It’s tough to be a Republican these days. Those traditional values of days gone-by don’t seem to apply any more.
For corporate Republicans who supported limited government, the challenge of the Trump administration was its transactional nature. If your competitor was a larger donor who got the President’s attention, they got the tariff applied and you didn’t.
Republicans used to be the law & order folks, but now they’re the ones who attack police at the US Capitol. For an incredible, visual demonstration of hypocrisy, there’s January 6th video of the Republican-inspired mob attacking police with the thin blue line flag.
And for those who claim the Black Lives Matter demonstrations were equivalent, they weren’t. Thousands who marched in BLM marches were peaceful and controlled. The violence in those marches typically erupted late in the night with a very few involved, and often after the police had rolled out their military vehicles, military garb, and initiated confrontations with tear gas. Plus, they weren’t in the US Capitol, the very seat of our democracy. And BLM protesters never tried overturn an election, never tried to stop the peaceful transition of power that has occurred with every administration since George Washington voluntarily gave up his power to John Adams.
Republicans used to support the American ideal of basic fairness - we all get three strikes to an out, we all have to gain 10 yards for a first down. Even that level of integrity isn't practiced. Trump attorney John Eastman pressed VP Pence to single-handedly overturn the election by stopping certification. When asked if VP Al Gore should have done the same in the more closely contested 2000 election, Eastman said no. When asked if VP Kamala Harris could overture the 2024 election Eastman said no. But, Eastman thinks it was appropriate for Pence to do so.
It all makes feeling good about casting a vote for Republicans difficult. Consider how the Democratic administration is investing American Rescue Plan and Infrastructure Bill funding on things like wastewater plants that benefit us all, on roads and bridges that benefit us all, on port facilities that improve the flow of goods to our markets that benefit us all.
It may be time to switch who you vote for. One party is abandoning what you value and the other is acting in ways that align with your values and benefit you too.