Monday, October 16, 2006

Remembering the past but making the same old blunders

As the GOP once again descends into scandal, depravity, and treason, it must be pointed out that the more things change the more they stay the same. I wrote the following article shortly after the election of Bill Clinton when it was hoped that a new broom would sweep clean. It is a look back at the Reagan/Bush years —an era that I had hoped was gone forever. While Bill Clinton did not promise to undo every horror perpetrated by the back-to-back debacles of Reagan/Bush, he was a breath of fresh air sweeping across a fetid bog, a GOP cesspool. Would that it had lasted but a bit longer!

The last presidential election turned out to be a referendum on "values" after all —though the outcome was not what Dan Quayle had in mind when he attacked Murphy Brown. The real values of the GOP were not family values at all. They were, rather, elitist values, a charade unveiled by a failing Reagan/Bush economy. With the ascension of Bill Clinton, it was apparent that it was "...the economy, stupid!", that the GOP White House had for twelve years gone through the motions in a bubble. It was a White House isolated from real problems, real issues, a real world. It was a White House [like that of Bush today] of delusions, spin, and demagogic sloganeering. It was Bush [Senior], himself, who said in his second debate: "I'm not sure I get it". That was one of only two things Bush Sr. was ever right about. The second was "voodoo economics".

But the Reagan/Bush dynasty did not fail. It succeeded in "getting government off the backs" of country club cronies, oil barons, the upper one percent of the nation. Reagan/Bush would be more fondly remembered had it failed. Sadly, twelve years of GOP success either created or rewarded a privileged aristocracy still clamoring for privilege and special treatment by the tax man. This is success that the country would do better without.

The rest of us pegged the family values talk for what it was: old fashion elitism, intolerance, bigotry. What historian Henry Steele Commager said of Warren Harding and the era of normalcy which followed his corrupt, scandal ridden administration can be said of the Reagan/Bush years:

Never before had the government of the United States been more unashamedly the instrument of privileged groups; never before had statesmanship given way so unreservedly to politics.

—Henry Steel Commager

The pundits blame the President's lack of "...the vision thing". However, vision belongs to those who see a need for change and make constructive proposal in good faith. George Bush [Sr] may have been sincere when he said things weren't so bad. They weren't! For him and his rich cronies. Hadn't Marie Antoinette said something similar? Let them eat cake! Had not Herbert Hoover, likewise, opined that the poor might do well to sell apples and oranges from a push cart?

Pat Buchanan's "hate speech" at the GOP National Convention proved to have been a throw back to bad ol' days, specifically, the administrations of Harding, Hoover, and Coolidge when American society was materialistic, intolerant, an era when membership in the Ku Klux Klan rose to millions.

Much of the problem is the character of the American rich —the GOP's core constituency. They are overly impressed with themselves. They imagine that they are the "upper class". They delude themselves by thinking themselves intelligent and citing their wealth in evidence. The nouveau riche are the most egregious offenders, more likely to think their wealth deserved.

The English aristocracy —by contrast —are educated at Cambridge and Oxford. An American Rhodes scholar was impressed with English university life and summed it up this way:

Three thousand young men, every one of whom would rather lose a game than play it unfairly.
Those are most certainly not the values that can be associated with the party that gave this nation a slogan: Greed is good. Those are not the values of a party knee deep in the Savings and Loan scandal. Those are not the values of the Boeskys, the Helmsleys, Iran/Contra, Watergate, and Iraq-gate.

As mentioned this essay was written in the twilight of Bush Sr's regime as Bill Clinton waited in the wings to take the oath of office. If Bush Junior had merely picked up where Iran/Contra and the Savings and Loan scandal left off, it would have been bad enough. Alas, Junior was not merely crooked, he has attacked the very foundations of our republic. He sold out to his "base" —a venal cabal of the super, super rich, the defense establishment, and the oil industry. He has placed two nations into the hand of this Axis of Privilege and ruthlessness —the United States and Iraq.



11 comments:

Unknown said...

Fuzzflash: B43's despotic reign in one word: Gekkonian.

The Michael Douglas character did a disserve to lizards. I accord real Geckos more respect. They make loyal house pets and keep pests out of your house. And unlike the Michael Douglas character, real Geckos are harmless and are not venomous. No one could claim that the GOP is not venomous.

SadButTrue said...

