Never forget. Never, ever forget.

[Tennessee Gal]

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts." Abraham Lincoln

The Republican Party long ago turned their backs on this statement by President Lincoln.

The following quotes are a collection from Republican tactical strategies published on line by Free Congress Foundation, Center for Cultural Conservatism, The Integration of Theory and Practice: A Program for the New Traditionalist Movement.

"We will maintain a constant barrage of criticism against the Left. We will attack the very legitimacy of the Left. We will not give them a moment's rest."

"The coming battle for the hearts and minds of Americans is ultimately a battle between civilization and barbarism."

"Making a good-faith effort and being ideologically sound will be less important than advancing the goals of the movement."

"We will use guerrilla tactics to undermine the legitimacy of the dominant regime. We will take advantage of every available opportunity to spread the idea that there is something fundamentally wrong with the existing state of affairs."

"The movement must be willing to appear obnoxious."

"We must be feared, so that they will think twice before opening their mouths."

"We must learn to treat leftists as natural disasters or rabid dogs. If we act as if this were in fact true (of course, it is not), we will not needlessly expend our energy on being upset with our opponents."

"This is not to discount the importance of reminding ourselves on a regular basis why we ought to hate leftist ideology, in order to keep ourselves motivated to better fight it."

"We must reframe this struggle as a moral struggle, as a transcendent struggle, as a struggle between good and evil."

"For example, we will go to public lectures given by leftists and ask them "impolite" and highly critical questions. We must, of course, be fully prepared beforehand for these sorts of excursions, and we must also be prepared to embarrass ourselves, especially at first."

"Our people must learn to have contempt and scorn for the wider society, and reject it in all ways."

Does this sound like the Republican Party (Tea Party) tactics of today? It does to me.

[Tennessee Gal]

1. For what it is worth ......

In my opinion, this type of vitriol by one political party routinely targeted at another is the worst aspect of American politics. The Republican Party has adopted a political strategy in which they knowingly and willingly, for the sake of winning elections and gaining more political power, embrace a policy of destroying the opposition through slanderous lies about personal lives or through a fabricated "cultural war." It has caused political discourse to sink to new lows. No political party is totally void of corruption and personal failings. But it is wrong of one party to sanctimoniously denounce the other party for some of the very things it is guilty of. It is the height of hypocrisy.

[elocs]

2. I'm a believer in the truth, but far less a believer in the people. n/t

[Tennessee Gal]

3. Your point? nt.

[elocs]

4. That is my point. I thought it was rather clear. n/t

[Tennessee Gal]

5. You don't believe the American people will make the right ...

choice if given all the facts?

[Tennessee Gal]

6. I believe in the American people and I believe that .......

the Republican Party lies to the American people routinely. However, too few Americans put enough time into seeking the truth.

[freshwest]

7. Got it. And they know the truth and they lie anyway. Problem is, they own the media.

All lies and distortion to either push their corporatist view, to destroy the country when they aren't busy demoralizing and confusing the left or the Democrats.

Anything that makes you give in and give up, is straight from them.

Anyone who tries by any means, any argument, to make you feel ashamed of your own and your identity, to make you give in and give up is not on your side.

That's what I've learned. Oh, and K & R.

:kick:

:dem:

[Tennessee Gal]

8. You got it. nt

[freshwest]

9. Thanks. Just because the GOP is loud and everywhere, doesn't make it true.

[lunatica]

10. They betray their repulsive goal. Absolute power.

[Tennessee Gal]

11. The larger point is to understand what is happening.

That it has been planned for a long time, it has been a theory of indoctrination, that it has been instilled in the upper echelon of the Republican Party, and that they in turn have been trained to bring it to the vulnerably uninformed, easily influenced among us. They have "framed" issues in ways that are appealing to many, while hiding the true meaning and facts behind the issues with the ultimate goal of gaining undeserved power and influence. There is no question about this being the goal of people like Frank Luntz. There is no question about this in regards to Newt's GOPAC memo. There is no question about this in regards to the tactics used by Karl Rove and his deceased mentor Lee Atwater.

Machiavellianism: The political doctrine of Machiavelli, which denies the relevance of morality in political affairs and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaining political power.

[Tennessee Gal]

12. Recommended reading:

Kevin Phillips, former Republican strategist's book, American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush. Phillips states that Rove and Atwater followed the teachings of Machiavelli.

For Machiavelli, politics was about one and only one thing: getting and keeping power or authority. Everything else, religion, morality, truth, honor, and integrity, that people associate with politics has nothing to do with this fundamental aspect of politics, unless being moral helps one get and keep power. The only skill that counts in getting and maintaining power is calculation. The successful politician knows what to do or what to say for every situation, no matter what it takes. It is only about winning and keeping power.