The Republican Party is morally and intellectually bankrupt. It has no purpose, no platform other than the pursuit and exercise of power simply for power’s sake. It does not seek to govern nor is it interested in developing the civic space or a sense of order. It seeks only control, unadulterated and unaccountable. 

The Republican Party dons the mantle of conservatism. Yet its interests and actions betray any sense of conserving or preserving any semblance of social order, fealty to institutions or constitutional humility. Its methods are chaos and dissembling — see Steve Bannon’s call to “flood the zone with s***.”

The Republican Party doesn’t believe in small government. Witness the actions of the governors in Florida and Texas, whose guiding principles seem to be reward friends, punish disagreement and treat anyone who doesn’t toe the line as an existential threat. 

The Republican Party doesn’t believe in free speech or freedom of assembly or freedom of conscience. It burns books, squelches inquiry and demands fealty to men — not ideas. From Rush Limbaugh’s first whines about political correctness to today’s screeches of “cancel culture” and “wokeness,” the Republican Party uses finger pointing to squelch honest discussion and debate. 

The Republican Party does not believe in liberty. It believes in license — the ability to do what it wants, when it wants, without accountability or responsibility. 

The Republican Party is not the party of fiscal responsibility. It cares not for the middle class or working people. Its economic platform, if one can deem tax cuts for the wealthiest a platform, serves the elite. Wealth and opportunity don’t trickle down — they accrete up, becoming consolidated in fewer and fewer hands and fostering corruption and greed. To cover its economic malfeasance it stokes division, hatred, and culture wars. Thomas Pynchon observed, “If they can get you asking the wrong questions then they don’t have to worry about the answers.” And so it is that the Republican media in the guise of “just asking questions” diverts attention from its moral emptiness to sowing anger and fear. 

The Republican Party is not the party of life. Despite its pious self-righteousness on abortion, it does nothing to promote the quality of life of the living. It treats mothers, children and millions of working Americans with utter disdain. It coddles gun manufacturers while promoting fever dreams of a dystopic world that feeds more fever dreams of so-called patriots, deluded revolutionaries, and conspiracy theorists. It turned a public health crisis into a culture war that unnecessarily killed hundreds of thousands of Americans while undermining trust in public institutions for perverse political and egotistical gain. 

The Republican Party is not the party of values. It hides behind religion while perverting Christ’s message to love our neighbors. It revels in cruelty — separating families, killing the innocent and idolizing the selfish and narcissistic. It embraces fascism and the undermining of democratic principles. 

The Republican Party is the party of death. 

Mark Jamison 

Webster