Of course, your miles may vary
Dear Conservative Americans,
The years have not been kind to you. I grew up in a profoundly Republican home, so I can remember when you wore a very different face than the one we see now. You've lost me and you've lost most of America. Because I believe having responsible choices is important to democracy, I'd like to give you some advice and an invitation.
First, the invitation: Come back to us.
Now the advice. You're going to have to come up with a platform that isn't built on a foundation of cowardice: fear of people with colors, religions, cultures and sex lives that differ from your own; fear of reform in banking, health care, energy; fantasy fears of America being transformed into an Islamic nation, into social/commun/fasc-ism, into a disarmed populace put in internment camps; and more. But you have work to do even before you take on that task.
Your party -- the GOP -- and the conservative end of the American political spectrum have become irresponsible and irrational. Worse, it's tolerating, promoting and celebrating prejudice and hatred. Let me provide some examples -- by no means an exhaustive list -- of where the Right as gotten itself stuck in a swamp of hypocrisy, hyperbole, historical inaccuracy and hatred.
If you're going to regain your stature as a party of rational, responsible people, you'll have to start by draining this swamp:
Hypocrisy
You can't flip out -- and threaten impeachment - when Dems use a parliamentary procedure (deem and pass) that you used repeatedly (more than 35 times in just one session and more than 100 times in all!), that's centuries old and which the courts have supported. Especially when your leaders admit it all.
Hyperbole
You really need to disassociate with those among you who:
* assert that people making a quarter-million dollars a year can barely make ends meet or that $1 million "isn't a lot of money";
* say that "Comrade" Obama is a "Bolshevik" who is "taking cues from Lenin";
* ignore the many times your buddies use a term that offends you and complain only when a Dem says it;
* liken political opponents to murderers, rapists, and "this Muslim guy" that "offed his wife's head" or call then "un-American";
History
If you're going to use words like socialism, communism and fascism, you must have at least a basic understanding of what those words mean (hint: they're NOT synonymous!)
You can't cut a leading Founding Father out the history books because you've decided you don't like his ideas.
Hatred
You have to condemn those among you who:
* call members of Congress n*gger and f*ggot;
* elected leaders who say "I'm a proud racist";
* state that America has been built by white people;
* say that poor people are poor because they're rotten people, call them "parasitic garbage" or say they shouldn't be allowed to vote;
* call women bitches and prostitutes just because you don't like their politics ( re - pea -ted - ly );
Written by Russell King
^^^^ Short version, the main link contains the whole letter with hyperlinks
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