Dear DKos Republicans:
Don't try and hide, I know you are here. I see you answer the Poll questions every now and then where you know you can’t be identified but can make your views known.
You know, like the Poll that asked if wanting to send your children to College is the hallmark of a snob. 3% of you said “Yes”.
Well, I want to ask you a question, and if you take the time to read it, I promise to be respectful and polite; because really, I am interested in the answer.
It is a really simple question, so it should be really simple to answer.
It is....
Why?
More to the point; Why are you voting Republican?
You see, I know why people used to vote Republican, I personally remember the Vietnam War, the anti-war protests, the Nixon years, Watergate and the decades that followed.
Many of you idolize Ronald Reagan and tells stories of the Gipper, but I remember when he was Governor of California and when many questioned if he was capable of running the country given his background as an actor and his age. I was there during his miscues, fumbles and embarrassments. Reagan was person to me not an icon.
So I know why people used to vote Republican. What I want to know, is why, in the face of an almost complete 180 degree departure from what Republicans used to believe in and support, to what they are now, why do you still vote Republican? Here are the reasons people used to vote Republican:
1) Fiscal management and prudence at handling tax payer dollars.
Republicans used to claim that mantle and successfully labeled liberals as “tax-and-spend” but since Reagan that reputation has been completely discredited.
When Ronald Reagan assumed office in 1981, the US debt was $980 billion. That isn’t deficit, that was your total NATIONAL debt. From 1966 to 1981 the U.S. National debt rose from $300 billion to just under $1 trillion dollars. During this time, the US fought a war in Vietnam, established Medicare & Medicaid, sent men to the moon, started the Space Shuttle program, and initiated many “Great Society” initiatives and environmental protections.
US Gross National Debt End of year 1966 – 1981:
1966 328,498
1967 340,445
1968 368,685
1969 365,769
1970 380,921
1971 408,176
1972 435,936
1973 466,291
1974 483,893
1975 541,925
1976 628,970
1977 706,398
1978 776,602
1979 829,467
1980 909,041
1981 994,828
From 1982 to 1989, the last fiscal year of Reagan’s Presidency, the U.S. National debt went from $1 trillion to $2.8 Trillion. During that time, there was a massive increase in defense spending, tax cuts to the wealthy, and the Shuttle program was finally completed.
US Gross National Debt 1982 – 1989
1982 1,137,315
1983 1,371,660
1984 1,564,586
1985 1,817,423
1986 2,120,501
1987 2,345,956
1988 2,601,104
1989 2,867,800
In 1989 George Bush became President and during the four years of his Presidency, the Debt rose from $3.2 Trillion to $4.3 Trillion by 1992. During this time, he invaded Panama and threw up on the Japanese Prime Minister, but otherwise accomplished nothing of note.
US Gross National Debt 1990 – 1993
1990 3,206,290
1991 3,598,178
1992 4,001,787
1993 4,351,044
In 1992 Bill Clinton became President with the National debt standing at $4.3 Trillion dollars. Over the next 8 years of Clinton’s Presidency, the debt went from $4.6 Trillion to $5.7 Trillion in 2000. What is significant about this increase, is that it was no larger over 8 years, than Bush’s was over 4 years
US Gross National Debt 1994 - 2001
1994 4,643,307
1995 4,920,586
1996 5,181,465
1997 5,369,206
1998 5,478,189
1999 5,605,523
2000 5,628,700
2001 5,769,881
In 2001, George W Bush became President and over the next 8 years of his Presidency, the National Debt went from $5.7 Trillion to $10.7 Trillion. We are familiar enough with these 8 years to know that outside of two wars, massive enlargement of the Police State and even larger tax cuts to upper income earners, nothing of significance was accomplished during this period.
US Gross National Debt 2002 – 2009
2002 6,198,401
2003 6,760,014
2004 7,354,657
2005 7,905,300
2006 8,451,350
2007 8,950,744
2008 9,986,082
2009 11,875,851
In the 3 years of the Obama Presidency, the National debt has gone from $10.7 Trillion to $14 Trillion. During this period, the US successfully staved off a Great Depression II, concluded its war in Iraq, stepped up the war on Terrorism and increased offensive actions in Afghanistan. It can also be argued convincingly that the subsequent increases in the Debt under Obama, were the inherited results of the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bush White House, including the massive, unfunded tax give aways to the upper 1% (which Republican lawmakers want to make permanent), which left a legacy of massive deficits.
US Gross National Debt 2010 – 2013 (est)
2010 13,528,807
2011 14,764,222
2012 estimate 16,350,885
2013 estimate 17,547,936
Which brings us to the Deficits.
2) The Deficit:
The Republicans have always claimed that they were the party of balanced budgets and fiscal prudence. However, since Reagan, the Republicans have demonstrated a history of concern for deficits only when they were out of power. When they were in power, the expressed opinion was that “Deficits didn’t matter”.
Compare the deficit histories of each administration (note, the first year of any new administration, uses the budget of the previous administration.) First column is the fiscal period, second column is the deficit in billions of dollars and third column is percentage of deficit to GDP.
