Failing the Test of Citizenship

[Guest guest]

http://www.opednews.com/hershMike_110604_citizenship.htm

 

 

 

Failing the Test of Citizenship

 

By Mike Hersh

 

opEdNews.com

Millions of voters failed the test of citizenship, in part because

Republicans lie so effectively and the media refuse to do their jobs.

For example, Dick Cheney threatened Americans saying a vote for Kerry

was a vote for a devastating nuclear attack in our cities. Those most

familiar with real al Qaeda attacks rejected Cheney's indefensible

threats. Ground Zero for 9/11 - New York City, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and even Northern Virginia

supported the Democrats. Still, Cheney's vicious campaign worked by

exploiting fear of terrorism elsewhere.

 

Republicans created and benefited from a massive information vacuum

through dishonesty and immorality. Media irresponsibility helped

maintain this fog of deceit. In this environment, the Democrats failed

as teachers. The Republican method rests on manipulating misinformed

people, and making sure they remain misinformed and pliable. While

Democrats try to educate the electorate, Republicans try to trick

voters and - failing that - to deny voting rights.

 

Too many Americans just don't know the basic facts, and many don't

even care about the facts. That's why Democrats face serious problems

in elections. Those who reject reason - the right wing base - may

remain beyond reach. However, well-informed people should reach out to

the rest of the Republican voters who would have voted better if they

knew better.

 

Republicans enjoy an advantage because it's easy to manipulate people

through fear and loathing. It's easy to appeal to the worst in people,

enflame resentment and appeal to bigotry and fear than it is to convey

sometimes complex facts to people overworked, overstressed, and

deprived of sleep.

 

Americans failed the math portion of the November 2nd test. Too many

of us heard statistics proving Bush's economic policies failed

miserably, but don't know higher math concepts. Who can keep these

huge numbers in mind when one million is a thousand thousands, a

billion is a thousand times that, and the amount Bush added to our

national debt is nearly one thousand five hundred times one thousand

thousands or $1,486,097,000,000. These numbers overwhelm us.

 

When Bush took office, he found a budget surplus of $236 billion,

according to his own Office of Management and Budget. But his

profligate spending and his generous give-aways to his elite special

interest supporters squandered those assets. Bush borrowed and spent

$413 billion in our names, charged to our credit card deficit, just

this year. Republicans try to blame 9/11 for this, but all legitimate

economists point to Bush's massive gifts to his contributors and

cronies. Most of our money went to people like Dick Cheney and

corporations like Halliburton which Cheney ran and which still pays

Cheney a princely sum.

 

Everyone knows Kerry " voted for the $87 Billion before he voted

against it " but not enough understood why he did so. The measure he

voted for demanded accountability and fiscal responsibility. Democrats

and moderate Republicans were trying to make sure Halliburton and

others already under investigation for defrauding the tax payers

couldn't steal more tax money.

 

Bush killed the accountable approach when he threatened to veto it, so

Bush actually blocked $87 Billion before he okayed it. Unfortunately

Kerry failed to explain clearly that he voted against blowing up the

national debt with unaudited handouts to war profiteers. The law Bush

signed was not " support for the troops. " The approach Kerry backed

would ensure the money went to the troops, not to Dick Cheney. This

culminated a series of Bush lies which enriched war profiteers and

alleged defrauders at the expense of troops and taxpayers.

 

To review: First, Bush lied about the (non-existent) threat from Iraq.

Then, he sent our troops into combat on false pretenses without

adequate armor or equipment. Bush killed the responsible and honest

approach to curing his horrendous and reckless errors, holding our

troops hostage to yet another massive and unaccountable raid on the US

Treasury.

 

Besides the infamous $87 Billion Bush threatened to veto unless it

remained wide open to fraud, Bush's raids on the US Treasury looted

$1.35 trillion in 2001, $96 billion in 2002, $330 billion in 2003, and

gave over $100 billion more of your money to his corporate / special

interest allies this year.

