The GOP Just Might Be Our Country’s Number One Enemy
by Ernie McCray
Much to my chagrin
I saw the ex-president
in a picture
wearing a
sickening grin,
standing
next to
the House Minority Leader
sporting the same
devious smile
above his chin,
signifying
that, in spite
of his friend’s
terrifying insurrection
against our nation,
the GOP
was still behind
and with him
through thick and thin,
leaving me thinking
that I was witnessing
some kind
of robust form
of “forgiving and forgetting,”
dissimilar to any
“not holding a grudge”
I’ve ever seen
in my 82 years or so.
I mean
I’m not much
of a violence aficionado,
but if some sorry-ass mofo
had sent a bunch
of armed
anarchist yahoo
so-and-sos
after me
with tear gas
and ramrodding tools
and wrist restraints
and bombs
and a noose,
I’d, turn his butt,
like they used to say,
“every which way
but loose,”and jump down his throat,
tap dance on his liver,
and dare his freaking bowels to move,
like any human being
would do
when their very wellbeing
is bruised,
trapped in frightful moments
of uncertainty
where you wonder
if your life
has come down
to whether or not
you will win
or lose,
hoping frantically
that you’ll get to choose
or that someone comes along
to defuse
the abuse
of your colleagues
and you,
and symbols of
a democracy
that, in those moments,
is choking on itself.
And you come to,
more so than ever before,
understand that
the posers
in the picture
think only
of themselves
and nobody else
and that they represent
a party
that thinks likewise
or otherwise
republicans would
shun a man
the whole world
has come to despise,
one who cares not
whether
they live or die,
but their biggest desire in life
is only to survive
politically.
So, the only thing
one can surmise,
considering that
around the world
we still have
strong allies,
is that the GOP
seems to be,
in both their actions
and non-actions,
as treasonous
as they can be.
In my eyes
they just might be
our country’s
number one enemy.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
They seem to have morphed into a cult instead of a political party.
A “cult” is the operative word to define the GOP.
RIGHT ON! The GOP’s biggest desire is to destroy Democracy and sustain Oligarchy.
We no longer live in a democracy, we live in a banana republic. Whether you are a Dem or GOP voter, our democracy is gone. Biden’s ascending to the presidential was not a “victory for democracy” its a slap in the face that only serves big corporations. Read Time’s article the other day about how giant corporations and special interests conspired together to fix the election. Trump and Bernie were both true populists and were both skrewed over by the establishment. It’s all a big sham laid out right in front of us. We literally dont live in a democracy anymore.
Perhaps that’s why our pledge of allegiance says “….and to the republic for which it stands.”
Jeremy, I’d place good odds that you have no idea what living in a “Banana Republic” is really like; our constitutional federal republic survived the assault of the GOP because the institutions held. The courts saved us, as the founders hoped they would.
Lyle and Peter – Jeremy has drunk too much of the Kool-Aid and is no longer welcome to these pages. His latest comment, which has been blocked, equates trump and Bernie Sanders. Sorry – this is not a right-wing, Qanon platform. Bye-bye Jeremy.
Hey look Frank, or whoever might see this, I am not a right winger, so I am sorry if my message confused or offended you. I am a populist however, and while I do not mean to equate Trump and Bernie, they do have populism in common, you can’t deny that. How they use that energy is very different, for better and for worse, but my point was that any form of populism scares the system. It doesn’t matter who. I tried to make my argument as bipartisan as possible because it’s not a left vs. right battle. Joe Biden and Bernie are not on the same side. Joe Biden was in fact supported by many of these corrupt special interests. That doesn’t mean I am saying Bernie and Trump are on the same side either. You kind of jumped to some hysterical conclusions there buddy. I am not a Qanon supporter either. Nowhere did I mention that we are bossed around by “satanic pedophiles” or the “globohomo” crap. I don’t appreciate that slanderous straw man. Clearly anyone who slightly disagrees with you, even left wing, is not tolerated here. Sorry I offended your echo chamber.
Here’s your quote from a comment that was not published: “Trump and Bernie have already begun to disrupt that so that’s why the powers that be did everything they could to manipulate the DNC primary and general. Make no mistake, the elites that rule us threw all their weight behind Biden for a reason. And not because he’s a ‘True American Candidate.’ A return to normal isn’t a return to peace and democracy, it’s a return to the Evil American Empire. The system is rigged, and not metaphorically; literally.” The system is rigged – that’s right out of trump’s mouth; you cast about for a moral equivalency here, but fail, in your supposed ‘anti-neo-liberalism’ screed. Sure, we’re still under capitalism. But let me ask you: who does Bernie support? Have you ever heard of a united front? That’s what we had for the 2020 election and beyond. We’re not out of the woods yet. Not one bad word from you about the attempted coup, the insurrection, or trump’s neo-fascism. So no elites backed trump and the GOP, eh? If you’re a populist left-winger – which you imply – why have you forsaken the 80+ million Americans who voted for Biden? Do you think we were all born yesterday? Do you think you alone are the only one who sees it all? Look up why it was necessary to mount a United Front against trumps Neo-fascism.
Okay there’s a lot to unpack here. First off, the phrase, ‘the system is rigged’ is not coined by trump. I didn’t use it because he said it, I used it because it’s mainstream and in political circles from all over. Just because he may have co-opted it for populist rhetoric doesn’t make it untrue or unusable. If there’s another good way to package this factual statement, please let me know. Also, of course Bernie backed Joe Biden, just as he backed Hillary after she got the nomination. I fully understand the concept of a united front, but you must acknowledge how much substance it lacks. After getting the presidency, Bernie was denied a cabinet seat or any reconciliation for his devoted efforts. I know he did it to defeat Trump, but what Trump is now replaced with is not much better. The front was united insofar it gave Biden the white house, but Biden is a proxy for corporate interests, so how long do you think a Bernie & Billionaire coalition would last. From here on out Joe Biden will be giving an inch and taking a mile. I hope I’m wrong, but that will not be the case.
