Progressive Democrat Issue 121: THOUGHTS

Okay, here's one of my long rants that some people tire of quickly and others love. But really, what is going on in Bush America is horrible and it is perfectly predictable from the stated policies of the right wing Republicans to drown American government in a bathtub. The Republican party is killing Americans, it is as simple as that. And I don't just mean our soldiers in their useless war in Iraq. I mean regular American civilians, and the killing of Americans, though unintended, is a direct result of stated Republican policy. Let me say that again. A direct, if unintended, result of Republican domestic policy is the needless death of American citizens.

Grover Norquist, one of the darlings of the extreme rightwing, Gingrich/Bush/McCain branch of the Republican party, once said, "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." This statement is the basis of modern Republican policy. Norquist went into more detail:

"Cutting the government in half in one generation is both an ambitious and reasonable goal," Norquist stated in May 2000. "If we work hard we will accomplish this and more by 2025. Then the conservative movement can set a new goal. I have a recommendation: To cut government in half again by 2050"

This is what Republicans want: a government that is powerless to act unless it has to do with giving contracts to Halliburton, tapping your phone lines or preventing women from choosing what to do with their bodies. THEN they will drive up record deficits to accomplish their goals.

What are the consequences of this extreme right-wing "Drown Government in a Bathtub" doctrine? You drown AMERICA and AMERICANS along with it.

We started to see dramatic consequences of this irresponsible doctrine when Katrina hit. The government had been warned in no uncertain terms what would happen to those levees, but government had been drowned in the bathtubs of Norquist and Gingrich, so while Bush and McCain were partying down...



New Orleans was also drowned in Norquist's bathtub...


(U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Niemi)

Do you remember how it felt to see that? I do. I remember the disgust and horror I felt at the Republican led government that DID NOTHING to prevent the destruction of New Orleans. I remember thinking to myself when Katrina was still in the Gulf that it was going to be a HUGE disaster and I'm no expert. I thought this based simply on what I was seeing on the Weather Channel. Bush had far more detailed and specific warnings. When it actually happened though, and Condaleeza Rice went shoe shopping and McCain and Bush were partying, and Cheney was in whatever undisclosed location they keep his preservation vat, Americans died. THAT was the consequences of the Republican vision for America...a government so weak that it could do nothing to save American lives.

Now we are seeing another consequence as we realize that contaminated products from China aren't just poisoning our pets. Yep...all those pet foods being recalled because of melamine contamination. Well it is most likely in our food as well. If you eat homegrown, organic stuff, you're probably okay. If you eat the processed food that is the staple diet of most Americans, you are probably at risk. From the Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee:

Reps. John D. Dingell, the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak, Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee today dispatched Committee investigators to the west coast to pursue reports of extensive melamine contamination of wheat gluten, rice protein, and other vegetable protein.

The Committee’s investigation of contaminated pet food and the discovery of melamine contamination of wheat gluten imported from China were examined in a hearing on food safety held by the committee last week. The hearing brought to light serious shortcomings in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) inspection and regulation of food imported from China.

Last week’s hearing brought immediate action from the FDA:

• On April 25th, the FDA determined that Chinese wheat gluten had been contaminated with cyanuric acid, in addition to melamine.

• On April 26th, the FDA opened a criminal investigation focusing on the contaminated Chinese wheat gluten and rice protein, and searched importers’ offices and warehouses.

• On April 27th, the FDA issued an import alert (IA #99-29) ordering the immediate embargo of all vegetable protein from China, whether intended for human or animal food.

“The FDA’s embargo of Chinese vegetable protein is a good first step toward forcing proper control of these food products at their source,” said Dingell. “We are dispatching investigators to the west coast immediately to examine the extent and depth of the FDA’s commitment to inspection of these products from China.”

Stupak emphasized that this is just the beginning of the Committee’s investigation. “The FDA should have taken this action weeks ago. Our Committee will continue to monitor this situation and will continue to pressure the FDA to properly address the food safety problems that have plagued our country in recent months.”

The Committee is holding a second hearing on food safety on May 17th, at which the FDA’s food safety activities will be examined.

More details on how the government, following Republican policy, abdicated all responsibility can be found in this Dialy Kos article. Simply put, irresponsible practices in China are probably hurting Americans because Norquist, Gingrich, Bush and McCain wanted to make American government ineffective.

And then there were the tornadoes in Kansas. This is not as clear cut an example, but the connection is there. Bush's cutting of America's ability to respond to disasters so he can play war games in Iraq made it impossible for Kansas to deal with a disaster that would have happened anyway, but could have been mitigated. This is covered very extensively in this Daily Kos diary.

This is what happens when you drown government in Norquist's bathtub: you put American lives at risk. This is a very predictable consequence of the Republican Doctrine. You weaken government until it can no longer do its job. But wait...Republicans AREN'T against all government. After all, they LOVE spying on you, interfering in the ability of a doctor to treat women, and subsidizing big oil interests.

Here is my prediction. After the Katrina fiasco, what did Bush do? Give Halliburton a no-bid contract to rebuild New Orleans. We should expect Halliburton to get a no-bid contract to inspect food imports and maybe to track tornadoes. Mark my words!

Here is this week's newsletter:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

REPUBLICAN CORRUPTION IN ALASKA

REPUBLICANS LOSING THE WAR

FIGHTING ANN COULTER: Keeping up the pressure

NEW JERSEY GROUPS AND EVENTS

VIRGINIA FOCUS: Fighting Ann Coulter in Virginia

VIRGINIA GROUPS AND EVENTS

INDIANA FOCUS: Fighting Ann Coulter in Indiana

WISCONSIN FOCUS: Fighting Ann Coulter in Wisconsin

MIDWEST GROUPS AND EVENTS

CALIFORNIA FOCUS: Fighting Ann Coulter in California

CALIFORNIA GROUPS AND EVENTS

NYC FOCUS: Fighting the Ratner Giveaway

NYC GROUPS AND EVENTS