(6/14/2005) Sometimes doing the opposite of what the majority says to do, what the experts say to do, what the media says to do, or what our elected leaders say to do, is the right thing to do. In Washington D.C. these inaccurate people become more clear over time as history proves beyond on shadow of a doubt which of our elected leaders are right, or wrong, about their decisions, predictions, and recommendations. The political leaders who are consistently wrong should be considered "contrarian political indicators", or CPI. That way when someone is considered a good CPI you will know to support the opposite position that person is recommending.

President Bush is the perfect example of a great CPI. Everything he has recommended and has done during the past five years has been exactly wrong, perfectly incorrect, precisely mistaken, and undisputedly erroneous.

Interestingly, there is a correlation between some of these pernicious decision makers and the incorrect decisions, predictions, and recommendations they consistently make. As a result, I believe that there are a number of American political figures, and media personalities, who should be categorized, publicized, and recognized as CPI. President Bush is number one on that list, but the list is long.

A politician who deservedly falls into the category of a CPI does so because their words often indicate what the truth is, or what the best course of actions is, but only if you inverse the meaning of what they are saying. For example, if one of these CPI elected officials says "taxes should be cut", what that really means is "taxes should not be cut", or maybe even that "taxes should be increased".

I believe that these CPI political leaders are either liars, fools, con-artist, frauds, crooks, fascist, or all of the above. But regardless of the reasons for their misjudgments these individuals should be recognized for their uncanny knack at missing the correct answer, finding the incorrect solution, and supporting the worst ideas. It is also interesting to observe how these CPI individuals often show support for their bad ideas with great zeal, and then try and pass the blame when things don't work out.

A good example of this CPI theory applies to the people in Congress who opposed President Clinton's 1993 budget claiming that these changes, mostly tax increases on the top income earners, would result in economic disaster for America. These CPI people, mostly Republicans, were proven wrong during Clinton's eight years in office. In fact, the exact opposite of what the Republicans leaders said would happen, actually happened, and this legislation resulted in the greatest economic boom and positive budget turnabout this country has ever witnessed.

It was fun to see these embarrassed CPI Republicans scrabbling around trying to claim credit for policies that they opposed. Then, instead of sharing in the positive results the Republicans began personal attacks against President Clinton, and the Democrats, in an attempt to justify their opposition for the Democrat's successful policies. It is also interesting to note that not one Republican in the House or the Senate voted for Clinton's tax increase legislation and it was the Republican leadership who predicted doomsday results if this legislation was passed.

As a result of the GOP's grossly misleading analysis, totally incorrect prediction, and united voting record on Clinton's 1993 tax increase legislation the entire Republican Party has earned the label of CPI. And for those of you non-politicians who agreed with the Republicans then, and who still agree with the Republicans now, go ahead and give yourselves a big CPI pat on the back.

Another example of the Republicans in Congress proving their superior ability to be great CPI was when they supported President Bush's 2001 tax cut legislation. Bush claimed that Social Security funds would be safely tucked away in a lock-box, the public debt would continue to be paid down, and that this tax cut would provide needed economic stimulus that would result in economic growth. We now know that the exact opposite has occurred, and we knew this even before the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Once again, all the Republicans in the House and Senate voted for this regressive tax legislation and, once again, the evidence of the GOP as a great CPI grows stronger.

Following are several more examples of Republican led historic failures that expose just how much this corruptible political party has earned the label of CPI:

• The 1980's Savings & Loan de-regulation legislation that resulted in a $500 billion dollar taxpayer bailout. This Reagan/Bush legislation was sold to us as a way to strengthen the S&L industry, but it was really just a huge real estate scam that made a bunch of rich real estate owners, mostly from Texas, a lot richer.

• President Reagan's 1980 tax cuts and supply side economic plan that added almost $4 trillion dollars to the national debt over the following twelve years. You might remember that during Reagan's 1979 campaign he talked about how high a stack of one dollar bill would need to be to represent the current federal debt and how his conservative leadership could balance the budget.

• President Nixon's regressive tax cuts for the rich during a time of war in Vietnam was the start of growing budget deficits, and the first wave in a tsunami of corruption from the Republican Party.

• Nixon's Watergate corruption crisis and crimes, and he stood before the cameras and said "I'm not a crook", was a classic CPI moment.

