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| The Republican Party has proven itself unworthy of our votes. |
I don't understand what it takes to be a Republican politician in the USA. I've voted Republican for many years. I thought they were devoted to upholding the constitution and the law, good fiscal policy, and building a strong economy. But after living through the last 6-1/2 years of Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump's terrible policies, I've come to realize the Republican Party only stands for corporate greed and political corruption.
The Republicans Should Have Accepted Merrick Garland
My doubts about the honesty and integrity of Republican politicians began when Mitch McConnell refused to allow the Senate to hold hearings for Merrick Garland. He was the prosecutor who sent Timothy McVeigh to death row. Merrick Garland is a national hero. He obviously has the credentials, the experience, and the patriotism to be a great Supreme Court Justice.
But because Merrick Garland was nominated by Barack Obama, Mitch McConnell refused to do what was right - what a Republican is supposedly dedicated to doing - and have the Senate hold confirmation hearings and a vote on Garland's nomination. And despite all his wiggling, McConnell made up the rules to justify his brazen disregard for his constitutional duty.
Mitch McConnell lost my support as a Republican-voting American when he revealed his true colors over Merrick Garland.
The 2017 Tax Cut Only Benefited the Billionaires
They promised everyone would get a break on taxes when they passed that $1.9 trillion dollar tax cut bill. I know that payroll taxes were reduced for most workers. But most of us only received a pittance compared to the huge tax reductions that went to the wealthiest 75,000 families.
And we paid for those tax cuts after President Trump began his stupid trade wars. Who pays for all those tariffs he imposed on foreign goods? We do - the consumers. We paid higher prices for nearly everything to cover those tariffs.
The Republican Party did nothing to stop the tariffs from hurting average, everyday Americans. I didn't vote for Trump. I knew he was a disgusting man and a fool from the day I first heard him speak. But I still supported the Republican Party. I thought they'd keep him under control.
Instead, they ran out anyone who opposed Trump and supported all his idiotic ideas.
Corporations had stashed trillions of dollars overseas for years. The Trump tax plan brought most of that money back to the United States, but instead of raising pay for workers, creating new jobs, or making new capital investments, those companies took that money and used it to buy back shares of their own stocks.
And most of those shares were owned by the billionaires and their friends.
So we paid more in taxes through the tariffs while they got huge tax cuts and received billions more dollars in share buybacks.
Ouch!
Republican Hate on Immigrants Hurt Our Economy
Trump's racist policies against people from Central and South America reduced the number of seasonal workers who come to harvest our crops and help produce our groceries.
His crackdown on undocumented workers left many companies without the low-paid employees they counted on to remain profitable. I'm not saying we should do those fat cats any favors and help them exploit immigrants. But Americans don't want to do these low paying jobs. You can't live on them and pay for a mortgage.
Not only did the Republican Party shrink an important part of our labor force with their hateful policies, they drove away people who were paying taxes to state and local governments. Every purchase those low income workers made in local stores included a sales tax.
And millions of undocumented workers pay federal taxes, too. The Republican Party lies about their contributions to the economy. I've seen what happened in my own community as the immigrants vanished from their jobs. No one stepped in to replace them.
When the pandemic hit, many local and state governments lost even more tax revenues. They could have used those hard-working immigrants' taxes.
And don't forget how many times the Republicans tried to kill Obamacare. The federal health insurance system is a mess but it gave 30 million people coverage the Republicans and their corporations never provided.
The Republicans are Terrible Wardens of Public Health
In the early days of the pandemic I wondered why New York and California had so many cases. After watching the news for months it finally dawned on me that while Donald Trump was hating on Asians, the virus came in from all over the world.
New York's virus cases came from Europe.
And the Republicans have done everything possible to stop the country from following the scientific guidelines proposed by the Centers for Disease Control. They could have stopped the spread of the virus by following the CDC advice to restrict public gatherings and requiring people to wear masks.
Instead, Republican governors across the country exposed their citizens to viral outbreaks. Our hospital system was nearly overrun. Hundreds of thousands of people died needlessly. Millions more were needlessly infected.
And the Republicans did all this in the name of "keeping our economy open". But now the economy cannot fill enough jobs to keep going the way it was before the pandemic. And people are afraid to get vaccinated because the Republican Party continues to lie about the need for vaccinations and wearing masks.
The Republicans are Terrible Economic Wardens, Too
So here we are with 16 million people out of work and the Republicans want to force them all to go back to work by denying them federal unemployment assistance.
It's not that simple, guys! What about the millions of moms who cannot go back to work because they can't find childcare?
What about the millions of people who can't go back to work because they haven't been vaccinated?
What about the millions of people who are so far behind on their bills they cannot afford to commute to jobs they used to have? What if those jobs still haven't returned?
Millions of people had to move away from where they used to live. Maybe they can't find jobs where they now live, because they're living with Mom and Dad again.
The Republicans don't want to support Biden's infrastructure bill even though it would create millions of jobs. Their tax cuts didn't create the millions of high-paying jobs they promised.
Trickle-down economics doesn't work. It never worked.
American wages have stagnated for 20 years. When are Reagan's trickle down theories going to prove themselves? In another 50 years?
Billionaires don't care about the welfare of their employees. They only care about how many shares of stock their companies buy back from them.
I Don't Want to Be A Republican Any More
I thought I was supporting a party with American values. Most Americans are hurt by Republican policies, so their values can't be American.
Republicans are the party of billionaires. Even though most of them aren't billionaires, they still receive millions of dollars in political donations from their billionaire patrons.
And you can bet the Republican politicians invest in the stock market. So they count on share buybacks too. They get free healthcare from the government so they don't have to worry about paying insurance premiums.
It's a pretty sweet deal to be a Republican politician. But most Republican voters are screwed.
We need to wake up to the reality that we've been had. It's time to stop supporting these grifters and liars. Their policies only work for the super-rich and leave 80% of Americans struggling to pay their bills and find shelter.
Why do Republicans favor cruel government policies? Because those policies produce more share buybacks and political donations. There's nothing patriotic in what the Republican Party does.
