Not too much unlike the Whig Party in the 1850′s, the Republican Party is coming apart at the seams in front of our eyes. The strange Republican coalition of Bible Thumpers, Rockefeller Pro-Choicers from New England, Zionists, warhawks, tax cutters, small government advocates, closet Libertarians, and non-interventionists is coming unravelled. It kind of makes one wonder how such a coalition ever came about in the first place, or even held together for this long.
The slavery question destroyed the Whig Party. Another type of slavery is destroying the Republican Party of today. Slavery to the state, and the mainstream Republican Party faux opposition to it, is crumbling the GOP.
The dirty little secret is that Republicans love big government too. They may eschew traditional welfare programs that help poor people. Republicans love the state though, albeit for different reasons than liberals.
For Republicans to pretend they adore Liberty and want a smaller government is really very laughable indeed. When Republicans like John Boehner, Lindsey Graham, and Juan McCain say they want smaller government, its a lie, prima facie. Its all a Vaudeville act that lovers of Liberty have grown tired of.
As we’ve already discussed here in the Truth Emporium, the Republican Party is full of beans when it comes to Liberty. As we discussed last year, the Republican Party and many of its Tea Party subsidiaries, oppose Liberty at every turn. Be it the illegal War on Drugs, the Patriot Act, or the immorality and expense of our constant wars and empire, Republicans have shown they absolutely love Big Government.
Why is it that we never hear the Republican Party muster one word of opposition about any of our wars or the continuation of our immoral overseas empire. Did you know the United States has troops and installations in over 100 nations across the globe? That is an expensive burden, friends. We’re fighting two and a half wars for no apparent reason. That is expensive.
The same Tea Party that decries federal spending and so-called tyranny says nary a thing when that same federal government goes overseas to oppress, bomb, or occupy someone else’s country. It doesn’t work that way, Tea Party. You can’t scream “tyranny!” everytime the US government does something domestically, and then sit idly by and fully trusting while that same entity bombs the daylights out of civilians in Afghanistan.
Wars are expensive. These wars we’re waging and the bases we’re supporting all over the planet are far more expensive than most social programs, Planned Parenthood, the EPA, or any other budget item. So how does the Tea Party square their yelps for Liberty and fiscal restraint with a foreign policy of warmongering. interventionist misadventures? It cannot do so logically.
The fracturing Republican party has been brought to my mind thanks to a flap involving Ron Paul. The Libertarian-leaning former Texas Congressman and ex-Presidential candidate stirred up trouble this week with a controversial Tweet following the murder of decorated US Marine sniper Chris Kyle. You can read more about Kyle’s murder here.
Kyle was dubbed the “Devil of Ramidi” for his role during the Iraq War as an elite sniper. He had over 150 confirmed kills. Kyle was killed over the weekend at a gun range, along with a friend, while trying to help out a fellow Iraqi War vet get over a case of PTSD.
In response to Kyle’s murder, Dr.Paul Tweeted: Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn’t make sense
This Tweet led to outrage, with shrill Chickenhawk eye candy, Michelle Malkin, leading the Neo-Con charge.
Following the furor over his Tweet, Dr.Paul issued another statement on his Facebook page:
As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend’s violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event. My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle’s family. Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences. A policy of non-violence, as Christ preached, would have prevented this and similar tragedies. -REP
This still probably didn’t satisfy the warmonger Republicans. Dr.Paul’s Tweet may well have been ill-timed, but every word was true, whether you or Neo-Con warmongers like it or not. A shooting range is a poor choice of venue to cure PTSD. Think about it. Unstable people with guns? It is a very bad idea.
And it is true that those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Chris Kyle is confirmed to have killed 150 people in Iraq. Despite the propaganda you’ll probably hear on this subject over the next few days, not every single last one of these kills was a would-be Osama bib Laden.
The people Kyle killed acted no differently than you or I if we were in their place. If someone invaded and occupied our country illegally, how would we behave? We would engage in a guerilla war to throw out the invaders, right? Sort of like the Iraqis that Chris Kyle was killing, eh? Of course we would.
Not everyone in a US military uniform is a John Wayne character from a movie, clones. The past decade of imperialist misadventures by the United States should prove that much. Remember Abu Ghraib prison? The military did that. A few weeks back, we talked about our Predator drone strikes in Yemen that killed several civilians. The US military did that too. There have been plenty of other atrocious acts committed since 2001 by people wearing an American military uniform. The military and those who serve in it are not some sacred cow.
I wouldn’t expect most Neo-Con Republicans to understand that though. After all, we’re dealing with a Republican party that booed Ron Paul last year when he advocated for the Golden Rule in foreign policy. Its true. We discussed it here in the Truth Emporium.
As I wrote last year:
So why would an audience of self-professed Evangelical Christians, boo a man for suggesting that we adhere to Biblical teachings, and treat foreign nations the way we ourselves would like to be treated? You tell me. I don’t have an answer to that question. The New Golden Rule appears to be do unto others before they can do unto you. It defies all logic. Unless, of course, Evangelicals are full of beans. Perish the thought, right?
No, I don’t think Evangelicals are full of beans. While doubtlessly well-meaning, I think Evangelicals had their minds polluted and diluted by the propaganda they hear on Fox News and AM radio. Evangelicals have been tricked by the Israeli lobby into viewing the world through the discredited and busted prism of 1938 and Munich. Not every bad country on Earth is the next Nazi Germany waiting to happen.
Pre-emptive wars can be justified, but only rarely, and only if the vital national interests of the United States has been threatened. Think about all the countries we bomb. Think about all the countries we fly drones into and bomb. Are they really all a threat to our vital national interests? Think about where those bombs land and what they do. Explosions rarely skip over innocent bystanders. How many people has the United States killed and maimed needlessly in pursuit of imperial hubris?
We wonder why people hate us overseas? Because we bomb them! Wouldn’t you harbor ill-will towards someone who blew up your house? It is time we begin to treat other people around the world in the same way we ourselves would like to be treated. For Evangelicals to boo this principle is astounding. Maybe they need to go back to Sunday school.
Republicans and those who love Liberty are fast approaching a parting of the ways. Mainline Republican gasbags like Boehner, Graham, McCain, Rove, and the bigmouths on Fox News love government. They want wars. They love expanded government for their own pet projects and causes.
That’s not Liberty. That certainly isn’t the foreign policy of our Founding Fathers – Non-Intervention. So the question really boils down to, whose side are you on? Do you want more wars, and an undying hero worship of those who wage them? Or do you want your government to leave you alone, as well as leaving in peace those in other countries who have done us no harm? What’s it going to be?
Great article