GOPAC For The Left : Part I - Being A Patriot

Greetings All,

Update on Tim (aka) Bidder 70....

Thanks to everyone who donated! Tim has reached and surpassed his goal of 45,000 dollars. Now that is some progressive thought in action! But that is not the end of it. That was just a down payment. Please continue to help spread the word and enlist all the help you can so Tim can continue to fight this battle on behalf of all Americans who are tired of having our natural resources and public lands given over to those with only an interest in making a profit off of them.

Today we have the first post in a series on how progressives can more effectively influence the course our country is taking from A World Of Progress TeamZine Contributing Editor, Steve O.

Steve will be posting on the Politics page at our new online magazine launching January 16.

We hope you will stop by this blog on January 16 for your invitation link to the brand new A World Of Progress TeamZine!

GOPAC for the Left : Part I - Being A Patriot
Steve O.
The Relevant Rhino

The concept of what makes one patriotic has been kidnapped, brutalized, and given a gnarly case of Stockholm Syndrome by the GOP. People who understood what it meant to be a patriot- Thom Paine, Fredrick Douglass, Bill Maher- have been left behind like an under-performing school district. To the Republican Party, patriotism is sticking your head in the sand and never criticizing your government(unless you can manufacture a way to blame a liberal). Patriotism is a three word slogan you can place next to your American flag/God Bless Our Troops bumper stickers on your massive (compensatory) SUV.

Having spent several years in the service of my country at national and state levels, as well as not being some kind of mindless drone that takes my cues from the likes of Limbaugh, I can offer some of what I’ve learned to Democrats wishing to crush an opponent in our next election cycle.

1) As the party that so successfully eats its own, rarely unifies, and historically reacts rather than leads, it’s imperative that the qualities we dislike in other Democrats become inherent in our actual political opposites. In other words, save some of that mojo for the general election. And by “mojo”, I mean “mudslinging”.

2) Dissent is patriotic. This is one thing the GOP will never understand. At least, the GOP of the last 30 years. To the modern incarnation of the Republican Party, the Flag (oh yes, it gets a capital letter) is a security blanket. And if they wrap themselves tight enough in the Flag, no harm will come to them. Republicans, and many Congressional Dems, spent the better part of the last eight years wrapped so snugly in the flag that the circulation was completely cut off to their brains(I’m looking at you, Feinstien, Reid, Pelosi, Rockefeller, Conyers, and Rangel). By reclaiming the patriotism card, and going back to the original intent that loving your country includes recognizing its flaws and wanting to correct them, we can move forward and actually fucking do something about the messes of the last decade.

3) Patriotism shouldn’t be limited to stump speeches. For exemplary examples on how one serves as a patriot- see the voting records of Russ Feingold and Dennis Kucinich.

4) Never, for a second, allow the right to revise history. The fact that our taxpayer money is being spent on the “Bush Legacy Tour”(revisionist history at its “finest”) should not only piss you off, it should scare the shit outta you. Revisionists have already deified Reagan (something around 75% of Americans should have a problem with, but for some reason, don’t), vilified the successes of the Clinton Era (or claimed them for themselves), swept every misstep, blunder, and gargantuan fucking failure of the Bush Administration under the rug, and are hard at work sabotaging an Administration that hasn’t even taken place yet. This shit has got to stop. You, yes you, the astute, good looking, charming, and capable progressive reading this (and you too, birdie) have the power to do just that.
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Peace Y'all