Dear Republican Haters
(This is a response to the wildly popular “Dear Republicans, Fuck You” letter.)
Dear Republican Haters,
To quote your own diatribe, “Fuck you. No, I’m not joking. I’m sick of this bullshit.”
I’m sick of the way you have perpetuated the tired, childish, brain-dead notion that there are two and only two polar opposite ideologies in the politics of the USA and that every person must determine their position along the line that connects them.
I’m sick of the way you have pigeon-holed every person who is the least bit inspired by the Republican ideals of limited and enumerated government enshrined in our founding documents into a behemoth straw-man. You pretend that every Republican favors war, torture, greed, prisons, homophobia, and environmental destruction. This is the only way that you feel comfortable responding to our thoughts, because it allows you to feel self-righteous about your various causes.
I’m sick of the pretense that the worst parts of the United States Government, particularly 1) the propensity for worldwide military conquest, 2) the disastrous “war on drugs,” and 3) the regulatory structures that have enabled mega-corporate dominance over nearly every facet of human life, are the fault of Republicans. Democrats, and the democrat philosophical tradition, are at least as much to blame for these evils, and it’s going to take a trans-spectrum collaborative effort to fix them.
I’m sick of the blind, zealotic fervor with which you embrace every policy that comes out of the mouth of the god-king Obama. Like everybody else, he has some good ideas and some bad ideas. I think it’s notable that most of his good ideas became taboo once he became President, while his bad ideas have been given front-burner status.
I’m sick of the outrageously and transparently partisan selectivity with which you pass moral judgment on the legitimate role of government. When George W. Bush turned out to be a jackass and mass murderer, we turned on him (actually, many of us never supported him in the first place!) and joined your chorus of contempt for the bloating of the size of the federal government under his regime. Now, when we point to the same exact tendencies under Obama, suddenly big government is OK with you.
I’m sick of the ludicrous yet omni-present claim that government is the only solution for providing quality health care for all. I’m also sick of your comparisons to the health care systems of nations that are 1% the size of ours. I’m sorry, but no government, much less one infested with decades-worth of pure evil from both parties, can provide health care for every person from the Atlantic to the Pacific and make it work well.
I’m sick of the myth that corporatism is our burden to bear. Whose side are the big corporations on now? The biggest, most fucking wretched pharma companies are falling over themselves to support your health care takeover.
I’m sick of the twisted, sadistic legal justifications given for torture and extraordinary rendition. Yes, I’m talking about those coming directly from the Obama Administration. Your so-called “anti-war candidate” has taken the art of making excuses for doing evil to an entirely new level. On top of that, you have the unmitigated gall to refer to this stuff as “centrism!”
I’m particularly sick of you blaming us for the war on drugs. While some Republicans have said some stupid things about drugs (particularly Nixon and Reagan), none have ever done even a fraction of the damage that your previous messiah, Bill Clinton, did. He was, by any reasonable empirical measure, the worst drug warrior in the history of the world. Your abhorrently self-styled “first black President” put more people in prison – and in a more racially disparate fashion – than any other leader ever, anywhere. So yeah, fuck you on that one.
I’m sick of you holding up the worst fringe lunatics of the Republican party and pretending that they represent the mainstream. Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Ann Coulter are not mainstream Republicans. They are media-whoring nutjobs. For once, try responding to our real thinkers like Peter Schiff, Radley Balko, Ron Paul, Jacob Sullum, Ayn Rand, Adam Kokesh, or really just about any everyday Republican you meet on the street.
I’m sick of you pretending that the media favors Republican ideas. I mean this is really just outrageous. Look at the idiotic characters the media puts up to represent our corner! In media-speak, anyone who is paranoid, deranged, and misinformed is a Republican. Never are thoughtful, open-minded Republicans given an opportunity to participate in the dialogue. But then, the job of the media is to maintain the notion that everybody belongs on the one-dimensional political spectrum. Simple. They make you look stupid and they make us look stupid. They certainly do not win us any friends, so stop pretending they are in our pocket.
I’m sick of your refusal to talk about spying, wiretapping, and surveillance of US citizens, which your top dogs support enthusiastically.
