The Republicans have created a monster that not even they can control any more.

[Unknown Beatle]

Do Not Call Up That Which You Cannot Put Down
-The famous maxim of Howard Lovecraft.



Here is something I've believed about Lovecraft, which has been largely ignored by his devoted readers (I am one too). Lovecraft's work was actually very prophetic and politically significant. From the early 1920's Lovecraft was virtually the only writer to envision a rapidly approaching time when one person or a small cabal would have the power to destroy humanity. Nuclear science made this a reality militarily within ten years of his death, but advances in communication and propaganda technology, coupled with the concentration of previously inconceivable wealth in the hands of a few, have now made it possible politically.

Over the last half century, and with ever increasing intensity, the Republican party has set about creating in the United States a cadre of living zombies, people filled with rage and hunger, and immune to any kind of introspection or critical thinking. Like any Lovecraft villain, the leaders of the Republican party were absolutely sure they could put down this army of the mentally undead whenever it suited their purpose. And like all Lovecraft villains, they were wrong.

We have seen a long succession of leaders now, who have nothing in the world to offer except their willingness to pander to the mindless, voracious minions they have created, telling themselves at every step that they are in control and that the minions will do whatever suits the interest of their betters. Palin, Bachmann, Ryan, both Pauls, Gohmert, Alan West, and now perhaps the most vicious of them all, Ted Cruz, who openly states that he believes the entire Senate should consist of 100 people like the unrepentant race hater and corupt corporate tool, Jesse Helms.

Today, we are confronting an ugly reality- similar to, for example, the one faced by Weimar Germany in the 1920's- it is far easier to destroy democracy than it is to create it. The hordes of ignorant, greedy, hate-filled intellectual zombies the Republicans deliberately called up out of the swamps of American dysfunction are now running things, and those oh, so wise grifters like Gingrich, Boehner and McConnell are now helpless captives on a runaway train, with disaster the only conceivable future.

More at Green Eagle

[The Magistrate]

1. The Man Has A Point, Sir

[Skraxx]

2. Lovecraft on Republicans:

As for the Republicans — how can one regard seriously a frightened, greedy, nostalgic huddle of tradesmen and lucky idlers who shut their eyes to history and science, steel their emotions against decent human sympathy, cling to sordid and provincial ideals exalting sheer acquisitiveness and condoning artificial hardship for the non-materially-shrewd, dwell smugly and sentimentally in a distorted dream-cosmos of outmoded phrases and principles and attitudes based on the bygone agricultural-handicraft world, and revel in (consciously or unconsciously) mendacious assumptions (such as the notion that real liberty is synonymous with the single detail of unrestricted economic license or that a rational planning of resource-distribution would contravene some vague and mystical 'American heritage'…) utterly contrary to fact and without the slightest foundation in human experience? Intellectually, the Republican idea deserves the tolerance and respect one gives to the dead. Letter to C.L. Moore (August 1936), quoted in "H.P. Lovecraft, a Life" by S.T. Joshi, p. 574

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft

[bluesbassman]

4. Seems H.P. was right on the money then and now.

Consider posting this as an OP for more exposure. Absolutely spot on.

[11 Bravo]

16. Agreed! This absolutely needs to be cross-posted!

[underpants]

5. +

[Warpy]

23. They'll never change, either

and there will always be a supply of young fools to join the old fools.

The job of the next revolution will be to abolish the pathways to obscene wealth and make it central to the whole body of law instead of something that paid-for politicians can abolish the way they did the progressive tax structure.

Plutocracy is the deadliest enemy of democracy and all democracies have been destroyed by the far right. There are no historical exceptions.

[Berlum]

30. There you have it

?color=White&height=350&width=350

[LuvNewcastle]

3. One of my favorite quotes from the X-Files comes from an episode

about a town run by secret Satanists. When disaster inevitably strikes them, Mulder asks one of the town council members, "You thought you could call up the Devil and then make him behave?"

The GOP has for years now catered to the most hateful, ignorant people in this country. Now that they've gained power and taken over their party and are poised to bring disaster to the nation, the Republicans who made the deal with the Devil are trying to make them behave. Well now the only solution is for the good people in America to show up at the polls and throw out the entire party, and that isn't going to be easy. And since the elections aren't until next year, the Devil has a year to do a lot of destruction.

