Muslim warriors believe that when they die, 72 virgins will be waiting in heaven for them to arrive.
Republicans believe that when they get to heaven all social programs will be eliminated as a cost saving measure and their taxes will be reduced to zero.
Last weekend, the headline for the L. A. Times Sunday late edition hinted that the Republicans are just about to get to heaven and begin the “uber-fun” phase of their program. Soon, the Republicans will hardly be able to contain their glee while seeing the look on liberals faces when the cutting of funds for social programs begins. If that isn’t heaven for them, then it’s impossible to say what would be.
The costs of the wars America is fighting will have to be covered. Police and firemen have to be on duty and be paid. Other than that, it is becoming obvious that the budgets for city, county, and state agencies have reached the “cut or die” breaking point. Either they cut programs or the programs and the state budgets will go completely out of control..
Republicans have always been sickened by the costs that social programs add to the various government budgets and have strongly urged that they be eliminated. Now, thanks to the Bush budget legacy, President Obama will have to be at the helm when many “unnecessary social programs” “take the bullet” and are sacrificed to cut overall costs.
Rush Limbaugh will use this disparity to goad members of various minorities into resenting the coincidence that Obama happened to be President when it happened, and el Rushbo will urge them to take out their resentment of Obama at the voting polls when the next elections are held.
Republican officer holders can shrug, mumble the “compassionate conservative” nonsense, and stifle their mirth, while “going along with Obamas’s cuts.”
Cuts which follow the approval of a stimulus package will seem (to those affected) especially galling and Rush will be sure to stir up the maximum possible amount of resentment among the Democrats.
In essence George W. Bush has dismantled the New Deal and has managed to do so in a way that will (for many) make it seem like President Obama is the culprit. The last vestige of the New Deal left to remove is Social Security and the Republicans are willing to wait another term or two before making the elimination of Social Security a move that is a “critical necessity.”
The Republicans have always hated “the New Deal” and watching the elimination of all the social programs they hate will be like life in heaven for those compassionate conservatives who never did like FDR.
Wish Granted for Jim Morrison and Dutch
President Reagan had, while he was in office, (according to two reliable sources) expressed a wish that the United States would have a new Great Depression.
(Note for conservative troll/moles: I invoke the Limbaugh rule of discourse; only insecure nancy-boys will challenge that pronouncement and they are not worth a rebuttal effort. So take it or leave it go.)
If Reagan’s wish had been immediately granted, the whole country would have been upset with him and his party so good strategists would move slowly to achieve that goal and if they were especially devious and conniving, they would arrainge for a Republican administration to make it inevitable, but fix it so that a Democratic successor would take the fall for the event when it happened.
For rich people the advantages of a new Depression would be many: undoing the unions, making many government provided social services unaffordable, returning to the old way of running a society: the rich vs. the poor, and making it an enviable thing to be so wealthy that cares about day to day expenses were irrelevant to good living.
Jim Morrison (lead singer of the rock group “the Doors”) once said he wanted to get his kicks before “the whole S*******e (outhouse) goes up in flames.” Naturally the conservatives denounced this as being unpatriotic claptrap and therefore reprehensible. It was the irresposible ravings of a lunatic and quite fully condemmed. How clever is it to denounce what a rebel says if that is exactly what you want?
So George W. Bush and his cronies have gutted the banking industry (can you say Broward Savings and Loan, boys and girls?), invaded Iraq (what was said at Nuremburg about “any invasion”?) is handing out “bail out” funds to various companies (who nationalized the German auto industry in the thirties?), and is destroying your 401K nest egg?
Then, just as folks realize “we’ve been had!,” the opposing party wins big and takes the reigns of control just in time to preside over a new Depresssion.
Does it look, to anyone else, like President Obama is being set-up as the fall guy?
Herbert Hoover once said: “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” To which one conservative friend would reply: ” . . . and so, what’s your point?”
Now, the disk jockey will play a song just for George W. Bush, Woody Guthrie’s (ever notice how much he looks like Sean Penn?) song: “So long, it’s been good to know you.” We’ll wave good-bye to the departing president (using just one finger) and we’ll do the dustbowl thing and head for California. Have a “rich fat cats never notice a depression” type week.