What’s wrong with the Republicans

My emphasis on fiscal responsibility, working through the market system (e.g. changing the reward structure instead of regulatory dictates), my interest in devolving power, and my dislike of many taxes that are an anathema to modern Republicans (e.g. individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, etc.) might seem to place me in their camp. This is most certainly not the case, as this essay will make clear.

I agree with [Greider1993] that Republicans affect an ideology to justify programs that benefit their investors, rather than having an ideology that guides their policy positions. When the affected ideology conflicts with the needs of their investors, the ideology is dropped and the investors are served. For example, the Republican party affects a “free market” orientation, but their actions in providing corporate subsidies and tax breaks for their investors shows their true priorities. Their rhetoric calls for pro-family policies in deference to their religious wing, but their policy positions are usually anti-family and anti-community.

In contrast with their rhetoric, Republican policies are in fact:

• Not fiscally responsible (staying in power and serving their investors comes before the public purse – a flip flop from the old, respectable Republican position)
  • Reagan’s “supply side” economics and military buildup added $2,381,000,000,000 to the federal debt in his term and Bush’s.
  • Reagan’s deregulation of the banking and S&L industries led to the S&L bailout.
• Now radical instead of conservative
  • A conservative is one who tends to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions. By this definition a conservative would take a go-slow approach to major changes, and yet Republicans are the staunchest defenders of the corporate right to force radical changes on us, such as genetically engineering our food supply to allow more herbicides or inserting toxin genes into corn.
• Actually anti-market despite a pro-market affectation (Republican investors come before economics)
  • Federal land is used for grazing at below market rates (in effect a subsidy to ranchers).
  • The forest service builds free roads for the timber companies to cut trees on federal land.
  • Republican lawmakers sponsor special tax breaks for their corporate investors.
  • See Rachel’s Environment & Health Weekly #422 for more examples.
• Designed to improve the lot of the top 10% of society without regard to the other 90%
  • “Trickle down” is not even a hope; it is just a sales gimmick.
  • The “flat tax” (which is not even flat^*) is just a way to reduce the taxes of the wealthy and increase the taxes of the rest of the populace.
  • The continual push for special tax treatment for capital gains is another way to reduce the taxes of the wealthy (and therefore increase the taxes of the rest of the populace).
  • Republicans support school vouchers to reduce their clients’ private school bills.
• Anti-environment (corporate convenience comes before clean air, water, and food)
  • Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (passed by the Republican Congress and signed by Clinton) repealed the Delaney amendment.
  • Proposed FY2000 budget would eliminate funding for 21 superfund sites.
  • Republicans frequently try (and occasionally succeed) to reduce EPA funding
• Anti-diversity
  • School prayer amendment
  • Oppose affirmative action
  • Anti-gay rhetoric and legislation
  • Republican leaders such as Trent Lott tied to racist organizations such as the CCC
• Anti-free-speech
  • Flag burning amendment
  • Communications Decency Act of 1995
• Anti-choice
• Anti-regulation (corporate convenience comes before people’s health and well being)
• Anti-responsibility (corporate liability should be limited in civil suits)
• Anti-sustainability (corporations come before our children)
• Anti-campaign-reform (retaining power is all important)
• Pro-military (military spending is more important than education)
  • 104th and 105th Republican Congresses added to the Pentagon’s budget requests
  • Republican congress added 7 billion to Clinton’s supplemental appropriation request for the War on Yugoslavia.
  • Bush Jr.’s first military budget request.
• Pro-arms-race
  • Oppose the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty [Republican Platform 1996, 1999 Senate vote].
  • Strategic Defense Initiative [Republican Platform 1996].
  • Bush Jr.’s plan to kill the ABM treaty
• Pro-gun (NRA comes before safe schools, safe homes)
• Pro-propaganda, anti-truth (Republican think tanks are masters of spin on everything and anything to serve their investors)
• Anti-children
  • Proposed FY2000 budget would cut Head Start.
  • Oppose federal support for education.
• Pro-poverty (corporate profits are more important than children)
  • Republicans oppose increases in the minimum wage, which is not a living wage.
• Anti-family, anti-community
  • The Republicans’ pro-corporate stance frequently results in anti-family, anti-community positions.
• Anti-democracy (corporate profits and anti-communism take precedence over the U.S. constitution)
  • Support GATT, NAFTA, and FTAA restrictions to limit U.S. sovereignty to regulate for the health and safety of its citizens.
  • Iran-Contra (the Republican party, and especially Henry Hyde, still defends Oliver North and Ronald Reagan’s actions).
• Masters of negative campaigning.
  • 500 days before the 2000 elections, the Republican web site is already attacking Al Gore – not on the issues, but personally.
  • Bush’s use of Willie Horton ads to defeat Dukakis