Sunday, February 20, 2011

It’s Déjà vu All Over Again


This is a famous saying credited to Yogi Berra and few memories haunt Republicans more deeply than the 1995-96 partial shutdown of the federal government, which helped President Bill Clinton reverse his falling fortunes and recast the House Republicans as stubborn partisans, and not savvy insurgents. The comments at that time from the population were, “Newt Gingrich thinks HE’S the President!”

Now, as Congress careens toward a budget impasse, one can only wonder if another shutdown is imminent and whether the Current Extreme Right Wing Republicans will once again suffer the blame.

3 comments:

  1. I really do not understand the rise of the religious right in the US. It seems to me that politicians should have had the balls to say that religion is a personal matter and that Article VI says that no religious test is required for public office.

    But religion is one of many tricks the extreme right uses to dupe the public. Dislike of gun control is another one which has become a conservative litmus test.

    I know that he Republican party was not as crazy as it has become post-Goldwater, with the real craziness arriving with the religious right movement in the 1970s.

    The religious right was a turn off to me for the reason I previously stated.

    Anyway, I would like to theink that the extreme element of the Repblican party would alienate people from the Party, but it seems that the insane conservatives become the face of the Republican party. The reason is that controversy sells media time.

    Unfortunately, the silent majority has been too silent on these issues.

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  2. The reason is that controversy sells media time.
    You said it Laci. Controversy is the distraction from the real agenda.
    Reagan, one of the supreme hypocrites of our age, knew that appearing to accept and encourage the rise of extreme christian fundamentalism was a very powerful albeit dangerous tool.
    Reagan wasn't a pious man, but he played one on TV.
    Now, we will see further media gymnastics by the Republicans as they manipulate a government shutdown to look like it is the Democrats fault.
    Are we experiencing the triumph of corporate media manipulation?
    The silent majority is scared chicken shit...the economy, terrorists, religion...they need Big Daddy to tell them what to do.....

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  3. Engineer asks, one can only wonder if another shutdown is imminent and whether the Current Extreme Right Wing Republicans will once again suffer the blame.

    They will only suffer the blame if their spinmeisters fail to direct the attention away from the right-wingers.

    We do know that the 24/7 AM radio spinners will keep their audience dumbed-down nicely, of course. Yet, will the middle, the so-called independents be able to make a clear judgement on this scenario? That remains the known-unknown.

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