written 5 November 2023
published 12 November 2023
Republicans have been pounding the message that "government is the problem" for decades. We now see REPUBLICAN government is the problem. Republicans stand for protecting very rich men, and oppressing everyone else. Democrats don't.
Republicans on the Supreme Court gutted spending limits in campaigns, and money in politics exploded. 72 percent of voters say there is too much money in politics, and 85 percent say the costs of campaigning scare good people from running for office. There are now 12,600 lobbyists for the 535 Senators and Representatives, a 24:1 ratio. 84 percent of voters say lobbyists have too much power.
When Democrats are in power, Republicans cry "fiscal responsibility", but under Trump, the national debt increased by 1/3.
The GOP has no interest in actually governing. After the House Republicans booted their own Speaker, putting the entire government on hold for three weeks, they demanded the IRS be defunded, protecting wealthy tax cheaters, holding Israeli support hostage. In the Senate, a single Republican abortion fanatic is delaying 400 critical defense appointments, risking US national security.
The GOP is now MAGA, the Cult of Trump, using hate and fear to create division. The litmus test for MAGA is not a social agenda, but an absolute commitment to the Big Lie: the 2020 election was stolen. They target anyone who disagrees, encouraging their faithful to action, causing local election officials to resign due to harassment and death threats.
There have been 560 US mass shooting (4 or more injured or killed) so far this year, more than 2 a day, the most in the world by far. US gun homicide rate is 8 times the next country, and we have 44 percent of the planetary gun suicides. Even though 60-90 percent of voters support assault rifle bans, or stricter access to guns, Republicans kill all efforts to control guns. They profess that gun violence is due to mental illness, no-fault divorces laws, the sexual revolution, radical feminism, or legalized abortion, and always answer with "thoughts and prayers".
Since maniacal support for only the very wealthy is not really a popular policy, Republicans find the democratic system a constraining limitation. Their response has been restricting voter access, purging voter rolls, gerrymandering districts to distort their power, all leading up to the insurrection to keep their loser candidate in office.
Republicans have aligned with the Christian Nationalists. Almost half of Evangelical Christians believe that Christ's message to "love your neighbor" and "turn the other cheek" are too weak for these times and should be ignored, completely distorting the term "Christian". What is left is hateful, punitive, intolerant, and autocratic, waiting for the world ending Rapture, therefore unconcerned about global deterioration.
Court packing has allowed the Supreme Court to overturn abortion access after fifty years. 85 percent of voters think abortion access should be legal. Not satisfied with pushing for a complete abortion ban, Republicans now want all birth control banned, as well as no-fault divorce, forcing people to stay in bad marriages.
Because Social Security taxes only apply to the first $160,000 of income, the wealthy escape paying a fair share. As the population ages, the Social Security fund is being drained. Republicans now argue that larger families are needed to deal with this, but are rabid against allowing in young, eager workers at the border. In addition, child labor laws are being overturned in GOP led states, with kids as young as 11 working dangerous jobs.
Supported by Trump, Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, perfectly represents the new GOP. He is a millionaire Southern Baptist Christian conservative, anti-gay, anti-same sex marriage, anti-marijuana, anti-abortion, anti-birth control, anti-no-fault divorce, and believes in covenant marriages, which are much harder to end. An ultra MAGA supporter, he masterminded the January 6th plot, worked to undermine the election certification, and thinks mail in balloting is legally suspect.
Republicans practice "thought control" with book banning, social media disinformation, and preaching that the climate crisis is a liberal hoax, delaying effective response to growing social issues.
If you are a human with a heart, if you want your children to have a habitable planet, if you prefer kids not be shot in school, if you are a woman who wants to decide how to plan your own family, if you believe that the democratic system is important, this next election is an opportunity to speak up, and decisively vote out these authoritarians.
