Not your father’s Republican Party
Are you concerned about: low paying jobs, the rich getting all of the money, election security, socialism, lying politicians, healthcare costs, Russia, guns, pollution, and intolerance?
Consider the scope of the problem. There are twenty-one very serious problems listed here. Any one of which could call into question the Republican party’s fitness to govern.
The GOP continues to support a deeply immoral, criminal president. Their oath of office is to serve the constitution, not one man, not a president, not a political party. They have abandoned their duty to protect and defend the United States of America.
Here is a summary of where we are today. You decide.
1) Constantly Lies
Donald Trump has a problem with telling the truth. He is a pathological liar who feels no remorse about bending the truth. As of early December 2019 he has told more than 13,400 lies. Who would ever trust this man?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/
2) Personality Disorder: Malignant Narcissism
Many articles have either overtly stated or implied that Donald Trump suffers from the classification of “narcissistic personality disorder.” A diagnosis from the DSM Manual would require five or more of the following traits:
1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., “Nobody builds walls better than me”; “There’s nobody that respects women more than I do”; “There’s nobody who’s done so much for equality as I have”).
2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty or ideal love (“I alone can fix it”; “It’s very hard for them to attack me on looks, because I’m so good-looking”).
3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people or institutions (“Part of the beauty of me is that I’m very rich”).
4. Requires excessive admiration (“They said it was the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl”).
5. Has a sense of entitlement (“When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy”).
6. Is interpersonally exploitative (see above).
7. Lacks empathy, is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others (“He’s not a war hero . . . he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured”).
8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her (“I’m the president, and you’re not”).
9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes (“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters”).
From Trump’s Mental Health: Is Pathological Narcissism
This personality disorder has driven Donald Trump to see the world in terms of what he can gain from it. His diminished ability to empathize, instead he focuses on transactional interactions. His life is an endless trail of exploitation, lawsuits, conquest, and lawlessness.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/donald-trump-not-well/597640/
3) The GOP’s Great Smokescreen: Trump
“ Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” — Wizard of Oz
“Pay no attention to the GOP degrading your society, watch Trump.”
The Republican Party probably regrets making him their nominee. They probably despise his brutish, power-oriented approach to decision making. They despise his simplistic, egocentric approach to leadership. One thing they don’t mind is his smokescreen — he is a magnificent, if not inept, distraction. While Trump crushes norms, sucks all of the oxygen out of the room, and generally behaves as a buffoon, the GOP has been able to pursue their goals of transferring massive amounts of wealth from the middle class to the upper class. They have been able to stack the courts at every level with hyper-conservative jurists who will evaluate the law based on conservative political principles rather than on the merits of the case. Having molded the judiciary in their likeness, our judicial system will be biased for the next twenty to thirty years. They have given large corporations and their rich donors everything they could ask for. For the rest of us, we get very little. Wealth inequality grows by leaps and bounds.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/342884-gop-lawmaker-i-dont-pay-attention-to-what-trump-does-anymore
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dont-let-the-trump-circus-distract-from-the-real-gop-menace
4) Russia Hacked Trump and the GOP
Putin wants Russia to become a superpower like the USSR before 1991. While Russia is a geographically the largest country in the world, its economy is only 6th. The country is run like a crime syndicate with Putin at the top and a handful of oligarchs, owning most of the wealth, beneath him. They control the economy under Putin’s direction.
Putin wants to lead the world. He envisions a time in the future when mother Russia will assume her place as the leader of the world. To that end, he undermines his enemies, the largest one being the United States of America. Putin has compromised Donald Trump. He uses Trump as a wedge between America and Europe. He directs Trump to weaken the USA’s world leadership at every turn: military assistance, example of highly unified democracy, global warming, educated electorate, etc.
Why do you think that while most Americans see Russia as a threat, the GOP, and Trump in particular, supports Russia? What do you think investigators will find once they have complete access to Mueller’s supporting documents, and all the White House files, as well as Trump’s tax returns? I believe we will find a strong pattern of Trump supporting and strengthening Russia to enrich his bank account at the expense of the American people and our leadership in the world.
See an entirely different article detailing Russia’s negative influence of Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the rest of the Republican party.
