At a press conference in January, reporters pressed President Biden to explain why his legislative agenda was stalled. His response was that he never expected the Republicans’ unified commitment to his failure, a commitment that made the bipartisanship he valued an impossibility. After offering his explanation, he posed a question to the press:
“Think about this: What are Republicans for? What are they for? Name me one thing they’re for.”
Washington Post reporter Philip Bump, in a subsequent column, validated Mr. Biden’s question. Bump noted that in the 2020 election, the Republican party issued no platform whatsoever. Instead of a detailed plan for the future, the party offered this:
“RESOLVED: That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda,” and “RESOLVED: That the 2020 Republican National Convention will adjourn without adopting a new platform until the 2024 Republican National Convention.”
Absent a written platform stating their values, voters can only determine what the Republicans stand for by examining how the party has behaved since 2020. An examination of the legislation the party enacted at the state and local levels, the legislation they blocked at the state and federal level, the party’s formal policy statements, and their reaction to the events on Jan. 6, 2021, offers this summary of what the Republican party is for:
Small government: For decades the Republicans’ mantra that “government is the problem” led them to oppose any efforts to expand the government workforce at any level or increase the compensation any government employees receive. This sets up a vicious circle. Without sufficient funding for staff, governments at the local, state and federal levels do not have the manpower needed to deliver the services required by law and desired by voters. This, in turn, erodes voter support for increases in government spending needed to create more positions and recruit more personnel.
The result? The government shrinks, taxes shrink, public confidence in government shrinks and voters’ faith in democracy shrinks as well.
Personal liberty: Republicans oppose any form of government regulation that limits personal liberty. The anti-vaccination and anti-mask movements supported by Republican governors are a case in point, as are the party’s opposition to efficient light bulbs, fuel economy standards and shower heads that restrict water flow.
Unregulated markets: Republicans view any government regulations that restrict the market as stifling the ability of corporations to maximize profits which, in turn, stifles the growth of the economy.
Twenty-five Republican attorneys general opposed the federal government’s vaccine mandate for employers for that reason. Republican House and Senate members apply that reasoning to oppose any requirement that businesses expand benefits for employees — benefits like paid sick leave, universal health care or government funded child care. Republicans also oppose government subsidies for clean energy initiatives that “interfere with the market.”
Privatization: The Republicans’ support for school choice, pay-as-you-go models for road and bridge projects, and the outsourcing of government services such as the post office, the military, police and firefighters exemplify their commitment to privatization.
Republicans support the outsourcing of government functions to private contractors because it diminishes the number of government employees and replaces broad-based taxes with user fees.
Under the market-based system preferred by Republicans, those with no children in school or college would be “freed from the burden” of paying taxes for public education; motorists would pay tolls for improvements to roads instead of paying for them through gasoline taxes; and those who use public libraries, parks or recreation facilities would pay user fees instead of having everyone pay taxes to keep them open.
Social Darwinism: Republicans assume those who are struggling have only themselves to blame.
They view any form of government assistance to those who are unemployed, to those who struggle with substance abuse, or to those who experience unexpected illnesses or injuries to themselves or family members, as promoting “dependence on the government.”
Republicans believe this “dependence on the government” diminishes the resilience and grit needed to thrive in our competitive economy.
Vigilantism: Of late, Republicans have passed laws that give members of the public the ability to report misconduct directly to a state agency instead of local “government officials.”
The scores of Republican sponsored anti-critical race theory laws, including the one passed in New Hampshire, encourage residents to report perceived misconduct by teachers to the state instead of local officials. The state would adjudicate the alleged violation and could revoke the teacher’s certification or levy fines. What’s worse is that in some cases, like Texas’ anti-abortion law, those who report misconduct can receive bounties. The ultimate example of the Republican party’s support for vigilantism is their reaction to the effort of an unruly mob to overthrow the election of the president. By framing this vigilante action as “legitimate political discourse” is effectively giving a green light to future mob violence, that is so long as the mob violence supports the party’s desired outcome.
That last bullet point is the most chilling to those who value the rule of law, democracy, and the integrity of elections. It illustrates the consequences when a party’s platform calls for its members to “continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda” without ever defining what that agenda is. Worse, it encourages those who support the undefined agenda to engage in violent protest.
It is no surprise that the former president clings tenaciously to the lies about the 2020 election results: It enables him to sustain power and keeps him in the public spotlight.
What is sad and surprising is that the Republican Party has not rebuked those lies about the 2020 election. To date, the Republican Party has not formally and forcefully declared that Biden was the victor. Instead, they’ve framed an attack on the Capitol that killed five and injured scores of people, including 138 police officers, as “legitimate political discourse.”
Instead the Republicans are joining the former president in his efforts to rewrite history.
The question now is how the history books my great-grandchildren read will describe those events.
Wayne Gersen lives in Etna.