The GOP is one of the most dire threats this country has ever faced

[Hugabear]

And yes, that includes threats such as the Confederacy, Nazi Germany, USSR, and terrorism.

The GOP, if left to their own devices, would absolutely devastate this country. There would be no middle class. Just the wealthy, and the near-slaves to support them. Honestly, I'm sure they would reinstate slavery given the chance.

Their attitude toward the poor and needy in this country is appalling. Given their way, there would be absolutely no assistance at all. Starvation would become common in many areas. Diseases once thought to be contained to Third World countries would rear up. Hospitals would demand payment up front (some already do), those who can't pay are SOL.

We already know how they feel about climate change. They are prepared to kill the planet just to fill their coffers. They know climate change is occurring, but hope they can confuse the population into not taking action.

The GOP would do what 200+ years of foreign and domestic enemies could never do.

[Skittles]

1. um

they are well on their way to accomplishing their goals

[tonybgood]

91. And what's so strange about that is the Republican Party was the one who FREED the slaves!!!

[Skittles]

92. no

the "Republican Party" from back then has as much resemblance to current repukes as the original Tea Party had the current teabaggers

[Art_from_Ark]

119. The Republican Party back then might have freed the slaves,

but they had no problem killing Indians in their quest for more resources. They quickly became the party of money and robber barons, and the administration of US Grant is usually considered to be the most corrupt of the 19th century.

So the Republicans of that day do show a resemblance to today's party, or vice versa.

[Doctor_J]

96. Ahahahahaha

nice try, little troll

[tonybgood]

108. First of all, I'm not a troll!!!

Second; the Republican Party of 1860's is the party responsible for ending slavery. That's an historical fact! It was the Democratic Party of the time that not only enabled slavery, they effectively ended Reconstruction and enabled southern segregation for almost 100 years. The point of my post was to show how far the Republican Party has strayed from its roots. There is no way in hell that I could ever support the policies and practices of the GOP or , for that matter, the "blue dog" Democrats who enable Republicans to block legislation and policies to move this country forward. Next time, before you make your little snide remark, try examining the truth and your own conscience, if you have one!

[atreides1]

2. Bin Laden

Was less of a threat to this country!

[rhett o rick]

7. Bin Laden was a mere tool of the RepubliCon Party. nm

[PatrynXX]

27. given how much the idiot right believes obama was born in kenya

there's more proof dick cheney basically made UBL a puppet and did the dirty deed.

[canuckledragger]

85. He was a puppet but it didn't start with Cheney

CIA trained & armed back in the 80's to fight the Russians in Afghanistan

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1245.htm


BIN LADEN’S BEGINNINGS
As anyone who has bothered to read this far certainly knows by now, bin Laden is the heir to Saudi construction fortune who, at least since the early 1990s, has used that money to finance countless attacks on U.S. interests and those of its Arab allies around the world.
As his unclassified CIA biography states, bin Laden left Saudi Arabia to fight the Soviet army in Afghanistan after Moscow’s invasion in 1979. By 1984, he was running a front organization known as Maktab al-Khidamar - the MAK - which funneled money, arms and fighters from the outside world into the Afghan war.
What the CIA bio conveniently fails to specify (in its unclassified form, at least) is that the MAK was nurtured by Pakistan’s state security services, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, the CIA’s primary conduit for conducting the covert war against Moscow’s occupation.

[RKP5637]

3. The "new" GOP is the rise of Sociopaths united. It is the biggest threat this

country has ever seen. The problem is too many Americans are too F'en ignorant to get what is happening, lambs to the slaughter.

[6502]

15. [SOCIOPATHS] You are right... I've felt the same way, too, for a long time...

I'd come to believe that there are in fact a high proportion of sociopaths in the society. I'd read somewhere that it is something like 1 in 100 or something.

My fear has been that the GOP is simply a place where they gather together and work together to meet their innately selfish needs and drives.

Similarly, I'd known people who would choose to be an "Independent"... as opposed to a Democrat or GOP. They were basically as selfish as any GOPer, but smart enough to understand that if they actively labelled themselves as GOP they would be totally ostricized/cut-off by most of the people around them.

But when they spoke about the poor or the unemployed... that gave them away. Things were often the fault of the poor... The unemployed deserved to be so because odds are they were lazy and not putting enough into their work...

That it was not fair that they should pay taxes to support a system that could help others.

I'd heard lots of talk like this for years.
They are unrepentant.
Without remorse.
Without shame.

We need to somehow codify in law a collection of laws that make it so that if sociopaths try to violate the people within a society or the broad society as a whole, that their avaricious behavior would trigger immediate penalties --- loss of property up to loss of freedom.

For example: I live overseas. Over here, I just discovered from a friend that if a company makes a person work over some maximum number of hours in a single month (20 hours?.... can't remember), the company is required to report it to the government. Further, if this continues for 3 months, the company is required to send the employee for a health check.

The brilliance of this: without ever directly trying overtly state over and over again that this is meant to curb avaricious or sadistic drives in business leaders, the collection of rules provides enough annoyance and costs to curb (or at least redirect) some of the abuses.

