At some point, the Republican Party decided it would stop playing by the rules. It is clear by now that it no longer accepts the Founders’ view that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed ... with ... rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” For the current radicalized GOP, this is a myth.
Benefits like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act grew out of the belief that everyone, no matter their color, origin, gender, religion or wealth, deserves an even break. Many Republicans do not accept this belief and, in fact, resent that they are taxed to support these programs.
And forget about planning for such pending global disasters as acute food shortages and the climate crisis. Caring for issues like these is being sacrificed at the altar of short-term greed under cover of a propaganda campaign that denies that they are problems we should be worried about.
Have we spoken about the safety of our kids? The GOP, the self-righteous “right to life” party, is AWOL once the fetus is out of the womb. A baby’s life matters little when measured against risking donations from the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby.
Most damning of all is the GOP attitude toward voting. They have done, and are continuing to do, everything in their power to tilt the playing field in their favor, including an attempted coup.
This November, they will, in essence, be voting to complete the coup they started. We Democrats and moderates of all stripes must swarm the polling places to such an extent that even a cheating GOP cannot deny our democracy an overwhelming victory.
Frederick Longacre
Hockessin
