Republicrat

For as long as I’ve been alive, American politics has been overwhelmingly dominated by the Republican and the Democratic parties. There have been honorable mention entries onto the scene by lesser third parties, with the Green Party and the Libertarian party being the most well-known of the over 50 lesser political parties.

The Republican party was formed in 1854 by primarily northern anti-slavery activists and ex-Whigs, and by 1858 was the dominant party in northern politics. With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the Republican party was firmly in power, and held a majority of congressional seats.

The Democratic party on the other hand is far older, in fact it is one of the oldest political parties on the planet. Evolving from anti-federalist factions that opposed the fiscal policies of Alexander Hamilton in the 1790’s, it was organized by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison into the Democratic-Republican party, favoring states rights and a strict adherence to the Constitution.

After the war of 1812, the party split and led by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, became the Democratic party.

The ideology of the Democratic party has always been in favor of social liberalism, with broad appeal. Historically, it has been the party of blue-collar workers, farmers, and religious and ethnic minorities.

The ideology of the Republican party includes fiscal and social conservatism, free markets, and a strict and narrow interpretation of the constitution.

There really seems to be no political party for those of us who subscribe to some of the platform points of each party. The term Republicrat is often used as a pejorative by members of one party or the other to describe their members who are more centrist than desired.

There are some things that the Republican party have accomplished in the past few years that I think are really off track and some planks in their 2012 platform that are really rotten:

Under Republican administrations recently, we have seen The Patriot Act enacted, which allows the federal government to intrude into common Americans lives, without judicial oversight, and is perhaps one of the scariest laws currently on our books. The fact that it was renewed under the current Democratic administration is nothing less than jaw-dropping.

The Big Wall – the physical wall being built along our southern border with Mexico is simply ludicrous. How can we be so naive as to believe that all of our illegal immigration problems can be solved by building a huge wall between us and our nearest neighbor. It is our Berlin Wall, and we should be deeply ashamed.

DOMA – the Defense of Marriage Act. While I could write a whole blog entry on my feelings about this, I’m simply going to state here that the federal government has no  place in marriage. It’s entirely up to the states. The parties 2012 platform statement on Preserving Traditional Marriage relies heavily on the argument of preserving a two-parent family as the best environment for children. Do Republicans have their head in the sand? 50% of all first marriages end in divorce. 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce. A man being married to a woman has absolutely nothing to do with how a child turns out. What does allowing two men or two women to marry have to do with raising children?

Social Security – the republican party, as part of their 2012 platform have stated that privatization of Social Security is one of their goals. Most Americans can’t even save up enough money to make a 20% down-payment on a house, so why do Republicans think that something as important as Social Security should be moved into private hands?

Judges – The 2012 Republican Party platform has six paragraphs dedicated to condemnation of “activist” judges. Last time I read the constitution, the Judicial Branch was a part of government, equal in power to the Executive and the Legislative branches, and is essential to our form of government and checks and balances. They are doing their jobs when they strike down laws as unconstitutional.

I could go on for several thousand more words about what I don’t like about the Republican party platform, but there are some things that I do like:

Earmarking – Earmarking must stop

Line Item Veto – give the president the ability to line-item veto the budget

National Sunset Commission – a commission to review all federal programs and eliminate those that are wasteful or redundant.

Repeal the AMT – Included in the party platform, to my surprise, was a call to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax. While not hit by it personally, I do know people who have had to pay this exorbitant and unfair tax.

Fundamental Tax Reform – Replace our current IRS tax codes with a simpler, easier to understand code, or even a flat rate.

Growing our Energy supply – While I want to preserve our environment every bit as much as the next guy, I also have a strong objection to paying over $100 to fill my gas tank. If we have oil and natural gas in America, then we should use everything available to us to drill for it, as safely as possible. I’m also for more nuclear energy plants. They are one of our best opportunities to keep electricity affordable.

The Democrats stand for many things I endorse. Primarily, my civil liberties. As a gay man, I am no less a person or citizen than any other person in the country. I should enjoy the same rights and freedoms, without reservation. Who I sleep with should have no bearing on the taxes I pay, the jobs I can perform, or whether or not I can marry the person I love.

The Democratic platform also promotes that everyone should have some basic security in health care. Some of us are lucky enough to have health care available through our employers. Others, through a lifetime of contributions to Medicare, are covered as well. However, there are millions of Americans who simply have no options. If we can afford to go to war over nothing with Iraq, then we can afford to cover basic health care for our own citizens who have nothing.

Corporate taxes. So many of our larger corporations pay less taxes, on a percentage basis, than many lower-income families. Why is this and how can it be fair? We need to eliminate these loopholes. If a corporation can be given all the rights of a person, then it should also have the same responsibilities.

Essentially, I like the Republican party stance of being fiscally responsible, limiting the role of Federal government, and staying out of my wallet as much as possible.

I like the Democratic parties stance of treating humans fairly, being kind to those down on their luck, and staying the heck out of my bedroom.