Freedom Rider: Reagan Wins in 2008
by BAR
editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
“Republicans openly indulge in their
love of racism, violence and control.”
“I was led
to believe really, that Reagan was possessed by demons. Frankly, I do believe
Reagan at that time as much as Bush today was indeed possessed by the demons of
manifest destiny. – Fr.
Miguel d’Escoto
The Ronald
Reagan library was the perfect location for the recent Republican presidential debates. The
gruesome words of the Republican presidential candidates seemed to come from a
séance communing with Reagan’s departed spirit.
All the
candidates believe in the manifest destiny of white men to do whatever the hell
they want, namely keep brown people and women under control. Their ideology can
be summed up in 50 words or less:
Americans
have the right to kill.
Americans love God, married couples and pregnant women.
War is
good.
Ronald
Reagan was a saint.
Muslims,
especially Iranians, must die.
Taxes are
bad.
Fetuses
are sacred.
Immigrants
are bad.
Bill
Clinton and Hillary Clinton are evil.
There you
have it, Republican ideology in a nutshell. If the Democrats are frightening
because they are compromised and craven, the Republicans are frightening
because they are true believers, the real McCoys. They openly indulge in their
love of racism, violence and control.
The media allow them to make up nonsense without so much
as a decent follow-up question, and that is the most frightening prospect of
all. The media will take their cues from the Republicans and do their bidding.
It is not inconceivable, despite the nearly universal scorn for George W. Bush,
that one of these horrible men will be the next president of the United States.
“Chris Matthews is Exhibit A in the pantheon of useless
American so-called journalists.”
The debate
was not just a showcase for Republican hatred and aggression but also for media
complicity. Moderator Chris Matthews is
Exhibit A in the pantheon of useless American so-called journalists.
Matthews
loves Republican men. The more right wing they are, the more love he gives. He
called Rudy Giuliani the “perfect candidate,” opined that John McCain “deserves
to be president,” and even swooned over Mitt Romney’s “perfect hair.”
Matthews
can make or break candidates and he never makes a Democrat or breaks a
Republican. His colleagues in corporate media may differ in style but all have
determined that their bread is buttered with the GOP.
Confident
that he is free to show his biases, Matthews asked the candidates, “Would it be
good for America to have Bill Clinton back living in the White House?” Matthews
hated Bill Clinton and never passes up an opportunity to demean and lie about
Hillary Clinton either. His question was so strange, that even the assembled
gathering of savages were momentarily taken aback.
Savage may seem like too strong a word, but they spoke for
themselves. Mitt Romney declared with a straight face that Muslims are trying
to “bring down America” and declared that bin Laden “is going to pay and he
will die.” He sounded a bit like a villain in a Bond movie, but laughter is not
the appropriate response in a nation that has elected the likes of Ronald
Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The only thing keeping Schwarzenegger in the audience
instead of on the presidential debate stage, is the constitutional provision
allowing only American born citizens to run for president. When asked point
blank if that provision made sense, most candidates said yes. The racist fear
of a brown, black or yellow foreigner seeking the highest office is the only
thing keeping Schwarzenegger from occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“Pregnant women have no rights that a white male office
seeker need respect.”
When they
weren’t advocating death to Islam, Bill and Hillary, the Republicans were
engaged in a strange effort to return American women back to the 1950s. All
agreed that abortion is bad, even Giuliani and Romney, who couldn’t get elected
to previous offices without being pro-choice. They joined their counterparts in
stating that pregnant women have no rights that a white male office seeker need
respect.
Giuliani
declared that he hates abortion. Tom Tancredo said that overturning Roe v. Wade
would be “the greatest day in this country’s history” and Sam Brownback “a
glorious day of human liberty and freedom.” It certainly wouldn’t be for women,
but what do they know.
All
declared their intention to continue killing people in Iraq. Romney bragged
that the war on terror won’t stop in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why kill in only
those two countries when Iran is just a bomb’s throw away.
All the
candidates agreed that Iranian president Ahmedinajad is “irrational,” that Iran
supports terror around the globe, threatens a nuclear armed Israel, and is
responsible for the death of every American soldier in Iraq. The debate moderator
blithely asked McCain what would be the “tripwire” to attack Iran. A real
journalist would have asked if there is any need to even think of attacking
Iran, or why there is only one other country on earth that seems to think it is
a good idea.
The media
clearly favor the party that openly calls for death, violence and submission.
The other party doesn’t have the nerve to speak up for itself. It is sad but
accurate to say that 2008 will not be a very good year. Ronald Reagan’s demon
possessed spirit may yet be happy.
Margaret Kimberley’s
Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York
City, and can be reached via e-Mail at
Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley’ maintains an
edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com.
More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive page.