• Nixon's failure to end the war in Vietnam in a timely manner after he promised he would, and he claimed that he had a plan to end the war in 1970, five years before the war ended.

All these right-wing led, and Republican supported, executive decisions resulted in higher federal deficits, criminal actions by people in the highest levels of our government, and the deaths of tens of thousands of young American boys in a unnecessary war that we lost. All these examples of poor leadership decisions, along with rosy prognostications and lame excuses, support my theory that the Republican Party was, and still is, a consistently reliable CPI.

Now the Republicans in Congress, and George W. Bush, want to pass some new legislation.

• Tax cuts for billionaires sold as a correction of an unfair tax that hurts small businesses and farmers, but is really just a disguised tax cut that will benefit the children of multi-billionaires. 

• Free trade deals (NAFTA and now CAFTA) sold as a way to fix our growing trade deficit, but is really designed to diminish the importance of the American consumer and exploit workers, resources, and the environment in poor countries.

• Energy legislation sold as a way to reduce our dependence on foreign sources and slow the growth of skyrocketing fuel cost, but is really just a bunch of corporate welfare for the highly profitable oil companies that continue to price gouge the American consumers.

• Cut capital gains taxes sold as economic stimulus, but is really just a tax cut for rich fat cats.

• Cut corporate tax rates sold as a way to keep corporations in America, but is really just another way to shift the tax burden from the rich owners to the middle class workers.

• Retroactively repeal corporate AMT sold as a fix to an unfair tax, but is really just a way to get the government to send big corporations a fat tax rebate check.

• Make Bush's '2001 rich guy tax cuts permanent sold as a way to keep the economy growing, but is really just a way to get rid of the estate tax for multi-billionaires.

• Privatizing Social Security for younger workers sold as a way to save the system, but is really just a Wall Street enrichment program.

• Greatly increase military spending sold as necessary for our security, but is really just a give away to the military-industrial complex.

• Fast-tracking Bush's trade authority sold as a quick way to get free trade deals passed, but is really just a way for Bush to avoid check and balances required by the Constitution.

• Replace America's social safety nets with Bush's Faith-based Initiatives plan sold as improvement, but is really an unconstitutional scam designed to end the government's role as a provider of social programs that benefit the workers of America.

• Provide parents with the option of school vouchers sold as way to improve public schools by forcing them to compete, but is really just a way to undermine the pubic school system by cutting funding. It is also just a scam to spur demand for large amounts of commercial real estate by getting for-profit corporations in the education business.

• Relaxing banking regulations sold as a necessary change to compete in the global market place, but is really just another Saving & Loan deregulation scam that the American people with be forced to bailout for trillions of dollars.

• Relaxing environmental regulations sold as a way to grow the economy and compete internationally, but is really just a loophole designed to help big corporations exploit resources and get richer.

• Fast-tracking death penalty appeals sold as efficiency, but is really just a way for the government to kill its citizens faster and with less accountability.

• The GOP opposes real campaign finance reforms because they are unconstitutional based on free speech, but is really just an excuse to keep the current money corrupt system intact.

• The GOP opposes HMO reforms because they are too costly, but is really just a way to help HMO's avoid accountability and liability for decisions they make.

• The GOP opposes increasing the minimum wage because they claim it will result in job losses, but they just don't a rats ass about people at the bottom.

• The GOP opposes a women's right to choose because they claim it is immoral, but this issue is really being used as a distraction to confuse and manipulate voters. The GOP does not want the public to focus on all the horribly immoral things they are doing on the big issues that affect their lives now and far into the future.

• The GOP refuses to hold anyone in the intelligence community accountable for the terrorist attack of the WTC because they refuse to acknowledge fault on this mistake, or any other mistakes. However, the truth is they are complicit with the real terrorist in Saudi Arabia and they have used the terrorist attack to justify a war in Iraq, to diminish the American people's rights and freedoms, and to add trillions of dollars to the federal government's debt.

• The GOP supports allowing free-trade as a way to improve our trade deficit, but it's really just about allowing large American corporations to suppress individual rights and freedoms, ignore environmental concerns, and exploit labor in third world countries. They are weakening the U.S. dollar and undermining our national security while building China's economy.

Based on this list and on my theory of CPI the American people should not only avoid doing all the things the GOP supports, but should also insist on doing all the things the GOP opposes. In other words, whatever the GOP wants to do we should only support doing the exact opposite. Otherwise, we are just their fools and they will continue to play us like we are all just a bunch of suckers.

