An Open Letter to the Republican Party

I've been working on creating a searchable database of the 5244 posts I've done since I started this blog back in 2006, and have discovered a lot of great (IMHO) stuff that I've posted over the years. I'm now working on the year 2012, and discovered a pair of posts I wrote in November of that year that cry out to be updated and re-posted.

Here is my Open Letter to the Republican Party, updated from 2012 to 2024. I'll publish the updated Open Letter to the Democratic Party tomorrow ...

Dear Republican Party,

My name is Bilbo, and I was once a staunch Republican. My first vote in a presidential campaign was cast for Richard Nixon in 1972, and I voted straight Republican until you drove me away.

I hope you heard that ... I voted Republican for more than 30 years, but today's GOP of wingnuts, judicial activists, economic ignorance, outright lies, violent rhetoric, and extreme social policies drove me away. It's clear that you don’t care about what a libtard* like me thinks, but I’ll shout into the wind anyhow ...

- First of all, resist the urge to try using the courts to meddle in the Democratic race now that President Biden has dropped out and endorsed Vice President Harris as the party's candidate. I know that Der Furor loves to manipulate the legal system to avoid answering for his own misdeeds, but trying to legally hamstring the Democrats would be a self-defeating move indicating a lack of confidence in your own position. If you think you have a chance to win on the merits of your ideas (such as they are), go for it. Just don't use the courts to undermine the democratic process. Again**.  

- Moving on ...

- America is changing. It's less conservative, less white, and less conventionally religious than you think. Evolve with it. Understand that you must appeal to a changing electorate with changing expectations of the government policies that affect their lives. You will not appeal to this new electorate if you keep up the asinine antics of the last few years. I'm opposed to illegal immigration, too ... but demonizing immigrants in general is not a way to endear yourself to a rapidly changing electorate. I've actually produced a workable plan to address the problem ... why haven't you?

- Note that I am using the term evolve. If you continue to pander to extremists who deny accepted science in favor of religious dogma, you will continue to march resolutely into the 18th century. When your members openly mock scientific and medical professionals and place religious dogma over cautious, data-based science, you are not poising America for future leadership in science and technology ... you're setting us up to compete with scientific powerhouses like Burkina Faso.

- The basic conservative values of fiscal responsibility, powerful defense, sound family values, and good citizenship have never lost their appeal ... but you do a terrible job of selling them. Xenophobia, religious intolerance, and ignorance of the threat from a rising China and a resurgent and aggressive Russia do not convince people that your ideas have merit. Extreme right-wing vitriol is not a replacement for clear-eyed, honest domestic and international policies.

- Have a real, believable story to tell, and be ready to defend it with facts rather than smoke and mirrors. Don’t get angry and call me stupid when I press you for details of how you plan to fulfill your promises, and you can’t provide or defend them.

- Just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't mean they hate America. Democrats don't hate America. They love it every bit as much as you do, but they have a different vision of what America represents. Demonizing your opposition and threatening violence if you don't get your way is no way to get them to agree with you. Presenting a clear, thoughtful, rational alternative to their policies is.

- Stop letting fools ignorant of economic reality lead you around by the nose. Nobody likes to pay taxes, but governments can't function without revenue, and a coherent tax policy that raises the necessary revenue is a requirement of good government. You can't solve the current fiscal crisis simply by eliminating every program you don’t like, just as you can't solve it by jacking up taxes and increasing spending. Sound fiscal policy requires a rational balancing of income (taxes and fees) and control of spending. Start acting like serious financial managers.

- Yes, "job creators" are important. So are workers. If you don't take care of the working/middle class, businesses won't have anyone to manufacture for or sell to, and they'll go out of business ... which won't create many jobs and will keep making you look clueless and uncaring. You need to learn to care for both management and labor. 

- People don't expect free health care ... they expect health care that is available and affordable. The businesses you care so much about won't operate well if their workers are not healthy, and people who have to spend all their money on health care won't be contributing much to the rest of the economy. Don't like the Affordable Care Act? Get off your backsides and offer a better alternative.

- People don’t expect free housing ... they expect housing they can afford on the wages they earn. What’s your plan for making sure every American earns enough to have a roof over their heads, affordable medical care, enough to eat, and enough left over to enjoy the benefits of life in this great nation? Hint: tax cuts for big business and the top 1% aren't going to do it ... nothing has ever "trickled-down."

- Not all regulation of business, industry, and the economy is evil and job-killing. Much of it is needed to enforce standards of workplace safety, protect the rights of workers, protect our health (you do like safe food and medicines and protection from deadly diseases, don’t you?), and protect the environment (you do like air that's breathable and water that's drinkable, don't you?). Yes, regulations should be updated and adjusted as needed and jettisoned if no longer necessary, but don't be stupid and throw out the baby with the regulatory bathwater. Don’t destroy the future to increase quarterly profits in the present.

- You believe in God. Good for you. Feel free to go to church and worship as you want, but quit trying to force your beliefs down my throat. The Constitution provides for freedom of worship (check out the First Amendment) ... which does not mean that you can impose your system of belief on everyone else. Want to live in a theocracy? See how well it works in garden spots like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iran.

- You and the Democrats both need to stop the pro-life vs pro-choice ass clownery. I believe abortion is wrong, except in the rare cases most sane people recognize (incest, rape, life of the mother) ... but it's the woman's choice, and the real choice should be exercised well before an unexpected pregnancy makes abortion an option. What is your plan for educating our children to help them make the choices that will avoid unwanted pregnancies? 

- You talk endlessly about your rights. They're fundamental, and they're guaranteed by the Constitution and by what we once called the Rule of Law. But how about talking about the responsibilities that go with those rights? Take the unrestricted gun ownership that's your right under the Second Amendment. Fine, but what are the responsibilities of gun owners to ensure their fellow citizens don't die on the altar of their right to pack iron? 

- Drop the fantasy that the whole government is weaponized against you. If you can't deal with obvious wrongdoing and convictions in a court of law on charges based on actual evidence, you have no business characterizing yourselves as the party of law and order.

- Forget the nanny-nanny-boo-boo, reverse-Golden-Rule approach to negotiation: I'm going to do unto you because you did unto me. The problems we face are too big for schoolyard pettiness - grit your teeth, work with the Democrats, and be ready to compromise when necessary. Democrats, the same applies to you. Both of you need to grow up and act like responsible adults more interested in solving problems than in jockeying for cheap political advantage.

I could go on, but you get the idea. You, GOP, have driven me away with your all-or-nothing, xenophobic, violent, intemperate attitudes and your apparent belief that I am stupid because I realize that your emperor has no workable policy clothes. “Project 2025” or “Plan 47” or whatever you choose to call it is an undemocratic and un-American screed that rewrites history and subverts our government in the service of raw political power. Quit the my-way-or-the-highway approach to governance, work with the Democrats, and start acting like the party to which I was once proud to belong.

Sincerely,

Bilbo

What's your message to the GOP^***? Leave a comment.

Tomorrow, in the interest of fairness, we'll update my 2012 open letter to the Democrats.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* And isn't that a great nickname guaranteed to convince voters to join your side?

** Having seen how you reacted to losing the last election, you will probably want to keep your stable of lawyers fresh.

*** If all it involves is name-calling, forget it. Call me names if you want, but if you can't tell me what your specific plans are and why they're better than mine, don't waste your time.