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Now, welcome to the award-winning BestOfAlef podcast with Coups Today from Jim Hightower, the Tom Harpman program, Democracy Now, Economic Update with Professor Richard Wolfe, primary concerns from the New Republic, and the Majority Report.

Well, I did not expect this. The National Republican Party has published an official policy document showing that the GOP really might be more than a gaggle of served the rich plutocrats and wacky trumped up right-wingers.

Just when you thought the party was consuming itself in the no-nothing-ism of its presidential pretenders and the recalcitrant do nothing-ism of its congress critters, outcomes a sign of sanity.

In this 18-page manifesto, the party proclaims that, quote, our government was created by the people for all the people, and it must serve no less a purpose.

All the people forget pontifications by Wall Street billionaires dividing America into virtuous creators like themselves and worthless mooters like you and me.

This document abounds with commitments to the common good.

Quote, America does not prosper. It proudly proclaims on page three, unless all Americans prosper.

Wow, that's downright democratic! And how's this for a complete turnaround? Labor is the United States. The men and women who with their minds, their hearts and hands create the wealth that is shared in this country, they are America.

Holy Koch brothers, share the wealth? Yes, and how about this? The protection of the right of workers to organize into unions and to bargain collectively is the firm and permanent policy of the Republican Party.

Eat your heart out, Scott Walker, and you other labor-bashing GOP governors. The document also supports our public postal service, the United Nations, equal rights for women, expanding our national parks, vigorous enforcement of anti-trust laws and raising the minimum wage.

New enlightenment in the Grand Old Party, hallelujah!

This is Jim Hightower saying, can all this be true? Believe it or not, yes it is, except it's not new. This document is the Republican Party platform of 1956.

Oh, yes, I'm the great free tender, a dread in the world of my own. I play the game, but tomorrow I will shame you've left me to dream all alone.

Here's the reality, the last Republican who was legitimately elected as president of the United States by a majority of the people of this country without fraud was Dwight Eisenhower.

In 1968, Richard Nixon and Shane, thank you, get my LBJ clip for me. In 1968, Lyndon Johnson was getting beat up really badly because we all hated the Vietnam War and he negotiated an end to the Vietnam War in 1968.

The Vietnamese had agreed to it, both North and South. Nixon learned about this and of course this was going to help the vice president of the 1968 was Hubert Humphrey and he was running for president in 1968 against Richard Nixon.

When Nixon found out that they were going to announce in October of 1968 that they had ended the Vietnam War which would guarantee that Hubert Humphrey would become president.

He was already very popular, the Democrats were very popular and if they ended the war, bang, that would be it. Nixon got his people to go to Madam to and the and the crowd in South Vietnam and say, don't end the war.

And you know, we'll make you rich, we'll give you more. And Lyndon Johnson was told about this by the CIA and just three or four years ago, the Johnson Library finally decided that enough people were dead.

They he that they released the tape, which I'm going to play for you where Richard Nixon calls up Everdurkson, the leads the most senior Republican in the United States Senate, the guy that Dirkson Everdurkson sent office building is named after.

Called up Everdurkson and said, this is treason ever what he's doing. I know what's going on. The CIA told me I'm reading their hand. I don't want it to get in the election. I don't want the American people to know they would lose confidence in our electoral process.

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