The super, super rich that constitute Bush's 'base' (and base in this context can be interpreted to have several meanings) wish for a new feudal society. Leading from within their gated communities and walled estates, they shall exhibit all of the noblesse and none of the oblige of their predecessors. The American principle they most despise is the idea that all men are created equal.
Was it not men such as these against whom the American Revolution was fought? No, I believe the new corporate aristocracy is much, much worse.

Unknown said...

Indeed, the principles of the enlightenment are under attack from many quarters. The aims of the "super rich" seem self-contradictory. Even as their goals are achieved, their ranks are ever thinned by the very exclusivity they seek. They eschew the ideal of "equality" even in their own ranks. On another flank, the religious right is denouncing the principle of "separation of church and state" and that puts them squarely in opposition to Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Mason et al. Jefferson said that there is a "wall of separation" between church and state, while Washington declared somewhat testily that the US was, in no sense, founded upon the Christian religion. Unless "free" people wage another revolution upon the principle of the enlightenment, what may emerge in America will be a corporate feudalism basing its power upon religious revelation of some sort.

Sebastien Parmentier said...

You are right, SBT. It's a matter of time when Americans will stop beeing regarded as "citizens", but will be instead treated as "subjects" of a corporate aristocracy.

SadButTrue said...

The line 'all of the noblesse and none of the oblige' comes from a post I wrote at Friendly Neighbour on June 8th. Brave New World. I did a follow up on the same subject July 4th. Happy Independence Day I was pleased that these posts drew favourable responses from some bloggers I admired, including Len. As I was just getting my bloggers legs at the time, these responses were both welcome and critical to my continuing. Thanks again, Len.

Anonymous said...

Uranus has an interesting comment about overlooked features of the 2006 Military Commissions Act:

"This law will become part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Ask yourself this simple question: military commissions, tribunals, courts, provost courts, have jurisdiction over whom precisely? Active members of our military. Stop and let the meaning of that sink in for a few minutes.

In the big, last minute rush to protect Bush, Cheney and Rummy from a small aspect of their maiming and killing, Congress approved a law which, when enacted tomorrow, will legalize the indefinite detention and torture of our nation's finest, our own military--the people who volunteered to risk their lives to protect and serve America."

"All Bush or an authorized minion has to do is attach your name to the descriptive term unlawful enemy combatant and you can be taken away, held indefinitely without charges and tortured to death with no one ever hearing what became of you."


All of this can be applied to US military personnel. Seems like Bushie wants to control any patriots in the military. The legislation would appear to usurp the oath of office of those personnel. I guess if you are considering martial law at any stage you want to be sure you can control any disaffected members of the military. Way to go Bushie!

Sebastien Parmentier said...

Surreal! Bush comes up with a "Monroe doctrine" for the Space age.... Now earth will become a giant Guantanamo from which only the US can escape!

Unknown said...

All rests upon the ability of the GOP to steal the next election. And given the polls, a GOP sweep will clearly have been accomplished ONLY through outrageous fraud i.e. the continuing GOP coup d'etat at the precinct level. Secondly, if the GOP coup should fail this time and the Democrats regain the numbers that EVERY credible poll says they will, it will be incumbent upon the Democratic majority to fully investigate EVERY aspect of Bush's utterly criminal and treasonous regime to include the 911 conspiracy. Despite promises of no impeachment, the guilty MUST be brought to justice if justice is to mean anything to anyone in America or the world. At last, though it may take years if not decades, American credibility must be restored if there is to be any hope of nuclear disarment succeeding.

Anonymous said...

Looks like the GOP has already worked it all out and will get a sweeping victory next month.

Anonymous said...

You're right Len, Gecko's rock, the Geico commercials notwithstanding.

They are fascinating reptiles to watch, somewhat like the GOP. But the similiarities end there as as Geckos do eat annoying bugs and are quite beautiful. There is one other trait they share though, when finding themselves in trouble, their tails fall off if grasped, and they are able to regrow new ones. Sort of like the GOP when the butchers bill is added up for Iraq. Right now the counting is ongoing.

If only the GOP had the decency, or at least the reliable insect fighting skills, of the Gecko.

Anonymous said...

One more thing:

This about makes me sick:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/18/one-big-happy-family/

(Not pictured: Tony Snow, Dick Cheney camped out in front of his TV watching FAUX News, or the three part phone interview taking place between bubbleboy and Bill O'Reilly)