To My Republican Friends

To my Republican friends. You got what you wanted. Seven years ago you were all strutting around like peacocks. (Some of you still do.) What you were strutting about was the new found voice of the Republican party that found that it had captured the minds of a narrow majority (still disputed) of the electorate and brought George W and his minions into power along with majorities of both houses of Congress. The mantra then was the negative aphorism 'tax and spend' intended to depict the sorry state of the philosophy of the Democrats. Those of us, like myself, quietly welcomed the change in governments as a strong indicator of the strength of our way of life. We might not have appreciated the strong arm politics that brought this group into power (remember what Bush did to McCain in South Carolina?) but objective thinking and the notion of compassionate conservatism suggested that new ideas, fresh blood, different approaches and an infusion of vitality into the running of our government might fine tune the daily operations of our system to the betterment of all of us. Fat chance. Little did we realize that the Bushies either had no idea how to do it, or they had the idea, despite the sworn allegiance to uphold and defend the principles of the Constitution, that the institutions and procedures established as a result of that document more than two hundred years ago should be rendered asunder (to paraphrase a colonial concept). I read somewhere a couple of days ago a statement to the effect that questioned why Bush would appoint competent persons to run governmental departments whose very existence was incompatible with his belief system. Consider FEMA and the victims of hurricane Katrina as an example. Apparently, Bush was inculcated with the morals and values of his mother who publicly declared that those victims would be better off as a result of the total loss of their homes and possessions. More than two years later, we see how better off these unfortunates are at the hands of the FEMA idiots who obviously share the Bush notion passed apparently on down through the generations of those born with limitless wealth. Now that I think about it, the Katrina example is not necessarily a good one because it doesn't capture the essence of the Bush wrongdoing which, in my opinion, reflects a lack of trust in the principles of our nations. Query: how can one swear to uphold the values and principles of our U.S. Constitution when one doesn't believe in them? It was like he took that oath of office with his fingers crossed behind his back. He has made it clear since taking office that he has no intention of honoring the statues enacted by Congress (unless of course he agrees with them). He has made it clear that acts of activist judges are wrong (unless, once again, he agrees with them). He has made it clear that he has no problem trampling on the constitutional rights of individuals and citizens in our society by conducting secret wiretaps. The current example in the spotlight is the obvious politicization of the system of federal prosecutors. The list goes on and on and the few items cited are just those that come to mind in the moment that I am writing this. Suffice it to say that Bush and his cronies have thumbed their collective noses at the American people, the Constitution and the institutions established by that Constitution.