This commentary is by John Bossange of South Burlington, a retired middle school principal.
The 2023 central theme of the Republican Party is, once again, “Defund America.” This means privatizing essential governmental services and, in some cases, eliminating entire federal programs and agencies.
Republican politicians clamor that our government is a “swamp,” yet these same representatives call on FEMA when needed, receive their free single-payer health care coverage and pensions for life, and they have no trouble lobbying for federal dollars coming from the “swamp.” Their craven hypocrisy is shocking and beyond the pale.
Just as destructive and cynical has been the deceitful use of bogus issues like “woke” education in public schools, or investigating members of the Biden family, federal spending during the pandemic, the origin of the Covid virus, their perceived corruption in the FBI, the FDA, the CDC, the DOJ, and the defunding of many regulatory institutions like the Consumer Protection Bureau and the Federal Aviation Agency, all in the name of draining the swamp.
These fabricated issues are accompanied by juvenile name-calling, targeting opponents as socialists, Marxists, Communists or “urban elites” who support “big tech,” illegal immigrants, gays, reproductive rights advocates, among others.
Fearing the ever-growing diversity of America, Republicans have also stoked the flames of white nationalism now at the core of their party’s hate-laced culture wars.
Sadly, Republicans can’t seem to move away from their angry and destructive approach. It would be gratifying to see them commit to working constructively with Democrats dealing with critical issues like immigration reform, securing the border, taming inflation, and addressing crime.
However, for Republicans, deceit and distractions are an easier pathway to creating a false narrative supporting their longstanding strategy to remain in power and keep Americans from focusing on the issues impacting their daily lives as Republicans quietly defund, privatize, and seek to eliminate essential programs and services affecting millions of citizens.
Proof lies in the Republican Party’s game plan:
*Social Security: Privatize. Republicans fail to see this program as a covenant between generations, with the younger providing for the older, strengthening our families and communities. They want us to believe that our contributions are our money free to invest, as we like.
*Tax reform: Eliminate. Republicans call for lower taxes, yet most understand that equitable and fair taxation is the price we all pay for community and municipal services, and they expect those services to continue in their states. Republicans know it’s the super wealthy that benefit the most from lower taxes.
*Internal Revenue Service: Defund. Republicans want to dramatically weaken the agency, making it easier for their super-wealthy donor base to tax dodge audits, cheat, and hide money overseas in tax shelters, draining our state and federal treasuries.
*Federal budget: Defund. Once again the Republicans are threatening to shutdown the federal government by refusing to pay the interest on the national debt and not raise the debt ceiling at the same time. The party plans to restore the Trump tax cuts, driving up the national debt another $3 trillion.
*Public Education: Privatize. Republicans conveniently forget that we have free public education for all Americans and not a collection of elite private schools, parochial schools, and private academies seen a century ago. The party wants tax dollars to be used for private schooling, including charter schools.
*Post Office and Amtrak: Defund. Republican legislation to require the retirement plans for Post Office and Amtrak workers to be 100% fully funded has severely limited the ability of both organizations to modernize and become more efficient.
*Green Energy Initiatives: Eliminate. Republicans have openly aligned themselves with the fossil fuel industry. Denying the science, Republicans have come up with their own theories about our climate crisis and will stop the research and tax incentives for consumers to buy electric cars and invest in heating systems.
*Ukraine: Defund. The party continues to propose reducing America’s military aid to Ukraine, sever America’s alliance with NATO, and isolate our nation from our European Allies, as done under the Trump presidency.
*Health Care Coverage: Eliminate. Republicans want to defund “Obamacare” and the Affordable Care Act, ending health insurance for millions of Americans. Republicans also want to eliminate price controls for prescription drugs for seniors on Medicare.
It all makes one question why any citizen would want to serve their government with the goal of destroying that very government. Shaking things up and cleaning up the swamp may be effective sound bites, but Republicans want to do more than that.
They are not interested in governing. Instead, they want to disrupt and dismantle, not improve and make our government more efficient.
A few Republicans have become enemies of our federal government and traitors to the history of our institutions. Over time, smaller government and deregulation have never worked well in America, and both eventually come with a steep price tag.
The nation now has a Republican Party intent on ignoring that cost and destroying our federal government’s ability to provide for Americans. And to think, it’s our tax dollars paying their salaries and benefits that give them the opportunity to take down America. It’s time for the taxpayers to defund the Republican Party.
