Some critics of this space have, from time to time, accused me of hating Republicans. Seems they think I’m too critical of the breed.
Actually, I don’t hate Republicans en masse. I hate specific Republicans who do stupid, hateful and dumb things. I hate Republicans who try to subjugate others by race or economic status. I hate Republicans who try to twist and bend laws meant to protect the citizenry from – in some cases – Republicans who twist or bend laws. I hate armed, so-called Republicans who threaten people using intimidation and guns.
Other than that, I even have Republican friends. Yes, I do.
Names like Everett Dirksen, Barry Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller and other honorable GOP’ers who spent lifetimes in service to the nation and their party deserve respect. And I do. Earl Warren, Margaret Chase Smith, Bob Dole and Howard Baker come to mind.
There are – and have been – hundreds and hundreds of Republicans who’ve labored long and hard in our nation’s political vineyards. The Republican Party has – most of the time – been a worthy opponent in the country’s domestic political dramas.
But…….
The current breed, doing everything in its power to disenfranchise voters in a dozens states, does not deserve to stand on the firm foundation those previously mentioned built and sustained. They’re a weakened bunch, trying to cling to the power they were handed.
The problem they face is not the cruel lie of voter fraud they claim. It’s that more people than ever before marched to the polls in 2020 and voted. Legally. More voters exercised the franchise and many in the belligerent GOP chorus found themselves on the losing end of the stick. That’s what drives them to create as many roadblocks as possible to slam the door on any chance of that happening again.
At the moment, legislatures in GOP-controlled states have some 250 bills in the hopper to curtail millions of legitimate voters from casting ballots. It’s pretty obvious the dirty hands of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are at work here, given the similarity of the paperwork.
Some critical parts of the Republican Party are slowly becoming inured to replacing facts with ignorance – to live in a phony existence where black is white, green is really blue, up is down.
Example: A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found 55% of Republicans falsely believe the Biden victory was the result of illegal voting or rigging. Just over 60% of those queried agreed the election was stolen from their idol.
A recent CNN poll of voters showed Democrats (79%) and Independents (64%) believe the January 6th attack on Congress weakened American democracy while only 36% of Republicans shared that same view.
The blatant ignorance of many in the GOP is showing up in bad legislation that won’t withstand the light of day or the certain-to-come court challenges.
Example: Idaho has a recently-enacted law providing $4-million for the legislature to fight future court battles sure to come from some of the “bad laws” being served to Idahoans under the guise of “good laws.” Just last week, the state hired more Boise attorneys to defend a draconian abortion law. That 4-mil won’t last long.
Been happening for years. With its steady losses to court challenges, the Idaho Legislature has become the largest depositor in the “Boise Attorney’s Retirement System.” This year looks to be especially spendy.
This willful ignorance of truths and facts on the part of one political party can truly damage our entire system of governance if not the actual Republic itself. States controlled by such people, believing lies over truth, fraud over fact and traipsing behind their false “prophet” can produce dangerous laws, subvert truths with lies and lead us all into truly disastrous situations.
Our country, with its military and strategic leadership, has been looked at by other countries for many decades as the guarantor of peace. Many of our laws have been adopted by others because of our strength and wisdom. Many of our leadership practices have provided a sense of unity in our worldwide relationships.
A few crackpots in our governance can damage all that. A national political party, riven with lies, faithless practices and a determined ignorance of reality can substantially weaken not only this country but others as well.
We can’t afford a faithless Republican Party, run by fools blindly following a fool.
Nope. I don’t hate all Republicans. Never have. But, honestly, most of the ones I respect are either dead or retired. Most of the ones on active GOP duty, well………………
