I started this as an exercise on my own to determine exactly what values and beliefs the right have adopted over the past few years that would actually threaten the existence of the true conservative Republican party and perhaps this nation.  I know there is plenty of talk in the blogoshphere and between people about how they feel the right has gone off the rails and I started this exercise to try to pinpoint not only what is dangerous for them but also what could be dangerous for our nation as a whole.  I believe I have come up with a pretty complete list although there is probably room for many more.  I have always wanted to come up with a list that would explain their behavior and now I have.

It is confusing to many as to how this party has so alienated itself and chosen to disregard the truths that many of us hold and have for probably our entire lifetimes.  I don’t want to say their movement to the far right is because of President Obama but I do believe his election to the highest office in our land has contributed to their movement.   Losing control of that high office has also contributed to their discontent and discontent can lead to radical change.  In coming up with this list I tried to be as honest as I could but I am sure some will say my own prejudice against them exaggerated my findings.  To them I would say, I did not compose this list with a prejudice mind but rather an open mind that sees things as they are with no sugar coating.  I hope that people will see it that way and not be shocked at my conclusions.

I took a really hard look at what I see and I think you will agree I put together a pretty complete list but only by reading it yourself will you be able to make that judgment so here goes:

They promote an economic system that supports a stratified economy with classes based on merit and talent but reject universal egalitarianism. They favour private property, freedom of contract, and promote the creation of their version of national solidarity.  (Cultural theory of risk holds egalitarianism as defined by (1) a negative attitude towards rules and principles, and (2) a positive attitude towards group decision-making, with “Fatalism”  termed as its opposite)

 They outlaw strikes by employees because these are regarded as a threat to national unity.

They would seek to declare “asocial” or “heretic” groups that do not fit their requirements of acceptable behavior or beliefs.

They will attack both left-wing and right-wing politics and they will claim the far right as the only correct ideology.

Far right themes include the argument that superior people have a right to dominate over others and purge society of supposed inferior elements.

They will scoff at any and all treaties that would appear to make a nation look weak(in their opinion, anyone who compromises whether appropriate or not is worthy of condemnation)

They would dismantle the republic to create a new radical and strong state based upon a martial ruling ethic that could revive national unity(in their power crazed minds anyway)

A major inspiration are paramilitary organizations that engage in political violence or the threat of such.

They would describe themselves as an anti-bourgeois party.

There are factions in the Party, both conservative and radical.

They advocate both a social and economic revolution upon the party who is in power and the country itself unless it is their party.

They also push “second revolution” (the “first revolution” being seizure of power) that would entrench the party’s official.

They would also desire, and work toward, absorbing the Armed forces into their ranks and under their leadership.

In an earlier time period they very well could have lived Bohemian lifestyles (US circa 1960)

Anyone who resists the goals of the party they will seek to destroy.

Individuals are not allowed to take unilateral action as that is considered violating or threatening their leadership.

Although they oppose communist ideology, they will use those tactics in order to crush liberals.

One of the most significant ideological influences calls for a national revolution against the elite left and the need of action by the nation to free itself of these influences.

They denounce soulless individualism, and secularized society, while advocating a “superior” society based on ethnic people of their own  “blood” or “beliefs”.

They also denounce foreigners, foreign ideas and declare that national minorities, or people of other religious persuasions are “traitors to the nation” and unworthy of inclusion.

They extoll the virtues of rural life, condemn the neglect of tradition and decay of morals and condemn “cosmopolitan” cultures.

They will declare they are only interested in a unified country

The concept of their racial theories draws a distinction between what they deemed “high and noble” culture versus that of “parasitic” culture

Notions of white supremecy and racial superiority infiltrate their organization and they maintain that white people are members of a race that is superior to all other races and blame the fall of the country on socio-economic degeneracy caused by those “parasites” mentioned above.

They claim that Christianity is the origin of their nation’s beginnings and that anyone who claims different are usurpers and that they are was threatened by a spirit of selfishness

Their history will include racist themes and radical right political movements.

