Why Republicans are wrong

Republicans Wrecked the Economy

* they ran the economy into a ditch, putting 2 wars on the tab, and, to starve government, passed the Bush tax cuts. Their attitude toward taxes is designed so that government will fail, and sure enough, massive deficits have replaced the surpluses that we had in the Clinton years.

Joblessness is the most critical problem, but Republicans have not only done nothing to address it, they have obstructed every job creating initiative and, against the advice of our best economists, made austerity their agenda.  They cut jobs at all levels of government, assuring more unemployment.

There is always plenty of work to do. We are forever losing the productivity that might have come from those who are now unemployed. Unused skills atrophy. We are eating our seed corn. 

* In the past there was little controversy when the debt ceiling needed to be raised, but R's precipitated a financial crisis by refusing  to raise the debt ceiling and they may yet cause a global financial crisis. Make no mistake, it is extortion.

* Having forgotten or learned nothing from the great depression, Republicans rolled back the New Deal economic stabilizers.  Be prepared for another wild ride.

Instead of paying attention to reality, they think money is the problem. The Paul Ryan budget is despicable.

Deregulation

The Republican zeal for deregulation assured that the market would become a wrecking ball, and it did.

Still, they have not learned that markets are NOT self regulating, and that it is the job of government to see that fraud and wild speculation are not acceptable, especially since taxpayers ultimately have to take the loss. Banks have consolidated still further, so expect another crisis ...only worse. The Dodd-Frank act is designed to address the "too big to fail" problem that will ultimately be yet another burden for taxpayers, but Republicans want to roll that back also as a favor to their oligarchs.

Republicans have been keen to dismantle the automatic economic stabilizers put in place in the 1930s. They revoked the Glass-Steagle Law that protected taxpayers from speculators, and now taxpayers again are on the hook. Business consolidation, formerly discouraged by ant-trust law, also consolidates wealth for obscenely paid CEOs. The graduated income tax might have been a counterbalance, but it has been all but eliminated. Deadbeat Republicans refuse to pay the bills for the wars and tax cuts that they have put on the tab. Now many of them, the Tea Party fringe at least, are prepared to default on the debt.

Having rolled back the New Deal, Republicans have not been satisfied though. Across the country they are screaming for fiscal austerity. That has meant an inadequate stimulus program at the federal level, job cuts at every level of government, harsh new laws restricting unions from bargaining, unwillingness to participate in infrastructure improvement for highways and railroads. A lot of States like New Jersey have balanced their budgets and even given tax cuts by not paying into pension funds, now they want to cut pensions.

* they fought regulation, so predatory practices and corruption have become routine.

Republicans are Corporatists

Corporations, no patriots, offshore any work they can to low wage countries with no protection for the environment to make money. The world's largest military cannot keep a few people with box cutters from doing immense damage, but Republicans want to keep funding it as though it makes sense because the military-industrial-Congressional complex rules. 

* R's continue to oppose sensible oversight of banks. allowing banks to consolidate, speculate recklessly, and to wreck the economy. Banks are now even larger than ever, so they are certainly too big to fail. Taxpayers will again be on the hook for bank failures, just as they were under Bush I and Bush II. Those bank bailouts are funding an army of lobbyists.

*The Enron model, under Bush II, became the plan for government. The privatizers replaced professional civil service with ideologues who were demonstrably incompetent.

* they allowed corporations to run the government (this is, by definition, fascism). While wages have stagnated, corporate profits have soared. Obscene CEO compensation is first hand evidence that corporate governance needs reform, but NOT the Republican kind.

* Republicans attitude that reducing taxes will raise revenue is clearly false and shows that they are deadbeats unwilling to pay the bills.

* R's regressive policies have benefited the extremely wealthy at the expense of the great majority. We are now in a new 'gilded age', even more extreme than in the 1920's. Example: the Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart, stand to benefit by $27 billion dollars if the estate tax is abolished. The US has reached new levels of financial inequality that will certainly cause social pathologies.

* They ignore concentration of wealth even though it destroys democracy

The simple-minded Republican mantra that lower taxes and smaller government are always better is effective in keeping income disparities at extreme levels, removing the tax burden from the already wealthy, and making government an ATM machine for the well connected.

It is rare that media questions the Republican assumption that a flat tax is a good idea. The graduated income tax does not burden you when you are out of work. It can roll back obscene bonuses, improve anemic demand, level our increasingly poor wealth disparities, damp oligopoly, prevent a new aristocracy, it can help break politicians dependence on oligarchs, and it is in the spirit of true Christianity by burdening the already comfortable and relieving the poor. Under Ike the top marginal rate was around 90% and the economy was never better.

