WASHINGTON FLOUNDERS WHILE GOP STANDS IDLE

Karl Rove corrupted our system of American Democracy. He assumes the position of innocence by say, that “little old me could not have had such an impact” but the truth is that he did. At the time, he had the ear of the most powerful man in the country, George W. Bush ass he struggled to find the front door of the White House. Karl used his position to try to create a “perpetual majority” by starting to corrupt the Federal Courts by firing liberal federal judges and appointing radical right-wing judges ion there place. With that same end in sight, he was instrumental in pushing for the appointment of radical Republicans to numerous low-level civil service positions. Even the United States Surgeon General could not give a speech on birth control unless it was first approve d by a radical right wing religious Republican operative. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, he used the Newt Gingrich trick of directing campaign money collected nationally to local and legislative races around the country to hand pick and steer Republicans into elective offices around the county. Not just Republicans, but the Republicans he picked were loyal to his narrow agenda. A huge source of money could overwhelm campaigns for Federal representatives in the less populated states. Karl did all of these things and more.

What he also did, I think unwittingly, by trying to establish a “perpetual majority” is started an era of “perpetual campaigning”. The Tea Party operatives started and apparently decided to use the same techniques but with a few of their own added, the political protection racket, I previously describe on this blog cite; challenge established politicians with a primary campaign. Either vote the way they are told or face a challenge. Political operatives would remove nation political party endorsement and funding at the same time as they issued the challenge.

“One-issue” groups like the NRA, and anti-abortion churches, anti-civil rights people (racists), and the like joined them in this protection racket approach. The problem for Democrats is that the Citizens United Decision by the Supreme Court, the direct result of Roves doing, funneled huge piles of money to Republican causes only the driving force was no longer the Republican party but rich men who hate the government. They supported candidates with the same ideology: Michele Bachman, Jim DeMint, Ted Cruz, James Inhofe, Allen King, and Darrel Issa are just the tip of the iceberg. Almost the entire Republican roster in Washington D.C. is on the list. The result is a poorly functioning civil service, especially in regulator agencies, but more visibly in the congress leaving them with an unbelievably low 8 to 10% approval rating. Republicans do not care for one reason and one done reason only; they want the American people to have a poor impression of their government. Good people run around scratching their heads wondering why they do not do something about it. The reason is simple; elected officials stand idly by because they want it that way.

All of this created an atmosphere where Republicans forced Democrats to retaliate by creating the newly organized Organizing for Action (OAF) to fight what they are doing.  Thus, the unintended consequence is a perpetual political campaign. As a political junkie, I think what might be a good thing is that people around the country could become interested enough to read the front page of their news papers before turning to the sports pages or turn on MSNBC rather than ESPAN.  I feel a wave of nausea even thinking about it but maybe someday we will thank the unscrupulous Karl Rove for being Karl. 

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