They have no shortage of conspiracy theories about internationals and people within their own country.

They will accuse their opponents of being a “bacillus, the carrier of decay…who pollute every national culture…and destroy all faith with their materialistic liberalism”

Their policies are published and distributed to Armed Forces in order to instruct them and the enemy that they are sent by GOD to fulfill his wishes.

They accuse their opponents of being a threat to national unity.

They have an option to address this threat by violence against others not of their belief system, which should not contain a single opponents idea.

They will claim that they are unable to complete national unification because of infiltration of “others” in the political process.  They will suggest abolition in an effort to obtain national unification.  They will go so far as to accuse their fellow citizens of possessing extra-national loyalties, thereby exacerbating dissatisfaction with the opposite party.

They DO believe in a national socialism that will connect the individual to the state through corporatist organization.

Their ideology advocates confining women to the spheres of Children, Kitchen, Church.

They support people and organizations that suppress gays and that will wipe out abortion.  They will set up organizations to that end.

Several people of the organization will, at some time, have been connected with racists organizations.

They will declare that their version of conflict is necessary to save the country from suffering because of it’s “sins”.

They excuse any actions they may take by claiming they are saving the country.

Their actions are, so they claim, all in the name of purifying the nation and taking it back to it’s original roots.

They guarantee freedom for all religious denominations not inimical to their own and endorse Christianity to combat the “non-believer spirit”.

They are not above using other religions’ history as propaganda that fits their beliefs.

They use Christianity for political purposes.  They will not tolerate anyone in their ranks who attack Christianity, whether they truly practice the true tenants or not.

They are advocates of privatizing public properties and public services while at the same time cannot entirely disregard business competition and private property as economic engines.

In order to control operations of agriculture they will grant business/banks monopoly rights to marketing boards/commodity exchanges to control production and prices.

They claim that communism is dangerous to the well-being of nations because of its intention to dissolve private property, its support of class conflict, its aggression against the middle class, its hostility to small businessmen, and its atheism.  They also agree their liberal counterparts are guilty of these beliefs when it is they who are separating the classes.

I am sure there are many more that I may have missed but I have to tell you the truth now.  I DID NOT COME UP WITH THIS LIST.  All of these beliefs and tenants were taken directly from the platform of the Nazi Party of Germany.  Where there were beliefs that I did not think fit, I did not list them and I did have to change some of the wording because I wanted to show just how close in ideology they are to the former Nazi Party without giving away that the list was actual Nazi doctrine.  I also felt that adding the Nazi name or people affiliated with the party would take away from the experience that the person reading would be thinking Nazi and not the far right.  I tried to be as honest as I could be but I am also open to constructive criticism where I may have missed the boat, so feel free to let me know.

I apologize for not being entirely truthful in this posting but I felt approaching it this way would clear the mind of the reader.  When I look at the picture at the top of this post, I am glad I wrote this post though.  I hope I have succeeded in clarifying what I believe to be their endgame.

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Nirek
Member

After Ike the republican party has been on a steady downhill slide. The morality, honesty, and patriotism has gone from good under Ike to poor under Nixon ,poorer under Raygun, and in the dumps under “w”!

Sorry to say the democrats are not up to standard in my opinion, but they are much better than the alternative.

KillgoreTrout
Member

Today’s GOP would call Barry Goldwater a liberal! Goldwater was considered to be the “father of American conservatism.” Wow have things changed. Goldwater also warned us about the religious right and how they would damage the GOP.

bito
Member

Actually KT the AZ GOP sate committee said that Goldwater had gone senile when he made his statements about gays and religion, they also really dislike McCain–He’s too librul.

You are so right, the GOP today is not the GOP of just 10 years ago, like very conservative Federal Judge Posner said the other day, “they have gone ‘goofy'”

KillgoreTrout
Member

It’s Obama Derangement Syndrome! He makes the GOP crazy. Actually, the GOP makes themselves crazy, if they weren’t already crazy. 😉

KQµårk 死神
Member

Spot on with ODS!

