CHAPTER   1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE

 POLITICS OF THE FAR RIGHT

We are an “endangered species … my wing of the party has been swept into oblivion by the ultra right, which now controls the Republican Party.

                                                                                                A moderate Republican

The radical right has hijacked the Republican Party and poses the greatest danger to our nation’s welfare in decades.  Desperate to further their agenda, they abuse power and do not play by the rules or follow the U.S. Constitution.  They decide what they want to do, without regard to ethics or legality, and then pursue a win-at-any-cost strategy to achieve these ends.

The far right's quest for power gained momentum in the 90's when they first took control of Congress.  They soon declared war on the Clinton Administration and tried to overturn the results of two presidential elections.

Initially, they engi­neered a series of useless investiga­tions designed to undermine the Clinton Administration, wast­ing well over 100 million taxpayer dollars.   They refused to clear him of these investigations until his term ended.

 When they came up empty handed on various investigations, the far right manipulated our judicial system to set a perjury trap for the president on a personal indiscretion.  Then, they misled and blackmailed the Attorney General to get control of the investigation.   On their way to the House impeachment, the far right compounded their duplicity by violating federal law and blackmailing members of Congress to get the necessary votes.  (Chapter 2)

The impeachment was unconstitutional and defied the intent of our founding fathers.  The far right’s real purpose was to force the President to resign.  That plan didn't work, but the resulting media frenzy and public concern laid the groundwork for their takeover of the White House in 2001.

While Congress and the nation were distracted by the far right’s assault on the presidency, al-Qaeda declared war and attacked the United States several times.   Nevertheless, the illegitimate and disruptive impeachment was forced through.  As the 9/11 Commission has pointed out, Congress bears some responsibility for the catastrophe because it failed to confront global terrorism for several years and institute necessary changes in government.

 With the emergence of the Bush Administra­tion in 2001, the far right controlled all 3 branches of government and our nation began to suffer reversals in foreign policy -- while incurring a crushing debt that endangers future generations.  The most prominent foreign policy reversal resulted from the President's mishandling of the war on terror, before and after 9-11.

The public record shows that during his first eight months in office, President Bush did not respond to the threat of international terrorism despite severe and repeated warnings from several sources -- President Clinton, the CIA Director, a bipartisan national security commission and the White House Chief of Counter-terrorism.

                  The President did not take reasonable and prudent precautions to defend the nation in the face of top expert advice on the gravity of the al-Qaeda threat and unprecedented world-wide warnings of an impending catastrophe -- most likely involving the use of hijacked commercial aircraft. 

            After leaving the country unprepared for the 9/11 attack, the President has evaded any responsibility.  He attempted to block a review of what happened and then stone­walled the 9/11 Commission for more than a year.  For political reasons the 9/11 Commission omitted any assessment of top-level responsibility for the disaster. (Chapter 3)

                    The President’s response to 9-11 was good, but limited and short lived.  Immediately following that response, the President embarked on a one-year path to war in Iraq and deceived the nation about its necessity.  Meanwhile, al-Qaeda has continued to grow and continues to be a major threat to this country. .

            The President’s policy for the war on terror is too narrow to deal with a global problem and does not address the root causes of terrorism -- that would reduce the continuing threat to the United States.  A more appropriate policy would be to (1) identify and begin reversing the root causes of terrorism and (2) engage all heads of state in a program to dismantle terrorist activities within their borders and cooperate with others doing the same.  Chapter 4 presents specifics of a broader policy on terror as well as two possible options to exit Iraq with honor.

The fatal misjudgments of the Bush Administration were not challenged at the time, because (1) the far right had control of all three branches of government and (2) neither Congress nor the media fulfilled their vital constitutional role as checks and balances on the Executive. (Chapter 4)

In Congress the far right has tried to create a monop­oly in the House by rearranging districts to their advan­tage.  This practice is now under Supreme Court review.  Much of the media has lost its independence.  We need to hold public hear­ings on concentration of media ownership and conflict of interest between ownership and the people’s right to know.    Media reform is long overdue.

The chapters that follow substantially amplify and document this introduction to the politics of the far right.

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“This is not a battle between Republicans and Democrats … it is between the ultra right-wing element, who want to mold us in their image only, and those of us who want to preserve an open, free nation with real possibilities for the future for our children and grandchildren.”

                                                                                       A moderate Republican