Racist? Me?

   Republicans today seem largely incapable of political discussion without resort to vitriol, personal attacks and canned lies -- especially vitriol.

   My local paper recently published a letter to the editor from a Republican appropriately named Biles.  Biles's bilious blurb of 300 words began with 120 words of sheer  personal insults to the writer of a column he disagreed with.  "Demagogue" and "drivel" were two of the milder derogations.

   The columnist (rightly, in my opinion, as readers of this site already know) had written that much of the Republican hatred of President Obama is race-based.  Biles retorted that, as a lifelong, proud Republican, he didn't know of a single racist in the party.  It would appear that he's never heard of Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Joe Wilson or Michelle Bachmann.

   Biles repeated several of the favorite Frank Luntz mantras against the Democrats, then got off on the personal responsibility tack.  We believe in helping the truly needy, he asserted, but if "they" aren't willing to work for what "they" get, then "they" can just go pound sand. Why should "we" share "our" hard-earned wealth with "them?"

  Is there anyone who doesn't recognize the code?

  Ironically, on the very day that I read Biles's bile I learned the story of Michelle, a highly educated (Ph.D. and two MA's) specialist in an esoteric field, who had held a well-paying job at a public agency before the Republican economic disaster.

  She'd been laid off in the vast round of budget cuts caused by the failed Republican policies.   She had been freelancing projects in her field for anyone who had funds to pay for them.  She had lost her health insurance with her job.  She didn't have an ort of food in the house.  She couldn't afford to buy food until an expected $300 check arrived, her fee for a recent freelance project.  IF the check ever arrived.

  The compassionate Republicans don't give a damn about the hundreds of thousands of Michelles in this country; meanly resist repairs of a broken health care system that might at least enable them to get flu shots; fight viciously to preserve multi-million-dollar bonuses for the bailed out honchos of the failed financial system; and gladly circulate watermelon patch in the Rose Garden jokes on the internet.

   May they all choke in their own vitriol.