So many Republicans just have no idea of how stupid they make themselves sound. Even when they are doing their damnedest to spin some pro-minority PR web post-Trent Lott's debacle, they still can't seem to get it right. Here is an example:

On ABC's "This Week" GOP Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah (we ALL know how friendly Utah is to minorities. A recent poll suggested that homosexuals consider Utah "most desirable place to live."--that was sarcasm by the way) said the following in reference to the anti-minority stigma of the GOP:

"I think every Republican is working hard to try and be good to minorities..."

"be good to minorities?" Now, I ask, what sort of language is that? Something in those words smacks of condescention and almightly benevolence, no? Oh, and here's the thing I think is the real kicker: Both an CBS's "Face The Nation" and ABC's "This Week" a parade of white Republicans stammered and stumbled to reduce or reverse the amount of damage done by Trent Lott.

Now folks, if it were a Democrat handling this (and by the way, no Democrat would have fallen victim to such a blunderous slip of the tongue as Senator Lott) you bet your asses that the weekend would be full of not only white but black, hispanic, asian, and whatever other minority belonging to the Democratic branch of Congress spinsters out there doing a far better job of undoing the hypothetical damage.

Now, as for Trent Lott, the official Ass Of The Year (the coveted prize is the second place to Dumbass Of The Year, currently held by President George Dubbya), he still can't help contradicting himself even after his forced resignation. Here is an example from the AP, in an article written by Shelia Hardwell Byrd:

"There are people in Washington who have been trying to nail me for a long time...When you are from Mississippi and you're conservative and Christian, there are a lot of people who don't like that."

Ok, I can see how there have been a lot of people trying to nail Trent in Washington for a long time. I mean, its a cut-throat city and the slightest mistake can spell political suicide for anyone. So, go ahead and play a victim Trent, but don't follow up with statements like these:

"I don't feel like I'm a victim...I have to assume the responsibility...I'm a big boy."

Well Trent, are you the victim or aren't you?

You see, the sad truth about the Republican Party is that they are not for minorities, they are not for Middle America, they are not for Farmers, Organized Labor, American Middle Class Affluence, Socioeconomic Upward Mobility, Women's Rights, and Multi-Nationalism.

Take the UNFPA (United Nations Family Planning Association). Dubbya promised aid to the agency that specializes in containing and treating AIDS in second-tier nations, educating the uneducated populous of those nations, and providing the women of those countries with means to acquire birth control and--yes--abortions. Dubbya reneged on his promise once elected and $35 million promised the UNFPA before election time was denied.

As a result, 2 million unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 abortions, and 4,700 maternal deaths have occured world-wide. Not only that, the domestic policies of many of these nations deny women any degree of sexual education and demand total subservience to the will of men. The UNFPA was working hard to subvert this sort of injustice that results in the genitals of 13--14 year old girls being mutilated or sewn shut.

As remarked by Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe: "Despite all the hoopla about liberating Afgan women, the White House has never acknowledged that women's freedom includes the right to decide when and how to have children."

Republicans quietly slipped a provision in the PATRIOT Act allowing tax shelters for offshore American Industries. Since the passage of the Act, America's largest industrial firms have bought mailboxes in Bermuda, thereby establishing a legal tax respite for themselves. Who do you think is going to make up for what these industries no longer pay in taxes? Perhaps those the Wall Street Journal calls "lucky duckies?" AKA: Those eeking by on less that $12,000 a year. Naw, it will be you and I, Mr and Mrs Middle Class Middle American.

Republicans love you. Why? Because they love the fact that they can pass tax shelter provisions into bills under the guise of "patriotism" without a clamour from MR. and MRS Joe Blow out there. They love you for your ignorance. Republicans HATE the informed. So, the next time you run across a die-hard Republican, you can feel confident in the knowledge that that individual is an uninformed, ignorant cad. Take pity on the person, laugh and smile and nod, then move on and do your part to get as many people like THAT out of the government.