So we are back to a gilded age. Republicans, paid by oligarchs, want tax cuts for the wealthy, but are willing to cut life support for everyone else. The middle class is sinking fast so it cannot spend money to keep the economy running. Business, seeing no demand, will not expand. One thing everybody seems to agree on is that there will be no fast turnaround.

Republicans are acting like they WANT the economy to collapse so that they can win the next election.

They are willing to shut down the government, proving that they are not fit to govern. If they win the next election, it is certain that the race to the bottom will be accelerated.

The middle class is on the way to serfdom.

Republicans have all but destroyed the middle class

The Republican agenda has had a devastating effect on the middle class. Since Reagan, wages have fallen, families need two paychecks, benefits cut, pensions all but disappeared, and in the latest round of Republican cuts even the most vulnerable are losing life support.  Just to be sure everyone is miserable they want to cut Social Security, roll back health care reform, revise Medicare so that it is a voucher program, cut head start programs, make higher education more unaffordable. But deliver tax cuts to the wealthy.

* they have made arguments that the US needs to globally competitive, but they have assisted in the deindustrialization of the US by massively exporting jobs to extreme low wage countries. (Disney pulled their work force out of Haiti because the $.28 per hour wage was too high. That's what we're competing with.)

* they have made union busting policy since Ronald Reagan abolished the Air Traffic Controller's Union by firing them all. The predictable result is that wages have declined, pensions are becoming rare, healthcare cost is being passed on to employees if they are lucky enough to have coverage, and sick time or vacation time are disappearing.  

* they fought creation of a consumer protection agency and they fought Elizabeth Warren at every opportunity.

* they would privatize Social Security, probably the largest heist in US history, although it would benefit brokerages immensly. Also they are attempting make Medicare a voucher program, and roll back the modest health care reform passed in the last Congress.

* they have done nothing to provide good healthcare for Americans. The way the US does healthcare does keep people from changing jobs though. In global competitiveness, who would you guess has the healthier work force...the country that provides low cost care for everyone, or the one that doesn't bother to provide for a large fraction of its population ?

* they allowed education to deteriorate and higher education to become unaffordable for many. Who do you think will have the better educated workforce, the Scandinavian countries that provide free, all-expense higher education to all qualified students, or the US which pretty much puts them into massive debt ?

For the 50 million Americans without health insurance, the Republicans plan only to roll back the modest reforms recently begun. You will be at the tender mercies of insurance companies (Republican backers), that care only that you are in excellent health and that you will make them money. If not they will drop you.

Republicans only care about life for the unborn. Their idea about small, unobstrusive government does not stop them from reaching right into a hospital to impose their religion. It is clear that many Republicans favor theocracy. Population has passed 7 billion. We have likely exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet.

See this Elizabeth Warren video (about an hour, though well spent): http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/642.html

Republicans conspired to consolidate Media

*  they do not heed the Constitutional call to beware concentration of power. They have assisted in the concentration of media until only right-wing Republican commentators are broadcast.

* Republicans made Rupert Murdoch what he is today. David Frum says he runs the Republican party. Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox News, has almost every Republican Presidential candidate on his payroll. Polls have established that  Fox News viewers are  the most  misinformed.

This kind of misinformation is what gives Rupert Murdoch his hold on our politics.

Do you know what he owns ?

Probably US media no longer is capable of supporting democracy.

Republicans Are Bad For Government

Republicans Created the Imperial Presidency

They accelerated concentration of power in the Presidency.

* they put in place an unaccountable, secretive President in a slap at the concept of Constitutional separation of powers. The Supreme Court, which selected Bush, decided that it was ok for Cheney to make energy policy in secret. That energy policy did nothing to conserve, but only considered maximum pumping and may have been the real reason for the war in Iraq. Lack of public discussion and aggressive press was sorely lacking. 

* they twisted intelligence to make a pretext for war. Articles of Impeachment were drafted and submitted to the Judiciary Committee detailing the charges.

* They rolled back civil liberties.

* they have made the US the world's leader in incarcerations, engaged in torture, renditions, and other human rights abuses.

Republicans on the Supreme Court Are Partisan Hacks.

Republicans have made Congress Dysfunctional

Republicans are making it harder to vote

* R's gamed the elections  Connecticut's Diebold optical scan machines are programmed out of State and out of sight.  Privatization is not a good idea for many things, and vote counting is one of the worst examples. Other bad examples are prisons, military, healthcare, and social security.

Republicans are irresponsible stewards of the Environment

Republicans  Have Waged a War on Science

Republican's Religion is a major cause of Terrorism

Republicans have enabled the military-industrial complex

Republicans have no respect for International law

* they thumb their nose at international law.

* they lost many of the alliances and  much of the good will of the rest of the world that we once enjoyed.

*they have not honored international commitments.

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