Democrats have better public policy for the common good, while Republicans have better public policy for people are Republican i.e. Rich White Guys.

The problem is everyone in our country is so caught up in capitalism they think that one day they too will be the Rich White Guy overlooking the fact that they used at least a dozen government programs to become the Rich White Guy.

I met an independent contract truck driver once who complained about big government stepping on him. The irony of course is that big government built the millions of miles of interstate highway that allows this guy to earn a living. Go figure.

Ron Rapp,

Keep in mind, too, that this blissful utopia where Americans got along without stupid gubament to protect them NEVER EXISTED. The government gave pioneers the land they used to get started. The government fought wars of defense on conquest to acquire the lands we have today. And, until the government protected workers from unrestricted free traders, workers were treated no better than slaves.

As Tom Solomon alludes, you might want to actually *study* history before commenting on it.

Bush and the Greedy Old Party seem to have embraced and perfected Josef Goebbels’ Nazi-era technique of the “Big Lie.” They endlessly repeat lies about policies specifically designed to benefit and repay corporate donors being good for 300 million ordinary Americans. Evidently, enough of those people believe the lies and vote Republican.

The obvious Big Lies are the ones spouted by Bush and the high-ranking members of his administration. The teevee is full of neat little sound bites showing the Commander-in-Chief pontificating. In between commercials on the nightly network news are 30-second bits about tax cuts that will create millions of jobs, the “clear skies” program to let industrial donors spew out more air pollution, “healthy forests” plan to let timber industry donors loot the national forests, and so on. And let’s not forget the War in Iraq, which was necessary to rescue all Americans from the imminent threat of Saddam’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (and, coincidentally, to ensure the guaranteed transfer of billions of taxpayer dollars to the coffers of Halliburton and Bechtel).

The more insidious Big Lies are those repeated by a loyal coterie of conservative “talk radio” propagandists. Not only do they dutifully parrot the administration’s Big Lies, but they incessantly rally the patriotic masses against “evil liberals” who are the enemy of not only the Bush administration but of all Americans. “Excessive regulation” by “Big Government” threatens Growth, Success, and Jobs (not to mention the ability of corporations to realize their greed). “Tax and spend liberals” steal money from the pockets of hard-working taxpayers and give it to welfare moochers. Even worse, “Big Government Health Care” will raise taxes and demolish the excellent care that altruistic for-profit insurance companies and HMOs now provide. There is also the implied message that giving the Wealthy a free hand (and handouts) will somehow help ordinary people realize their dreams of becoming Wealthy. And, of course, they insist that it is inappropriate and “unpatriotic” to utter any criticism of Bush, the administration, or the Republican Party in this perilous Time of War.

With all those resources devoted to spreading the Big Lie and to vilifying those who question it as “unpatriotic” or “un-American,” it’s no surprise that the Republicans set the agenda, control the debate, and successfully marginalize Democrats. It is thus not surprising that millions of Americans believe the all-pervasive Big Lie and vote Republican. The Democrats have an almost impossible task of getting a word in edgewise (to the extent that they have any words left) between all the repetitions of Big Lies.

Ron Rapp: Who funds NASA? Who funded the original Internet (hint: The military), crop technologies (as well as subsidizing further research), funded directly and indirectly most important medical research, etc.? Give up? It was the FUCKING GOVERNMENT, run by Politicans. Have you ever thought of researching the “information” you cite? At the very least, you could have used some different examples. When can we expect to see you on “Jay Walking”?

Just a thought.

I don’t understand why anyone would think that Americans are stupid. This is the big problem with politicians. They get to Washington or a state legislature and instantly feel they have to manage the lives of citizens who are obviously too stupid to care for themselves.

This country existed, thrived, and grew long before there were social programs eating up trillions of dollars a year. Long before the Code of Federal Regulations became so large that no one could even wrap their mind around it.

America has done some decent things. Developed aviation, put a man on the moon, developed computer technology, the internet, medical advances, raised the crops that feed not only the U.S. but millions of other people around the world. And so on.

Were these things done by politicians? I would have to say no. None of them were. They were done, and are continuing to be done, by ordinary Americans. The same “idiots” who are too stupid to vote and cannot possibly be able to care for themselves without the government’s help.

The only conclusion I can draw is that the average American is not stupid. Yes, there will always be those who are prime eating for Jay Leno’s “Jay Walking” segments. But that does not represent the average citizen.

–Ron

Criminy, if the Green Party laid off the gun issue, they’d become a lot more attractive to voters, especially with their anti-corporate agenda.

Though it’s not realistic to think so, very many people think that one day they will be rich. This is perhaps why the “aspirational” politics of Republicans is so popular.

A David Brooks article in the NYTimes, “The Triumph of Hope over Self-Interest,” describes a Time Magazine survey that found 19 percent of the population thought they were in the richest 1 percent, and another 20 percent thought they would be someday. He adds: “So right away you have 39 percent of Americans who thought that when Mr. Gore savaged a plan that favored the top 1 percent, he was taking a direct shot at them.”

“None of us is really poor; we’re just pre-rich.”

Not sure how to link to the story; does this work?

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/12/opinion/12BROO.html?ex=1063655937&ei=1&en=ca96e258b282596e

The Republican goals may be unrealistic but they are inspiring, just like the goal of winning the Lottery. And apparently equally popular…
— Phil G.

Not to mention equally likely…

You’re such a romantic, Philip! My take: most Americans understand only too well what is going on and their powerlessness to effect any change, hence low voter turnout. Last time around we had a choice (?) between Al Gore and G W. Think about that for a minute. Most people are not so stupid. Look to what mass culture is producing lately, it’s pretty jaded. They know the score.

“You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all the time.” Abraham Lincoln