No, really. It’s not a rhetorical question. Since consolidating its power in January 2017, the GOP has systematically set out to dismantle the economic strength of this nation, coddle predators, shield traitors, attack those who are working, and strip protections from the most vulnerable. Are these the actions of a party that loves the nation it has sworn to serve?
Consider the GOP’s attempts over the last year to blow up the U.S. economy and make life harder for its constituents. The Republicans’ first try at demolishing the economy as if it were nothing but an old abandoned building was their reckless attempt to destroy the Affordable Care Act, which housed and protected millions of American citizens. The GOP’s congressional leaders held no hearings, refused to even listen to expert testimony and were utterly unconcerned about the impact that dismantling a key component of the nation’s health care system would have on one-sixth of the American economy.
For America’s senior population alone, the Republicans’ assault on the safety net is going to be destabilizing and, in many cases, lethal.
Not satisfied with their own multi-pronged attack on the social fabric and safety net of the nation they claim to love, the Republicans have also let a foreign government attack the United States. Instead of repelling the invaders, strengthening our defenses and ferreting out the collaborators, the GOP has acted more like a fifth column shielding the saboteurs. In the fall of 2016, when confronted with the reports from 17 agencies in the intelligence community about Russian interference in the 2016 election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) threatened then-President Barack Obama with partisan nuclear destruction and left the nation vulnerable to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s machinations.
Consider the myriad other ways that the Republicans have demonstrated their destructive contempt for America. They removed protections for students against predatory lenders and financially hobbled the capacity of the next generation of leaders to actually engage in anything but mere survival. In August 2017, they sheared off millions of acres from public parks and seem ready to sell them to the highest bidder.
They have rushed through nominees for lifetime appointments on the federal bench who are demonstrably unqualified and would warp and mangle what has been the rule of law in this nation for decades.
The Republicans have also lit a short fuse under America’s “soft power” ― our ideas, aspirations and strivings ― that makes the nation a world leader and not just any other one in the constellation. It only took a year under the GOP’s stranglehold for the global respect in which the U.S. was held to plummet from No. 1 to No. 6 in a global reputation survey.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-anderson-republicans-america_n_5a58d5efe4b04df054f860a1
