What we can look forward to with four more years of Bush -- VERY SCARY!

[prolesunited]

This post is based on an article that appears in the Sept. 1 issue of the Washington Spectator, which is not available online. The comments are especially powerful because it is written by Bill Rentschler, a longtime Republican and widely published political analyst who has been nominated nine times for a Pulitzer. He worked on Nixon's campaign and served briefly in his administration.

His lead:
"Prepare yourself, fellow Americans, for historic change, the most dramatic and far-reaching change in your lifetime, a sweeping metamorphosis that may alter radically the distinctive, time-honored structure of the fabled American experiment, which has endured for most of the last 225 years."

He then talks about the growing influence of the religious right and Bush's invocation of God in his political life. This stands at odds with the mainstream Christians who were opposed to the war with Iraq. "President Bush has skillfully blended his religious exhortations and his decision to take the country into two wars," Rentschler writes.

He then explains how war, coupled with the religious overtones and reducing federal support for the states, fits into Bush's campaign strategy for 2004. "War demands the unthinking allegiance of the people, even as their personal problems in wartime multiply and expand. Those who dissent may be branded unpatriotic or disloyal."

But here's where it gets scary. Wrap your brain around this thought: "If Bush wins a second term, he and his neocon allies will have for more years to perfect their far-reaching scheme without further re-election worries and political compromises. The path will be clear."

Can you even imagine that?!?! Think of the devastation they have wreaked in all areas — economy, international policy, environment, judicial system, privacy, etc. And to think that this was with actually worrying about getting re-elected. Who knows what they have planned for the next four years if we allow that to happen.

Here are Rentschler's predictions:
• Cardinal objective is to establish American empire, with war high on the agenda. This is not the vision our forefathers had for us, nor most Americans who want a peaceful environment in which they can work and raise their families.
• We have "shaken, disconcerted" our closest allies, with those in charge incapable of developing a coherent foreign policy. "The result is policy based on the mindless certainty that might is right and the one remaining superpower is entitled to rule the world."
• And finally, "Solidifying the powever and wealth of Bush's chief political backers and contributors — the giant corporations, the extremely affluent, the evangelical right — will ultimately end, or seriously dilute, our long-held role as a nation supporting equal rights and opportunities for all."

Let that last statement sink in. Their intent is to put an end to the unique experiment in democracy that is the United States and replace it with theocratic oligarchy. As Rentschler points out, the tax cuts simply deepen the divide between rich and poor and push us closer to conditions found in Latin America or Arab states. The government will abandon its commitment to protect consumers and preserve the environment and personal liberties of citizens will be abrogated in the name of fighting terrorism.

Is this the country YOU want to live in?!?!? Hand down to your children or grandchildren? This is not some raging fringe leftist making these statements; this is a true Conservative in the Goldwater mode.

What do DUers think of his assessments?