“The Virtues Of Selfishness: How The Republican Party Destroyed America”
By David Franklin
Happy Memorial Day America!
We honor the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces today. We honor past service members too. Some, sadly, never made it back. We are eternally grateful for their ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy the freedoms we enjoy today. Where would we be today without them?
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party are not the same. The contrasts between the two major political parties are as different as night and day. In this article, I will tell you how we got here and what we can do to be better as a nation. Our best days are ahead of us and never write off America. Many have tried to but, as we have seen throughout history, failed miserably.
The never-ending GOP War is against: Disney World, Math, Big Bird, Mr. Potato Head, the Green M&M, Women, Immigrants, the LGBTQ Community and Democracy itself. On the other hand, Democrats wage war against is: high healthcare costs, climate change, poverty, and fascism (political and corporate).
What sort of political party takes great joy in limiting healthcare and food assistance for the poor? REPUBLICANS!
What sort of political party destroys the education system deliberately and trying hard to eliminate the Department of Education? REPUBLICANS!
What sort of political party targets women attempting to eliminate reproductive rights while refusing to help in resulting babies? REPUBLICANS!
What sort of political party take advantage of, and abuse, desperate immigrants who came here to start fresh and try to make a better life for themselves and their families? REPUBLICANS!
What sort of political party refuse to protect Mother Earth from destruction due to climate change? REPUBLICANS!
What sort of political party glee with delight in their hate for the LGBTQ Community and would rather see them dead? REPUBLICANS!
How can Evangelicals, who make up a great portion of today’s Republican Party, claim to be Christian, who espouses the values of Jesus Christ while perverting and debase his teachings? It’s a serious case of “Do as I say but not as I do” hypocrisy that has never before seen in the history of our Republic. Quite frankly, it is nauseating and pretty disgusting.
The Debt Ceiling: How Did We Get Here?
The GOP raised the debt ceiling 3 times under Donald Trump, 7 times under George W. Bush and 18 times under Ronald Reagan. Nobody heard any cries of pain during those negotiations, did they? 97% of the debt ceiling was incurred prior to Joe Biden’s presidency and 25% was incurred under Trump. The GOP’s tax cuts for the 1% added $1,900,000,000,000 to the national debt. When billionaires and corporations were getting payouts, the Republicans didn’t care about the national debt. So, spare us all the fake outrage about Biden’s out of control spending? The question that should be asked is when will billionaires and corporations pay their fair share in taxes?
The Republican led House majority voted to:
– Defund the PACT ACT that helps veterans who get sick
– Cut food assistance to the poor
– Gave $3.6 trillion in tax giveaways to the rich
– Take Medicare from nearly 600,000 Americans
Now they are embarrassed that Democrats are calling them out on it. These Republicans have absolutely no shame in their game. Why do some Americans still support, and vote for, such scumbags? Republicans don’t mean well for America. They never have and never will.
The “Family Values” Charade and Ronald Reagan’s Presidency
Why does the Republican Party still support a traitor like Donald Trump? What kind of shithole party ousts and ostracize Liz Cheney but protects a despicable liar like George Santos? Sadly, it is no longer Democrats versus Republicans but America versus Ultra-MAGA Trumpers. This is a battle that America must win. Because if we don’t? We can kiss our Democracy goodbye forever.
It is safe to say that this family values charade began in the 1960s. It was a water shed period in American history when counter cultures collided. US Senator Barry Goldwater (R+Arizona) was the 1964 Republican nominee for President. His candidacy was the beginning of the end for the normal GOP as we knew it. The rise of the Evangelical Movement within the GOP spelt disaster for his candidacy against incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Republicans embraced extremism by colluding with the John Birch Society and the Evangelical Movement. They wanted to go back to the Jim Crow days where Blacks, and every other non-White ethnicity, were treated like garbage and White people were on top of the heap economically, socially and politically. They resisted changing with the times and, over the next two decades, worked to dismantle everything the Great Society and New Deal programs installed to help average Americans move up in life.
Ronald Reagan rose quickly within the ranks of the Republican Party. He was a sick and twisted individual who I regarded as very disturbed when it came on to economic policies and social issues. He had a charm and unmatched charisma that hypnotized people. He used it to his advantage throughout his political career. He wasn’t a brilliant, deep thinker in the slightest. He was given a script and, as all actors do, memorized it and played his part well. It was all in presentation with no substance to back it up. The damage that he did can be still felt today. What did Reagan stand for really? Where do I even begin? Reagan was the original hateriot who spread xenophobia by dog whistle methods, while wrapped in the flag and thumping on a Christian bible. Today Trump only mastered this art of bullshit. Nothing is more disturbing than glorifying stupidity. And this is who people that vote Republican are. Why do they continue to reward mediocrity and stupidity? Ronald Reagan started from humble beginnings in Illinois and was not from a wealthy family. He benefitted greatly from FDR’s New Deal programs that lifted America out of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover, like many Republicans of that era and today, believed in deregulation and giving Corporations unlimited freedom to run business without any government oversight. They believed that giving such power to the wealthy corporations and individuals would lead to job creation and prosperity. They didn’t have a name for it back then. Today, it is called trickle down economics. It failed miserably then and it continued to fail throughout the decades thereafter.
