April 16, 2017
More Republican Hypocrisy
I sent in this Letter to the Editor last month and it was published.In 2009 and 2010 "pro-life" Republicans tried to block and sabotage health care reform without offering an alternative. After "Obamacare" was passed, they voted to repeal all or parts of it over 60 times in Congress even though more than 20 million Americans were able to buy insurance because of it. Now, Donald Trump and the Republicans not only want to cut Medicaid and take health insurance away from as many as 24 million Americans, but have called for drastic cuts to Planned Parenthood and the Meals on Wheels program, and have made it easier to buy guns, even by the mentally ill. "Pro-life" my foot. In all these years, Republicans have never been called out on this exponential hypocrisy. Not once. It's about time someone did.
Republican hypocrisy is like Lucy and Ethel and the chocolate
I sent in this Letter to the Editor last month and it was published.
In 2009 and 2010 "pro-life" Republicans tried to block and sabotage health care reform without offering an alternative. After "Obamacare" was passed, they voted to repeal all or parts of it over 60 times in Congress even though more than 20 million Americans were able to buy insurance because of it. Now, Donald Trump and the Republicans not only want to cut Medicaid and take health insurance away from as many as 24 million Americans, but have called for drastic cuts to Planned Parenthood and the Meals on Wheels program, and have made it easier to buy guns, even by the mentally ill. "Pro-life" my foot. In all these years, Republicans have never been called out on this exponential hypocrisy. Not once. It's about time someone did.
Republican hypocrisy is like Lucy and Ethel and the chocolate: it keeps coming and coming and impossible to keep up. So here's more.
Can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Hillary won the election and it turned out there was a possibility that Russia (or China or Iran) - through hacking the RNC and flooding the internet with fake anti-Trump news - tried to help her win the election? And can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Hillary's top aides met with Russian intelligence officials (or Chinese or Iranian) to coordinate this manipulation of the electorate? My God, Republicans wouldn't have bothered with an investigation, they would have impeached her in January! (Which they were going to do anyway.)
Can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Hillary's Attorney General nominee, who was an offical member of her campaign staff, lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee about meeting with Russian officals during the campaign?
Can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Hillary's eventual national security advisor - let me repeat that: eventual national security advisor - met with Russian officials during the campaign? And can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if he was also a paid foreign agent for Turkey, and Hillary appointed him anyway? And then lied about it? And can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if her campaign manager had secretly been on the payroll of a Russian billionaire to "advance Vladamir Putin's interests"?
Can you imagine if Hillary won the election and put her son-in-law in charge of "reinventing government" which included heading the White House Office of American Inovation, moderizing the Veterans Administration, solving the opiod epidemic and coming up with infrastructure proposals; and was appointed liaison to China, Mexico and the Muslim community; and was put in charge of criminal justice reform and brokering Mid-East peace?
Not only would Republicans go ballistic, but they'd make an even bigger deal out the fact that Hillary's son in law's father is a convicted felon.
Um, Donald Trump's son in law's father is a convicted felon.
Oh, and imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Hillary's son in law failed to disclose dozen's of meetings he had with foreign officials.
I guess it's okay if you're a Republican.
But wait, there's more! When it comes to Republican hypocrisy, there always is!
Can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Hillary gave Chelsea a west wing office and allowed her to sit in on foreign and domestic policy meetings?
Freakin' hypocrites. And I didn't even get to Syria yet.
In 2013 Trump attacked Obama for getting involved in Syria and for not getting "Congressional approval" for the military action. As President, Trump increased bombing strikes in Iraq and Syria, killing more innocent civilians in the process, and sent 400 marines to Syria, all without Congressional approval.
In 2013, after a chemical attack in Syria that left 1,400 dead, 183 House Republicans opposed retaliatory strikes by President Obama. But they're all in total support of Trump's retaliatory response to Assad's chemical attack that killed 58 civilians (when the decision was made to retaliate. The number is over 80). (The hypocrisy extends to Republican voters while Democratic voters are consistent.)
Also, in 2012 Trump accused Obama of wanting to bomb Libya or Iran because of his falling poll numbers. Hmmm...
But that's all irrelevant because Trump knew what was going on in Syria when he ran for President. And he had a "secret plan" to defeat for ISIS. So regardless of how big of a disater Syria was when he took office, it shouldn't matter because Trump said was going to fix it because he knew "more than the generals."
And then there's Republican hypocrisy on the Supreme Court. They blocked President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland last year because they won't allow Democratic presidents to fill Supreme Court seats during the last year of his administration. No, really, because they said they weren't going to allow Hillary's nominees get through (assuming her impeachment fizzled out).
So only Republican presidents can fill Supreme Court vacancies. And if Democrats try and block them, forget it, only Republicans are allowed to block judicial and executive branch nominees - at unprecedented levels.
See how things work in Washington?
And then there's golf.
