(6/17/2005) Yesterday, I heard the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), say that he has observed the GOP using "slash and burn" policies as a reprisal tactic when they don't get their way. Harry said that the Republicans start loading up legislation with unaffordable tax cuts and they begin slinging false accusations against their opponent's character. He said that these tactics are designed as reprisals for the Democrat's obstructionism, and they are red herrings used to distract attention away from the real issues that they don't want to deal with honestly.

Harry made these comments during a speech in defense of Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) who was under a barrage of attacks from several senior Republicans because of his comments about inhumane interrogation methods used at Guantanamo Bay prison. Senator Durbin compared these interrogation methods to the ones used by Hitler, Pol Pot, and Stalin. This motivated the Republicans into fits of phony outrage ad absurdum, and it excited them into a feeding frenzy of retribution designed to give the appearance of morality, honor, and respect; the three character qualities they lack the most.

This particular reprisal tactic also demonstrated how the senate Republicans can't stand it when someone holds a mirror in their faces allowing them to see their own ugliness.

Harry is telling the truth about the Republican's reprisal tactics, but he is grossly understating the GOP's actual "slash and burn" policies and capabilities. Senator Durbin is telling the truth about crimes against humanity committed by agents of the U.S. government, but he too is holding back the actual gruesome facts of this growing mountain of crimes that have soaked the American flag in blood and tears.

During the Clinton administration when the Democrats attempted to thwart the GOP's fascist agenda the stock market would suddenly plummet several hundred points in one day. I believe the GOP's key backers, a few families with trillions of dollars in wealth, were reacting to the Clinton administration's actions by dumping their stocks across the board in a panic selling mode. This reprisal action was like a warning shot across the Democrat's bow. The right-wing was sending a message that they could, and would, totally trash the U.S. economy if they did not get their way.

However, now the GOP is in control of our government, and instead of their wealthy right-wing friends just trashing the economy they have the ability to trash our government, and that is exactly what they have been doing. They have been doing it through their money whoring political puppets in the GOP with regressive tax cut legislation, character assassinations, pork barrel spending, selling off government assets, corporate welfare, cronyism, privatization of government run organizations, deregulations, looting of trust funds, and lax regulatory oversight.

The right-wing has been doing all these things ever since Bush took office, and not just as slash and burn political reprisals, but as business as usual. These are the GOP's standard operating policies, or their modus operandi (MO), and their actual slash and burn policies are much more destructive, sinister, and immoral.

It appears the GOP's real slash and burn policies are much more inline with their recent attempt to break the Democrat's filibuster power with their "nuclear option". The GOP quickly renamed their plan to the Orwelling sounding "constitutional option" after they realized how Freudianly accurate the name "nuclear option" really was. The GOP's willingness to break senate rules and destroy a two hundred year senate tradition, a tradition that is based on constitutional law, is alarming and indicative of the GOP's un-democratic arrogant ideology and their actual un-constitutional slash and burn policies.

The other half of the GOP's slash and burn policies are their red herring distraction tricks. They come up with divisive issues, like their current legislation to ban flag burning, which the Supreme Court has already ruled is a first amendment right, and use it to distract. They distract the public's, and the media's, attention way from the ugliness of their train wreck fascist policies. Their policies are bankrupting this country, concentrating wealth, killing our soldiers, and undermining our democracy. This flag burning distraction is also an attempt to make the Republicans in Congress look patriotic, pro-Constitution, and like honorable leaders when the exact opposite is true.

The GOP is attempting to manipulate the lowest common denominator of the American public with these red herrings. Citizens who are only vaguely away of what is really happening in Washington, who have short memories, who are poorly versed in history, and who desperately want to believe that these conservative leaders are honest and honorable people. It is a classic con that is used on susceptible individuals and it is costing us all our rights, freedoms, security, and democracy. 

When the right-wing doesn't get their way airplanes start dropping out of the sky, heads get blown off from people hiding behind picket fences, people start getting sick, and family members suddenly meet tragic accidents. The Democrats in Congress have witnessed this sinister retribution strategy up close and personal, but they don't have the stomach for this level of brut ruthless murderous political combat. So they cower to a fall back accommodation with the GOP. In other words, they fold up and give in like a frightened child running from a belt wheedling parent.

