Hypocrisy in the Republican Party

By Ryan Tibbens

​A friend recently posted an odd pro-Trump meme, and I responded. The meme made Trump sound like a martyr, some kindly old billionaire who is making major sacrifices to save the rest of us. In the post, my friend called all Democrats "EVIL." I responded about the hypocrisy and inconsistency of the Republican party and how that kind of "flexibility" on key issues indicates poor ethics. After once or twice back and forth, I'd had too much coffee and offered actual reasons for my statements. I'd like to share this with everyone, especially those of you who like Trump and claim "family values." Check the links.

"Parts of everything you said are good. But they are incomplete, and more importantly, they are inconsistent. In your original post, you commented upon morality and vice/virtue. I pointed out that, while both parties are bad, the Republican Party is as bad or worse, and a big part of my problem is inconsistency and hypocrisy. Here goes (with citations).

1) The party that has screamed about the national debt and deficit spending for decades magically forgot their concern (https://www.usatoday.com/…/779-billion-deficit-…/1687701002/ AND https://www.nytimes.com/…/republicans-spending-deficits-deb… ). The tax cuts are dysfunctional in their long-term structure and unethical in their contradiction to the party's supposed fiscal conservatism.

2) I'm fine with the boxes, but not some of the suggested measures against fraud that would likely lead to legitimately poor families, particularly the children, go hungry. Fraud is an important issue, but it's not nearly as big a problem as you think. (http://time.com/4711668/history-food-stamp-fraud/ ) I'd rather take care of all the poor kids we reasonably can, even if a few dishonest middle class families sneak in. That is a stance that values the life and safety of children, but somehow the party that seems to cherish "family values," "Christian values," and a child's "right to life" doesn't agree. What would Jesus do? Feed the damn kids.

3) Crime is down. It might not 'feel' that way, but the truth is, crime is down. You live in the safest time there has ever been to be a human being, and you live in one of the safer locations on the planet. Most people have no idea what is happening with crime, check it out (http://www.pewresearch.org/…/5-facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/ ).

And you can't write off prison sentencing so lightly. We claim to be the land of the free, but we jail more citizens, per capita, than any other country in the world. Our "War on Drugs" is a primary factor in that, and the Republican Party continues to tout "tough on crime" agendas that fill our prisons but fail to make our streets safer. The Democratic Party is to blame for this as well, particularly Bill Clinton. Still, our incarceration problem does not make our country better, and the Republican Party actively seeks to exacerbate the problems (https://www.sbs.com.au/…/10-staggering-statistics-about-us-… ). Drug arrests make up a majority of arrests and convictions, and over half of all drug arrests are for marijuana only. Of all marijuana arrests, 85-90% are for simple, minor possession. Sure, you can say "stop breaking the law," but when we spend $40-50,000 per year to house an inmate, we should make sure that inmate actually posed a threat to the community. Otherwise, we would be better off just sending three kids to college instead of jailing the other guy. (https://www.forbes.com/…/drug-arrests-on-the-rise-in-us-n…/… )

​Both parties are bad in most ways, but there is no way you can honestly and sincerely say that all Democrats are evil while supporting the Republican party. You could tell me that both parties are evil, and I'd be listening, but to take the side of a party as hypocritical and inconsistent as the Republicans and call the other side EVIL, well, that hurts your credibility."