So, the Republicans are back in control of the Congress again. Ho-hum. Time to start writing about the Republicans again. I haven’t always picked on Republicans. In fact, I used to be one, faithfully voting for all the Republicans on the ballot to keep those evil Democrats out of office. As a conservative who had never been exposed to libertarianism, I was a Republican by default. Oh, the political ignorance of youth! I remember taking a political survey in seventh or eighth grade in which I scored, I think, an 8 out of 10, with 1 being extreme liberal and 10 being extreme conservative. Obviously, it wasn’t the World’s Smallest Political Quiz. I suppose it was on the basis of that survey that I considered myself a conservative. I don’t remember any political discussions at home growing up. The first election in which I was old enough to vote was in 1980, but I don’t remember voting or even being registered until perhaps the 1982 midterm elections. Even so, I really don’t remember in which election years I voted and in which ones I didn’t. I think the last time I voted as a frustrated, libertarian-leaning conservative and still somewhat ignorant Republican was for Bush the elder against Clinton in 1992. I didn’t care much for Bush, but he was a Republican and Clinton was a Democrat. The Revolution that Wa... Laurence M. Vance Buy New $5.95 (as of 12:45 UTC - Details) Now I don’t just not vote; I make it a point not to vote. I must confess, however, that I did violate this principle on two occasions, but not my conscience. A county in Florida I lived in had an extra 1.5 percent discretionary sales tax surtax. There was a vote in the county to extend the 1 percent portion of the tax for another ten years. I voted against it. It passed anyway; that is, the majority of the voters in the county voted themselves a tax increase. Go figure. The other time I voted was for Ron Paul in the Republican presidential primary. I felt dirty having to switch my voter registration from Independent to Republican, but it felt good to vote for Dr. Paul. I switched my registration back to Independent as soon as I cast my vote. This was the first and only time I actually voted for someone instead of just voting against someone. Although I don’t vote, I do follow and write about politics, and especially Republican politics. Because I often write about the lies, hypocrisy, and evil doings of the Republican Party, I get two kinds of negative e-mail. First are the nasty e-mails from conservatives castigating me for being – along with things like a communist piece of s**t – a Democrat, a liberal, a left-winger, or a leftist. The second kind is from those who criticize me for not writing about the lies, hypocrisy, and evil doings of the Democratic Party. This group may even share some of my criticisms of the Republican Party, but I am picking on Republicans, they say. To the first group I would say that I have never been a member of or voted for a member of the Democratic Party in my life. I think the last good Democratic president was Grover Cleveland. True, I rarely criticize the Democratic Party, but not because I have anything but utter contempt for it. The socialist and statist policies of the Democratic Party are well known. It is the party of liberalism, socialism, feminism, collectivism, abortion, organized labor, big government, environmentalism, affirmative action, welfare, paternalism, taxing and spending, income redistribution, and every alternative lifestyle known to man. The Democrats are evil, but they are predictably, dependably, and consistently evil. The conservatives who mistake me for a Democrat are many times warmongers who think that to oppose imperialism, militarism, war, and empire means that one is a liberal. On this fallacy see “Anti-war Stance Is Right, Not Left,” by Gary Benoit of the as-far-from-liberal-as-you-can-get John Birch Society. Christianity and War a... Laurence M. Vance Best Price: $3.46 Buy New $5.96 (as of 12:30 UTC - Details) To the second group I would first say all of the above that I said about the Democrats and then add that although Republicans claim to be for free trade, free markets, free enterprise, capitalism, the Constitution, smaller government, less intrusive government, fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, etc. – they show by their actions that they are merely using libertarian rhetoric to get elected and reelected. They want a government limited to one controlled by Republicans. As powerfully argued by Lew Rockwell about the Republicans: Economic liberty is the utopia that they keep promising to bring us, pending the higher priority of blowing up foreign peoples, jailing political dissidents, crushing the left wing on campus, and routing the Democrats. Once all of this is done, they say, then they will get to the instituting of a free-market economic system. Of course, that day never arrives, and it is not supposed to. Capitalism serves the Republicans the way Communism served Stalin: a symbolic distraction to keep you hoping, voting, and coughing up money. If you have any doubt then listen to what Representative Mike Pence, former chairman of the House Republican Conference, said before the recent midterm election: What I’ve said is there will be no compromise on ending this era of runaway spending, deficits and debt. No compromise on repealing Obamacare lock, stock and barrel. No compromise on defending the broad mainstream values of the American people in the way we spend the people’s money at home and abroad. On issues that go straight to principle and straight to the concern the American people have on spending and taxes and values, there’ll be no compromise. Rethinking the Good War Laurence M. Vance Buy New $5.95 (as of 12:45 UTC - Details) I have just one question for Mr. Pence: Where were you during the Bush era of “runaway spending, deficits and debt”? I’ll tell you where he was, he was voting for Republican runaway spending, deficits, and debt. What makes the Republicans worse than the Democrats is that Democrats don’t masquerade as advocates of smaller and less intrusive government. They openly call for increased government intervention in the economy and society. Another reason I pick on Republicans is because they are the biggest supporters of war, militarism, imperialism, and empire. When was the last time a pro-life Republican ever expressed concern for the life of any foreigner killed by U.S. bombs and bullets? There is only one thing you can be sure of that Republicans won’t compromise on: their devotion to war and an aggressive, interventionist foreign policy. Speaking recently at the American Enterprise Institute, South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham called for war with Iran. The Republican victory in the midterm election will not change anything when it comes to foreign policy. Some races were still undecided when Republicans began calling for more bloodshed in Afghanistan. Why do I pick on Republicans? They deserve it, that’s why. America is quickly becoming a fascist police state, thanks in a great measure to Republicans and their PATRIOT ACT, Department of Homeland Security, war on terror, TSA, and war on drugs. Instead of complaining about Democratic legislation passed during the last two years, Republicans in Congress should look in the mirror.

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