Newt Gingrich, Tom Delay, Dennis Hastert, George Bush, Karl Rove, John McCain, Sarah Palin.

These represent the traumatic birth, growth and frightening maturity of the "Neo-Con" revolution in America.

This Neo-Con movement was started by Newt Gingrich in 1994. It was a direct response to the tremendous popularity of then President Bill Clinton. It signaled the begining of the most divisive, polarizing and nasty period in our Country's political history.

President Bush, while claiming he would be a 'uniter' continued these polarizing policies. Deferring to Karl Rove, Bush focused the efforts of the Republican party on wedge issues - issues that divide us, rather than bring us together. Social issues such as discrimination against gays, religious pandering, and the use of patriotism as a weapon against fellow Americans.

No doubt these tactics were a success in the eyes of Rove and Bush, but the seeds planted by the Neo-Con movement are now bearing their bitter fruits.

Now we see Senator Mcain and Governor Palin have accepted the caustic Neo-Con torch. They are making statements so outrageous and slanderous that Joe McCarthy would have blushed. To actually accuse a respected Senator and Presidential nominee of the United States of 'paling around with terrorists'. As if this wasn't ugly enough, Palin went on to suggest that Senator Obama "is not like us". The connotations of this are staggering. It smells like passive-aggressive racism, whatever her apologists might say. They have shown an alarming willingness to fan the flames of the lowest nature of the electorate.

It is time for a clean break with these rancorous policies. Obama truly represents the 'big' tent, inviting all Americans onboard - not only those who subscribe to a particular religious or conservative litmus test.

There was a time that we could disagree on how to achieve our National goals without demonizing and marginalizing other Americans. Obama said it very eloquently in his acceptance speech in Denver:

"We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort."