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Stop the Charade
Posted
8-8-2000
Thank goodness! The Same Old Party (formerly the Grand Old Party)
finally ended their charade of a convention. It was an absolute farce
watching them move women and minorities to prominent seats for television
coverage and then to listen to George W. Bush and virtually every other
speaker try to sound like Democrats.
It’s about time the
Republican Party realizes that women and minorities deserve attention the
same way as the Far Right and big money boys do. However, you could see W
just couldn’t speak with any real conviction when he tried to be inclusive.
It is just too foreign to him. Where were the real party leaders, Dick
Armey, Tom Delay, and Trent Lott? They put them on the back burner and let
them hold court at the real party functions away from the television
cameras.
Since the Republicans want to
project an image of moderation, it wasn’t possible to put strident
conservatives like Armey and Delay in front of the television audience. But
remember, they’ll be the folks driving the Republican agenda if they hold
onto Congress and W wins. Do you think they’ll be worried about being
inclusive or will they stay with the radically right-wing social agenda that
they’ve been pushing for years?
While the stage show was
taking place at the convention, in other parts of Philadelphia, the real
Republican party (i.e. the unChristian Coalition) was honoring such
"moderates" as Bob Barr, Dan Burton, and Henry Hyde for their vicious
attacks on President Clinton. Of course now, after years of relentless
attacks on the Clintons, the Republicans want to stop the politics of
personal destruction. Well, it’s too late now, and the Bush family better be
able to stand the same level of personal scrutiny that the Clintons have had
to endure. Is it fair to say that the Clintons deserved the endless
accusations and innuendoes, but that the Bush boys' pasts are now off
limits? I don’t think so.
If anyone watched George W.
Bush and really believed that he was sincere and knowledgeable about his
message, I’ve got some swampland to sell you. Wait until you see the
contrast with Al Gore. The Vice-President is more intelligent, more
experienced, and has such a better grasp of what needs to be done to help
working families, improve education, keep us at peace, and move the economy
forward.
Beneath all of W’s rhetoric
was the only real message Republicans have, "we’ll let you keep more of your
money". What that really means is "we want our wealthy friends to keep a lot
more of their money and we’ll let you have the crumbs". Unfortunately for
them, the public has been wise to their rhetorical game. If we want quality
public services (besides military spending), it costs money. Investments in
education, Social Security, and health care are not inexpensive but they are
important to our quality of life. The choice will be clear this November, do
we want a leader that understands that you can’t have it both ways, or one
that tells us that we can have everything, including huge tax cuts for the
wealthy, and as a nation not make sacrifices for the common good.
There is another important
issue affected by this election. What type of people will be appointed to
the Supreme Court if W wins and will those appointees move our freedoms
backwards? Will civil rights for everyone be lessened if we get more
justices like Anton Scalia and Clarence Thomas? Will fundamental rights
enjoyed by Americans for years be eroded? I don’t want to take the chance to
find out that answer.
There is too much at stake to
be passive or apathetic. Do not assume we’ll always have a strong economy.
We never had the combination of low unemployment and low inflation under
Bush’s daddy or Republican icon Ronald Reagan. It is not out of fear that we
should vote against the Bush-Cheney ticket, but out of recognition that they
just are so out of touch with ordinary people that though they mouth the
words, they don’t understand the message. The Gore team will continue to
invest in making our communities safe, our schools better, and most
importantly respect the diversity of our American culture, so that more
people can enjoy economic prosperity and better their own lives. |
