It's Official: I Hate the Republican Party
I've felt this way for a while, but it's now official. After reading this column written by Ezra Klein (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/) I can't hold back anymore. I hate the Republican party.
Before I proceed, I think it's important to note that my political views are fairly conservative, although I'm offended by the focus on social issues in modern Republican politics. I believe that people should take responsibility for themselves and their family. I think government makes far too many laws, especially in response to isolated incidents. While I hate the simplistic, and quite frankly wrong-headed, analogy of government as a business, I believe that we should look for efficiencies whenever we can and find ways for government to work better for its citizens. I believe that people should pay off their debts and should take responsibility when they can't (on a personal note: I qualified for some regulations that would have taken me off the hook for a percentage of my student loans but I'm paying them off in full because I believe that since I borrowed the money I should pay it back). I believe in the Republican philosophy that I grew up on, and my belief in that has hardly changed as I've gotten older.
However, I can't ignore the destructive nature of partisan politics in Washington, DC any longer, and the vast majority of that falls at the feet of the modern Republican Party. As Klein notes, Ornstein and Mann have written extensively on how Congress has become "the broken branch" and they place probably 90% of the blame on the Republican Party's tactics. But the philosophy of "party above all" and their stated commitment to making President Obama a one-term president has taken this country down a dangerous path and one where it's hard to see any way to recover. Maybe the clearest example of this comes from the debt ceiling fight and how it stalled the recovery. A partisan bickering match cost American citizens more money than we'll ever know, and damaged our country further than anyone cares to admit. Klein's graph tells the whole story better than I ever could.
But no one cares - it's all about making sure my team wins and screw everyone else. Look at the recent healthcare articles in the Patch comments section, which has until recently been a nice oasis away from the partisan bickering, but is now filled with the same partisan slap fights that infect every other news site I know. No one cares about right and wrong, it's all about yelling at the other side and calling them communist socialist secret Muslims. No one cares about the good of the country, it's all about making sure our team wins even if that means passing laws the violate the basic right to vote (see: Pennsylvania). The ends justify the means, but unfortunately the real end game is the downward spiral of what used to be the greatest country on the planet. But it's ok, as long as people wear ridiculous American flag apparel on July 4 and talk about how much they love America and the troops no one will notice the damage that is being done.
I know this is where I'm supposed to type "But Democrats do it too!!!" as a way of showing I'm non-partisan and being balanced while ignoring all the empirical evidence to the contrary. And I'm sure Democrats deserve a percentage of the blame, but there are two reasons I don't care. First, Ornstein and Mann (who fall somewhere between non-partisan and conservative on the ideological scale) very clearly lay out the case for why it's the fault of the Republican party. Second, I've never considered myself a Democrat and I still don't. I find too many of their positions consistent with rewarding people who refuse to take care of themselves and their families. I don't care what the Democrats are doing, I care that the politicians have corrupted my party to the point where it is unrecognizable from what it was even 20 years ago. I care that Gov. McDonnell, a man who wants to be a standard-bearer for the Republican party, lacked the political courage to stand up to the right wing of the party and gave up on "Bob's for Jobs" the first time he faced any pushback. I care that Eric Cantor is willing to take the country down to realize his personal dream of becoming Speaker of the House. I care that, while the Republican party isn't a party of racism and discrimination, racists and those who would discriminate feel comfortable in the party. I want my party back, and until they stop talking about their love of America and start showing that they want it to be the greatest country on the planet again I'm done with them.
You wanted it, you got it. You get Boehner. You get Cantor. You get Romney. You get the people who wanted government out of healthcare and are moving to Canada. You get the people who want the government out of Medicare. I don't want to be associated with these people, and I doubt they want to be associated with me anyway. Who am I other than a RINO in the modern party?
Dan Telvock
2:46 pm on Saturday, July 14, 2012
Wait a second...you qualified for assistance to pay off your loans quicker and you said no? I paid off my loans in 2008, after six years of higher education. When I worked at a newspaper in Leesburg, we met with U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf a lot and I always told him that the government loan programs and specifically the interest rates were very, very high. I had bought a house for half the interest rate of my college loans. College loan debt and the interest rates were/are a huge impediment to better quality of life. But Congress didn't do anything about it until after I paid all of mine off, so if such a program were offered to me, I would have taken it because I felt like I was getting ripped off anyway. I got the education, paid for it myself, but the government loans allowed for outrageous interest rates that made me pay EVEN more for that education. It irked me.
Arnold Smithson
10:27 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
I was lucky enough to qualify for a low interest rate, and honestly don't have that much in student loans anyway.
I was disturbed to see the Congress was playing political games with student loan rates in the last session though. Especially with the stated goal of expanding access to college education and the constant ranting about college costs increasing, Congress shouldn't even think about doing whatever they have to do to keep rates low. They also shouldn't have eliminated the grace period, but no one will notice that unfortunately. Congress pulled off the illusion of representation very well in that example, and again students get hurt.
If young people voted the world would be a very different place.
Piccadilly Circus
2:50 pm on Saturday, July 14, 2012
Its Official Obama and the DemocRATS are dividing the country.
rick barasso
7:59 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Congratulations to a man with the courage to speak the truth about the direction the GOP has taken. It is refreshing to hear someone connected to the party of no, express a concern for the health of our nation rather than the health of a party. I wish your blog went out to all Patches across the country.
rick barasso
8:04 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Anyone want to bet PC, who posted this "unusual" comment, "Its Official Obama and the DemocRATS are dividing the country"
only read this much of the blog, "It's Official: I Hate the Republican Party"?
