
But I'm ashamed to call myself a Republican.
"My party" is a facade: a shell of moral superiority on the outside, the inside a rotting, cavernous den of sleaze and smut that reaks of sewer stench. "My party" is politically advantageous yes (I'm sure the Democrats would love to get their version of Karl Rove) but has pulled off their stunning political victories through campaigns of egregious and awe-inspiring deception that makes your average crooked car salesman look angelic.
From Jack Abramhoff to Tom Delay to, now, Mark Foley -- and there were others too -- the Republican Party has immorally acted and immorally exploited the power it has expertly gained via appealing to, of all things, morality. Well-intentioned, if not soemtimes homophobic and reactionary, Republican stalwart voters -- like my own father (not homophobic) on his knees thanking God when George Bush was elected in 2000 -- have been conned. On the whole, these guys are a bunch of assholes. The corruption, depravity and lawlessness of this administration (and this Congressional majority) is breathtaking.
We were told: "We're the party of the moral majority." What we got: liars, crooks, perverts, and cowboys who think they can piss on the Constitution. What we wanted: our conservative values honored. What we got: our conservative values defiled. I hardly even want to expose my political affiliations anymore, lest I be grouped in with the rest of them.
Why so disillusioned?
I've watched a neo-conservative administration force an immoral war upon this country. I've seen them lie to defend it, and I've seen them advantageously pounce on gripping events to further justify it (see: Jessica Lynch, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the extermination of Zarqawi... and, well, 9/11). I've seen them fail to act properly as thousands of our fellow citizens suffered in New Orleans. No, they didn't bomb the levees, and I'm not sold that it was all race-motivated (in other words, I'm not buying whatever Michael Moore is peddling) but I do know we had a duty to look out for our fellow man (this is in the Bible our government swears they read daily) and our government blew it. I've watched an administration try to use fear to get what it wants done, rather than honesty. I've seen them try to act above the law in their capture, torture and interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. (I don't really want to Dean-screm about Abu Grahib, but it's worth mentioning.)
Perhaps a perfect example of our administration's utter disregard for the truth is the NSA wiretapping scheme. If you don't recall it, Bush wanted the right to tap the phone lines of calls going outbound from the US to international destinations if he felt it was justified in the name of national security. The Foreign Intelligence Standards Act (FISA) expressly gave Bush the right to wiretap, so long as he got a retroactive warrant for it from a federal judge. Bush defended his desire to not have to get the warrants by claim that such warrants would be unnecessarily time-consuming and difficult, when history shows this isn't true: the process is essentially a mere formality, and of the tens of thousands of requests submitted by presidents for retroactive wire-tapping, less than ten have been turned down. All Bush had to do was ask. But he didn't want to (perhaps, however, he did find the work too burdensome; perhaps he could've passed it on to the behemoth new Department of Homeland Security, a giant bureacractic body created by a president who was supposed to cut back on the size of the government). This is a fine example of our chief executive showing the completely lack of dignity and morality to play by the rules. What a joke.
Honestly, I'm sick and tired of this bullshit. To draw a metaphor that's perhaps as pungent as the noxious order eminanting from Washington, D.C. right now: I'm sick and tired of looking at the menu, ordering salmon, and getting a plate full of five-day old tuna. Oh, and all you that are going to say the Democrats do it to: you're right, they do. But at least they have the foresight and -- dare I say, honesty? -- to never make promises of being morally superior in the first place. I'm sick and tired of unknowing churchgoers, conservatives, and people who generally compassionatelly believe in their principles being duped by power-hungry politicians. Of course, there are some fine Republicans... but you might have to look kind of hard to see them right now.
Call me idealistic. Being a realist is just too painful right now. And what do I do now? I don't believe in the core principles of the Democratic Party, and they certainly don't seem to be accepting of my core tenents. It's the quintessence of being between a rock and a hard place.
But part of me is looking forward to the chance that is going to come come Novemeber (and you can count on it coming). Maybe my party needs to have its tail between its legs too long. Perhaps they had too much power too long, and when they're the minority again, they'll re-learn how to act with class. I don't know.
As for me, I have to go figure out who the hell to vote for.