Somebody Has To Put Out The Fire, by Prentiss Smith

America is burning down, and the Republican party is responsible for starting the blaze and fanning the flames. The Republican party - the party of Chicken Hawks and religious zealots and King George has become the party of power in Washington, D.C. Newt Gingrich and the Republican party took over the House of Representatives in 1994 with his legislative agenda called The Contract With America. The Contract With America changed the political landscape in Washington for years to come, and it would prove to be the avenue by which Republicans were able to wrest power from the firm grip of Democrats in Washington, D. C.

It has been said that "power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely." That seems to be the rule of the day for Republicans who are now in control of every branch of the federal government in Washington, D.C. Their raging obsession for power has hurt this country enormously, and the damage may not be seen or felt for decades to come. The Grand Ole Party has been hijacked by a vocal and powerful group of right wing ideologues whose influence is unquestioned and unchecked. These interests are being led by so called Christians and people of faith.

The Democratic party has been rendered irrelevant in Washington. These Democrats, who have been elected by their representatives of their respective congressional districts have no power in Washington. The Republican party has been hijacked by right wing ideologues, whose only interests appear to be their agendas and not necessarily the agenda of the vast majority of the American public. They do not believe that Democrats have any role to play in the governance of the nation. They seem to believe that they and only they know what is best for America, and everybody else be damned - especially Democrats who have been elected by their constituents from all over the country. They are running this country into the ground, and sadly, they are being aided and abetted in this demise by people who claim to be Christians and people of faith. The clear implication is that God is a Republican, and that he has no patience for those evil Democrats who are surely going to hell for not falling into line.

Today Republicans control every branch of the federal government, and that has not proved to be in the best interest of the overwhelming majority of working class and middle class Americans. The Republican party has been bought and paid for by the corporate interests that they cater to. Democrats have their interests too, and they are not blameless in this respect, but it is the blatant embrace by the Republican party of big business and other corporate interests that ought to have all of us concerned. It is widely known and accepted by most people in America who follow politics closely that the Republican party jumps to the music of those companies and industries that contribute large sums of money to their legislative campaigns, and who because of those contributions has proved not to be the best thing that could have happened to America politically, economically, or culturally.

America is great country, but America's greatness is being challenged from within and from abroad. The fact that one party controls every branch of the federal government, whether it is the Democratic party of the Republican party is not in the best interest of the majority of the American people. This republic was designed with the idea of collaboration and compromise at its very core. Today in America there is less collaboration and compromise between the parties than there has ever been, and it has not served the people of this country well. The partisan divide is tearing away at the fabric of this country. America is a great country, and that greatness deserves preservation by those of us who love freedom and who love justice.

The Republican party is drunk with power. They are stumbling all over themselves trying to appease the religious right. I know that there are those who disagree with that declaration, but I think that it is clear that whoever is leading the country is responsible for whatever is going on in the country politically, economically, and culturally. The Republican party is in control of every branch of government in Washington, D. C. They control the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branches of the federal government at this point in time in America's two hundred and sixteen year history. The legalized bribery that is being allowed in the name of freedom of speech is a lecherous game of influence peddling that takes the people who work hard , and I believe that money and out of control corporate influence has taken over Washington D. C. The Republican party has been the party of exclusivity, and in my opinion, the party of racism and intolerance.

Democrats, who have been out of power in Washington since Newt Gingrich introduced his new legislative program - The Contract With America - during the Congressional elections of 1994. It was a bold program that articulated the direction that Conservatives in the Congress wanted to take the country. It was a legislative agenda that ultimately gave the Republicans in the House of Representatives the power and the control that they had been denied for decades. Newt Gingrich and his lieutenants had wrested power in the House of Representatives from the strong grip of Congressional Democrats, who had been in power for many years with his Contract With America. Now the Republicans have all of the power, and they are running wild with it. With all of this power, the country suffers and only the people who have the resources are the people who benefit.

That is not the American way, and Republicans should be held accountable. To date, they have not been held accountable, but hopefully that will change in the not too distant future.

-- Prentiss Smith, June 2005

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