Of course, sociopaths will seek to try to get around even this, but it is an example of the minimum of the kinds of hurdles that should be in place.

PS. While this law is in place, it is no paradise over here, exactly. Some of the things you read about as new phenomena in the US (Krugman: "Onshore Outsourcing, Wages, and Benefits", make sure to read the PDF that Krugman links to as well) has been going on strong over here for decades... an attempt to pay less on salaries as well as pay less on, or even avoid, paying into pensions, healthcare, and the social safety net.

Personally, along with this kind of law should be included a kind of repeat-offenders provision: individual members (direct bosses up the chain) of the organizations that repeatedly violate these laws should then be psychologically evaluated. If they are found to be sociopathic, then they would be prohibited from being placed in any leadership roles that could effect the society (eg. no running companies... no government work... no managing offices... etc...) and placed in psychological care for evaluation to determine when and if they can be released back into the general society.

Anything less than this would be any or all of the following:

* Serving as an apologist for sociopaths and avaricousness.
* An excuse for ones own weakness to actually do anything.
* Active abandonment of one's responsibility to society.

We don't, in the name of free speech, allow people to yell "Fire!" in a theatre.
We understand that the mayhem caused by such an act has a perilous cost to the society and for that reason it is a crime.

We have no excuse to allow avaricious sociopathic acts to go unchallenged on the basis of "freedom".

[Flatulo]

22. So half the people in the US are sociopaths?

This is a dangerous game. When the opposition party is in power, which inevitably happens, they could then label the left as having some other dangerous pathology that threatens society.

Seriously, do you really think that there are 100,000,000 sociopaths in the US? There aren't even 1/1000 of the psychiatrists needed to make that diagnosis.

Selfishness is not a mental illness. Neither is greed.

[Confusious]

32. He said 1 in 100

1 percent of the population, or 3,500,000.

Being a sycophant is different then just being selfish or greedy.

[Flatulo]

33. So where did the other 96,500,000 conservatives/Repubs come from?

[Confusious]

35. I don't know. where did it come from?

I don't see 100 million anywhere.

half the population of the united states would be 175 million. don't see that number anywhere.

[villager]

53. Yes, the Republican party is sociopathic. And sociopaths are good at bullying and manipulating

...others into submission. Hence their power over their "base..."

[Flatulo]

60. And yet, the Right considers the Left to be crazy as well.

That's the problem with this kind of thinking - its highly subjective.

What, is one half of the country going to institutionalize the other half every eight years?

I, for one, don't think all or even most RW'ers are crazy. I think that the majority of them have simply fallen for oversimplified sound bites as solutions to complex problems (close the borders, cut taxes, get the government off my back, etc), and maybe more than a smack of racism as regards Mr. Obama.

[villager]

64. What the right does is "projection," which is part and parcel of the syndrome

Instead of imagining both sides as "the same," look at the policies advocated and put in place by the right -- the cruelty of them, etc. Look at the rhetoric they use on their talk shows, in their public threats, etc.

Part of dealing with them effectively is by calling them what they are: sociopaths.

[Katashi_itto]

66. Bull. Go talk to them in detail. The majorrity of them would

be happy to have us strung up in concentration camps or put to death. They are sociopaths.

[Flatulo]

68. I do not know a single person who feels that way,

and I've had lots of conservative aquaintences over the years.

Yeah, they're out there, but they don't represent mainstream conservatism. Your talking skinheads, not people who read National Review.

[Katashi_itto]

72. Not at all, the Ones that read national review dont represent the majority out there.

A con that actually read NR in an intellectual. There is a barbarian horde out there, if you don't believe that, np, just don't be surprised at the election in November. We are highly out numbered and our msg doesn't get out.

[cherokeeprogressive]

95. That's just crazy talk.

There are 47 million registered republicans and 32 million registered as independent. Let's say that makes 63 million people who vote republican.

A majority of them would string us up in concentration camps or put us to death? 31.5 million +1 would tell someone that?

God damn I wish you knew how stupid that sounds.

[onenote]

110. +1

[TrogL]

59. Authoritarian followers

[Flatulo]

73. Maybe more like lazy and gullible?

They're subjected to a constant stream of hate radio that offers easy solutions to difficult problems. It's easier to blame <insert here> than to innovate solutions.

[Live and Learn]

78. Same thing. nt

[Doctor_J]

100. Brainwashed, barely literate morons

who believe what they hear on Hate Radio and Fox "News"

[Flatulo]

70. I think a better characterization in group-think

Propaganda is widespread and very effective in getting people to not think things through for themselves.

Goebbles was able to teach a majority of Germans that Jews were subhuman. It took a 10 year propaganda campaign, but it was ultimately effective.

The German people were not sociopathic in great numbers, but they were open to the idea that there was some group that could be blamed for all their problems.

[EX500rider]

115. Didn't start with Goebbles though...

...German Pogroms against Jews go back as far as 1096 AD during the Crusades, with more during the Black Plague in 1348, the Hep-Hep riots in 1819, etc.... Don't think it took to 10 years of propaganda in the '30's to teach them to hate Jews...