I also just want to preface my response with the fact that I am not trying to be combative with you folks. I am not entering this chat with a hot head and I trust that you are not either. My aim is not to rile you up, but your leap from my dissent to the common narrative to the depiction that I am a Qanon supporter did upset me. Anyways, you said, “Have you ever heard of a united front? That’s what we had for the 2020 election and beyond.” This is false, the united front is already falling apart, Bernie is very critical of several things Biden is already trying to do, most notably his handling of the Covid stimulus checks. Just because Bernie and Biden are both Democrats and sometimes have overlap does not indicate a united front. Same with the voters, I do not think of them as cattle, but it’s not like everyone of them sits down to critically analyze Biden, and for those who do, they only do it because he is the lesser of two evils (not by that far). The election is over and this ‘united front’ has served its only purpose. Bernie will very sadly be ignored most of the time by the new admin. Meanwhile the new admin will happily serve corporate and special interests. Many of Biden’s new admin members are former lobbyists, corporate officers, and the like. I would hardly say these are people ready to do some good. I am not a pessimist, but I will not fall for the narrative that some propose Biden will be the most progressive candidate in American history.
Bernie isn’t a Democrat. He just caucuses with them. Bernie’s beef with Biden about the bill is that he is rejecting Joe’s doubts about if the minimum wage hike would survive the Parliamentarian’s review if they used reconciliation to pass the legislation. As the new head of the Budget Committee that is nothing but appropriate.
Jeremy, Do you really believe that the LOSER was a populist candidate? You’ve heard of the Koch brothers and their ilk on the far right side of the spectrum I assume? “Read Time’s article the other day about how giant corporations and special interests conspired together to fix the election.” This is always true of elections in this country and it was certainly true for the LOSER. Bernie is the only one that could truly be called a populist candidate. If you really believe that the LOSER was too, then you’ve been reading all the wrong stuff. Try Jane Mayer’s “Dark Money” for some education on this.
Yet again, I want to make clear that Bernie and Trump are not equals and this is NOT a defense of Trump, but merely my attempt at a sober analysis. When looking at the two broad categories (and there are only 2) that are Populist vs. Establishment, it would be very far-fetched to call Trump an establishment type. In 2016, looking at the GOP stage, you could not say someone like Jeb Bush was in the same pool as Trump. As far as funding goes, I know that Trump has ample dark money sources, but this would be completely dwarfed by the type of support Joe Biden got. If you were to rank these people in terms of dark money, Bernie would be the cleanest by far, but Trump would be second because the billionaire class did throw their weight behind Biden. Again, this is NOT my endorsement of Trump, but purely my analysis on the basis of endorsements. My concern throughout this entire comment section stems from the fact that Trump vs. Biden was a battle of neo-fascism vs. neo-liberalism, when it should have been neo-fascism vs. progressivism. The difference was made by the DNC ‘rigging’ the primary. They absolutely had all the motive and ability to do so. Joe Biden was not a legitimate nominee. Emphasis on the NOMINEE, I am not talking about the general! I know you guys would blow that out of proportion.
Jeremy, You appear to be the reasonable type and I don’t think your view is very far afield from mine or possibly even Frank’s. We do disagree on some points.
You propose two broad categories, Populist vs. Establishment, which is limiting. Then you said it would be very far-fetched to call Trump an establishment type. If there are only two categories, the problem is obvious, you certainly could not call the idiot a populist. He’s spent more time in the wealthy world of New York City than he has in anything a common man would do. Have to disagree, he’s the establishment’s idiot.
I also disagree that you could not say Jeb Bush was in the same pool as the LOSER. Why not? Both came from very wealthy establishment families. Jeb Bush had a more common man appeal, I agree, but this is why more categories are needed.
What information do you have to support your claim that the LOSER’s funding would be completely dwarfed by the type of support Joe Biden got? The Koch brothers and their buddies in the fossil fuel industries and associated industries carry some pretty heavy weight. You said the LOSER would be second because the billionaire class did throw their weight behind Biden. Billionaires also threw their weight behind the LOSER. Sheldon Adelson to name just one.
I agree that the contest was not what many try make it. It was purely this. Everyone wanted the LOSER gone so they picked the most electable and least objectionable candidate out there. The goal was to win at any cost to get the LOSER out of there. They knew it would be a tight race so they could not afford one snag. And, many, many of those votes were cast against the LOSER not necessarily for Biden. The Democrats could have won in 2016 had they followed the same strategy but they had no idea what they were facing until it was too late. I believe Biden would have won then too.
Yes, it means the establishment is in charge but that has been true throughout history. Those not in the establishment have to just keep up the fight and provide some counterbalance. It’s always about money, always. The best we can do is try to separate them from some of it for those who need it more.
Frank, I was actually trying to point out, in my own snarky way, that Jeremy’s implication that we used to have a democracy was incorrect. Otherwise the Pledge would’ve said “to the democracy for which it stands”. I have no more snarky comments regarding your comments, in fact I agree with them.
A couple years ago, I came up with a new version of the Pledge; it’s actually a pledge to the Constitution – not the flag – and no reference to “god.”
Why don’t you just say what’s on your mind, Ern ?\
Stan