Shortly after the election, I was sent the following rant by a good friend who was trying to vent his frustrations. While I don't agree with everything he says, he makes some very excellent points. Here it is, you be the judge: 

The trouncing of the Republican Party at the recent election was far more widespread than simply the McCain-Palin ticket’s defeat by Barack Obama.  It appeared that in nearly every case, the Democrats exceeded expectations with the result that they now control all three branches of government.

What happened?

Republican pundits are looking for the license plate of the truck that hit them, and seem to be saying that the driver of the truck was either a) Obama, b) Sarah Palin, or c) the economy.  While all of those were contributors, the fault seems much deeper than that, and lies within the Republican Party itself.

Let’s start with the unpopularity of the Bush administration.  By that I don’t mean simply the President himself, but those associated with the leadership of the party, with him simply being a beneficiary of the political machine that took hold after 9/11 and, emboldened by that event, laid waste to truth, ethics and decency!

The truth is, the political tactics of the Republican administration, and the lengths to which they would go to increase their power, have become apparent to an increasing number of Americans (including myself).  The evidence is clear to any informed person:

• Iraq invaded over mythical WMD’s – This started the process, with the policy determined and the evidence selectively presented to justify the invasion.  Bad Intelligence does not fully explain the extent to which information was twisted, including what Colin Powell was tricked into presenting at the U.N. to justify a pre-emptive attack.  The mistakes made after that just compounded things, including the decision to “fire” the army, leaving hundreds of thousands of unemployed trained and armed men hanging around just waiting to be scooped up by the insurgency.

• Katrina – In the aftermath of 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security was given authority over many things, including FEMA, in order to make it a powerful cabinet department.  Having FEMA under them proved to be a disaster when they were unprepared to respond to Katrina, even given days of advanced notice of its potential.  President Bush’s congratulating of Secretary Brown’s “Great Job” was a clueless and typically wrong assessment that demonstrated that cronyism was valued over performance.

• Hiring and Firing at the Justice Department – It would appear that the Republicans were using litmus tests to fill any vacancies in the various branches of government, especially the Justice Department.  Anyone whose illegal back ground checks (including Internet searches) did not establish their staunch Republican credentials need not apply.  The firing of 8 U.S Attorneys for (at least) flimsy and political reasons was a pattern that politicized a department that should be about justice, not ideology.

• Editing Science – There are numerous instances where scientific reports were edited and parts removed or changed to match the administration’s view of the “facts”, specifically with respect to global warming.  The scientific method does not and should not have an agenda.  If the administration did not agree with the findings, they were free to offer a rebuttal, but by censoring the studies before they were issued they proved that they are only interested in truth if they agree with it.

• Executive Privilege - Dick Cheney’s repeated stonewalling of the public’s right to know how government is making decisions and spending their money is an affront to democracy exceeded only by the Watergate coverup.  He has repeatedly demonstrated his contempt for the public interest through a policy of secret deals and catering to special interests of the military and oil establishments that he came from.

Now, let us get to the election.  Despite the unpopularity of the Republican President, Senator McCain appeared to have a real chance of victory in the election.  Part of his appeal was his having not “gone along” with the administration on many counts.  Being a “maverick” of a party whose leader was so unpopular had potential.  Even favoring current policy on the war was not a disqualifying factor since his military credentials left many thinking that if we’re in it anyway, he could be the one to get it right.  Given that, the Republican Party did Senator McCain no favors.  While the real stories are sure to come out, it would appear that the Republican Party undermined Senator McCain’s efforts at several critical points.  

• The choice of Sara Palin was clearly not his, and was obviously forced on him to satisfy the Party’s Right Wing.  It undermined his best campaign strategy – to attack Obama’s lack of experience - and fed on the fears people had that McCain was too old, since Palin would be the President in case of McCain’s death.  She was clearly being “handled”, with carefully picked interviews and no open press conferences.  Even that back-fired as the Katie Couric interview was a disaster and confirmed people’s tendency to consider her unprepared and cost Senator McCain credibility on his judgment.

• While negative campaigns are common to both sides, the type of dirty tricks employed by the Republicans was so out of character for Senator McCain that it tarnished his image, which a key part of his appeal.  Robo-calls and “surveys” that spread misinformation were both elements of the “politics of personal destruction” that Republicans had so decried when practiced by the Clintons in the 1990’s.  The Republicans seem to have perfected this approach, led by Karl Rove, and I find it abhorrent.  Above all, John McCain has always been a decent and respectful person, proving it by bucking his own party with initiatives to reform campaign financing and eliminate pork-barrel spending.  He would have been better served to let that part of his character be reflected in the campaign.

The financial crisis that hit just weeks before the election certainly hurt Senator McCain’s chances, since the incumbent party will always be blamed for a downturn in the economy – as evidenced by the favorite slogan of the Clinton campaign in 1992 – “It’s the Economy, stupid”.  In many cases, including President Bush I in 1992, it is simply unfortunate timing tied to a typical economic cycle.  This year, though, it is a justified blame since the Bush administration regulators have been asleep at the switch while easy credit and imaginative Wall Street investment houses were allowed to run amok and manufacture ways to make money out of nothing and build a house of cards of debt that came crashing down at the worst possible time.

The net result of this is that the Republicans cannot be trusted.  They appear to be willing to do whatever it takes to gain and keep power.  The pattern of deceit, unethical practices and arrogance has not gone unnoticed, with many moderates such as myself disgusted with what they have seen and many abandoning the party choice despite his simply being smeared by those around him.  

I am embarrassed to say I am a Republican.

Wow, powerful stuff.