Republican Civil Rights

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

It's always fun to watch reactionary groups self-destruct. The Republican Party and their bastard issue, the teabagger movement, has gone to great effort to paint themselves as "real Americans," as opposed to unpatriotic, humanistic, Kenyan-loving members of the other major political party. They want us all to know that they are the normal ones, they represent all that is right with America.

But there are far too many snakes in that philosophical basket to allow for safe handling.

America, for the most part, accepted the concept of Civil Rights for minority groups in the 1960's, and even though rabid conservatives may have not liked the idea, they basically kept their mouths shut, realizing that if they wanted to win elections, their candidates needed to appeal across racial and ethnic lines.

Arizonans, of course, didn't get the memo, or if they did, they didn't read it - or didn't understand it - or didn't care. They told the nation to "shove it" by rescinding the state's observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday twenty-some years ago, only to be brought to heel later by the political reality of an economic boycott that cost the state, among other things, a Super Bowl. Now, of course, these sun-shriveled macaroons are at it again with the passage of their anti-brown legislation (SB 1070). The economic boycott is on again, and the local goobers are outraged that people dare to be critical of the state's political posturing.

By and large, the Arizona travesty is the product of a Republican legislature and a Republican governor. It will bite them in the butt eventually, and all of the noise over this racist bill will drive Hispanics into the Democratic Party - thank you very much!

Now Republicans are offending two other minority groups. It looks as though a repeal of the hideous, anti-gay military policy of "Don't Ask - Don't Tell" is set to go into effect through an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill - the mechanism that funds our military and our wars. Republican Senators are poised to filibuster the entire bill in order to maintain discrimination against our brave (extra-brave!) gay military warriors. Really! Republicans, who have a long, proud history of throwing money at the military with few requests for accountability of any kind, are now prepared to stop military spending cold unless they are guaranteed the ability to continue discrimination against gay service members.

John McCain has gone slobberingly apocalyptic in his demand to maintain discrimination against gays in the military. His wife and daughter are infinitely smarter than the crabby old senator - both support gay rights. (Of course, my cat is also smarter than John McCain, but he is being coy regarding his position on gay rights!)

And then there is Rand Paul, the teabagger/Libertarian/Republican senate nominee from Kentucky. Paul, who proves conclusively that the nut does not fall far from the tree, went on a speaking binge last week in which he embarrassed himself and the national Republican party by saying what he truly believed - that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is deeply flawed, and businesses should have the right to discriminate based on race.

Dr. Paul, is that where America should be headed - back to the good old days when everybody "knew" their place? Should we allow school districts to separate their children by race if that's the local sentiment? If a state wants to bring back poll taxes or literacy tests, should the federal government have some inherent right to interfere? Should we bring back lynchings too? Is the compunction to hang your black or brown neighbor by the neck from a tree limb or lamp post an individual liberty that should be none of the government's business?

One more question, Dr. Paul...does your wife have trouble keeping up with the family bedsheets?

Maybe the Republicans are onto something that will pay them dividends at the polls, but color me skeptical. Their base is getting baser and baser - and smaller and smaller. While these political geniuses are busy purifying their party, the people that they are driving off will still vote - they just won't vote Republican.

You betcha, they won't!