MUST-READ: Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult (Truthout)

[highplainsdem]

http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779

This is by Mike Lofgren, who retired in June after 28 years as a Congressional staffer, inclding 16 years as a professional staff member on the Republican side of both the House and Senate Budget Committees.

What he has to say is damning for Republicans, but he doesn't spare Democrats, either.

Please read this in its entiretly There's way too much important stuff to quote all the important sections.

-snip-

The reader may think that I am attributing Svengali-like powers to GOP operatives able to manipulate a zombie base to do their bidding. It is more complicated than that. Historical circumstances produced the raw material: the deindustrialization and financialization of America since about 1970 has spawned an increasingly downscale white middle class - without job security (or even without jobs), with pensions and health benefits evaporating and with their principal asset deflating in the collapse of the housing bubble. Their fears are not imaginary; their standard of living is shrinking.

What do the Democrats offer these people? Essentially nothing. Democratic Leadership Council-style "centrist" Democrats were among the biggest promoters of disastrous trade deals in the 1990s that outsourced jobs abroad: NAFTA, World Trade Organization, permanent most-favored-nation status for China. At the same time, the identity politics/lifestyle wing of the Democratic Party was seen as a too illegal immigrant-friendly by downscaled and outsourced whites.<3>

While Democrats temporized, or even dismissed the fears of the white working class as racist or nativist, Republicans went to work. To be sure, the business wing of the Republican Party consists of the most energetic outsourcers, wage cutters and hirers of sub-minimum wage immigrant labor to be found anywhere on the globe. But the faux-populist wing of the party, knowing the mental compartmentalization that occurs in most low-information voters, played on the fears of that same white working class to focus their anger on scapegoats that do no damage to corporations' bottom lines: instead of raising the minimum wage, let's build a wall on the Southern border (then hire a defense contractor to incompetently manage it). Instead of predatory bankers, it's evil Muslims. Or evil gays. Or evil abortionists.

How do they manage to do this? Because Democrats ceded the field. Above all, they do not understand language. Their initiatives are posed in impenetrable policy-speak: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The what? - can anyone even remember it? No wonder the pejorative "Obamacare" won out. Contrast that with the Republicans' Patriot Act. You're a patriot, aren't you? Does anyone at the GED level have a clue what a Stimulus Bill is supposed to be? Why didn't the White House call it the Jobs Bill and keep pounding on that theme?

-snip-

Lofgren also says that the Republican Party of 2011 believes in only three tenets, with the rest of their platform just window dressing. These are their core beliefs:

1. They care solely and exclusively about their rich contributors.
2. They "worship at the altar of Mars" in their enthusiasm for invading other countries.
3. They pander to religious fundamentalists, resulting in the normalizing of what would once have been considered reactionary or quaint beliefs, and also resulting in the spread of anti-intellectualism and hostility to science.

[KG]

1. this guy knows what time it is...

[SharonAnn]

66. Time to take his money and run! The "money quote"

" in truth, I left as an act of rational self-interest. Having gutted private-sector pensions and health benefits as a result of their embrace of outsourcing, union busting and "shareholder value," the GOP now thinks it is only fair that public-sector workers give up their pensions and benefits, too. Hence the intensification of the GOP's decades-long campaign of scorn against government workers. Under the circumstances, it is simply safer to be a current retiree rather than a prospective one."

So, once the policies personally affected his financial well-being, he "took the money and ran". But, until that happened, he was part of the process.

I think his observations are right on, but he was part of what is destroying American, and destroying the well-being of millions of our citizens. But, "He's got his", money, that is.

[The Doctor.]

75. A Rebuplican to the last.

Just one who wasn't as adept at ignoring his own conscience as the rest.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. K & R, dammit!

Sad when threads trashing the president on the flimsiest of pretexts get more attention than opposition research. FFS, read this and then get back to us if you still want to insist that there's no difference in the two parties.

[scentopine]

46. "What do the Democrats offer these people? Essentially nothing. " - I don't agree, dems offer...

more outsourcing to China and India, tax breaks and tax credits for the rich, drill, baby, drill and the pollution it causes, decriminalization of rich and powerful criminals on Wall Street, in CIA, and in current and past administrations. They offer legislation (e.g. Health Care Reform) and policy written for Wall Street CEOs by Wall Street CEOs for a nation run by Wall Street CEOs.

