Letters to the Editor
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Republicans Espouse One Set Of Values Standards And Practice The Opposite
Full Disclosure: After 35 years of voting almost straight Democratic, the cumulative effects of the Clintons plus Pelosi's "off the table" remark sent me over to register as a Republican to support the most consistently anti-neocon in Congress, Ron Paul.
That said, any examination of the Republican Party's claim to conservative ideology and the actual performance of elected Republican politicians over the last 3 decades reveals enormous inconsistencies, which we could call paradoxes if we were to be polite or just plain hypocrisy if we are not.
The party that has made more noise than any in history about balancing the budget and exercising fiscal responsibility has tripled the national debt.
The party that has made more noise about ending illegal immigration has facilitated the arrival of record numbers of illegal immigrants, with only token efforts to restrict the flow.
The party that made a big production about not getting involved in nation-building will be known to history as the one that conducted the biggest nation-building fiasco in history.
The party that made claim to the concept of a small federal government with limited powers is now headed by a "Decider" whose administration has expanded the size and powers of federal officers beyond what anyone previously would have imagined possible.
The party that made honor, duty, and public service its watchwords had consistently practiced deceit, corruption, and betrayal for the benefit of already wealthy "clients".
The list of transgressions could doubtless be continued ad nauseum by most readers of Salon.
The most remarkable thing about this whole episode is the huge number of "staunch Republicans" who have been snookered into supporting people who acted exactly contrary to the ideological values they supposedly embrace and continue to be taken, hook, line, and sinker, by the puppet-masters that control the Party.