See details
5) Russia’s Interference, need for Election Security
Under the leadership of Mitch McConnell, while Trump is blowing smoke, the GOP has blocked laws that would increase our security against Russian attacks on future elections. The basic act of voting must be protected in any democracy, but McConnell and the rest of the GOP are actively preventing updates to save our elections. These failings suggest the GOP knows the Russians may help them win again in 2020. Putin had a hand in electing Trump in 2016 and plans to do it again in 2020.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/27/trump-2020-election-russia-meddling-interference-experts
Problems with voting machines are endemic in our current election process:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/us/politics/pennsylvania-voting-machines.html
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/16/voting-security-crisis-q-a-1466704
6) Gerrymandering, GOP Determines the Winners
The GOP has been gerrymandering the voting districts for decades. They discovered that computers can shape the districts in any state to allow for more Republican politicians winning and thereby controlling the state legislatures. When they don’t gerrymander, they illegally purge the voter roles of Democrats.
https://thinkprogress.org/secret-files-republicans-lied-court-gerrymandering-7fefdc516d84/
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/DPS-emails-show-Texas-governor-pressed-for-voter-13936493.php
Fair voting districts, the proper way to create voter districts:
https://www.fairvote.org/
https://www.policymap.com/2017/08/solutions-to-gerrymandering/
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/11/16453512/gerrymandering-proportional-representation
7) Unqualified Judges Approved by the GOP
With the GOP in control of both the Presidency and of the Senate, they are using this time to flood the Judiciary with hyper conservative right-wing ideologues, some of whom are completely unqualified to become judges. What does this mean to the average person? These judges will not decide cases based on the law, or fairness, but upon what extremely conservative politicians think is best for you and your family.
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-nominating-unqualified-judges-left-and-right-710263
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/11/07/Controversial-judge-nominee-narrowly-survives-Senate-committee-vote/7261573148293/
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/24/senate-confirms-justin-walker-federal-judge-kentucky/4082958002/
8) “Campaign Contributions” and other bribes
Many people attempt to influence our politicians and government employees. The rich and powerful, both domestic as well as foreign, will attempt to curry favor with presidents, lawmakers, and jurists. We must keep our politicians and government employees focused on the constitution and the people of the United States. They must not represent special interests, to that end, no one running for office, holding office, or any government position should accept anything of value. This includes, but is not limited to money, trips, campaign contributions, etc. For a more detailed review of how campaigns wold be run, refer to:
https://medium.com/@rickragan/laws-for-our-post-trump-america-b4e2a786bbc8?source=friends_link&sk=5b84143fe07910af6e5c8d2e7bba7c90
9) Health Insurance — Preexisting Conditions
One of the most important realities of growing old is that diseases will find you. Whether it’s bursitis, diabetes, heart trouble, or cancer, if you live long enough, you will acquire a disease that stays with you. Since the GOP and Mitch McConnell work to support the health insurance companies, rather than protect Americans, they have been working since Obamacare to limit the benefits we receive. One of the most important to people over thirty is preexisting conditions. Health Insurance companies don’t want you to have it because it eats into their profits. So, naturally, Congress has been trying to remove this barrier to profits. McConnell defends lawsuits to undo preexisting conditions.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mcconnell-defends-trump-backed-suit-080000483.html
https://time.com/4712725/ahca-house-repeal-votes-obamacare/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/19/us/what-trump-can-do-to-let-obamacare-fail.html
10) Economy for the Rich, not for the Middle Class
The Grand Old Party has been the party of the wealthy and of corporations for over three decades. They write and pass laws that rig the economy for the rich. In turn, the rich pay the GOP millions of dollars to keep up the good work. We used to call them bribes, now we call them “campaign contributions.” Once elected, the Congress has no further obligation to represent everyone, so they choose the people who will give them the most money. It’s no surprise that the rich are doing great, and the rest of us, not so well.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/this-doesnt-look-like-the-best-economy-ever-40percent-of-americans-say-they-still-struggle-to-pay-bills/2019/07/04/855c382e-99b5-11e9-916d-9c61607d8190_story.html
https://apnews.com/3aec63de0dce4f558dd20fee6127b35c
11) Selective Socialism
The Republican party has long represented the wealthy and corporate America. They have influenced many generations of voters to believe that while bailouts for banks and large corporations are necessary for the survival of the country, helping the individual, the poor, the weak, and those of modest means is welfare that wastes money. The GOP’s approach can be summarized:
Socialism is bad for regular people
> Affordable healthcare
> Decent wages
> Food for the poor
Socialism is great for rich
> $1T GOP tax breaks to wealthy, 2017
> $20B a year for oil & gas subsidies to oil companies
> $5B a year to large corporate farming
Until we the people, prevent the rich and large corporations from giving “campaign contributions” to our lawmakers, we will not be able to keep Congress from passing laws that give the wealthy money they don’t deserve. This Selective Socialism is rapidly increasing the gap between the poor and the wealthy. America is significantly weaker because of this single issue.
