Republican Party Hamstrung By a Buffoon by Merwin
The Presidential Megalomaniacal Buffoon
( originally written on my old blogsite 5/17/09 )
The title of this essay is a bit misleading in two ways.
First, I am not (at this time) speaking of the sitting President rather it is George W. I speak of.
Second, I don't think he really is a buffoon but simply intended to project the characteristics of one.
The
ultra-conservative movement has a few areas that are problematic and in
the next few paragraphs I hope to touch on a couple that I think are
the most difficult. And then I will tie it all in with the buffoon
assertion.
The Republican Party regained a lot of it's ancient
muscle memory at the time of the Reagan administration. The collective
persona of the party grew into what later became known as the religious
right.
Here is where I believe we can see our difficulties.
I
don't really have a problem with politics being populated with
outspoken believers, our founding fathers were nearly all pious and
devout and vocal about it. What I find troubling is that on the whole we
seemed to have earned a reputation as being arrogant bigots, especially
in the last twenty or so years.
Never mind the sound economic
measures that were implemented during that time, we are only remembered
as self-righteous flag waving, religious rednecks with a sin axe to
grind.
The economics of the Reagan Administration, what is now
called trickle down economics were first introduced and advocated by
Pres. John F. Kennedy (a democrat), and probably would have seen its
first application through him, should he have lived.
After Reagan
gave it life so to speak, George Herbert Walker Bush (who in the
primaries against Reagan, termed it Voodoo Economics) continued that
economic program (with variations) when he was elected.
The
economics (at least on the surface) were a stunning success and with the
advent and growth of Rev. Falwell's Moral Majority, followed by the
Christian Coalition, the Republican Party had strong legs to stand on.
Then
the "Democratic Rhodes Scholar" and his wife were elected and we had
eight years of them, with the GOP not losing too much strength.
But
evidently, something had to done (by the powers that be) to bring it
down to a balanced, non-arrogant view of itself. But more importantly to
pop the bubble of political empowerment enjoyed by the "religious
right".
Enter The Buffoon.
Now without going all
conspiracy theory on you, let me explain that I am personally certain
there is much more to the motives of "the correction" other than simply
to deliver a "spanking" to an obnoxious political child. But most of
that is not for this essay.
George W. shows up around election
time, acting all presidential and humble, and born again and subservient
to the wishes of those who he wishes to be elected by.
He
selects as his running mate (not on a whim) Cheney. Neither of these
guys are idiots, neither of these guys in the long run exhibited
impressively good moral behavior. Bush as a matter of fact displayed
fluctuating religious convictions inordinate with his claims of being
born again.
His willingness to lie to the American and
International community about WMD's and other similar symptoms are not
as troubling by themselves as they are when taken on the whole with
everything that his collection of cronies and policies exemplified.
His
leadership (or lack thereof) of the "Religious Right" has done more to
bring about bigotry toward that sector of society than anything else the
Democrats could have manufactured. And all this, under the lame
disguise of him being an idiot.
Sorry, his projection of himself
as an "aw shucks, down home, good ole boy" who just happened to get
elected on his daddy's coat tails and his firm belief in Jesus, doesn't
wash.
Honestly, this guy played himself up to be dumber than
Pinocchio and in need of more strings being pulled for him than the
story's puppet, before the "Fairy" gave him life.
With Cheney playing the
part of Jiminy Cricket?
Please.
In my opinion that whole
eight years was orchestrated to make the population of the Republican
Party become an emasculated version of it's former self. And though Bush
and Cheney are puppets of something much larger they are not dumb, they
are participants.
While in some respects that administrative
debacle might serve the good purpose of re-balancing the GOP perspective
i.e. making us less arrogant. I don't think that was the real reason
for the effort.
I believe it was done to remove the last
remaining bits of hope for the Republic and not necessarily the Party
thereof, but the general life force of our former American Government.
If this was the intent, then they (whoever "they" are), are well on their way to success.
Pinocchio, the Megalomaniacal Buffoon and Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s dark Intelligentsia Conscience, played their parts well.