Republicans Play Chess, Everyone Else Plays Checkers

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Newt Gingrich
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So last night I'm watching Jon Stewart interview Newt Gingrich on The Daily Show. And it struck me funny that the one time host of MTV's "You Wrote It, you Watch It" is now (along with Colbert) the only guy you can trust to really interview any politician and present tangible counter-arguments to popular talking points.

I guess I should let what few readers I have in on my political beliefs. Here we go: I want the government to use the tax dollars I give them to educate and look after peoples well being without being concerned about who has sex with who, what drugs I decide to do, how much I drink, and what I want to listen to/see in media. I think the Democratic party, as it is today, is filled with spineless gaping vaginas, who-if it happened today-couldn't come to a consensus on stopping the holocaust without polling their districts to make sure it couldn't be used against them when running for re-election. So I guess I kind of consider myself a liberal, libertarian...who knows. I just know I'm not a conservative.

Anyway, back to Gingrich. As I'm watching him spout GOP talking point after talking point (Government bad, Obama a Radical) and Stewart is successfully countering every argument showing exactly how silly it is. Then Gingrich outright lies when asked why the underwear bomber, that Newt has such a problem with being treated like a criminal and not an enemy combatant, is any different from Richard Reid the infamous shoe bomber and why republicans didn't have a problem with his being treated the same way.

"He was an American Citizen", said Gingrich.

Bullshit. He was British citizen of Jamaican descent. Now that's a pretty big lie because it shows that your argument is based on a false premise. But Gingrich didn't care. None of the Republican pundits care if their facts are wrong, or they lie. Why? Because the people who vote for them don't.

It's genius really. Republicans are about one thing, and one thing only. Freeing corporations and wealthy families from the tax burdens and regulations that have plagued them since FDR's new deal. Every republican sponsored bill passed into law in the last 40 years has achieved some part of that goal. Now that's a pretty small group of people to be helping so they have disguised there message in ingenius ways. Cloaking it under racism, populism, finger-pointing, fear, and creating a distrust of government by running it into the ground. They've spent over a quarter of a century cutting education so they's have a nice dumb electorate who would parrot their bumper sticker ready slogans any chance they got.



People I know, who I like to hang with, actually say shit like "The government never helps anyone." Think about that for a second. An adult citizen of the US actually thinks, and whole heartedly believes that the government has done nothing except give out food stamps and welfare checks. This person who I'm sure has driven on a highway built with federal money, camped out in a national park, drank tap water that the government makes sure doesn't contain lead, called a cop when an intruder was in his home, and a fire department for an emergency believes that the government cannot and has not helped anyone.

But that's the thing. Being a conservative is no longer a political leaning. It's a religion, and liberals are the dirty sinners. Republicans can be like so many televangelists and just spout whatever they think will get their audience to get up and act on their behalf.  They long ago stopped conceding to certain truths and began calling anyone who disagrees with them part of "The Liberal Elite" scaring off any media member who might take them to task on their lies. There is no longer true and false. There is conservative thought (true) and liberal propaganda (false).  They have welcomed racists and sexists into the tent and shown them how to disguise their hate for citizens of another color or sex under the banner of immigration, welfare reform, and anti-abortion.

Simply look at the last two attempts at big government reform. Barack Obama just about started another civil war when he proposed having the government provide healthcare for anyone that didn't want to pay outrageous premiums to insurance companies. Think about that for  second. People started rallies to protest a cheaper way to take care of their own family members who got sick. When confronted with the choice of their being an option for people to pay less or to continue paying higher monthly premiums to a corporation that may or may not honor their end of the bargain. People shouted from the rooftops in defense of their corporations. But when George W. Bush wanted to physically move your social security money into the hands of the same banks who basically set fire to our economy the mood was much more somber.

Republicans are a well oiled, well financed army for corporate America. And somehow half of our country still believes they are looking out for the little guy.