Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Are you paying attention?

The GOP made the decision to react to the news of Obama working with NATO to help Libyan revolutionaries fight for their freedom – precipitating Qaddafi’s death – as the small minded, spiteful people that they are. Two Republican senators stepped up to the microphones to express their gratitude to our French and British allies – well deserved by the way – each taking great care to avoid crediting the Obama strategy for any part in this success.

Appearing on Fox, Sen. Graham (R-SC) had this to say when discussing the future of Libya: “We can go over there and help them build their infrastructure up.”

What?! (…I say with my head spinning around…)

On the very day that Senate Republicans – including Graham – voted down a proposal to authorize money that would keep teachers teaching and firefighters ready to fight fires and policemen policing, Graham said that we need to spend taxpayer money to build up Libyan infrastructure.  Graham has a perfect voting record in blocking badly needed infrastructure investment here in the United States, such as repairs to schools and bridges. Yet he declares his enthusiasm for spending a bunch of money to engage in another nation building exercise.

Why? Why is Graham so eager to invest in Libya’s infrastructure while gladly allowing his own nation to crumble in ruin?

The answer is… wait….wait for it…. drum roll… because there is lots of money for the United States to make in building the future in Libya!

Oh, yesssss…you read that right. Senator Graham’s position could not have been expressed any more clearly.

Onward contractors! Onward oil companies!

Who needs to provide American children with an education or rebuild bridges and roads to save American lives when you can use taxpayer money to set things up for the U.S. oil barons to steal huge supplies of oil that belong to the Libyan people? So what if a few folks in Minneapolis fall to their death when the bridge collapses. We are talking billions in profits lying around in the African desert just waiting to be lapped up.

The most important thing to note here is that Republicans want to spend taxpayer cash to make the oil producing investments that they do not want to ask the oil companies to do on their own. Let's use taxpayer money to make millions of dollars for the oil companies and their shareholders.

Now that the French and English (let’s not give Obama any credit here) have succeeded in helping to free the Libyan people, the Libyans must now submit to America’s oil monopoly – or else. There is no surprise in learning that McCain and Graham, along with that DINO, Joe Lieberman – who never met a Muslin nation they do not wish to invade – would respond to being proven strategically wrong by attempting to pretend Obama’s clever plan to bring down Qaddafi never happened. Graham openly and boldly pitched the idea of spending taxpayer money to grab Libya’s oil without so much as saying one word about the importance of having helped the Libyan people achieve their freedom.

Now, I realize that this horrible Republican behavior will never register on the millions of Americans who cannot be bothered with paying attention to the greedy leaders they have chosen to get behind, no matter how shocking their decisions may be. They are too busy watching American Idol.

But to the many Independent voters – the ones who actually decide the elections in this country – I ask:

Are you paying attention to this?