The GOP Doesn't Care about You. It Never Has. [View all]

For years, Republicans have told us that government is the enemy. As a matter of tactics, when fighting this enemy, they charged it was cesspool of waste, fraud, and freeloading. They claimed it housed “deep state” actors who were sabotaging the nation. These tactics have always been dishonest. The truth is that they simply do not believe government has a role in public health, education and our well-being.

The terrible tragedy in Texas is a clear example. Republicans fought efforts to address climate change, making storms stronger, wetter, less predictable, and more frequent. They slashed funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as the National Weather Service, two organizations that help predict and protect us from weather-related disasters. And they defunded FEMA, the organization that helps us after disasters. Locally, Texas officials did not think it was important to fund updated flood warning systems. These decisions are not about waste, fraud, or freeloading. They simply reflect the Republican view that government has no role to play.

You won’t hear that talked about. Every tragedy that their policies bring meets the same response. You know it. It goes like this: Now is not the time to talk about it. Now is the time to come together to heal. It’s not appropriate to politicize this disaster.

I’m sorry, that just dishonors the dead. We have repeated tragedies precisely because they refuse to talk about it, because they know that if they can delay the conversation they can change the subject.

https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/the-gop-doesnt-care-about-you-it