The national issue for the Republicans has been illegal immigration. In a political environment that has turned sharply against them, the GOP and their allies (witting and unwitting) in the traditional media vaulted the issue from the simmering back burner to the front (and, to an extent, have since lost control of it, given the recent disposition of the matter in Washington).

But it’s an issue that Rainville and Tarrant have not been able to exploit, given the low priority Vermonters place on the matter. Given today’s news, however, they are no doubt taking a second look:

DERBY LINE, Vt. –Two New York men have been charged with smuggling 21 illegal aliens into Vermont from Canada.

Border Patrol agents said they stopped two vans carrying 21 passengers on Sunday. The passengers were from Afghanistan, Guyana, India, Mexico and Pakistan, and did not have the proper documents to enter the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Despite all the concerns (some legitimate, some not) expressed about terrorists sneaking in, much of the illegal immigration debate has always truly been grounded in the xenophobia and prejudice against “browns” that has historically followed the issue (how else to explain the continued obsession with the southern border, despite more practical and historical concerns about terrorists sneaking through from the north?). Expect this latest news to open up a renewed attempt by Tarrant and Rainville to tap into that fear and xenophobia – and in the process exploit the plethora of national GOP talking points and support available on the matter that have been up until this point utterly irrelevant.

Will it pay off for them? We’ll have to wait and see…

The Republican editors of the “Caledonian-Record” in St. Johnsbury are not enamored with ex-General Rainville. Maybe they should have looked at the photo accompanying yesterday’s profile of Martha in the “Bennington Banner.” It showed her in camo fatigues holding a baby. What, no apple pie?

However, the Banner’s text was rife with exact quotes. Martha’s mouth is her worst enenmy. She sounds muddled and mediocre when she speaks. Worst of all, according to the St. J. tabloid, she’s MODERATE!!!

http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/editorials/story/15c37141e:

Why Won’t Martha Debate?

– Mark Shepherd is a Republican state senator from Bennington who is running for Congress. He wrote an open letter, which we published, to Martha Rainville, who claims to be a Republican and who also is running for Congress, asking her why she isn’t willing to debate him throughout the state on the issues in these months before the primary elections. Ms. Rainville has refused to debate him more than three times before then, this in face of dozens of candidate debates last time around.

Why is Rainville refusing to debate Shepherd? Could it be that she, having been anointed by Jim Barnett and the State Republican Committee as their official candidate for Congress long after Shepherd announced his intentions, is afraid of exposure to a seasoned office holder who understands the issues and can articulate them very well? Could it be that she doesn’t really want Republican voters to find out that her political positions might reveal her to be a Peter Welsh look-alike, if that is what she is? Could it be that she, being military and apolitical all of her career and already having suffered from foot-in-mouth disease several times, doesn’t want to take the chance of more gaffes? Or, could it be that she, knowing that the GOP power structure anointed her, essentially, because she is a pretty face, is content to limit her public exposure to that?

Barnett and the GOP State Committee betrayed rank-and-file Republicans and usurped their right to choose by, arbitrarily and a priori, shoving Mark Shepherd aside and elevating Martha Rainville. Were they afraid that he, who doesn’t have a pretty face, might defeat their darling in the primaries? Apparently so, else they would have allowed a race, and she would now be elaborating upon her declaration of being a Republican.

A lot of Republicans are not happy about what they did. It smacked of smoke-filled rooms and arrogance. If Martha wants to get their votes, she had better debate Shepherd whenever and wherever. To date, we see little light between her positions on issues and Peter Welch’s.

It’s creeping fascism and it’s quite creepy. I woke up this morning and turned on C-SPAN to watch Washington Journal. What do I see on the “spellcasting machine?” Senator Orin Hatch is exhorting the virtue of using the Constitution as notepaper to send the Supreme Court a message: “Don’t limit the power of Congress.”

The burning issue of the day in Hatch’s mind is flag desecration. He wants Congress to have the power to turn the flag into a national sacrament, something we will all treat with the greatest of reverence. He thinks it is a big issue that the Supreme Court said … years ago … that flag-burning was an exercise of free speech protected by the Constitution. So he and his Republican co-conspirators want to turn the flag into a national religious sacrament to signify that we have now become a secular state with a religious symbol which is sacrosanct. The next step will be treating the Government like God.

It reminds me of the story a few months ago of the cartoons from Denmark which led some Muslims to violent and destructive protests over the defamation of the image of Muhammed these cartoons allegedly portrayed.

So we are trying to compete with Islam for fundamentalist idiocy, for pandering to moronic reasoning and unquestioned support for our government. There’s a word in the dictionary for this kind of thing: FASCISM.

Excuse me, is it OK to shred the Constitution in order to protect the flag? I’m uncertain. Is the Constitution protected against defamation as well or is it only the flag?