From the AIDS epidemic to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the attempted merging of religion with the rule of law, we are seeing the horrible results of the Reagan Revolution of 1980. Reversing it will be difficult, but it must be done. It amazes me how a wealthy actor told a struggling public that the answer to their problems was to give the wealthy more money and wait for that trickled down effect. To quote George Bush, the future running mate and Vice President on that same ticket, Reagan’s economic doctrine was nothing more than “Voodoo Economics”. Reagan won 49 States because of it. The Middle Class and Blue Collar have nots were bamboozled by the former actor’s charm and charisma. America, on a whole, fell for the sham as Reaganomics really sucked for them in the long run. America is still feeling the negative effects of the Reagan presidency.
During the 8 years under Reagan’s presidency, we had:
1) Dramatic roll back in labor unions membership. Union busting was encouraged.
2) The Fairness Doctrine was removed, giving free reign over fake news and the emergence of right wing media on radio (and later on with Fox News Channel)
3) There was an infiltration of Christian Fundamentalism within the US Government. Reagan tip-toed his way in through using his charm to get his way. Reagan and Republicans always spoke a good game. But it is turning out that the American Dream was, and still is, a delusion. Reagan’s policies decimated the Middle Class and working poor families. Republican policies in general affected Minorities, the Middle Class and Democracy in general. Like Herbert Hoover, Reagan and his Republican majority strong armed their way into getting what they wanted by removing regulations on business and cutting their taxes drastically. The believed that by doing so, corporations would be freer in giving out jobs, which in turn fuels economic growth which translates into higher wages for workers across the board. Wealth would begin at the top and trickle down to the bottom. Sadly, America fell for Reagan’s voodoo economics.
When Reagan assumed office, there was crippling stagflation. Inflation and unemployment rates were high. America was in its worse recession since the Great Depression. This was caused by events happening around the world that nobody had control of the circumstances. Oil prices sored. There was tension in the Middle East. There was the Iran Hostage Crisis and sanctions against Iran led by Ayatollah Khomeini against the great Satan of the West (that would be us). Minimum wage remained steady and was not changing with the times to match inflation. Before 1979, the 1% paid 70% of their fortune in income taxes. That went towards infrastructure and other key industries to build up the US economy. In the 8 years that Reagan was president, income taxes for the 1% dropped to 28%. Major tax breaks were given to wealthy individual and Corporations in the name of creating “smaller government”. During this time, the rise in growth in wealth for the 1% skyrocketed by 116% compared to the other 90% of the population wealth, which grew to a laughable low of 17%. Hence, the total decimation of the Middle Class and less affluent. Reaganomics killed America’s already dwindling Middle Class. Average worker’s compensation, between 1978 to 2021, rose by just 18.1% compared to the average CEO’s salary which jumped by 1460%. That is a 400% wealth growth of the average CEO today. Wages did not keep up with the rate of inflation and Reagan preached that “Government isn’t the solution to America’s problems. Government is the problem.” Big government to be exact. He and the GOP successfully was blowing smoke up America’s collective ass and the majority fell for it hook, line and sinker. According to the Republican philosophy of “picking one’s self up from the boot straps” and individuals “are the creators of their own destiny if they wanted to.”, the Republican Party had a well oiled machine with their flawed message that people bought. If you didn’t pull yourself up by the bootstraps, you were a moral failure as a person and no blame was to be laid on a system that had years of institutionalized racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia to people who were not Caucasian straight white men.
This is why Labor and Trade Unions are important today. The peak of the Labor and Trade Unions was during the 1940s to 1950s. Membership comprised of one-third of the work force with collective bargaining which gave power to workers. By the end of Reagan’s tenure in the White House as president, it was cut in half to a measly 10% of all workers. The 1981 airport strike by aviation workers saw 12,000+ air traffic controllers, who were federal employees, unceremoniously fired on Reagan’s watch. They were barred for life from ever working in the Federal Government again. Reagan appointed political yes men to the National Labor Relations Board, who made it their duty to dismantle it to a powerless shell of nothingness. Regulations were eased. Hence, the National Labor Relations Board got away with any and everything with no accountability. It was Union busting at its finest. There was a drastic reduction in strikes after 1979 when Reagan and Republicans took charge on Capitol Hill. The average strike before 1979 was between 200 to 400 per year. By 1980, there was 170 strikes per year. By 1989, when Reagan left office, there were only 40 strikes. As of 2017, there have been only 7 major strikes led by labor unions. I am glad to see Labor Unions making a comeback as Michigan has changed their “right to work” law with a Democratic State Legislature and strong female Governor in Gretchen Whitmer. Hopefully, in 2024, other states will elect Democrats as Governor so as to give power back to workers?