KQµårk 死神
Member

In reality Goldwater was a true Libertarian especially in his late years because he was more socially liberal.

Unlike Ron Paul who is right wing on most key social issues.

KillgoreTrout
Member

KQ, I agree, but he was referred to, at one time, as the father of modern conservatism. But then, that was before the word conservatism became a guise for radical right wing fanaticism.

bito
Member

Yep, you’re right KT and the AZ state GOP used to be but they got this righteous RWNJ takeover, lost the libertarian and decided that it was easier to say he went senile, which was complete BS. Whether you agreed with him or not, he was honest and stuck to his libertarian values on social issues. He could also read the constitution and probably scolded AZ on the immigration thing. Right there in the enumerated powers, it says naturalization (immigration) is a power of congress right along with bankruptcies, same sentence in article I, sec.8. But real patriots don’t need to read the constitution.

KQµårk 死神
Member

They call GWB a big government conservative which is like saying he’s too liberal. The GOPTEA party of today only liked his social conservatism.

Goldwater was probably the first Libertarian pres candidate among the GOP. But once Nixon via Atwater employed the ‘Southern Strategy’ GOP politics has been guided solely by white identity politics. Atwater before he died admitted the ‘Southern Strategy’ was a huge mistake because it permanently damaged American society.

bito
Member

Nirek, I do understand your after Ike sentiment, but even under Nixon he signed the EPA and clean air and water acts, Dirkson (R-IL) helped push Medicare for LBJ and even Raygun realized he had to raise taxes and index the SS income cap.

All of those would be high crimes to the GOP today, they seem to want to go back to the turn of the century, the “Gay 90’s.”

KillgoreTrout
Member

“Many even of those who desire to form aristocratic governments make a mistake, not only in giving too much power to the rich, but in attempting to overreach the people. There comes a time when out of a false good, there arises a true evil, since the encroachments of the rich are more destructive to the constitution than those of the people.”
Aristotle

AdLib
Admin

Very nice, Killgore! What this quote and others are very helpful in doing is informing us that this struggle between the few who want to dominate and the many is an intrinsic part of human society.

It has always been the way of things and will always be. As disappointing as it may be to some, this is not a battle that ever has a conclusion, a healthy society requires eternal vigilance and activism to push back against those who are always trying to dominate and pillage it.

KillgoreTrout
Member

Sadly, greed and the lust for power will always be with us. I think, in part, it’s just a negative side of human nature.

One day, many years ago, my 6 year old daughter and I went to the beach together. She was fascinated by all the cool looking pebbles lying around and she was trying to gather all she could in her little hand. The more she tried to get in her hand, the more those pebbles would fall out of her hand. I thought to myself, wow, what a perfect demonstration of human nature.

AdLib
Admin

Sue, a very clever and incisive article!

Why would the GOP have so much in common with the NAZI Party? I would suggest it is because those who are mercenary in pursuit of power and satisfying their greed walk the same path throughout history. So the GOP shares many of the same positions as many other greedy and oppressive regimes, current and past.

There’s no longer any pretense about this, the Repubs announced that their primary raison d’etre is to take power away from Obama. Not increase jobs, help the economy or protect Americans…just taking power for themselves.

Since they only represent the 1%, in order for it to be viable for them to win national elections, they’ve needed to pander to the gullible to support them. So, they promise to serve the religious right on their issues, the racists on theirs, the homophobes on theirs, etc..

When you think about it, the GOP is actually a coalition…a coalition of the selfish and hateful. It’s almost cartoonish, like an evil group from a comic book that wants to take over the world, The Injustice League of America.

It wasn’t always like that but it sure is hard to fill up one hand with counting Republicans who earnestly want to help the majority of Americans.

So, like an evil posse, the GOP will continue to use its ill gotten gains to finance and expand its criminal operation.

