Happy Anniversary!Seriously, though, this is no joke. What has actually happened over the past 11 years since the "Contract On..er, With America" is that Republican control of the government has mushroomed into scandal after scandal - Memogate Cheney's Enron Energy Task Force, Indian Gaming/Jack Abramoff scandal, Halliburton's "no-bid bonanzas" and other misdeeds in Iraq, the many scandals of Tom Delay, Valerie Plame, taking the country to war in Iraq on a pack of lies, etc., etc.
As if all that's not bad enough, there are the countless pieces of Republican legislation favoring the wealthy and punishing the average citizen. For example, we've had ?tax reform? benefitting the richest Americans and a bankruptcy bill punishing mostly the struggling middle and working classes [note: the bill will NOT be relaxed for struggling victims of Katrina and Rita thanks to Rep. James "Sensitive" Sensenbrenner (R-WI)]. Then, of course, there are the unending lies and cynical manipulation of the 9/11 tragedy that mired us in Iraq, a war which has not only become a training ground for more terrorists while helping to drive oil prices past $60 per barrel.
And how about the consistent attack on environmental regulations in order to benefit wealthy campaign contributors, never mind public health, the Arctic ice cap, and the polar bears. Also, let's not forget the relentless attack on women?s rights, the un-separation of church and state everywhere you turn, the meddling in intimate family matters of life and death (Terry Schiavo), and the attack on any science which conflicts with the Pat Robertson right wing of the Republican Party? Well, I suppose this shouldn't be surprising from an Administration led by a man who urges teaching ?intelligent design? as equivalent to evolution, whose political appointees ignore recommendations of scientists on drugs and contraceptives, and who denies global warming even when warm-water-fueled hurricanes trash his own home state (Texas, not Connecticut that is).
Speaking of hurricanes, let's not forget the Republicans' utterly unacceptable response to Katrina, which, by the way, demonstrated to the entire world the bigotry and scorn held by the Kilgore/Bush/DeLay Republicans for poor people and minorities. And remember, NO ONE in this administration has ever been held accountable for any of their scandals and screwups. Not Don Rumsfeld. Not Dick Cheney. Not Paul Wolfowitz. Not even Michael Brown. It?s always someone else?s fault. That's what the Contract with America has come to, 11 years later - the Contract ON America.
Playpen
What we are watching is the Bush Republicans deliberately turning the entire country into a private playpen for the Halliburton/Enron elites. What we are also watching is the Bush Republicans treating our country, its economy, its military, and its citizens like a feudal fiefdom in days of old. Today we call it ?crony capitalism,? but in reality it is no more than the granting of lucrative baronies to Halliburton and other selected members of the aristocratic inner circle.
Thus, we see members of the new nobility and fringe hangers-on (read ?lobbyists?) appointed to high-powered jobs despite complete lack of qualifications. And when these unqualified people fail they are simply given other jobs and rewards. In other words, it's "mess up and move up? time, in the traditional pattern of corrupt aristocracies and hereditary autocracies everywhere.
Needless to say, the royal (Republican) leaders in such an autocracy are never, ever, brought to account. Instead, they busy themselves sending us to war, sacrificing our children - but NOT their own, God forbid - for personal profit or personal loyalties, just like feudal lords of old, and trashing our country. Meanwhile, the "Contract On...er, With America" essentially comes down to an arrogant, corrupt Republican Congress ramming through tax legislation and ?reforms? to make the new elite permanent, a de facto new aristocracy.
Today, right here in Virginia, we have an aspiring member of the Bush/DeLay aristocracy. His name is Jerry W. Kilgore, and he happens to be best buddies with Tom DeLay's chief deputy dog and defender, Eric Cantor (R-VA). He also happens to be a former lobbyist for KBR (Halliburton subsidiary; Dick Cheney, former CEO), and closely tied to a variety of Bush campaign contributors. Dubya Kilgore even brags about the fact that he models his leadership style on that of Dubya Bush's, he of the 58% disapproval rating right here in Virginia.
To help Jerry Dubya, the national Republicans have even hired one of George Dubya's favorite publicists, Scott Howell, to lead his campaign. Yep, the same Scott Howell whose dirty tricks included the Swift Boat slime attack. the smearing of Vietnam War hero (and triple amputee) Max Cleland as an Osama-loving traitor, and the racist ?black hands? ad in Oklahoma. And in true Scott Howell style, Jerry Dubya goes around bad-mouthing Governor Mark Warner, and promising to ?roll back? all the horrible things the Warner-Kaine administration accomplished over the past four years. Sort of like George W. Bush rolled back the peace and prosperity of the 1990s? Like "dubya" like "dubya," I guess.
Now, here's the question everyone needs to ask themselves as November 8 approaches: Can Virginia afford our own home-grown George W. Bush, the social-climbing space cadet named Jerry W. Kilgore? I say no way - not unless we want a "Contract On...er, With Virginia" too.