Why Do Average Americans Sometimes Vote Republican?
America had always been about the next generation being able to do better than those who had come before. The neo-conservative movement put an end to that and created an environment that puts more people on the edge than ever before. At the same time, other countries have pushed forward agendas that have been more socially aware and their middle classes have benefited. It's not, as many will suggest, anti-American to say so. To admit that there may be somethings we can learn from other countries whose educational systems or health care systems out strip ours is more noble than to cling to hot-blooded nationalism no matter what the evidence.
This brings up a question that continues to hound me. How can anyone who isn't extremely rich or a theocrat vote for today's Republican Party? I challenge anyone to show me how the policies of Mr. Bush and company has helped anyone but those who count themselves as rich or theocratic. The unabashed transfer of wealth does not "trickle down," whatever they might tell you. Supply-side economics is the folly that has helped to bring about the boom-bust cycles are economy goes through.
I understand the self interest of the very rich who support the Republicans, even though there are rich persons of conscience who are liberals and progressives. At least someone from that demographic is going to benefit. And I understand the theocrats, those who see the need to "reclaim America for Christ." At least they have their visions of theocracy stoked by candidates seeking their blind support.
The evangelical right has been the group that has enabled the excesses and outright crimes of the far right. Without queuing up to them and promising them a little slice of dogmatic theocracy Mr. Bush would have never made it to the place where he was able to slide into the White House. He would still be cuttin' brush in the wilds of Texas, and the world would be far better. The unholy alliance between those who worship greed and those who worship God (often the same people) has been an unmitigated disaster.
But what about the men and women who support him, but don't fall into one of those groups? What, I wonder, is the reason they find to justify giving support to a movement so bereft of real ideas and so bankrupt of compassion and so inept in execution? I know some cling to conservative ideals of the past. Trouble is, the current crop doesn't have much in common with real conservatism. Can anyone tell me what definition of classic conservatism includes broken budgets,
rampant deficits, declining living standards, and war with no end in sight? Answer me that one, eh?
If you value your family, your health, your future, your children's future - look beyond the rhetoric of the right and vote for a candidate who can symbolize the kind of change we need to begin to bring our country back.
Published by Jeff Musall
Jeff Musall has a passion for writing, a knack for frank and informed expression, and a desire to engage the minds of readers. He is an avid sports fan across the board and loves good competitions. His work... View profile
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13 Comments
Post a CommentVOR...you, sir, are an idiot. I never said all R's are rich or theocratic. I just wonder why those who aren't would support a party that only looks out for the interests of those groups. Do you think having 60 percent of the wealth of America in the hands of the top 1 percent is a good idea? The standard talking point for you righties is to point out success. Hard work can surely pay off. But it also come crashing down from an illness, and that can't happen in a country that takes health care as a right.
Let's just deal with one point in your article. The mantra the Democrats have sold you by repeating it over and over - the tax cuts just helped the rich. Go to the Federal Reserve site and look for the economic reports. For recent years, the only real income growth came from the tax cuts, and it affected every level of American -- even those who fall below the poverty level. It's not about luck either -- I grew up one of four kids of a civil servant - I went to an ivy league college on scholarship because I worked my butt off and have ever since. I know immigrants who do the same and just bought their first home. They are so happy to be here they smile every day and tell me how wonderful it is. So that's two ends of the spectrum. What about Barack himself? He seems to have done pretty well for himself in this horrible country you portray.
As for the idea of America being about each generation surpassing the next, if that were true then we would have stuck to the noble savage theory which was originally the way in which America's leaders viewed the natives, abolition would have caught on much quicker--after the Revolutionary War there was much less racism due to the fact that many white men had fought side-by-side with black men--, and the original progressive movement would have accomplished more than simply women's suffrage--not to say that women's suffrage wasn't a great thing, they simply had many other goals. When a society changes, it shifts from one ideological focus to another and while this may get rid of past sins, it also increases others.
Jeff, try reading my comment objectively and maybe I won't sound so self-contradictory. Supporting a government that acknowledges God as...well God, is very different from wanting to put a facist in power. I have been doing a lot of research into Scientology lately and when I have to decide what really defines a cult--meaning, how can you tell something is a cult even before the abuses all start--is that a cult is not really about spirituality, it is about the idea that this new idea can create a perfect world here on earth, or something else of the like. By putting the emphasis on the present world, the cult also allows for there to be focus on a worldly master. In a religion, careful study of the Holy texts and the general beliefs will lead to an emphasis on God as the master, with no mortal leader being able to substitute Him. Facism is what happens when someone misleads the public and slowly takes their focus away from God and onto himself.
Bret, your christo-centrist take colors your views too much..first, America, until this generation, has ALWAYS been about each generation doing better. As for boom-bust, your are part right....bust after too much unregulated corporatism/capitalism, then boom as the ship corrects....again, your comments don't match...you repeatedly scream for god, and even think he literally breathed America into being, yet deny you want a christo-fascist empire.
Ok, I do have one more thing to say. How can you talk about Bush promising us a theocracy when there have not been any such movement and none of us support an official state church? And no, I'm not being hypocritical, I have said that we need to keep God in the government, but this vison much more closely resembles America as it has been for centuries--without the many abuses of scripture in order support values such as racism and other worldly ideas--than the theocracy you are continually "warning" us of.
Actually, America has a boom-bust economy and has had such for centuries, so America has NEVER "been about the next generation being able to do better than the one that came before." I'd say more, but Marqis seems to have covered most of the other major points.
It's indeed bewildering, Jeff. 81% of Americans believe the country is "on the wrong track." Yet McCain, whose economic and foreign policies mirror George W. Bush's, is running even with the Democrats in national head-to-head polls.
Marquis, you are easily the angriest individual I have ever encountered. Have a massage, a warm bath with candles, maybe some amaretto, and stay away from the caffeine!
I think a lot of the middle class voted for King George in 2004 because the Bush administration did a good job of scaring the hell out of dumb people with their "War on Terror." It is time for Americans to realize that we should be far more concerned with rational fears such as a lousy health care system or terrible diseases that kill thousands each year. Just imagine taking the billions of dollars that have been poured into this war and putting them towards cancer research.