Obama has done quite a bit that George Bush could not accomplish:

- drill, baby, drill
- open acknowledgement that torture will continue and will be decriminalized
- running three wars at once (slacker Bush could barely manage 2 wars)
- decriminalized wire tapping by private companies who alert the government when they believe someone is not being patriotic (FUCK YOU AT&T)
- decriminalization of Wall Street crimes while designing yet another "quantitative easing" which will flood rich people with money. Again.
- put social security and medicare "on the table". Jesus Christ - with all the corruption and corporate tax evasion and 30 million dollar CEO salaries - the only option left is to cut medicare and social security? Are there any real democrats left or just Republican stooges?

"Democrats" are doing something, all right. They are fucking us over just as bad as the republicans.

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zenlitened]

61. .

"Nobody can get the truth out of me
because even I don't know what it is.
I keep myself in a constant state of
utter confusion."

[scentopine]

68. If Obama loses, DINOs will blame liberals. If Obama wins, DINOs will

say it's because Obama appeals to a republican base and he needs to stay the course.

Independents? Centrists? Undecideds? All republicans.

Real democrats know what they want from their representative.

There is nothing undecided or independent or centrist about that.

Obama was setting out a magnet for republicans scared off by Bachmann. That was pretty fucked up.

What's even more fucked up is that Perry is now potentially picking up all the republicans Obama has been grooming for two years.

Both parties are fighting for the right wing. Obama does not recognize, acknowledge or support liberals. We are treated like an enemy by both parties.

In fact, both parties hate liberals. We need our own political party. Democratic leadership is composed of neo-con/neo-lib right wing zombies.

Democrats should not assume they can continue to take millions of votes for granted. We are fucking pissed at the political hacks in the dem party slip streaming behind the tea baggers.

[chill_wind]

86. "effete gay"? Calling long-time regular DU posters here "trolls"

simply because they aren't buying what you are?

Ugh.

[yardwork]

3. So he made a lot of money helping the Republicans and now he feels guilty?

[Selatius]

6. Be that as it may, his skills could come in handy in terms of advising Democrats.

He could be a powerful ally if he were hired over. The only problem is if the Democratic leadership wants the kinds of skills he could offer, or they could just go back to doing what they always do, cede ground to the Republicans.

[nenagh]

10. I don't understand why Pres Obama doesn't hire more articulate & media-savvy..

people to represent WH opinion on TV.. there seems only to be the talking heads speaking to 'insiders'

When W was in trouble, didn't a bunch of Bush Sr advisors join the WH team, and then they were interviewed on TV frequently?

Or am I just going crazy? off to the garden with me :)

[Beartracks]

57. Where did he say he made lots of money?

:shrug:

============================

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

128. Where he talks about how the GOP's gutting public pensions

He felt it was time to get out while he still had one.

[SusanaMontana41]

118. A person can't change his or her mind without getting trashed?

I give the guy credit. We'll need many more like him to help expose evil.

[Maccagirl]

4. I'm glad I clicked this.

I thought it would be just another "we already know that" screed, but it went a little deeper than that. Thank you for posting. It reminds me why I lost faith in the Democratic "leadership", and never had faith in Repubs.

[MilesColtrane]

5. And, we're sure Mr. Lofgren has quit his work on behalf of the GOP because....?

Looks like he's doing a bang up job of "they're all the same" vote suppression to me.

[RadiationTherapy]

11. You have made a very important observation.

Either you are right and we are being played, or you are wrong and our cynicism and fear are at such a frequency that we doubt those trying to help us. I am right there with you. I almost can't trust a person in a suit and tie.

In better news, my 10 year old daughter is extremely excited about her saxophone lessons. She loves it.

[MilesColtrane]

12. The great Lily Tomlin said, "No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."

Seems true these days, more than ever.

Glad your kiddo is digging the music lessons. You'll have to get her in the studio with you guys some day.

:hi:

[defendandprotect]

44. Sadly, the most efficient "voter suppression" occurring is by Obama and the Dems ... !!

[MadMaddie]

51. What are you talking about?

It is not the Democratic party that is submitting legislation for voter ids, limited places to vote etc.

If you are talking about people who choose not to vote because they are pissed...well those people need to figure out who is responsible for their action or inaction.

