Here’s what I learned from the Republican National Convention: A candidate can tell one lie after another about his opponent’s record and fellow Republicans will still claim he’s a man of integrity. Their “winning strategy” – repeat the lies until they are accepted as true.
Lessons from the Republican Party Platform:
• There are self-defined “makers” (the 1%) and they’ve got theirs; the rest of us are “takers” and we’ll be on our own with only a shredded safety net.
• Our children and grandchildren will have to rely on a Medicare substitute with no guarantee they’ll be able to afford the health care coverage they need.
• Reducing the national debt is a priority; but only if the already-wealthy get to keep their privileged tax status and the military budget is off-limits to cuts.
• Prosperity is for the super-rich and their children. The rest of us can expect to shoulder more of the cost of needed infrastructure and services and be content with whatever wage increases happen to trickle down.
• The interests of big energy companies trump our need for clean air and water.
• Freedom of religion is only for those whose beliefs are the same as those of certain Republican fundamentalists.
• All women must be controlled. Women are incapable of making moral choices on their own. A fertilized egg is to be acknowledged as a person with rights, but the woman involved doesn’t count.
• A good education is for the privileged few; public education should be left to rot and teachers are the enemy.
• It’s okay if tens of thousands in America, most of them children, go without food and shelter, as long as not a single one of “those undeserving people” gets help from a government program.
• Only a few people are welcome to come to America – the ones who have the skills big corporations are looking for and have the “right” skin color.
Perhaps candidate Romney’s views differ a bit from some of what’s in his Party’s platform, but a Republican Congress would make him fall in line.
The Democratic National Convention provided a clear contrast, as speaker after speaker explained why, as noted in the automobile analogy used by former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, "D" stands for moving America forward and "R" means going in reverse.
