John Birch Society

Happy New Year to all

Birthers, Birchers, Bitchers

Back in the day when I was a young man, I heard about the John Birch Society. In those days of the Goldwater’s Presidential run, who was considered an extremist ultra right conservative, the John Birch Society was considered even more extremist than he.

A lot has happened, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. The Birchers are still extremists but other even more wingnut extremists have emerged. Sadly, the Republican Party has opted not to repudiate them. The Birthers are even to the right of the Birchers; yet the Republicans are welcoming them.

The John Birch Society is a political advocacy group that supports what it considers to be traditionally conservative causes such as the private ownership of property, the rule of law and U.S. sovereignty, and the opposition of globalism. The society is on the right of the American political spectrum. Founded by Robert W. Welch Jr. in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1958 the society was named after John Birch, a United States military intelligence officer and Baptist missionary in World War II, who was killed in 1945 by supporters of the Communist Party of China.

Larry McDonald (D-Georgia), then its newly appointed chairman, characterized the society as belonging to the Old Right rather than the New Right. A few months after this interview, McDonald, a passenger aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 would be shot down by the Soviets with its 268 other passengers and crew on Sept. 1, 1983.

The society believes that collectivism as the main threat to Western Civilization, and liberals as "secret communist traitors" who provide cover for the gradual process of collectivism, with the ultimate goal of replacing the nations of western civilization with one-world socialist government.

Welch circulated a letter calling President Dwight D. Eisenhower a possible "conscious, dedicated agent of the Communist Conspiracy."

The Republicans repudiated the John Birch Society and caused a split in the Party when Goldwater ran for President. According to many, Goldwater received such small amount of support from voters precisely because of the Bircher’s involvement in his campaign. Goldwater’s defeat was the biggest landslide ever in any Presidential Electionl.

Now we are at the crossroads of extremist, right wing groups, being embraced by the Republicans much similar to what we had in 1964. The Republicans are traveling the same road by continuing their association with the Birthers. What pisses me off so much is that they are displaying and hiding behind the Constitution. Please, somebody show me where the Constitution says that the elected representatives are to ignore the constituents that elected them and instead represent the rich and the powerful.

I think of the many times that Republicans have cultivated the Cuban-American vote by standing in the corner of “La Esquina de Tejas”, Little Havana, USA and shouting “Viva Cuba Libre” and accusing the Democratic Candidate of being a communist. They did it with Kennedy, Carter, Clinton, Gore and now Obama. Only now Cuban-Americans are better informed and more educated. It is not working this time.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.whereistheoutrage.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/goldwater.jpg

Some of the presents I got…books!

Once I read them I will let you know my impressions.