Republican Motto Morphs From “Country Before Party” to “What Stinkin Country?”

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Republican Motto Morphs From “Country Before Party” to “What Stinkin Country?”
by Stephen Rose | March 15, 2009

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Just what are these rascally Republicans up to now that the American voters have finally responded negatively to this party’s natural inclination to govern badly? Are they helping the new Administration to clean up the mess they passed on to it? Are they ashamed to leave the nation and so many Americans in such dire straits? Are they showing any signs of contrition, shame, or humility as they unite around the new government in an attempt to help set right the wrongs they perpetrated on a nation, and the world?

Unfortunately, these are not things the Republican Party is doing after losing the last election. Instead, their motto subtly morphed from “we put country before party,” to “what stinkin’ country?” So what do Republicans do when not in charge?

They obstruct!

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During the loooong eight Bush years the Republicans finally and forever disproved their pet theory of “trickle down economics.” Their large tax cuts for the top one-two percent of the richest people in the nation not only did not stimulate the economy, and did not trickle downward, but rather, resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, along with a goodly share of corporate bankruptcies, and threatened to annihilate the true backbone of the nation, the middle class. (And I pass on mentioning all the other unmitigated disasters of the past eight years – been there, done that.)

So, what did the Republicans put on the table instead of Obama’s plan to spend and stimulate to create jobs and money flow back into the nation and economy? Surprise, surprise -- Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts! Obviously they’ve never met a tax cut they didn’t like, especially for the very, very wealthy. They fought Obama every inch of the way, calling his stimulus package nothing more than a spending package. (Well, doh! Spending and stimulus are coupled by necessity.)

So while numerous states were cutting a variety of government services and on the verge of bankruptcy, and the American people were losing jobs at an alarming rate amidst a build up to an economic crisis perhaps rivaling the magnitude of the Great Depression, the solution of the same people who facilitated and created the crisis was to 1) continue the tax cut for the very wealthy, something which did nothing to stimulate the economy for eight years, and 2) give small tax cuts to everyone else now in survival mode, those much more likely to use the money to pay for living costs and bills, rather than risk it by buying products they most likely have no dire present need for – survival comes first!

Perhaps the real truth about the state of the Republican Party and why obstructionism wins over governing, is defined by the present internal battle for party leadership. The contest for power between RNC Chairman Michael Steele, and the likes of radical right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, as well as the ever dangling possibilities of future “leaders” like Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA), Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), and yes (still), Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), make any rational being wonder about the sanity of the party. Is this the best they can come up with…..AGAIN!?!

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