Corporations act as though you should be grateful for working for them and they pay you whatever they want. The current minimum wage is a sick joke. One is expected to show unwavering loyalty and go above and beyond, even though workers are replaceable. Failure to show such blind loyalty makes you a bad worker in their eyes. They can fire you at a drop of a hat. They hold all the power. Their attitude is “You want a job? Take it or leave it?” Human Resources in these big multi-national Corporations are there to protect the business from being sued and not interested in looking out for the employees they hire. The bottom line is about making a profit for shareholders and the board of directors. If anyone believes otherwise, then I have unicorn meat to sell to them. Only through collective bargaining and proper organizing can workers have leverage and rights over these Corporations. America need to get back to that system where there is fairness. When Ronald Reagan came, fairness went down the drain because of the Me culture. It became every person for themselves.
Reagan and Republicans were unfair to minorities. They blamed African-Americans for the abuse of the welfare system. Even though, the welfare system catered to mostly poor white people. It still does to this day. Single African-American mothers were demonized as “Welfare Queens”. Reagan painted them as being lazy and entitled who sucked on the government teat, unwilling to get up and find gainful employment. There was, and still is, a stigma attached to being on welfare. There should be no shame as there need to be a safety netting to help the poor and less affluent in society. There will always be people who need such help.
The Reagan Administration slashed government support in their comical yet antiquated war on drugs. Minorities were thrown in prison for long periods compared to whites who committed the same crimes. Out of this came the Prison Industrial Complex. Minorities were kicked out of Section 8 housing and, while in prison, got no programs that could help rehabilitate drug ts and low level criminals. Prisons for Profit became a booming business that the donor class and Corporate America took full advantage of. Systemic racism destroyed inner-city communities, with the help of the CIA, who was distributing crack and heroine throughout the African-American communities across the country. This came to light in 1988. As of now, no big fish has been ever held accountable for that attempted genocide of the Black Community. Why?
AIDS and HIV was rampant in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. For seven years, Reagan said and did nothing to fight this deadly disease that was killing hundreds of thousands. The GOP blamed it as a gay disease and those who took drugs using dirty needles. It didn’t directly affect them. So, they turned a blind eye to this deadly epidemic. By 1987. some 30,000 Americans died from AIDS. A further 20,000+ contracted the HIV virus that causes AIDS. It wasn’t until famous movie star, and close
Reagan Hollywood friend, Rock Hudson came out as gay and having AIDS that Reagan started doing something about it. By then, it was too late. Do you see the parallel with Donald Trump and how he tackled COVID-19? Republicans just don’t care. Republicans openly hated on the LGBTQ Community from the 1970s. The Moral Majority, led by Rev. Jerry Falwell, Sr. had the big money to spend on Reagan getting elected. The counter cultures clashed again as “family values” social conservative put the gay community on full blast for being immoral and indecent. Thus beginning the culture wars.
In conclusion, Ronald Reagan, like Donald Trump, is a mythical hero with cult like status. I, like many, see them as the Patron Saints of Fuckery who capitalized of fear. Donald Trump has perfected the art of fear.
Fear of political unrest?
Fear of immigrants “taking good American jobs”? Fear of assimilation where people of color and minorities surpass whites demographically?
Fear of an economic uprising by a united Middle Class and the have nots?
The GOP are masters at stroking the flames of fear.
Their largely uneducated/undereducated base has an irrational fear for everything non-White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Do they fear being treated like how they have treated others throughout the over two centuries of America’s existence? This is a last, desperate push by Old Money, the political and media elites, as well as Wall Street Corporate America to maintain the status quo of keeping certain people in their rightful place. We are expected to be good little corporate soldiers who work for the Man and not ask too many questions that will rock the boat and cause mass hysteria. There is an economic, social and cultural apartheid happening in America. Nobody is here for it. Change is inevitable. We the People will fight back and fight hard to maintain our fragile Democracy. I urge you, my fellow Americans, to vote your conscience and with common sense in 2024. Democrats have laid out their plan of action. To the contrary, Republicans have shown their hand as being for their Corporate owners who call all the shots because they finance the Republican Party and their candidates. There are quite a few Democrats who Corporate America owns as well. We need to do something about that. How? By voting out Corporate bootlickers who look out for the interests of the 1% and not the people who elected them. It goes for both Democrats and Republicans. There are too many in the GOP. Trump is Reagan on steroids basically. The only difference being that Trump is a complete idiot and utter failure in life who is a figure head. At least Reagan had cunning people around him who were seasoned professionals. I am positive that Jack Smith, Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg and Attorney General Merrick Garland has some special surprises in store for America. The bottom line is accountability. And it’s a long time in coming for Donald Trump and his enablers in the Republican Party. America deserves that much. The greed and lust for unchecked power started with Ronald Reagan. Let’s end America’s long suffering with Donald Trump going to federal prison for a long time? Put his enablers in there with him…at hard labor! Republicans want Autocracy. Democrats believe in Democracy. Vote accordingly and not against your best economic interests? It is time for accountability.
Until next time, be safe and stay healthy. Thanks for sharing, liking and reading.
Best Regards America,
David Franklin
Albuquerque, New Mexico