[ Reply | Next | Previous | Up ]
From:
Date: 6/25/01
Time: 2:27:31 PM
Remote Name: 209.158.197.2
Again, I don't disagree with you about the middle class (if you are, indeed, middle class) paying too much of the taxes. We certainly do. It's the wealthiest folks I have a problem with. And I'm glad you care about your community, your child, and the future of this country.
You may call me what you like: socialist, communist, Bolshevik... whatever, as long as it makes you feel more like Mel Gibson in "The Patriot." But, there's no way our founding fathers over 200 years ago could have possibly seen what our country was going to turn into. I'm not as strict about the consititution as you are. And I don't think they were either when they designed it in all its' broadness and flexibility.
What I'm trying to keep alive is that the republicans represent corporate interests and wealth - not middle or lower income Americans. You may argue that Democrats have similar interests as well, and I would accept some of your points also.
But, here's one example of what shrub is doing. Charles James is his nominee to run the Department of Justice's antitrust division. Tim Muris was confirmed to run the FTC. And Michael Powell was elevated in January to chair the FCC. "Together they herald a radical shift in the enforcement of America's antitrust laws: Under the Bush administration, there may not be any. Antitrust isn't exciting, but it's crucial. Because the American economy depends on robust competition - as opposed to the bank-industry cartels or direct government management common in Europe and Asia - preventing concentrations of corporate power is essential for maintaining growth and fostering innovation. It's also essential to American democracy: Antitrust laws provide a Madisonian barrier to the translation of economic power into political power... The Clinton administration, after a slow start, pursued antitrust cases vigorously. But Bush's appointments send a very different message. James, a cautious corporate lawyer, served as acting head of the antitrust division under W.'s father in 1992 - a year in which it filed just four merger cases..." from "Trust Walk, Why the Bushies Love Monopoly," in The New Republic, June 11, 2001. Teddy Roosevelt saw the danger and created his own party for reform. Woodrow Wilson saw it, too. It's the threat of democracy when the wealth and influence belong to a handful of people. Hey, isn't THAT what communist Russia was? (Not to mention modern day China.)