What if the patriots had lost to King George’s forces – and we were still a British commonwealth in the modern era? What if we has a revolution now? Who would the new patriots be?
The Red County Republicans love to pretend they are patriots. They celebrate Flat Day as if it were their birthday. They wear flag pins and question the Americanism of their opponents. But are they truly patriots? Most of them are chickenhawks. While young men and women die in droves in Iraq, the Red County Republicans only exert themselves on their private tennis and racquetball courts.
No question about it. The Red County Republicans would be Tories. They would side with the redcoats. They would ally with the crown and chase down the patriots and try to kill them.
The Revolution began in part because of the notorious Tea Tax. Sure enough, it was Republican legislators who passed the last horrid state budget, raising our taxes in the process. And Red County ignored the first Tax Revolt protest in Fullerton – while defending Anthony Adams, which brought the ire of John and Ken down on their red faces.
Consider the animosity the Red County Republicans have for freedom-loving Libertarians. They hate us! And these odious Republicans are Imperialists – Red County publisher Chip Hanlon wants our military to “represent U.S. interests overseas.” They celebrate the botched invasion of Iraq. Even now they pine to bomb Iran.
Consider that “King George III’s long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places further afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia,” according to Wikipedia. Hmmm…sounds like the Red County Republicans, doesn’t it?
“George was deeply devout and spent hours in prayer, but his piety was not shared by his brothers. George was appalled by what he saw as their loose morals.” Just like the Red County Republicans! Why these people are so concerned with what goes on in other people’s bedrooms is beyond me.
Fittingly, “By the end of 1811, George III had become permanently insane and lived in seclusion at Windsor Castle until his death.” So too the Red County Republicans have become raving mad, attacking immigrants, gays and anyone who thinks differently from them. They continue to cling to closed primaries, chasing away independents and Libertarians.
The patriots embraced the defeated Tory mercenaries after the war. They allowed these foreign troops to settle in amongst the U.S. citizens. Today the Republicans hate on Latinos while ignoring the fact that thousands of Latinos serve in our military – and many have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Republicans have no more power in Sacramento, and yet Mimi Walters last year spent a million dollars getting elected to the State Senate. God only knows what she intends to accomplish in Sacramento.
Were we to live the American Revolution today there can be little doubt that the arrogant, pompous, Red County Republicans would work for the crown – and they would oppose the voices of freedom. They would of course have their heads handed to them!
Howdy Art,
As a Captain, Honorably Discharged in 2006, soon to be back in the Reserves and taking command of a combat support Chemical Company, I find it troublesome that you are using the deaths of soldiers by race to make a point. Especially when, by its nature, excludes those who also made the ulitmate sacrifes for our country – male, female, all races.
I see young men and women who voluteered to serve their country, all O.D. Green if you will, and they should be remembered for their service and their sacrifice, not their skin color so you can drive home some meaningless point about white guys at Red County who sit in their arm chairs will minorities are being drafted to do what they would not, when there is no draft. The argument resonanted in the 60’s but not today.
Because you have brought up race, lets look at the numbers, not to say one ethnicity is better then another but to only refute the “Latino young men and women die in droves in Iraq” comment.
KIA in Iraq from 19 Mar 03 to 03 May 08 = 4,059
American Indian or Alaskan Native 41 1.01%
Asian 75 1.85%
Black 385 9.49%
Hispanic or Latino 435 10.72%
Races Unknown pending or Unk 44 1.08%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islnd 45 1.11%
White 3,034 74.75%
Total 4,059 100%
I think the numbers speak for themselves. However, no one should take away or derive any advantage by these brave soldiers race. To do so, in my eyes, is to diminsh the ultimate sacrifice they made.
If I sound a little pissed off please accept my apologies, you just struck a nerve. My brother is a LTC the US Army, my dad, uncles, cousins, grandfathers are all vetrans. Only one never made it home.
I still enjoy the blog as I do Red County and all the others and I will always come back to read up on whats happening here.
Freedom is what blogs are all about and freedom is what we fight and somtimes die for.
Douglas,
Thank you for your service. My cousin served in Afghanistan.
I mentioned Latino soldiers because so many Republicans like to pile on Latino immigrants, even though quite a few have served this country with honor.
I also found an article that makes the case that Latinos are getting more active in our military. “Besides the rapid increase in the U.S. Hispanic population, Latinos are likely to increase in the military because of several recent trends and activities. The Army has launched a vast recruiting campaign targeting Latino youth, placing ads in Spanish-language media, including magazines, radio, and television. The number of Hispanic Army enlistments rose 26 percent between 2001 and 2005.5”
You can read the article at http://www.prb.org/Articles/2007/HispanicsUSMilitary.aspx.
Every soldier deserves our respect. I hope they get to come home soon.
Captain Cox,
Respectfully, I think you missed Art’s point (as I see it). The Red County Republicans spout war, but do little to serve the Nation. I call themn Chicken Hawks.
As for minorities in the service, I have found no better organism than the military at bringing men (and now women) together, The service I served in was COLORBLIND professionally and reflected society socially. That should not be a surprise to you who has also served.