 

The Bush/Cheney Treasury reports that as of 11/4/2004 each of us is in

debt by more than $25,000. The current total national debt is

$7,429,933,000,000. According to US Treasury records, Reagan and Bush

I policies added $3,506,958,000,000 to the national debt. Bush II's

failures added $1,486,097,000,000. The total Reagan/Bush I/Bush II

debt amounts to $4,993,055,000,000.

 

Treasury Data shows Bush, his father, and Ronald Reagan borrowed and

spent nearly FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS in our name. That's more than

two-thirds of the total national debt accumulated from the 1770s to

2004 in just under sixteen years. These three Republicans and their

allies in Congress increased the financial burden on each American by

an average of $17,000.

 

Before Bush rejected fiscal responsibility in favor of voodoo

economics, President Clinton was paying down this monumental burden.

Someone will have to pay off this debt. As Republicans shield the rich

and huge corporations from paying their fair share, the burden falls

ever more heavily on us, our children, and our grandchildren. Too many

voters failed to take this into account, mainly because Democrats and

the media failed to adequately expose and debunk Republican lies about

Bush's policies.

 

For data on population, public debt, and whose policies ran it up see:

U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, " U.S. POPClock Projection "

http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/popclock, US Treasury " The Debt to the

Penny and Who Holds It, "

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpdodt.htm, and " The Bureau of

Public Debt, " http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd.htm.

 

Americans failed the geography/current events portion of the election

as well. Two thirds of Bush voters and half of all voters still think

Iraq attacked us on 9/11. Even more think international and US

investigations confirmed Bush's early pretexts for attacking Iraq -

weapons of mass destruction, Iraq posed a threat to us - although the

9/11 Commission, Bush's appointed weapons inspectors and all known

facts establish the opposite is true. Polls show most Bush supporters

don't understand these basic facts. In this case, Bush and his

coconspirators cleverly deceived the public, conflating Saddam Hussein

and Osama bin Laden. Democrats and the media explained the facts, but

could not overcome cynical Republican lies about Iraq, al Qaeda and

terrorism.

 

Besides the points above, there's more missing information as well.

The pro-Bush mass media refuses to report how profoundly Republicans

cheated. They rigged machines, accused innocent voters of committing

crimes, stood in the polling place doorways and even inside polling

places to block and delay voters. All this intentionally and illegally

deprived people of voting rights.

 

True, Kerry made some odd mistakes which damaged his chances

culminating with an astonishingly premature concession. Data and best

evidence shows Kerry probably really won New Mexico, Ohio, and Florida

- and thereby carried more than enough Electoral Votes to win. Even if

the math is " fuzzy, " the rule is clear. If you break the law and cheat

- even if you merely make a razor-thin margin a bit wider - you lose.

Anyone who cheats to win in sports, business or politics - should not

gain rewards by cheating. Electoral criminals should go to prison, not

grab power. Otherwise, this is not a free nation.

 

That said, Democrats must figure out ways to communicate better with

the 1/3 of Bush's voters who aren't too unintelligent or insane to

accept facts. The media and Democrats must more clearly explain the

ways almost every Republican policy rests on false premises and almost

always hurts most Americans. Fundamentally, Democrats and the media

must expose ways Republicans abuse " moral " issues in immoral ways -

lying to us to hurt almost all Americans - while practicing the most

pernicious hypocrisy.

 

Specifically Republicans dishonestly, unfairly and hypocritically

smear Democrats by associating them with legal but unpopular things.

They also attack Democrats for " softness " on - even as they commit -

crimes. Republicans rail against but commit adultery and pay for and

get abortions. Leading GOPs like Bill Bennett preach morality even as

they enrich " sin palaces " packed with scantily clad women called

casinos. Republican propagandists such as Rush Limbaugh abuse drugs

while condemning drug abusers to death.

 

" Family Values " Republicans tacitly defend those who molest and even

kill their own children by blaming others for these crimes. Remember

Susan Smith? Newt Gingrich blamed liberals when she murdered her

children, even though her step-father who molested her was a local

Republican Party boss and " Moral Majority " leader. Even though

Gingrich failed to pay child support for his own children.