It’s just a good thing for us we’ve got someone on our side:

[imgcomment image[/img]

KillgoreTrout
Member

A good article for thought, Sue. When I first glanced at the headline, I took it to mean that you were asking WHY the far right are the way they are, but that is basically substance for a different article.
I often wonder, if anybody in the GOP is NOT far right. The group think and demand for solidarity among them would lead me to (logically) conclude that anything done or espoused by the party is done or espoused by all members of that party. It is rare to see dissent among the members of the GOP. It does happen from time to time, but it is rare, IMO.
In comparison to the downfall of democracy in 1930s Germany, I think America’s far right views the election of Obama as a major defeat, similar to the way many Germans looked at their own defeat in WWI. They saw it as not only embarrassing, but downright fatal if not corrected. The terms of their surrender were harsh and the country was failing economically. The GOP today blames Obama for the economic mess we are in. I’m pretty sure that’s the way they see it AND believe it, no matter that it is not true. The fear generated hatred towards Obama is justified, in their eyes, not to mention their racial disgust at having an Afro-American in the Whitehouse. I think it is logical to conclude that they have adopted some of the same views and tactics as the Nazis did in the 1930s. They feel they have to borrow from a regime that used totalitarian tactics in order to bring back what they once had. They fail to see that what they once had has no resemblance to what they now are. They romanticize the past and are blinded to what they have truly become through their hatred and bigotry and hopes for an oligarchy. They no longer care about country, before political party, or the average American. There is some definite Randian philosophy behind the way they view the middle class and poor. Like Romney and the candidates that lost in the primary, they see the middle class, and especially the poor as being victims of their own actions, or inactions. They say, if you are poor, it’s your own fault, and they turn a blind eye to circumstance and the failed policies that make people poor and keep them poor. That is almost straight out of any Rand novel.
The GOP resents Obama for his accomplishments despite their own blatant obstructionism.
The right is absolutely frightened by the growth of minorities in this nation and their vision of a white, Christian America is in grave danger, as they see it. This is why they work so hard to keep minorities away from the polls. This is why they see voter fraud as something perfectly acceptable. Their “great white way,” is fading and they just cannot accept that. They constantly fail to realize that the world only spins forward and not backward.

BourneID
Member

Well said KT. Fear is the enemy of both sides. Unfortunately, the Repubs are tapping into it and we’re losing our way. If we don’t self-correct soon, it won’t matter.

Let me ask you this, KT. Have you heard anyone in the leadership of the Congress express concern over 14 or 15 states (30% of the total number) and the millions who have suffered loss of life, electricity, water, and God knows what else from this cruel, unrelentng heat? Sixty (60) potential voters have died. Have you heard any Democrat or Independent demand help for them? I haven’t. Have you heard any Dem or Independent running for office, either federal, state or local, say, “Okay folks. This is what you can expect if the Repubs win because nothing is more important than lowering that damn deficit and there’s just not enough money for entitlements right now.”

I haven’t.

KillgoreTrout
Member

Thanks Bourne, and it’s good to see you here again. My answer, is no, not really. The most warnings against the GOP returning to power come in either political ads, or from we the people. We dems, that is. There seems to be this false front of bipartisanship that Congress, as a whole, is trying to maintain. It’s bullshit, especially after all the GOP obstructionism and their very public decree that they want Obama to fail, at nearly any cost. If that is not a form of “soft treason,” I don’t know what is, and the dems just let it happen.

kesmarn
Admin

BFF, as I was reading your article I kept thinking about the book I’m currently reading: “The Rise of Hitler,” by Theodore Abel. As point after point was made in your piece, I thought: “This is almost word for word what Abel was describing in the period between about 1920 to the late thirties. As soon as I get done reading Sue’s article, I’m going to get that book and draw all those parallels!”

Well, by the time I reached the end of your excellent article I realized that I didn’t have to. You were way ahead of me.

