GOP Leaders -- Undeserving of Their Party and Their Country

Published on September 4, 2004 By blogic In Politics

Today in my blog: Republican leaders' scattershot slandering. Republicans deserve better leaders than these.

First, the who's who: Chris Wallace is a Fox News anchor, Dennis Hastert is the Republican Speaker of the House, and George Soros is a major funder of Democratically aligned interest groups.

This is from Fox News Sunday:

HASTERT: I don't know where George Soros gets his money. I don't know where — if it comes overseas or from drug groups or where it comes from. And I...
WALLACE: Excuse me?

HASTERT: Well, that's what he's been for a number years — George Soros has been for legalizing drugs in this country. So, I mean, he's got a lot of ancillary interests out there.

WALLACE: You think he may be getting money from the drug cartel?

HASTERT: I'm saying I don't know where groups — could be people who support this type of thing. I'm saying we don't know. The fact is we don't know where this money comes from.

On a lighter note, my favorite thing is Wallace's "Excuse me?" Anchors are trained not to respond in shock, but Wallace can't help himself here, Hastert has said something nuts. In the days since, Hastert has claimed that he was talking about the drug legalization groups that Soros funds, but Hastert is clearly referring to groups that give money to Soros. When Wallace lobs him a softball chance to deny this bizarre charge, Hastert refuses to back off.

These smears have become characteristic of the Republican Party leadership. Their House Speaker hints at Soros being a front for the drug cartel. Their Illinois Senate candidate, Alan Keyes, describes the Vice President's gay daughter as a "selfish hedonist" (well, at least he doesn't only attack Democrats), and the Republican's Keynote Speaker at the Convention, one time Democrat Zell Miller, denounces Kerry as the worst national figure of the last twenty years, only three years after praising him "one of the greatest leaders of our time and an authentic hero", and blames Kerry for supporting the weapons funding cuts that the Defense Secretary of the time, Dick Cheney, thought were too small.

Half the time the Party leaders sound meanspirited, the rest of the time they seem unhinged. I want to emphasize that I'm talking about the leadership, and not the general party membership. I have several close Republican friends who still support much of the party platform, but are deeply disturbed by these kinds of vicious attacks. You can believe in small government and individual liberty, without turning your convention in an alternation of warm fuzzy days with nasty baseless mudslinging. Amazingly for a convention of the party in power, there was nary a mention of the entire last year, and Osama Bin Laden escaped mention in the speeches as successfully as he's dodged Bush's grasp in real life.

The wild lies of the Republican party leadership are an attempt to use fear to manipulate voters. This tactic reveals contempt for their own voters, and for the electoral system. For short term gain, Republican leaders are destroying the political process that the party's voters have fought to preserve.

Are Republicans aware of the damage their leaders are doing to American democracy?

Comments

kingbee

on Sep 04, 2004

oh cmon...dont be so rough on the lil feller. he cant help it if he doesnt know where soros money comes from. as he points out, he aint been around very long:

I remember when I was a kid watching my first convention in 1992, when both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party laid out their platform

back in the dark ages of the early 90s, kids were left behind. now theyre pissed. as well as elected officials. not to mention party leaders.

(this probably explains zell miller in a bizarro universe)

messybuu

on Sep 04, 2004

The negativity of both Republicans and Democrats in this election is definitely disheartening. I hope it doesn't become a growing trend.

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