I’m sick of you pinning of every fear-driven prejudice, from racial bigotry to homophobia to xenophobia and beyond, to some kind of byproduct of Republican ideals. Just so we’re clear about our respective political traditions: We always wanted to free the slaves. You resisted. We had to go to fucking war against you to get you to admit that slavery is, well, wrong. We wanted open borders and a welcome environment for immigrants. You insisted on a federal minimum wage and controls on the economy that make immigration a far more complicated issue than it needs to be. We never wanted government to be involved in marriage at all, and now you are upset because government marriage led to bigoted regulations on who can and cannot get married. Imagine that.
Finally, I’m sick of you blaming us for the current state of affairs of our country. You control both houses of congress and the white house, don’t you? Or maybe you are finally realizing that no matter what fancy title and political affiliation a power-holder has, he or she will nearly always act in a way that preserves their power, to the exclusion of doing the good for good’s sake. If you are so convinced that government is the solution, well, 70 million people just handed you the keys to the government. Don’t whine to us because shit is going terribly wrong.
(Note to commenters: I realize that this post uses divisive language that I don’t usually use or condone. However, I wanted to respond “in kind” to the original letter, using the same style and some of the same language, although I toned it down from a nearly constant stream of “fuck you” to only two uses of the phrase. 
)
UPDATE – I thought of some more:
I’m sick of being made to feel like I’m not allowed to talk about or care about poor people. Look, the government has done a bang up fucking job taking care of poor people right? There are homeless in every major city – come to New York in the winter and ask a freezing homeless person if the expansion of the welfare state over the course of the past century has helped them. There are over 2 million people in our prison system, most of whom, at least at the federal level, are there for non-violent offenses and most of whom are poor. And then there’s the biggest elephant in the room: the federal reserve system, which you constantly pretend is a non-issue, fucks poor people really really hard. So yeah, from now on, you don’t get to be the party of compassion.
I’m sick of hearing about “the Government’s lack of response to Hurricane Katrina” and other disasters. Lack of a response?! Oh, they responded. They responded the way governments always do: by shooting at poor fucking dying people trying to flee New Orleans. More government was not the solution to this problem. In fact, paramedics who were on the ground will tell you that the terror there would have been far less if the government had just stayed out and let charities saturate the area with food and fresh water.
I’m very, very sick of brain-sucking references to the status quo as the “free market.” As in the following exchange:
“I believe that the free market can create quality health care for everyone.”
“What, like we have right now?!”
No, not like we have right now. There are so many laws, regulations, regulatory agencies, trade restrictions, and other bullshit that a person can spend their entire lives studying them and still not be sure if they are allowed to sell a fucking toothpick much less an innovative health care system. When we advocate market solutions, please don’t say, “but it’s not working now!” Of course it’s not working now, because your contorted efforts to make the market more safe have predictably resulted in it becoming less non free.
Masterfully done! Excellent points. Good response… but I can’t help but feel like the whole dialogue is about which side did more harm in the nation’s history. Both umbrellas harbor good ideas, but these are all compromised/marginalized for politically viable, self-promoting, power politics.
I find myself agreeing with you more and more that the solution is not to be found within the political system, but in our social bonds and entrepreneurship that can build the alternatives to these perverse and coercive government institutions.
This video makes a good case for becoming apolitical and active in your own sphere of influence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igbBItLemsM
Instead of convincing others who to vote for, convince on what they can do to change the world…
Posted by Igor Gembitsky on September 4th, 2009.
I think I just fell in love with you. <3
Posted by Winnie on September 5th, 2009.
Honestly speaking that ‘Fuck you Republicans’ article just shows the frustration Democrats in having in showing the great work ‘their people’ are now going to do in the government. I think the ‘right wingers’(for the lack of a better term) are much more energized in fighting the govt than what left was doing in the bush years. Republicans clearly know how to oppose the govt expansion, they just don’t know how to keep it small when they are in the government. Similarly the leftists know how to spend money for their social programs but they don’t really have an ideological basis to attack the war spending.
Although its a sad thing that between this Republican vs Democrat fight unnecessarily liberty and freedom are being blamed. For example in that letter all that guy did was attacked Ayn Rand and her fiction (not really her philosophy) but for all practical purposes that was a great attack among the Democrats.
Posted by Prashant on September 5th, 2009.
1. The War on Drugs was started by Republican Richard Nixon. The controlled substances act came about in 1970 under his administration.
2. Nancy Reagan delivered the Just Say No idea into America. Harsher sentences and mandatory minimums all came about during the Reagan years.
3. States rights were ignored by Bush’s DEA who raided medical marijuana clubs in California to thwart the will of the people of CA.
