Republicans and Freedom?

joseph brand

Freedom. The great buzzword of the GOP. The supporters lap it up, but do they know what it means? One reason that I believe it works on conservatives, is the fact that these types are prone to getting scared, quite easily.

Here's a quote from Gov. Rick Perry:

"As we go forward, America needs to be about Freedom. It needs to be about Freedom from over-taxation, Freedom from over regulation, Freedom from over eh litigation."

This sounds to me, like he's championing the 1%, who are already paying a very low tax rate, due to tax havens, tax shelters and off-shore bank accounts, amongst the other loopholes. Working class and middle income earners cannot and do not avail of these perks. The wealthy have created the massive debt we see on the US debt clock. Warren Buffett understands this.


You'll hear rhetoric such as, "We're gonna take our country back!!" Which is then met with rapturous applause and 'Whoo-Hoos', from a sea of grey hair and Stetsons.

Who 'took' their country?

The Republican party feeds off the ignorance of it's core base. Plenty of god-fearin' folks, who get hysterical and angry for no good reason. Not that they deal in reason or logic anyhow.

The image of the crowd at the Republican National Convention spoke volumes. That crowd was so white, it could have been a colourised photo of a 'Nationalist Convention' in 1930's Germany. (couldn't avoid a Godwin)

The Republicans have mentioned the word 'Freedom' ad nauseam, and now it's lost all meaning. The Democrats could use the word, but give it different connotations, pertinent to the majority of Americans.

Freedom from The Federal Reserve. (private bank)
Freedom from Wall Street, and it's power to cripple nations.
Freedom from religion interfering in politics. (Secularisation)
Freedom from the super rich, who lobby for their own self interests at the expense of the rest.
Freedom to VOTE! Voter suppression by Republicans, targeting non-whites couldn't be any more blatant.


The Republicans aren't about Freedom for 99% of their voters, but the Democrats are. Romney would destroy the middles class, while helping out his wealthy 'friends', and their 'friends'. Any decent American should understand that when the middle class does well, the country does well.

Here's a quote from Romney.

“I have inherited nothing. Everything that Ann and I have, we earned the old-fashioned way.”

His father was the C.E.O. of a big auto company and the governor of Michigan, and he was educated at the three-hundred-acre campus of the Cranbrook School.

He lived the American dream. That is, if the American dream is being born into a rich white family, then yes he did. Being born into wealth affords a man a certain amount of Freedom. Tonnes of it.

Overheal

Here's a quote from Romney.

Here's another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPPrFelzr58

jank

joseph brand wrote: »

Freedom from The Federal Reserve. (private bank)


.

Funny you mention that as the only candidate to advocate dismantling the Fed was Ron Paul who was running for the GOP nomination.

Pray tell, what is Obama's policy in regards the Fed? Hire some more Goldman Sachs old boys and keeping the printing press going? Yeap lots of change there.


Edit, Gary Johnson too would be of a similar position to Ron Paul.

Duck Soup

If freedom means anything - and it's thrown around so carelessly by Republicans it's in danger of losing all meaning - it means the freedom to make your own choices.

The problem is that if you have no money, you have no choices. And if you take away them darn socialistic ladders that enable you to climb out of your born station in life - a good public education system, healthcare that doesn't bankrupt you etc. - then your choices are gone and your freedom is gone.

It's a sweet number the Repubiican rich do on the socially conservative poor. Tell them the gubmint is the problem, that taxes are the problem, that unions are the problem and then leave them to scrape along in poverty while the wealthy reap all the benefits. They convince the poor that all the agencies that could help them are the enemy and then convince them to punch themselves in the face at the ballot box.

Freedom is a punchline for rich Republicans that they use to extract maximum money from the system. I genuinely think that they know where the policies and 'freedom' they advocate leads to for poor people; they just couldn't give a damn if that's a few more bucks in their pocket.

Manic Moran

joseph brand wrote: »

from a sea of grey hair and Stetsons.

What's wrong with wearing a Stetson? I own two hats which are often confused for Stetsons.

I certainly could use a little less legislation and litigation. The Feds are getting involved in business which I think is State-level, and here at State level in my heavily Democrat-controlled State, I think they need to back off a bit as well.

Of course, it's not as if the Republicans are immune from the temptation to throw a bit of their own stupidity in as well (eg creationism laws), but yes, I think Gov Perry has a point.

As for litigation, I understand that it requires a serious revamp of the legal system, but the current lack system has some significant flaws, and all but encourages people to litigate for all sorts of frivolities.

NTM

Overheal

Stetsons are for the cavalry and the tank commanders

oh wait