Why the Republican Party is Despicable

Despicable is not a word that should be thrown around lightly; however, in the case of calling the Republican Party despicable, it is an understatement. The Republican Party is despicable because they constantly displays the worst characteristics known to mankind. Here they are:

• Self-pity| Republican self-pity is one of the most disingenuous exercises there is, and yet, many of them believe that they are truly disadvantaged, they face the most adversity, they are up against a media-government juggernaut. This of course, is incredibly warped.
  
• Lies| Republicans lie, partly to bolster their arguments that claim they do face adversity day in, day out, and partly because they have no moral qualms against lying. Why would one have no moral qualms against lying--say lying about war, about the beneficiaries of tax cuts, about social security policy, etc.?
  
• Greed|Because they are greedy. They even admit they are greedy, that people who have a ton of money deserve it because they must have worked hard for it. (Have they never heard of Paris Hilton? Or George W. Bush, for that matter!) How is it possible to possess all of these terrible qualities and go on living?
  
• Hypocrisy| I'll explain this in its most basic form, because it's a pretty basic brand of hypocrisy.
  
• Republicans control all three branches of the federal government. Why are they whining about the government then? Well, according to them, the federal government overtaxes and overregulates. Why do Republicans rail against the government so, acting as if it is the prime oppressor, although they control it? Because they do not want to pay taxes and have their corporations regulated. They do want the government to arrange contracts for them, and they don't mind attaining a position of power in the government themselves. So basically, they want to take as much as they can from the government without giving anything back. They want the tax dollars of working Americans to go to their contracting schemes and ultimately their wallets. And yet, despite all of this, Republicans are still wallowing in self-pity about being the underdogs.
• Republican views are represented constantly in the media and the president of their party, George W. Bush walks through his job with what amounts to a perpetual get out of jail free card. An administration that has involved private energy company CEOs in policymaking meetings at the White House, that bitterly avenges government officials who have dissented from their party line--going so far as to leak the name of a CIA agent to the press in one point, an administration that lied, yes, it's as simple as that lied about going to war by presenting doctored or patently false intelligence, this administration and its supreme leader, George Bush, receives nary a challenging question from the media. And yet, Republicans whine that the media is liberal because of an old survey that has journalists identifying themselves as Democrats. Even if this holds true today, political reporting has become an exericse among these irresponsible journalists to prove how nonbiased they are by bashing Democrats. Remember Cokie Roberts's anti-Gore streak in the 2000 election? In fact, remember the media's energetic engagement in trying to frame Gore as an exaggerator when he merely mixed up the dates of a few visits he made to fire sites? Remember how at the same time, George W. Bush was exaggerating about his plan to cut taxes and keep a balanced budget? You probably don't, because the media failed to publicize it. And yet Republicans, who not only have the mainstream media on their sides, but tons of blatant right-wing radio and TV outlets as well, still complain. Self-pity at its most despicable.
• The new Social Security "reforms" are a prime example of Republican greed. To publicize this radical abandonment of Social Security, the Republican Party has enlisted all of their minions to disseminate propoganda: from the "local folks" who go to town hall meetings and write to their papers to the national organizations' that support Republicans by pumping in millions. This propoganda campaign has far breached what is an acceptable involvement between paritsan organizations and the White House. Sadly and infuriatingly, the Republicans have enlisted people in their grassroots campign who are sure to lose from the Social Security slashing. Head honcho Republicans claim that their Social Security plan will benefit everyone, but these are the same people who believe that CEOs are overregulated, that they should be allowed to profit as much as they want.
  
• Is it possible for corporations who will be involved in managing the new Social Security funds to work with the interests of their customers in mind over their own interests? Almost unquestionably, the answer is no, for in the last several years, we have seen (thanks in large part to New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer) corporate collusion to hike up insurance rates on clients in the insurance brokerage sector and hedging of budgets to prevent investors from taking out their money in just about every big sector (financial, energy, etc.). How can a party that embraces greed say to the American people that their Social Security bill that brings in private money market managers benefits them? Only by being hypocrites.
  

So this is how Republicans manage to represent the worst of humankind. These are strong words, but they must be said, because with each capitulation to Republican lies, with each suggestion to compromise with the uncompromisable, Democrats lose their country and its values to shameless, greedy, right-wing creeps. Think: do you want to live in an America where Rush Limbaugh is the voice of reason? Where your social security payments become profit for Mutual Fund CEOs? Where a war can be started with no truthful justification? Is this the country envisioned by Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington after the Revolution? Is this the country envisioned by Frederick Douglass or Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War? Is this the country envisioned by our great religious leaders who have preached to love thy neighbor or by our great African American leaders who worked to make America live up to its promise of equality? No, it is a country envisioned by greedy, petty, despicable people. In short, by Republicans.