Republican or Democrat, this nation's affluent urban and suburban classes understand their bread is buttered on the corporate side. The primary difference between the two parties is that the Republicans pretty much admit that they grasp and even endorse some of the nastiest facts of life in America. Republicans honestly tell the world: "Listen in on my phone calls, piss-test me until I'm blind, kill and eat all of my neighbors right in front of my eyes, but show me the money! Let me escape with every cent I can kick out of the suckers, the taxpayers, and anybody else I can get a headlock on, legally or otherwise." Democrats, in contrast, seem content to catalog the GOP's outrages against the Republic, showing proper indignation while laughing at episodes of The Daily Show. But they stand behind the American brand: imperialism. They "support our troops, " though you will be hard put to find any of them who have served alongside them or who would send one of their own kids off to lose an eye or an arm in Iraq. They play the imperial game, maintain their credit ratings, and plan to keep the beach house and the retirement investments if it means sacrificing every damned Lynndie England in West Virginia. Joe Bageant
About This Quote

In the above quote, Zinn argues that Republican and Democratic leaders have very different attitudes towards American imperialism. Conservatives believe that the American empire is a good thing, while liberals believe that it is a corrupt thing. The quote above, as well as others from The People’s History of the United States, shows that conservatives and liberals have very different views on what America is and how it should be run.

Source: Deer Hunting With Jesus: Dispatches From Americas Class War

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