As we get into the meat of this election cycle, we will once again be
subjected to the biggest Republican lie. No, not that they are the
leaders in efficient, balanced government (the past seven years have
pointedly contradicted that lie). And no, not the one about how they
sup****t the troops (unless you count multiple deployments, inadequate
training and equipment and selling out to private contractors as
sup****t). No, this year we will once again suffer through this
nauseating sound bite: The Republicans are the party of family values.
Ha! Personal conduct of Republicans aside, at least for now, the fact
remains that the Republican platform is decidedly anti-family.
Let=92s look at this from the beginning. The Republicans have the gall
to use the phrase "pro-life," thus framing the debate in their favor.
But, the issue isn=92t the act of abortion because that will happen
regardless of legality. The issue is choice, which is why the flip
side is "pro-choice." For a party that claims the federal government
is too involved in our personal lives, this argument is non-sequitur
(also, for a party that sup****ts the death penalty to be somehow
labeled as "pro-life" is a ridiculous, hypocritical joke).
There is no legal reason to ban abortion. Until we can agree on the
definition of life and science (which Republicans hate) can determine
when life begins, abortion is not murder. If your religion discourages
abortion, fine. Don=92t do it. However, that is not reason enough to
prevent others from making that choice. Republicans will try to paint
Democrats as giddy about abortion and excited at the prospect, but in
reality, Democrats are simply trying to protect the right of Americans
to choose what is best for their lives. After all, most reasonable
people would agree that bringing a child into a situation where it
cannot be properly cared for is an action with much more far-reaching
consequences.
But, if you still believe that Republicans are pro-life and pro-
family, then they must have other pro-family ideas, right? So, I guess
the first thing about being pro-family would be ensuring that all
people have access to proper health care. If they=92re pro-life, they
must sup****t healthy life and access to health services. Wrong.
Republicans are adamantly against Universal Health Care. In fact, they
are against any legislation that would increase the standard of Health
Care in America. Even though numerous studies have shown that the US
lags behind the industrialized world (37th as judged by WHO) and has
the highest rates of preventable death among 19 industrialized nations
(as judged by US Journal Health Affairs), the Republicans would not
want to do anything that would jeopardize the profit margin of health
insurers and pharmaceutical companies. I don=92t know about you, but the
fact that more than 47 million Americans go without basic health
coverage doesn=92t sound pro-family to me. The fact remains that dozens
of countries have managed to provide basic services for their people
without going bankrupt. The US spends more than any other nation on
health care and for what? These abysmal rankings? The Republicans have
privatized the health care industry for the benefit of their cor****ate
masters, not once thinking of the American people.
Perhaps a pro-family party would consider universally available day
care as a part of its platform? After all, Republicans love that
Americans work more than almost every other nation on earth, so they
would probably sup****t policies that allow parents to work more. Nope.
Except for programs like Head Start, which the Republicans have cut-
down each year, there is no way plan to sup****t working parents.
Annual costs for daycare in America run up to $10,000, an outrageous
sum and one that working Americans cannot manage to pay. If America
had universally available daycare, rates could be based on income and
ability to pay. I=92m not even talking about free (or as Republicans
will have you believe: Socialist), I=92m talking about affordable. And,
universally available daycare would pay for itself in the end.
Children would be better prepared for school, which would improve drop-
out rates and ease the burden on teachers by ensuring all children
have basic skills by the time they are school aged. Not to mention the
fact that access to proper nutrition cut-down on many future health
issues. And parents aren=92t mandated to send their children, but the
option is always available. Now, that is pro-family policy, and
surprise, it=92s not sup****ted by Republicans.
Perhaps another family friendly policy sup****ted by Republicans is
equal pay for women and minimum wage that is a living wage? As we all
know, there is an increase in the number of single mothers and, 30+
years after the women=92s equality movement, women are still facing pay
discrimination. Additionally, women are more likely to be working
hourly-wage jobs, so Republicans must sup****t initiatives to ensure
that women are paid equally and that minimum wage is a living wage.
Unfortunately, no, Republicans don=92t sup****t these ideas. They believe
in the free market setting wages. Yes, I can see where this would be
misleading, since markets fluctuate. But the reality is that in the
past seven years, real wages for American have decreased by $1,000,
and this during a supposed economic growth period. Well, at least CEOs
are doing well. In 2007, the average CEO earned more than 367 times
the average worker, not including the approximate $438,342 in unpaid
"perks." This is up from 1989 when CEOs earned 71 times the average
salary. And, just in case you=92re wondering, the average hedge fund
manager earned $657.5 million in 2006; 16,000 times the average salary
of $40,000. So, Republican policy towards wages basically amounts to
pay the rich, burden the poor, since Americans are shelling out
thousands for heath care, daycare, schools, etc. Unfortunately, we=92ve
seen what this free market policy does for real American wages.
Nothing. Cor****ations won=92t pay their people more or equally unless
it=92s mandated by the government.
Oh, schools! We haven=92t even mentioned those yet. I would say that the
bedrock of a pro-family policy must be education for the children,
right? How can someone be more pro-family than by sup****ting quality
education? One of the greatest American ideas was that public
education would be available to all. Lately, and by "lately" I mean
"under W=92s reign of terror," quality education has fallen by the
wayside. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has done nothing to address the
quality of education, nothing to ensure that American children are
prepared for the future, nothing to ensure that children are getting
the attention they need. It=92s a one size fits no one failure. Special
needs children are placed in cl***** with regular students and no aide
because NCLB mandates 100% passing. Teachers are forced to "teach the
test" instead of teaching the subject. This standardized test mess is
not helping anyone, and it=92s hurting our schools and our teachers.
Additionally, college costs are on the rise, in both public and
private universities. The year-to-year increase is about 6%, which is
shocking considering that the average wage increase is less than half
of that. More and more students are finding college out of reach, and
parents cannot save enough to keep up with the runaway costs. I=92m not
saying that the government needs to foot the bill for every person=92s
higher education, but it needs to get creative. One great suggestion
is a School for Service program that would operate like the military=92s
ROTC. People could receive scholar****ps in exchange for years of
government service (currently ROTC students owe the military at least
four years and service academy graduates owe at least five, depending
on the service selected). This would also help bolster the dwindling
ranks of public servants. There are ways to make college affordable
and accessible, but under the current Republican policies, college is
just another way for the rich to make more money from the poor.
My final note about pro-family policies is probably the most
controversial, but the most necessary. Family planning services and
***ual education are the keystone to a healthy, successful family, but
Republicans keep shunning this topic as too taboo. Let=92s end the
prudeness and get realistic. We need to give our children the best
information on the subject possible. Abstinence-only education cannot
trump biology. Making family planning and ***ual education resources
available does not encourage people to have ***. We=92re hardwired to
have ***, so no safer-*** tools are going to make the inevitable more
likely. But, right now we are facing the first increase in teen
pregnancy and STDs in almost two decades, and lack of information is
the culprit. Being pro-family means having the fortitude to address
family planning and ***ual education. Purposely keeping people
ignorant is not pro-family.
Republicans think that being pro-family means sup****ting a radical
Christian agenda which flies in the face of the Constitution, giving
hundred-dollar tax credits to solve thousand-dollar problems, and
letting the free market and tax loopholes set working wages, without
regard to the actual consequences. Being pro-family means addressing
the needs of real American families: health care, child care,
education and wages. These are the issues that Republicans will
attempt to distort and spin in their favor, but the reality is that
their policies are decidedly anti-family. Bottom line: Republicans
only care about you until you=92re born. After that, they hope you make
it long enough to become a cog in their war machine.
|
