Friday, October 03, 2003

Under Pressure, True Republican Colors Come Out How about the all Nazi ticket of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Grover Norquist, as fitting symbols of the sickness than has taken over the Republican party.   For many years the American people have been subjected to a systematic campaign of slander and lies that seek to destroy any sense of common feeling or community with our government.   In the early 1990’s the militia movement represented the epitome of right wing Republican ideology, with their hatred of any restriction on their crackpot schemes.   Most Americans ignored the racist and fearful militias, as they recruited disaffected ex military, worshipped the right to build arsenals, and raged against the multi-racial and multi-ethnic character of the U.S.   Then a group of them bombed the federal building in Oklahoma city, and suddenly, with the right wing committing the worst act of domestic American terrorism in the twentieth century, suddenly militias weren’t so popular anymore.   But never mind, the Republican right wing took on a new abusive crusade against the Clintons.  The short history is this.  Richard Scafe spent millions of dollars in Arkansas trying to find persons who would testify against Bill Clinton.  He found Paula Jones, who in return for his money, and his lawyers, thought she could get some payment by charging Bill Clinton with one of his numerous sexual escapades.  The maneuvering over Paula Jones, and her right wing financed suit, eventually led to the ambushing of Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. In short, the right wing successfully attacked a sitting president because of their hatred of the government—a continuation of the mentality of Oklahoma City.   Now, we have two stars:  Nazi loving Schwarzenegger, and Holocaust denying Norquist.    Today, ABC published verbatim transcripts from Arnold’s first book attempt, saying how much he admired Hitler, and how he wished he could be like him in the Nazi stadium in Nuremburg, receiving the adulation of his troops and supporters, holding god like power over them.   Here are the actual quotes.   Then also today, Grover Norquist, who is a right wing ideologue who makes a living on the think tank, talk show, fundraising, rightwing political circuit, told Terry Gross that taxing the top 2% or 3% of the richest Americans was the equivalent of killing 2% or 3% of those who happened to be Jews in Europe.  Link .   In making the case that taxes on a small minority were the moral equivalent of the holocaust,  Norquist again showed his “Oklahoma” mentality.  He hates our government so much that he is willing to compare taxes to the holocaust, i.e. he has lost all moral compass.   Taxes to him are probably worth bombing a few federal buildings over, if he ever let his true thoughts emerge.   We have a sickness in this country, a cancer, eating away at our common values and public life.   We must call this cancer for the sickness it is, and make this behavior so politically toxic that the right wing ideologues are isolated, shamed, and punished by political means.  Otherwise we will one day get to the position of Chile and Argentina, where the ultimate rightwing terror led to murder and disappearances, and now, twenty and thirty years later, Chileans and Argentinians look back in horror and the nightmare that came to their countries.   I am sick of these goddamned ignorant rightwing bastards laying claim to know what is right for America.  They are carriers of sickness, and we must treat them as such. 12:29:58 AM   comment []

© Copyright 2003 Toby Sackton. Last update: 11/17/2003; 12:25:56 PM.