The extreme partisanship in Washington is not just political party gamesmanship, but it's a result of the Republican Party being wrong on almost every issue, and the Democrats knowing that they are wrong and fighting back with real solutions.

Democrats offer real solutions, but not necessarily the best solutions. The Democrats, like the Republicans, are too busy kissing the hand that feeds them rather than doing the honorable thing. They are also guilty of worrying to much about political repercussions. The result is a half-hearted fight against the Republicans and a political game of blaming the other guy when things don't work out.

This money corrupted political process, that both parties are guilty of participating in and refusing to reform, is moving American towards bankruptcy, fascism, and plutocracy and away from representative democracy, equality, freedoms, and justice.

The elected Republicans are not wrong all the time because they are incompetent fools, uninformed morons, uneducated nitwits, or stupid bigots, but because they are, as Senator John McCain said, "corrupt".

Our political system has become corrupted by money. The Republican Party unwittingly exposes its high level of subversive corruption by representing the interest of a few mega rich families. These few wealthy families have immense unquenchable greed. They have loyalty to gold, and their loyalty to America is insubstantial. They have plans that are unconstitutional to the degree of being treasonous. They are sick with greed and paranoia, and this mental illness is motivating them to rob our government and undermine our democracy.

The Republican Party appears happy to serve the interest of the few super rich families already at the top of the economic ladder. They do this by misleading everyone else about who really benefits from their legislation, and by passing the blame when the ugly truth emerges. They funnel America's wealth and opportunity to the richest people, and everyone else gets words that are reassuring but are misleading. The result is bad legislation that is contrary to this countries long-term best interest and a growing number of politicians (CPI) who, on a daily basis, dishonor their positions and insult our intelligence.

The Democrats are not immune from this corruption, but their leaders and supporters appear to be more moderate in their greed. They are more loyal to America. They want to built upon the Constitution's strengths rather than tear it down. They are mostly "free thinkers" who are no afraid to express themselves without their party leader's stamp of approval. They support major campaign finance reforms and appear sincere about wanting to get the corrupting influence of money out of politics, and they want to balance the budget. I believe that if it wasn't for the Democrats in Congress America's democracy would already be history and fascism would be fashionable in Washington.

The short-term solutions to this CPI problem include the following:

• Make sure that fewer Republicans get elected.

• Make sure that fewer Republicans get their way with legislation.

• Lobbying our elected leaders until they pass major campaign finance reform legislation.

• Educating citizens about vulnerabilities to our democratic government institutions, rights, freedoms, and opportunities from individuals, like Bush, and others already working in high positions of public trust in our government.

Once money has been removed from the political equation the Republican Party will stop their support for the wealthy few at the top, and they will once again start representing the average American citizens. After this goal is achieved there will continue to be some corruption, and some partisanship, but the debate on the legislation will change from the current extreme partisan positions to much more narrow disagreements over the finer points of mutually agreed upon courses of action. Actions that will be good for all the American people and not just for a few already at the top.

The results of this new hopeful futuristic level of bi-partisanship, representative government, and honest legislation will be a huge growth in the number of people living in the middle class and upper-middle class, and a decrease in the number of people living in the lower class and in the extreme upper class. Just like what was starting to happen during the 1990's with Democratic leadership.

The Democrat's ideology is one that believes in sharing prosperity and equal opportunity. This is the same ideology that our founding father, our legislative forefathers, and some of our current political leaders intended, envisioned, and continue to work for. It is also the right direction for America's future as an independent world leader that leads by example rather than by the current system of coercion, corruption, malfeasance, greed, lies, manipulation, propaganda, and fear.

People who believe that a lame duck third party candidate could generate positive results are just fooling themselves. The role of third party candidates, like Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, is to expose the corruption in our two party political system, educate votes about the best solutions, and to put pressure on the Democrats and the Republicans to fix these problems.

All the American people need to call, write, and visit their elected legislators and ask, beg, or demand that they pass real campaign finance reforms, balance the federal budget, fund the Social Security trust fund, restore the progressive tax code, keep the estate tax for the extremely wealthy, protect our environment, regulate business, protect workers, secure our borders, and work towards world peace and population control. Also, let the CPI political leaders know that you know that they are CPI and you want them out of office ASAP.