"The Neoconned Republican Party Is The Greatest Threat America Has Ever Faced"

[Better Believe It]

CounterPunch
July 23, 2008

The Greatest Threat America Has Ever Faced: the GOP?
The Mother of All Messes
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review.

We must get the Republicans totally out of power, or we will have no country left for the Democrats to mess up.

I say this as a person who has done as much for the Republican Party as anyone. I helped to devise and to get implemented an economic policy that cured stagflation and that brought Republicans back into political competition after Watergate. If I could have looked into a crystal ball and seen that under a free trade banner, Republicans would enable corporate executives to pay themselves millions of dollars in “performance pay” for deserting their American work forces and hiring foreigners in their place, thus destroying the aspirations and careers of millions of Americans, I never would have helped the Republicans. If a crystal ball had revealed that a neoconned Republican Party would launch wars of naked aggression against countries that posed no threat to the United States, I would have shouted my warnings even earlier.

The neoconned Republican Party is the greatest threat America has ever faced.

Judging by their behavior, a number of Democrats go along with the neocon view. Thus, the Democrats don’t offer a greatly different profile. They went along with the views that corporate profits and the war on terror take precedence over everything else. They have not used the congressional power that the electorate gave them in the 2006 elections.

Traditionally, Democrats objected whenever policies resulted in a handful of rich people capturing all of the income gains from the economy. There might still be a few such Democrats left.

Please read the entire article at:
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts07232008.html

[checks-n-balances]

1. This author tells the sad truth every time he writes

and has shown a tremendous amount of courage standing up to this administration. He has previously warned us of the possibilities of false flag operations.

He's observed a lot about our government in his long career and knows what he's talking about. Too bad his writings don't make the front page of every newspaper, and it's tragic that he hasn't been a regular on all the talking head TV shows. He would've blown everybody out of the water by what he would have revealed.

Thanks for posting this.

[bleever]

2. This should reach the top of the Greatest page.

Incredible, searing indictment of the GOP from one of its own.

Republicans have run roughshod over the US Constitution, Congress, the courts and civil liberties. Republicans have made it perfectly clear that they believe that our civil liberties make us unsafe--precisely the opposite view of our Founding Fathers. Yet, Republicans regard themselves as the Patriotic Party.

Read the whole column.

[BobTheSubgenius]

23. I agree.

With your assessment, with PCR, with everything he's said. I'd K&R this to the top of the damned Web, if I could.

[blue52power]

49. Love it when the gop turns on itself

A true, fact based editorial which specifies the threat that the GOP is to our nation.

We had no legal, moral or national security interest in invading Iraq.

[malaise]

3. Excellent article

K & R

[hootinholler]

4. Just wait until the neolibs take over...

I suspect they will carry on the constitutional rape.

-Hoot

[DailyGrind51]

36. Both Ben Wattenburg and the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan were

among the first "neo-liberals", even referring to themselves as "neo-conservative". Richard Perle still thinks of himself as a "'Scoop' Jackson Democrat".

[hootinholler]

47. Speaking of Ol' Scoop

I'm still wondering what papers were 'rescued' by either the FBI or the CIA from the archive of his official papers.

-Hoot

[bdamomma]

5. this comment should be plastered everywhere

"The neoconned Republican Party is the greatest threat America has ever faced".




and our own extreme Religious Fundamentalists.


we are fighting two fronts.

[Individualist]

6. Three fronts...

You left off the neocon enabling DLC.

[GeorgeGist]

7. The greatest threat to America ...

was the wisdom and beauty of the New World. Never underestimate the power of ignorance.

[DailyGrind51]

8. I thank you and those on my forward list thank you!

[Wednesdays]

9. With all due respect, Mr. Roberts

YOU and your colleagues were the gatekeepers to the party, and you let the neocons in with open arms.

"Traditionally, Democrats objected whenever policies resulted in a handful of rich people capturing all of the income gains from the economy. There might still be a few such Democrats left."

Sure, that's because the ones that spoke up were vilified, smeared, and lambasted for the last 25-30 years, remember?


Having said that--a big kick and recommend as a toast to one more Republican weaned off the Kool-Aid.

[anonymous171]

10. Wow.

VERY powerful.

[FiveGoodMen]

11. K&R

[immoderate]

12. K&R

--IMM

[Jeroen]

13. K&R

[Better Believe It]

14. "The Neoconned Republican Party Is The Greatest Threat America Has Ever Faced"

CounterPunch
July 23, 2008

The Greatest Threat America Has Ever Faced: the GOP?
The Mother of All Messes
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review.

We must get the Republicans totally out of power, or we will have no country left for the Democrats to mess up.

