Posted on 06/11/2002 12:54:35 PM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
In The Prince, Machiavelli´s guide to political cunning, he argued that a ruler should employ any means necessary to gain and hold power. He cited the ancient political maxim, divide et impera, “divide and rule.” In their struggle for the power to rule America, Democrats superbly adhere to Machiavelli´s principle as they divide Americans one against the other. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton join white liberal Democrats in maintaining their cushy grip on power by keeping blacks divided against other ethnic groups, notably whites, but also Jews, Hispanics, and Asians. Democrats even pit poor and middle class blacks against such successful conservative blacks as Clarence Thomas. One wonders why liberal journalists have never acknowledged that it is racist to demand that all blacks think alike while whites seem free to wear any political hat.
Democrats twist every situation involving blacks into a race issue, trying to convince poor blacks they are in danger from rampant racism in America. Never mind that the vast majority of Americans are essentially colorblind. Never mind that black leaders could better spend their time leading poor blacks out of poverty than keeping them mired in poverty by alienating them from the rest of America. Many black youths avoid working for the good grades they need for a successful future because black leaders don´t challenge the youths´ concept that class success equates to “acting white.” As long as Democrats and their adoring media can maintain the illusion of wide divisions between the black community and the rest of America, Democrats will lock up the black vote.
The Democrats have also succeeded in dividing Americans along economic lines, pitting poor and middle class Americans against “the rich,” which includes a lot of ordinary people who make their money the old-fashioned American way: they earn it--and help the economy and create a passel of jobs in the process. In determining whom they will penalize with their “tax increases for the rich,” Democrats include even ordinary two-income American families. Jimmy Carter once said that he considered Americans earning above the median income--that´s fifty percent of working Americans--as the rich. Without any fanfare or outrage by the media, Democrats eliminate many middle-class families from their ballyhooed “tax cuts for the middle class.” Nevertheless, Democrats have captured not only the votes of the official poor but also a chunk of the votes of middle class families who don´t realize that the people they vote for have lumped them with the filthy rich they´re supposed to despise.
In their exploitation of the divisions between rich and poor, Democrats have also divided “working Americans” against businessmen and “greedy corporate fat cats.” Democrats team up with union leaders in their battles against American businesses, then collect hefty political payoffs from union leaders and capture the union vote. Of course, they experience no guilt by also soliciting contributions from the same businesses they trash.
Assisted by their running dogs in the media, Democratic politicians blow every real or imagined corporate shenanigan out of proportion. They hope to convince voters that such shenanigans are the rule rather than the exception. They accuse the tobacco companies of covering up the fact that smoking is bad for your health even though virtually all Americans have known that since childhood. My father called cigarettes “coffin nails” as long ago as the 1940´s and probably for a few decades before that. And if any Americans missed the message, it´s been printed on every cigarette pack sold in America since 1965. Nevertheless, Democrats have convinced many Americans of the deadly greed of corporations--greed they claim only they and an all-powerful government can protect us against--and capture another segment of the voting population.
Oh, but they´ll continue to collect campaign contributions from tobacco companies and the trial lawyers who collect enormous fees for helping sue those companies. Trial lawyers who have also become filthy-rich fat cats from tobacco settlements are really splendid fellows, you see, because they drop part of that filthy tobacco money into Democratic coffers.
Democrats fight their war against American businesses on all fronts. They berate businesses for “polluting our air and water” and capture the environmentalists´ votes. They seize immense tracts of land as habitats of a few endangered owls and rats, destroying farms and entire industries, and eliminating thousands of jobs of those working-class Americans they claim to be so concerned about. Democrats more than offset the votes of a few thousand disgruntled farmers, loggers, and workers with the votes of those naïve Americans who really believe their vote will give them a cleaner, more natural world without anyone suffering and with minimal tax increases. (Dream on!)
Even Americans who don´t fall on the Democratic side of a divide will be influenced by the rhetoric. Everyone is concerned about race relations, the conduct of large businesses, the environment, the fair treatment of workers, and the myriad of other issues the Democrats exploit. No single issue by itself will push those Americans to the other side, but the stacking of one issue after another can overwhelm them and make them wonder whether there´s some fire amongst all that smoke. Each twinge of guilt when Jesse Jackson chastises Americans for oppressing blacks, each picture of smoke belching from a smokestack, each report by Dan Rather of unfair treatment of a patient or worker by an HMO or insurance company gives voters pause. Any issue could be the final straw that sends them across the divide. Soon, they will even come to believe that a dictatorship (of course, a benevolent one, history´s first) can solve all of our problems and give us a heaven on earth.
Yes, the Democrats have used Machiavelli well. If he were here today, they could teach him a trick or two.
How was Machiavelli eventually removed? Was it only his death that removed his boot from the throat of his people?
While in exile M. wrote his magnus opus, "Discourses on the Ten Books of Titius Livius", an examination of political theory through the lense of the Roman Republic. This work is a masterpiece of western civilization. It is quite clear from this work that M remained an ardent republican throughout his life.
Later, in an attempt to ingratiate himself w/ the Duke he extracted those chapters of the masterwork dealing w/ principalities and sent the to the Duke. These extracted chapters have come to be known as The Prince.
By applying a cold, rational eye to the machinations of power, often w/o criticism, his name has come to be associated w/ realpolitick, but he was only describing what he had seen first hand at the courts of Europe while a diplomat.
Through his inquistive examination of history he elucidated several key ingredients for a successful republic, among them; separation of church and state, the right to bear arms, the necessary dynamism of a two party system, and the danger of using mercenary forces.
I believe had he not separated the Prince from his original work the general public would hold a far more favorable view of Nicolo Machiavelli.
That's why there may be a huge Democrat surge in November, far greater than many Republicans think. In TX, for instance, the attorney general, John Cornyn, facing the liberal former mayor of Dallas, Ron Kirk, for the Gramm Senate seat, has thus far, to paraphrase John Paul Jones: "I have not yet begun to campaign!" Polls show Kirk very strong, but Cornyn seems to be unworried. Many in TX though are convinced that Kirk is moderate, even a "conservative" Democrat. Cornyn is depending on the tradition of TX to pull him through, but Republicanism in TX is a very recent tradition. And it may take a little help to elect Cornyn. Thus far, he does not seem willing to supply much effort for himself. Most of Cornyn's supporterss seem unfazed by Kirk. Perhaps their Virginia cousins felt the same way in 1989, when Marshall Coleman, Republicans said, would defeat liberal gubernatorial Democrat Douglas Wilder, who as I recall also posed as "moderate" that year.
Thank God for leaders as honorable as GWB, who has further proved that in the long run, good kicks evil's ass every time.
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