Republicans certainly know how to shape the discourse around an issue – while blaming Democrats for doing that, of course. In the case of the mass shooting in Orlando, as we saw, Republicans again and again invoked Islam and “Islamic terrorism” but failed again and again to so much as mention LGBT people.
Never mind that it was in a gay nightclub that 49 people were killed and 53 wounded. By an American citizen. Born in the United States. Armed with an assault rifle the NRA-sponsored Republican Party insisted he had a right to buy.
In this week’s Weekly Republican Address, or “storytime,” House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) of Paul Ryan’s do-nothing House, takes her turn on center stage, spinning the latest mass shooting tragedy to Republican advantage. She tells us,
“We were all shocked and saddened by the tragedy in Orlando last weekend.
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“It was heartbreaking.
“It’s a reminder that, at the end of the day, no matter your background, we are all Americans.”
Except, apparently, gays, who were the victims of this latest tragedy. She doesn’t bother to mention them. Not even once.
“And even as we grieve together as a nation, we must remain vigilant to protect the promise of America. It’s a promise that everyone here should have the confidence to live free, knowing they’re safe from terror in their own community, and so they can pursue their own dreams.
“Because in America, we trust people to make the best decisions for themselves. Not a government that decides for you.”
Not even a government established by the Constitution of the United States, apparently.
This people deciding for themselves apparently includes Sarah Palin’s idea that women have a “right to choose” assault rifles but not a right to decide whether to get pregnant or not. So much for people making “the best decisions for themselves.”
She then goes on to tell us that only the Republican House of Representatives can save American democracy and the Constitution. She can really say nothing else, given that for the past seven years the GOP has spun the narrative that liberalism is an illegitimate ideology and that Democratic governance is somehow anti-American.
And here is the “we’re not going to mention dead gay people but oh by the way did we tell you how dangerous ISIS is?” part of the address:
“But today, people are anxious. We’re on edge as ISIS makes the world more dangerous.”
Parents worry about their children’s future. Seniors worry about retirement. Students worry about finding good jobs to pay back their debt.
Hard-working families can’t understand Washington, D.C.’s tangled web of taxes, one-size-fits-all regulations, and arbitrary rules.
We’re anxious because your voices are not being heard in Congress.
There’s a better way to restore representative government and uphold our Constitution, and that’s what we rolled out this week.
Our goal is to reaffirm that government by the people, speaking through their elected representatives, is the best way to keep us free and safe; protect our liberty; and make sure the promise of America exists for the next generation.
Over time, presidents came to legislate by executive orders; courts came to make laws from the bench; and we, Congress, ceded power to the other two branches in order to simplify the lawmaking process.
But Congress is the seat of representative democracy.
It’s just a shame they’re not interesting in actually DOING anything. But let’s not let facts get in the way of a good yarn (and nobody is better at spinning yarns than the Paul Ryan-led House of Representatives). When he announced he was bringing change, what he meant was better story-telling:
It is here that “we the people†should make decisions about all laws that will govern us. Not in the basement of the Labor Department.
This is not a Republican or Democrat issue; it’s an American issue. And it touches the very core of who we are.
Let’s use the power of the purse to make government more accountable to people, so the IRS can’t target free speech and the EPA can’t regulate mud puddles.
Let’s do our job of reviewing, rethinking, and possibly eliminating government programs that are running on autopilot without oversight, So agencies like the VA operate their hospitals more like Cleveland Clinics.
Let’s hold unelected bureaucrats accountable for interfering with the next innovative startup someone’s creating in a garage or with a scientist working to cure cancer in a lab.
No indeed. Let’s let elected Republican legislators do that instead.
Again, the complete lack of logic in this argument is astonishing: the government can’t interfere with scientists (unless they’re telling us the truth about anthropogenic global warming, or evolution, or smoking, or chemicals, or fracking) and you can’t interfere with someone starting a business in their garage, but government can sure tell women what they can and cannot do with their bodies.
Let’s make agencies closer to the people—a government that operates more like Uber and Amazon and less like the DMV.
And—most importantly—let’s give people a voice through their elected representatives so a 19th century institution can actually solve 21st century problems.
Restoring the people’s voice in Congress is not just one part of our Better Way agenda, it’s the most important part.
Unless people are back in the driver’s seat, we won’t be able to rebuild our military, roll back the red tape, or help our most vulnerable.
Because only “we, the people†know the way to achieve our dreams—not the government.
That’s why freedom is so important. It’s about making certain the promise of America is never broken.
I hope you’ll learn more about our plan to restore representative government at www.better.gop.
The promise of America, according to the GOP, can best be understood as a group of elected officials refusing to do absolutely anything about any real problem, but talking a lot and inventing a bunch of problems to solve in between meaningless hearings on manufactured scandals.
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.