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/23/selective-socialism-donald-trump-farmers-yes-poor-families-no/
Link: http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/05/study-trump-tax-cuts-failed-growth-investment.html
Link: https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/10/6/16428458/us-energy-coal-oil-subsidies
Link: https://farm.ewg.org/subsidyprimer.php
12) GOP took our Money and Gave it to the Rich
Here is but one example of the Republican party giving $1.5T, that’s a trillion dollars, $1,500,000,000,000.00, to the rich. Incidentally, the rich don’t need that money, they are independently wealthy. This even blew our federal budget, sky high, dramatically increasing the national debt.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/12/trump-just-signed-a-1-5-trillion-tax-cut-for-the-rich-heres-how-we-could-have-spent-that-money/
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/25/federal-deficit-increases-26percent-to-984-billion-for-fiscal-2019.html
13) With such a High Debt, the GOP plans to cut Social Security & Medicare
Maybe you see a connection here. The GOP gives $1.5T to the rich, creates a huge National Debt, and now now they want to dramatically cut our Medicare and Social Security. Trump and the GOP plan to cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare for the 2020 budget. Basically, they gave our Social Security money to the super rich who don’t need it. This is the essence of class warfare: they have left us to die in poverty while they enjoy what we paid into Social Security.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/12/18260271/trump-medicaid-social-security-medicare-budget-cuts
14) The Poor Receive Food Stamps
Another narrative the Republican Party pushes regularly is that poor people stay poor because they have no motivation to work. Giving poor people below the poverty line is seen as a way to keep them from working. Very little thought is given to the societal influences such as poverty wage jobs, or the massive income inequality. Trump administration proposals could cause millions to lose food stamps and potentially starve.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-proposal-could-cause-millions-lose-food-stamps-n1092866
15) Unregulated Guns
The NRA primary goal is to promote guns, the sale of guns, the unregulated use of guns, laws that allow guns to be taken into the streets, shops, and businesses. The GOP receives campaign contributions from the NRA and they promote these laws that make Americans less safe in their homes, schools, and places of work. And the point? The gun manufacturers make more money while Americans try to adjust to mass murder on a weekly basis. Russia certainly seems happy that the United States is destabilized and in constant crises.
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/charts-and-maps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shootings_in_the_United_States
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gop-blocks-bill-stop-terrorists-buying-guns
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/dont-stay-silent-democrats-lash-gop-blocks-gun-210400807.html
16) Disinformation: News Media & Social Media
Modern society is completely overrun with disinformation.
Russia’s KGB, now called the GRU, has dramatically evolved the science of distributing misleading information. Unfortunately, so too have billionaires using Cambridge Analytica, Fox News, and Facebook.
We are literally at the point where the average person has great difficulty understanding what is fact and what is fiction. Russia, the billionaires, and many in the GOP like it that way.
As you might guess, it is very hard to run a functional democracy when many citizens believe inaccurate information. Once again: Russia, the billionaires, and many in the GOP like it that way.
What’s the solution? Regulation.
Between 1949 and 1987 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required licensed radio and television broadcasters to present fair and balanced coverage of controversial issues of interest to their communities, it was called the Fairness Doctrine. We need a modern day version that applies to both Social Media and the News Media. It should either be a law or passed as a constitutional amendment. Yes, it’s that important to our democracy.
The United Kingdom has an organization whose purpose is to keep the news accurate and without bias, it’s called Ofcom. Section Five of Ofcom is entitled “Due Impartiality and Due Accuracy.” While neither the old USA or the new UK policies are complete in themselves, they could form the beginning of a new set of regulations to prevent the flood of disinformation that influences our society hourly.
https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Fairness+Doctrine
17) EPA Abandons Pollution Control
Trump does not care about pollution and the consequences. While he is actively trying to deregulate methane regulations, the oil, car, & electric utilities want to keep them in place these controls in place. Large companies are fully aware that climate change will occur more quickly when more methane is released into our atmosphere.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/climate/epa-methane-greenhouse-gas.html
To further accelerate pollution and climate change, Trump revoked California’s power to enforce more stringent limits on vehicle carbon pollution than the federal government. Why prevent California from having cleaner air? How does this action help America?
