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David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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July 10, 2007 4:55 PM
GOP Congressman Tells Hometown Newspaper That Monarchy "Is the Best Form of Government"
Here's Illinois Republican Rep. John Shimkus taking the overtly "pro-dictatorship" stance against democracy in his local paper:
"When I taught government and history,” Shimkus added, "by definition, what is the best form of government, the most simple, is a compassionate monarchy - a monarchy that loves and respects its citizens and …is able to make easy decisions without the weight of a bureaucracy we’d have to fund."
Shimkus proceeded to trumpet as models of good government countries like Morocco and Tunisia, which he acknowledged "you can safely say [is] a dictatorship."
I always knew the Republican Party had authoritarian tendencies, but I never thought I'd actually see a Republican whose whole job relies on our country being a democracy going out and trumpeting dictatorship as "the best form of government." Oh and I love the part where this pro-dictator congressman bashes bureaucracy - when, as Chris Hayes shows in his article for The Nation, bureaucracy is one of the basic checks on power in a well-functioning democracy.
(h/t Archpundit)
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
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Discussion
The more I see of both parties the more they blur. Both parties unless held to account by voters will invariably become authoritarian over time.
Take Pelosi and Rangel and their secret trade deal. Rank and file Democrats oppose it, yet this doesn't matter to either of them. They're acting like tin-pot dictators trying to ramrod through something only they and their K Street associates benefit from.
This is not democracy in action but the worse sort of criminal conduct.
And the reason they are acting this way is because the voters won't shitcan their crooked asses.
Power without accountability is poison in a democacy and in too many instances people are not holding their reps accountable. Instead they're being voted back in. This only encourages the thugs.
What this moron is describing is Enlightened Despotism..such as Fredrick the Great..who may have come closest but I doubt if many of his subjects would have agreed..!
This douche-bag sounds like he is still under the ether of a Federalist Society forum or meeting..
It's a dangerous thing when we elect these banal weak minded idiots as leaders..!
We'll see more more of this an worse when Bush enacts his NSPD-51 and remember Sam Alito endorsed Dictatorship under the "Unitary Executive" cover and The U.S. Senate put this traitor on The U.S. Supreme Court, thus turning into The Federalist Society Court which it now really is..!
Just remember we are one signature away from Dictatorship thanks to NSPD-51..and HSPD-20..!
I know all of you experts are on top of it..!
Does this idiot Shimkus believe that what we have currently is a compassionate monarchy? Anyone seen anything compassionate from Bush...um, ever? I mean, besides reading about pet goats to schoolchildren? Ever hear of a Bushite going to a single soldier's funeral in 3 years? Shimkus, you vapid poltroon, you can't be serious. For Chrissake, George Bush makes fun of people while he's having them killed!
"Compassionate monarchy"--really, it's like "benign tumor", isn't it? That sounds like Shimkus all over.
I suppose the GEE OH PEE finally decided to come clean on their evil ways, yes? Seriously though, can't be too surprised. The two parties are no different in their love of dictatorships. In fact, if you actually read the unfiltered history textbooks, not the corporate-written school versions or the books written by political celebrities, you would have found out that Republican or Democrat, dictatorships all over the world have been HEAVILY financed by US taxpayer money for decades. Worse, the US has UNILATERALLY DISARMED itself by arming rogue nations all over the world with massive WMDs. The only difference I see between the two parties that backstab us to death is the RepubliKKKans sneer while the DemoKKKrats snivel when they each do it !
Like we hadn't already figured that this is the Republican agenda all along?
Actions speak louder than words.
Republi-lite "Democrats" don't snivel, they just lay down and hold their hands out every time a K-street lobbyist goes by.
The next step is for these guys to get their bar codes tattooed on their foreheads, right under the "for sale" sign.
butte,
On the word snivel, I actually meant the GOP-lite Dems sniff and pretend that they feel our pain even while backstabbing us.
South Carolina thought Clinton's BIGGEST JOKE was the "I feel your pain" shit. Well, he and his centrist motherfuckers sure did a hell of a job pouring more of it into states like SC and the rest of red state America. The blowjob did a "nice" job of letting the GEE OH PEE distract the nation with his sex scandal even while allowing the corporate interests to silently write up the China PNTR and just before the election, the Dems BLEW it just like they did on Iraq in 2002 by voting with the GEE OH PEE. I hate the primary presidential debates taking place in my state since nothing important against the candidates ever gets asked. I guessing nailing NAFTA looks so "boring" compared to asking "juicy" questions about hot button issues such as guns, abortion, gays, Paris Hilton, etc ...
FYI -- The URL with comments is
http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/10049.asp
Notice there are not many happy campers in IL.
Enlightened Despotism is better than Shimkus. IL-19 had the opportunity to remove Democracy Guy last year, but Rahmbo back-stabbed all the IL Dem challengers to lose in IL-06 last year. All he had to do was support Cegelis. Nothing changed so he wasted $7M obviously better spent elsewhere.
This year we don't see much interest in anyone challenging the GOP incumbents outside of Dan Seals in IL-10. IL Dem voters deserve so much better -- especially in IL-19.
Here's another take on it from a blogger in Shimkus' district written a couple of days before the ArchPundit post.
http://www.thereisaway.us/2007/07/shimkus_supports_dictatorship.html
http://www.thereisaway.us/2007/07/bush_refutes_shimkus.html
I can't believe my eyes. Is Mr. Shimkus for real? Are compassionate conservatism and a compassionate monarchy similar or the same? Shimkus is now starting to test out waffling. Since I am unfortunate enough to be in his district,up until this little interview, I have only heard him be George Bush's echo. Shimkus reserves his appearance to audiences of syncophants. I know this for a fact. I went with a group of other people concerned about Iraq to his office in Collinsville armed with letters to show him. We had to meet with his aide who told us that John supports the war and the president and that was that. We didn't even get a follow-up "thank-you e-mail" where we are encouraged to agree to disagree with him. In the elections, he will only appear live at a debate in the eleventh hour. Shimkus is re-elected on his "nice guy" image. What is nice about a person who likens the war in Iraq to a baseball game, can't protect the teenagers in his care from predators, and supports a monarch, here and abroad? These statements and actions do not appear to be to bes nice or bright or Democratic or worthy of a true leader. We need a candidate to run against and defeat Mr. Shimkus. He can then go off in his quest for someone to assume the Iraqi monarchy. I will bet that he won't find many volunteers.
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