“What are Republicans for? What are they for? Name me one thing they're for,” President Joe Biden, Jan. 19, 2022.
“RESOLVED, That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda; RESOLVED, That the 2020 Republican National Convention will adjourn without adopting a new platform until the 2024 Republican National Convention.” Republican National Committee, Aug. 22, 2020.
The 2022 election season has begun. Republicans are already laying the groundwork to claim the election was stolen. In their minds, any Democratic win must be illegal.
This is especially nonsensical because, according to the PEW Research Center, 49 percent of registered voters are Democrats or lean Democratic, while 44 percent are Republican or lean Republican. If the majority decided elections, Democrats would win most of them.
In the last eight presidential elections, the Democratic candidate won the popular vote seven times, including both times former President Donald Trump ran. In 2020, 168.31 million people were registered to vote; 155 million votes were cast. Biden received 81 million and Trump received 74 million. This follows the decades-old pattern.
In the Senate, each state gets two senators, resulting in unequal representation. For example, Wyoming has 578,800 people and two Republican senators. California has 39.54 million people and two Democratic senators. Overall, 41.6 million more people are represented by Democratic senators than by Republicans, even with the 50/50 split in the Senate. So when Republicans claim they represent the American people, they’re off by tens of millions.
With fewer Republicans than Democrats, you’d think Republicans would work to develop policies that would appeal to voters. Instead, they’ve given up even pretending to stand for anything. Since Republicans are bankrupt when it comes to ideas, they resort to gerrymandering districts and suppressing votes.
As the RNC statement above implies, there are basically two planks in the Republican platform: 1. Do whatever Trump tells you. 2. Obstruct everything the Democrats do, no matter how good for America. That’s it. Republicans want power, but for what, they can’t explain.
Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was stumped when asked what Republicans would do if they regain the Senate majority this fall. “That is a very good question, and I'll let you know when we take it back.” (Daily Kos, Jan 20)
So, no platform, no plans, nothing. However, they do have some core beliefs, based on their actions. Here are a few.
“Free and fair elections are for suckers. Violence is a legitimate tool in politics. White men should run the country and the world. Helping people who’re going through a rough patch is a waste of time. ‘Giving’ citizens things like healthcare, education, family leave, etc. are all ‘socialism’ and will destroy ‘the American way of life.’ Wealth is proof of goodness; poverty is proof of moral failure. Money and power are the only truly important things in life.”
In a survey by the nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute, conducted between Sept. 16-29, 30 percent of Republicans agreed with the statement, “Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” Violence is a core Republican belief.
In contrast, Democrats believe the following: “People who work full time shouldn’t live in poverty. Homelessness shouldn’t exist in the richest country in the world. Every American should have world-class healthcare at little or no cost. Free higher education (and quality public schools) unlock human potential which benefits the entire country.” There’s a lot more, but the difference should be clear. (Daily Kos, Jan. 8)
On March 6, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower described today’s Republican Party: “If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.”
Republicans have few constructive ideas. They just want to follow Trump, a man who recently announced that he tried to overturn the legal, constitutional 2020 election. Even if Trump was the best president ever (which he wasn’t) and created the best economy ever (which he didn’t), the fact that he tried to overthrow a legitimate presidential election should disqualify him from holding any office, ever.
As we enter this election season, consider what the two parties stand for: supporting a self-serving man whose main goal was to seize power and overthrow our constitutional government, or supporting policies that work for every American. The choice shouldn’t be hard.
Jeanette Strong, whose column appears every other week, is a Nevada Press Association award-winning columnist. She may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.
