Republicans appear to be doing everything in their power to stop.....

[kentuck]

...people from voting for them. They are screaming for help. They now know that they are not capable or competent enough to run this government. They are ready for the Democrats to take back control. But the
people are not yet listening...

They know they have screwed up this country to no end. They have spent us into oblivion. They have quagmired us into a war in the Middle East. They have mishandled national emergencies. And now, they are ready to turn our ports over to Dubai, a small, rich country that had befriended Osama bin Laden back in 2001. What else do they have to do to get people's attention? Put the terrorists in charge of our nuclear power plants?

Please! They are begging you! Please defeat us in the next election before we kill again. We don't know what the hell we are doing. Please put those people back in that know how to run the government. We know the Democrats don't want to be back in power but we beg you, please throw us out before we destroy your fair country.

[waiting for hope]

1. Now the next step

is to insure that the Dems have a message....that's been pandered about the media like the bird flu is going to kill us all....Where's Howard Dean? Can't someone galvanize the party to be one cohesive group?

[ClassWarrior]

3. "Dems don't have a message" has been a big...

...RW talking point the past few months. I say, if you don't think the Dems have a message, why are you a Dem?

NGU.

[waiting for hope]

8. We all know the message -

my point was that the media isn't getting it nor are they willing to put it out there. Howard Dean a few weeks ago had to bitch slap Couric over the issue of Abramoff and the perceived notion of funds from him going to the Dems. Unless the country as a whole perceives there is a united front from the Democrats, the idiots who voted for BushCo and Repugs will continue to do so because they "feel safer" and the like.

[Warpy]

10. Dems have a message. They just don't have a WINNING message

They're keeping up the DLC line of pandering to yuppies and upper middle class types while doing nothing for the working class out there, under incredible economic pressure for the last 37 years.

Business as usual isn't a comforting message to people who have fallen a little more behind every year and now find themselves having to go into more credit card debt to put food on their tables.

You can't ignore your party base and hope to win elections.

[ClassWarrior]

15. "They??"

NGU.

[rox63]

31. The Dems DO have a message

But the rethugs have control of the media, so it's difficult to get that message out to the people.

[loudsue]

32. No, the republicans just want someone else to take the blame after

the next election, because they have to KNOW how bad things are going to get when the U.S. is bankrupt. Just like Carter, they want someone else to get blamed for their failed policies.

Same shit, different decade.

:kick::kick::kick:

[annabanana]

2. Well it's clear enough to tell

that they sure as hell don't want to Govern. They never did.

[Disturbed]

5. Isn't is strange that Rethugs keep saying that...

they want a small Govt. that is unobtrusive but then push for the following agenda.

Control of America by the Multi-Corps. Control of citizens social rights.

Oh, but their real agenda is this:

The Right Wing Agenda

Abolish

Social Security
Medicare
Employer supplied health insurance
Unemployment Benefits
Welfare
Abortion Rights
Collective Bargaining
EPA
Public Education
Public Housing
IRS

The Republican mantra has always been "Smaller Federal Government". Back in the good old days, a Republican's fundamental position was that power should be in the hands of state and local governments.

Cut to: Today.

As Government services continue to fail on unprecedented levels, one solution to staunching the raft of failures is privatization.

Consider:

The US Army Core of Engineers would be an ideal candidate to restore the Iraq Oil infrastructure while it was clear that the country was still unstable. But, by declaring an end to major combat operations, Shrub made outsourcing a viable policy.

Consider:

The Treasury, in fact the Country, is slowly going bankrupt - When there is no money left for basic federal services, like Prisons, Health and Human Services, National Security, Education, etc. The only alternative would be to Privatize those departments so that they could continue to operate.

Privatization of the federal prison system, for example, would mean billions of dollars per year to a corporation willing to invest it's own money upfront in order to stabilize a catastrophic failure.

Lastly, consider this:

Our intelligence apparatus has "Failed". According to the GAO, our intelligence and defense industry consume about 40% of every tax dollar collected.

In fact, our intelligence budget last year was up wards of 40 billion dollars.

Both parties are convinced that your intelligence apparatus has failed.

What to do? What to do?

Make it private?

Consider: Currently, our intelligence apparatus has been slowly segmented into spin-off's of their parent departments:

NSA, DEA, even Homeland Security.

If there's a terrorist attack on US soil again, because Bush initially opposed the creation of a Homeland Security Department, it could be a relatively easy thing to spin another failure in such a way (especially if folks are shell shocked from an attack) as to allow the privatization of that department.

Remember how easy it was to pass the Patriot act immediately after 9/11?

My guess is that Bush is not trying to destroy the country - he's trying to destroy the government. The ultimate outcome would be a broad privatization of traditionally government run services, with the end result being that out current tax system would be altered, or abolished. Ever single service, from garbage to water to Education to Health and Human services to well, you get the idea, would become Pay as You Go.

In other words - our capitalist democracy would no longer be suited to support the general welfare. We would become a capitalist fascist corporate state.

