How do they contradict themselves?

After the thrill is gone.Both describe today's Democrats, from where I sit.Republicans strike me, Rosetta Stone for the most part, as hysterical panderers to a narrow harshly partisan agenda that is often contradictory. Many seem to be living in a "thought-free zone" when it comes to children's issues. They can't be bothered by evidence (about the value of early education, for example) because that sort of stuff conflicts with their ideologies.How do they contradict themselves? They are against taxes and for smaller government, even though their hero, Ronald Reagan, raised taxes and grew government wildly. They are against government interference, even though George W. Bush took over public education.Here's a specific example of their mindlessness that's not in the headlines: Language. Many Republican politicians defend English, even to the point of pushing a Constitutional Rosetta Stone Chinese amendment to make it our national language. Guys, it already is! Many immigrants get what you apparently don't -- that English is our lingua franca, and they are busy learning it.(So, by the way, are the Chinese, the Norwegians, the Germans, the French, the Koreans, and every other country that wants to eat us for lunch.)Republicans are supposed to be the defenders of the free enterprise system of capitalism, but when they fly the "English only" flag they are subverting our system. Speak English, and you can go anywhere in the world and buy Rosetta Stone French to your heart's content. But if you want to sell, you have to master other languages.So if Republican politicians honestly wanted to strengthen America, they would be urging dual language public schools. They would be making it possible for our children to emerge from school speaking at least two languages fluently.Instead, they want to stamp out Spanish.If Democratic politicians wanted to strengthen America, they would be on the offensive, taking charge of the debate about our future. It's all well and good to talk about teachers as "Nation Builders," as President Obama has been doing lately, but it's empty rhetoric without a serious national conversation about the sort of nation we want our army of 3.2 million public school teachers to build.That means answering three "yes or no" questions.Do we want our children to be resilient, empathetic, honest and self-confident?Do we want them to value collaboration and diversity?Do we want teachers who ask of each child "How are you intelligent?" instead of "How intelligent are you?"If the Democrats weren't spending all their energy on disguising their multiple surrenders, we would be answering those questions. Soon a blueprint for public education would emerge, and [Rosetta Stone ] thoughtful citizens (probably people who have rejected both parties) would have something to organize around.However, "A plague on both their houses" is not a policy option or a healthy choice, and this rant is not a solution.Ideas, anyone?