The following post, written by The Rev. Robert A. Franek, is a part of Politicus Policy Discussion, in which writers draw connections between real lives and public policy.
As the Trump Russia scandal continues to prove, Republicans in Congress seem to have no limits on placing party before country. While the party before country behavior was not new with the Trump Russia scandal, their refusal to take seriously this attack by a foreign adversary on our democratic institutions through the hacking of the 2016 presidential election made clear how firmly engrained the party before country plan is. More it showed that this ideology surpasses all domestic and foreign policy issues facing the country and goes straight to a betrayal at the heart of our democracy.
Yet, this zenith in their evermore remarkable ways to fail to uphold the oath they swore when they took office is not the apotheosis of their patriotic death. The autopsy of the failed patriotism of the Republicans running the government revealed prevalent hypocrisy which prevailed again and again over the humanity of people in this country and around the world.
To fail to recognize the humanity of another person is to deny them their fundamental dignity of personhood. It is to treat people as objects. This is how the death of millions of people though the loss of their health care coverage can be couched in cost savings language. This is how fear denies people their life story and turns individuals into prejudiced stereotypes that can be controlled without regard to the human cost.
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It is no surprise that the thirteen Senate Republicans (all of whom are men) lead by Mitch McConnell are drafting their version of the American Health Care Act in secret. Though they routinely decry the lack of transparency and having legislation “shoved down our throatsâ€, this is precisely what the Senate Republicans intend to do with their version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA).
These Senators know this bill is terrible for everyone but their wealthy benefactors. They know it is a tax plan in disguise. They know tens of millions of people are at risk for losing their health care coverage and therefore their life. They know access and affordability are not the same things. They know that if their plan became public before a vote it would cause another uprising in their districts at town hall meetings which many are already cowardly avoiding.
There is nothing moral or humane to be found this this bill. Nevertheless, they intend to place in the lives of tens of millions of people severe jeopardy, as well as one-sixth of our country’s economy.
While Republican in Congress claim to be doing the will of the people, they continually fail to listen to the people. The only voices that count in their world are the big moneyed interests who fund their campaigns. The Grand Old Party will fall in line at the behest of the Koch brothers but willfully ignore the will of the people who elected them.
While Republicans are running the government, the hypocrisy of their “pro-life†and “all lives matter†slogans and manifestos will continually be exposed for their inhumanity by the people of this country who know better. From health care and immigration policies to budgets and criminal justice reform, Republican lies are being unmasked for their hypocrisy and inhumanity.
A foreign adversary hacked our presidential election in its effort to undermine all western liberal democracies. And while much still needs to be investigated, the threat remains and action needs to be taken to prevent further undermining of our democratic institutions, especially our free and fair election process.
However, long before the Russians interfered in the 2016 presidential election, Republicans were active hacking the humanity of people in this country and around the world their immoral policies laced with sexism and racism and topped off with various forms of xenophobia.
It is incumbent on citizens in every district to elect leaders in every area of government who will recognize the humanity of all our neighbors, especially the vulnerable and oppressed in this country and throughout the world. The people in Georgia’s sixth district have a decisive opportunity to this on Tuesday and begin to pave the way for the 2018 election and a new era of moral leadership.