[Flatulo]

120. Jeezus, I had no idea the persecution went back that far, although now that you mention

it, I do recall seeing a documentary on the Black Death, and one of the solutions villagers tried was round up all the Jews and burn them alive.

[PatrynXX]

28. speaking of selfish

this david horowitz brain dead character was on book tv a moment ago saying how the left calls the right selfish and how the right has to go up against this massive left wing money making machine. WTF is he talking about. what money?? think I'll puke or laugh or have a stroke over how much lying the right is doing. yall know lying without repenting is a sin. thought yall over there gave a shit.

[The Wizard]

49. Horowitz was a liberal in the sixties

but he couldn't get laid in the era of free love so he changed sides. He still can't get laid, but some say he gives good blow jobs for a fee.

[JustAnotherGen]

39. I don't know if it is feasible

What you are proposing - but it makes a lot of sense.

See, I work for an "Evil Empire" wireless company. Prior to joining them in early 2006 - I held a variety of positions in marketing - in Telecommunications. One of thos positions was with The Glotanic aka Global Double Crossing aka Global Crossing.

I'm reading Chris Hayes book "Twilight of the Elites - America After Meritocracy" and he mentions GC along with Enron in the forward.

My first day, sitting in employee orientation I met up with colleagues I had not seen in four years. We all moved into higher profile decision making positions - and a lot of that has to do with ethics. Though certain segments of America and employees in another channel think we (wireless) are beyond evil . . .

What they don't have insight into is a general feeling of never this way pass again . . . Never cheat the pension, lie to the stock holders, lies to the FCC or lie to the SEC. There was no bailout for the tech bubble - and with a little decency we should never need one again. No more "trades" with other companies that look like "profit on the books". Poor form. Better to cut a line of business than lie to ourselves and the public that everything is AOK with that line of business. Oh - and the fines in place as a result of poor behavior were created as a response to the bubble bursting due to false profits.

My point - if people aren't going to jail for past behavior, then prevent future behavior by clear laws that state "the bottom line will be hit" if you play games now.

Will it completely stop a sociopath? Not likely - they will continue to exist. But it gives others in the organization wind at their back to stop the behavior before it begins. Or at the first inkling that something is up . . .

Right now - I have zero confidence that in my lifetime the finance industry will get it right. At 39 - I believe that for the rest of my life I will be subject to global economic security under constant threat because politicians operate out of fear that a bank president will stick heir tongue out at them.

[RKP5637]

86. There is a lot that could be done. I've always felt in a capitalistic

society those with sociopath-like behavior, or those that clearly are sociopaths have great opportunities to rise to the top with handsome rewards. I knew some and they were extremely wealthy, extremely charming at the same time, and they were extremely ruthless and uncaring, even to their family, but it was masked by their charm. One poster in another thread said that in the business school they are attending they are taught to be on the watch for sociopathic traits in business.

Many checks and balances are eroding and often just being taken away. I feel in most societies predators will often rise to the top.

All this said, and what you said, there does not seem to be a will in the US to protect against this behavior. I think this stems from the fact so many in the US have really had it rather well in the big picture and many just don't seem to get that a society/culture can go horribly wrong.

[Jessy169]

17. Make that "Christian extremist and other certifiable Sociopaths united"

I believe the driving force behind the rise of the GOP sociopathic party is the extreme Christian right-wing. They don't believe in global warming or other science that conflicts with their "moral" agenda. They see only evil and corruption when they look outside of their windows, but we all know from the millions of Yahoo and other posts by these whackos that they are merely projecting their own psyches onto others. They are racist, bigoted, full of hate and anger. Very few of them are very smart or even educated beyond high school, but they think they know it all. Lying is what they do, non-stop, whether they realize it or not. Their agenda is to impose through Federal law their "moral values" on the rest of the nation. Since they truly believe that they are on a mission from God, they believe that winning through dirty tricks, lies, threats or any other form of sub-f*ckery is A-OK -- it is God's will, and God is on their side. And since they can't win with just the religious right-wing vote, they have activated the "truly sociopathic and angry haters" segment of society through propaganda, lies, hot-button issues or whatever other means they can think up. Now, here they all are, the Republican Party, with their man Mitt Romney just a few stolen votes away from the Presidency where he and his Mormon/Christian right-wing extremists can -- and will -- cook up all kinds of drama. Dangerous times are upon us, whether we like it or not.

[RKP5637]

54. I agree, this is a very strong element of it all. The combining of right wing

ideologies, authoritarian behavior and fundy religion under the banner of the GOP, and that combined with uninformed voters who truly want to remain ignorant. These are truly dangerous times and I think many Americans are woefully ignorant of what is going on and what the future might hold.

And that is combined with the apathy of many American voters, and those who think they know the issues, but just parrot right wing political and religious talking points. To me, I think if not checked, we are headed for a theocratic dystopia. The Stockholm Syndrome runs deep in the US.

