ARE THE REPUBLICANS GUILTY OF TREASON

What is treason? The dictionary says that it is “Violation of allegiance toward one's country.” To me, this would include aiding in the economic destruction of one’s country and blocking efforts to make one’s country prosperous and safe. Why would anyone engage in such treasonous actions? Perhaps in order to replace those in power and take-over the government. This, I contend, is exactly what the Republicans are trying to do.

You would think that such treasonous actions would be a thing of the past. Control of the government no longer includes attainment of great wealth, castles, and lands. But it does include the acquisition of great power, and this is probably what the Republicans want. They have captured the House of Representatives and now they want to control the Senate and the Presidency. They believe that in order to do this they need to oppose every effort of President Obama and the Democrats to improve the nation’s economy and security.

It may sound harsh to call this kind of Republican political behavior treason, but the effect of their actions could be the continuation of economic stagnation and unemployment, damage to our relationship with Russia, weakening of our national security, and decrease in American prestige abroad. The Republican’s idea, as recently espoused by Senator Mitch McConnell, is to do everything possible to defeat President Obama in the next election. This means that even if Americans have to suffer more unemployment and poor economy, it is worth it to win the presidency. McConnell knows that President Obama will have a much harder time getting reelected if the economy remains lethargic.

You can expect that the Republicans in Congress will oppose and try to block any effort to give further stimulus to the economy. Every economist knows that extending unemployment insurance not only provides desperately needed relief to people out of work but also helps the economy because of the tendency of such people to spend unemployment benefits right away. Every economist knows that providing more stimulus to rebuild American’s infrastructure will improve the economy by creating jobs and enhancing interstate commerce. Nevertheless, Republicans have already blocked the building of a new rail system in Ohio and a new Hudson River tunnel in New Jersey.

The Republicans in the Senate are, apparently, filibustering a bill that would provide health care and economic compensation for tens of thousands of citizens suffering severe effects from the cleanup of the 9/11 collapse of the World Trade Center. Police, firefighters and citizen volunteers suffered various illnesses after their labors amid the toxic fumes and clouds at ground zero. They have not received compensation or health care because they were not part of the original lawsuits that were settled. So far, only one Republican Senator appears willing to support the bill. That is not politics, that is cruelty.

There are certain things that can be done to lower the federal deficit, some of them very hard. But you can be sure that Republicans will not agree to allow the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire while keeping the tax cuts for the middle class. Despite the fact that economists have warned about the extreme danger of allowing our huge deficits to continue, it is questionable whether the Republicans will be willing to compromise on any genuine deficit-cutting programs. If the Republicans in Congress refuse to agree to increase the spending limit next year the nation could be faced with a critical economic crisis.

In a recent column in The New York Times, Nobel Prize Laureate Paul Krugman, wrote that the Republicans have joined forces with Germany and China in an effort to stop the Federal Reserve from buying governmental bonds and thereby helping American manufacturers compete abroad. The Fed’s activity will lower the dollar, increase exports, narrow the trade deficit, and help fight unemployment. Krugman asks, “So what’s really motivating the GOP attack on the Fed?” He cited the remarks of budget expert, Stan Collender, saying that: “‘With Republican policymakers seeing economic hardship as the path to election glory,’ they would be ‘opposed to any actions taken by the Federal Reserve that would make the economy better.’ In short, their real fear is not that Fed actions will be harmful, it is that they might succeed.”

God forbid that the Democratic President and the Democrats in Congress are able to increase exports and employment! God forbid that the economy of America improves greatly before the next presidential election! God forbid that President Obama gets credit for securing an arms limitation treaty with Russia!

It appears that the Republicans want not only for the economy to remain stagnant, but for it to go into a double-dip recession with more millions out-of-work. They believe, perhaps correctly, that such economic crisis will lead to Republican recapture of the White House and the Senate. They are oblivious to the damage that will be done to the country and to millions of hard-working Americans. It is not that they want power in order to improve things. They have no program to bring-on an economic miracle. They have no plans to vastly reduce unemployment. They have no program to improve the security of America and our relations with Russia. They want power for the sake of power. That is often the reason that traitors want power.