Obama has just about completely ended this practice of raiding pot clubs, unless they arent just serving medical patients.
Bush’s DOJ also put Chong in jail for 9 months for selling glass. You won’t see that kind of prosecution under a democratic admininstration.
The Republicans are the true crazy drug warriors, the democrats are the people scared to death of the crazy drug warriors and end up implementing similar policies.
Yes it is true that arrests continued to increase under Clinton. Clinton had to deal with large republican majorities after 94. After 94 he had to become a moderate republican president to get anything accomplished.
It is disingenious to disregard the entire history of the republican party, and say they aren’t true republicans.
You can’t say a tiny libertarian minority that has almost no voice and definitely no influence in the Republican party are the actual republicans.
Hannity, O’Reilly, Bush, those are the spokespeople for the Republican party. They are the ones who implement it’s agenda.
To say Ron Paul is the real republican party is like saying Dennis Kucinich is the real democratic party. I wish it were true, but it’s just not.
Posted by Will on September 5th, 2009.
PS. I forgot to say that Jimmy Carter tried to decriminalize marijuana and bunch of states decriminalized it during his presidency.
He also installed solar panels on the roof of the whitehouse, which Ronald Reagan ripped off.
Posted by Will on September 5th, 2009.
Will, my friend, you have your facts just completely wrong about the beginnings of the drug war. Completely, absolutely wrong. The drug war is a product of the democrat philosophy. Many Republicans have supported it, but its roots are absolutely in the democrat tradition.
And as you already know, it started long before 1970.
I don’t have time to fully respond this second, but if this comment is left unanswered, I will respond eventually.
P.S. I will admit I do kinda like Jimmy Carter, but his understanding of the economic issues facing his administration fell short.
Posted by Justin on September 5th, 2009.
I look forward to your response. Your facebook groups have provided me with hours of stimulating entertainment.
PS. I came up with an example of a government that provides health care to all of it’s citizens from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean.
Canada.
Ok they are about 10% the population of ours, but they are the same width as us.
PS. Yes laws against drug use have been around since 1914, at least. But the term War on Drugs was first used by Nixon. Nixon declared a War on Drugs for the first time in this country. The militarization first started with nixon.
Also if we look at alcohol prohibition, the Volstead act passed congress over Wilson’s veto (democrat)
It was also epic democratic president FDR that ended alcohol prohibtion in 1933 with the Cullen-Harrison Act.
So democrats not only tried to stop alcohol prohibition from starting, but they ended it.
Posted by Will on September 5th, 2009.
“we will pursue a relentless warfare against the despicable dope peddling vulture who preys on the weakness of his fellow man.” – Harry Aslinger, some time in the 1930s.
Also, you cite the controlled substances act, which is absolutely bizarre because – and maybe you missed the memo here – the CSA loosened penalties for drug possession.
Nixon wasn’t the first to use the “warfare” terminology or the first to use actual warfare. It’s just not true – in any sense whatsoever – that, as you put it, “War on Drugs was started by Republican Richard Nixon.” That’s just absolutely false. Do you see that now?
It’s hard to take you seriously if you can look at the facts and claim that Reagan or Nixon, neither of whom were good guys in my mind by the way, were in the same league as Clinton in advancing drug prohibition.
I’m not sure where you heard that arrests merely “continued to increase under Clinton.” Clinton actively advanced prohibition and was a dear friend of the prison industry. In 1994 he urged the death penalty for drug dealers.
Basically man, you really need to do some research because nearly everything you said about the history of drug policy is factually incorrect. I’ll respond comprehensively at some point, or maybe another expert will chime in.
Posted by Justin on September 5th, 2009.
From Wikipedia’s entry on the war on drugs:
The term was first used by President Richard Nixon in 1969,[1] and its use of war as metaphor is similar to the War on Poverty announced by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. On May 13, 2009, Gil Kerlikowske, the current Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, signaled that the Obama Administration would not use the term “War on Drugs,” as he claims it is counter-productive and is contrary to the policy favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce drug use.[2]
Nixon was the first to use the term War on Drugs, Obama’s administration has ended this practice.
If you disagree, I think you have a case of Wiki-worry
Where did you find Bill Clinton advocating for death penalty for drug dealers?
I googled and googled, couldn’t find anything. I did however find this:
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has proposed increased death penalty provisions for drug dealers as a way to curb the flow of drugs into the U.S. (“Gingrich on Drug Dealers,” New York Times, July 15, 1995, p. A9; Reuters News Service, July 14, 1995; “Gingrich Urges Death Penalty for Illegal Drug Smugglers,” Washington Post, August 27, 1995, p. A16).
