True believers-Contract w/ America
For the past 70 odd years the conflicting political partys in America have sought to gain an advantage over the other by using (encouraging) the lower class whites to believe that they were the party representing them. First it was by by demonstrating that they were the party to keep the blackman in his place. Then it was by proving that they were the party that supported the common man (the great unwashed; as someone once called them - as president, I might add - he really had a high regard for America ... Americans.). It always came down to gaining an advantage over the other by demonstrating that they were more prejudiced than the other. 'Til the 90's when Clinton took office, Reagan left the door open for the bigots (though I feel Ronny was one of the few just men, all in that he was not qualified to be president, but that he knew how to act the part).
It took nearly 60 years for the Republican Party to recover from their supporting the wealthy against the poor, middle-class, and rich to become known as being the "party of morality" (without any ethics of course). They created a new image - one of evangelical political fervor; without real substance, but with a message : "believe as you do; and maybe we do".
The real progression in the modern era was with Nixon, he supported and extended all of LBJ's progams - up to his 1972 re-election, when he took a hard right and began to allow the open murder of those that opposed his continuance in Vietnam (the College students that is). Still, Nixon was doing more good than harm - except to the constitution - to the country (unless one recalls the 15 -20% unemployment [he had the conscience to extend UI to 18 months - I mean Scientists were trying to get jobs at gas stations - maybe you don't recall], waiting in gas lines for hours, a 6-8% inflation rate. We were on the verge of 1929 all over again.
Along came Carter, the sap. American loved him, hated Roz his mate. Jimmy had promised to cut the bureacracy - and asked that every bureaucrat defend their existance (explain why their job was important - why it was necessary). One would have thought Jimmy was threatening to drown new born kittens - the outcry from Republicans (the "lets reduce big government mouthing party") was incredible (many Democrats weren't thrilled either). It was the horror of horrors for professional politicians - an honest man in the whitehouse. Which was ended by finding someone they could both control. Ronny - Mr. I'llsayanything,justtellmewhattosay.
Still, it wasn't enough for those that wanted to control America. They wanted to get back to the good old days of the 1880's, or 1920's - you know, the ones without regulations. Reagan gave them a taste, but they wanted more. Deregulation! It is almost a Republican battlecry.
Stats: Prior ro 1980: CEO's earned a 40-1 ratio to their employees (lowest paid) - afterwards it went up to 10,000-1 (even 100,000-1) and then some (who do you know that has +$60,000 shower curtains? for their maid?). Still, what the hey - if your supporting an ideal - even if the ideal is to make the rich richer? What's wrong with that?
Except for how it was sold. And this is how it was done:
1993-4, the proported agenda of the compassionate Republicans (to win office and rape America):
http://www.house.gov/house/Contract/CONTRACT.html
It reads wonderfully, I'ld vote for it. Shame one can't see through the deceipt it took in the years planning such hypochracy. More is the shame we don't have a second political party willing to confront it.
$455Billion a year to the Military-Industrial-Complex. Our nearst neighbor in that spend $29Billion. Who owns America? If we stop the funding of the MIC, will we remain free?
Bottom line? What happened with the "contract to America"? Was it a means to get their way? Or did it smiply serve the purpose for which it was designed? That being, convincing the white waitresses, truckdrivers, laborers, etc that one party could do something the other party (that was doing it -serving the majority) couldn't do - return America to 1860 without anyone noticing.
Then again, maybe that it to far back to go - even for the DixieCans. Who knows? Still, it seems odd that within a decade a simple promise can be forgotten, ignored, and any support of it by the formentors of it - smashed. Gee, who woulda guessed that Republicans would lie to gain an advantage? Not that Dems ain't, it's just that the GOP'ers do it attempting to use some kind of moral ground as support (ethics be damned, but morals seems to have an affect ... on some (dumb enough to believe words over actions).
Read, or re-read, the contract. It lies in the dust of the hypocracy of an ideology of greed. Greed, is the credo of the Republicans (and most Dems) - but it supports the future control of America by the MIC. The Contract was a joke at the time, and it demonstrates the lengths that some are willing to lie, to gain absolute power. It worked .... for a time (I suspect the2006 elections will balance things out ... again. Who knows, maybe not. Maybe we no longer deserve freedom. Maybe we just deserve a good commercial to tell us what to believe. Or, a smug smile to convince us we are safe.).
It's the Contract! Every principle of it was deserted by the people that proposed it. Why? Is it as simple as my original propossition? That once a party gains power, it forgets about the people - and concentrates on the money that got them their? Hmmmmmm?
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Originally Posted by Pannonian
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