By: Mary Lyon

Abel may be long dead, but Cain lives. Today. In the White House, on Capitol Hill, and all over the republi-CON National Committee. And among all its friends and allies across America. Cain lives. He’s even president.

I realized awhile ago that the republi-CON party is the Party of Cain but it was never more glaringly obvious than in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Why Cain? Let’s take a look at that signature Bible story of Cain and Abel – a metaphor if ever there was one. You remember how it goes. Cain and Abel were brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. They both grew up believing in the God that their parents defied but still worshipped. They were workers, and always set some of the fruits of their labors on altars as a sacrifice to God. God liked Abel’s offering because of what was in his heart, but didn’t care much for Cain’s – for the same reason. Cain got mad, and resented Abel for that (and probably many other things, knowing sibling rivalry). One day, Cain’s anger really got to him, he and Abel fought, and Cain offed him. Then, Cain realized what he’d done, and he ran away and hid. God knew it, too, having seen it all, so He went looking for Cain. Finding him, He applied a little psychology – “Cain, where is your brother Abel?” Cain replied – “um, er, uh… how should I know? Am I my brother’s keeper?”

To me, the basic and essential difference between Democrats and republi-CONS is in the way each might answer that question, were God to issue it in these times. Democrats, those dreaded, accursed liberals who just love all that horrible “big government” stuff, would probably say – “well, DUH! Of COURSE I’m my brother’s keeper. If he doesn’t have enough, why not share, especially if I have extra? If he’s in need, sure I’ll help him out! We ALL have to look out for each other, don’t we?” And poor Abel probably would still be alive, making more of those nice sacrifices that God liked so much. On the other hand, ask a republi-CON, they of the sainted conservative movement and lovers of limited government, the same question and you’re likely to get “am I my brother’s keeper? HELL NO! SCREW my brother. Lazy moocher! Just wants MY money! It’s MINE and I’m KEEPING it. Go away and leave me alone! I’ve got mine – let my brother get his own!” Abel would, of course, be long gone, and they’d probably find a way to justify that same fate for Cain, too, since he’d recognize his own kind and want to hang around, and they’d likely be afraid that his presence would make them look bad.

Hurricane Katrina has provoked a lot of rethinking of how we treat our fellow man. Especially those annoying “least of My brethren” types who keep yowling for federal programs and whining about how they’re, like, you know, starving or homeless or something. I mean, can’t they just get a job? What’s the matter with them? What were they doing, sitting around on their lazy butts when they were told to get out of town because a big hurricane was coming? Didn’t they bring this on themselves? Isn’t it their fault? And now, here they are, back again, looking for a hand-out. Why should I have to help pay for that? Right?

A friend of mine on the internet put it this way the other day: "…the essential difference I have discovered between Democrats and Republicans: Democrats think that if we would all look out for one another, the world would be a better place. Republicans think that if we would all just take care of ourselves, the world would be a better place." Conservatives lambaste us liberals, call us names, do their level best to demonize and vilify and marginalize us, and curl their lips at us in disgust. Why? Because we think government should be a force for good, a force for helping people who can’t help themselves. That’s what you have government for, to begin with – to cover the bases that people as single small units can’t cover for themselves, particularly in a grand-scale calamity that crosses state lines. It’s the “here, let me help” ethic.

We’ve seen all too frequently, and sickeningly, in the past couple of weeks, how the REAL republi-CON soul has bared itself. Congressman James Sensenbrenner second-guessing the big package of federal aid approved for the hurricane victims because he thinks there’s no oversight (he’s one of the few who had the gall to vote against it). Senator Rick Santorum (certainly one of MY faves) complaining that those who didn’t evacuate and are now up a creek did this to themselves, and since they’re to blame, they should be condemned and seriously penalized. House Speaker Dennis Hastert says we oughta just forget New Orleans altogether and bulldoze the place – something on which he later flip-flopped, claiming that we all misunderstood him. “Sacred cow” Barbara Bush chuckles that since the evacuees in the Astrodome were “all underprivileged anyway,” their move to a big, cavernous, blindingly-lit, crowded, noisy-at-all-hours football stadium with makeshift cots lined side-by-side for the equivalent of several city blocks, is now “working well for them.” And the first thing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wanted to do when he got back from his vacation? Get rid of that inheritance tax! Nice people, aren’t they? And that’s just some of it.

And of course, let’s not forget the “nicest” of them all, their “fearless” “leader,” whom we were all assured last year would be THE guy, and THE ONLY guy, to keep us safe. Yeah, he kept us safe alright. He, like his know-nothing, incompetent political crony “Brownie” are both doing “a heck of a job.” As of this writing, however, Captain America, George “Mr. Protector” Bush, does indeed happen to be back on the job. Well, so to speak. You can accurately state that he’s physically there. He actually cut a couple of days off his vacation to grace us with his on-duty presence again. The very fact that they have to keep shuttling him back to hurricane country for yet another photo-op with those adorable rolled-up shirt sleeves of his shows just how concerned his handlers are about shoring up his damaged image. Rest assured, America, Our “Savior in Shirt Sleeves” is back on the job. Riding valiantly to the rescue – mainly of his own reputation.

At least the White House Press Corps and the rest of the mainstream media have all begun questioning the façade, and the almost-criminally poor job performance of Bush in particular and the federal government in general. It remains to be seen how long the newspeople stay at it, whether they’ve really awakened, at long last, and finally remembered what it is they’re really supposed to be doing in their jobs. The jury’s still out on whether they’ll all look at FEMA chief Michael Brown being kicked sideways and assume the problem has thus been solved and everything’s “all better now.” It also has yet to be proven whether they’ll start questioning the merits of the policies and fundamental philosophy of His Lordship and his callous, miserly, indifferent, pennywise-pound foolish “let ‘em eat cake” crowd. But it’s high time this happened.

We need a serious, from-the-top-down reassessment of the ways and the whys in which the Party of Cain does business and runs this country. And just as Cain ran and hid from accountability for his murderous sin, anyone who still supports or implements that philosophy of “don’t come crying to me, chucko; you’re on your own” should also be running for cover. Or, preferably, run out of town.

Visualize IMPEACHMENT.
Then go DO something about it.

It’s TIME.

Mary Lyon spent the first 25 years of her adult life as a broadcast journalist, at Los Angeles radio stations KRTH-FM, KFWB-AM, KHJ-AM and KLOS-FM, the NBC, ABC, and RKO Radio Networks, plus KTLA-TV. She retired from day-to-day broadcasting in 1996, after covering Hollywood for nine years in radio, TV, and print, for the Associated Press. She wrote and illustrated "The Frazzled Working Woman's Practical Guide to Motherhood," and is presently at work on a new craft book for kids and friends. A lifelong Democrat who began her political involvement in the Student Coalition for Humphrey-Muskie, and Tom Bradley's first L.A. Mayoral campaign, Mary currently is a weekly columnist for www.democrats.us - from the Left.