WHAT HAVE REPUBLICANS DONE FOR US? (revisited)

We all hear Republican candidates claiming they want to “Make America Great again,” and before that "Take America back again."  They seem to want to return our nation to some mythical time when things were better.  I can’t help but wonder, better for whom. 

If we look at what Republicans have done in the past few decades, it is not clear what that mythical time looks like to them.  It certainly is not a place most Americans would like to live in.

I have been trying to think of one thing the Republicans have done for America in, let's say, the past 40 years.  That should be long enough for a party to do something positive for the nation.  It is true they have made the rich richer, given tax breaks to the wealthiest, started a few wars, tortured a lot of prisoners, vastly increased the prison population of the country, ran a completely incompetent "war on drugs," but what was gained by  any but the top 1%?

I have only considered contributions by Republicans to American society since 1980 or so.  Going back further would have been too painful.  Check out these important categories that touch the lives of most Americans and Republican contributions.

Education:  Republican education reformers came up with vouchers which take tax payer money and give it to private and religious schools while neglecting the public schools as much as possible.  Charter schools were introduced, a vehicle for giving public money to private companies and individuals to provide educational services, whether or not those people or companies are competent.  The current Secretary of Education is totally behind these measures and contributes part of her fortune to promote them. 

Health care:  Republicans tore down every attempt to introduce programs that could assure each American of affordable medical services.  They convinced many Americans that “Obamacare/socialized medicine” would be terrible for Americans when what they meant was it would be terrible for the wealthy medical insurance companies who sponsor their campaigns. (It actually  did not.)    Even extending insurance to poor children involved a fight.  They are still working hard to get rid of the Affordable Care Act that provides many millions with coverage they can afford, through sneaky underhanded means, tucked in bills passed at midnight.

Jobs:  Republicans say they create jobs, but they are not too interested in the quality of those jobs and whether or not those jobs provide a living wage.  They work constantly to break unions and to fight raising the minimum wage.  Most Republicans barely blink when a presidential candidate tells poor people that their kids should be hired as janitors so they can learn to “show up on Monday,” as Mitt Romney did in 2012.  The unemployment rate is going down, but wages are barely rising. 

Family Values:  Republicans would have us believe they have a lock on what it means to be family while ignoring their own principles.  It is OK, though since they ask forgiveness after they are caught and are immediately assumed to be repentant.  Some of the most prominent among Republicans speak of the sacredness of marriage while not honoring it very well themselves.  Their hatred of immigrants allows them to break up well established stable families so one or some of the members can be deported.

Women's Rights:  I know this is not really a Republican issue, but since nearly 50% of Republicans are women, it automatically becomes one.  Many of not most Republicans want to prohibit use of all birth control as well as abortion but do not want to provide assistance after the baby is born. "That would foster dependence on social programs."  The Republican  position should accurately be called “Right to Birth,” not “Right to life.”  It is not sufficient that they choose not to use these family planning techniques themselves, they want to dictate what everyone else is allowed to do. Republican state legislatures work very hard to criminalize abortion and the women who choose to have one.  At midnight they pass laws that outlaw abortion before most women are even aware they are pregnant.  They would prefer that abortions never be granted, that is, of course unless their life or their wife's life is at risk.  

Government Programs:  Republicans don’t want to have Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, Social Security or other Government programs, yet these are often the only safety nets that stand between citizens, even Republican citizens, and disaster.  Republicans do not create better programs, they just put barriers in front of people who need what currently exists.  Why, In their minds, of course there should be work requirements for those receiving Medicaid, the poorest, most struggling people among us.
  
Civil Rights:  Most bills that have come before Republican Congresses and presidents related to civil rights have been either ignored or watered down to mean essentially nothing.  Police are being militarized and that equipment is often used against people of color.  Segregation in our communities, schools, and other public places is nearly as strong as ever.

Size of Government:  Republicans claim Government is too large, and should be "drowned in a bathtub."  But under every Republican administration, our government grew significantly, particularly in the areas of the military, the war on drugs, homeland security.  Growth is good as long as the right people benefit.

Tax Reform:  Republicans HATE taxes.  They want all the benefits of having decent roads, police, fire, and deportation services, safe bridges, airports, sports stadiums but they don't want to have to pay for, and will work hard to avoid paying for them.  Companies are permitted to take profits off-shore, and for quite a while, companies were given tax breaks for moving abroad.  Any tax breaks go mostly to the wealthiest 1%.  Republicans think that's fair.

Environment:  President Nixon signed the Environmental Protection Agency into law in the early 1970's, but despite the amazing clean-up it has overseen, current Republicans are working very hard to dismantle the regulations that protect our air and water, so even the one really positive thing Republicans have done is being corrupted.  Make as much money as you can and to hell with the destruction caused.  Someone will clean it up later. 

So, what do Republicans have to offer America?  It is certainly not anything to benefit average Americans.  If the past is any indication, unless we can get some Republicans out of office, our nation will continue on this destructive course, and the rich will get richer and the rest of us poorer.