[defendandprotect]

54. GOP made Obama give up "single-payer" ... ?

GOP made Obama support a new generation of nuclear reactors in US -- ?

GOP made Obama support extension of tax cuts for the rich -- ?

GOP made Obama support new attacks on EPA regulations -- ?

GOP made Obama support the Tar Sands pipeline fiasco -- ?

GOP made Obama attack teachers/unions and public education -- ?

GOP caused Obama to end COLA's -- ?

GOP made Obama put Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid "on the table" -- ?

GOP made Obama elope into the White House with Koch Bros. DLC Rahm Emmanuel -- ?

GOP made Obama pick a Wall Street team -- the very people who created the meltdown -- ?


Not only did Obama do all of these things with his own little hatchet, Rahm Emmanuel

then "crowed" about it -- telling business how "grateful" they should be to Obama ....

ESPECIALLY FOR PRESERVING THE PRIVATE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY!

AND FOR 'BILLIONS' IN LUCRATIVE NEW CONTRACTS FOR BUSINESS FROM THE STIMULUS!

Can't wait until all Democrats have is control of the House --

then we can run everything --!!

:rofl: -- :rofl: -- :rofl: --



Obama/Dems are suppressing the vote by ignorning the will of the people --

and, btw, moving more and more to the "immaculate conception" style of back room deals

with no real accountability. We saw this in Obama's back room deals with Big Pharma and

the private H/C industry. Over and again -- so that even Harry Reid wondered why he had

absolutely no info on Obama's private deals with GOP on budget -- !

[MadMaddie]

56. Ummm the joke is on you perhaps all of those things are true

However; when one discusses voter Suppresion let's not play the Republican game of giving a new definition to terminology because it fit's into one's argument.

Voter Suppresion....

Jim Crow
Water Hoses
Lynching
Reading and Writing Tests

So if you are angry because legislation was not properly handled then fine...I am not pleased with some things that have occurred either.

Please do not play this game...he is not and the Democratic party is not preventing people from voting.

[defendandprotect]

64. If there is any game-playing it is on your end...MANY ways to suppress turn out and 2010 ...

was but one example of it!!

It happened because of Obama's betrayal on universal healh care -- !!

Certainly we all know that limiting POPULIST content is another way to suppress the vote.

Al Gore found that out when he followed the advice of the Koch Bros./DLC in his campaign --

and resigned from the DLC after the election.


To suggest that the only ways to suppress turn out are those you listed is game-playing!

If you are not being disingenuous, then you simply have a very narrow view of what voter

suppression is all about.

Presidential debates held by private corporation -- established and agreed upon by both

parties -- also limits the scope of the debate -- especially to exclude POPULIST concepts.


And certainly none of this is a joke -- it is sad --

but it is reality and we have to face it --

[Qutzupalotl]

72. You're talking about depression, not suppression.

[defendandprotect]

81. When voters don't come out because Obama makes back room deals with Big Pharma ....

and the private H/C industry to 'PRESERVE THE PRIVATE H/C INDUSTRY'

that works to suppress the vote -- i.e., many Dems stayed home in 2010.

You certainly know what I am saying to you, though you are avoiding

acknowledging the causes -- while game-playing with words.

[Qutzupalotl]

110. No, it works to DEPRESS the vote.

The one is illegal, the other is poor policy.

It's not game-playing with words to use them correctly.

And I think you have me confused with another poster.

[defendandprotect]

112. Only in your narrow thinking -- meanwhile ....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1868596&mesg_id=1873996

that's just in case you want to expand your thinking -- !!


Meanwhile, you're on ignore --

[Qutzupalotl]

114. How about in the fucking DICTIONARY.

:grr:


On edit: It takes some gall to accuse other people of playing games with words when you're the one using them incorrectly.

[MadMaddie]

117. Sorry but it is suppression... I have provided the dictionary

definition of suppression.


I am African American and I know my family history and I know Black history in this country. When I referred to lynchings, reading and writing tests to vote, voter ids.....this all happened to black America long before it was applied to folks that are white and poor, liberals etc. History is there for us to understand what is happening to us in the present.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/suppress

Suppression
sup·press   /səˈprɛs/ Show Spelled Show IPA
verb (used with object)
1. to put an end to the activities of (a person, body of persons, etc.): to suppress the Communist party.
2. to do away with by or as by authority; abolish; stop (a practice, custom, etc.).
3. to keep in or repress (a feeling, smile, groan, etc.).
4. to withhold from disclosure or publication (truth, evidence, a book, names, etc.).
5. to stop or arrest (a flow, hemorrhage, cough, etc.).