[pwhtckll]

30. The GOP are wrong, but they are not sociopaths

The conservative ideology is morally bankrupt and repugnant to most liberals, and their anti-intellectualism is disturbing to those who think critically about the world, but the Republicans are not sociopaths. This sort of demonization is a tactic they employ. We should work hard to ensure that Democrats prevail in November be prepared to challenge GOP disinformation at every opportunity, but we mustn't allow ourselves to start thinking that they are evil or psychologically deranged.

[Blanks]

44. I agree.

There are a lot of good people who vote republican. There is no doubt that the people who are behind a lot of their policies; are evil sociopaths. That's not the same as the guys who think all of their friends are conservatives and get all their information from right-wing 'news' sources.

There are a lot of racists too, but a lot of people just go along with their friends, and in an attempt to one-up their buddies; the dialog gets more hateful in, what appears to them, as a harmless competition.

I think we're all faced with friends and loved ones who, we've only recently learned through facebook, enjoy making untrue and sometimes overtly racist comments about our president. However, I believe that they are trying to fit in with their tough talking bully friends. In some cases; if you challenge them, they will stop.

If you've ever seen the movie 'The Wave' (German subtitled, available on netflix) or read the book (more of a short story really) then you can see how powerful the 'need' to belong really is. It is based on an actual event.

I think that is what we're up against and not an entire party of evil people. Just a bunch of folks who, in some cases, are trying to impress a buddy. I'm not defending them or attempting to chastise anyone. I just don't agree that all gun-toting, Christian, pro-life, pro-death penalty, climate change denying right-wingers are sociopaths.

Some of them are just our friends who have been led astray, or could be our friends if they responded to reason.

We need to figure out a way to bring them back. There are a lot of them, and the future of this world depends on it.

[PADemD]

82. There are a lot of good people who vote republican

My mother was a good Republican for almost her whole life. She was also nothing like what the Republican Party has become. She became so disgusted that she registered as a Democrat the year before she died. I was so proud of her when she walked up to me after getting her driver's license picture and whispered, "I registered as a Democrat."

[The Wizard]

50. As the corporate elites own the media

challenging their lies on an equal scale is akin to pissing into the wind. It's difficult trying to talk sense with someone whose information is skewed by relentless propaganda.
Republicans in power are essentially jerkoffs. I give you McConnell, Boner, Cantor, Bachmann, Rmoney, Murdoch, and oh hell, the entire body of elected Republicans across the country. I left out the radicals on the Supreme Court and hate radio. The list is endless.

[Jessy169]

52. Not all, but many

While it is no doubt true that not all Republicans are evil or psychologically deranged, the fact remains that many of them are, and by all appearances it is even rational to conclude that most of them are. One needs only to read the thousands of obnoxious, racist, lying and hating posts on Yahoo and other boards by right-wing zealots to develop a logical basis for that opinion. And it isn't just the Republican base voters that are daily pumping out evidence of their psychological derangement. Recently we witnessed a three-ring circus in Congress with Issa and the congressional Republican leadership pushing the Big Lie called the Fast and Furious Scandal to a vote, with ALL Republican congress members voting lock-step in support of that Big Lie. Political theatre, definitely. But there is something a little evil and psychologically deranged going on, in my opinion, when such blatant lies are utilized by the Republicans to achieve political goals. What about Rush Limbaugh -- how many lies and obnoxious assaults on common decency do we get from him? How many Republicans are standing up to call out Limbaugh for his lies and verbal manure? Answer: one or two at most, sometimes, but most of the time none. The whole Republican Party is floating on an ocean of LIES, supporting them either directly or indirectly by passively allowing them to go unchallenged. So, back to the main question. Are all Republicans sociopaths, or evil, or psychologically deranged? Most likely not, but it is entirely logical to form the opinion that the Republican Party as a whole IS sociopathic, or at the very least evil and/or psychologically deranged.

[backscatter712]

75. I agree - while there are some Republicans (mostly rank-and-file) who are merely misguided...

the elites are 100% sociopathic evil.

They know exactly what they're doing, they know who they are hurting, and they do it anyways.

[sandyshoes17]

79. +1000

[Doctor_J]

103. Most of the igh profile ones are indeed sociopaths

Look at Willard. He has done a 180 on almost everything he claimed to believe in not that long ago. Basically, to try to make himself palatable to a tiny bunch of crazy billionaries, he has completely reversed his stance on every issue of substance. He is totally without a conscience. That's one definition of a sociopath. They Cock Bros and other Repuke big shots are willing to kill millions of Americans by taking away their health insurance, just so they can make more billions on top of the ones they already have. Sociopaths? Goddamn right.

As for not wanting to demonize the Repukes like they do us, why don't you go play tiddly winks down at the Senior Center? We're in a struggle for america, and those who don't want to play rough should get the fuck out of the way.

[pwhtckll]

105. This is not a struggle for America

This is not a struggle for America, but a struggle for the few hundred thousand voters in Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida who will cast the deciding votes. They are moderates and they are independents, and they don't like demonization. If they choose to stay at home on election day, then we'll be watching Mitt Romney's inauguration in January. You may want to do all the name-calling that you want, but leave it on the playground; demonizing Republicans may make you feel better now, but how will you feel if we lose the election because we lost the small sliver of votes that matter.

