3.20.2013

Reviving the Republican Corpse - Notes on the Autopsy

Republicans have to stop talking to themselves, but can't seem to do so, as Jason Linkins notes in his commentary on a Republican report on 'what went wrong' in 2012.

So, being the fair-minded person I am, let me offer a few tips that would turn their party around on a dime.

There is a natural coalition between the Left and Right in the area of civil rights.

President Obama's great vulnerability is the Bill of Rights.  While George Bush disposed of habeas corpus, President Obama has stabbed the Fourth Amendment to death.  And there is an alliance to be made between the Second Amendment supporters and the liberal civil libertarians who also hate President Obama.

Now that we know President Obama is willing to detain American citizens indefinitely without a trial, questions need to be raised about how many Americans are being held without trial RIGHT NOW.  Talk about Fox screaming points.  Yet there is no better question to be asked of our government. And no truck should be given to this "on American soil" nonsense.  What is the answer, Mr. President? How many? Over and over again.

No warrant is required to gather personal information about U.S. citizens from telephone companies.  Has a real picture of what that means been painted for the American people?  No.  Another Fox screaming point.

Huge data centers are collecting information on Americans that can be used to convict them later on.  All without a warrant.

Until Senator Rand Paul filibustered, President Obama wasn't willing to say that drones were not allowed to kill Americans on U.S. soil.  Thanks, Senator Paul.  Dramatic pictures can be described where someone who angered the President could be killed without a judge, warrant or trial.  Draw examples from U.S. history where that power could have been easily abused.

Another item is that basic freedom of speech no longer exists.  If someone disagrees with a politician during a public appearance, they are arrested.  That practice is unconstitutional.  The U.S. Justice Department targets technology innovators for prosecution, with two of them having committed suicide so far.  How can we lead the world in a future economy if we kill off our thought leaders?  We can't.

The above are only a few of the items that could cut President Obama to the core and establish a new paradigm of Republican loyalty that transcends Nixon's southern strategy.

But they would have to listen first.  Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

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