There are several good reasons why I continually satirize the Republican Party more so than the Democratic Party (with exceptions like Anthony Weiner). As regular readers will know, I don't praise the Democratic Party a great deal, but do bash the Republican Party quite regularly. While the Democratic Party does bother me a great deal at times, it is also the more balanced of the two parties at this current juncture. I'd definitely consider myself to be more liberal than most Democrats in Congress, particularly the Senate, however, I'm cognizant of the fact most people in this country are moderate and in representing them, I'd like to see Congress reflect that more readily. That's the thing. While Democrats, especially in the Senate, are fairly moderate, to the point where it's rare to find them all agree on a bill, and are often times willing to compromise with the other side of the aisle, Republicans have been moving steadfastly to the extreme right end of the spectrum, especially in the House, and have been more reluctant on compromising with Democrats than a person suffering from acrophobia (fear of heights) would be on skydiving. What I would love to see is for both parties to be relatively moderate and willing to work with the other to get things done in Washington.
Unfortunately, Congressional moderate Republicans are becoming almost as scarce as the extinct Dodo bird. One major problem for the party is it has allowed extreme right-wing media sources and organizations to dictate for them what their positions on issues should be. From talk radio to Fox News to conspiracy websites to the NRA, if a Congressional Republican steps outside the line set for him/her by these before-mentioned groups, he/she will be blasted on the radio, television, Internet, and in political ads. No longer will this person be seen as a true conservative Republican. They'll be seen as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and will have to battle against not only the Democratic Party in trying to win another term in office, but also the right-wing media machine. The right-wing media machine has been largely responsible for the destruction of the once respectable Republican Party and transformed it into an extremist evangelical cult-like party, centered around delusions, conspiracies, and paranoia.
What I find to be incredibly perplexing and even slightly humorous about many Republicans running for office nowadays is that many run on a "Christian" anti-government platform. I might be mistaken, but are they not running for governmental positions? Many talk about loving God and not being shy about it. Often times, the two most critical issues to them are outlawing all abortions and refusing equal marriage rights to same-sex couples. Many are also: Global-warming deniers, anti-gun control, pro-war, anti-tax increases (on the wealthy), anti-healthcare reform, pro-massive spending cuts, anti-environmental causes, etc. In other words, they tend to like to talk the talk about being anti-government, yet only walk the walk when they choose to do so. If the Democrats want to pass gun-control legislation, that's an example of the government trying to strip away citizens' rights! If the Democrats want to pass healthcare reform, that's an example of the government taking away another choice of ours! However, the government taking away the woman's right to undergo an abortion if she's raped and her health is in jeopardy is perfectly fine. That's the government doing God's work supposedly. The same is true when the government prevents a long-term same-sex couple from getting married. It's fine for Republicans to believe these things, but it makes no logical sense for them to all the while claiming that Democrats are about big government and stripping away people's rights. It's fine for me to state that doing drugs is bad, but I somehow appear less authentic and my argument loses a bit of its luster if while saying drugs are bad, I'm injecting heroin into my arm. The GOP also tends to enjoy cherry-picking on issues they feel God would agree with them about, all the while saying The Bible is their #1 guide. If they truly feel God created this earth, shouldn't they be in favor of conserving the environment? A person can say they believe in a higher power all they want, but that doesn't excuse them of committing acts contrary to said opinions.
Conspiracy theories have seen quite the spike as well since President Obama came into office. Well over one-hundred anti-Obama conspiracy theories are running rampant across the Internet, radio, and Fox News. Often times, conspiracy seems to be taken as a legitimate talking point and argument, right in line with logical thinking, common sense, and statistics. Many far-right Congressional Republicans (and non-politicians) still believe that Obamacare contains "death panels," that Obama wasn't born in this country, that he's a radical Muslim socialist, that the government was behind both the Sandy Hook school shooting and the Boston Marathon bombing, etc. It often times doesn't matter how many fact-checking sources you show these individuals to debunk their wild theories. In their minds, fact-checking sites are "liberally-biased," as are all media sources outside of the extreme-right wing sphere. Facts are secondary in importance to many of them. What is of greatest importance is what they want to believe.
Just like every other religion, to be a firm believer in Christianity, one must set aside the fact they'll likely never know in this lifetime whether or not the man they worship is real. They have to simply believe out of blind faith. It doesn't matter that they can't see him, hear him, speak to him, etc. All that matters is what they want to believe - that a man, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life and sacrificed himself on a cross, only to rise again three days later, so that we'll all have the opportunity of living eternally with him in a paradise known as heaven if we believe in him upon our passing. Unfortunately, this line of thinking has seemed to carry over into the world of politics and unfortunately, in believing a story as far-fetched as the one I just described, chances are many of these same individuals will have little trouble believing a host of other conspiracy theories. While I believe we should all have the right to believe whatever we'd like as far as the afterlife is concerned, I'd love it if, while living in this present life, we focused on facts and the observable, as opposed to the unknown and unknowable, to move this country forward and improve the lives of millions. I sincerely hope the Republican Party quickly changes course and moves into that direction as well. Until then, I will continue to bash and satirize them as the party of delusions, conspiracies, and paranoia.