I know it’s almost a cliche to say this, but this next election really does feel like the election of our lifetimes. And I know I’m not alone when I say that if Romney is elected we may find ourselves moving rapidly toward a point of no return. It was barely possible for the president to pull us back from the Bush brink. Romney would very likely push us right over the edge.

That feeling of foreboding that you mentioned, BFF… I think it’s quite justified.

bito
Member

k’es, Election of a lifetime? Just think Romney and a Supreme Court Appointment.

kesmarn
Admin

Oh, b’ito, indeed, how can he hurt us? Let me count the ways!

Supreme Court nominations. Other judicial appointments. Utter failure to regulate banking practices again. Gutting programs for the poor, the elderly, the unemployed.

Pushing for the privatization of education, allowing interest rates on student loans to skyrocket. Union-busting.
Attacking Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Damaging our foreign relations with countries who are only just beginning to have some confidence that we’re not all crazy. A possible “pre-emptive” war on Iran — financed by MORE borrowing. Then the plaintive cry that “we’re broke” when it comes to crumbling infrastructure.

Pandering to religious extremists, denial of women’s right to chose — under almost any circumstances. Drill, baby, drill. No enforcement of environmental regulations. The Keystone XL pipeline right through a 9-state aquifer. High speed train projects abandoned.

Lax food safety regulations again — back to the days of filthy chicken, egg and meat production practices. Support for Mega-Agri-business and Monsanto over family farmers. Debtor’s prisons. Harassment of immigrants.

The list goes on and on. I don’t want to be a doom-and-gloomer, but I seriously wonder if the country can survive another Bush-type presidency (or worse). I don’t say that in the sense of giving up, but only to stay motivated to fight hard for an Obama win in November. The stakes are incredibly high, to state the obvious!

funksands
Member

Jeez Sue, what a list. I’m going to have to shower after reading it. You totally nailed it. The conservative GOP exists merely as a conduit of money and power to the top .00005%. Seen in that light, their actions make sense.

The radical faction of the GOP (good distinction) have motives that are murkier, harder to pin down, and far more troubling. The only advantage to fighting this faction is they seem to broken up into many many more splinter groups. Am I wrong? Great piece.

BourneID
Member

Sue,

Everything that concerns you is the same everything that concerns all of us. It is blatant ignorance. Knowledge is power but somehow the powerful (us) are losing it – or are we giving it away?

The operative phrase in your reply to me might be, “The hate and viotriol….has brought me down.” We cannot afford to let anything bring us down. There are a lot of blind people out there now. I et one last week, a technician who works on mu A/C when it needs attention. I’ve known a few years. He’s a retired State employee who worked in the HVAC unit (is that what A/C is called? I never know) and now operates his few clients from his home. He told me he’s in his early 70’s which surprised me because of the things he believes. Of course, since I’m a political animal, we talked about the election. I said I have a serious problem with the disrespect and disgraceful things that some say about the Preiident. He said, “You know why don’t you?” I replied no then he said, “Because he’s a socialist.” I asked him to define “socialist” and he really could not. He also brought up Muslim, affirative action, hs “birth place” Kenya. I then said it sounds that he is perhaps more racist than he might realize. He denied that he holds any form of prjudice. Of course he doesn’t…but he doesn’t know that. I know this is short-sighted of me, Sue, but I don’t expect something like that from a native born Califorian, which he is. But he’s angry and believes everythng that he hears on Fox. In his opinion, the healthcare bill is illegal, should be stricken down, why he pay for someone else’s health care;h he already pays $800 a month for his wife’s and his Kaiser and supplemental Medicare. I suggested that the figure may be reduced closer to zero. He doesn’t believe it. It is fear, unwillingness to learn more, broaden perspectives, and see what is happening.

