By: Jim Hoover

Republicans are united in pettiness and vindictiveness. If that isn’t enough, they lie with impunity; for a media that checks veracity has long fled the American scene.

The neo-conservative paradigm they must follow requires certain generic qualities; that is, if they don’t want to be drummed out of the party and not be privy to the untold millions coming from rich benefactors like the Koch brothers, then they “turn on, tune in, drop out.”
There is only one mandate for Republicans: do everything that favors large corporations and the rich. Accordingly, the tactics for the last thirty years have been to undermine all middle class progress by redistributing wealth and income from the middle class to the rich.

Ronald Reagan successfully began the assault in the 1980s. Through a united anti-progressive message, neocon think tanks engineered a right-turn for Americans, clearly manifested by the Republican legislative and deregulatory agenda of Bill Clinton. Angry with Clinton success, the Newt-Gingrich-led- movement tried to topple Clinton, failing as Gingrich’s corruption showed through.

George W. Bush followed with one of the best Machiavellian partisan minds in Karl Rove. Born on third base, Bush achieved a home run in the presidential election only with Supreme Court help, then was rescued with exploitation of 9/11.

The Bush regime ignored the terrorist attack warning, most likely prompted by a petty, disdainful, and vindictive attitude toward anything Clinton. It was the Clinton administration that warned of an upcoming terrorist attack, an attack suggesting the use of commercial airliners.

In fact, the Washington Post reported in 2004 that the Aug. 6, 2001, Bush Daily Brief predicted that Osama bin Laden was advocating airplane hijackings and that al Qaeda supporters were in the United States and planning attacks here.
On all fronts, Karl-Rove-partisan tactics used every opportunity to denigrate Democrats and Clinton, saying that the Clinton administration trashed and graffitied the White House offices before leaving. Viewing the dirty tricks campaign engineered by Karl Rove during the presidential campaign, it was considered a partisan setup, and ultimately was dismissed by a GAO report.

Many thought that Republican deceit, bitterness and polarization would pass with the election of Obama in 2008; but it is now an ingrained trademark of all Republicans.

In September of last year, John Boehner came out with the Republican “Pledge to America.” Joblessness is the single most important challenge, it said. We will require that every bill have a citation of constitutional authority it proclaimed. We will give members of the House 3 days to read bills and be open to debate, it crowed.

In January, 2011, Republicans swept into the House of Representatives. After promising jobs for stricken and gullible voters in the 2010 campaign, House Republicans wasted precious time voting to repeal health care reform that covered some 32 million previously-uncovered Americans and which forbade the private insurance industry from arbitrarily cancelling policies. To headline their propaganda, Republicans named their repeal of health care, “’Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act,” which, of course, is a lie in itself.

Such an effort could be justified only on partisan grounds for it has no chance of going through the Senate or being approved by President Obama.

After two months, not one of the Republican pledges have been fully met. Everything Republicans have passed would kill jobs. In fact, jobs are far off their radar. The House spent weeks – interrupted by several weeks off — to repeal health care reform, though it had no chance of advancing in the Senate. Anti-abortion, anti-birth-control – basically anti-women legislation has been high on their list of legislation. A $61 billion cut in the budget, according to Moody’s Analytics would kill 700,000 jobs.

While killing jobs, Republicans, with malice and spite, also killed Nancy Pelosi’s “Greening the Capitol” program by replacing the cafeteria’s biodegradable cups, plates, and utensils with Styrofoam and hard plastic.
A centerpiece of their 2010 campaign was demonizing Pelosi. Denigrating her carried more importance than filling landfills with Styrofoam products that last 5 centuries.

Meanwhile, a continuing query from MSNBC news shows is, “Mr. Boehner, where are the jobs?” Let’s face it. An America with fewer jobs and more disgruntled voters is more likely to vote Obama out of the White House.

The Republican number one goal is getting Obama out of the White House and not more jobs. Republican leaders, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, openly stated this as the number one goal.

Remember, neocon think tanks still promote this strategy: lie, vilify and polarize. Angry voters vote Republican and alienated voters don’t vote at all.

With this strategy, more unemployment should get them the White House in 2012.