The Greatness of the United States is Dying – and Wingnuts are the Ones Killing It

by Allen Clifton

Can someone please explain to me one “great” thing that wingnut ideology has brought to this country? I just don’t get it. Even as much as Republicans worship at the temple of Ronald Reagan, what did he really do? And don’t even give me the “he ended the Cold War” nonsense. The wheels were put in motion for the downfall of the Soviet Union long before Reagan ever became president, he just happened to be the president when it finally all came crashing down.
To be honest, to find the last great Republican we have to go all the way back to the 50′s and Dwight D. Eisenhower, someone who the modern-day GOP would consider a radical socialist if he were running for office today. Eisenhower was a president who presided over much higher taxes than we have today, who built the Interstate Highway System and believed that taxes shouldn’t be cut until the budget was balanced.
That’s what you call “fiscally responsible.”
But it’s rare to see any Republicans cite Eisenhower when spewing their usual right-wing propaganda. They worship Reagan, a man who nearly tripled our national debt in eight years and never once balanced the budget, as a “wingnut icon” – yet mostly ignore the last president from their party who actually showed true fiscal responsibility.
Oh, and Eisenhower was very skeptical of the military industrial complex and the power they might gain over this country… while today’s Republicans can’t line up fast enough to kiss the rings of big defense companies.
But when you look at our history (or even all of human history for that matter), what great things have we seen birthed from conservatism? If anything, their opposition to almost anything and everything that “bucks tradition” is actually the antithesis of progress. Some of humankind’s greatest individuals thumbed their noses at “tradition,” charting their own bold and daring path. Though, sadly, our history also shows that many of these people were attacked, mocked and even sometimes killed for daring to evolve from “what’s always been.”
I’ve even pointed out several times throughout U.S. history where the same states that supported slavery are almost the exact same states that: Opposed giving women the right to vote. Supported segregation. Opposed the Civil Rights Act. Continue to fight against giving equal rights to the LGBT community. It’s almost like clockwork. If there’s a new idea that’s pushing our nation forward, shedding tradition for progress and innovation – it’s wingnuts who are the ones trying to hold us back.
Or we can always look at certain things in this country like Social Security, Medicare, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, sending a man to the moon and more recently our landmark health care reform - all done by Democratic presidents.
Even when you go back to possibly the most universally respected Republican, Abraham Lincoln, we’re looking at a president who issued an executive order bypassing Congress (the Emancipation Proclamation) to free slaves in rebelling states. In reality, Lincoln is possibly the most “big government” president in our nation’s history considering he started the Civil War against states who claimed slavery was a “states’ rights” issue.
Then when you look at what wingnuts stand for now, it’s basically a push to take us back to the regressive social policies of the 50′s with the same worn out economic polices from the 80′s that have proven time and time again that they don’t work. What “new” ideas have Republicans had lately? They’re running on the same crap they’ve been running on for decades. The only real “difference” among Republicans in our government is how radical one might be from another about pushing the right-wing agenda.
The theory of evolution holds true not just for various species, but for nations as well. Any great nation that fears evolving, or seeks to cling to inferior traditions, is a nation that will eventually ceases to be great. Republicans are right about one thing, the greatness of the United States is dying – and their ignorance is what’s killing it.
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