I say this as a person who has done as much for the Republican Party as anyone. I helped to devise and to get implemented an economic policy that cured stagflation and that brought Republicans back into political competition after Watergate. If I could have looked into a crystal ball and seen that under a free trade banner, Republicans would enable corporate executives to pay themselves millions of dollars in “performance pay” for deserting their American work forces and hiring foreigners in their place, thus destroying the aspirations and careers of millions of Americans, I never would have helped the Republicans. If a crystal ball had revealed that a neoconned Republican Party would launch wars of naked aggression against countries that posed no threat to the United States, I would have shouted my warnings even earlier.

The neoconned Republican Party is the greatest threat America has ever faced.

Judging by their behavior, a number of Democrats go along with the neocon view. Thus, the Democrats don’t offer a greatly different profile. They went along with the views that corporate profits and the war on terror take precedence over everything else. They have not used the congressional power that the electorate gave them in the 2006 elections.

Traditionally, Democrats objected whenever policies resulted in a handful of rich people capturing all of the income gains from the economy. There might still be a few such Democrats left.

Please read the entire article at:
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts07232008.html

[fed_up_mother]

15. Need to send this to all of our republican friends and family!

k&r

[wryter2000]

16. I'll be doing that for sure

[ColbertWatcher]

17. That could be said without "Neoconned" n/t

[Better Believe It]

18. Something Is Wrong Here: At least 7 posts in this string have been deleted!

Not sure how or why that happened. Have sent an alert regarding this.

Hope this glitch can be fixed and the posts restored.

[Better Believe It]

19. Lots Of Posts Just Disappeared!

Just went to homepage and looked at the Greatest and here's what is shows:

"The Neoconned Republican Party Is The Greatest Threat America Has Ever Faced"
34 recommendations : By Better Believe It

Well, I imagine that a lot more than 7 posts by other DU'ers have been deleted and hopefully than can be found and restored.

[maddezmom]

20. there wasn't a glitch and no posts have been removed, you posted it twice

I just combined the 2.

[Better Believe It]

21. That's Weird

How in the world did I manage to do that?

Oh .... well.

Thanks

[MadMaddie]

22. And another Wow!!

I wonder how many Republicans can actually make it through the article?


We here have been saying all along that the NeoCon Rethuglicans were a treasonous bunch of ratbastards.


If we do not win this election....

[Enthusiast]

27. If we do not win this election....

We will know that was stolen again, as with the past two.

[Hekate]

24. kick for excellence

[opihimoimoi]

25. No SHIT...another K&R

[Hekate]

28. Back atcha, Opi

[AntiFascist]

26. K&R n/t

[santamargarita]

29. Neocon is just another way of saying Fascist!

That's exactly what they are!

[barbtries]

30. great article

nt

[yellowwood]

31. Thank You, Mr. Roberts

When I try to explain to my Republican friends that the Republican Party has been hijacked, they seem to think that this is some kind of conspiracy theory. Today's Republican Party is not my father's Republican party.
I strongly believe that the Democratic Party must be vigilant. The neocons don't care which flag they fly. They will insidiously infiltrate any place they can find a weakness. It's already happened that neocons have found power niches in the Democratic Party. (You all know which ones I mean.)

[proReality]

32. K&R

My only disappointment in this article is that it, and others like it, haven't been on the front pages of every newspaper in this country for the last eight years.

[Major Hogwash]

33. Great story - from one of their own!!

When Bush's cabinet was handpicked by his old man, you knew they were up to no good.

When they have a trial, and there will be a trial, these guys are going to whine all the way to the gallows!!

[Brewman_Jax]

34. Emphasis on "con"

This morning's NPR Morning Edition has this article MS Patient Falls Into American Insurance Gap. The article covers treatment and payments for two MS patients, one in the UK, and one in the US. The telling part is in the section for the US patient. From the article: So the scorecard comes to this.

Linda Oatley of Buckland, England, had several months' delay in getting coverage for a new treatment. She also has to pay a small fee for weekly physical therapy. Overall, she's happy with the National Health Service.

"In the end, if you ask the right questions, go to the right places, you can get the care you need from the get-go," she says.

And the scorecard for Jeff Rubin? A year and a half of cutting drug dosages, a repossessed house and bankruptcy.

A few years ago, he wouldn't have supported a British-style system, with its slower drug approvals and limited ability to pick your own doctors.

Now, he feels differently. He says his healthy friends might not agree, but the free care from the start that Linda Oatley got and the ability to focus on his illness and not his finances sound pretty good.

I may start a thread with this, but the point is that Rubin was so conned in thinking that universal health care is a bad thing, thinking that private insurance is a good thing--until he needed it and it wasn't there. It's sad that it requires a catastrophe for these people to think beyond their own noses.

[Courtesy Flush]

35. I saw that one this morning

I saved it as a PDF file so I can send it to my freeper BIL next time he sends me a bunch of crap.

