Americans are Coming Together

I recently read an email from a neoconservative, would-be Paul Revere. Or,at least he seemed to be riding on Paul Revere's horse. In his post, he breathlessly warned everyone interested in reading his screed that “liberals” were “infiltrating” the Tea Parties as part of a “divide and conquer strategy.”
Let’s back up a few years—say, about 46 years or more. In 1964, there were two main branches of the Republican Party: Goldwater Republicans and the Rockefeller Republicans. Outside the party were the unabashed liberals.
The liberals embraced Tea Party issues even back then, although their views on the matter were somewhat inchoate.
As of 1988, when the elder Bush ran for President, Rockefeller Republicans became known as neo-conservatives. The neo-cons are now found in both major political parties. Henry Kissinger (Republican) was a protégé of Nelson Rockefeller; Zbigniew Brzenzinski (Democrat) is a protégé of Henry Kissinger. It was the Rockefeller Republicans (neocons) who were most responsible for giving the Republican Party its reputation for being a party of the rich at the expense of the poor.
We were all foolish in those days—most of us, anyway. Liberals tended to condemn any corporate profit as fascism, regardless of how honestly the profits were obtained. Conservatives would roll their eyes and praise any profit making, and call it free enterprise, regardless of how much of it was profiteering at taxpayer expense. No matter how many billions were stolen by the malefactors of great wealth, it was excused on the fraudulent rationale of free enterprise. On the other hand, any welfare mother who kept her small bank account a secret from the Welfare Gestapo was a “welfare queen.”
Now, both liberals and conservatives are faced with blatant fascism on a multi-trillion-dollar scale. Remember, the liberals were the first to cry, “Fascism,” and, “Corporate Welfare.” Now that the Tea Partiers have taken up the cry, do you see them telling the liberals that they’ve seen the light? No. Many of them are letting the Rockefeller Republicans con them into telling the liberals to stay away from “their” party.
I'm not saying that liberals and conservatives are acting from the same motives. Take the attempted healthcare overhaul for example. Conservatives oppose it mainly on the constitutional ground that healthcare is not a federal issue; and on the free market ground that, for all its faults, America's healthcare system is still more efficient than the government healthcare system found on Native American reservations. Liberals oppose it because it appears specifically designed to shovel billions of taxpayer dollars at corrupt corporations in such industries as Big Pharma and the health insurance monopolies; and that it would bring American healthcare down to the level of that which is found on the Native American reservations.
Either set of arguments flies very well, but the liberals, having the more populist argument, have the best chance of resonating with American voters. It is any wonder, then, that the Rockefeller Republicans and Rockefeller Democrats are so eager to keep the liberals away from the Tea Parties? Talk about “divide and conquer!” It's the neocons who are desperately trying to keep Americans divided against one another.
Apart from one another, the liberals and the conservatives can do little to sweep the rats out of Congress. The numbers of either group are too small, especially if liberals and conservatives work against one another. Together, we can do it; and together we must do it!
The one issue that unites us is whether our congressmen represent us, their constituents; or the banksters, war profiteers, and other scoundrels of their ilk. We have just over 200 days between now and the 2010 congressional elections. I'll try to share as much as I can to help you decide—no, I won't decide for you—whether your congressman is one of the few honest men or women remaining in Congress and deserving of re-election. Of the 345 members of Congress, I seriously doubt that there are more than 45 honest men and women; the rotten barrel has spoiled that many apples. If in doubt, vote him out.
In a future article, I'll share with you the results of several polls that show that, for the first time in memory, we can change Congress. We can drive the money changers from the temple and replace them with honest Americans. But, to do this, we must work together.