Murph has brought up the danger of massive amounts of money being used by Citizens United and others in their unrelenting pursuit of buying the most valuable real estate in the world. He has brought this up several times on VP, but no one seems willing to dissect it and include all our thoughts in the whole picture. I’ve noticed we take positions and rather than blending our ideas, weaving them into a whole tapestry that we design together, we repeat our defend our own viewpoints instead. POV has the smartest people I’ve communicated with in years; it’s a pleasure to speak but also to learn. I find no value in any conversation if I can’t learn something from it.

My personal feeling abour your fear is that we want to believe this won’t happen; we want to think that there will be some miraculous clap of thunder that brings people to their senses. I don’t know that will happen, but I think we still have time. Murph invited to come to POV and expressed the highest respect for all of you. I agree with him. I don’t know if you post on HP or visit it, but in my view it is one of the most important resources available, not only to post what we want (with some irritating restrictions that surface now and then) but to see how many people are falling into the trap that is being laid by the money people. Some are being paid to post on HP; they are evident; extremely right wing, new members, few fans, and they are surrounding Murph and other pundits with his reputation level. I am currently making links and archiving their comments to ID them. It’s blatant and left unchallenged can be successful. There are a respectable number of POV members but HP has hundreds of thousands. I had problems with my account a few months ago and Murph contacted his management sources who helped fix it. One of them emailed me to let me now the problem was solved and said HP manages more than one million posts or more. The politics section is heavy with activity. I would also like for you to know that Rachel Maddow posts on HP and has periodically entered conersations that Murph has stared. The Firt Lady also posts; she’s responded to one or two of my comments. What better way for the WH to guage the temperature of the voting public?

I’ve sensed that there is some resistance to HP here but I consider that a personal choice.

Sue, I would love to see your article discussed on Friday with a serious look at how we can start moving things forward. I think many are worn out by the incessant in fighting among Cable news networks. You’ve given us a great starting point for discussion, if not on VP then here.

I look forward to meeting you and CL.

AdLib
Admin

Hey Bourne!

As is no secret around here, I would disagree with you about HP being an important or worthwhile resource just because it has a lot of readers.

Did you know that most of their readers only read the celebrity and personal interest type articles? This comes from Arianna herself, explaining that most readers don’t read the news and political articles.

I think part of the attraction for people about HP is the assumption that what they write is being read by many people. That would seem to be a misapprehension. On a main article, the average comment is lucky to stay visible on the front page for a minute. Most people don’t go back to previous pages so realistically, how many people actually read any particular comment? I don’t think it’s that many. And extended conversations of any substance or length are impossible due to that, the 250 word limit and the constant censorship/moderation.

Another misapprehension is that undecided voters come to the site and are convinced by those commenting. Studies have shown that most people who visit blogs have very cemented political beliefs. Some may claim to have their opinions changed, in some cases, maybe so but if I believed everything I read on an HP blog, I’d have some pretty interesting views about Obama’s heritage, agenda and “master plan”.

My take on HP is that it is a brightly colored bug zapper, it attracts lots of people but only to kill their time and energy for profit.

I don’t know what constructive things come out of HP for the Progressive community. They are a corporate site owned by a very conservative corporation and help promote hatred and propaganda on a daily basis.

The only initiative I’m aware of that HP and Arianna were involved in was their hijacking of the “Move Your Money” movement, encouraging people to move their money from corporate banks to local ones. When that didn’t become a big movement, they just bailed on it.

Personally, I think that HP is an adversary of the Progressive movement (Arianna has declared that she is not a Progressive and her affection for Newt Gingrich).

Though there are some very brilliant and genuine Progressives posting over there and some Progressives do connect there, blogging at HP comes off to me kind of like participating in a staged battle but thinking it is an actual one. The conflict that goes on at HP is manufactured and irrelevant to most undecided voters who are turned off by such things.

Whereas, at the PragProg blogs like The Planet and many of those you’ll find on our Blogroll, Progressives come together to have substantive conversations, develop ideas and initiatives and have actually made a difference out there.

Just to be clear, this is just my personal opinion about HP but I’m not criticizing those who disagree and like blogging there. Many Planeteers blog there so there is no wall up between those who blog here and there.

