I think of what the Republicans stand for and I am uncertain today. I know what they stood for back in the 70s and the 80s. They talked about smaller government. They were for a strong military. They were for fewer regulations. All those things sounded great back then. The Government was the bad guy and they were holding America back. In a way I feel that they were feeding on the fear many of us had of the government after the Vietnam War. The 70s were not what you would call the best of times for America. First there was run amuck inflation and then Watergate. Next, there was the oil embargo and the lines at the gas stations. We ended the decade with the Iran Crisis that still affects us today. The 70s were not a good time of either political party or our country. Along comes Reagan with his upbeat attitude of the future tell us that the problem isn’t us it is the government. I bought into that and looking back it may have been the message that we needed after the disaster that was the 70s but it has also led to the disaster that led to Trump. Reagan changed the direction of the country and most of the time it takes years to see and understand the results.

Today we still having the Republican Party trying to make themselves still out to be the party of Reagan. Not that many of Reagan’s policies were a huge success for the nation as a whole. His Trickle Down Economics has led directly to the huge wage gaps that we have today. His Trickle Down Economics in my opinion leads to recessions by not putting the money into the hand of the people that will spend it. Lets’ face it; our economy is dependent on people spending money. They call the rich that they give the tax breaks to as the job creators. This may be true but in which country are they creating the jobs. My Croft and Burrows swim suit that I bought at Kohl’s was made in Bangladesh. The ball cap I wear on my head was made in China. I would be willing to bet that those Make America Great hats were made in China. Funny thing is that the foreign car that I drive is actually assembled here in America. Rich people’s job is to make money, not create jobs. If jobs are created it is just a byproduct of them making money. It has absolutely nothing about the rich wanting to keep you employed.

Republicans are great with wanting to do away with regulations that they feel are harming business even if those regulations are for the good of the people. Do you really think that you would have clean water to drink if it wasn’t for regulations? Even with regulations it is debatable if our water is really clean. Just ask them in Flint Michigan. Does the Government go overboard at times with some of the regulations? Probably but what one person thinks is overboard another thinks is necessary. Saving wildlife is not a bad thing. Fighting for clean air to breath is not a bad thing. Preserving our parks for the enjoyment of future generations is not a bad thing. We shouldn’t have to choose between clean water and gas to drive our cars. Without government regulations do you really think that industry would do the right thing?

I keep hearing the Republicans talk about the evil Democrats and what they are doing to ruin America. I find it interesting how everyone having healthcare would ruin our Country. Canada has healthcare and you don’t see them being ruined by it. Sweden has Universal Healthcare and they seem to be doing just fine. Mexico now has Universal Healthcare so you don’t have Mexican immigrants coming here to steal our healthcare. None of those countries are Communist countries either. Having healthcare will not turn us into the old Soviet Union. What it may do is actually start us in the direction of being the morally correct nation we like to make ourselves out to be. I have searched and I really cannot find a good argument for not having healthcare.  

After writing this I still have not figured out what the Republicans really stand for. They don’t stand for education. They don’t stand for free and fair elections. They don’t stand for freedom for women or people of color. It is easier to tell what they don’t stand for and that is anything that the Democrats want to do to make people’s lives better. How many Republicans voted for the Biden Build Back Better? Here was a bill that is meant to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. Here is a bill that works to ensure that everyone has clean water. Here is a bill that will bring rural America more access to the information technology that most of us just take for granted.  All theses thing are good for the country and every Republican knew it but still they voted against it. Why? I think that it was because it was a Democrat idea. Party politics for the sake of power is killing this democracy and this nation.

One thing that the Republicans have been consistent through all this time is a strong military and strong military spending. We spend for our military about as much as the next seven or eight countries combined. You could call that great National Security or you could call it Military Spending run amuck which is what I consider it. The Republicans want to show how strong they are and the Democrats don’t want to appear weak so our military budget just keeps getting bigger. This is nuts.

There is one other thing that the Republicans appear to be good at. That is maintaining power by keeping America divided. They have not even attempted to try uniting this country. When the minority leader in the Senate states that he will oppose all legislation that Biden proposes that is a man that wants to keep the country divided even if it hurts the people. I my opinion it hurts the people.