Donald Trump and the Republicans blasted President Obama for playing golf. And while he was campaigning, Trump said he wouldn't be "taking very long vacations, if I take them at all" because "why would you want to leave (the White House)?" And, "I'm gonna be working for you, I'm not going to have time to play golf...believe me, believe me..."
"President" Trump played golf 17 times in his first 12 weeks in office. And not a word about it from Republicans.
It's always okay if you're a Republican. But wait, there's more!
In 2013 Trump blasted Obama for playing golf and not talking to Congress about Syria. Trump played golf the weekend after bombing Syria.
More of this nauseating golfing hypocrisy is here.
And Trump's trips to his Florida resort during his first 10 weeks in office has cost taxpayers as much as Obama's trips in two years! And not a word about it from "fiscally responsible" Republicans. Can you imagine what they'd be screaming if Obama's or Hillary's trips to their resort every weekend was costing taxpayers millions of dollars? My God, the outrage would be the lead story on Fox "News" for days weeks!
And can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Obama or Hillary kept White House visitor logs secret? That too would be lead story on Fox "News" for weeks.
Only Republicans can get away with this.
But wait, there's more!
In 2010 Republicans blasted Obama for "ramming" Obamacare through Congress even though it took more than a year, despite Republican obstruction and sabotage. Last month Republicans tried to repeal Obamacare in two weeks.
Speaking of repealing and replacing Obamacare, after winning the election, Trump said:
No, we're going to do it simultaneously. It'll be just fine. We're not going to have, like, a two-day period and we're not going to have a two-year period where there's nothing. It will be repealed and replaced. And we'll know.
What a mind.
And it'll be great healthcare for much less money. So it'll be better healthcare, much better, for less money. Not a bad combination.
So he had a "great" plan that will be "much better" than Obamacare. So where the hell is it?
A listing of Republican hypocrisy wouldn't be complete without pointing out gross immorality "indiscretions" made by sanctimonious holier-than-thou conservative Republicans. That's here. But there's more to it than that because the religious right and their self-righteous voters allow Republicans to get away with it. You think they'd be so forgiving of Democrats?
If Democrats had half a brain (insert raucous laughter here), they'd be on the offensive, pounding Republicans every minute of every day on all this hypocrisy and double standards so they can put them on the defensive for a change and begin the process of tearing down the "credibility" of Republicans and the Republican Party. But they don't, and won't, because 1) they're pathetic saps and wimps, 2) they don't even realize they're in a perpetual political street fight, 3) have been intimidated into silence by GOP bullying all these years, and 4) it has never even occurred to them to call out Republican hypocrisy; therefore, 5) nothing will change and Republicans will continue to win elections.
I present your Republican and Democratic parties.
Note: This blog has chronicled some of the Republican hypocrisy over the years (it's impossible to keep track of it all). I'm not going to link to all the posts here because there's too many. But if there is one that couldn't sum it up any better, it's this one.
April 18 insert:
After the 2012 terrorist attack at our consulate in Libya, all we heard from Republicans and Fox "News" for four years was Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi! There were eight separate investigations into the incident so I guess Republicans take the safety of our embassies, consulates, and diplomats very seriously, right? Well, no.
President Donald Trump has yet to nominate the State Department official who oversees diplomatic security abroad — despite having made the 2012 Benghazi attacks a centerpiece of his campaign against Hillary Clinton.
Freakin' hypocrites. And that's being kind.
It's also worth noting that there were at least 13 attacks at embassies and consulates during the Bush administration. Thirteen! I bet you didn't hear about them like you did Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi! Of course not. That's because there wasn't any anger or outrage from Republicans and Fox "News" after those attacks; and certainly no public, drawn-out investigations. Only crickets.
I guess terrorist attacks on our embassies and consulates are okay during Republican administrations.
I swear, if hypocrisy was dirt, the GOP would be the biggest mountain in the world. By far.
May 7 insert:
Republicans after Democrats, um, "rammed" Obamacare through:
We will ensure that bills are debated and discussed in the public square by publishing the text online for at least three days before coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives, they wrote in their Pledge to America, a pre-election manifesto. No more hiding legislative language from the minority party, opponents, and the public. Legislation should be understood by all interested parties before its voted on.
Paul Ryan in 2009:
I don't think we should pass bills that we haven't read, that we don't know what they cost.
House Republicans rammed legislation through in a couple of days, a matter of hours really, that guts Obamacare and totally disrupts the structure of our entire health care system. And they did so without hearings, without reading the bill and without the CBO scoring it.
Ezra Klein:
This is not what Republicans promised — and it explains why they have rushed their bill through Congress so fast. Their legislation does not do what they say it does, and it does not do what voters want it to do, and so a normal, deliberative process that exposed those facts would be lethal.
At a Monday rally, Trump laid out a capsule legislative history of the Affordable Care Act. "It's important to realize how we got to Obamacare in the first place, back in 2009 and 2010, House and Senate Democrats forced through a 2,700-page health care bill that no one read and no one understood," he said. "They ignored the public, they ignored the voters, and they jammed a massive failed health care takeover right through Congress."
