| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"J. Hyderman" |
| Date: |
07 Jan 2006 02:38:20 PM |
| Object: |
Scourge of 'Dixiecans' |
Republicans in Washington, nervous as a cat over the Jack Abramoff scandal,
lost no opportunity to portray this as a "bipartisan" problem. It is not,
however; it's not even close. Not a single dollar did Abramoff give to a
Democrat; they all went to Republicans, most notably Reps. Tom DeLay,
R-Texas; Bob Ney, R-Ohio, and Richard Pombo, R-Calif., plus Sens. Thad
Cochran, R-Miss., and Conrad Burns, R-Mont.
Clients of Abramoff gave to both Republicans and, in smaller amounts, to
Democrats. But whether the recipient was Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., or
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., their relationship with Indian tribes and
contributions from those tribes predate Abramoff's efforts on tribal issues.
Dorgan is the senior Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and
Hayworth is cochairman of the Native American Congressional Caucus.
That said, this is not really, in broad terms, a Republican scandal either.
Look at Minnesota's Republican congressional delegation. Not a single one of
them has been linked in any way to Abramoff.
It is, however, a scandal of the current Republican leadership. As Michael
Lind points out in his books "Made in Texas" and "Up From Conservatism,"
that leadership is heir to the particular conservatism of Dixiecrats like
Strom Thurmond, who bolted the Democratic Party in protest over its civil
rights agenda. They were, Lind writes, from "the former Confederacy [and]
first joined and then took over what had once been the party of Lincoln."
The Dixiecrats' heirs are arrogant, ruthless, concerned with power and money
above all, and quite adept at using fear to activate allies such as poor
whites and religious conservatives. As chronicled in three books by Merle
and Earl Black, this strain of Southern Republicanism has, since 1980,
become normative in the vast, upscale suburbs that now dominate the region,
to the point that dissenters are considered eccentric and "unsaved." This
group has so thoroughly hijacked the party of Lincoln that you can see its
influence even in Minnesota, most notably today in use of fears about
immigrants and gays to improve their election chances.
You can also see it in the way these "Dixiecans" exercise their control of
Congress: with an iron fist and a willingness to slap down anyone who
challenges them. Most Republicans and Democrats no longer have any real
influence on legislation passing through Congress; it is written by a small
group close to leadership and presented on the floor with the expectation
that Republicans will fall in line to support it. If not, in the House the
vote will be kept open for hours on end (once limited to 15 minutes) until
enough arms can be twisted and favors doled out to get the desired outcome.
Then there's DeLay's "K Street Project," which sought to intimidate
Washington lobbying firms to employ only Republicans or get shut out on
Capitol Hill.
To keep their base happy, these Dixiecan leaders will stop at nothing;
witness their attempts to wrest control of Terri Schiavo's life from her
husband as the religious right demanded, an effort that finally caused most
Americans to turn away in revulsion.
The Dixiecans built the atmosphere in which Abramoff thrived. Like Tammany
Hall's George Plunkitt, Abramoff "seen his opportunities and he took 'em."
But it was the Dixiecans who created those opportunities.
The Republican Party really is a grand old party, with a storied history in
American politics. The question is: When will real Republicans push the
Dixiecans out and reclaim their party? Whether Dixiecrats or Dixiecans, this
group of miscreants is a pox on American democracy.
© 2006 The Star Tribune
###
Republicans are a scourge? You bet.
.
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| User: "David Moffitt" |
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| Title: Re: Scourge of 'Dixiecans' |
07 Jan 2006 05:26:07 PM |
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"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:0FVvf.42928$dO2.4291@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
%%%% Only Mississippi is in Dixie so the basis of your position is complete
*****.
--------------------------> ***** snipped
<------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed here are not those of my employer, my wife, my
church, or myself...But they are the opinions of Elvis as revealed to me
through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...
.
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| User: "J. Hyderman" |
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| Title: Re: Scourge of 'Dixiecans' |
07 Jan 2006 07:55:21 PM |
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"David Moffitt" <moffitcl@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:j6Yvf.3587$ZA2.470@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...
