The Republican Reign

The campaign for the presidency is over, Barack Obama won, and an anxious world waits on the threshold of an expectant and enduring peace if the problems he inherits can be corrected.

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - Now that the election is over, the Party can be perceived for what it is, a reign that falls mainly on the plain people; i.e. its base that consists of traditionalists, evangelicals, the super-rich, and wannabes who try to be like others if only in their imagination.

Traditionalists come from families who have voted Republican for generations, still do, and always will. Evangelicals fall easily into the traditionalist-mold because they tend to believe Evangelists who pretend to speak for God, but who often misinterpret the New Testament and embellish their preaching to suit their purpose. Rod Parsley says it is God’s will that American-Christians destroy Islam, and that may explain the Iraq fiasco.

Traditionalists and evangelicals are a category of voters viscerally imprinted by time or religious-conditioning that produces in them irrational opinions which if they are not always correct are nevertheless wholeheartedly believed by those who obediently accept their givens without questioning their truth or viability.

Wealth and influence is the engine that drives the Republican Party. But when $5,000,000.00 invested in-tax-free bonds @ 5% will return $250,000 a year in usable money to the investor, why are some not satisfied with anything short of hundreds of millions of dollars? Some people come by their extreme wealth innocently as part of an aristocracy and its meaning of noble-character, “possessing high ideals or excellent moral character,” and noblesse oblige, “an honorable and generous way toward those less privileged.” Many nouveau-riche and wannabes, however, resent the graduated income tax as being proportionately unfair to them and consider it socialistic.

Success may be perceived as a sign of God’s approval by those who enjoy it. God, presumably, can express His disapproval also as in the instance of Katrina when Republicans ignored reality in favor of letting God handle the details, forgetting that God’s gift to man of a brain is conditional upon it being used, a truth the Administration dropped to the detriment of New Orleans.

Extremism invites it own reaction, Republican-Evangelicals are as radical as the enemies they choose to confront to prove Christian dominance. The Axis of Evil was an excuse to insist Iraq, Iran and No. Korea do as Bush says. Diplomacy could have avoided unnecessary sacrifice. Instead Iraq was invaded and is occupied, North Korea was condemned then struck from Bush’s list of terrorist nations, but only after Bush kept his promise, and Iran is willing to talk any time Bush is ready, but he won’t. In retrospect, the presumed threat from these nations appears more ephemeral than real. But what about Europe?

The Cold War is over, Geo. W. Bush said so. Russia and the United States have cooperated in many areas since, but that hasn’t stopped Bush from arbitrarily putting anti-ballistic missile-sites in Europe, an unnecessary defense against God knows who, without consulting Vladimir Putin who takes exception to Bush’s rude and irresponsible conduct. Putin is countering by playing Russia’s Western Hemisphere cards in Venezuela and Cuba that gives the whole the appearance of a game of International Monopoly.

Ethnic cleansing is nothing new to Europeans as Georgia, a small offshoot-nation of the USSR with two autonomous Moslem regions within its borders, may be trying to prove. Both regions incline toward Russian-rule but Ossetians, living peaceably under the eye of Russian peace-keeping troops,. suddenly and brutally were attacked by the U.S. backed President of Georgia. Russian forces responded in kind, and the war soon was over. Recently, a team of fifty unaligned-monitors investigated and concluded that Georgia started the conflict. Yet the U.S. accused Russia of a disproportionate response that caused Putin to assume a defensive posture toward the west. Might all of this have been orchestrated by the Religious Right to help John McCain get elected? God forbid!

The campaign for the presidency is over, Barack Obama won, and an anxious world waits on the threshold of an expectant and enduring peace if the problems he inherits can be corrected. America doesn’t need enemies, it needs friends and it ought to assure the nations of the world of its sincerity by removing from Europe the anti-ballistic missile sites already installed, withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and return Iraq to its full sovereignty, and establish friendly relations with all nations of the world. The return on such a minimal investment would be enormous, so the sooner the better.

The greatest threat to America is from within, not without. The Republican Party, with its Evangelical Holy See, operating as a permanent political-majority is over. The people have taken back its destiny by denying Evangelicals and traditionalists the power of misguided persuasions that would return America to the Middle Age when religion was deadly.

The United States is a Secular Nation based on Separation of Church and State. Our fore-fathers wisely declared its Religious and Territorial Independence in the same century as the last so-called witch was condemned, convicted and killed by Puritan-Christians in Salem, Mass.

