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July 06, 2005
Security, Prosperity & Family
These are three ideas I think most of us can get behind. Perhaps not surprisingly, they were, according to reports, the three buzzwords from last night's GOP event honoring local Republican Congressmen Tom DeLay, Ted Poe & Michael McCaul, held in River Oaks.
Apparently, there were also rousing calls to keep the government out of "our businesses, our bedrooms, our churches and our gun closets." This is a remarkable phrase coming from members of the party in charge today -- guess one out of four ain't bad.
This is not your father's Republican Party, folks. While the reception remarks may have been geared toward the "country club" GOP crowd common in River Oaks, today's GOP has done anything but keep government off our backs.
From unreasonable, unnecessary portions of the Patriot Act, to Terri Schiavo, to reproductive rights, to separation of church and state, to expanded eminent domain, government today has climbed over our backs and down our throats, and the GOP is in charge of everything.
But let's get back to the three planks of last night's platform:
Security -- while thankfully, we have not suffered another attack here since 9/11, we are now mired in a messy foreign entanglement that is claiming the lives of brave Americans every day, stretching the resources of our fine military to the breaking point, inflaming terrorist hatred of the U.S. worldwide, and draining hundreds of billions of dollars from the federal budget, at a time of record deficits. We don't know many people who feel very secure these days.
Prosperity -- for a few folks, the economic good times just keep on rolling. For most, they are just treading water or slowly sinking. The gap between rich and poor grows wider every day. Wages are flat. The stock market continues to perform poorly. Many Americans are unemployed or underemployed. Healthcare and education costs are going through the roof, as are real estate prices in many places. We don't know too many people who feel really prosperous these days.
Family -- a great political word. Everybody's for families, right? For some, being for families means stopping abortion, stopping same sex marriage, teaching creationism in the classroom, and generally broadening religion's influence in the public square. We do not agree with this agenda, but understand and respect that for some, these are deeply held convictions.
But we ask, even if you believe those things, is that all being for families means? What about helping families by making sure all kids have access to healthcare and a decent education? What about a society that helps keep families together by paying a decent minimum wage for a hard day's work? What about a government that sets an example to America's families by being honest, ethical, tolerant and respectful of those with whom they disagree? Where are the folks in charge on those family values?
So, three slogans at a party -- security, prosperity and family. They sound great, but when you think about it, is that really the record Republicans want to run on?
Posted by houtopia at July 6, 2005 05:01 PM