An open letter to Republicans and the Republican Party

I realize we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. As a Democrat, I believe all Americans should be treated equally, despite their gender, color of their skin, religious beliefs, or place in society. And my take on the Constitution and Bill of Rights is that our founding fathers felt the same way.

The Republican Party presents itself as the party of Christianity, conservatism, family values, smaller government, lower taxes, and high morals. Yet I have to question if those things are truly the focus of today's Republican Party.

Those of you who represent yourselves and consider yourselves to be Christians certainly must feel deep in your soul that what's been going on in Iraq is wrong. Jesus would not condone the death and destruction the war in Iraq has wrought on mankind. And now that there's undeniable proof that Saddam Hussein wasn't involved with the attacks on September 11, 2001, wasn't harboring terrorists, wasn't hiding weapons of mass destruction, and wasn't actually a threat to the United States or its people, it must sicken you when you hear of the people killed or permanently injured. You must weep for the families who have been ripped apart by this war, both here and abroad.

Yet I hear nothing from you. Why is that? Would Jesus want you to keep your mouth shut and allow this death and destruction to continue? As Christians, surely you know that we are all created equal and that the Iraqi people have as much right in the eyes of God to live as you or I do. Would Jesus want you to stand by and allow someone to be tortured and do nothing? You know and I know that he wouldn't, so why are you allowing this to continue?

You do realize that YOU will have to answer for this when the time comes, don't you?

As a conservative, it must infuriate you to see the amount of money being spent on this war. Think of what we could do with that money over here. We need to have bridges repaired, the electrical grid needs to be updated, our ports need modernizing, highways need resurfacing. Yet there's no money for these things because it's all going overseas. And while our economy here at home is failing, Iraq has a surplus, thanks to our tax dollars flowing into that country. The deficit is higher than ever before, and I know you realize that it will have to be paid off at some point.

Your sensibilities must be bruised knowing we are borrowing money from China, a communist country. Communism certainly is not a Republican value, yet we are financing a war on money borrowed from that country. Does this not enrage you? Are you not paying attention, or are you just worn out at this point?

You must know that our government is bigger, more wasteful, and less efficient than ever before. How do you sleep knowing the elected representatives you've supported who promised smaller government have actually created a bigger mess? And they're using your tax dollars to do it with. Do you find this offensive? It certainly seems like you should.

And what about honesty in government? You were all so enraged when Bill Clinton was caught lying about his affair with Monica Lewinski, yet you seem to have become immune to the lies of George Bush. Surely your values don't allow you to discriminate against someone just because of their political affiliation. After all, doesn't the Bible command that all are created EQUAL?

Your Republican President, George W. Bush, lied to you, me, Congress, the United Nations, and the rest of the world in order to start a war with Iraq. Isn't lying also a violation of the Ten Commandments? Commandments being things that you cannot take exception to, at least in my book. So how is it that you've been silent all these years?

But there's more, too. The outing of a covert CIA agent for political purposes. George Bush acted like he knew nothing about it, but we now know that he did. He lied to cover up his actions. And he lied about wiretapping, which was a violation of the law. He was spying on Americans, and not just Americans talking to contacts overseas, but many calls were within the boundaries of our own country.

I know how you feel about homosexuality. But since all are created equal, and you've been ordered to do unto others as you would have others do unto you, how can you discriminate against gay people? You have the right to marry, and receive all of the benefits that go with that. Yet somehow if gay people are allowed to marry also, it will destroy the sanctity of your marriage? That defies all logic. The most destructive event that impacts marriage in this country is DIVORCE. If you truly want to protect the sanctity of marriage, you don't exclude people from marrying, you prevent them from terminating it. Does this not seem a bit hypocritical? Does this not seem like you're judging others, which is something the Bible tells us to not do. Only God can judge. Yet you seem to feel it's OK in this instance.

And how about your current candidates for the top offices in the nation? How about their family values? John McCain divorced his first wife. In fact, he abandoned her and his family. He had an affair with Cindy while he was still married. Does this not damage the sanctity of marriage? Sarah Palin has had an affair with her husband's business partner. Where are the family values you say you cherish so highly?

Lately, I've heard shouts of anger from people who profess to be Republicans. They've shouted that Barack Obama should be killed. They've shouted that he's a terrorist. I have to wonder about that all are created equal thing. And the thou shalt not kill thing. Would Jesus be happy to know that you stand by silently while these things happen? Is that what he/she would do if present on Earth today?

I feel that many Republicans today have compromised their values, morals, ethics, and religion by keeping quiet. Your silence indicates your approval by default. Surely if these things offended your sensibilities you would cry out as you do when gay marriage comes up.

So by your silence, the rest of us can only gather that you indeed condone the lies, the death, the destruction, and all of the other things that your religion, values, and ethics surely tell you are wrong. How do you come to terms with yourselves? Surely not all of you are oblivious to these things that are happening in the world today, and have been happening for many years now.

What has happened to the Republican Party? It seems to me that anyone with a realistic view of the world today, who still maintains their high values and beliefs would be furious over what is happening. And yet the world hears...nothing...from you.

Are you paying attention, Republicans? Is this really the direction you want to take? I wonder because it certainly seems to go against everything you supposedly believe in. And your silence says more than a million words.

Seriously though, as much as I like your letter and its tone, I also know from experience that the majority of the Republicans out there, even many of the ones now calling themselves Independents and Libertarians, will refuse to admit error or concede to these hypocrisies on their part because to them admitting error is a sign of weakness.

Now, instead of saying, "hey you were right about Bush! I wish I had not voted for that guy and defended him angrily for 8 years and called you guys terrorist traitors!" they claim that Bush is a Liberal! Seriously. It's never their fault. They will rationalize every single bit of information you have, except for the stuff they'll just outright deny, which is most of it. I have tried to use things like facts, honesty, rationale, logic, and whatnot in arguments against Republicans, and they do the equivalent of sticking their fingers in their ears. I've had some tell me they refuse to look at my links which show proof of what I am saying, or if they do look, they claim that they are all lies told by the elite liberal media, or they come back with links from obviously problematic sources, like World Net Daily and FOX.

It's frustrating, but the tendrils of the right's control has gone quite deep, thanks to the concerted efforts of their propagandists like Rush Limbaugh who have trained them to distrust the (non-FOX) media, universities, and any source of information which is not "fair and balanced." The truly ironic part is when they accuse us of swallowing the koolaid and not thinking for ourselves, yet refer to themselves as 'dittoheads.'

I've given up on the majority of the GOP base. I will still treat them with a modicum of respect and be polite up to a point, but I have given up trying to convince them when they are wrong, or even trying to encourage them to be balanced and to seek out information and to do research on things before they spout off.