Republican: Party of Insults

September 28, 2004

Republican: Party of Insults
by Gus Stevenson

"Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called "True Lies."
It's what the Democrats should have called their convention."

"If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say,
'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special
interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ... if they don't have the guts,
I call them girlie men."

-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Those are just a few inspirational quotes to come out of the Republican Party in recent months.

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s misogynistic homophobia, Zell Miller’s fiery rants, and Cheney/Bush’s "Kerry vs. Kerry" approach demonstrate a tactic often employed by an average schoolyard bully: insult others to make yourself look better.

Perhaps that’s nothing new. After all, Rush Limbaugh has for years been attacking America’s "liberal problem." Talk radio in general has traditionally been overwhelmingly conservative, and has attacked nearly every major Democrat on a regular basis.

However, such bullying seems to have more or less become the centerpiece of the Bush campaign. Consider the Republican National Convention’s almost non-stop Kerry-bashing. In another example, when Kerry went on vacation, they made fun of how funny he looked windsurfing. And all the while, we are hit over the head incessantly with the phrase, "Kerry is a flip-flopper. Kerry is a flip-flopper." It’s almost as if that is the Bush campaign’s slogan.

Bush has even managed to turn the words "liberal" and "activist" into slurs. He talks of "activist" judges, and claims that Kerry is the most "liberal" member of Congress.

Perhaps there is a good reason for such infantile tactics. After all, what else does Bush have to stand on? Over the last four years, we’ve experienced skyrocketing unemployment rates and budget deficits, rising crime rates, rising gas prices and decreased air pollution regulation, as well as rising school tuition and health care costs. Surely, evidence of the Bush administration’s success was not to be found here at home. (Of course, when Democrats mention such failure of Bush domestic policy, the Republicans have another slur at the ready—"pessimist.") Attention would need to be turned to dangers from overseas, and to the ongoing "war on terror."

After the attacks of Sept, 2001, America received an unprecedented outpouring of support from around the world. Citizens in Europe wept, and governments around the world were poised to support us. It was a time when our military strength was seen around the world as a nearly unbeatable force, and our national resolve (a word that Bush has been invoking ever since) had never been stronger.

And, at first, the Bush administration almost seemed to act competently. They found out that those responsible were members of a terrorist organization stationed in Afghanistan. Our military went in, disbanded the training camps, rooted out the oppressive government (that we helped empower in the first place) that harbored them, and led its people on a path to freedom and a better way of life. Sure, we bombed a few hospitals along the way, but we still had international support, and our military looked stronger than ever.

All of that was squandered when Bush rushed America into war with Iraq.

It has been like a one-two punch to America. The power and morale of our military has been weakened, and the world’s distrust and hatred of American has been strengthened.

As our military grows more and more swamped with Iraq, and the numbers for defending America in other parts of the world are growing fewer (not to mention that the war has cost well over $100 billion so far). Many members are being forced to extend their tour of duty in Iraq past their period of enlistment. As such, there is a growing distrust of the military among potential enlistees. Fewer numbers of people are enlisting, and fewer members already in the military plan to re-enlist. All this, in addition to also trying to keep the peace in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, because we acted without accord from the rest of the world, resentment of America has grown once again. International sympathy has faded, and America once again looks to some like the big bully on the block, pushing little nations around. Terrorist organizations seem to be taking advantage of this to recruit new members, to "defend the Islamic world from western invaders." If Iraq was not a breeding ground for terrorist activity before, it sure is now. In addition, we failed to capture the leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization and have diverted our attention from Afghanistan. In short, because of Iraq, we are more likely to be attacked again, and less likely to be able to retaliate effectively.

And this is supposed to be the Bush administration’s biggest accomplishment?

Insults may help win votes and maybe even elections. They do not, however, win wars. They do not win international respect. They don’t lower the unemployment rate or balance the budget. They don’t lower gas prices or reduce air pollution. They don’t lower crime rates or restore impoverished neighborhoods. They don’t reduce the price of health care, and they don’t improve the educational system. They don’t prevent terrorist attacks, and they don’t save lives when attacks happen. In short, they do not truly address the problems faced by this country, and neither are the Republicans currently in power.