ARE THEY HAPPY NOW?

One can only wonder what is going through the minds of those who valiantly pushed for the installation of George W. Bush as president of the United States. One can only surmise that they have just about attained their goals, that their cup runneth over, that they bask in the sunshine of dreams that have come true.

Look around you. There are thousands of men and and women out of work, looking for jobs, hoping for those paychecks that feeds their families and pays their bills. Mortgage foreclosures have hit a new high in every state. When there is no money to pay that bill, then the house must go. And where are the occupants? Are they in apartments? Have they shacked up with relatives? Are they living in their cars, the kids tucked in the back seats?

There are more homeless than ever before, wandering our streets, snuggling under overpasses, cardboard boxes, nesting in bushes or city parks. They are shooed away because, God knows, no one wants a bunch of bums hanging around, and where do they go? They wander. They settle here or there. They drift around, hoping the BumBashing, hate-filled, violent and idiotic teenagers don't cast cold, brutal eyes in their direction.

Great fun! Bashing the homeless! Attacking an old man without a penny in his pocket, smashing his ribs and crushing his bones! What good is he anyway? Just a bit of human flotsam hanging onto the fringe of society, littering the streets. Oh, yes, these Republicans have taught us a lot about human worth!

One wonders if they are happy now. The jobs are gone, the pensions have faded, the talk is that Social Security checks and Medicare will fade away. Millions of people have no health insurance, nowhere to turn if that sudden illness strikes. Does this fill the Republicans with delight? Do they dance in glee over the fact that they have defeated a world full of sinners and demons and FemiNazis, people with their hands out, expecting something for nothing, as they so kindly put it?

There they sit, in their magnificent Megachurches, our saintly Christians, lined up in rows, listening to the preacher in his shiny silk suit that costs more than a poor person makes in a month, praying their prayers and supporting their great leader, the Decider, who is bombing his way through the Middle East to lead them to their Promised Land! What does it matter if the world has become a boiling mass of chaos? What does it matter if the Iraqi people flee their land? What does it matter if thousands of orphaned children cry on the Iraqi streets, hungry and alone? What does it matter if those American caskets arrive in the dark of night, hidden, alone?

All of the virtues that my mother taught me a good Christian must have has been swept away in a torrent of words voiced by Rush Limbaugh, a short, squat, pumpkin of a man who is the guru of the Evangelical crowd. That he is no better than the people he vilifies is a fact that is ignored by his fans, who glue themselves to their radios and nod as he vomits his hateful phrases.

In Washington, a clone of Limbaugh has steered the presidential ship for these past few years, thinking up new catchphrases and cute little lies that can be threaded throughout the Republican crowd. Karl Rove and Limbaugh even look alike, and they both have enjoyed the hospitality of the White House. Both have only one talent....attempting to ruin the lives of people who disagree with the Republican mantra.

They not only attack their enemies. They attack their enemies' wives. This party that boasts of boosting "family values" is fond of breaking up families, heaping blame on family members and spending countless hours thinking up Bill and Hillary jokes, Valerie Plame's occupation, etc. It's their adorable way of getting retribution. Human lives, human careers, human hopes and dreams mean nothing to these reprobates. Their intention is to destroy their detractors in any way possible.

Yes, this is a Christian bunch. I have heard them spend an hour discussing which highway sports the tallest, biggest cross! But the truth is, these atrocities looming into the sky along our nation's highways remind me of a crucifixion of a Republican enemy, the dogged, merciless and skillful way they blame the ills of the world on Clinton, as though most of us weren't working and happier during his tenure as President. Man, they really hate Clinton! I guess it is because he enjoyed a little sexual romp with Monica, because the Republicans aren't bothered by the sight of a homeless man or a country wrecked by bombs, but a little sexual freedom sends them into apoplexy.

They not only want to banish abortion, but they seem to have a grudge against birth control pills. They want the little women to enjoy one pregnancy after another, until her teeth rot and her bladder fails and her breasts sag like empty potato sacks in a corner of a barn. After all, doesn't the Bible say a woman should avoid all adornment like lipstick or mascara, cleave to her husband, the master, and be the good little helpmate? Doesn't the Bible say that, if a woman is infertile, she should accept that her husband beds the handmaiden?

Of course, the Bible also says, "Thou Shalt Not Kill!" and they seem to be able to ignore that little tidbit of immaterial advice.

As they scorn any woman who could be described as "liberated," they forget the days when husbands died or became very ill, and women that had never gotten out of the kitchen found themselves breadwinners. Then, if these women did find jobs, they were paid about a third as much as a man would make doing the same work. They also forget the thousands of women caught in abusive situations. ADC, Women's Shelters and other programs were instigated because of these things. But Republicans only slash programs, never start them. A social program takes money from their pockets and thus must not exist, despite the need.

You would think that Republicans would welcome Illegal Aliens, helping them across the Southern border, because about half of them are pregnant and clamoring for medical attention, which they get. Where babies are concerned, they seem to resemble natal popcorn machines. While millions of Americans have no insurance, and millions more are underinsured, our uninvited guests receive free health care, while the President bandies about his concern for "Immigration Reform."

For years, our Immigration Service was just fine. Now it must be "reformed," like a child in juvenile detention receiving the services of a psychologist. It seems so simple to fine employers who hire Illegals and stick with the "quota" formula that was adequate throughout the years, but why would I want to keep a steady source of cheap labor out of the hands of the Republican CEO's? Shame on me! What a terrible, liberal thought!

Oh, yes, I imagine the Republicans are dancing in the streets. Their greedy, money-mad, merciless, heartless, noncompassionate, unintelligent and ridiculous dream of a country embarking on a bloody Crusade is now underway. The Middle Class is reduced to penury, the poor are desperate, the rich are richer! Could life be any better? Rush must be as high as he was when the cigar box was filled with Oxycontin. Karl Rove is singing as he searches for phrase to use to defeat Barrack Obama. Can't use "flip flop"...that's old. Can't call him a coward, he's never been in the military. Something will come to mind, I'm sure. After all, his name sounds like Osama! Karl will think of something!

The only fly in the Republican ointment is the fact that the voting public is not happy. They aren't coming to the party. They aren't dancing with joy over the Crusade. This is a quandary, and some of them in Congress are deserting the President that they have rubber-stamped for so many years. Others, like McCain, suddenly got religion. Isn't that great, to hear McCain talk religion? He's not the only one. Guiliani has also become quite the believer, despite his checkered past. Perhaps, like Newt, he is truly repentant. If one is truly repentant, Republicans and God forgives, unless it is Bill Clinton. And Tom DeLay is back in town and has written a book, giving fellow politicians the benefit of his wisdom on how to make a dishonest buck.

Yes, there is joy in Republicanville for the milestones they have reached and the money they have placed in their pockets. But there IS a lingering shadow clouding their happiness. Could it be that the people....the rabble...those worthless sinners, who are finally realizing that the divide between the wealthy and the poorer classes has attained the width and depth of the Grand Canyon, will vote for the other party? Could the NeoCon dream fall as flat as a Kansas landscape?

We'll see.