Republican mantra: "No, you can't!"

Jesus' General had an especially powerful post yesterday titled "No You Can't: Republicans Offer Strong Alternatives to Democratic Policies."

The General begins by noting how the Democrats have been urging "the people to chant the slogan 'Yes we can,' as if it were appropriate for them to allow people to do things or want things that are bad for them. Americans might forget that the world is a scary place, that there are evil people out there who want to kill us because we're free, and therefore that they need to submit to strong leaders who will protect them by making them less free. Americans need to learn not to abuse their freedoms and to accept the lot God has assigned them in life. To that end, Republican leaders are emphasizing what Americans must learn to do without. ...

"No, you can't expect us to care about people who have lost their jobs, who don't have the education necessary to find new jobs in a changing economy, or who live in struggling neighborhoods. That's something 'community organizers' care about, and no one takes that job seriously. ...

"No, you can't expect us to worry about people who have lost their homes. They don't donate enough money to the GOP to matter. ...

"No, you can't have more affordable health care or health insurance. The nation already has plenty of emergency rooms. ...

"No, you can't have a Republican administration that will uphold or value standards of professional ethics and responsibility. It doesn't matter whether you're a state trooper or a federal prosecutor: we'll fire people who are politically or personally inconvenient and hire friends, cronies, and anyone with sufficient political reliability. ...

"No, you can't assume that we'll ever tell the truth, the whole truth, or nothing but the truth, not even under oath (assuming you can get us there), and not even when the truth is clearly good enough to stand on its own. ...

"No, you can't have schools that teach comprehensive sex education where kids might learn about contraception or how to use it. The only effective methods for not getting pregnant are abstinence and sterilization ..."

"No, you can't have schools that teach evolution, either. Darwinism is an evil ideology that promotes the idea that we are all just animals who can behave as immorally as we want, and it must be stamped out (except for Social Darwinism, which is the GOP policy that we are all on our own and the richest few can behave however they want.) ...

"No, you can't look forward to a future in which women are treated as equals or with respect within the Republican Party. Don't let the presence of Sarah Palin on the ticket fool you; the vice-presidency is only the Fourth Branch of government while under the command of Dick Cheney. ... Sarah Palin will have as much importance in a Republican administration as the First Lady, so keep an eye out for her scrumptious mooseburger recipes but not much else. ...

"No, you queers can't have equality at work or in marriages. Being gay is a lifestyle choice, like illegal immigration, and not an immutable characteristic like being saved by Jesus Christ, so it would be wrong to protect it from discrimination. ... Two men in a decades-long committed relationship and raising healthy, well-adjusted children simply can't qualify as a real marriage or family like that enjoyed by those icons of family values John McCain, Newt Gingrich, Mark Foley, or Larry Craig. ...

"No, you can't insist that we should take any responsibility for anything bad that we've done ...

"No, you can't have your sons and daughters back from the Middle East any time soon ...

"No, you can't see any 'color' around here. Conservative evangelical Christians are almost all white. Oil executives are white (though oil is taken from mostly brown and black places). Bankers are mostly white. ... We have a a vice-presidential candidate who has been reported to refer to Barack Obama as 'Sambo' and Alaskan natives as 'Arctic Arabs.' We're happy with this B&W television of American society, so why aren't you? ...

"No, you can't have cheaper gas or greener, renewable alternatives. ...

"No, you can't expect to enjoy any Fourth Amendment protection. If you aren't committing any crimes, then you have nothing to hide from us; if you object, then you must have something to hide. ...

"No, you can't expect to enjoy much of the First Amendment, either. Preemptive war worked so well that we're now launching preemptive arrest raids: if we even think that you might disagree with us in public while cameras are rolling, we'll send the police to arrest you, ransack your house, and intimidate you into never being a problem again. Don't get too used to the books in the local library because Sarah Palin may decide to have a Washington Bonfire with them ...

"No you can't have 'habeas corpus,' you don't know what it means anyway -- at least, we don't know what it means, and anyone who does is an elitist snob who is out of touch with the real America ...

"This is what you can expect to get when you next vote Republican."


Read the entire article here.