Otherwise the comment makes no sense at all...
Bob Martin
8:18 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Thank you for having the courage to speak your mind, Arnold. I am a Democrat and have been distressed by the tone of the discussions in Washington, that now seem to be filtering out to the statehouses and local governments. I can't even call them debates since facts are distorted and twisted so as to become unrecognizable. You and I agree on many things! It is probably in the implementation we might disagree, but with mutual respect and a desire for compromise, we would surely arrive at a solution. Unfortunately, mutual respect and a true desire for compromise do not exist in politics at the moment. When one side refuses to play, it is not a constructive environment. And the article clearly points out both parties are guilty on that point.
Another concern I have is the attitude of the grassroots level. I realize I have a partisan view here, but I don't recall receiving the number of outrageously wrong, scurrilous, and just downright shameful emails about George Bush as I do about Barack Obama. People are not interested in facts anymore. They would rather just pass along information that is wrong as long as it conforms to their beliefs. Don't confuse them with the facts! And if you call them on it, they resort to un constructive name calling. Are you listening Piccadilly Circus?
Arnold Smithson
10:41 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Reasonable people can disagree on what the role of government is, and that's what deliberation is for. As a Republican, I am dismayed that people like Richard Lugar are forced out of office for having the nerve to compromise with President Obama. Compromise shouldn't be a bad thing, especially when you take into account that Lugar worked with Obama on trying to reduce the number of nuclear arms in the world (a relatively non-partisan issue). But we've become so hyper-partisan and polarized that any sort of compromise is a bad thing. It's unfortunate, and it's going to be destructive to our country.
Bob Martin
8:07 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Regarding Arnold's comments about Richard Lugar, etc., exactly! People forget that even the US Constitution and all the other founding documents, were themselves the result of compromise.
rick barasso
8:31 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
BM,
with you 100%! You hit the nail on the head
Debby Girvan
8:36 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
This guy lost me with the headline. The word "hate" doesn't belong in any civil debate or argument. The fact that he puts the majority of the blame for Congressional dysfunction on one political party perpetuates the very basis for which he claims to "hate" Republicans.
Tandamonium
9:01 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Debby, since he is not in a debate and the only argument he is having is with himself and his relationship with his party I think you are missing the point and not giving the author a chance to be heard by you. The whole point of his Blog was to highlight the dysfunction of his political party from his perspective and unless he has a secret political affiliation with the Dems to spread bad word about the GOP, I think he has every right to use the word hate as a descriptor in his article.
Arnold Smithson
10:32 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Debby - what word would you prefer I use? "I am mildly disquieted by the Republican Party" isn't strong enough for me, but I'm open to suggestions.
I would argue that a small group of politicians in Congress have done a disproportionate amount of damage to our great country that is going to be virtually impossible to reverse, especially on the current trajectory. I feel like that deserves strong condemnation, not a mild rebuke.
Debby Girvan
9:27 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
My point is, by using the word "hate" to stereotype and criticize a group of people, he is perpetuating the very thing he condemns. I am a proponent of free speech - he can use whatever word he likes but his choice of words is part of the problem.
Debby Girvan
11:34 am on Sunday, July 15, 2012
"Hate" is a term often associated with some of our country's worst offenses: racism, terrorism, homophobia, etc. Political parties are made up of individuals. It seems inflammatory and counterproductive to "hate" every Republican, or Democrat for that matter, just because you disagree with the opinions/actions of a few.
Jsmith
12:01 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
OK, Arnold, so now you've whined about the GOP. Do you feel better? Did you change anything? (no)
This article is pointless.
I left the GOP in 1992 when they abandoned conservatism under GHW Bush.
No one's forcing you to be a Republican. Don't like it? Don't be one. What a waste of time reading this article.
David Zacchetti
4:01 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Articles like this one have become a cliche. People have been writing that the GOP has been taken over by mean, nasty right-wing extremists for at least the last 20 years. The Republican party (thank God!) is a pro-life party. The minute the GOP abandons the unborn, I and many others will abandon the GOP.
1Ronald
8:51 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Now, we've got a blogger who hates women. Well, maybe not "hates." More like he thinks every man should own one. Is that auction block still at Charles and William? Escaping cult religion is hard but not impossible.
rick barasso
8:45 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
Why is the life of the "unborn" so important to the Right, yet they supported a President that was resposible for tens of thousands of innocent victims to satisfy his over zealous war mongering policies? Why are they so unconcerned for the tens of thousands of deaths annually due to a lack of health insurance? Why do they support candidates that are against common sence gun control, even though guns are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans every year? Why do most conservatives support capital punishment, even though due to modern science, hundreds of people on death row have been found to be innocent?
The truth is, there is nothing "pro-life" about the GOP, there is only a desire to control a woman's womb, and deny her a right to privacy and control over her own body. So David perhaps it's time to abandon the GOP ship (of fools). And join the party that truly understands the value of a human "life".
1Ronald
8:56 am on Monday, July 16, 2012
Today I passed a row of newspaper boxes. Read this morning's Headlines. Now, the neo-cons are upset that Romney doesn't want to go to war with Sudan. GOP--the fighting and killing Party. And we, as a nation, sink deeper and deeper in debt. I mean, really, what American gives a rat's heinie what happens in Sudan?