Much is made now that the current GOP is the “Party of No”. But let’s remember that throughout American history conservatives have always been against progress. Whether it was first the Democrats in the 19th century or ultra conservative Republicans in the late 20th and early 21st century conservatives have tried to set the nation backward or maintain the status quo.
The Ronald Reagan Republican Party wanted to set us back to the 1950’s before the civil rights movement, Medicare and Medicaid. However the current anti-science Republican Party is not satisfied with moving the nation back to 1950s, instead they would rather go back to the 1850s because they reject all the ideas of the Scientific Revolution.
One of the problems we face today is that there are conservatives in both the Republican and Democratic Parties.
My personal philosophy is that if a political system moves too far right or left on a one way highway each extreme winds you up in the ditch. In political and societal development that are forever intertwined there is only going forward (progressivism) or going backward (conservatism). To avoid obstacles in the road sometimes you need to veer left or right depending on the circumstances. Of course the Bush Administration has ended us up in the bumpy shoulder going 60 MPH in reverse. So the country needs to stop going backwards, shift it into overdrive, step on the gas and make a major correction to the left just to get back on the road and move forward once again.
Conservatives wanted to stay loyal to England.
Conservatives wanted to make President a life-long appointment.
Conservatives fought against bringing in slave-free states without slave-holding states.
Conservatives fought for the 5/8 rule that counted slaves.
Conservatives fought for secession from the Union because they wanted to keep slaves.
Conservatives fought against woman’s suffrage movement.
Conservatives fought for prohibition.
Conservatives want to conserve everything but the environment and natural resources.
Conservatives think science should by made by ideological policy not that science should make policy.
Conservatives wanted to keep us out of WWI and WWII and lied us into war in Iraq.
Conservatives created Jim Crow laws.
Conservatives terrorized African Amercans by lynching thousands.
Conservatives fought against integration.
Conservatives put up “whites only” signs.
Conservatives fought against the civil rights act.
Conservatives wanted to stay in Vietnam.
Conservatives don’t believe in the separation of church and state.
Conservatives believe in torture and taking away privacy rights.
Conservatives eliminated state-run asylums and put those with mental health problems out in the street.
Conservatives don’t believe in organized labor and fight to break unions.
Conservatives brought you homelessness and huge deficits.
Conservatives back corporations and big business by giving them all the tax cuts and tax loopholes.
Conservatives tried to eliminate welfare for people but support corporate welfare.
Conservatives want to keep gay Americans 2nd class citizens by denying them the same rights the rest of us enjoy.
Conservatives deny Global Climate Change and fight ANY environmental legislation.
Conservatives fought against Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Conservatives gave us the Patriot Act.
Conservatives only represent the interests of rich white men and corporations.
Conservatives want higher standards in schools but don’t want to build new schools or pay teachers what they deserve.
Conservatives want to teach Intelligent Design in schools instead of the scientific theory of evolution.
Conservatives want to do away with the education cabinet post.
Conservatives believe we are a Christian nation want religion imposed into all aspects of your life.
Conservatives advocated the war and occupation in Iraq.
Conservatives advocate going back to the Gold Standard which was responsible for making the Depression worse.
Conservatives want to do away with Medicare for old people and with Medicaid for poor people.
Conservatives see no problem with our spending $2,500,000,000.00 per week in Iraq but resist spending 20% that on universal healthcare.
Conservatives support NAFTA and other job-busting free trade agreements.
Conservatives hang nooses on school grounds.
Conservatives are against conserving the environment, wild life and energy.
Conservatives have no solutions so they vote “NO” for any change.
Conservatives put party ahead of country and hope the president fails.
Conservatives call the president racial epithets like “Magic Negro”.
Conservatives fought for deregulation which led to the banking crisis and are fighting new regulations now.
Conservatives are against any attempt to provide universal health care or health insurance to American citizens.
You’ve done it again KQ!
This is a fantastic list which I have bookmarked to share with others for some time to come.
The thought that comes to my mind is how ignorance about history is even more responsible for allowing or accommodating the worst events to happen.
After reading that accurate list of sins, hatred and destructiveness of the GOP, one would assume that no group that needed public support would still exist if it had such a track record.
And yet, combine Americans’ short term memories of history with the lies and deceit of the GOP and their eternally pushing the fear button and they continue to be in existence and a powerful force even if diminished.
The disconnect is, we raise our children keeping well in mind history of events that could affect their safety and/or development. We just don’t do it with ourselves or our nation.
Republicans have benefited greatly from the short term thinking that has become prevalent in this nation and of course the growing ignorance in this nation. The problem is that people still look at the Republican Party as a viable party at all that wants to make this country better when all they want to do is maintain the status quo. Teddy Roosevelt was the last Republican that cared about progressing this country.
The thing is, it’s all just manipulative words with the GOP, what have they done to make the country better?
They only work to make the wealthy and their corporations wealthier.
They’re so obvious to anyone who knows better than to believe everything anyone says. And that’s all they’ve got, words that never stand up to their deeds.
They say Family Values then have affairs, airport bathroom sex and solicit underage Congressional pages.
They say protect our troops then kill thousands of them in an unnecessary war they were sent to without even body armor.
They say how bad it is to have deficits but run up the biggest deficit to date and destroy the economy which requires a greater deficit to turn around.
Their words are obvious, cynical manipulation.
Why are so many people so thick as to not recognize that?