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/17/epa-california-obama-waiver-1500336
Most car manufacturers want to implement the clean air standards, Trump does not want clean air. Why would he want to make America more polluted?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/climate/automakers-rejecting-trump-pollution-rule-strike-a-deal-with-california.html
18) Increasingly Dangerous Storms
Climate change is real. It results in increasingly unstable weather patterns where storms become stronger, ice melts faster, and greenhouse gasses become more abundant. Trump pulled us out of the Paris Climate Agreement and the GOP refuses to address the on-going crises. Here are facts from NASA:
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2929/drought-stressed-forest-fueled-amazon-fires/
19) Hate-based Immigration - Mexican Border
Trump has stoked the fears of many white Americans by distorting the immigrant problem. We saw immigration at these levels back in 2007. This is nothing new, but Trump’s policy to separate parents from children made the situation much worse. The social and psychological effects are catastrophic for families, and especially the children. These are not American values, they are the behaviors of politicians such as Steven Miller who want to spread hate and racism in the USA.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/what-separation-from-parents-does-to-children-the-effect-is-catastrophic/2018/06/18/c00c30ec-732c-11e8-805c-4b67019fcfe4_story.html
20) Articles of Impeachment — Ukraine
Donald Trump loves to lie and cheat. When he noticed that Joe Biden was his main challenger for the 2020 elections, he bribed Ukraine by withholding hundreds of millions of US dollars targeted to Ukraine’s military by asking the President of Ukraine to announce he was investigating Joe Biden.
This withholding is illegal. Ukraine is at war with Russia and needs both our support and our money. To date, these facts haven’t been challenged by any GOP politician.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/house-puts-out-testimony-from-official-who-heard-trump-call/2019/11/18/4d1498a4-0a6b-11ea-8054-289aef6e38a3_story.html
21) GOP Congress Supports Lawless Trump
Many of the congressional Republican politicians openly resist the notion that Trump is corrupt and must be impeached in order to maintain the rule of law and to protect the constitution. They simply don’t care to follow the constitution. They would rather keep a member of their party in the White House rather than act in accordance with laws and the constitution.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/18/republicans-trump-silence-racism
For example, they have spread the Russian lie that it was Ukraine, not Russia that interfered in the 2016 elections. This is simply not true.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/us/politics/ukraine-russia-interference.html
In fact, the senators were briefed on this Russian lie
https://www.msnbc.com/mtp-daily/watch/u-s-intelligence-officials-briefed-senators-aides-on-russian-attempt-to-frame-ukraine-73924165764
And some senators still continued to spread this Russian disinformation
https://www.businessinsider.com/chuck-todd-senator-john-kennedy-accuses-ukraine-election-putin-lies-2019-12/
After being accused of distributing Russian disinformation, John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) doubled down on the lie in another interview days later:
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-december-1-2019-n1093781
The Republican party is lying to the American people in an attempt to help criminal Trump avoid impeachment. We must pass laws making this type of obstruction of justice illegal and easily enforceable.
22) Trump pardoned three American war criminals
It is terribly destructive to military morale and code of ethics for an American president to pardon an American solider who has been charged or convicted of war crimes. The code of military justice shows the world that our military fights with honor and obeys the laws of war. When Trump pardoned three soldiers charged with war crimes, he created massive problem overruling the commanders who justly wanted to punish these criminals. Now, will soldiers feel free to kill innocent civilians during war, because the president will pardon them? These are not American values. Trump undercuts the Department of Defense by pardoning these criminals.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1198746358091530241
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/11/19/trump-issued-pardons-soldiers-war-crimes-cases-what-now.html
Other Summaries of Trump & GOP Corruption:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/how-did-republican-party-get-so-corrupt/578095/
https://www.vox.com/2019/11/25/20981661/john-kennedy-roger-wicker-ukrainian-interference-russia
https://www.newsweek.com/2017/11/10/trump-administration-most-corrupt-history-698935.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/trump-administration-conflicts/
Summary
It’s time to get realistic.
America can only withstand so much misinformation, disruption and corruption before the government and society become depleted and unable to respond appropriately.
Trump, McConnell, and the rest of the Republican politicians have degraded our norms, values, morality, laws, and constitution for so long that our society is at a tipping point. Either we take to the streets in non-violent protests until the rule of law is restored, or give up and allow the United States of America to become more savage, lawless, and turn into a fascist empire for the rich where everyone else is treated as slaves.
Russia hacked Trump and the GOP
https://medium.com/@rickragan/russia-hacked-trump-and-the-gop-210c0d36075a?sk=88b0eab59a6d0265800e122f5646086c
Laws for our Post-Trump America
https://medium.com/@rickragan/laws-for-our-post-trump-america-b4e2a786bbc8?source=friends_link&sk=5b84143fe07910af6e5c8d2e7bba7c90
end.
