POLITICS - The "New" Republican Big-Government

From an article in "CounterPunch, Abramoff's Kind of Big Government," by Allan Lichtman:

Although its roots run more deeply into the recent past, the Gingrich Revolution of 1994, when Republicans captured both houses of Congress, marks the rise of bought and sold conservatism, as business tightened its grip on conservative organizations and the Republican Party. Corporate donors began expecting and receiving value returned for contributions to the American Right, not just the advancement of conservative principles, but direct action to boost profits.

The Gingrich Revolution also spawned a new breed of lobbyist, shown in its most virulent form by Jack Abramoff. The new lobbyists not only siphoned off huge profits for themselves, but also orchestrated flows of big money to targeted officeholders and candidates and to conservative organizations that dispensed travel and perks to opinion-makers and public officials.

Well, that sums up what I see from the today's Republican Party and one of the many reasons I left it in 2000.

As a Moderate Republican of the old school I've never been comfortable with the Republican's stance on big money and therefore big business. The Republican Party has drifted towards the worship of money and greed. Today's Republican Party has put on knee-pads and "open wide please" to big money. The more the "better." They have abandoned even the semblance of protecting the economic middle or lower classes.

Just two examples of many; not allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices even though there are government agencies who can because of the laws that govern them (VA, Coast Guard, etc.); and lets not give our citizens another way to save on prescriptions by NOT allowing legal import of Canadian drugs, as if Canada were a third-world country, even if many of the drugs prescribed in the USA and Canada are in fact manufactured overseas.

Regardless of what Republicans say, it is very hard to believe the above examples are not a "thank you for your big contributions" to the big pharmaceutical companies especially considering how hard they lobbied for these laws.