A recent Gallup poll shows that those surveyed identified three people as the “voice” of the Republican Party (and arguably, by extension, representative of the conservative movement):
1) Rush Limbaugh
2) Dick Cheney
3) Newt Gingrich
Here’s a more thorough evaluation of the poll…you’ll see that hardly anybody else (McCain, Dubya, Palin) received any votes at all.
Why do I care? Two reasons, the latter of which I will address at length in this posting:
1) I believe that a two-party system is necessary to the successful operation of our system. Ideally, I’d like to see many more parties, but AT A MINIMUM there must be two strong parties who can both field reasonable candidates because in a democracy…the people must have a CHOICE. No viable choices – no viable democracy. With regard to the poll mentioned above, I think the selection of these three, old, white men (a caustic entertainer who has never held office and is poison to moderates, a former veep with an approval rating lower than that of NAMBLA, and a disgraced former House Speaker who will never be able to question anyone else’s character without inducing laughter) indicates that one of our two current parties…is in REAL TROUBLE and may be unable for several years to field enough candidates who will be accepted and respected by the vast majority of Americans who are MODERATE (I know…some of you, in the South especially, live in areas where everyone is VERY conservative…trust me: most Americans are moderate…really).
2) I believe that the selection of (or identification with) these three men, on the part of conservatives, represents a significant portion of our population that is, in reality, abandoning American principles at the same time they are claiming to protect these principles. It is this concern that I want to explore…
What Do I Mean By American Principles?
As a former history teacher, I would like nothing more than to engage in a voluminous exploration of “American Core Values” accompanied by excepts from correspondence between the founding fathers and other supporting texts…however, given my desire to get right to the point, I will simply list what I hold to be some of the core values, based up my own education and experience:
- Liberty from Tyranny: Almost all of the original immigrants to this great country were escaping some variety of tyranny. Some came from countries where they were persecuted because of their religion. Some fled to the U.S. because they were persecuted based on their race, ethnicity, or locale. Some had been punished in their home country due to their social standing…some due to their family name. This is why our Constitution is virtually BURSTING with guarantees that were included SPECIFICALLY to prevent such things from happening here. Eventually…our courage (see below) and our generosity (see below) would lead us not only to serve as a haven from tyranny, but also to fight against tyranny in other countries as well.
- Diversity: Related to the item above, the people who came to this country to escape tyranny (see above) and to pursue opportunity (see below) came from a wealth of different races, cultures, and religions. They formed communities here in America…at first they were somewhat insular due to language or cultural differences, but over generations these families became more integrated in the larger American society, while still retaining elements of their ancestors’ culture. This process begins anew each day in America, creating what we all were taught in school was the “melting pot” that makes America so great, so unique, and so strong.
- Opportunity: Most immigrants arrived here from countries where there was a nobility, or a ruling class. If you were not born into that class…your options were very limited. Not in America. Regardless of your last name or the deeds/misdeeds of your ancestors, here you would be judged by your own accomplishments. Success was not guaranteed, but there was a sense that at the very least a person could command respect if he or she worked hard, and did their level best to improve themselves and improve the lives of their children. Towards this purpose, people taught their children responsibility (both civic and personal)…and the importance and value of education…and the importance and value of hard work.
- Courage and Commitment: At times we may have been called “brash” or “arrogant,” but even these criticisms were said with a smile…because what people meant was that we had high principles, and that we were fanatics about following them, and we were dedicated to defending them. We didn’t make exceptions when it came to things like “life,” and “liberty,” and “equality,” and “the rule of law.” We were allowed to swagger a bit because people of all nations knew that we didn’t just “talk the talk“…and we would not only defend these just principles…we would defend OTHER countries who followed these principles and we would call these countries “friends.”
- Generosity: We’ve always been known as a nation of generosity. When called upon, we have given our money, our expertise, and even our lives for other people who are not even citizens of our nation….simply because it was the right and decent thing to do.
How Do Rush, Dick, and Newt Represent Abandonment of Our Principles?
After writing the section above, I almost wonder if I should have to elaborate on how these three men represent a fundamental transgression from what once made American great…but I do, don’t I? Because approximately 20% of the people in this country look to these three men for leadership and guidance…and some even mistakenly consider them “patriots.”
