Democracy: April 2006 Archives

Will the shamelessness and lack of political responsibility ever end?

As President Bush extols the virtues of his meager and anti-environmental efforts to stem the out-of-control and obscene profits of his oil buddies, he continues to spin the language developed by his bosses at the Right-wing think tanks controlling our country's media and messaging today. Working in concert, they have created a culture of greed and selfishness that knows no limits but refuse to be accountable for their behavior.

It isn't bad enough that Bush talks about "controlling" the price of gasoline bycalling for drilling in the ANWAR and suspending environmental laws that seek to protect our health and planet, he keeps referring to the increased amoung we're paying at the pump for the price of gas as TAXES--- as though giving billions to the Oil Profiteers to line their pockets is the same as giving it to the government for services and education.

This Orwellian effort to further vilify taxes has got to be stopped immediately. These aren't taxes, they're PROFITS, from greedy, shameless and manipulating multi-national corporations who see nothing obscene about paying their CEO's $144,000 per DAY for their work in polluting the air and water and gouging hard-working Americans (and particularly gouging us here in California with their control of the few refineries we have in our state). Even Bush knows the difference, but why not just try to blur the line anyway? If he can link the two, people will start associating bad corporate behavior with the social necessities that we all expect and deserve.The private sector motivated by profit, is NOT the public sector, motivated by the needs of the people.

When you examine the language Bush insists on using to characterize the price of gas, it really is insidiously clever (no thanks to Bush---he's just reading his prepared script). After all, noone likes taxes, not even the sound of the word, so if we can reinforce the ugliness of the word by associating ugly profiteering behavior and price-gouging of consumers as a form of tax, then taxes become even more offensive and unacceptable when used in their proper context---the DUES we all pay to live in a civilized world and invest in our future.

It is our job, however, to affirm and reiterate that TAXES and OIL PROFITS are very different creatures, although a nice windfall PROFITS TAX on oil's greed is a very valid approach which is gaining some foothold in California. The goal, of course, is to create a disincentive for the oilies to gouge consumers for the price of a gallon of gas. So what would happen if we put a pretty substantial windfall profits tax on the oil companies and their refineries (which are jacking up the price here in California making us just about the highest priced gasoline market in the country)?

How about finding a realistic but substantial percent which would be charged to these companies with the resulting funds being put into a public transit account to truly develop and improve public forms of transportation that will take people out of their gas guzzling vehicles and create an affordable, reliable and efficient way of moving people from place=to=place? The account will have to blocked so it can't be raided for any other purposes.

As more and more people start looking to public transportation as one of the responsible alternatives to offset the unconscionable and unaffordable price of gasoline, we should be doing more to encourage the use of this cleaner, more environmentally friendly and ultimately cost-effective way of travel. After all, it's good for the planet, good for our health and good for our stated claim of oil independence.

Maybe we can turn this around and use this latest example of a culture that encourages corporate greed and excessive profiteering to improve the quality-of-life for us average Americans who are working hard just to get by and care for our families.

In researching information for our upcoming Voter Guide, I came across statistics amassed by the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) which demonstrate unequivocally how the extremists have gained control of the Republican party in California. Where in 1988, Republicans in the State Senate collectively received a 68% record in voting for the environment in 2005, that number was 5%......and that was up from 1.5% the prior year! By comparison, the Senate Dems were at 89%-- in 2005 they were at 91%.

The Assembly Republicans were at a meager 28% support of environmental protections in 1988. In 2005 their record was at a stunningly low 4%!

If there were any question that the Republican party isn't the same one your parents or mine may have supported years ago, these numbers put the debate to rest.....and of course, raise the spector or just which party has become the out-of-touch party over the past two decades.

The statistics also put to rest the absurd and inaccurate claim that the Democratic Party has also been co-opted by extremists--but on the left. The numbers show that Senate Dems remained consistently in support of important environmental protections,and show that Assembly Dems have not deviated "left" either. In fact, there has been a slight but discernable shift in the other direction in the Assembly, where Dems. have gone from an 88% to an 86% record during the same period from 1988-2005. If anything, we must watch carefully for an increase in influence in the so-called "Business Dems"-those who follow-the lead of Republicans and Big Corporate influences in killing important consumer and environmental legislation. For the full story, take a look at the CLCV site at: www.ecovote.org.

These statistics beg the question of whether the further right-wing extremism of the state's republican legislators is due to the redistricting debacle of 2002 or the right-wing takeover by the Bush/Rove machine? Consider what has happened to the legacy of people like Ken Maddy,Pete McCloskey, Tom Campbell and the few other so-called "moderate" Republican voices in California. They have been replaced by the likes of ultra-extremists led today by Senator and Lt. Governor aspirant, Tom McClintock, who has moved from the fringe to the norm of the Republican party only because the ideology has moved in his direction, and not because he has moderated his extremist views. The right-wing agenda coming from the Bush/Rove machine in Washington has, somewhat predictably, carried into the lexicon of everyday political debate. That is the power of the Bully-Pulpit.

Fortunately, though, we've been able to mute its effectiveness. It also continues to self-destruct as we see its incompetence, corruption and cronyism so negatively affecting our everyday lives and, sadly, the standing in which our nation is held in the world today.

We in California must continue to reject this extremist view of life and politics. Although the congressional and state legislative districts have been gerrymandered so that it is difficult to get reasonable and moderate Republicans elected in the "red" parts of California, we must continue to address the important issues that affect us all---education, health care, the environment, consumer protections, privacy rights,and the important other progressive values that we seek to protect and advance. They are OUR issues and they are EVERYONE'S concerns in California. It's time to vote the extremists out and get California back on track in leading the nation.
But the next time someone insists that extremism is not just a Republican characteristic, remind them of the statistics that clearly show the shift has come from the far-right. Don't let them try to marginalize our values by shifting responsibility for the gridlock---it belongs firmly on their shoulders..... Let the party of "responsibility" take some for their unwillingness to abandon their extreme positions and refusal to participate in governing for the benefit of the people of our state.