A quick review of the Affordable Care Act's history is in order. In the House, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the Democrats' health care plan on June 19, 2009. The bill wouldn't pass the chamber until November. It wouldn't pass the Senate until the end of December. And it wouldn't pass into law until March of the following year. Over that period, the House and Senate would vote on literally thousands of amendments, and Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus would huddle with two Democrats and three Republicans for months in an effort to work out a bipartisan compromise.
Republicans, by contrast, are attempting to pass their bill through the House less than 20 days after introducing it. (He's including the first bill that failed to get a vote last month.) They are trying to pass it through the Senate less than 30 days after introducing it...
I don't recount this history merely to mount a charge of hypocrisy — though the hypocrisy on display here is genuinely breathtaking.
That's being kind.
Should this get through the Senate, those who need mental help may not be able to get it because of the Medicaid cuts that are in this bill, and also because mental illness is a pre-existing condition, which wasn't an issue under Obamacare but becomes one with this legislation. But the mentally ill are now allowed to buy guns thanks to Republicans.
Shit for brains. But that's being kind too because at least idiots care, take their responsibilities seriously and maturely, and try to do the right thing. But Republicans don't care, aren't responsible or mature, and don't try and do the right thing; because they are political terrorists.
I'd be embarrassed if I voted Republican. But Republican voters aren't. And that's the problem.
October, 2017 insert:
There's always more:
1) At least six "President" Trump officials - Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, Gary Cohn and Stephen Miller - were using private email servers. And nobody cares. No Congressional hearings are scheduled. And yet, can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Hillary Clinton used a private email server? Oh wait. I see. It's okay when Republicans do it...after chanting "Lock her up" when Hillary was doing it.
2) Pro-life Republican Rep. Tim Murphy had an extra-marital affair. So it's okay for "family values" Republicans to have affairs. But wait, there's more to this hypocrisy. His mistress got pregnant and he urged her to get an abortion.
Oh, I see. So only Republicans should have options regarding an unwanted pregnancy and abortion should only be legal for Republicans. And all this "a life's a life" only applies to "baby killer" liberals. Ok, got it.
3) When Obama was President, "fiscally responsible" Republicans were defict hawks and wouldn't directly add to the deficit without a corresponding cut in spending. But now that a Republican is president, exploding the deficit with an irresponsible $1.5 trillion tax cut is fine with them.
4) Republicans are always screaming about wasteful government spending. So when in power, you'd think they'd be careful, at least with travel costs. But surprise, surprise, they aren't. HHS Secretary Price stuck the taxpayers with a $1 million tab for private jets. This came eight years after he:
called the use of private jets by members of Congress "fiscal irresponsibility run amok" and criticized a colleague who had argued they were necessary for department heads like the secretary of Defense.
But wait, as always with Republicans, there's more, a lot more!
Treasury secretary Tom Mnuchin spent $800,000 of tax payer money on seven military flights. EPA adminsitrator Scott Pruit stuck tax payers for four charted military flights and Interior secretary Ryan Zinke not only spent over $12,000 on a private plane, but the plane was owned by Wyoming oil and gas executives. "Drain the swap," Ha! And weeks after ordering his agency to curb travel expenses, Veteran Affairs secretary, David Shulkin, went on a vacation with his wife to London at tax payers expense.
Can you imagine if multiple Obama or Hillary Clinton cabinet secretary's were splurging tax payer money on private and military jets within the first few months of taking office? My God, that would be lead story on Fox "News" every day, for weeks! And Republicans would hold Congressional hearings for months, making sure they dragged them out into the next mid-term elections.
I guess it's okay when Republicans squander tax payer money.
5) "Make America Great Again." Wait, I thought America was already great. So a Republican presidential candidate was saying America wasn't great. Can you imagine if Obama or Hillary came out with a slogan like that? The venom and vitriol coming from the right would be relentless. They'd be attacked for "hating America." I guess it's ok for Republicans to hate America.
Republicans hate America so much, they called for their state to succeed in 2009. A Republican candidate for governor in Texas spoke at a "Sovereignty or Secession" rally and said, "I hate that flag..." and "I hate the United States government."
Okay, he had gripes, but not a peep about it from Republicans. But can you imagine what Republicans would be screaming if Democrats or Democratic candidates said that? Fox "News" (cough, cough) "reporters" and hosts would have had a conniption, for weeks!
So let me see if I have this straight. It's okay for Republicans to say that they "hate the flag," but anyone who fails to stand for the national anthem is being disrespectful and is attacked.
I guess it's okay for Republicans to hate the flag.
And barely a word about any of this from Democrats. And this isn't minor, every day hypocrisy. This is exponential hypocrisy on steroids. But Republicans get away with it - and have been for years - because Democrats are never incredulous about it, never get angry about it, and never ever call them on it.
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