[Doctor_J]

107. Ah, yes

"We need to play nice or we'll lose". Why don't you tell that to the right-wing psychos.

You are quite delusional, newbie.

[Laelth]

4. I disagree re. slavery.

What the GOP has now is better than traditional slavery. Now they get to work poor people to death, but they don't have to provide the poor people with housing, food, and medical care (as was required for traditional slaves). What's more, people line up, these days, just for a chance to work themselves to death. Who needs slavery when people will volunteer for abuse?

-Laelth

[spin]

5. Any one party system would be a poor idea in a democracy ...

but when two parties fight like children in an unsupervised playground it is hard to make progress on solving any problems.

The Tea Party has driven the Republican Party to be far more conservative and its members have a "it's our way or the highway" view of politics. The cost of running never ending political campaigns has led to some politicians being bought and owned by the rich and the big corporations. Efforts to gain control over the influence of Big Money on our political environment have largely failed.

We have been survived many other rough times in our history and I feel that we will survive this one. Eventually the voters will become totally fed up with the situation and correct the problem in a dramatic fashion. Of course this assumes that at that time we still will have a system where the votes are properly counted.

[Kablooie]

14. We only have one party fighting like a child in a playground and it's still hard to make progress.

[spin]

20. Sadly you may be correct. ...

It is somewhat possible that all those we elect are mere puppets who respond to the strings their masters pull and the citizens in our nation are fools who fight over issues which are not truly important to the controlling powerful few.

This verges on some tin foil conspiracies and I personally tend to discount such ideas as I don't believe in unified powerful overlords as they probably waste most of their time fighting for control.

I do believe that the 1% does occasionally meet to discuss issues that effect our nation and attempt to influence events. That would make commonsense as their wealth depends on the future of this nation and the world. Considering the shape our nation and the world is in their efforts have failed or perhaps they are totally incompetent.

[The Wizard]

51. Voting is quaint

as long as the vote tabulating is done in secret.

[harun]

90. We have two versions of Corporate Rule. They fight for the love and $$$

of the big money.

[Stainless]

6. You hit the nail on the head

I never thought of it that way, but you are absolutely correct. Sad thing is, too many of their dumb enablers think of them as saviors.

[pwhtckll]

31. They live in an echo chamber

The best thing Democrats can do is present a narrative that challenges the validity of theirs, but they have always been better at staying on message than we are. If we stopped letting them drive the public conversation, if we presented our own talking points to counter theirs, then we would go a long way towards pushing back.

[Doctor_J]

98. Present it where?

The best thing Democrats can do is present a narrative that challenges the validity of theirs

The sociopaths have a tight lock on mass media. There is no way for the Dems to "present a narrative" when the TV "News" and Hate Radio stations broadcast lies and propaganda 24/7, with absolutely no outlet for anything else.

You stupid bromide smacks of trolling.

[airplaneman]

8. K&R

I have been coming to this same conclusion.
-Airplane

[MadHound]

9. Oy,

You are going just a wee bit over the top with that contention.

Get back to me when the GOP is shooting people in the streets.

[JJ]

12. Gabby Giffords, Dr.Tillman.....

[MadHound]

41. Get back to me when you have something comparable with the Holocaust

Because until you do, you're just blowing hot air and hype.

[Doctor_J]

99. They haven't had to

there has been no pushback from the sane people. Were we to ever fight back, they wouldn't hesitate.

[Gregorian]

10. Well duh! (If you'll forgive the expression)

I've been saying this for ages. Except I felt guilty for saying it because it sounded silly.

It's not silly, even if there is more to the picture than that.

[Fumesucker]

11. They think the same thing about you..

Somehow I get the feeling this might not end well..

[Kablooie]

13. The Yellowstone caldera exploding might be a bigger threat.

Though not nearly as imminent.

[Initech]

16. If we want to win the war on terror - we need to go after domestic terrorists as well.

This includes the billionaire economic terrorists and their enablers in the tea party.

[MannyGoldstein]

18. It takes two to tango

Actually three, in this case: the ridiculous electorate and the Vichy Democrats also deserve credit.

[penndragon69]

19. Economic Terrorism !

That's what we have to call repubLIEcons anytime, anywhere.

repubLIEcon, Treason be thy name.

May they all BURN.

[ificandream]

21. They're nuts!

What's really appalling is the lies and the exaggerations they will tell to make their points. Example is Obama's health care bill. It's been called "the end of the world" (a phrase Repubs use every day, it seems), a power grab by the Obama Administration and even tyranny. These people are crazy!

[coalition_unwilling]

25. Here's where they're really nuts: they can call Obama a socialist and a fascist

in the same sentence, not realizing that the two (socialism and fascism) are mortal enemies of one another. Only a paranoid schizophrenic could embody both in the same psyche.

I really think they use 'socialist' and 'fascist' as code for the N-word which they can't use in polite company, b/c it's pretty obvious they have no idea what either 'socialist' or 'fascist' mean.