 

No one should blame all Republicans when some Republicans like Smith's

father abuse their children or when Smith and Andrea Yates kill their

kids. But when Republicans like Gingrich and Limbaugh blame Democrats

and accuse them of " opposing morality " the media and the electorate

should shun right wingers who engage in such criminal coddling hate

speech.

 

Since so many of their top leaders practice what they preach against,

Republican moral pontifications merely provide a smoke screen behind

which Republican economic policies rob hard working Americans of their

earnings in an unabashed class war which enriches the idle rich.

Republicans fool their voters by blaming " liberals " for smutty movies

and TV shows, even though bastions of the right wing like FOX and NBC

pour " degenerate " entertainment into the culture.

 

Republican demagoguery on race, gender, sexual orientation, class and

other divisive fault-lines dates back decades. Republican hero Joe

McCarthy ruined lives by spewing lies and distracted law enforcement

and public attention from real spies and real threats. GOP icon Ronald

Reagan - then nominally a union president and Democrat - collaborated

in witch hunts, betraying friends who trusted him, just because they

were less right wing than he was. Racist Ex-Democrats including Strom

Thurmond, George Wallace, and many others established a strategy

Republicans like Richard Nixon, Reagan and both Bushes used to carry

most of Dixie in presidential elections from 1972 to 2004.

 

Racism and divisive demagoguery - branding Democrats as " traitors " who

are " soft on communism " (updated to " soft on terrorism " ), who keep

" coddling criminals, " and give money to " lazy, shiftless " welfare

recipients - persists as the main theme of Republican politics. When

Democrats failed to contest these scurrilous lies, they've lost or won

by too little to prevent election theft. When they've successfully

communicated to the public, they've won easily.

 

Republican policies hurt most voters, so Republicans have to obscure

these realities. Right wingers nurse grudges and fan the flames of

hatred, resentment and division. They encourage the victims of their

pernicious policies to wallow in their victimization, as they mislead

their electorate. They point fingers at women (whom they call

" Feminazis " , minorities (whom they stereotype and attack), and the

mythical whipping boy called " the liberal elite. "

 

Republicans rely on " culture wars. " These divide and conquer tactics

divert legitimate frustration away from multi-national corporate

crooks and conmen and Republican officials who give our money to their

wealthy elite allies. Using focus groups and intense polling

Republican strategists refocus anger from the powerful guilty to

target the innocent weak. They get away with it because Democrats

haven't adequately exposed these immoral tactics and the media remain

largely silent.

 

Democrats have to confront Republican " culture war " bigotry behind

which the right wing wages class warfare. They have to work with

working people to educate them about the many ways Republicans attack

working families. To do so, they have to draw clear lines between

themselves and the Republican-backed " malefactors of wealth " who

outsource jobs, and refuse to shoulder their fair share by writing

loopholes into the tax code and setting up off shore mail drops as

their " residence. " Basically Democrats must do what it takes to inform

Americans better

 

Too many Americans failed the citizenry test. Another way of saying

that is Democratic candidates and spokespeople failed to communicate

well, in large part because of Republican propaganda (lies) and media

malpractice. Still, Democrats cannot control what the Republicans and

pro-Republican media do. They can only work to overcome immoral right

wing tactics and lazy or biased media misinforming Americans.

 

Democrats have to knit together facts honestly into a compelling

narrative. One which appeals to the best in people strongly enough to

overcome the hate, lies, resentment and bigotry elite-backed

Republicans concoct into a faux populist story. Now that Democrats

know what to do, it should be easy. In the end, the truth always beats

lies.

 

© Copyright 2002, 2003, 2004 by MikeHersh.com

 

 

Mike Hersh is a writer, lawyer and activist living in the Washington,

DC area. He is a pioneer of Internet debate and discourse who has been

writing essays about politics and economics online since the mid

1980s. He graduated from Cornell University and the Washington College

of Law, founded two small businesses, and then became a full-time

writer and activist. Hersh runs his website: MikeHersh.com which

invites you to reproduce, reprint or broadcast any material at the

site, provided you identify the source as MikeHersh.com. All Internet

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