Unfortunately, Congressional moderate Republicans are becoming almost as scarce as the extinct Dodo bird. One major problem for the party is it has allowed extreme right-wing media sources and organizations to dictate for them what their positions on issues should be. From talk radio to Fox News to conspiracy websites to the NRA, if a Congressional Republican steps outside the line set for him/her by these before-mentioned groups, he/she will be blasted on the radio, television, Internet, and in political ads. No longer will this person be seen as a true conservative Republican. They'll be seen as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and will have to battle against not only the Democratic Party in trying to win another term in office, but also the right-wing media machine. The right-wing media machine has been largely responsible for the destruction of the once respectable Republican Party and transformed it into an extremist evangelical cult-like party, centered around delusions, conspiracies, and paranoia.
What I find to be incredibly perplexing and even slightly humorous about many Republicans running for office nowadays is that many run on a "Christian" anti-government platform. I might be mistaken, but are they not running for governmental positions? Many talk about loving God and not being shy about it. Often times, the two most critical issues to them are outlawing all abortions and refusing equal marriage rights to same-sex couples. Many are also: Global-warming deniers, anti-gun control, pro-war, anti-tax increases (on the wealthy), anti-healthcare reform, pro-massive spending cuts, anti-environmental causes, etc. In other words, they tend to like to talk the talk about being anti-government, yet only walk the walk when they choose to do so. If the Democrats want to pass gun-control legislation, that's an example of the government trying to strip away citizens' rights! If the Democrats want to pass healthcare reform, that's an example of the government taking away another choice of ours! However, the government taking away the woman's right to undergo an abortion if she's raped and her health is in jeopardy is perfectly fine. That's the government doing God's work supposedly. The same is true when the government prevents a long-term same-sex couple from getting married. It's fine for Republicans to believe these things, but it makes no logical sense for them to all the while claiming that Democrats are about big government and stripping away people's rights. It's fine for me to state that doing drugs is bad, but I somehow appear less authentic and my argument loses a bit of its luster if while saying drugs are bad, I'm injecting heroin into my arm. The GOP also tends to enjoy cherry-picking on issues they feel God would agree with them about, all the while saying The Bible is their #1 guide. If they truly feel God created this earth, shouldn't they be in favor of conserving the environment? A person can say they believe in a higher power all they want, but that doesn't excuse them of committing acts contrary to said opinions.
Conspiracy theories have seen quite the spike as well since President Obama came into office. Well over one-hundred anti-Obama conspiracy theories are running rampant across the Internet, radio, and Fox News. Often times, conspiracy seems to be taken as a legitimate talking point and argument, right in line with logical thinking, common sense, and statistics. Many far-right Congressional Republicans (and non-politicians) still believe that Obamacare contains "death panels," that Obama wasn't born in this country, that he's a radical Muslim socialist, that the government was behind both the Sandy Hook school shooting and the Boston Marathon bombing, etc. It often times doesn't matter how many fact-checking sources you show these individuals to debunk their wild theories. In their minds, fact-checking sites are "liberally-biased," as are all media sources outside of the extreme-right wing sphere. Facts are secondary in importance to many of them. What is of greatest importance is what they want to believe.
Just like every other religion, to be a firm believer in Christianity, one must set aside the fact they'll likely never know in this lifetime whether or not the man they worship is real. They have to simply believe out of blind faith. It doesn't matter that they can't see him, hear him, speak to him, etc. All that matters is what they want to believe - that a man, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life and sacrificed himself on a cross, only to rise again three days later, so that we'll all have the opportunity of living eternally with him in a paradise known as heaven if we believe in him upon our passing. Unfortunately, this line of thinking has seemed to carry over into the world of politics and unfortunately, in believing a story as far-fetched as the one I just described, chances are many of these same individuals will have little trouble believing a host of other conspiracy theories. While I believe we should all have the right to believe whatever we'd like as far as the afterlife is concerned, I'd love it if, while living in this present life, we focused on facts and the observable, as opposed to the unknown and unknowable, to move this country forward and improve the lives of millions. I sincerely hope the Republican Party quickly changes course and moves into that direction as well. Until then, I will continue to bash and satirize them as the party of delusions, conspiracies, and paranoia.
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