How far we have come. Time to remember. I'm a hard core Democrat but I respected the points of view and actions of some Republicans. Many have recalled Senator John McCain's gentle reply to the audience member who called Obama an Arab. McCain gently refuted that characterization. Then there was President George W Bush who visited a mosque after 9/11 and spoke urging respect for women who wear Moslem head coverings. The same President bush who supported Medicare expansion to include prescription drug coverage through Part D.
Senator McCain is still there, along with Senator Lynsday Graham, who sometimes step forward on concerns with Russia.
But the Republican Party is otherwise gone. Vanished into the past. Sarah Palin gave legitimacy to the so-called Tea Party, fueled by right wing media and internet, often with lies - not alternate facts, just plain lies. The original Tea Party were patriots who dumped tea in the Boston Harbor. The current remake has no such foundation.
Republican Congresspersons have legitimate fears, some having been primaried by Tea Party rightists. And I cannot forget Joe Walsh he shouted "you lie" at President Obama during his speech to Congress. Yes, the Republican Party has been in disarray. Their primary process with seventeen candidates set them up for a crazy result and they got it.
Now the Congress has devised a healthcare plan that rewards the rich with tax reductions, reduces the ability of the middle class to afford health insurance and removes the poor from health insurance altogether. They do this because they share Humana and Aetna's lie, that "Obamacaare" is in a "death spiral" and their plan is an act of mercy. The supporters of the new bill smirk as they talk aobut it - that should tell you something.
Now all semblance of sanity is gone. They have a leader in the White House who has no clear objectives, except for magnifying his own image to the maximum, and who has no understanding of governing principles, except for maintaining power, and does not care about American history and the continuity it gives our institutional leadership. Since he is an empty self absorbed vessel, he listens to those who feed his crazy notions. No ethics are left. A National Security Advisor who is a foreign agent. A Secretary of state who is unable to speak in public. Threats of loss of funding for an array of programs - CDC, FEMA, even Homeland security and the Coast Guard - so a useless wall can be built at tax payers' expense.
Republicans gerrymandered Congressional districts after the 2010 census and impose voter id laws furthering their power. Well they got the power and we got a Steve Bannon Presidency.
It is up to the Republican Party to fix it.
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