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The Invisible War for Right-Wing Dominance

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Dennis Mick

Recent remarks by John Cornyn and last week by Tom DeLay were intended to stir the far right base against the Judicial Branch. They were two of the latest shots in a fundamental but largely invisible war. The death of Terri Schiavo will be marked by history as a seminal event, second only to 9/11 as a step in the long-term consolidation of the right political wing.

Make no mistake, theirs were not random comments made in the heat of the moment and later regretted. They were key sound bites in a carefully orchestrated and intricate campaign to cement into perpetuity right wing dominance and virtually permanent impotence of the Democratic party.

Fifty years from now, historians will see the years between the 2004 general election and the 2006 mid term election as the time when consolidation of power and a permanent grip on all three branches of the Federal Government was accomplished by the conservative majority party.

We are in the closing skirmishes of the campaign today, and the outcome is growing tragically obvious.

After the full consolidation of power by the Republicans, the voices of 48 percent of the US population will be banished to irrelevance, and the power of a small radical faction whose grip is today firmly on the wheel of the GOP will mushroom into long-term political dominance. The constitutionally provided balance of power between the three federal branches will be rendered irrelevant, and moderation will become a quaint concept as the zealous proponents of theocracy expand, unchecked, their national and international influence.

By the time of the 2006 elections, the GOP will place one of their own into the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a move made possible by trampling the constitutionally protected voice of the minority party via implementation of the "nuclear option" in the US Senate. Thereafter, the minority party will be unable to block the appointment of even the most radical right wing judges to federal benches.

What will the country be like after the neocons have achieved their permanent grip on our government? Will they moderate their positions on issues? Will they strive for consensus and rely on negotiation once they have reached their full power?

History clearly shows otherwise.

First, the history of political power in human societies reveals very few examples of judicious exercise of absolute power. Far more often, history teaches us starkly that oppression, exploitation and corruption follow the consolidation of ultimate political power as predictably as night follows day.

Second, this group of politicians has demonstrated little regard for preserving fairness of government processes and the rights of minority constituencies. Instead, no measure seems too extreme for the neocons today.

Consider: they dramatically expanded government snooping of US citizens, arrested thousands without legal process, institutionalized government propaganda, and transferred billions into the bank accounts of the most wealthy through tax cuts. They treated the horrors of Abu Ghraib superficially and exploited the prejudices and fears of Americans after 9/11.

They allow millions to die of AIDS rather than provide any information contrary to their ideology. They clear cut forests and run pipelines through nature preserves. They increased the amount of mercury in the air despite the death and illness it causes.

They trampled on family rights and pandered to their prejudiced political base by promoting a constitutional amendment that would be the first restriction of civil rights in the document's history. They shamelessly exploit divisive issues to their advantage and ignore any scientific evidence that disagrees with them.

They slapped the faces of allies by ignoring treaties and installing the most radical of their members in key global posts.

No, it's not likely that the radicons at the helm today will do anything other than jam the engines to full speed once their influence is complete.

It won't be pretty.

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION