I thank the Republican Party (GOP) for being, well, the Republican Party. If Republicans were not so wrapped up in themselves, portraying themselves as victims of …(fill in the blank)…, acting as if they were protecting an America that does not exist, and stridently so, then the national electoral ineptitude of Democrats would continue to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Registered Republicans are fewer in number than Democrats and Independents. We’re number three! Why? Because Republicans are on the wrong side of public opinion and the wrong side of history. Let’s take a peek.

Abortion: Two-thirds of Americans favor a woman’s right to choose and do not want Roe vs. Wade overturned. Many of those polled do favor placing some restrictions on abortion but do not want the extreme restrictions placed on abortion by some states, such as Alabama, and do not want abortion to be illegal. Not the GOP.

Gun control: The overwhelming majority of Americans favor stricter laws regarding the ownership and possession of guns. And the percentage has been rising each year for several years. Seventy-eight percent of gun owners, and sixty-nine percent of NRA members, favor stricter background checks. Not the GOP.

The Affordable Care Act: A recent Fox News poll found that most Americans favor the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). And with the coronavirus pandemic, the loss of jobs, and evaporating job-related health care benefits, that majority is increasing, especially with its coverage of pre-existing conditions. What is the GOP plan? There is none, but they will be arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10, one week after the election, to throw out the Affordable Care Act. Trump’s recent court nominee has previously criticized the ACA.

The economy: A majority of Americans (53 percent) favor Trump over Biden as to the economy. However, that number has been slowly falling as the coronavirus continues to attack Americans, we condemn our trade partners and raise tariffs on their goods, and we feed corporate farmers with taxpayer bailouts because of that failed trade policy. History tells us that isolationism is bad for business, bad for America and increasingly bad for the GOP.

Race and ethnicity: More than 90 percent of African Americans and two-thirds of Hispanics support Democrats. That’s the way it is. The white population in America is decreasing in numbers and percentages of population, especially in “Red” states. And the GOP response? Peaceful Black Lives Matters protestors are “thugs,” and Mexicans who cross into America illegally are “rapists.” More importantly, the GOP policies continue to favor white America at the expense of an increasingly diverse population. Most Americans agree that our country suffers from long-standing racism that must be corrected.  But not the former party of Lincoln.

Immigration: All of us have immigration roots. All of us. Many of us have personal knowledge of relatives from the “old country.” More than 60 percent of Americans oppose building a wall on our border with Mexico. The wall has been a security and financial fiasco. Most Americans, including 68 percent of Republicans favor shielding Dreamers from deportation. Trump has “successfully” challenged that law in court.

Taxes: Two-thirds of America believes that corporations and wealthy individuals don’t pay their fair share in taxes. The GOP passed a tax law in 2017 favoring those corporations and wealthy individuals. And Trump paid from $ZERO to $750 per year in federal income taxes for nearly 20 years. 

Same sex marriage: More than 80 percent of Americans support same sex marriage. And the GOP?
Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are in step with American values. If they get elected (it ain’t over til it’s over), and if they have a majority in both houses of Congress, we will have the Republican party and its lock step in the wrong direction to thank for it.

What could the Democrats do, regardless of a conservative majority Supreme Court? They could replace contentious court made laws on certain issues, such as gay marriage, and the right to choose with Congressional laws regarding the right to choose and right to marry, plus Obamacare 2.0, fair taxes, criminal justice, marijuana legalization, immigration, civil rights, climate change, equal pay for equal work, reparations, economic inequality, foreign policy, education, the electoral college (start to amend the U.S. Constitution), the Supreme Court, etc. Democrats could even add Washington D.C., as the next state with two more Democratic U.S. Senators.

Boy howdy! Democrats could replace socialism that benefits the rich with socialism that benefits working Americans, including Trump supporters! Words and conduct have consequences. Thank you, GOP.

— Charles Wieland,

Madera