[liberalmuse]

23. My patience with them has run out.

I'm fed up. You can't have an intelligent discussion with Republicans - they are fucking stupid. Willfully so. They don't know what's going on in the world outside of Fox News and "Family" radio. There is such a disconnect with them that it is nearly impossible to bridge. For instance, I know of many conservatives who detest assistance programs and want to do away with them, but when they need help or hit a rough patch, they are the first to stand in line for their share. I have a co-worker who hates unions and any program that helps human beings. She'll say she hates unions, but in the next sentence tells me her husband works with one of the best companies in the world - because they have a great union. I just can't with these people anymore. They make my head and heart hurt. To know there are human beings walking amongst us who would rather see a child die of cancer or starve instead of parting with 50 fucking cents out of their paychecks is infuriating. But they don't have a problem with most of their tax dollars going towards trumped-up wars or weapons or corporate welfare - things are more important to them than people. They are vampires - sucking the life and everything good out of this country. This is the kind of evil that fueled some of the bloodiest and most barbaric times in our history. People not giving a fuck about anyone but themselves. There are 7 billion people on this planet, and I'm sorry, we're all in this together, and the, "ME, ME, ME" bullshit is unacceptable. Today's conservatism is deplorable and I completely agree that they are the most destructive entity in this nation's history.

[airplaneman]

34. I started to give a reply like this but gave up as the words were not coming out right.

I get responses from republicans and libertarians that my only honest assessment of them is that they are insane and have really lost contact with reality. I am not kidding.
-Airplane

[grasswire]

38. yep

My sister is a teabagger. She also has a cadillac health plan and cadillac retirement because of the teachers union that fought for those for school librarians. She has Medicare. She gets tax breaks as a homeowner. And she is a mean authoritarian and a Baptist.

[RKP5637]

48. Well said!!! n/t

[Jessy169]

58. Agree 100%

liberalmuse has managed to put the complete essence of today's Republican Party into this one single post. Good job!

[johnsolaris]

24. McCarthyism will look tame

Hi,
If the current crop of Republicans could their way, the era of McCarthy will look tame indeed.

Fight back, you can do more than just get out & vote. We must work hard to get rid of the Republican Horde.

[JohnnyRingo]

26. Yet half the people in the country vote for them.

Mean spirited, bigoted, rotten to the core people who believe taking something away from someone else somehow enriches them personally.

The GOP thrives on the fear and loathing of the mentally ill.

[pwhtckll]

29. Conservatives make me more liberal every day

What is so frustrating to me about modern conservativism is the degree to which it eschews critical thinking and scientific exploration. They don't stop and think about the consequences of their actions, such as the Tea Party tantrum with the debt ceiling that resulted in a reduced credit rating from one agency. They are willing to follow the talking heads on Fox News and talk radio and ignorantly parrot talking points.

[patrice]

36. Mitt's Plan: Vulture Capitalism on a national scale

Something like this:

1. Weaken the dollar by threatening your FOREIGN hedge-fund partners with un-resolved debts that you're all holding because of the '08 Derivative Crash and by f*cking with any trade deals going through Congress.

2. Total Congressional Obstruction of any government effort to support the American economy with tax money spent on Infrastructure and jobs.

3. Lather, rinse, repeat until, either by means of a Republican presidency or otherwise, you cash in the the leveraged bottom-dollar American real estate assets and the bottom-dollar for American labor productivity for a better position for the 1% in the world financial hegemony than they would have had with President Obama.

[Flatulo]

83. I honestly don't think we can survive a Romney presidency.

The internal friction between the haves and have-nots will set this country aflame.

[limpyhobbler]

37. True, but I would also say Dems who support gop policies are just as bad.

Don't give 'em a free pass just because they have a D next to their name. Too easy to get conned that way.

[cantbeserious]

40. The GOP Is An Instrument Of The Ultra Wealthy - They Are The Dire Threat

eom

[GeorgeGist]

42. Where will they go ...

when the US is a third world country?

[obxhead]

43. Near slaves? HA

If slavery were legal today nobody would participate. It would be more expensive than minimum wage.

[Hugabear]

46. Good point

Slave owners had to house and feed their slaves. Far cheaper to just pay them paltry wages and make them fend for themselves.

[The Wizard]

62. Here's the choice

Own slaves or rent them by the hour.

[RKP5637]

56. Yep! K&R! n/t

[LongTomH]

74. The GOP is being run by the descendants of the South's slave-owning aristocracy!

That's why the United States is being transformed into a 21st century version of a slave plantation right before our eyes!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002913683

[RZM]

111. That seems like quite a leap

Off the top of my head, here are the political figures I would consider to be most important in the Republican party:

Mitt Romney, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Reince Preibus, and Jim DeMint.

On the ideological side, you've got:

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Roger Ailes (just to name a few).

Of all of those, DeMint and McConnell are the only ones I know of who would be even be candidates for being descended from slaveowners. And I've seen no evidence of that in the case of those two. Remember that slaveowners comprised a fairly small percentage of the southern population.

