Meat,
A few civilized points to ponder… There are actually currently about 12 recognized factions in the Republican Party. Alan Greenspan, September 17, 2007 on NPR, actually identified himself as, “A member of the Libertarian Wing of the Republican Party”. (Google it). Of course, most of us nearly coughed up a lung when he said it, but, he did. For info on the different factions of the Republican Party, see-
Factions in the Republican Party (United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Libertarian Republican - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What I meant by the Republicans have changed comment was, what Goldwater was saying when asked if he had swung away from the Republican Party, and he replied, "No, they swung away from me". But, in general, the history of the Party is much more complicated than the 1854 start date typically explained in most textbooks. It did not arise in a vacuum. The Republican Party of 1854 grew out of the Whig Party of 1833, which grew out of the National Republican party of 1825, which grew out of the Federalist Party of 1792, which was libertarian!
However, the date of the founding of the party should be irrelevant, since the authors of the Constitution were strictly opposed to the party system and primaries we now have…. (where, usually, two dippy little states, like Iowa and New Hampshire go a long way to choosing for whom we might get to vote, [and that, only after the media has given us and vetted our choices]).
And, now, rather than a revisionist interpretation of the purpose of our military, a word from our sponsor, the Constitution, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence:
Section 4 of the Constution - Republican government
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
And, a word from Elbridge Thomas Gerry, (famous for the term “gerrymandering”- manipulation of the political process), a signer of the Declaration of Indepedence, the fifth Vice President of the United States, on the purpose of the military- “Standing armies in time of peace are inconsistent with the principles of republican Governments, dangerous to the liberties of a free people, and generally converted into destructive engines for establishing despotism”.
However, Meat, I have to agree with you. With few exceptions over the last 25 years, the military has morphed into a governmental agency which protects American interests. And, by "American interests," I largely mean "the interests of major American corporations." That the military has become an instrument of corporate protection is illustrated not only in how it is used, but in how it is maintained. There is a decrease in the number of military contractors, as military contracting has been concentrated into the hands of a very few huge corporations. Some of this is unmitigated corporate welfare, to enrich the bank accounts of a few corporate executives, paid for by you and me. Meanwhile, paychecks to soldiers (you know, the people who actually have to do the fighting) have been barely keeping pace with inflation. So, it seems to me that, to an extent, the military has become just another tool of the corporate elite. He11, Cheney owns half of Jackson Hole now.
Regarding, Paul’s 1.1% of the delegates, and the topic of mental illness… Actually, on any given day, about 10% of the nation’s population fits a DSM-IV criterion for mental illness. Which is to say that the other 8.9% of the crazies voted for the candidates- Clinton, Obama, McCain or Huckabee.
I’m sorry you haven’t had a paycheck for 4 months. That sucks. After Hillary/Obama gets in, you’ll really hate the unions. But, the liberal writer’s you work with have so redefined the meaning of the moderate American opinion, that when someone puts forth a centrist position, they are now branded jack-booted thugs.
The neocon, evangelical wing of the Republican party is socially conservative and intrusive, with newly-minted big-government fiscal liberalism. The libertarian wing of the Republican Party is socially moderate (couldn’t care less what you do in your bedroom, as long as it doesn’t violate someone elses rights) and fiscally conservative. If there’s a comet flying by somewhere that has such a system, let me know where it is, and beam me up, Scotty.