In recent elections, there has been a deeply disturbing development in the politics of our great nation. For far too long now the Republicans have been getting away with portraying Democrats as unpatriotic. As if somehow not granting an unquestioning carte blanche of unanimity to some of the brain-dead policies of the Bush administration, you were unpatriotic and did not love your country. It is long past time, that the GOP was called out publicly at HIGH-NOON for the fear mongering scare tactics of demagoguery, which prey upon the very worst most elementary elements of fear in our citizens.

I watched as my friend Max Cleland was so horribly mistreated with Republican attacks which compared him to Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. The images of these two evil men superimposed around Senator Cleleand deliberately imply that he could be linked to America’s enemies.  It is ludicrous to conceive this possibility when he had lost three limbs in the service of our great nation. The self-evident hypocrisy of these very attacks coming from “Chicken-Hawk” Republicans who had never even served our country in combat (much less wore the uniform), had no problem questioning the patriotism of Democrats who had, for purely partisan political purposes. These so called “men” abrogated their own patriotic responsibilities when duty called, and yet they are the first ones to send your sons and daughters with malice, to die in future wars while they stand safely on the sidelines as gutless partisan political cheerleaders for their party at the expense of OUR country!

Our President has consistently demagogued the terrible tragedy of 9-11, to justify everything from his misleading invasion of Iraq to the destruction of our environment, tax incentives for our remaining corporations to take American jobs overseas, tax cuts for billionaires, and all sorts of sweetheart deals for his drug and oil company fat-cat campaign contributors. Bush has even, and rather successfully until lately, used 9-11 to help hide his own incompetence in prosecuting the war in Iraq, and the “War on Terror” in general. President Bush even recently has attempted to place any scrutiny of his warrant-less wiretaps as “aiding and abetting” the enemy. How can we try to bring freedom to the rest of the world, if we erode our constitution and civil liberties here at home? Any good Clausvitzian knows that the worst thing you can do is alienate ninety-percent of the world and most of your allies just prior to engaging in a prolonged conflict. Still President Bush seemed to have invoked 9-11 in his re-election campaign, more times than Clinton lied under oath to the tenth power! In doing so, he was able to use fear, once again, to his political advantage, preying and prevailing upon the very worst elements within us all.

Yet if you dare stand up to the corrupt hypocrisy of our Republican leadership, they will “tar & feather” you as unpatriotic, just like they did to my friend Max Cleland.

-Where is the patriotism in cutting our veterans by over one BILLION dollars while simultaneously giving billions in tax breaks to drug and oil company conglomerates? Rewarding his best and richest fat cat campaign contributors while over the summer gasoline prices had spiked to over $3.00 a gallon and crude climbed over $65.00 a barrel.

-Where is the patriotism in shutting down hundreds of Veterans hospitals all over America (including Walter Reed Army Medical) and stabbing in the back, those same brave veterans whose sacrifices make our freedom possible in the first place?

-Where is the patriotism in sacking one of your best Generals because he had the courage to say during his Congressional testimony that we “would need several hundred thousands of troops on the ground to preserve stability and law & order if we were going to take down Saddam?” Then continuing to disingenuously claim for years later that he would gladly send more troops into Iraq, if only his Generals on the ground would tell him they were needed.

-Where is the patriotism of a White House which deliberately leaks the identity of a covert CIA operative as dirty payback because her husband told the truth about President Bush having been informed that Saddam was not importing uranium cake from Niger for his nuclear program, yet still went ahead and publicly proclaimed this as the truth during his state of the union addressee, citing British Intelligence sources?

-The President told us “whoever leaked this would be fired,” then he said if they were indicted they would go, and now he “won’t comment on an ongoing investigation” into Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. Nothing like putting the nation first! Turns out he authorized the leak all along.

-Where is the patriotism of a Republican Party whose top Congressional leaders from Senator Santorum to Tom Delay have been in bed with Jack Abramoff, and his Russian Mafia ex KGB cronies? Who now, by the way, claim to have “never known” Mr. Abramoff. 

-Where is the patriotism of Congressional Republicans who quickly acquired laryngitis and covered up for Tom Delay by replacing the ethics committee Chairman Rep. Joe Heffel once it became obvious that he was actually going to do his job fairly and investigate some of the infinite scandals involving kickbacks to corrupt Republican Congressman? Congressman Charles Taylor (KGB$), Duke Cunningham (at least 3 million in kickbacks) etc… ad nausea

-Where is the patriotism of a White House which knowingly allows higher levels of lead and arsenic in our drinking water, astronomically high levels of sulfur and CFC’s into the air which our children breathe while at the same time “leaving all the children behind” in education with more unfounded mandates and overcrowded classrooms!

-Where is the patriotism in cutting combat pay to our soldiers in the field, money for first responders, veteran’s health care benefits, elderly benefits, college student loan programs, child support enforcement, and even low income heating assistance “LI-HEAP” just in time for Christmas while masquerading across America as a “True Patriot?”

-Where is the patriotism of spying on American citizens with warrant-less wiretaps - then when caught trying to use it as a campaign issue against the Democrats? True patriotism means standing up for our civil liberties at home whilst spreading freedom abroad. Our brave troops are not risking their lives for liberty half a world away only to have this administration usurp it here at home, then try and tar those as unpatriotic who dare to defend our liberty!

Truly patriotic leadership means candid truth telling, and asking the people for shared sacrifices in times of war. It requires not dividing but demands uniting us all together, as Americans post 9-11 to win the war on terror and win the peace both in Afghanistan and Iraq, so that all of God’s children might one day live free in open societies. I openly question the patriotism of Republicans who would force our brave soldiers in Iraq to scavenge and salvage through deadly garbage and ammo dumps because they still don’t have enough armor in their Humvee’s and APC’s leaving their lives so needlessly at risk from IED explosions three years into Iraqi Freedom.

Jesus admonished all of us thousands of years ago when he said; “However you treat the least among yourselves is how you shall have treated me!”

I defiantly question the morality and patriotism of any Republican who would reward their fat-cat Oil Company Campaign contributors with billions in no bid contracts and infinite tax breaks while shutting down veterans hospitals and turning our noble vets into the streets because; “Their just isn’t enough money to keep our word and take care of them.” As they have kept their obligations to us, so we must with them!