Perhaps they are better represented on the fundraising side. But who knows . . . the money comes from a lot of places.

I would guess relatively few prominent Republicans have very many slaveowning ancestors.

[SalviaBlue]

45. Many are sociopaths... All are authoritarian

Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority as well as the administration of said authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and libertarianism. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political authority is concentrated in a small group of politicians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism

[backscatter712]

76. Everyone here needs to read Bob Altemeyer's book The Authoritarians!

It's free! Read it here!

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

[SalviaBlue]

80. Thanks for the link

[santamargarita]

47. The GOP has always been the biggest threat to this country - and...

they will go all out to steal the election in November.

[samsingh]

55. i agree with you

[raouldukelives]

57. I wish I could say it was just the GOP.

We can pretty safely say all the GOP cares about is making money. Who pays the most? Whose ring can they kiss to make a dollar? Big biz. They don't care who gets hurt, who lives in torment from their actions or what kind of contributions to the world they leave behind. I think they share that attitude with many who are not conservatives or even who pay that much attention to politics at all. The need to lessen regulations, to open new areas to exploitation, to lower taxes on investment earnings, to lower wages & health care costs, to dissolve social safety nets. All in the never ending quest for one more nickel than the other guy. All as you point out leading us even deeper and deeper into the reality that we will never even consider addressing climate change as a moral & ethical concept. Only as a byproduct of our inalienable right to speculate & pillage the earth so a handful can live in luxury today.
I used to feel like we were more of an opposition party to these principles. That money wasn't more important than nature, that we had an obligation to actually try to make things better, but that may have just been in my head. More & more it seems like some dimly lit far off memory that as each day passes becomes more like the imaginings of a desperate mind than a reality.
This Govt/Wall St friendly environment we have created is literally killing us. Us, our families and their futures. They poison our land, seas & air. They pump our bodies full of horrible crap and obfuscate the science when it appears its causing us health problems and spend billions fighting anything that would help us cover our medical costs from their avarice.

[JackHughes]

61. If lying was illegal..

The Republicans would be out of business.

[xfundy]

67. Excellent analysis.

And so good to see new, or newer posters who've finally had ENOUGH of the Greedy Old Pigs.

[Jake2413]

69. I just can't fathom

how smart educated people buy into the GOP shit!! Some of my friends, who are good caring people will not listen to anything that goes against their core beliefs no matter what the facts are and evidence proves. I just don't get it.

[horseshoecrab]

71. Also agree 100%

They are the worst in my lifetime.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

77. Spot ON

They know climate change is occurring, but hope they can confuse the population into not taking action.

Reminds me of Captain Codpiece's quote for the ages, regarding climate change:

"...I'm not worried; I won't be around."

[lastlib]

81. Jan. 20, 2009: We embarked on a mission to rebuild America from...

...the economic disaster that was Bush. On that same day, the GOP embarked on a mission to destroy Barack Obama. If putting people back to work got in the way of that, then f*ck putting people back to work. They would literally throw millions of people (families) to the wolves to satisfy their naked lust for power, to build America into a conservative utopia which only conserved wealth for the wealthy and power for the powerful. Women, minorities, and those of contrary political, economic or religious views would be squat out of luck in their utopia. It's not a trickle-down economic vision, it's a piss-on economic vision. It's not a society in which the weak are helped up, but where they are trampled on with a steel boot, to be tossed to the side when the stampede's over. It is NOT the America I want to live in!!!

The GOP needs to be wiped off the face of the earth, as far as I am concerned. Their greed and hatred disqualify them from ANY position of wealth, power, or trust in this America. The visions of FDR and the other great progressive leaders of our nation must be restored!!

[ErikJ]

84. End of the World DOMINIONISM.

Most of the RW Christians are Dominionist End-timers. They believe the apocalpse and pray for it to happen in their time. And they encourage it by their hate for Treehuggers and hope for global warming etc. This is CLEARLY proof that they are the most dangerous ideology on earth.

[glinda]

87. To the World really. They should be tried Globally.

[yurbud]

88. politicians in the employ of Wall Street and bankers in both parties are a danger

though there are a far higher percentage of them in the GOP.

I'm not sure whether they are a majority in the Democratic Party or not, but they somehow manage to get a chokehold on leadership positions.

[Mosaic]

89. We outnumber them

We have the second amendment to protect us. They never will get away with that kind of evil, never.

[MaeScott]

93. K and R. nt

[magnifisense]

94. If Romney wins the presidency --

And the GOP wins the Senate, we can say so long to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Say so long to civil liberties.

This will be a case of "our long national nightmare has just begun!"

[uwep]

97. The GOP is becoming the religious right fundie Taliban

Why? This week the Taliban in Afghanistan executed a woman that was suspected of having a relationship with two men. She and the men involved were executed in public with the applause of the bystanders. The religious right (GOP) is taking away women's rights and have applauded the killing of doctors that do legal abortions. Oh, you say they did not. Read some of the right's blogs and web sites. The encouragement they give to violent action, posts of doctors names and addresses, bombing of clinics, the forced closing of Planned Parenthood. This happens in the states with Republican controlled legislatures(Mississippi, Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South and North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska. I may have missed a few).

