Adam Cope
Published: October 12, 2005
Blame is a funny thing. Even when it’s warranted, accepting responsibility for a major screw-up without a fight is almost unheard of. It’s hardly surprising that the blamed have such an impressive arsenal of tactics to avoid responsibility. These include pointing the finger at someone else, making excuses or hoping people will forget about their blunders.
Most recently, the “they’re just playing the blame game” technique has become quite prevalent. All of the above have been recently used by Republican politicians, which is hardly surprising considering that current events have thrust them straight into the spotlight. And they definitely don’t like the spotlight on them, because it brings all of their errors to the foreground.
Some conservatives might accuse me of being too harsh on Republicans, and say that it’s not all their fault. I say to them, “Stop making excuses for people that are screwing you, too.”
Under our Republican-led Congress and Senate, we have seen mangled and inexcusably incompetent action regarding Hurricane Katrina. We have seen bank-breaking spending of federal funding on programs that primarily benefit the rich, such as the $336 billion in tax cuts that America’s richest one percent is slated to receive over the next year. We have seen reckless governmental neglect of the rising costs of gas as it continues to provide tax breaks both to oil companies and to buyers of large vehicles that are wasteful of fuel. Our economy is embarrassing, and instead of addressing the issues, our government has elected to “prevent tax fraud” by increasing tax audits of the poor who receive Earned Income Tax Credit- which accounts for only three percent of the estimated billions in annual tax fraud.
All this is without even mentioning the mess our government has created in Iraq.
But right now, the main reason Republicans are losing ground is Tom DeLay’s indictment. DeLay, ex-majority leader of the House, was indicted on Sept. 8 on issues dealing with his alleged involvement in funneling corporate money to political campaigns. This is the first time in history that the Speaker of the House has had to step down and it is excruciatingly embarrassing for the Republican Party.
Despite the party’s assertion that he will remain a “very powerful adviser” to the Republican leadership, the scandal has fractured the Republicans in Congress. Rifts in the party over abortion, foreign policy and in particular, President Bush, are widening between moderate conservatives, the extreme right-wing, the Christian conservatives and other groups of Republicans, all ahead of mid-term elections coming up in just a year.
So who’s to blame? Republicans are losing ground and finally coming under harsh criticism, all the while screaming that the liberals are pointing fingers, but in this Republican-dominated government, it certainly isn’t the liberals’ fault. And it certainly wasn’t the liberals who dominated the policies that have led to the economic slump, Katrina fiasco and energy crisis. The appalling consequences of the Republican Party’s policies are finally being spotlighted, but Republican politicians have no one to blame but themselves.