I hate hypocrisy. I hate double standards. I strongly dislike the actions of leaders, who set stringent rules and expectations for average citizens, which they set flexible rules and expectations for themselves. When a leader tells me that I am going to need to do some belt tightening, I do not expect to see him loosening-up his waist line. When he tells me that I need to become leaner, I do not expect to see him becoming grossly obese. When I think of leadership, the pictures that come to my mind are those of George Washington leading the patriots in the American Revolution; David D. Eisenhower leading the allied forces in WWII; and Theodore Roosevelt leading the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. The images that do not come to my mind are those of former Vice-President Don Quayle, Former Vice-President Dick Chaney, and former President George W. Bush using their family influences to avoid combat duty in Viet Nam.
All leaders have the rights and authorities to set high standards and expectations for their followers, but they also have the duties and responsibilities of setting the example. They must “practice what they preach,” or as it is stated in our street culture, “If the talk the talk, they must walk the walk!”
I am making this point because the single biggest unnoticed truth in the United States of America is the fact that the Republican Party is a party of double standards ― a party of hypocrisy. Their actions, in many cases, are the most extreme contradictions to their own stated position on issues. Pick any of their arguments; then ask yourself “Which of the two major parties are likely to be in violation of the republican’s position? In most case the answer is going to be “the republicans.” For example, republicans argue against abortion. They claim abortion is wrong because all human beings should believe, (as they do), in the “sanctity of life.” But ask yourself “Which of the two parties has been responsible for more deaths in the United States and the rest of the world? The answer is “the republicans.” Their actions run contrary to their stated beliefs.
Another example of this is the republicans claim to believe in individual freedom. Again, ask yourself “Which of the two parties have created more restrictions on individual freedom? The answer is “the republicans.” In recent years, they have created restrictions on individual freedom in areas concerning voting rights, civil rights, rights against illegal search and seizure, gay rights, the separation of church and state, the rights to a speedy trial, the rights to seek legal justice against corporate America, etc.
This brings us to today’s big republican issues: reducing government spending and reducing the size of government. According to the republicans, “National spending is out of control. Therefore, a drastic reduction in spending is the most important step in reducing the size of our national debt and regaining control of spending. “Additionally, they suggest, “Our government is too big, and the huge size of government is part of the problem. We need to reduce the size of the government, and this change along with reduction in spending will put the United States on the right track to recovery.” The House Majority Leader and the Republican Party’s point-man on these issues appear to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), who passionately made these arguments. However, Cantor, like Speaker Boehner, always omits a few of the important points that show the actions of the republicans to be in contradiction to the government’s size and spending reduction.
The fact of the matter is defense spending accounts for 20 percent of government spending. It has been the single-most wasteful spending in the United States in the past ten years. First, we got engaged in a meaningless and misguided war in Iraq that cost us more than a trillion dollars. (Interestingly, Cantor, Boehner, Santorum, McConnell and many of the republicans, who are claiming to be fiscal conservatives, did not object to this very irresponsible and extremely reckless level of spending by President Bush.) Second, we are currently engaged in a war in Afghanistan that is costing our country a billion dollars a week. If we end this war today, we can cut defense spending by more than 52 billion dollars a year. Finally, our nation spends more than four times this amount on defense contracts and research and development areas that many military leaders have identified as wasteful and unnecessary spending. By eliminating this area of spending, our country can save 200 billion dollars a year. This will enable the United States to reduce the size of government and reduce government spending. But most importantly, these changes alone will allow our government to reduce our debt by one trillion dollars in the next four years!
However, don’t expect any of these changes in defense spending to occur, because the states that are currently benefitting from the defense status quo are Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, . . . The fact of the matter is that while the republicans are telling the rest of us that we need to reduce the size of government and we need to reduce government spending, they are doing just the opposite in their states: They are enjoying the benefits of big government and big government spending ― at our mental and physical expense!
