As Iraq spirals toward civil war, the Taliban makes a comeback in Afghanistan, America’s military is stretched desperately thin and the Middle East threatens to explode, Republicans deny reality.

Republicans have controlled Congress and the Oval Office since 2000, yet what does America have to show for it? The middle class is shrinking, our debt is enormous and our manufacturing base continues to decline.

Meanwhile, heading into the midterm elections, Republicans continue to invoke the anti-logic and smear tactics that they have used so effectively before. They talk of “staying the course” in Iraq. What exactly has their course given America?

Bush continued to peddle lies about Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, even as several media reports claim to have exposed that he was told the intelligence was false. He continued to make his case for a war he was determined to have, no matter what.

If Bush and Republicans believed the propaganda they offer on a daily basis, they would have brought back the draft (Republicans control Congress, by the way), reinvested in America’s sorely depleted military infrastructure, and raised taxes instead of finding new ways to hide the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

They have not done it because the war was never about America’s safety; it was about using war for political gain – keeping the “base” nice and scared, and turning this country into an oligarchy.

Mark Tardif, Waterville