[emald]

37. I have said for years, about seven now, that this coup,

aided and abetted by the GOP, has destroyed our country. This is no threat, it is an already accomplished fact. The coup occurred in 2000 on the action of the supreme court. GWBushit and his cabal are sedition defined. They have already stolen our country. The question is are there any patriots left willing to fight for freedom once again?

[happygoluckytoyou]

38. MORE THAN A FEW LEFT..... get us the power.... we'll shift the machine.... and YES it will take time

[L0oniX]

39. K & R

[Fading Captain]

40. While I don't disagree with this dude

This thing reads like it was written by a high school student.

[BrklynLiberal]

41. K & R..and I will send this to everyone I know.

[kimmylavin]

42. K&R to read after work!

[RedLetterRev]

43. "Neocon" is yet another slick marketing label that makes my teeth itch

since they are neither "new" nor "conservative". QED, they're the biggest spendthrifts on the planet, albeit true that they only "spend" our money to line their own pockets and the pockets of their cronies. Neither are they new; they're the same clans of thieves that have attacked the Constitution since before its inception and ratification. They're the same crime families who have sought either to circumvent, evade or even outright overthrow it all along.

How long, shall we, the majority of America who desire to live peacefully within the rule of law, suffer the existence of these greedy, self-centered, lawless cretins to live amongst us, when a long and thorough stretching of their necks is better than they deserve for all the pain and degradation they've wrought upon us and the world at large? I've had more than enough of this joy, thanks just the same.

I'm all for removing the glossy marketing-speak, starting with the term "neocon". "Self-servative" fits much more aptly and can be equally applied to their moran followers.

While I'm ranting, let's remove "values voters" away from them, too. It is neither a sense of patriotic duty, nor civic pride, nor any kind of "values" that brings them to the polls. It's only the demonic glee of taking something they don't appreciate away from someone they don't know who desperately needs it that does it for them. Call them what they are: wedge-issue voters. Feh, and a pox on them too for enabling the self-servatives.

[Katenick]

44. Did anyone notice......???

...the boy's t-shirt reads: "The mess in my pants is nothing compared to the mess Democrats will make of this country if they win Nov. 2nd"??? I hope the republiCONS vote on Nov. 2nd... the elections are on Nov. 4th!

They can't even get that right!

[AlbertCat]

45. Well, Duh!

I love the equivalency argument he throws in:


Judging by their behavior, a number of Democrats go along with the neocon view. Thus, the Democrats don’t offer a greatly different profile.


But leaves out the fact that, judging by their behavior, those like him in HIS party welcomed the Neocons and pulled the chair out for them so they could sit down....for 7 plus years. Now that they're losing, they wring their hands.

Don't mention that the GOP's offenses are tenfold more numerous than the Dems....just pretend they're all the same.

******************


On edit:

Mea culpa! He really DOES have a grasp of the situation! My criticism was unfair. If you read the entire piece, near the end you will arrive at this statement:

Looking at the Republican mess, I doubt that Democrats, try as they may, can equal it.

The whole piece's tone if a little different from the excerpt here. Click the link and read it!

[ProfessorGAC]

48. I Know What You're Saying, But. . .

. . .he makes too strong a point of saying how bad the Dems might be anyway.

If one talks about criminals, one should talk about the crimes, not the people who could have stopped it but didn't. Those are two completely different topics, but he keeps combining the two.
The Professor

[defendandprotect]

51. Right --- and we have to acknowledge the political VIOLENCE/MURDERS ---

we are far from doing that yet ---

That is the only way that the Republican neo-cons came to power ---

thru violence and election steals -- aggressive political intimidation.

[whistle]

46. Neocon is just another name for Nazi so expose those rat bastards for what they really are

....fascist Nazi pigs!

http://valenzuelasveritas.blogspot.com/2007/06/of-crazi...

[defendandprotect]

50. First, that "crystal ball" could also be called common sense and/or knowledge of history ....

what's happened here currently was all laid out in the situation that FDR cured . . .

"robber barons" --- Wall Street deals -- blood suckers preying on the public.

It was made obvious by Teddy Roosevelt in the early 1800's ---

and in his calling for "corporations being barred from any participation whatsoever in elections."

And much more happended -- we had political assassinations by the right wing from immediately

after the war and who knows what before that?

And since then, the right has murdered any rising leadership -- whether African-American,

labor, women, political, anti-war --- as they've used even Mafia to hold back unions.

Additionally, it looks like the CIA not only TARGETED people like Frank Church who stood against

them, but seemingly FUNDED right-wing Republicans like Sen. Strom Thurmond and Rep. Gerald Ford.

Many Democrats who would have kept us on an honest path were targeted and moved out of Congress.

Let's stop kidding ourselves about what has been going on in America --

the GOP is where it is now because of murderous politics.