5 MORE Republican facts that every American should get mad at!

 

When the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001, everyone throughout the country felt a variety of emotions. Some were upset, others scared or just plain angry. There isn't a right or wrong answer in how people felt because what happened was so horrific. It's natural to want revenge and that is how George Bush and the Republican party were able to get the country into a huge mess while lining their own pockets. Preying on the fear that came with the attacks of 9/11, the Bush administration decided to wage war, but with the wrong country. Knowing that his father, George H.W Bush, was unable to capture Saddam Hussein in the early 90s, George W. Bush wanted to finish the job that his father couldn't. Knowing that Iraq was run by an evil dictator, had plenty of oil and could be a goldmine for companies to rebuild, Bush used the fear that overcame the United States to wage war with a country that had nothing to do with the attacks on that September day. Saddam Hussein was captured less than a month into the invasion of Iraq, but nearly a decade later the United States was still there. The reason that was given to the American people for the invasion was that Iraq possessed "Weapons of Mass Destruction," but later Americans were told that Iraq didn't have these weapons and that the United States received "bad intelligence." Many believe that there were never any weapons in Iraq and that it was an excuse to invade the country. Many companies, such as Dick Channey's Halliburton, made billions rebuilding in Iraq while others ran off to the bank as well. According to a 2007 report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the war in Iraq would cost $1.9 trillion dollars, or about $6,300 for each U.S citizen. Mix that with the thousands of courageous soldiers who lost their lives or became injured and you have a mess that every American should be mad about.

 

2. GOP Depression-

Today's economic climate is a scary one. Though the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.6%, there is still only one job opening for every four Americans looking for work. As Ronald Reagan dropped the top tax ratefrom 70% to 28% during his eight years in office while deregulating big business and the financial sector, the United States was placed on a path of economic destruction. President Clinton stabilized things enough that he was able to hand a surplus to George Bush in 2001, but all the reckless actions by Wall Street drove the United States to the brink until a taxpayer bailout of the banks saved the country in 2008. They say history repeats itself and that is true in this case. When the stock market crashed in 1929 it was because of the same actions that took place during the 80s and 90s. The Great Depression was started by the deregulation and bad tax policies of three Republican presidents. Starting with Warren Harding in 1921, through Calvin Coolidge and then Herbert Hoover. The United States fell into an economic depression. It took President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal to help get the United States back on track. Roosevelt had to deal with Republican opposition in congress and a new war, but after years in office, was able to get the job done. Sound familiar?

 

3. Medicare Part D-

Republicans today hate anything that the government does until they need it. Conservatives scream about programs like social security and unemployment benefits, but once they get old or lose their job they are quick to hold on to government assistance. Republicans want to privatize programs like social security and Medicare by taking them out of the government and putting them into the greedy hands on Wall Street. You don't need to go back to far to find Republicans supporting parts of Medicare as George Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Medicare Part D) which went into effect on January 1, 2006. The program was to suppose to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs for those who receive Medicare, but in the long run it raised prices, cost taxpayer's billions of dollars while making it harder for low-income seniors to get the medications they need.

 

4. Sexual Morality?-

The Republican party pounds their chest as the party of morality. They clutch their Bible, fight back against gays and abortion and love to bring up that President Clinton cheated on his wife. For people to make those claims they should learn to look in the mirror first. Republican front-runner, Newt Gingrich has been marriedthree times and cheated on his previous wives. While Gingrich was one of the leading voices against President Clinton in the 1990s, he was cheating on his wife and smiling the whole time. In fact, while his wife was in remission with cancer, Gingrich served her divorce papers. The former Tea Party favorite, Herman Cain, was forced to dropped out of the race because of repeated sexual allegations against him. The list of Republicans who have engaged in sexual affairs is endless. Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls, Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar and Republican legislator, Richard Gardner, admitted to molesting his two daughters. This doesn't mean that Democrats have never done anything like this, they have. However, there is an old saying, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

 

5. Unions aren't the problem!-

Just the word "union" seems to have a negative connotation these days. Conservatives point their finger at unions for every fiscal issue that the country has closing their eyes to the fact that unions are fighting for the middle class. Whether you're a member of a union of not, you must understand what a union is there for. Unions are a collective voice of the worker to make sure that their rights are protected. These rights are not limited to, but include safe working conditions, fair pay and some sort of benefits. As executive pay as risen to an all time high, wages for workers remain stagnant. Unions are put together to make sure that those at the top don't hold back the average middle class worker, but the Republicans have tried to destroy the voice of the middle class for decades. From the time Ronald Reagan fired the Air Traffic Controllers in the 1980s to Republicans trying to push for "right-to-work" laws across the country, the voice of the middle class is starting to become silent. Republicans claim union workers are lazy and greedy and that is not the case. Are their workers who take advantage of the benefits of being in a union? Of course there are, every system has issues, but the majority are grateful and work hard. If Republicans want to truly be patriotic they should start supporting the middle class, not just the wealthy.