Republican Party:Extreme Ideology And Unprincipled Tactics(Alterman)

 Republicans can't help themselves.They are suspicious of government on principle and opposed to successful programs in practice and are happy to see government programs fail and eventually disappear.Moderates are being run out of town while conservatives rule not only the party but the airwaves.The Congressional Republicans exercise party discipline,support extreme ideology and are far more willing to twist and abuse procedure than Congressional Democrats.As N.Y congressman Anthony Weiner observed,too often Democrats arrive at"knight fights carrying library books".

Republicans never even bothered to come up with an alternative health care plan.They used words like socialism,government takeover and death panels to undermine the plan.As you know,U.S. and South Africa(as of 2009) are the only two developed countries that does not provide health care for all of its citizens.We also spend far more than any developed country as a percentage of GDP.Nationally,30% of American children were without health insurance.U.S. is eighty-ninth for polio immunizations and eighty-four for measles.Let's remember what Sarah Palin stated"Hell no"to helping children receive proper care.

The "Pledge to America"(deficit reduction,fiscal responsibility) proposed the full extension of the Bush tax cuts(Obama is also responsible)) and a full repeal of the health-care law.The first increases the deficit by more than $4 trillion over the next ten years and the repeal would cost an additional $100 billion over the same time period.Nothing in the document comes close to paying for the two proposals.The "Pledge" also wants to fully fund a missile defense system that never worked in any meaningful way since the Reagan presidency.Billions have been spent since its inception a generation ago.Republicans are able to keep their members united in party-line votes because conservatives enjoy a genuine political movement that is eager to challenge incumbents in primary contests should they stray from the fold.

In August,2010,40% of Republicans could not,for certain, identify the country in which Barack Obama had been born and 46% said they were pretty sure their president was a Muslim.More than 50% surveyed believed that Obama sympathizes with the goals of fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world.What can one say about these statistics.How do you overcome this misinformation that has been streaming from FOX news?

The Republicans have no interest in bipartisan legislation.American Enterprise Institutes's Norm Ornstein noted"A week into his presidency,House Republicans voted unanimously against Obama's move to save the country as it teetered at the edge of deflation and depression-and their leaders danced a victory jig".
More from"Kabuki Democracy" by Eric Alterman soon.