One man called into the CSPAN show and pointed out that most of our flags are made in China nowadays. I suppose that’s OK, even if they were made by slave labor and paid for with borrowed money. It’s the symbol which matters most, not the people or the processes associated with it.

The Republicans made a big deal about these seven Miami “terror suspects” who where apprehended last week. But their ambition was more “aspirational” than “operational” according to the government. In other words, they wanted to do something but didn’t have the means or the plan to actually accomplish it.

They were poor people living in a warehouse who felt some compulsion to DO something about the state of affairs. Is it any wonder they picked a violent course when given the chance by an FBI undercover agent? Our government is constantly instigating violence with our foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now they are doing it at home as well.

Excuse me for my irreverent attitude towards our government. We should all worship our government, right? It can do nothing wrong. Afterall, it’s a Republican-dominated government and everyone knows that Republicans have the best interests of all Americans in their hearts, right?

Wrong. They have the interests of power in their hearts. Their hearts are blackened with greed and powerlust, of service to the rich and the super-rich, and for the desire to control everyone and every thing in the world. The Republicans have lost their virtue. This November we should all do something good for our nation and “REJECT REPUBLICANS” at every level of government. They are trying to set up a fascist state with a “unitary executive” (dictator) who we can worship for as long as he lives. Please, people. Stop this insantity! Resist the temptation to seek certain security in a party or a person. It’s the wrong road.

Enough already! Show some reverence for the Constitution rather than the flag. Stand up to the fascist Republicans and “just say no” to amending the Constitution for wrongful purposes. The Constitution should be used to expand and protect our liberty rather than to restrict and assault it.

Steve Moyer
http://stevemoyer.us

—
Think virtue.  Teach virtue.  Live virtue

Lightheartedness Assertiveness Faithfulness Kindness Respect Caring Flexibility Love Responsibility Cleanliness Forgiveness Reverence Compassion Friendliness Mercy Self-discipline Confidence Generosity Moderation Service Consideration Gentleness Modesty Steadfastness Courage Helpfulness Obedience Tact Courtesy Honesty Orderliness Thankfulness Creativity Honor Patience Tolerance Detachment Humility Peacefulness Trust Determination Idealism Prayerfulness Trustworthiness Enthusiasm Joyfulness Purposefulness Truthfulness Excellence Justice Reliability Unity.

“Seek the truth.
Speak the Truth
Support the Truth”

Steve Moyer
Candidate for U.S. Senate

Web site: http://stevemoyer.us 
Blog: http://stevemoyer.us/blog
RR1 Box 60,  Warren, VT 05674

802-882-1949

Cross-posted from Rational Resistance

Once again the R’s are pushing a flag-burning amendment. I don’t buy that this is motivated in any way by a sincere adherence to American values. If you value America, and what it stands for, you value freedom. These guys just don’t.

Pat Leahy, our senator, has it just right:

Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, argued that burning the American flag was precisely the kind of speech the First Amendment is meant to protect.

“I would hope that all of us in this chamber champion liberty … but when I hear some talk about cutting back on our First Amendment rights, you can see why people would wonder,” Leahy said.

Democrats are not the only ones against the amendment. It also does not have the support of the Senate’s No 2. Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

“I think the First Amendment has served us well for over 200 years. I don’t think it needs to be altered,” McConnell said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

( – promoted by odum)

Come join the rally!

From MoveOn:

“Gas prices are off the charts, the situation in the Middle East is unstable, scientists are warning that global warming is at a tipping point, and last month, MoveOn members decided that “clean, sustainable energy” should be one of our key goals. That’s why we’re launching a major push for an “Oil-Free Congress.”

“This is going to be a big campaign for us. Together, we’ll spend the next month exposing the ties between oil companies and politicians in Washington and pushing Congress to go “oil-free.” A critical part of our strategy is spreading our message to folks when they’re feeling the effects of oil-dependence the most—at gas stations.

On Wednesday, June 28th—right before the 4th of July when gas prices will be front and center as folks plan for the long weekend—we’re going to be holding rallies at gas stations across America. We’ll expose how Congress is tied to Big Oil and urge your representative to lead the way to an oil-free future.”

Since 1990, Big Oil has given more than $190 million to members of Congress and 75% ($142,635,314!) of those donations have gone to Republicans. That money has guaranteed energy policy that serves the oil industry rather than the public interest.

Until we stop politicians from taking money from Big Oil, it’ll be hard to stop global warming and move into a clean-energy future. We need Democrats to fight oil-corruption in Washington and lead the way to an “Oil-free” Congress.

Over 300 rallies are planned nationwide. One of these is in Brattleboro!

Come rally in Brattleboro for an oil-free Congress so that we can work toward homegrown, renewable, and safe energy!

For info about the Brattleboro rally:
http://political.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=9629