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/03/27/153179/report-from-poll-taxes-to-voter-id-laws-a-short-history-of-conservative-voter-suppression/

History of Voter Suppression
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_(1955%E2%80%931968)

http://electiondefensealliance.org/beware_these_voter_suppression_and_vote_counting_fraud_tactics

[Qutzupalotl]

125. Suppression is forcible and active.

Depression can simply be the result of bad policy.

It's not right to conflate an uninspiring politician with the deliberate voter suppression schemes we saw in the 60's and still find today in voter ID laws. They are not the same thing. The end result is the same — lower turnout — but the methods and motives are very different.

[scentopine]

74. Perry is counting on dem right wingers to piss-off millions of liberals so they stay home...

so far, everything is going according to plan.

[defendandprotect]

82. No -- Koch Bros. DLC RW Dems are working to push for a "lesser of evil" vote ....!!

Has a lot to do with $$$$$$$$$$ for the party --

The Koch Bros. DLC may not want liberals around, but they still want the $$$$.

You can see that every day on DU -- FEAR BASED voting -- all the rage here!

[scentopine]

119. Right - but Perry is laughing his ass off at dumb shit DLC types

who are pissing off liberals like never before. The fear campaign is just throwing gas on the fire because people can see that Obama can't run on his record so they are throwing fear into our faces, which is so transparently facile, it would be funny if it weren't making everyone so fucking angry at democratic party that many people are swearing to never spend a dollar or vote for another dem again.

In an amazing expression of idiocy, Dem party seems quite OK with this, because they think republican cross over voters are all that matters.

Democrats are like that jazz/rock fusion music shit. There's jazz, and there's rock. When you try the cross over thing, most of the time, it is just the lamest shit on the planet. That's where the dem party is.

Obama is like Kenny G. We don't need smooth and sultry bedtime music. We need some goddammn headbanging.

[SharksBreath]

100. Obama's 2012 Bumper Sticker.

Vote for Obama. I suck less than the Republicans.

[Creideiki]

107. There are three tiers of voter suppression:

legal hoops,

messaging tactics and disinformation

and demoralization.

The first two are mastered by Republicans. The third by Democrats.

[defendandprotect]

111. "DEMORALIZATION" .... Thank you for including that because many here don't get it -- !!!

It makes me very sad when I see DU posters waking up but announcing they are

going to just not vote -- that's "demoralization" --

We all need to stick together -- this is a liberal nation -- and we are a huge

liberal voting bloc --


:hi:

[MadMaddie]

126. I tried to explain this in post 117 to no avail....

[Occulus]

78. Reread what he said about use of language.

He's spot-on there; neither Obama nor any other Democrat at the congressional level understands how to manipulate the mind with words.

[defendandprotect]

85. Democrats have been practicing SILENCE for decades -- GOP practicing Goebbels' style propaganda --!!

That's the difference ... !!

Do you recall that they were studying old NAZI propaganda films in the

Nixon White House -- with at least one very crude event surrounding one

of those get-togethers --

And later that the GOP was supplying tape recordings every day for GOP

members to follow -- the message of the day - get it out no matter what

you are asked or the topic is!

I've been amazed that it took so long even for writers to begin to comment

on the rw propaganda as being imbedded in Goebbels' style think!

[Scuba]

98. Bingo.

[stillwaiting]

105. I have to disagree.

Their purposeful and conscious choice of words has one intent, and that is to COMPLETELY eliminate any consideration or chance of enacting left wing and liberal economic policy.

I believe they manipulate their own base to believe that it is hopeless and impossible to achieve truly liberal reforms.

Every thing they say and do (and everything they DON'T say and do) leads me to this belief.

So, they do understand how to manipulate the minds of others. They are, unfortunately, serving their true masters and engaging in
psychological warfare against their own base.

Tragic...

Oh, and I truly believe that Obama doesn't care if he gets re-elected or not. He even said so himself. He's going to do what he believes
regardless. Democrats that continue to serve the financial elite over the average American will be compensated beyond our wildest dreams for their actions.

