[philman_36]

This country was established not by peasants with pitchforks,or even religious zealots, but by merchants mad about their taxes.
WHEW! Now that's a new historical twist. Are you saying that only merchants paid taxes?

[massadvj]

Well, not just merchants, but merchants and farmers and other business interests. I used the term generically. The two biggest issues driving the American Revolution were taxes and property rights.

You may think money is crude or vulgar. That's fine. I think you are in the minority as far as Republicans are concerned. Most of us have a healthy respect for money and capitalism, and do not apologize for selfishness. When you truly understand economics, you come to realize that selfishness is quite a virtue.

If you are a do-gooder perhaps you can join the other party and use your vote to steal my money and then fund whatever cause you consider just. Protecting our money from the socialists is the primary motivation driving the financial backers. The social conservatives can no longer deliver in this regard, as evidenced by 2006, so the money is shifting to others that show more promise. That's the reality.