If you take a look at Shrubs track records, all of the services and the departments that he promised to fund and have not funded usually have some sort of private alternative already operating.

Health care, for example. He hasn't announce any sort of federal health care initative because the private sector is doing a killing.

Education - No Child Left Behind. The private alternative? Private Schools.

Security? Blackwell, Carlyle, etc.

Defense? Boeing, McDonald Douglass, etc.

NASA? All of the above. George did just say he wants to go to Mars, right?

And how about Missile Defense? When that fails (as if it hasn't already...) don't you think there wouldn't be a zillion corporations (Raytheon) lined up to "Fix" it?

New Right Wing

The New Right Wing Agenda
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0613-02.htm

[dysfunctional press]

12. there is an alternative to privatization-

if some private corporation/entity has the money to invest upfront-

tax them for it, and do the investment publicly.

[fooj]

28. They've been doing it all "IN PLAIN SIGHT"...

Peace.

[tabasco]

4. No, I think what you are seeing is the limits of propaganda.

Cognitive dissonance has its limits.

Only the most diehard kool-aid chuggers refuse to see that Bush and the republicans exist solely to support the super-rich.

The republicans continue the propaganda through the corporate media. It is both amazing and saddening that somewhere around a third of the nation still support the criminal cabal.

[zonmoy]

18. one third of the nation

is too stupid to breath and think at the same time.

[Joe Fields]

6. Are you out of your mind?

I doubt very seriously if that's what repuke leaders are saying.

[kentuck]

7. Joe Fields...

:) Only by their actions.

[Joe Fields]

20. In that, I agree.

Maybe the Arab coastal port issue will turn the tide.

Or maybe the impeachent thing in Rhode Island.

Or maybe nothing.

Nothing has stopped them yet.

[RC]

9. Maybe not in charge of our nuclear power plants, just in charge

of our ports.

[merci_me]

11. I'm torn

Part of me appreciates their help in destroying themselves, but the other part of me hates them for destroying my country in the process. I wish they would just implode in place, rather than spreading their evil all over the world.

[unblock]

13. they need the democrats to raise taxes so they'll have more money to loot.

[kentuck]

14. They've stolen everything except the silverware out of the WH....

and they have their eyes on that...

[KoKo]

16. Kentuck....please don't take me wrong on this ...but what you said has me

:rofl: Because what if what you say is TRUE? They are so scared at how they've screwed up and trashed everything...that they are praying that WE will save THEM from the MESS they've made!

I hope I read you correctly on this... :shrug:

[kentuck]

17. That seems to be what their actions say....

what else could they do to prove to the people their incapacity to lead? In reality, they seem to have no concern about anything or any of the danger signals in front of us...

[KoKo]

19. If only folks could wake up, then, and see them as the FOOLS they ARE!

The FOOLS.... ugh.

[kentuck]

21. They're doing eveything they can do to make them see....

But they are blinded by partisan loyalty and they can no longer see. They would kill their firstborn if the Party requested. Anything for the King...

[KoKo]

22. Lyrics: Beatles....."The Fool on the Hill"

(I always found that song a conundrum. Maybe it's because it points the finger around on itself? Check out the 8th stanza down in bold)

Day after day, alone on the hill
The man with the foolish grin
Is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him
The can see that he's just a fool
And he never gives an answer

But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round

Well on the way, head in a cloud
The man of a thousand voices
Talking perfectly loud
But nobody ever hears him
Or the sound he appears to make
And he never seems to notice

But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round

But nobody seems to like him
They can tell what he wants to do
And he never shows his feelings

But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round

Oh round, round, round, round, round

He never listens to them
He know that they're the fool
And they don't like him

The fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round

[leftofthedial]

23. the repukes are not running a government

they are running a con game

a murderous scam in which they are stealing as much money from American taxpayers as fast as they can

[kentuck]

24. Well, the Bible says "Steal once and steal no more..."

So they figure they should steal enough to last a lifetime....

[buddysmellgood]

25. I love that. Sign a U.S. nuke plant contract with UAE. Let them run them.

Maybe they should get to hire and manage airport screeners and the fucking Washington Monument too.
Thank you. That really puts it in perspective.

[SnoopDog]

26. It is so unbelievable that you are so correct...

This administration is doing everything imaginable to screw thing ups - on purpose. They have succeeded - they have looted our treasury, made every corporation richer, and they have the courts. They just want out and nobody, no matter how hard they try, are removing them. Such a freaking sad state of affairs. Even Britain, with both Downing Street memos and now, Australia with the torture films - we still do not do anything.

America, America, get off our asses.....

[kentuck]

27. It seems like they did such a good job at selling their product...

that now, no one wants to believe it was junk and a scam...

[annabanana]

29. they never were anything but snake oil salesmen..

.. sleazy PR hucksters...
(an old American tradition, fleecing the rubes)

[marano35]

30. yeah

[dogday]

33. This is what happens when the party that has the power

is lockstep with this administration. No dissenting views and opinions makes for big fuck ups as we are witnessing now. We must have people who look at all sides of a situation in our country than just those who follow lockstep without any independent thought...