Thread by @kurteichenwald

A democracy has 2 purposes. In rules agreed upon by the governed, to:
*Protect the security and total well being of its current and future citizens.
*To ensure equal opportunity so all can achieve that well being.

The GOP has failed at this for decades. The reason is simple...1

..they stand for only a transaction: Provide money & power to GOP contributors, who in turn provide money & power back to GOP politicians. That means 2 things: Making sure the rich get richer, exacerbating wealth inequalities, & that business profits are not impeded by social...2

...needs. When I was just as likely to vote for a GOPr as a democrat, I always said, neither side has a monopoly on truth. We have to struggle to find the best policies that achieve our goals as a nation, and the best answer will always be a blend of both. The GOP abandoned...3

...that pact years ago. They are not looking for what works, they are not looking for what makes the country happier, stronger, more advanced. No, it's just money and power. That is why they lie so much, why they suppress so many votes, why they even lie to their supporters...4

...who have yet to see the scam. If GOP policies *worked* I would gladly support them. And by worked, I mean worked to meet the goals in government to protect and improve the lives of the governed. But when "make me rich" is the end game, their policies are not even vaguely...5

...focused on working anymore. I remember when Rush Limbaugh, on the election of Obama, said "I hope he fails." Why? Because he didn't like his policies. But if he succeeded, that means the policies were correct. What is the point of a prior policies if they have no goal...6

...other than assertions of what they mean? The GOP track record is horrific They said:
*1981 tax cuts would pay for themselves. They didnt.
*S&L deregulation would work because of conservative principals. The industry collapsed - dead and gone, at a cost of $500 billion...7

...
*Dems raising taxes in 94 would cause a recession. It balanced the budget and caused an economic boom.
*Intervention in Bosnia would cause massive American death. No one died, the goal was achieved.
*2001 tax cuts would pay for themselves. They didnt....8

...
*Iraq - we would be welcomed as liberators, saying the war would last longer than 12 weeks and more than a billion was insane. We are there 17 years later, at a cost of trillions.
*Iraq had WMDs. It didnt....9

...
*Economic policies from 2003 would grow housing market. It did - by allowing the unchecked growth of mortgage derivatives, leading to the collapse of 2008.
*The 2017 tax cuts would pay for themselves. They didnt.
*Climate change was a joke. It's not...10

...
*Climatologists were absurd to warn of massive storms, huge fires, tornadoes and hurricanes of record size. They were right - yet STILL the GOP wont admit its error.
*Covid would not be a problem. It was and is.

It is not that they are stupid. It is that, when your.../11

...goal has nothing to do with the purpose of government, government will fail. And maybe thats the point.

So now, when I see GOPrs like that @AEI knucklehead say "oh, trump is insane but I have to vote for him because of Fox News policy criticisms" I have to ask: And what../12

...if those policies - even the ones you make up - are the ones that make the country a better, safer, happier and more secure place to live? Are you like Limbaugh and truly only care about *your* policies, and hope that those that you dont like fail? Id be delighted if...13

...tax cuts paid for themselves. But they dont. Id be happy if we could ignore our infrastructure without consequence. But we can't. I'd be happy if acting always in the interests of business made American citizens lives better. But many times, it just makes their lives worse..14

...so, why am I saying this? Because GOPrs who are not sociopaths or racists, who are not solely "gimme money" have to really decide what kind of world you want to leave behind. What about if you are wrong about climate change, just like you were about taxes, debt, and all...15

...the rest? Our children are already looking at the wreckage wreaked by your dedication to policy and not outcome, and they rightfully hate us for it. Your grandchildren will despise you. They will despise everyone in our generation. Deservedly so. I remember all the rich...16

...people going berserk when Clinton raised taxes. Then, almost immediately, the stock market exploded - because *we were getting our fiscal house in order* - and the wealthy got wealthier faster than they had in any time in history. But all they saw was "but my taxes." ...17

...oh, and as for all of the groups that the GOP has cobbled together - white evangelicals, rich, anti-abortion, racists, Fox News addled, and on an on. You are the marks. You are the ones they say the same thing to over & over. But you're just there to get them in office, so..18

...they can get their actual goals: Enrich and empower their contributors, who will enrich and empower the politicians. And they will lie, deceive, impede, and undermine democracy to get it done.

Bottom line: Trump is unbalanced. He is dangerous. Many of you know it...19

...4 years of policy you might not agree with - policy that *might prove to be right in accomplishing the goals of government* - is less of a price than the destruction of this country to death, disease, incompetence and insanity....

...look on 2020 with the wisdom you should have gained in 1994, when the tax increases you raged about gave not only you, but the rest of the country what it wanted, it served the role of government.

Back the democrat. It will work out the best for you, GOPrs.

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