by John Mason
Greetings! Yes, I was disappointed at the Republican takeover of the Senate and the retention of the “House of Representatives”–some members being wholly-owned subsidiaries of corporate interests.
From what I understand, though, this would be a false victory for the Republican right-wing tea-party element; the reality is seeping in about gerrymandering of congressional districts, voter ID suppression efforts, and voter apathy.
We have to understand that this IS the only government we have, it DOES run our country and DOES affect our quality of life. The libertarian fantasy of being by yourself and the corporations running everything is an illusion; we don’t live by ourselves, we ARE indeed dependent on each other.
One of the favorite conservative propaganda lines is “You can’t have the government do everything for you.” That’s not the point; the point is, WHO is the government working for? What government functions are the conservatives objecting to?
From the actions of the Reagan administration to today, the targets for “cutting waste in government spending” and “fighting excessive regulation” have been food stamps, occupational safety and health (OSHA), environmental protection (EPA), civil rights, health insurance, school lunches, to name a few. But military spending and the police state? No problem there.
The aforementioned programs came not from the generosity of the federal government, but after long and hard struggles by dedicated activists, working from the neighborhoods and streets, to have the federal government listen to the people, listen to the plight of workers, farmers, women, and distressed minorities, and not to be owned by the corporations…
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