I don't blame the Democrats for their cowardice. The Republican's Napoleonic total annihilation strategies are ruthless and cruel. The Democrats would be fools to try and take on a far superior enemy face to face. They, and their Republican colleagues, understand the strategies recommended in the book "Sun Tzu, The Art of War", and they react accordingly. Some of Sun Tzu key strategies for winning wars include the following:

• "When facing a large superior enemy fall back, avoid conflict, and don't attack head on"

• "Defend yourself, but victory comes from taking advantage of your opponents actions"

• "Keep conflict short, but with much preparation and coordination"

• "Attack the enemy's strategy"

• "Secrecy is essential"

• "Deception is warfare"

The right-wing clearly uses all these warfare ideas in addition to intimations tactics, political retributions, and economic destruction strategies against the Democrats in Congress. So why in the world would the Democrats stick their necks out if they know their heads will get chopped off.

Perhaps the Democrats should use Fabian tactics, like evade, delay, avoid, and confuse to weaken, expose, and fatigue the GOP and their wealthy supporters. For example, imagine what America would be like right now if Bush had failed to pass any legislation during the past five years due to senate Democrats using obstruction and delaying tactics. There is no question that we would all be far better off now. Our budgets would be in balance, no deficits, no looting of the Social Security trust fund, no war in Iraq, no rip-off of the Medicare system, and a lot more Americans would still be alive instead of dying face down in the dirt of Iraq for nothing but a pack of lies and some bloody oil. Who knows, maybe Senator Wellstone would still be alive today.

The Democrats have not taken this Fabian approach because they claim they fear voter repercussions, but they probably really fear repercussions from the GOP and the GOP's mega wealthy supporters, and rightfully so.

If the Democrats ever did succeed in getting legislation passed that moved this country in the opposite direction the right-wing is trying to take us it most certainly would be a Pyrrhic victory since the right-wing would probably retaliate in the following ways:

• They would crash the stock market by selling their stocks.

• They would crash the economy by stopping all construction projects and moving their corporate operations and bank accounts off shore.

• They would crash the government by rising interest rate, cutting available credit, and they would stop buying our government's debt.

• They would crush the middle class by laying off millions of workers.

• They would attack the character of their political opponents without any shred of proof, or basis in reality.

• They would infiltrate their agents into the Democratic Party, as well as their businesses, family members lives, and staff so that they could undermine their operations and destroy their creditability.

• They would assassinate, jail, or entrap their political opponents.

If the right-wing took these actions our economy would go into a deep depression, one much worse than the great depression of 1929. It would be worse because our manufacturing base has already moved out of America, our farm base is now mostly corporate owned, and most jobs are retail and service related. Also, since most of the American people are concentrated in cities there is limited ability for self sufficiency.

Therefore, we would be unable to survive without charity from the government, or some other sources. Maybe that is the real motive behind Bush's un-constitutional Faith Based Initiatives plan. He wants to turn all of us into little sniveling kneecap sucking money whores, just like him.

Maybe the Democrats in Congress should completely surrender to the GOP by resigning from office. Such a bold action would send a deafening loud message to the entire world that the fascist right-wing has taken over our government, our economy, our election system, and our legal system and there is nothing we can do about it. This would allow 99.9% of the American people a better chance to defend themselves against the fascist pig who are robbing our government and undermining our democracy.

I often watch C-SPAN and I'm always amazed by the social interaction between the Republicans and Democrats on the senate floor while voting is taking place. It looks like a big family reunion with all the glad-handing, elbow rubbing, back slapping, and sycophant linguistic cordiality. Maybe the Democrats have already surrendered, but just not in a way that is helpful to the middle class.

The Democrats should resign from their ivory towers and join the rest of us sheep down on our knees praying for mercy from the right-wing fascist pigs who are busy sharpening their knives to release our souls.

The GOP's main supporters, a few families with trillions of dollars in wealth, have great hunger for more wealth and power. They have great fear from the people they have robbed. And they have great hatred for anyone or anything that stands in their way: like the Democrats in Congress, the American people, the U.S. government, and the U.S. Constitution.

The GOP, their wealthy supporters, and their fascist ideology are the devils our founding fathers were trying to protect us from when they wrote our Constitution. They are the corrupt corporate dogs that President Lincoln warned us about. They are the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about. They are the thieving, lying, and murdering mafia Dons that Attorney General Robert Kennedy warned us about. They are the wolves disguised as sheep that Jesus told us would come to mislead, steal, kill, and destroy.

The right-wing's lust for gold is only equaled by their lust for blood. They will risk their complete destruction before surrendering any significant portion of their advantage. But, there are more of us than there are of them and our shear numbers can overwhelm their money and technology. They are the enemy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.