Next, I might offer that I first thought George was a veiled reference to G.W Bush who also dodged service, in My brothers (and Cousins) war where neither came home. I am disgusted by GW’s speaking at the VFW and Cheneys support.
Lastly, There is something to be said about an army that came to fight a war in the snow and wore RED COATS!
Ken
P.S. The weather is great down here in Paraguay!
I am quite curious…why did you turn your back on the Republicans that you once supported. I’m sure that you have your reasons, but do you care to share? I have no problem with the Libertarian viewpoint, but as long as the Libertarians are supporting legalization of street drugs, I don’t see them getting very far in the polls.
booper,
RE the drug issue, it is self-evident that the drug war is not working. Why keep doing the same thing?
I quit the GOP because of my disgust with their hatred of Latinos. I was also unhappy with the control that the crooked consultants exert on the local party here in Orange County.
And after 8 years of Bush I was very unhappy with a GOP that does nothing – nothing good anyway. The Iraq war should not have happened. And Bush also managed to destroy our global and national economies.
I have concluded that the Republicans and the Democrats are two sides of the same coin.
Captain Cox,
I am a Republican and I was against the war from even before it started. In the first year of the war, there was an imbalance of Hispanic troop deaths that were verifiable by memorial lists provided by various groups. In fact troops could enlist even if they lacked legal status and they were promised if they survived, citizenship would be granted for them and their families. Of course any fallen soldier’s family suffered the loss of their loved one and the chance at legal status. It was pretty well covered in Spanish language newspapers in the early years of the war.
I support ALL troops, no matter where they come from in our country. I have been very vocal about the VA’s treatment of our returning soldiers, and I believe that the VA is doing a much better job NOW than it was in the early part of the war.
Thank you for your service. I support ALL troops coming home asap.
booper,
I can’t support the Republican Party, because at one point it became infiltrated by fantatics, religiouus nuts, fiscal cowards and a loss of conservative vision.
The party continues to punish any moderate/reasonable members. It must reinvent itself, and then I will consider supporting it again. With nutters like Palin, Bachmann, Sanford, Jindahl etc… I just don’t see them as anyone I’d associate with being leadership material. I consider them all “C” players at best. This country deserves “A” leadership and I will continue to support anyone who puts country first over their petty ambitions like the crowd I just listed above.
Art, interesting post.
Neo-conservative behavior is indeed imperialist, aggressive, know-nothing, reactionary, and ultimately, not focused on freedom – as its practitioners alway blather about. It has as its root psychological impulses worship of authority; Republican Party authority, primarily, but other symbols such as “the Church” may easily substitute in a pinch. Of course pecuniary interests do seem to trump these affiliations from time to time – which would cause less self-righteous people some embarrassment. But if the money and cause align, well, so much the better!
As I recently told one of its adherents on this very blog: scratch a “conservative” and find an authoritarian.
Some of the most disturbing qualities of these folks emerged during the Prop 8 campaign, when over and over again I heard the notion of the supremacy of majority rights being propounded, an idea that would have appalled the Founders.
I have no doubt that these same worthies, if they lived in the 1770s would be High-church monarchists, and yes, rabid, inveterate Tories, despite all the hosannahs for “the Founders” – a love made possible by the conveniently safe separation of two hundred years.
What would Thomas Jefferson make of W. and Sarah Palin? One can only imagine.
The intellectual pathology of the neo-conservative mind is not just confined to politics, alas. Whether through cynicism or genuine inclination these guys seem only too happy to ally with the bottom dwellers of anti-intellectualism in America. In the the early 1600s they would have been calling for the punishment of Galileo; in 1925 they would have been beating the drum for the prosecution of John Scopes.
Chicken Hawks, do you mean they like younger women or men? And at the same time prohibiting others from doing what they wish as consenting adults. Keeping the spoils for themselves, how could that happen? We allowed it. We let those in power become too comfortable in thier positions, that leads to abuse. It is within the voters power to change this we just have to have the courage to vote to replace those who abuse power,something the voters in general do not pay enought attention to.
Thanks to all who have posted.
I wrote my post last night around 9pm and I had my five children ambushing me from all sides while I was typing. In my haste to vacate the computer desk and thus stop the assault, I forgot to spell ck. My apologies, brutal to read this morning with those glaring typos – Ugh.
Kenlaysnotdead:
I did not miss Art’s point of his post. I specifically focused on the race portion for reasons I’ve all ready stated. I purposefully did not comment on the rest of his article.
Red Vixen:
Now that is a screen name!
Back to your point, the Armed services have provided pathways for citizenship during times of peace and war – have done so since I can remember. I served with some great soldiers who were not citizens, but loved this country more then some who were born here.
I have spoken to Art before and I have had conversations with Matt at Red C. and I enjoy their respective blogs. I recognize the point Art was making in his post, I just disagreed with the one portion that utilized race in an organization that, for the most part, where race is not a qualifier.
Keep up the good work Art and try to control that octogenarian, Larry from MV.
Douglas,
LOL! There is no stopping Larry! He is an army of one…
Doug Cox.
How did my name enter this post anyway?
Inside baseball.See you at the BOS next week. It’s your turn to buy as you have a job!