They really, truly can't handle the truth.
They just can't.
The other day I was listening to Randi Rhodes and someone asked her a fairly simple question.
"What is it that Republicans Want?"
Her initial response was she really didn't know, because it all just doesn't make sense. I mean do that really want to put seniors on a catfood diet? That can be the only conclusion when you look at their plans for Social Security, the privatization of Medicare and the block granting of Medicaid. When your plan is to add as much as $12,500 in individual health care costs (according to CBO estimates) to people on a fixed income, what else can you expect?
Do they truly want to drive women back to the coat-hanger age? Well, that is the only rational conclusion when they use the intimidation of medically forced rape via vaginal ultrasounds from state to state on those seeking abortions, on the one hand claim that "regulations kill businesses" when they attempt protect the local community from pollution (because they clearly love The Cancer), but then turn around they heap ridiculous, expensive, unnecessary regulation on OB/GYN clinics to literally force them out of business so that even though an abortion in that state may be technically legal, it's physically impossible.
But don't ever tell them any of that to their face. That's when they truly begin to lose it.
It's not like it's obvious that the Republican agenda is to destroy and undermine the working class in this country. They attack and strip rights away from unions while proclaiming that they - and only they - are the true protectors of civil liberty and rights.
Yeah, civil liberties - but not civil unions, or civility to unions.
They have dramatically cut the wages and health care for teachers. For firefighters. For Police. Clearly they intend to privatize all of these functions, turning these duties over to for profit companies that will only provide educations services, fire protections services and crime protection services TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER.
The rest of us are just on our own.
If you need to educate your children and the $7000 School Stamp Voucher their offering won't cover the entry costs to the nearest for profit edu-money-mill, well, just Home School them. Who needs to Work to pay the bills anyway? If you need to protect your home from a fire, get a water hose. If you need to protect your family from crime - get a gun. Never mind the fact that one of your kids of more likely to shoot himself, or that a burglar is more likely to steel your gun and use it on you than you being able to repel an intruder, and of course if police do happen to be called to your home - they just might Shoot You by mistake.
And don't expect your friendly neighborhood multi-national corporation to come to your rescue. They're a little too busy buying your local, state and national elections so that they can continue to pad the pockets of their S-Corp owners or shareholders to worry about you and your life. If your an employee of such a company then shut-up an do as your told while they rummage through your personal twitter and facebook account just to see if you might be, y'know, socializing with someone undesirable. Like someone gay. Or black. Or worse yet - shiver - a Democrat.
They want to strip government down to it's bare bones. Leaving nothing but it's basic skeleton. No social services. No health care. No food stamps. No public protection. No City Council. No Mayor. Or if any, none that are effective. Just the Military. And even at that, at least half of that military will be Outsources to KBR, Wackenhut and Xse/Blackwater because there isn't anything that a principled Federal Employee, soldier or Marine can do that a contractor can't do far worse for three times the cost.
And god forfend you suggest that people who have $millions and $billions in disposable cash actually Do something with it to help the economy. Whether it's through direct taxation or through using tax deductions and loopholes that would directly and positively impact jobs, or bring more jobs back from overseas, or increase investment in U.S. infrastructure, it's been Republicans who've repeated said "NO! Never! Over our cold dead money clutching Hands".
Even when their plans clearly don't work - they just keep trying anyway. Cutting taxes for the rich has never worked to revive an economy. It didn't work during the First Great Depression. It's didn't work for Reagan, unemployment went to 12% when he cut the top marginal tax rate. Go on - Look it up! And when the opposite was tried, when Clinton increased taxes on those who could most easily afford them, the economy didn't tank, it grew dramatically creating 20 Million jobs and ultimately leading to our first balanced budget since Eisenhower. Then Bush arrived and messed that up completely.
And they wonder why the rest of us can only think they're a pack of craven, greed worshiping sycophants. Lapdogs to the monied elite. Surfs and shock-troops for the Wall Street 1%. That's exactly what they act like.
If they truly believe that a Government that governs least, governs best, then clearly they must be huge fans of the enormously successful governing philosophy of Somalia. What a Utopian, Randian Paradise that has turned out to be, eh?
When Randi went through this litany, (and I'm paraphrasing some of this are my own thoughts mixed with what she actually said, but we generally agree), she received a call from a Republican to complain that this is exactly why Left and Right can not work together.
He argued that Republicans love their parents, and love their children just as much as anyone else does. That they aren't out to turn the nation into "Somalia", that that's just ridiculous. He argued that they aren't out to destroy wages and enrich Wall Street fat cats.
Yeah, well ya coulda fooled me, pal.
How is this not the Republican vision for America? How can it not be, because unlike the nightmare scenarios of socialism, fascism, communism, kenyanism and muslimism that they incessantly and nonsensically hurl at the President in terms of things he "wants to do" (but hasn't done, yet).. these are all things that REPUBLICANS HAVE ALREADY DONE OR TRIED.
This isn't made up. This isn't fantasy. Most of these measures are things that Republican controlled states and the Republican House Have Passed. They already voted on this stuff and enthusiastically support it. All of it.
There wasn't a single Republican Presidential Nominee who had the guts to call out the Ryan Budget Plan for what it was "Social Darwinism" except for Newt Gingrich. Then he swallowed his tongue, and came out in support of the plan. Real portrait in courage that was.
There hasn't been a single prominent Republican who has come out in support of the right equal access to preventive health care and contraception for women. When Rush Limbaugh spent a week calling someone who was talking about a friend of hers needed contraceptive birth control to prevent her developing huge cysts on her ovaries - NOT ONE SINGLE PROMINENT REPUBLICAN CRITICIZED HIM.
What was it Romney said about "Not being the words I would have chosen"? Uh huh.
So clearly you don't care if women die from preventable reproductive complications. Stop whining, You've already proven it. Clearly you don't care if seniors die because they can't afford their prescriptions. DON'T DENY IT NOW -you fuckers passed that shit during the Bush Administration! Clearly you don't care if our children don't get a proper education again - BUSH PASSED "No Child Behind Left" which has been frustrating teachers and sending kids streaming out of the schools into the streets for a decade.
Don't pretend to us that you actually care if 45,000 American a year die from lack of access to health care - which THEY ALREADY ARE - it's clear that you don't care when you directly oppose any and all efforts to get them care. Republicans want desperately to repeal Obamacare, but they've got absolutely nothing to replace it with. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
This is all crap you guys have ALREADY DONE, or tried to do.
Don't come around crying about us being "Mean" when we call you on it. You voted for this Shit. you implemented it. We didn't. Take some responsibility for your own actions.
All of this is why we fight you, and why we won't stop. Ever. America deserves better than this, much better.
Vyan