Memo to the GOP: Courage, Dudes



Posted: Thursday, July 07, 2011

by Walter Rhett
Charleston Perlo

With courage, the GOP could regain its moderate wing. Alienated not so much by policies as by duplicitious operations, a hallmark of the politics of Rove, Weinberger, Chaney, the Koch brothers, Bob Ney, Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff and others. They managed to tilt the party to its rigid demographic base in exchange for unwavering support for an open door to every aspect of the political economy: contracts, taxes, tax holidays, regulation, certification, leases, property, privatization, and standard social costs once assigned to employment (benefits and wages).

This draconian shift is at the base of the GOP numbers. Only the conservative base is blind to the dramatic restructuring of democracy into a corporate dominated, feudal system, administered by the government, offering reduced hand outs to workers, women, minorities, and the elderly and increasing the flow of revenues to the rich and powerful (note: see record corporate profits, CEO pay, corporate cash on hands, actual taxes paid.).

The numbers don't drive the policy! It's quite the opposite: the policy drives the numbers. Given the GOP positions, which benefit solely a class of special interests, it's impossible to attract other voters across the spectrum.

A convincing example is Cantor's offer to eliminate tax breaks to pay for tax cuts--not to reduce spending. Schumer is right to say: “The point isn’t to get rid of loopholes to pay for new tax breaks. It’s to do it in a way that reduces the debt.”

Walter Rhett Walter Rhett attended Ohio State and writes from Charleston, SC. He writes about national and global affairs with an eye on Southern history and culture and enjoys listening to his readers.

This Article has been viewed 188 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (0 total)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.