Founding principles under siege by Bush administration

By SCOTT ELLIOT

"Karl Rove has all but succeeded in reversing the outcome of the Civil War and the Scopes trial in one masterstroke. The founding principles of this country have been under siege by the Bush administration for the last four years. In our schools, biology is being edged out by Bible studies, the pursuit of happiness has become the private reserve of the most affluent, and America the Beautiful is falling prey to the oil drill and the chain saw.


I'm surprised that we Democrats lost, but in retrospect, I'm not surprised that we lost on "moral values." After all, everyone knows, or should know by now, that it is more moral to take up swords against "infidels" than to beat them into plowshares. Osama bin Laden taught us that, only he had to make do with box cutters.


Bearing false witness not only appears to be acceptable to Bush supporters; it is the common thread between the campaigns of father and son. Bush I gained office with the aid of Lee Atwater's infamous Willie Horton ads. Bush II used Atwater protégé Karl Rove's attacks on the patriotism of true war heroes, John McCain, Max Clelland and John Kerry. Attacks were made against Bush, to be sure, but so far, none have been proven untrue.


Followers of U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Bush apparently believe that the mere sight of a woman's breast is a grave threat to our national morality, but they have no problem with peeking into people's bedrooms and then finding ways to punish them if they don't like the way they make love.


While Kerry dreams of someday reducing terrorism to the level of a nuisance, Rove already considers the poor, the sick and the elderly little more than a nuisance. Dismantling Social Security and Medicare, protecting profits for health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, rolling back environmental standards and slashing housing programs are the cornerstones of the new morality.


While Bush enlists the working class in making a heaven on earth for the rich, Rove is no doubt busily at work trying to figure out how to expand the eye of a needle."

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