Do you remember the Nixon Administration or, if you’re too young, have you at least heard about it? Our 37th President, Richard Milhous Nixon, might as well have changed his middle name to “Doghouse” since that’s where he always seemed to land in public opinion because of his tragic flaw of wanting to “win” … and win “big” … at any cost. Whether it was having his White House Special Investigations Unit (a.k.a., the “Plumbers”) try to stop "leaks" by ransacking Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office or gain a strategic advantage by breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate, Nixon just couldn’t seem to help himself. He garnered the nickname “Tricky Dick” as a testimony to his nefarious ways, and in my opinion, he was a satirist’s “dream” (even naming his reelection committee the Committee to Re-Elect the President … or CREEP for short). And just when I thought we were “not going to have Dick Nixon to kick around any more” (his famous quote after losing the Presidential election to John F. Kennedy in 1960), our two major Parties begin to “channel” him.
In the past week, I’ve received e-mails and/or phone messages ostensibly from Vice President Biden, Minority Leader Boehner, former Speaker Gingrich, former Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Palin, and a variety of their lackeys (particularly on the Democratic side) ... all claiming to be interested in my support. I’m fine with that. I’m even fine with an appeal for money (which everyone but Boehner and Palin made). I realize that our system is broken and that getting elected is all about the cash. What I find to be insulting is the ludicrous way in which the the messages are crafted.
The “elephants in the room” warn that:
“America is at an historic crossroads. Despite the mounting challenges facing our nation, Democrats in control of Congress are turning a deaf ear to the voices of the American people. Bent on runaway spending, failed ‘stimulus’ policies, and ever-increasing federal regulation, it’s clear that Washington’s priorities do not reflect those of the American public.”
I agree that “America is at an historic crossroads.” We can continue to support divisive politics, or we can draw a line in the sand and say, “It’s not about you getting elected. It’s about us retaining the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. Stop the ‘trash talking’ and offer some solutions.” I rather doubt that all Democrats are genetically predisposed to “runaway spending” and “ever-increasing federal regulation.” Even if it was true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these “priorities do not reflect those of the American public.” I’m sure there are segments of our population that support increased federal regulation and spending to promote what they consider to be vital social change. Can’t the Republican Party just respect the fact that those individuals have the right to their beliefs?
The “donkeys in the room” (and that’s about as “politically correct” as I’ll ever get because the joke was just too easy) are even more asinine (… okay, so I gave into the temptation) stating:
- “Yesterday morning, Republicans unveiled their plan for governing -- their Pledge to America.
- They're pledging to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires.
- They're pledging to roll back regulations on big oil and Wall Street.
- They're pledging to strike down rules reining in the credit card lenders and the insurance companies.
- They're pledging to increase the deficit by trillions of dollars.
- Their agenda is a windfall for the folks spending millions to put them back in power -- the lobbyists, the big corporations, and the special interests.
- We're not sitting by watching this scheme become a reality. Our plan to win this fall is as different from that of the GOP as our agenda for the country.
- We've got organizers on the ground in every state, working with campaigns and volunteers to coordinate an unprecedented voter-turnout operation.
- We're knocking on thousands of doors and making millions of calls to get our voters out to the polls.
- We pay for this work with our By the People Fund -- and we're trying to reach 3 million grassroots donations through the course of this campaign.
- To stay on pace, we need 5,241 donations by the end of the week.
- Can you chip in $5 or more to help us meet our goal?"
- "This Republican Pledge to America is nothing new. Even John Boehner said, "We are not going to be any different than we've been."
- They're offering up the very same agenda that put us on a path to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
- That means they're not prepared to discuss protecting Social Security and Medicare.
- They have no plan for education or teachers.
- They offer up no solutions to the outsourcing of American jobs.
- They lay out no plans to invest in key industries like clean energy and manufacturing.
- They don't talk about rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, and railways.
- With your help, we can send the Republicans back to the drawing board.
- Together, we'll make sure the country never returns to the failed policies of the past. But that means moving forward with our plan to win the 2010 elections.
- Please support the By the People Fund today.”
Hey, it’s me again … the Common Sense Czar. Sorry for the long delay … but if nothing else, the Democrats certainly are verbose. They’re apparently also quite comfortable with misrepresenting the facts … or at least presenting them in a very “unique” way that is favorable to their cause. At least we now know the price at which they are willing to sell their integrity … $5. The Democratic rhetoric presupposes that no one will actually read the Pledge to America. After all, it is 48 pages long. Oh contraire! They forgot about the Common Sense Czar.
You see, common sense tells me that even the Republicans aren’t stupid enough to say what the Democrats suggest they said. It turns out that my instincts were correct. While I don’t expect you to take the time to read the Pledge to America, suffice it to say that the Democrats apparently didn’t read it either. But why should it be any different than the Health Care Reform Bill? However, I do recommend that you page through it … because some of the pictures of our country are absolutely magnificent (seriously)!
It is worth noting that the Democrats fear that “There's a small group of billionaires and corporate special interests that are trying to buy their way back into power … spending their fortunes to defeat our folks and elect some of the most right-wing Republicans this country has ever seen,” and Vice President Biden shared that “some of the Republicans running now are not from your grandfather's Republican Party. They're from the Republican Tea Party …” Personally, I don’t understand all the concern about the “Tea Party.” If the current Administration condones “Beer Summits,” why does it worry so much about a little “Tea Party?” I think they’re going overboard (no pun intended).
But back to the “billionaires and corporate special interests that are trying to buy their way back into power.” Now, that sounds serious to me. Then, I noticed a recently released report about the personal wealth of our Congressional leadership. Guess what? Seven of the ten richest Congressman and Senators were Democrats (with Senator John Kerry (D) leading the charge). Their cumulative net worth exceeds that of their Republican counterparts by more than 223 percent. If you extend the study to include the top 50 earners, the Republicans begin to catch up but still trail the Democrats 27 to 23. Throw in Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, a George Soros or two, and the majority of jet-setting celebrity millionaires who like to party at the White House and you can better understand why the Democrats raised over 202 percent more money than the Republicans in the last Presidential election and spent nearly than 220 percent more. I suspect that my $5 won’t make that much of a difference. And as for the “corporate specials interests” … well, I just leave it to the “union special interests” to offset the risk.
As the Common Sense Czar, I propose the following: Can we just call a truce? Can the Parties just agree not to use fear tactics and “dirty tricks” to extort money and votes from unsuspecting people? Can we just leave these tactics buried with Nixon? It’s either that, or the electorate needs to become better informed. My new books, The Left isn’t Right / The Right is Wrong (offered together in a single “flip” book format) and The National Platform of Common Sense will help, but they may not appeal to the same people the Republicans and Democrats are apparently most interested in soliciting. You see, there aren’t any pictures to color in my books.
*****
Copyright © 2010 T.J. O’Hara. To support viral distribution, this article may be copied, reprinted, forwarded, linked, or published in any form as long as proper attribution is given to the author and no changes are made.
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