[formercia]

6. ..and they did it with Mass Media, Religion (Cult Worship), and flat-out Lies.

Over the last 50 Years, they have turned the US into a Culture based on Fear.

[starroute]

7. It wasn't prophecy -- it was the way things were

February 1928 - The Call of Cthulhu published in Weird Tales - first story in the Cthulhu Mythos

http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/income-inequality-top-1-percent-household/2013/09/10/id/524813

The income gap between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America last year reached the widest point since the Roaring Twenties.

The top 1 percent of U.S. earners collected 19.3 percent of household income in 2012, their largest share since 1928. And the share held by the top 10 percent of earners last year reached a record 48.2 percent.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. "The hordes of ignorant, greedy, hate-filled intellectual zombies

the Republicans deliberately called up out of the swamps of American dysfunction are now running things"

Damn! You can't get any more spot on than that (although I would disagree with the word "intellectual&quot !

[FredStembottom]

10. Nit-pick time.

The OP means they are people whose Intellects are zombie-like. Not intelligent zombie people.

You're welcome!

[Fuddnik]

9. Reagan turned 'em loose. Now they're running around Congress.

[yuiyoshida]

11. Monsterous

[FredStembottom]

12. For me, this is the whole enchilada.

Media de-regulation is the original sin that brought us to where we are now.
Once de-regulated, the Media inevitably devolved into the hands of just a few men.
And they used that monopoly to actually induce ignorance, superstition and naiveté.

They unleashed the Devil just to get tax breaks.

[1-Old-Man]

13. I don't know about "original sin" but it is dam sure one of the 7-deadly-sins

There was a whole bunch of other deregulation that ushered us to this point as well. And then there is always the background of militarization and what has now become perpetual war.

The day the failure of the press came home to me was the day I learned of our new policy of "imbedding" reporters with our military in order that we would have a better view of our forces in action. On that day I told my boss, an old time newspaper guy with a law degree who had moved on to Government relations work by the time I worked for him, we had just seen the end to honest reporting of war.

If reporting is in the hands of a profit hungry few or the Government itself the public will not be served.

[Aldo Leopold]

14. One of the best posts I've seen in a while!

[AgingAmerican]

15. Gerrymandering is the icing on the cake

Republicans from gerrymandered districts are beholden to their idiotic hate filled constituents. It is those from the gerrymandered districts who are the worst in congress and out of control

[Tippy]

17. WOW....one great post...I have been saying for several days it's bye bye to the Tea Baggers

"Do Not Call Up That Which You Cannot Put Down" and to get this beast stopped will happen they have gone to far...we have already seen some of them eating their own but ( FOX News & Palen ) for example, but there will be more. I love this President Obama is going to go down in History as one of the Greats. I had this feeling ever since the night he was elected the first time. He don't really toot his own horn.

[DonCoquixote]

18. Rest assured

Those who are in control still are, just the GOP is about to become the next disposable minion.

[Hydra]

22. They might get revived again

Just like in 2009. Very useful to use as framing and to blame things on "obstruction."

As you say, the people in control still are.

[malaise]

19. Excellent read

Rec

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. Lovecraft also catered to a fear in white males that they don't own the world....

...and to realize that they are powerless before something that was superior to them would actually cause them to lose their minds.

[Rex]

21. Excellent point, they have summoned the Kraken

upon their own city!

[Green Eagle]

24. Thanks

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments. This is the first time (as far as I know) that anything I wrote has been noticed at Democratic Underground, which I have read for years.

A particular thanks to Skraxx for coming up with that excerpt from Lovecraft himself, which left me stunned. I think I'll have to add it as an update to my original post.

[lumberjack_jeff]

27. Welcome to DU! n/t

[gopiscrap]

28. Welcome to DU

[Unknown Beatle]

29. Welcome to DU

Your writing is excellent.

[kentuck]

25. "it is far easier to destroy democracy than it is to create it."

Pass this to every Republican you know.

[Kolesar]

26. They will have the "minorities" and the disabled to blame when they pull the house down

Then they will rebrand and reemerge as the strong leaders to restore order. Senator Portman is testing this message already.

[Democracyinkind]

31. I agree. So does the musical genius in the following link

&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DkBNVwPpwUtg

[SecularMotion]

32. Kick