Not Your Parent's Republican Party

I have not been around to experience that many election cycles, but I have been around enough to know this one is unique.

In 2008, we experienced a grassroots movement of ordinary people who were inspired by the simple idea that they could change their country. It was fueled by a positive belief that we can move this country forward by lifting its people up and solving problems our leaders have put off for decades.

In 2010, we are witnessing a different kind of movement – the Tea Party movement - filled with candidates who are proudly pursuing an agenda, fueled by anger, which would put a halt to progress, not just made over the past 2 years, but progress made over the past 50 years. Not only is their agenda frightening, as I will later explain, but their personal views are particularly disturbing.

These are the same folks that the pundits and the polls suggest are going to win in this year’s midterm elections, and win big.

In Delaware, the Republican Senate candidate, Christine O’Donnell, thinks our Constitution does not include anything dealing with the separation of church; and she can’t name a single Senator in the Democratic Party.

In Kentucky, Republican Senate candidate, Rand Paul (son of former Congressman and Presidential hopeful, Ron Paul), says he may have not voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed major forms of discrimination and ended segregation.

The Republican Senate candidate from Nevada, Sharon Angle, thinks that autism is a socialist conspiracy that aims to give undeserving children free health care – and this might be the least extreme thing she has said.

In South Carolina, the Republican Senator, Jim DeMint, believes gay people should not only be restricted of the right to marry but also restricted of the right to be a school teacher.

Alaska’s Republican Senate candidate, Joe Miller, thinks the 17^th Amendment that gives American citizens the right to elect Senators should be repealed; not to mention how he believes we should build a 21^st century version of the Berlin Wall on our borders.

I could go on all day describing the troubling views of Tea Party candidates running for office all across this country (and I didn’t even mention some of their opposition to the federal minimum wage or their support of privatizing Social Security). According to the New York Times, there are 138 candidates affiliated with Tea Party movement running in races all across America this year with the letter ‘R’ next to their names.

But make no mistake; this is not your parent’s Republican Party. This is a Republican Party that has been hijacked by the loudest voices with the most extreme views, and this year we need to make sure we don’t let this Republican Party and the intolerance and extremism they promote take over any branch of our government.

If you think some of their extreme views aren’t enough to disqualify them, then take a look at their agenda.

The Republican Party’s line of attack is that the Democrats in Congress and the President in the White House love to recklessly spend money. Unfortunately, for them, the numbers just don’t add up.

Not only has the deficit been reduced by 8% in President Obama’s first fiscal year, but taxes have been cut, the auto industry has been saved, health care has been reformed, the markets have been stabilized, and we have seen nine straight months of private sector job growth. These are facts.

The Republican Party’s 2010 agenda which they titled, “The Pledge to America” is an effort to turn back the clock and erase the progress we have been making over the past two years.

I know numbers and statistics bore the heck out of people and Tea Party candidates do their best to avoid dealing in facts, but I think it is extremely important that we take the time to inform ourselves before we go to the polls on November 2^nd.

This Republican agenda claims it will cut spending, cut taxes, and put the country on a course to balancing the budget by 2020. Sounds good, right?

Well, here are the facts:

Their tax plan is projected to cost about $4 trillion; that’s $700 billion more expensive than the Obama administration’s plan. Keep in mind, that $700 billion extra (which will have to be borrowed) will go to tax cuts for millionaire and billionaires – people who are least likely to put it back into the economy.

Balancing the budget over the next ten years sounds good too, right? Well, the only way we could even come close to balancing the budget under “The Pledge to America” is if we essentially abolish the federal government, Congress included; just not practical. Aside from that, their agenda will result in a drop in the Gross Domestic Product which translates to a net loss of 1.1 million jobs according to the Economic Policy Institute.

I hope you’re still with me here because the next part is extremely important, particularly for college students.

In addition to the forty-eight page Republican proposal, the Republican leader in the house, Congressman John Boehner of Ohio, released a proposal that would cut education funding by about 20% which will lead to approximately 8 million students being slashed from student loan programs (according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities).

This is the choice we all face this year. Anger may lead us to believe that we must vote out the same people we elected two years ago because progress has not come fast enough. But when have you ever made a decision out of anger that you are satisfied with?

Progress is never easy. It takes time – especially when we have just gone through such a devastating recession. But giving up because progress is not always quick is not the right course of action – not now.

The Republican Party is banking on fear and anger to turn these elections in their favor. Prove them wrong and score a victory for sanity.

Vote.