Chris Jepson: Good luck America

“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a Republican. But I repeat myself.” – Harry Truman


"Brains, you know, are suspect in the Republican Party.” – Walter J. Lippmann

I’ve been asking folks for the past six months who they think is going to “win” the Republican presidential nomination. At parties, at department store counters, standing in line for a Sausage Egg McMuffin, anywhere I ask, “Who do you think today is gonna get the nomination?” I frequently receive shrugs of indifference or looks of confusion bordering on panic that they just can’t be bothered — “Why are you asking me?”— to have opinions on politics and elections.

Quiet candidly I have no respect for Americans who do not think about or consider such matters. Who wins the White House will have a direct impact on taxation, Social Security, Medicare, civil rights, environmental regulations (clean air, clean water), reproductive choice, national security, court appointments and American foreign policy. How can any reflective citizen not think about our nations’ future . . . in specific outcomes?

“I wonder how many times you have to be hit on the head before you find out who’s hitting you? It’s about time that the people of America realized what the Republicans have been doing to them.” – Harry Truman

Evidently a number of “upscale” Republican women are reconsidering their party allegiance. I know “a” woman who is in two book clubs, one more conservative than the other. In the latter they, (every “Republican” woman) indicated complete revulsion with the GOP presidential field. Trump and Cruz came in for the most disgust. Rather than vote for either, they will sit out the race.

Aside: I am at a loss as to understand why any woman would align herself with the Republican Party. I am reminded of the Columbian actor John Leguizamo’s observation that, “Latin people for Republicans are like roaches for Raid.” Similarly, how can any reflective woman “surrender” ownership of her body to the state, which is undeniably what Republicans advocate?

I understand perfectly why “thems that gots” (financially fortunate Americans) want lower taxes on their wealth. I can identify with that. And, quite candidly I do not want to support “those” capable of supporting themselves. But folks, America has challenges requiring “more” of all of us. Warren Buffett summed it up well, “My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.”

But coddled they’ll be by any of the GOP presidential candidates. I get the biggest kick out of folks who say Trump and Cruz are the “crazy” ones in the Republican field. All of ’um, to a man (and woman) are cut from the same “crazy” cloth, there’s not a nickel’s worth of difference between the lot of them.

If any Republican is elected to the White House, national outcomes will be similar. We’ll have more American combat forces in the Middle East. Environmental regulations (air, water and land) nationwide will be gutted. Reproductive choice for women will become even more endangered. Banking and Wall Street oversight will be weakened. A “privatized” Medicare will reappear on the “crazy” agenda. The tax burden will continue to be relentlessly shifted to a shrinking middle class. Supreme Court nominations will be of the caliber (and persuasion) of Scalia and Thomas. Race relations will become even more polarized. We’ll have yet another Republican economic recession.

I’d say, “Think about it, Republicans.” But good luck with that.