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Kenneth G. Ramey was a 79-year old "writer without a Website" who is generating excellent, provocative articles on the subject of religion and world affairs. We are pleased that Ken's "lone wolf" presence as a writer in the world has been replaced by a spot on our team of writers at Salem-News.com. Raised in Minnesota and California during the dark years of the Great American Depression, Ken is well suited to talk about the powerful forces in the world that give all of us hope and tragedy and everything in between. You can write to Ken at: kgramey@sbcglobal.net

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Johnson November 14, 2008 9:17 am (Pacific time)

Say Matt I reviewed the "Sniper" post and you seem to have gone of on some tangent. I saw nothing about the plight of the "white man." The poster was talking about having a stable (forcasted) tax policy coming out of Obama. We have this incredible economic slow down and it is the people with money that take the risks and create jobs all in the name of profit. We are a capitalist society by the way Matt. If the investor's shelter their money, we are in some deep do-do. Our poor people are generally doing better than the middleclass in Europe. As far as the benefit you feel being a caucasian, well I am also caucasian, so what. Franklin Raines who ran Fannie May into near bankrupt condition is African American and he mined nearly 90 million dollars from it before he got out by overstating profits. I wonder what his opinion is of caucasian advantages? You may want to review the tax payment policies Matt, around 40% of Americans (other than normal payroll taxes) pay no income tax. My guess is that Obama will not say anything about leaving the capital gain tax alone (ideology trumps good monetary policy), but maybe he will. If not we are looking an a depression that will have been caused by the people who are trying to stop it. But maybe they want it, lots of power when the masses are hungry.

Matt Johnson November 13, 2008 2:12 pm (Pacific time)

Sniper my ass! I think the only thing you ever sniped was in an arcade. How do you possibly expect people to believe your BS when we are all actually living in this country? If you are some rich idiot then I guess I understand why you want to fight for the tax-sheltered wealthy, against poor Americans largely if not almost exclusively represented by Democrats. But if you're one of those retarded morons driving down the street in a 20-year old beater with a Bush sticker in the window, then get out of Dodge. I fail to understand the plight of the miserable white man. I am white and every day I make myself realize the immense advantages being Caucasian brings me. It is OK to be any color and it is OK to have money, but to be a greedy person intent on punishing the poor makes me sick. People, pay attention to guys like this and remember what they really stand for- it isn't for America, that's for sure.

Sniper/7.62 November 13, 2008 1:10 pm (Pacific time)

When Carter left office the unemployment rate was right around 9% and the interest rate was around 22%. So Obama at least at this time has a better situation. If he makes a public statement that he will not raise capital gain taxes I would think that the investors out there may start re-investing. The top 5% pay approximately 50% of all taxes, which also means they create most of the jobs on a dispropotionate level. Regadless of who blames who for getting us in this financial morass, we need a stable tax system so people can feel confident about their future investments. Why take risks when you also add in another unknown risk, which is an increase in tax rates. Presently Oregon's governor has all kinds of taxes he wants brought on line. The far left just never learns.

Henry Ruark November 13, 2008 7:56 am (Pacific time)

To all: Here's "see with own eyes" link re English experience with real denial after election defeat: www.nytimes.com 11/13/08 An English Lesson By JONATHAN FREEDLAND London "REPUBLICANS looking for a friendly shoulder to cry on in the coming months could do worse than look up their ideological cousins across the Atlantic. For the Conservative Party in Britain knows what it feels like to be wiped out in a watershed election by a charismatic opponent whose victory brings jubilant scenes on the streets and heady talk of a new dawn. "For the Tories, the cataclysm came 11 years ago when Tony Blair buried them in a landslide. Since then, they have suffered two more general election defeats, enduring their longest spell in the parliamentary wilderness since the mid-19th century." ---------------- Reasons for GOP disaster here are even more violence-making than in England-then. Details in depth at link;but evaluate with own mind.

Henry Ruark November 11, 2008 8:41 am (Pacific time)

To all: Here's relevant "see with own eyes" piece for your further consideration re probabilities with O-administration: Obama Hires Progressive Liaison for Transition Team By Nico Pitney and Sam Stein, Huffington Post Posted on November 10, 2008 http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://www.huffingtonpost.com//106330/ "Veteran Democratic official Mike Lux has been tapped by Barack Obama to serve as an adviser and progressive liaison during the transition period, the Huffington Post has learned. Lux, who worked on the Clinton administration transition efforts in 1992, confirmed the hiring but, citing a need for clearance, declined to offer further information." --------------- Several other similar pieces indicate clear determination to listen-and-act on broad progressive directions.