Now tell me which in direction we are going. Are we a nation that follows the teaching of Jesus, or are we a nation heading into the morass of religious fundamentalism. Are we starting our own flavor of Taliban? Some states have actually said that doctors could be killed and it would be considered justifiable homicide. Who is the real devil here?

[L0oniX]

101. ...along with the MIC.

[Fundamental Change]

102. US Could be THE model for UN's Agenda 21

Hillary made a wise investment in the UN 2 weeks ago. 2 billion borrowed dollars to leverage the creation of a global EPA to allow underdeveloped and struggling foreign companies equal footing to compete with the more industrial nations in the UN using criteria and those other nations wish to hold us to. I'm sure our third world, Asian, and Middle Eastern partners will look out for our interests. The UN's Agenda 21 addresses global Health Care (We now have a model that can be used and the imposition of a world tax would allow us ALL to benefit). We've already been paying - $1 Billion annually the first few years, to the WHO to get it off the ground, tho it is now at $8 billion annually the past couple of years. But it'll be worth it to ensure citizens of all UN nations are properly covered. Under their agenda for Sustainable Energy, we're well on our way! Getting rid of the carbon-based energy to cleaner industrial scale wind- and solar- will benefit us all in the end. Hopefully, the cost per kilowatt from 6 times as much as natural gas and other carbons to maybe only twice as much in 15 or 20 years. I'm sure that at some point, too, the government will not have to keep funding those operating in the red. Sustainable population growth has me mixed up tho - I mean, I personally am for negative population trends but selectively killing little girls in the womb to accomplish that seems a bit harsh!
The whole world would be an equitable and harmonious place if only we could convince the rest of the world to abide by the rules set by the UN. I mean if we foot the bill for the world's green energy, health care, organic farms, and declining population trends, those that benefit now will take care of us 25 years from now. The really great thing about it all, there won't be pesky Republicans to interfere with these fundamental global social and economic changes.
Look at Agenda 21 - It's the inevitable new world order that President Obama is leading us towards. He's got my vote!

[joanbarnes]

104. They continue to commit treason daily in all their actions and in-actions.

[tabasco]

106. No one should think, "it can't happen here."

It can and the fascist republicans want to make it so.

[Puzzledtraveller]

109. The number of recs on this is unbelievable.

If this is what is becoming of the Democratic party then we have already lost, our minds, and our credibility. DU is beginning to look like The Twilight Zone.

[BanTheGOP]

112. I've been saying this for YEARS

I'm document in SPECIFIC DETAIL how the GOP is the most oppressive regime in the history of the world. I have pulled all my hair out.

Several pertinent articles in this blog: BanTheGOP Blog Archives

[RZM]

114. The GOP isn't anywhere near the most repressive entity in the world right now

That's absurd to begin with. Expanding it to 'the history of the world' takes it to a level beyond absurdity.

I'm not sure what that's even called. I'll go with 'super-duper absurdity.'

[BanTheGOP]

117. Let me get this straight.

1. The OP has opined that the Republican party is worse than anything in the world. Hell's bells, the title even says it..."The GOP is one of the most dire threats this country has ever faced".... !!!!

2. The OP states that the GOP is worse than the Nazi's, the Soviets, and the terrorists.

3. Over 70% of the >100 responses agree with the premise.

4. I come out and say that I've been harping on this very issue for years.

Despite over 100 responses prior to mine, you didn't respond once. Then I come out and basically extrapolate the OP's statement that the GOP is the most repressive entity in the history of the world, and BAM! you come out of the woodwork and make your super duper absurd statement, notwithstanding that there are dozens of responses just as correct as the OP's and my comments... YET YOU DIDN'T RESPOND UNTIL I STATED SOMETHING.

Now, what does that say that I can't even interject in a thread in a subject in which I've gone on extensive record as agreeing with the premise, and you single my own comment out?

I call it sad. Really sad.

[RZM]

118. It's just a comment thread. I look at all replies as one big family

I don't agree with the OP either. Forgive me for making one response and not two. This kind of thing does happen on threads sometimes. Sometimes you say your peace in a reply to a reply and not a reply to the OP.

Anybody arguing that the GOP is worse than 'the Nazis, the Soviets, and the terrorists' is just plain deluded. Anybody making that claim lacks basic understanding of one or all of those parties mentioned.

That's not to say the GOP doesn't deserve harsh criticism or rejection at the polls. But once you start making these ridiculous historical analogies, you've departed reality for la-la land.

It's also rather insulting to the victims of the real tyrants. The Nazis killed millions upon millions of people during WWII, leaving behind a shattered continent. In the Soviet Union from 1937-38, more people were shot by the NKVD than died on both sides of the American civil war combined. The Soviets managed that in less than half the time without a war going on. If you think the GOP is worse than those two examples, you are seriously abusing history.

[LynneSin]

113. I'd like to amend that to see the Tea Party controlled GOP is the most dire threat

GOP of old was never that bad.

[deaniac21]

116. They turned me into a newt....