LA mayor Villaraigosa: Between the Tea Partiers, the climate change deniers, the birthers and the [View all]

[pampango]

earthers, I hardly recognize the Republican Party anymore,” Villaraigosa said. “Republicans used to stand for something. Now they just stand in the way.”

The Republican duo would take the country down “a path of less fairness … less security,” Villaraigosa said. They “believe in divide and conquer. They believe there are only makers and takers.”

The mayor lauded what he called Obama’s accomplishments, highlighting the passage of legislation to remedy pay discrimination against women, the healthcare overhaul, the end of the war in Iraq, rescuing auto companies and getting the unemployment rate down to its lowest point since the president took office.

The mayor lambasted Republicans for becoming what he called “more extreme, more unyielding” and for opposing “almost every common-sense policy or program” proposed by Democrats.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/villaraigosa-democrats-iowa-fundraiser.html

"Divide and conquer coupled with 'us vs. them'" has been a successful strategy for repubs. The definitions they use for who's 'us' and who's 'them' change to suit their needs. The identity of who is 'them' can be based on race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation or 'makers' vs. 'takers'.