Murph can tell you, I’ve shared my criticism of HP on a number of occasions but it’s just that, one issue we respectfully disagree on while we agree on many others.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Ad Lib…Just want to acknowledge your mention of our understanding to agree to disagree. Clearly we have very different viewpoints re. HP and that is ok. What we do agree on is a set of progressive principles and the value of the Planet in promoting them while seriously analyzing the give and take in any political-economic-social process.

AdLib
Admin

Murph, exactly. What is Progressive is focusing on what people agree on and trying to make a positive difference instead of focusing on and personalizing disagreements with others.

Disagreements are reflective of an open, honest and healthy environment so no one should ever hesitate to disagree with someone else around here. Regarding disagreements as personal attacks however is neither productive or enlightened.

That’s why The Planet is the way it is and why our prime directive is that everyone here deserves a modicum of respect, especially when there is a disagreement.

In this way, encouraging a civil discourse between people with different points of view, allows for enlightenment for all parties.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Yep…the Planet is where I go for these kinds of conversations. It is the place where my blogging batteries get recharged. Disagreeing without being disagreeable. Agreeing based on sound thinking, strong evidence, and logical argument.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Bourne, my reply to Sue addresses some of your concerns here. Your HP comments are right on the mark. I like them so much I would like to copy them and send them to my management friend. He needs to hear thoughts like yours as you focus on things I do not- you have a “feel” for the site that I lack and have the gift to strike up conversations with almost anyone…remarkable.

BourneID
Member

Thank you Murph,

i appreciate your describing my comments on the site as a “gift to strike up conversations with almost anyone…” My mother used to call that gift…”your big mouth!”

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

So…can I copy and send on to HP…

BourneID
Member

Hey,

Are you talking about my mother’s “your big mouth” or what I’ve said about HP?

I know whch one. Of course you may. Thank you; it’s a very generous gesture.

kalie
Member
kalie

Murph:
I post on HP also, on the politics site mostly. I have noticed that there is so much anger and hatred, whenever i post about GUNS or Hispanics. Most of my views are liberal, as i am anti gun and would like to see a reasonable type of immigration enacted that doesn’t leave us middle classers paying the bill. Anything that disagrees with the NRA or Hispanic talking points is given a pretty angry and sometimes violent response. I tend to avoid those areas now since i don’t need that in my life. Just thought you might want to know.

AdLib
Admin

Kalie, your views are very welcome here at The Planet and though many here likely agree with your views on guns and Hispanics, we welcome disagreements here too as long as they’re about the issues and aren’t personal attacks.

bito
Member

What’s an HP?

BourneID
Member

Good morning Sue

I read your article carefully and see the emotion that drives you to write. It becomes more clear as I personally engage in conversations and research that most of us are anxious about the direction of our country – even most of the Republican party members share your concerns except they’ve named the enemy – US. I am a registered Republican; I voted for President Bush because I did not think Al Gore would be effective in the WH. I supported Preident Bush’s decision to invade Iraq and now know it was an emotional, angry reaction to 9/11; how dare anyone attack my country…the world’s First Responder to any disaster that occurs anywhere in the world. I now know it was a huge mistake. Some mother in Brooklyn didn’t raise her son to die in another country to “protect our freedoms.” Interesting, isn’t it, that we now must protect those freedoms from the party that made the decision to send that son there.

There is a mindless element that has invaded the repubs, contaminated by greed, self-serving interests, and disregard for those whose lives it has destroyed. My view from the bridge, is that the party has taken a detour not yet on any GPS. They’ve entered the neverland of the uneducated, narrow-visioned who stuff their ignorance down our throats and the price they pay is loss of dignity and forced tolerance of those who came to DC to fix things but are now mesmerized by the privilege of elected office. Power is an aphrodisiac. But it is also a weakness when it reveals its true purpose, as did the representative who said yesterday that voter ID will assure Republican sucess in November.