Even with the above beliefs, I am STILL voting for Obama. Unless there is a credible chance of electing a more liberal Democrat (or other) than Obama, I feel forced to do so, and this does not make me very happy.

[spooked911]

103. no, he wasn't saying they are all the same

his analysis rang pretty true to me. Did you read the whole thing?

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. Exactly, exactly right.

It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe. This trend has several implications, none of them pleasant.

[Honeycombe8]

8. Wow. What an excellent article. And it's spot on. This article should be read by every Democrat..

in Congress AND the President and his VP.

It has had a strong impact on me, and bolsters my thoughts that the current Democratic leaders just don't know how to communicate or stand up for anything.

[russspeakeasy]

33. This current bunch of democrats would have to grow a pair

and I don't know that reading has much affect on hormones. They don't stand up and when they speak, it's bullshit about how bad the rethugs are....:bounce: :bounce:

[Supersedeas]

129. The Wasserman-Schultz's of the Party have different constituents to stand up for.

[PA Democrat]

9. I agree that this is a must-read.

The author also shows how the corporate media is complicit in the GOP's destruction of America. They do little more than fuel the anger of uninformed voters.

[lady lib]

13. This is required reading for everyone - especially your RW relatives et al.

I posted a link on FB and everyone else should, too.

[abelenkpe]

14. K&R please read nt

[Tennessee Gal]

15. This needs to be widely distributed.

It confirms what we politically knowledgeable folks already knew, understood, and believed in easy to understand segments.

Thank you so much for posting it.

[highplainsdem]

116. You're welcome. I hope Keith and Rachel will invite Lofgren on their shows.

[steve2470]

16. Excellent piece ! Sticky material for GD and GDP !

I hope he stays out of small planes, and I'm also awaiting his savaging by the sociopathic Right.

[DirkGently]

17. Astute observations. (nt)

[Stuart G]

18. k & r thanks for posting...nt

[WillyT]

19. HUGE K & R !!! - MUST READ !!!

:kick:

[rhett o rick]

20. Spot on. But what are we going to do. nm

[tblue37]

21. The money quote:

"As Hannah Arendt observed, a disciplined minority of totalitarians can use the instruments of democratic government to undermine democracy itself."

[MichiganVote]

22. Very concise and very true. BUT, time to think about the consequences of all of this.

With the advent of global warming, more oil and gasoline wars....the future is perilous for ourselves but also our children. The coming calamity will make the civil war look like a schoolyard fracas.

The rich pigheads are already taking care of theirs, at our expense. Most of us "own" something, even the "earned benefits".

They want it all. All of it.

[TBF]

50. "They want it all. All of it." - it's something else isn't it

and very true. Unfortunately we also have a bunch of complicit dems (including the white house).

[alfredo]

23. k&R

[Tuesday Afternoon]

24. k&r&bkmrkd

thanks

[Uncle Joe]

25. I don't agree with the author re; NAFTA's lack of value but this is an outstanding analysis/column

and well worth the read.

Thanks for the thread, highplainsdem.:thumbsup:

[skypilot]

26. I'm glad I read this but...

...I'm always a little ambivalent about GOP operatives who suddenly see the light after SO MANY years. Judging from the masterful way he wrote about his subject, this guy's insight didn't just develop overnight, and, if I understand correctly, he's finally getting out now because he fears for his own pension. Better late than never, I guess, but we need GOP insiders like this guy to come forward MUCH sooner than they usually do. Thanks for posting this though, it is indeed a must-read.

[zalinda]

27. Wow, I just posted something similar in a different thread.

Although, I used Obama as an example. Clinton did much better at delivering the message than most dems.

zalinda

[Mosaic]

28. In my dream

Democrats rise up, fight, and eliminate the republican party permanently. In fact in my dream ALL conservatives are eliminated. We are left behind to create a government that works solely for the people, all the rich, corrupt, greedy, and arrogant gone. That's a dream worth fighting for.

[blkmusclmachine]

29. GOP/"New DEM's" painted as Christian Dominionists. Sounds about right to me.

:kick:

[myrna minx]

30. K&R n/t

[southernyankeebelle]

31. Well I would like to know when the hell are we going to finally put this group

past us and finally get our country back? No one is winning know but the rich with the help of the supreme court.

