Ahh…hypocrisy. The thing that we are all guilty of, to some extent. The only time I think it is fair to mention is when it becomes egregious.
The target of my accusation is the American conservative movement. First, let me begin with the word “conservative”. It means changing carefully, if at all. One thing that comes to mind are Republicans’ Voter ID laws, some of which were proposed immediately after the Supreme Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. That was probably just a coincidence, right? The Voting Rights Act had been reauthorized as recently as 2006. And then you have Roe vs. Wade, the decision allowing abortion. Some southern states are trying to make abortion effectively unavailable to poor people. Conservatives would not try to make an end run around a decision of long standing, nor would they try to change a law that has been working. These modern-day “conservatives” are actually right-wing radicals. And speaking of abortion, I don’t think anybody would feel good about turning to it. It is the last resort. These states, including the large state of Texas, are trying to legislate clinics that provide abortion out of existence. As a practical matter, this won’t prevent a person of means to get one. They can afford to travel wherever they must to do what they have to do. It only impacts the poor, in other words, those who might be more likely to truly be forced by their circumstances to turn to abortion. So that means more unwanted babies born to women who can’t afford to raise them properly. And do the “conservatives” want to help the woman out financially? Heck no. They only care about the unborn. Once you’re born you’re on your own.
Then you have the right-wing patron saint, Ronald W. Reagan. If I had a dollar for every time his name was invoked by a Republican presidential candidate, I would be a wealthy man. Leaving aside the fact that, if he was part of today’s Republican party, he would be run out of town on a rail. He raised taxes several times, a violation that would not be tolerated now under Grover Norquist’s no-tax pledge that all Republicans must sign onto. He passed a law disallowing ordinary citizens from possessing automatic weapons. The NRA would have had a fit. He expanded Medicaid. He passed an immigration law that created a pathway to citizenship for 3 million undocumented immigrants.
“Conservatives” are pro-life, unless a person has been born. They claim to love America, but they want to limit Americans’ participation in the one thing that makes America free. The Republicans don’t want poor people voting, because, don’t you know, they probably would vote for Democrats. On the other hand, they want to see the wealthy have outsize influence on the electoral process, as in the Citizens United ruling. A few eccentric billionaires can essentially buy candidates for president.
The Republicans are past masters of wedge issues, which get people to vote against their own interests based on cultural values. But they are not stupid. After the massacre of 9 people in the Charleston church, they are joining the chorus to take the Confederate battle flag down. They know which way the wind is blowing, and when to get out of Dodge when things get too hot. Ditto working-class issues and same-sex marriage. The more savvy Republican candidates see the writing on the wall and know when to get out of the way. That is part of what makes them able to con people into voting against their own interests.
I know Democrats aren’t perfect, and we have our hypocrisies too. But they are not anywhere near as glaring as the opposition. Sometimes I see columnists criticizing Hillary. Well, would you rather have a Republican instead? It’s simple. Don’t complain, Democrats and progressives. Vote!