Posted by Will on September 5th, 2009.
People always get the government they deserve.
You make me laugh, Justin, you’re a libertarian, not a Republican; quit trying to link the two. A Republican is merely someone who votes Republican. A libertarian is someone who actually believes in first principles.
The history of the United States is nothing but the growth of government itself. While I always vote Libertarian, and I applaud your efforts, I don’t have any delusions about which end of the political spectrum has won: democratic socialism. Demographics are just not on the side of Republicans (so any Ron Paul wing has even less of a chance at instituting any meaningful change.)
The best that can be hoped for is to curb its excesses.
Posted by Pablo Francesca on September 6th, 2009.
The first legalize medical marijuana legislation was drafted by a young Republican from the south named: Newt Gingrich
Bill Clinton arrested more marijuana users than Reagan and Bush 1 combined! Bill Clinton also signed the 1992 Crime Bill that called for a death penalty for drug king pins. Growing less than an acre of hemp is considered a drug king pin. If Jefferson and Washington’s plantations were raided under Clinton, they could have been executed!
The Drug War isn’t a purely Democrat or Republican issue.
Members of both parties support punitive policies, perpetuating the stigmatization of drugs and drug users. Senator Joe Biden, a Democrat and our vice president, introduced the Rave Act in the Senate in 2002. Biden’s RAVE Act was co-sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Strom Thurmond (R-NC). Pressure from the activist community counter-campaign worked to get two of the original co-sponsors of the bill, Richard Durbin(D-IL) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to withdraw their support for the bill because it was too broad and goes too far.
Senator Biden’s pet issue is the drug war. Biden was one of the original drafters of the legislation that created the Office of National Drug Control Policy, an anti-drug office of the White House (primetime TV ads linking terrorism to marijuana users was one recent campaign). Biden helped to craft the original crack-house statute, which was designed to punish owners of properties on which drug offenses take place and co-sponsored legislation that created federal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. Biden then sharpened his focus on the drug ecstasy and raves, most likely in response to media hype about the alleged dangerous drug parties corrupting our nation’s young people.
Biden, an ardent drug warrior who authored the notorious “crack house” legislation of 1984, hitched his widely criticized RAVE Act (known officially as the “Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act”) to the popular Amber Alert bill (S151/HR1104), with no public debate and as a section buried in the legislation.
What member of the Federal Government has called for a full repeal of the War on Drugs? A Republican from Texas – Ron Paul
What member of the federal Government said they would stop the medical marijuana raids in legal states and has changed the name of the same way to deal with drugs – an over whelming law-enforcement one, as opposed to a public health approach? – President Obama
Posted by Robert Robinson on September 6th, 2009.
PS – The raids have continued on medical marijuana in legal states – just fyi and the name change of the drug war is just that, a name change – what policy has changed?
Posted by Robert Robinson on September 6th, 2009.
Indeed many democrats have sponsored and pushed harsh anti drug legislation.
My point is that when you look at which presidents used their bully pulpit to create national hysteria about drugs, Republicans take the cake.
From Nixon’s war on drugs term, to Nancy Reagans Just Say No campaign, Republicans presidents are louder, and more passionate about harsh anti-drug crusades than democrats have been.
Obama’s name change is important. He is signaling change, from the top.
It is wrong to say Bill Clinton arrested more drug users than any other president. This is not a dictatorship. This is a nation of laws, and those arrests were made under the laws of this nation, not by personal decree of Bill Clinton.
If you remember the 90′s you’d remember that Bill Clinton had almost no power to get his legislation passed. He had very stiff opposition from a Republican majority.
That is why he tried to get line item veto power, to strike down parts of bills he didnt want.
We are really getting into semantics here, my large point is that the moralism that is at the heart of the drug war lives more passionately in the hearts of Republicans than liberals.
Ron Paul voted against the patriot act, what percentage of the GOP joined him? I don’t understand how anyone can say he is a mainstream republican.
Posted by Will on September 6th, 2009.
*like* have you read anything by derrick jensen?
Posted by Stephanie on September 6th, 2009.
