The party of rejection
The Republicans now have lodged themselves fully in opposition to any and all Democratic policy measures which are intended to better the lives of Americans. That opposition is extraordinary! So I thought I’d share my observations with you.
The GOP opposes: fair voting, deleting the filibuster, the idea that climate change is real, charging taxpayers with evading taxes, investigating the Jan. 6 rioting, vaccinations, the 2020 election results, allowing floor debate on the infrastructure bill, funding the IRS, progressive tax rates, extending unemployment benefits, abortions, immigration, harvesting ballots even when ballot boxes are far away (as on the Navajo Reservations), keeping schools closed to avoid COVID-19, mask mandates, any gun regulation, private companies’ refusals to publish false statements, preventing discrimination, stopping conflicts of interest, criticizing pardons of the guilty, preventing the president’s use of the Justice Department as his personal law team, impeachment, leaving government lands free of private mineral extraction, taxing estates, closing tax loopholes, restoring alliances, DACA, postponing evictions, allowing Democratic appointments of justices, teaching critical race theory, giving water to people waiting to vote, disclosing political contributors, accepting Black Lives Matter as legitimate and with a right to speak, labor unions, raising taxes on capital gains, raising taxes on corporations, investigating foreign interference in elections, criticizing a president’s denigration of vaccinations, and so forth, and fifth and sixth.
Meanwhile, the GOP has made strenuous efforts to block any legislation introduced by Democrats. Sen. Mitch McConnell has expressly stated he will work his butt off to stymie any and all efforts to have Democratic policies enacted. In short, he and others say, “The country and our citizens be damned. We are going to hang onto power, even if we are a minority.”
And you wonder why I, in turn, oppose the GOP?
Parker Maddux
Basalt