[continue]
The basic philosophical difference between Republicans and Democrats is this: Republicans believe that each person is responsible for his own actions and for achieving his goals; since rich people have done so, they are more moral than the poor. Democrats believe that circumstances sometimes produce terrible situations that bring misfortune to some people; they think the moral thing to do is to help the little guy who is often taken advantage of by the big guy.
The Republican philosophy naturally leads Republicans to work for the rich. These are the people who made it. They conquered their demons and worked hard to build businesses and to make money. This is why Bush advocates tax cuts. No matter what the economic problem, the answer for him is tax cuts. Another reason is that these tax cuts bring lots of campaign donations to Bush and the Republicans. Not merely campaign donations. They also get the establishment of propaganda organizations, such as the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, Fox News (it has been called a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican Party) and many others.
The Republicans, however, have a problem. How can they win by working for Big Business when there are 100 times more people in the country working for a living? Their answer, the one that has been working brilliantly for many elections, is religion. More to the point, the distortion of religion. The Republicans have pounded incessantly on "moral values." Not all "moral values," but selected "moral values." Sometimes immoral "moral values."
An example of immoral "moral values," is one the Republicans used when fighting the Civil Rights movement in the South. They insisted that the Bible was in favor of slavery. They screamed hysterically that one of the greatest sins imaginable was miscegenation: whites and blacks intermarrying and having babies.
Many of the old guard in the South accepted these ideas and joined the Republicans. The shift from solid-south Democrats to the current solid-south Republicans started this way. It continued with more distortion of "moral values" with abortion and today, same-sex marriage. Bush's distortions of "moral values" helped bring many religious people to vote for him and against their economic interests.
The Republicans did such a great job that they convinced us that Republicans are the party of religion, of "moral values," and Democrats are the party against religion, against "moral values." This is ridiculous, and yet it is the conventional wisdom. It must be changed if the Democrats are to elect a president in the future.
By dwelling on abortion and same-sex marriage, the Republicans are disregarding all the sins and crimes committed by Big Business. Instead of regulating business so that it behaves itself, Republicans are deregulating Business so it may screw the public more than before. This is a "moral value"? When the subject of minimum wage arises, Republicans are always against it. This is a "moral value"? When health care for everybody comes up, Republicans are against it. This is a moral value"? Offering big tax cuts primarily to the rich is a "moral value"? Declaring a preemptive war is a moral value"?
Democrats in the last election did not talk about "moral values." This was a mistake. A big one. From now on we must talk incessantly of "moral values." Democrats truly are the party of "moral values." We do not concentrate on values merely to push wedges to separate parts of the other party. We believe in them. We believe in "moral values" of helping the poor (remember, Jesus preferred the poor to the rich), civil rights to all, ethnic and religious tolerance, equal opportunity for rich and poor alike, building harmony and working diligently for peace.
The Republicans have been winning by criminally distorting religion to gain power, which they use to help the rich. Democrats must demonstrate that they are the party of true "moral values" in order to counteract Republican propaganda and bring workers back into the fold.