Henry Ruark November 10, 2008 7:47 am (Pacific time)

To all: Ellen Goodman wrote: "There is a saying, widely attributed to Winston Churchill, that "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing ... after they have exhausted all other possibilities." We arrived at a moment when change was the most conservative option. The 47-year-old president-elect came to represent the belief that Americans had to embrace change to conserve those things that mean the most to us, including our country's future." ------ Excerpt from "Voters Reboot America",Boston Globe 11/5/08. ---------- WHY is it that many ostensible "conservatives" are unable to recognize and accept the very obvious truth of this election now wrapped in that potent Churchill quote ?

Henry Ruark November 9, 2008 12:29 pm (Pacific time)

Miles: You wrote: "...a majority of conservative-minded people and that deals with core principals such as limited government and limited government spending,..." It is a simple fact that most voters NO LONGER confine themselves ONLY to the views of their past political masters, often voting for economic reasons differing from the expected view. Further, cognitive research now shows they vote as they do for many other psychological factors beyond "normal and usual" behavior. That's why, for some 30 years, several U.S. voter classes failed to protect their own economic interests, allowing falsified neocon views to carry the vote --sold by full deceptive dollar-paid propaganda via misleading GOP faction. But those days are long gone, Reaganism and monetarism are both dead and rotting, and transformation is under way. You are correct in return of people's belief in Founders principles, but dead wrong in your unavoidable personally driven interpretation of why they are changing, and in what directions. Any NBA or high school winner will tell you size of winning score means little; it is the win that counts on the record and also psychologically. What one does with a political win comes from what follows, much more than what went before, as we will soon learn. Re "twenty years",without very solid f/policy changes by U.S. there may not be any future for us to find out the score then. NOW is "the future" for many millions, awaiting the next steps in transformation, with return to Constitutional principles a sure direction. (As pointed out here for two years in Op Eds, thank you very much...) Surely agree on yr last sentence; we differ here on basic points of how to DO IT despite uninformed and misinformed masses led astray for thirty years by malign message-noises intentionally generated by GOP miscreants, now thankfully un-masked and in process of obliteration by awakened public frightened by dreadful consequences finally arrived in depth and dire. Despite all claims to small margin for O., mandate for change is clear and will drive his administration. Yr interpretation of "conservative" fails to take into account many factors now fast-changing in 21st Century situations, See TIME 11/17 issue graphics How Obama Won, Blue Tide for clarification, with emphasis on Obama States and McCain States percentage chart.

Miles November 9, 2008 9:47 am (Pacific time)

Understanding how a "Cult of Personality" is promulgated and compare and contrast that with fascism may allow one to extrapolate the dark times coming. This country still is made up of a majority of conservative-minded people and that deals with core principals such as limited government and limited government spending, and nothing to do with religion, though there are those throughout the ideological spectrum who are guided by that. How else do you explain suicide bombers? Experience, or the lack of it, will become more and more apparent. Ten to twenty years down the road both the current republican and democratic parties will have nothing in common with the current ones. I am glad Obama won, it will allow people to realize that the Founding Fathers really knew what they were talking about when it comes to the evils of big government. Have many of you noted the headlines all over America about gun sales going through the roof? When you look at a 6 point victory margin (way below past margins), it does not take much to shift 3 points. Many states have passed one man/one woman marriage propostions and other votes that deal with enforcing laws as well as ending unfair hiring practices. As an American I want Obama to succeed in the next four years, but I am looking forward to our people re-connecting to our core principals that our country was founded on.

muchtruth November 9, 2008 6:22 am (Pacific time)

Good article. I just viewed a video on youtube, from the assemblies of god general superintendent. 6 minutes, soft music in background, using romans 13, to urge everyone to submit to government under any condition. hmmm. You can search it. I also found out, that the federal government has brought on board, tens of thousands of pastors to preach the same message during civil dissent. In regards to change. I still believe, that the NWO elite bankers etc, that run the western world, have obama in their pockets just as they have had many other presidents before him. JFK stood up to these people, and was assissinated. I guess, we will see, but from his staff picks, its pretty obvious business as usual, war and spending as usual, federal reerve bank back to their shenanigans. Any politician, who does not at least mention the moral hazard of the "inflation tax", is not looking out for the peoples best interest. Havnt heard obama mention a word about it. And, he wants our guns, a teen nazi regime, and the only good economic policy I have heard is investing in U.S. infrastucture. I am not too hopeful for change.

Henry Ruark November 8, 2008 3:22 pm (Pacific time)

To all: Our good friend Ken wrote: "...forgetting that God’s gift to man of a brain is conditional upon it being used," Never a truer phrase has been written and published. Those who forget are destined to learn the hard way, with huge costs of every kind for them and for all others, too. SO now we return to where we lost full control of our own fate and our own democracy: What will we do ? This one from Ramey sets out steady direction for that ultimate compass-needle...

Vic November 8, 2008 3:16 pm (Pacific time)

Great article !

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