Republicans do not like to talk about domestic issues; they avoid them because their views are in direct opposition to those of the American people. Donald Trump mentions them, but offers no realistic solutions. Because they won’t tell the truth; I must.

Let’s begin with an issue which may become the total destruction of our Democratic Republic. The Supreme Court must be fully functional. Many of the other issues I will discuss will have their fate decided by the Court in the near future. If it remains an eight-person Court, it is highly possible that there will be no resolution to these issues. It was instituted as a nine-member body to eliminate the possibility of a tie. If ties occur, these issues may never be heard again, and the states which enacted the laws will prevail, even if they oppose the wishes of the people and violate the Law of the Land.

In addition, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to conduct hearings regarding the fates of 48 federal judges nominated by President Obama; the latest is a woman from McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, who was nominated to the Appeals Court.

Our nation must have three branches working to their fullest potential. Thanks to McConnell, Congress is defunct, and he is now attempting to make the Court dysfunctional. 57 percent of the American people support the appointment of a ninth justice.

One of the issues to be presented to the Court concerns new laws in red states designed to deny poor and low-income women their Constitutional right to receive an abortion. Republicans oppose abortion for a singular reason: one of the few voting blocs who support the GOP is the Christian religious right. This issue could remain in limbo, and as clinics close in these red states, fewer women of low-income will be allowed their Constitutional rights. Most of the women involved are black or Hispanic.

This leads me to women’s rights. Republicans, including women who are elected officials, claim that there is no ‘war on women’ within the GOP. That can be proven a falsehood based on voting records and state laws aimed at the individual rights of the vast majority of women; wealthy women, including Republican legislators, will have no problems. Republicans continually vote ‘no’ to equal pay for women; they believe that they have the right to tell a woman what decisions she can make regarding her own physical and mental health; they even said ‘no’ to the Violence Against Women Act, thus supporting domestic violence and spousal abuse. Republicans would make women third class citizens behind men, and undeveloped fetus.

Income inequality is the issue which affects the greatest majority of the American people. It is now no secret that the middle class is in decline. As its numbers diminish, the number of super-rich, and the number of families living in poverty increase. GOP candidates have released tax plans, and each of them would greatly benefit the one-percent, and increase the deficit by trillions.

Polls indicated that the vast majority of the American people believe that some form of legal residence for nearly 12 million people be granted. Although Republicans don’t understand a single fact, the American people appear to; it is an impossibility to deport 12 million men, women, and children. In addition, the cost would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. They claim that President Obama’s executive action to keep families together, and not deport parents of children born in our country is illegal and unprecedented. They are sorely mistaken. Both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush took similar action.

As with abortion, Republicans insist that no new gun laws are needed. This claim is offered for a single purpose; the NRA gun lobby lines the war chests of Republicans seeking reelection. The marriage of the GOP and NRA is fairly recent. In its origin it was the greatest advocate for sensible gun legislation, and it promoted gun safety. Today the NRA is supporting gun manufacturers and gun sellers and deny the right to safety for the majority of the American people. No one needs an assault rifle with a high-output magazine. There is no reason not to demand background checks for all purchases of weapons of mass destruction, and the denial of the right to purchase deadly weapons by Americans on the ‘no fly list.’

If I discussed all of the differences between the Republican Party and the people of the United States, I would have to write a book. Included would be a growing racism in our nation which is the result of Republican policy; it is attempting to virtually eliminate the voting rights act; it would remove healthcare from millions of Americans, although its members would continue to receive their bloated benefits; it opposes an increase in the minimum wage for millions of Americans who attempt to live at the poverty level; it would seek to reverse a Supreme Court decision which recognizes the LGBT community as equal under the law; it fails to address education seriously, including efforts in some red states to remove American history for our student’s curriculum; it seeks the destruction of social security and Medicare while advocating an increase in the defense budget which is mostly a waste of taxpayer money; and finally it would engage America in another unwinnable war in the Middle East.

How do you feel now about supporting Republican candidates? If you do, you are wealthy beyond the comprehension of most Americans, or are racist, bigoted, misogynistic, or a homophobe. Yep, that just about covers it.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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Photo Courtesy of DonkeyHotey

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