You are either lying, insane or woefully ignorant of pretty much everything. The idea that conservatives wanted to abolish slavery is just outright revisionism and much of this is standard “I HATE GOVERNMENT!” splurge. Government manages to put men on the moon, build highways, collect taxes, put out fires, enforce laws, build dams, rural electrification, etc, etc. Just call yourselves anarchists and be done with it because what is uniting you now is not conservativism, it’s just outright hatred for any and all government.
Oh, and if Ayn Rand’s pathetic attempt at legitimising pure greed is a “real thinker”, the conservative movement is in deep, deep trouble.
Posted by Ebon on September 8th, 2009.
Angry much? Completely understandable, and some good points made. I find that it’s easy to forget the TR and Lincoln were as much Republican as W and Nixon.
Posted by Terence on September 9th, 2009.
Ha ha! Anyone who has a personal opinion about anything anymore cannot truly say either “side” represents them in the least, unless of course they are billionaires!
I am sorry but after reading your blogs and your thoughts, you in no way represent the republican majority at all.
When I was young the distinction was simple.
Republicans want rich people to get richer.
Democrats want more taxation of the rich less of the poor.
While only a facet of the parties ideals, that was how it used to be. That is what was important to me and my family.
I talk to politicians alot, and in person. I approach them on the streets and in restaurants, wherever I happen upon them. I tell them where I am from and what is important to me. I ask them what they think and how I can expect them to act. Republican and democrat alike, they always lie to me and act as though they are on my side. when they end up getting elected into whatever position they never follow though on what they told me.
This has led me to the rationalization that no politician represents me of my ideas. Thus I claim no party.
You do not in any way represent any republican I have ever met in all my years, I have never heard of a republican like you from my elders.
Sorry but you don’t look like a duck, you don’t sound like a duck, and you sure as hell don’t act like a duck.
Sorry to tell you Justin, but your just not a duck.
Post.Script. How the hell can you compare Lincoln to W…(Herp derp, because they both are republicans. durrr.) For fucking shame.
Posted by The lowest street on September 10th, 2009.
and by you i mean terence, the poster above me.
Posted by The lowest street on September 10th, 2009.
your post sounds great on the surface and that’s my problem that i have with the republican party these days.lots of things sound great on the surface but after research, one finds the facts lacking in your arguments. i have been a registered republican since the reagan days (june 29th, 1979) and sad to say, the party no longer serves the people in any meaningful way. they truly are dictated to by the crazies on the right. kneel to your boss, Rush Limbaugh, kiss the ring bitch and Fuck You!!
keith
Posted by keith on September 13th, 2009.
If most Republicans thought like you we might be able to establish a real dialogue. However the Republican Party I used to be a apart of has turned into the party of NASCAR Fans, Taliban-like religious zealots, and idiots who watch FOX News. Sorry dude but I had to leave that behind and move on.
Posted by Gabe Hall on September 18th, 2009.
This is lame and very unoriginal, and nothing that we haven’t seen a bazillion times on all the other bullshit right-wing anti-Obama hate sites. All you’ve proved is that the truth hurts and every point the original blog made. Republicans are sore losers, have cried like whiny ass brats in a the toy isle that Mom (in this case the American people) said NO to. I tell you what, if you can post a single goddamn thing since the President have been elected that the GOP has done are even tried to do in the interest of the American people, I’ll fucking send you an apology engraved in a bar of gold. As bad as you’d want it you know in your heart and mind that the republican party haven’t done shit in the interest of governing this nation since or before the election of President Obama. Their diabolical plan was set in place before he was even elected. From the teabagger movement to Republicans sitting on their asses getting paid for nothing everyday trying to do anything they could just hold up progress in this nation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khO74wLm9O4
Posted by riceroni on March 28th, 2010.
riceroni: I think that the difference is that I don’t *want* (capital-R) Republicans or (capital-D) Democrats or anybody else in government to *do* anything.
I want them to go home, relax, and stop killing people.
I’m ready for a LOT less government.
In that respect, I don’t care for (capital-R) Republicans of recent fame.
I do, however, like the (small-r) republican notion that the government can only do what it is explicitly given the authority to do.
Posted by Justin on March 28th, 2010.
Hey, Rice-A-Roni, I think you need to think about what you said. As I recall the Democrates were the onees telling everyone in the 2000 election that if they don’t get there way, there leaving the Country. Canada didn’t even want you. Or don’t you remember.
Posted by Joe Epton on July 6th, 2010.
As for the Author of this blog, I couldn’t agree more.
Posted by Joe Epton on July 6th, 2010.