"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:0FVvf.42928$dO2.4291@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
%%%% Only Mississippi is in Dixie so the basis of your position is
complete *****.
--------------------------> ***** snipped
<------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed here are not those of my employer, my wife, my
church, or myself...But they are the opinions of Elvis as revealed to me
through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...
There's a sign post ahead, you are entering the TWILIGHT ZONE.
Yet I think you never left the Twilight Zone.
.
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| User: "David Moffitt" |
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| Title: Re: Scourge of 'Dixiecans' |
07 Jan 2006 08:48:47 PM |
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"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:di_vf.44448$dO2.38424@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
"David Moffitt" <moffitcl@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:j6Yvf.3587$ZA2.470@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...
"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:0FVvf.42928$dO2.4291@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
%%%% Only Mississippi is in Dixie so the basis of your position is
complete *****.
--------------------------> ***** snipped
<------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed here are not those of my employer, my wife, my
church, or myself...But they are the opinions of Elvis as revealed to me
through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...
There's a sign post ahead, you are entering the TWILIGHT ZONE.
Yet I think you never left the Twilight Zone.
%%%% Just because you are in the TWILIGHT ZONE does not mean everyone else
is. ":o)
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human
passions unbridled by morality and religion...Our Constitution was made
only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other."
-John Adams
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| User: "J. Hyderman" |
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| Title: Re: Scourge of 'Dixiecans' |
07 Jan 2006 09:34:09 PM |
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"David Moffitt" <moffitcl@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:j4%vf.4340$%W1.1702@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:di_vf.44448$dO2.38424@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
"David Moffitt" <moffitcl@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:j6Yvf.3587$ZA2.470@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...
"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:0FVvf.42928$dO2.4291@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
%%%% Only Mississippi is in Dixie so the basis of your position is
complete *****.
--------------------------> ***** snipped
<------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed here are not those of my employer, my wife, my
church, or myself...But they are the opinions of Elvis as revealed to me
through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...
There's a sign post ahead, you are entering the TWILIGHT ZONE.
Yet I think you never left the Twilight Zone.
%%%% Just because you are in the TWILIGHT ZONE does not mean everyone else
is. ":o)
Bush is not the King. Get over it.
.
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| User: "David Moffitt" |
|
| Title: Re: Scourge of 'Dixiecans' |
07 Jan 2006 10:38:37 PM |
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"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:RK%vf.15681$UF3.8530@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net...
"David Moffitt" <moffitcl@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:j4%vf.4340$%W1.1702@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:di_vf.44448$dO2.38424@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
"David Moffitt" <moffitcl@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:j6Yvf.3587$ZA2.470@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net...
"J. Hyderman" <uuu@ert.net> wrote in message
news:0FVvf.42928$dO2.4291@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
%%%% Only Mississippi is in Dixie so the basis of your position is
complete *****.
--------------------------> ***** snipped
<------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed here are not those of my employer, my wife, my
church, or myself...But they are the opinions of Elvis as revealed to
me through the medium of my pet hamster, Lee Harvey Oswald...
There's a sign post ahead, you are entering the TWILIGHT ZONE.
Yet I think you never left the Twilight Zone.
%%%% Just because you are in the TWILIGHT ZONE does not mean everyone
else is. ":o)
Bush is not the King. Get over it.
%%%% Correct. Bush is President and California is not in Dixie. ":o)
Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable
Haidegger, Hadidegger was a boozy begger who could think you under the table
David Hume could out-consume Whilhelm Fredrich Hegel
Wittgenstein was a beery swine who was just as schloshed as Schiegel
There's nothing Niezchhe couldn't teach ya 'bout the rasing of the wrist
Socrates himself was permanently pissed
John Stuart Mill, of his own free will, and half a pint of shanty was
particularly ill
Plato they say, could stick it away, a half a crate of whiskey every day
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle
Hobbes was fond of his dram
And Rene Descarte was a drunken fart
"I drink therefore I am"
Yes, Socrates himelf is particularly missed
A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed!
The Philosophers Song -Monty Python
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