[bemildred]

32. Well done. Our very own cargo cult. nt

[formercia]

36. Cargo Occultism:

The term "cargo cult" has been used metaphorically to describe an attempt to recreate successful outcomes by replicating conditions associated with those outcomes, even though those conditions are either effects and not causes of those outcomes, or they are conditions that are necessary but not sufficient to bring about the outcomes. In the former case, this is an example of the post hoc ergo propter hoc logical fallacy.

The metaphorical use of "cargo cult" was popularized by physicist Richard Feynman at a 1974 Caltech commencement speech, which later became a chapter in his book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, where he coined the phrase "cargo cult science" to describe science that had some of the trappings of real science (such as publication in scientific journals) but which he considered wholly unscientific due to its lack of a basis in honest experimentation.

Later, the term cargo cult programming developed, to describe computer software that contains elements that are unnecessary for the task at hand, but which were copied because they have been used successfully in other software.

Novelist Chinua Achebe, in his 1984 book The Trouble with Nigeria, criticized what he called the "cargo cult mentality" of the rulers of many developing countries, who, he wrote, issued lofty proclamations about the future of their countries without any corresponding effort to bring about those improvements.<6>

Economist Bryan Caplan has referred to Communism as "the largest cargo cult the world has ever seen", describing 20th-century Communist leaders' economic strategy as "mimicking a few random characteristics of advanced economies", such as the production of steel.<7>

American rock critic Robert Duncan used cargo cults as an organizing metaphor for the social dislocations in 1960s and 70s America in The Noise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult

[bemildred]

37. Well, I got it from a movie named "Mondo Cane" back in the 1960s.

But yeah, that's it. The USA has had its share too, all those TV preachers, all that "power of positive thinking" drivel, P. T. Barnum knew what he was talking about.

[formercia]

39. World going to the Dogs

I remember that Movie. Nothing much seems to have changed.

[bemildred]

40. Indeed. nt

[SpiralHawk]

99. Mondo republiCANE (R)

[russspeakeasy]

34. Mike Lofgren reminds me of the old saying...

"you can't polish a turd".:puke:

[KoKo]

35. This whole article is a good read...not just the Dem part of it all...K&R!

[libodem]

38. Long Read

But good.

[pa28]

41. One of the most cogent observations I've read in a long time. This guy understands.

He summed up my current feeling pretty well.

"I left because I was appalled at the headlong rush of Republicans, like Gadarene swine, to embrace policies that are deeply damaging to this country's future; and contemptuous of the feckless, craven incompetence of Democrats in their half-hearted attempts to stop them."

[SpiralHawk]

42. the k

and the r

[TygrBright]

43. My gawd, that was depressing.

I hope he is wrong.

I fear he is correct.

The last time things got this bad, towards the end of the 19th Century, it took a 40-year, sustained wave of focused, violent, upheavals to put sufficient frighteners on our beloved Oligarchs.

I do not want to see shooting in our streets. I do not want to see angry citizens mown down by private armies again.

But to me, it looks as though we are almost there.

worriedly,
Bright

[Martin Eden]

45. Yes, MUST READ !!!

K&R

[defendandprotect]

47. Corporate $$$$$$$$$$$$ buys a lot of Dem Party SILENCE .....

How do they manage to do this? Because Democrats ceded the field.

Can't believe there's still anyone here who think Dems are just dumb -- !!

[anAustralianobserver]

59. But the Dems are afraid of more than their money drying up. They're afraid of the Republicans being

back in power and afraid for their country - and yes they're afraid of their complicities being exposed and their personal reputations being destroyed (eg Weiner) - but few of them are cynically trying to destabilise the government in the way that a big chunk of the R party is!

[defendandprotect]

65. They're more worried about their personal fortunes, imo.... who they'll lobby for ...

when they retire --

Thom Hartmann was mentioning the other day that he thought that -- not sure if he

said Mitch McConnell -- think it was him -- but could have been Boehner --

when McConnell retired from Congress he would probably go to work for Koch Bros.

at $5 million a year -- !!

[anAustralianobserver]

69. I think of the Dem leadership as intimidated partially-complicit centrists rather than

cynical Trojan horses, though I agree there must be key people in the Dem establishment who are corrupt/Trojan horses.

[defendandprotect]

87. RW Koch Bros. funded the DLC ...

they used it to infiltrate the Dem Party -- influence its agenda --

select it's candidates -- even its presidential candidates --

Remember Rahm Emmanuel, at all?


