Why I Pick On Republicans By Laurence M. Vance
(2011-01-09 at 08:12:34 )

Why I Pick On Republicans By Laurence M. Vance

So, the Republicans are back in control of the Congress again. Ho-hum.
Time to start writing about the Republicans again.

I have not always picked on Republicans. In fact, I used to be one,
faithfully voting for all the Republicans on the ballot to keep those
evil Democrats out of off ice. As a conservative who had never been
exposed to Libertarianism, I was a Republican by default. Oh, the
political ignorance of youth!

I remember taking a political survey in seventh or eighth grade in which
I scored, I think, an 8 out of 10, with 1 being extreme liberal and 10
being extreme conservative. Obviously, it was not the Worlds Smallest
Political Quiz. I suppose it was on the basis of that survey that I
considered myself a conservative. I do not remember any political
discussions at home growing up.

The f irst election in which I was old enough to vote was in 1980, but I
do not remember voting or even being registered until perhaps the 1982
midterm elections. Even so, I really do not remember in which election
years I voted and in which ones I did not. I think the last time I voted
as a frustrated, libertarian-leaning conservative and still somewhat
ignorant Republican was for Bush the elder against Clinton in 1992. I
did not care much for Bush, but he was a Republican and Clinton was a
Democrat.

Now I do not just not vote; I make it a point not to vote. I must
confess, however, that I did violate this principle on two occasions,
but not my conscience. A county in Florida I lived in had an extra 1.5
percent discretionary sales tax surtax. There was a vote in the county
to extend the 1 percent portion of the tax for another ten years. I
voted against it. It passed anyway; that is, the majority of the voters
in the county voted themselves a tax increase. Go f igure.

The other time I voted was for Ron Paul in the Republican presidential
primary. I felt dirty having to switch my voter registration from
Independent to Republican, but it felt good to vote for Dr. Paul. I
switched my registration back to Independent as soon as I cast my vote.
This was the f irst and only time I actually voted for someone instead of
just voting against someone.

Although I do not vote, I do follow and write about politics, and
especially Republican politics. Because I often write about the lies,
hypocrisy, and evil doings of the Republican Party, I get two kinds of
negative e-mail.

First are the nasty e-mails from conservatives castigating me for being
along with things like a communist piece of shit - a Democrat, a liberal,
a left-winger, or a leftist. The second kind is from those who criticize
me for not writing about the lies, hypocrisy, and evil doings of the
Democratic Party. This group may even share some of my criticisms of the
Republican Party, but I am picking on Republicans, they say.

To the first group I would say that I have never been a member of or
voted for a member of the Democratic Party in my life. I think the last
good Democratic president was Grover Cleveland. True, I rarely criticize
the Democratic Party, but not because I have anything but utter contempt
for it. The socialist and statist policies of the Democratic Party are
well known. It is the party of liberalism, socialism, feminism,
collectivism, abortion, organized labor, big government,
environmentalism, aff irmative action, welfare, paternalism, taxing and
spending, income redistribution, and every alternative lifestyle known
to man. The Democrats are evil, but they are predictably, dependably,
and consistently evil. The conservatives who mistake me for a Democrat
are many times warmongers who think that to oppose imperialism,
militarism, war, and empire means that one is a liberal. On this fallacy
see "Anti-war Stance Is Right, Not Left," by Gary Benoit of the as-far-
from-liberal-as-you-can-get John Birch Society.

To the second group I would f irst say all of the above that I said about
the Democrats and then add that although Republicans claim to be for
free trade, free markets, free enterprise, capitalism, the Constitution,
smaller government, less intrusive government, f iscal responsibility,
lower taxes, etc. - they show by their actions that they are merely
using libertarian rhetoric to get elected and reelected. They want a
government limited to one controlled by Republicans. As powerfully
argued by Lew Rockwell about the Republicans:

Economic liberty is the utopia that they keep promising to bring us,
pending the higher priority of blowing up foreign peoples, jailing
political dissidents, crushing the left wing on campus, and routing
the Democrats. Once all of this is done, they say, then they will
get to the instituting of a free-market economic system. Of course,
that day never arrives, and it is not supposed to. Capitalism serves
the Republicans the way Communism served Stalin: a symbolic
distraction to keep you hoping, voting, and coughing up money.

If you have any doubt then listen to what Representative Mike Pence,
former chairman of the House Republican Conference, said before the
recent midterm election:

What I have said is there will be no compromise on ending this era
of runaway spending, def icits and debt. No compromise on repealing
Obamacare lock, stock and barrel. No compromise on defending the
broad mainstream values of the American people in the way we spend
the peoples money at home and abroad. On issues that go straight to
principle and straight to the concern the American people have on
spending and taxes and values, there will be no compromise.

I have just one question for Mr. Pence: Where were you during the Bush
era of "runaway spending, def icits and debt? I will tell you where he
was, he was voting for Republican runaway spending, def icits, and debt.
What makes the Republicans worse than the Democrats is that Democrats
do not masquerade as advocates of smaller and less intrusive government.
They openly call for increased government intervention in the economy
and society.

Another reason I pick on Republicans is because they are the biggest
supporters of war, militarism, imperialism, and empire. When was the
last time a pro-life Republican ever expressed concern for the life of
any foreigner killed by U.S. bombs and bullets?

There is only one thing you can be sure of that Republicans will not
compromise on: their devotion to war and an aggressive, interventionist
foreign policy. Speaking recently at the American Enterprise Institute,
South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham called for war with
Iran. The Republican victory in the midterm election will not change
anything when it comes to foreign policy. Some races were still
undecided when Republicans began calling for more bloodshed in
Afghanistan.

Why do I pick on Republicans? They deserve it, that is why. America is
quickly becoming a fascist police state, thanks in a great measure to
Republicans and their PATRIOT ACT, Department of Homeland Security, war
on terror, TSA, and war on drugs. Instead of complaining about
Democratic legislation passed during the last two years, Republicans in
Congress should look in the mirror.

January 3, 2011

Laurence M. Vance writes from central Florida. He is the author of
Christianity and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State and The
Revolution that Was not. His newest book is Rethinking the Good War.

Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or
in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.