If we move away from our angst and acknowledge the value in what this experience is teaching us, we can confront and destroy the ugly beast. We just need to find the right dragon slayer. A starting place might be to demand the media that does support the President is to keep the camera and mic on what HE is saying rather than focusing on Mitt and his dpzen gaffes a day. But make no mistake, we can learn from them. The Repubs are better at the “art of war” than we are. That was proven several decades ago in a memo Roger Aieles wrote when he was an advisor to President Nixon; Murph published that memo. Everyone should read it – is was spot-on about the psyche of the American electorate. Study the patterns; they always lead to the solution.

I agree with most of your list and I pray that all of it is not our future. The agency I worked for in Germay had a small library and in it was a full transcript of the Neuremberg trials. I read it. Hitler’s party was one of the most evil in history. Are we going to be there one day? Maybe not in our lifetimes but just maybe… In it is the conversation between the 2 judges, one American, one German, which was included in the great Spencer Tracy movie. He, the American judge, said to the German judge, Burt Lancaster, “You sentenced innocent people to die. You knew what was happening and you did nothing to stop it.” Sound like our Supreme Court future?

How many voters understand that once/if Citizens United completes its purchase of America in November, it will not matter what party we belong to. They’ve already made the down payment in the Supreme Court. We are losing justice;. Without justice there is no America.

Sue, this reveals much about you and the depth of your love for our country. It is an important post. There are too many good people still in the Republican party who would agree with you…let’s appeal to the better instincts of those who do.

MurphTheSurf3
Editor

Bourne…just left a comment for Sue that is also for you as your comment and hers spurred the thought.Take a look.

KQµårk 死神
Member

Put bluntly you nailed it. You’ve covered virtually all the motivations of the right wing. The right wingers fall under these categories to various degrees. Some are more social conservatives and others are ‘fiscal’ conservatives but what they all have in common is they are reactionary and motivated by fear and division. They hate change and are motivated by the fear that white folk will lose their grip on the country.

The only reason they are more divisive under Obama is because of the color of his skin. They literally ignore what he’s actually done with policies like lowering taxes instead of raising them like the GOP believes. The GOP is more like a racial identity club now than a political party, especially among older white men.

I do cringe a bit when I see direct comparisons to the Nazis because it just invokes such intense emotions. The Nazis where the Nazis and few groups in history matched their crimes. Even if the motivations of the right wing today are similar to the Nazis the actually acts the Nazis carried out were far far more horrendous. Of course the exception are right wingers that are card carrying members of know hate groups.

BourneID
Member

Hi KQ

I’m not sure that we’ve had any conversations on VP yet, but I hold myself accountable for that. I’m so busy trying to figure out where I am and where I should be during the rapid fire chats that I barely remember what we’re talking about. It’s nice meeting you finally.

You bring insight into your response and it’s important to the broader conversation that I hope will continue. I agree with your observation that we should not compare the motivations of the extreme right wing to Hitler’s Germany, but I do see strong parallels in their methodology. They lull the senses with fear and convince the uninformed that everything will continue to be fine, then launch the assault. Hitler had the Jews; Romney has the Dems. This concerns me more than the blatant lieing. How can we convince them that once they have given their minds – that which differrentiates us from one another – they have given up their identity and it will be used as the bad guys see fit. The answer lies in knowledge and in understanding our own deficiency in finding solutions.

we need to address the Republican agenda directly and honestly with Republicans, not among ourselves. We already agree, but we just keep preachng to the choir. To succeed in sending our message, I truly believe we must not succumb to our own anger which then denies us the chance for the type of discourse that might lead to the occasional “ah ha!” moment that’s rare but not impssible. If each of us can change 3 minds, think of the numbers exponentially.

See you at VP.

KQµårk 死神
Member

I hope we cross paths more in future as well. I’ve got a few personal situations going on so I haven’t been on the Planet as much as usual. But when things settle down I’ll be back more for sure.