This also, of course, included other corporations -- like the criminal Pfizer

and Chevron corporations -- !!

You think their effect on the party was benigh?

[anAustralianobserver]

90. I think it's critical to distinguish Obama, Pelosi, Reid (ineffective and nontransparent as they

have been) from the real DINOs who coerce and hoodwink the leadership into the back-room deals. The real conspirators use conspiracism to cover themselves...

eg on the right Alex Jones listeners are kept in a paralysis. He was one of the first out of the gate saying Obama is part of the 'global elite' which is a valid argument (considering the 'looking forward' injustices), but it leads to a baby-out-with-bathwater mindset that results in political and psychological paralysis. Similar thinking paralyses the Left and paralysed my thinking for years.

I agree with you that the corruption is worse than perhaps most want to admit and must be exposed but, as characterised in the article:

"...both parties are not rotten in quite the same way. The Democrats have their share of machine politicians, careerists, corporate bagmen, egomaniacs and kooks. Nothing, however, quite matches the modern GOP... {which has become} an insurrectionist party".

[anAustralianobserver]

115. edit: I made a little misquote

The writer didn't call the modern GOP an "insurrectionist party". He quoted someone else who called them an "insurrectionary party".

[TwilightGardener]

122. I think this is a spot-on observation.

:thumbsup:

[Sherman A1]

48. Thanks for Posting

:kick:

[Raine]

49. Interesting ... THANKS for posting this! nt

:thumbsup:

[WillyT]

52. This Article Should Be Pinned Here, Until All DUers Have Read It...

:kick:

[anAustralianobserver]

53. Great writing - lots of useful constructions.

'Low-information voters' are actually psychologically compartmentalised 'misinformation voters', being played by Republican Party plutocrats who are cynically destabilising government using scapegoating and the stoking of paranoid, dissociative religious fundamentalism (and I would add paranoid, dissociative libertarian conspiracism).

[Beartracks]

58. It all makes so much sense.

This really articulates well what I've been witnessing even since only the Clinton administration (when I really started to pay attention). The essay really lays out a unifying theory of the demise of the American democratic process.

Thank you for posting this. I'm sending it to my GOP-voting relatives -- which, unfortunately, is nearly all of them.

=============================

[Rectangle]

60. If there was ever a thread that could use a "Sticky", this is it!!! n/t

[moondust]

62. Excellent.

K/R

[DeSwiss]

63. K&R n/t

[jwhitesj]

67. Bookmarking to read later

[TomClash]

70. Moral Memo to Mike

You don't get to help burn down the house and then complain about the arsonists. You're one of them. Still. Even after your mea culpa.

[shanti]

71. he nailed it

wow, great article, thanks for sharing. some people are waking up!

[nadinbrzezinski]

73. I personally liked this part

John P. Judis sums up the modern GOP this way:

"Over the last four decades, the Republican Party has transformed from a loyal opposition into an insurrectionary party that flouts the law when it is in the majority and threatens disorder when it is the minority. It is the party of Watergate and Iran-Contra, but also of the government shutdown in 1995 and the impeachment trial of 1999. If there is an earlier American precedent for today's Republican Party, it is the antebellum Southern Democrats of John Calhoun who threatened to nullify, or disregard, federal legislation they objected to and who later led the fight to secede from the union over slavery."

Now it is not just me, and I am seeing more and more academes pointing this out... and the article had many of the points many of us have made over the years in one LONG, MUST READ article.

Discussion I started earlier, just to add in case

[w0nderer]

76. k&r n/t

[progressoid]

77. Yes, definitely a must read.

rec.

[gateley]

79. K&R! Well done! nt

[Douglas Carpenter]

80. excellent article that MUST be read in full

a real good snip:

Both parties are rotten - how could they not be, given the complete infestation of the political system by corporate money on a scale that now requires a presidential candidate to raise upwards of a billion dollars to be competitive in the general election? Both parties are captives to corporate loot. The main reason the Democrats' health care bill will be a budget buster once it fully phases in is the Democrats' rank capitulation to corporate interests - no single-payer system, in order to mollify the insurers; and no negotiation of drug prices, a craven surrender to Big Pharma.