Rush Limbaugh: Rush once proclaimed himself a classic “bootstraps” case of a self-made man, arisen from humble beginnings. In truth, he came from a family filled with attorneys and judges, dropped out of college, avoided the Vietnam draft because of a “football injury,” and went on to be a music DJ. In other words…he is a self-proclaimed expert while having neither education nor experience in ANY particular area on which he speaks. Those he supports, even those who commit tyrannical or illegal acts, he calls them “patriots” and “true Americans.” His opponents, he pronounces them to be “un-American,” or “pro-Terrorist,” or “tyrannical.” He obviously has either no knowledge of the meaning of these terms, or he has no respect for their meanings and uses them only to deceive. He is a coward who would not fight for his country, and who provides lip-service support for our troops while defending measures and individuals who mistreat and misuse them. He callously makes statements that are indisputably racist, sexist, or xenophobic in nature. He is ROUTINELY shown to be disseminating false or misleading information, but will rarely issue any form of admission or correction. In short – I cannot find a single quality of this man that serves to promote or defend ANY of the five values stated above.
Dick Cheney: Dick Cheney, still to this day, does not apologize for the ways in which he has violated our nation’s ideals. Under his leadership and direction, people were seized without cause, held without representation, held without the ability to file a writ of Habeas Corpus, held without trial, and tortured in violation of federal law and two international treaties…all to prove the existence of WMD’s in Iraq (which didn’t exist) and a link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda (which, also, didn’t exist). Despite all this…he still defends the torture…he still defends the violation of peoples’ rights. And he still defends lying to us about Iraq having nuclear weapons (they didn’t). Dick Cheney’s former company (he still receives deferred comp and has stock options in the millions), Halliburton (and KBR, and other corporate offshoots and subsidiaries) is still being investigated. How is it they kept receiving no-bid contracts outside of normal channels? How is it they were allowed to overcharge the American taxpayers by BILLIONS of dollars for work they did…and for work they didn’t do…and for work they did so badly it killed American soldiers? Want to read the three-inch thick list of constitutional violations that were prepared for Cheney’s impeachment hearings? Here they are. But Cheney’s not done talking yet…it’s not enough that he used fear to convince Americans to cede unconstitutional levels of power over to our government and, specifically, his office…now he wants to use MORE fear to make sure that we don’t come to regard him as the tyrant and war profiteer that he truly is. Oh, and this freedom-loving, enemy-combatant-hating, soldier-supporting, hawk…yup, another draft-dodger who thinks it’s SOMEBODY ELSE’S JOB to die to “protect America” and to fill profiteers’ pockets.
Newt Gingrich: Newt always sold himself as “Mr. Family Values.” He is perhaps most known for calling out Bill Clinton as a “draft-dodger” and an “adulterer.” Of course…these attacks work best if you are not ALSO a “draft-dodger” and an “adulterer.” Newt, of course, doesn’t do anything halfway…he committed his adultery at the same time the Clinton-Lewinsky affair was going on AND he pressed his wife for a divorce while she was in the hospital for CANCER TREATMENT. He’s an advocate for “fiscal responsibility” who bounces checks on government money. Recently, he criticized President Obama for saying he was a proud citizen of this country and a citizen of the world: “I am not a citizen of the world. I think the entire concept is intellectual nonsense and stunningly dangerous!” No…intellectual nonsense would be rejecting the idea of being a citizen of the world. Reagan knew this…which is why Reagan ALSO said he was a citizen of the United States and of the world. Kennedy ALSO said this. Why…because they knew that being an American is about duty, integrity, and generosity to other members of the world community…other members of the HUMAN community. They knew that THAT is what people used to RESPECT about Americans. Newt, like so many other conservatives, makes what is the truly “stunningly dangerous” and “un-American” assertion: that we only care about America…we only care about the people we deem “real Americans” and “real citizens” and to Newt and friends, that is a much smaller group than you would think. To them, it’s a group that includes few women, no minorities, no middle-class or working-class people (they tell you that you are included…you’re not), no non-Christians, and no people from other countries. It is, in short, the ANTITHESIS of “AMERICA.”
These men, and people like them, will tell you that America is about all sorts of things…and they will tell you that this idea or that idea will “destroy America“…and they will tell you that these people or those people are “patriots.” America is a nation of IDEALS…the ideals I listed above and many more. In the absence of those ideals, there is no America. A patriot, is the man or woman who defends those ideals, and by doing so, defends America. Rush, Dick, and Newt…when they tell you it’s about “being safe,” or about “free market,” or about “keeping those people out,” or keeping this a “Christian nation“…they reveal one thing: if they ever truly knew what this country was all about, they have long forgotten it, and have chosen instead to REMAKE America in an image consistent their own prejudices and failings. Don’t let them. Remember what your teachers taught you in school about your country, back when you were just a wide-eyed, hopeful child who didn’t even know who Rush, Dick, and Newt were. THAT is what America was…to many of us, it’s what America still is, despite recent mistakes…and hopefully, it’s what America will always be.