Aug 30, 2012

The Republicans are flaunting diversity at the podium like they were the ones that made it possible. And the audience that claps so cheerily is white, mostly white. Look! Republicans can trot out people of color. But not because they made it possible.

This is bullshit pure and simple. No progress made in this country in terms of civil rights, women’s rights, immigrants rights, voters rights were the result of the Republican party’s hard work. Except for Abe Lincoln (who did not in any way resemble today’s republicans), the Rockefeller republicans and Dwight Eisenhower, today’s Republicans are a bunch of professional liars, skunks and showoffs.

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, l952

Things that have changed since 1952: their numbers are not negligible and thanks to the Supreme Court they can spend their billions to elect their stooges. And they are not just stupid – they are dangerous, they are mean spirited, they are cruel, they are immoral.

Every single speech at the Tampa Convention so far is about how the speaker’s family came from nothing. Only a party with a candidate who was rich beyond our imagination would actually use the words “came from nothing” to describe someone’s background. No one, not any one, “came from nothing.”

Both Condolezza Rice and the first Mexican-American female governor talked about the odds against them — but forgot to mention that it was the Democrats, not the Republicans that made that possible. Lyndon Johnson sacrificed his political career to pass civil rights. He was a Democrat. A Republican Governor blocked President’s order to integrate the schools. Police forces working for Republican mayors sent vicious dogs to act young people who were just trying to access their rights. A Republican President lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction. A Republican President ran up trillions of dollars of debt fighting wars that were not necessary, killing our young Americans and — oh yes — keeping it off the books so they wouldn’t look so bad.

This convention talks about compassion. For who? The rich? About saving medicare. A lie. About helping our seniors. Another lie.

Now Ryan is talking. A lie a minute. If we don’t vote for Obama, America, President Eisenhower would say we are stupid. And he would be right.

2 Comments

FactCheck October 31, 2012 at 12:30 am

Actually, the governor that tried to block integration was a Democrat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orval_Faubus

On race relations, you forgot to mention Democrat Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears.

Furthermore, a higher percentage of Republicans supported the Civil Rights Bill than Democrats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964

I really can’t believe you have the gall to mention LBJ with adoration in one sentence and criticize Bush for lying and unnecessary wars a few sentences later. Gulf of Tonkin, anyone? Vietnam? No? That’s right, because to rabid liberal like yourself, everything good in the world was done by a Democrat and Republicans are the root of all evil.

Until we can get over blind towing of party lines and see that both parties have similarly egregious violations of ethics and rights, the situation will never improve and we’ll always be stuck in the mire of partisanship and a broken two-party system.

Good day.

Reply
- Gloria November 1, 2012 at 1:11 am
  
  Thanks(who for commenting on my blog. You have many good points and I am a biased liberal.
  I remember the integration of the schools and wasn’t the governor (who was a democrat) opposed … I can’t think of his name right now but was it
  Lester Maddox. and the University integration was Vandivier orsomething.
  
  I am totally with you on the Gulf of Tonkin, My Lai —I was at Smith College and Julie Nixon’s Dad was supposed to speak at graduation — needless
  to say he didn’t. I grew up a republican and the 60s and college made me a Democrat.
  
  I am a Doris Kearns Goodwin fan and she certainly influenced me on Johnson as does Robert Caro. I am just grateful that he passed the Civil Rights
  Act even though he knew he was handing the South over to the other side forever,,,
  
  The Republicans who supported slavery were a different kind of person than the Republicans we see today, especially people like Paul Ryan.— who is not a
  “Rockefeller republican”
  
  John Boehner is no Sam Rayburn, Tip O’Neill or even Newt Gingrich. Mitch McConnell is no Everett Dirkson, Bob Dole, or Howard Baker Jr.
  None of them — Democrat or Repbulican — would ever make their first priority undermining our country by working (or not working, more properly)
  to make Obama a one term President. The way he has been treated by the Republicans is despicable, and humiliating for America
  around the world.
  
  So I did not reread my blog on the RN Convention, but every time I see him it makes me sick — cleaning dishes that are not dirty, pretending he supports the
  homeless. As for Romney, well — I grew up with people like him — he’s great for his family (and his church family) but the rest of us are expendable and
  anyone who believes otherwise does so at their great peril.
  
  Anyway — I appreciate your leaving an email I could reply to — you would not believe how many gutless cowards send me anonymous threats.
  
  Reply

Gloria. Circa 1955.

Gloria. Circa 2012.

Other than working for the American Red Cross in Korea for two years, Gloria Garvey has lived in Hawai`i since 1971. Her opinion and other writing has appeared in: The American Philatelist. Honolulu Weekly, The Honolulu Advertiser, The Honolulu Star Bulletin, The Star Advertiser, Hawai`i Reporter, Pacific Business News, Island Scene, The Design Management Journal.