But both parties are not rotten in quite the same way. The Democrats have their share of machine politicians, careerists, corporate bagmen, egomaniacs and kooks. Nothing, however, quite matches the modern GOP.

To those millions of Americans who have finally begun paying attention to politics and watched with exasperation the tragicomedy of the debt ceiling extension, it may have come as a shock that the Republican Party is so full of lunatics. To be sure, the party, like any political party on earth, has always had its share of crackpots, like Robert K. Dornan or William E. Dannemeyer. But the crackpot outliers of two decades ago have become the vital center today: Steve King, Michele Bachman (now a leading presidential candidate as well), Paul Broun, Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx, Louie Gohmert, Allen West. The Congressional directory now reads like a casebook of lunacy.

http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779

[jannyk]

83. Excellent Article. k&r!

[BrightSideOfLife]

84. I would like to thank this guy

For his efforts in doing his part to destroy my country.

[TwilightGardener]

88. Kick-ass article. Like him, I don't see things getting better in the future, unless

people wake up.

[chill_wind]

89. Excellent read on the whole sad sorry

present state of the two-party union. K & R.

Democrats fear. Republicans hate. And the Third Way's constant quest is to triangulate.

[pnorman]

91. "Instead of predatory bankers, it's evil Muslims. Or evil gays. Or evil abortionists."

I got that TO email earlier today, but I set it aside for later reading. Thanks for posting it. I might have forgotten to get to it!

[pam4water]

92. Big K&R

[KansDem]

93. K&R

What an article to wake up to!

[PuffedMica]

94. K&R

[SpiralHawk]

95. "Polarizing division"

"...(Karl Rove has been very explicit that this is his principal campaign strategy)

[dgibby]

96. Excellent read.

Thanks so much for posting. I've posted it to my FB page. We need to make this go viral.

[Scuba]

97. K&R A long read that is well worth it. n/t

[underpants]

101. Excellent article. I read Bartlett's book and he does lay waste to GOP economics ideals

K&R

[ecdab]

102. A great summation of where we are as a nation

though the author goes too easy on some that have been a party to get us there.

[CanonRay]

104. We need to keep this on top for a month

This should be read by ever person who can read; Democrat, Republican, Tea Partier, I don't care. Simply one of the finest political analyisis I've ever read.

[ewagner]

106. From years in public service

of one type or another, I've seen a lot of guys like this...guys who, in the beginning at least, are idealists and use their positions in government to influence the outcome according to their high ideals...but when you have a mortgage to pay, a kid to put through college, a life-style to protect, you start compromising until, one day, you wake up to the fact that you ARE the problem you railed against. In his case, he would have never left if he didn't fear for his own financial future but he did say that he still believes in limits on government both financially and constitutionally....so I think some of his idealism is still there.

If the Democratic Party doesn't do some introspection and change direction soon, the choices to progressives will be only LUNATIC REPUBLICANS OR REALLY LUNATIC REPUBLICANS.

[Hotler]

108. I would print this out and pass it to my neighbors, but

I do not think they are smart enough to comprehend it. To many big words.

[spooked911]

109. I think free trade is one area they are vulnerable on

at the town hall meeting I went to with my Teahadist Cong rep, the only challange he got on any of his bullshit was on free trade.

[ihavenobias]

113. Kick n/t

[themadstork]

120. My only quibble

is with his constant putdown of the "low-info" voter. Not because he's necessarily wrong in his observation, but because it reeks of the same mindset that created what he observes. It's the "you poor dumb folks need whte men with fancy degrees and expensive suits to tell you what you REALLY need" mindset. As he himself pointed out, working people are not incapable of identifying their own economic interests and then voting accordingly. If they couldn't, why would our plutocrats dump so much $ into the misinformation industry? You must either confuse (rule by propaganda) or abuse (rule by force) the masses, because it is otherwise all too obvious to them exactly who it is that's taking the daily shit in their cheerios.

The victim of a mutlibillion dullar misinformation industry is not "stupid," no more than e.g. a slave laborer is "weak." They would be stupid or weak, perhaps, if they behaved in the same way w/o being made subject to such broad systems of social domination.

[OBrien]

121. kick! nt

[Scurrilous]

123. Kick

:kick:

[closeupready]

124. This is the essential problem, as I see it.

Thanks for posting.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

127. Read that on another blog.

Sould be required reading for everyone.