Carter Deficit History:
1978 -59,185 -2.7
1979 -40,726 -1.6
1980 -73,830 -2.7
1981 -78,968 -2.6
Reagan Deficit History:
1982 -127,977 -4.0
1983 -207,802 -6.0
1984 -185,367 -4.8
1985 -212,308 -5.1
1986 -221,227 -5.0
1987 -149,730 -3.2
1988 -155,178 -3.1
1989 -152,639 -2.8
GW Bush Deficit History:
1990 -221,036 -3.9
1991 -269,238 -4.5
1992 -290,321 -4.7
1993 -255,051 -3.9
Clinton Deficit History:
1994 -203,186 -2.9
1995 -163,952 -2.2
1996 -107,431 -1.4
1997 -21,884 -0.3
1998 69,270 0.8
1999 125,610 1.4
2000 236,241 2.4
2001 128,236 1.3
George W Bush Deficit History:
2002 -157,758 -1.5
2003 -377,585 -3.4
2004 -412,727 -3.5
2005 -318,346 -2.6
2006 -248,181 -1.9
2007 -160,701 -1.2
2008 -458,553 -3.2
2009 -1,412,688 -10.1
Obama Deficit History:
2010 -1,293,489 -9.0
2011 -1,299,595 -8.7
2012 estimate -1,326,948 -8.5
2013 estimate -901,408 -5.5
3) Size of Government.
Another plank of Republicanism is the cry for smaller government. Since Reagan declared that “government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem”, Republicans have been strident in their demand for a government so small it could be drowned in a bathtub. So what do the numbers show?
Total Executive Government Employees (in thousands, excluding post office):
Reagan:
1981 2,109
1982 2,074
1983 2,074
1984 2,083
1985 2,112
1986 2,113
1987 2,105
1988 2,109
1989 2,129
GW Bush:
1990 2,174
1991 2,112
1992 2,169
1993 2,139
Clinton:
1994 2,052
1995 1,970
1996 1,891
1997 1,834
1998 1,790
1999 1,778
2000 1,814
2001 1,737
George W Bush:
2002 1,756
2003 1,826
2004 1,821
2005 1,830
2006 1,833
2007 1,832
2008 1,875
2009 1,978
Obama:
2010 2,128
2011 2,102
2012 estimate 2,108
2013 estimate 2,110
So, based on the numbers, the size of Government expanded under Reagan and Bush Senior, declined under Clinton and radically expanded again under Bush Junior. It fell back to Reagan levels by 2011 and is expected to remain stable after that.
Okay, so we can see that if you are a fiscal conservative, you would better serve your interests by voting Democrat instead of Republican. But are other, reasons to vote Republican?
I know. One of the most talked about during the Reagan/Bush years was crime. We all remember Willie Horton and the “revolving door of justice”. But are Republicans better at crime reduction/prevention than Democrats?
Crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants by year:
Carter:
Year Violent Property Murder Rape Robbery assault Burglary Theft Auto Theft
1977 475.9 4,601.7 8.8 29.4 190.7 247.0 1,419.8 2,729.9 451.9
1978 497.8 4,642.5 9.0 31.0 195.8 262.1 1,434.6 2,747.4 460.5
1979 548.9 5,016.6 9.8 34.7 218.4 286.0 1,511.9 2,999.1 505.6
1980 596.6 5,353.3 10.2 36.8 251.1 298.5 1,684.1 3,167.0 502.2
Reagan:
1981 594.3 5,263.8 9.8 36.0 258.7 289.7 1,649.5 3,139.7 474.7
1982 571.1 5,032.5 9.1 34.0 238.9 289.1 1,488.8 3,084.9 458.9
1983 537.7 4,637.3 8.3 33.7 216.5 279.2 1,337.7 2,869.0 430.8
1984 539.2 4,492.1 7.9 35.7 205.4 290.2 1,263.7 2,791.3 437.1
1985 556.6 4,650.5 8.0 37.1 208.5 302.9 1,287.3 2,901.2 462.0
1986 620.1 4,881.8 8.6 38.1 226.0 347.4 1,349.8 3,022.1 509.8
1987 609.7 4,940.3 8.3 37.4 212.7 351.3 1,329.6 3,081.3 529.5
1988 637.2 5,027.1 8.4 37.6 220.9 370.2 1,309.2 3,134.9 582.9
GHW Bush:
1989 663.1 5,077.9 8.7 38.1 233.0 383.4 1,276.3 3,171.3 630.4
1990 731.8 5,088.5 9.4 41.2 257.0 424.1 1,235.9 3,194.8 657.8
1991 758.1 5,139.7 9.8 42.3 272.7 433.3 1,252.0 3,228.8 658.9
1992 757.5 4,902.7 9.3 42.8 263.6 441.8 1,168.2 3,103.0 631.5
Clinton:
1993 746.8 4,737.7 9.5 41.1 255.9 440.3 1,099.2 3,032.4 606.1
1994 713.6 4,660.0 9.0 39.3 237.7 427.6 1,042.0 3,026.7 591.3
1995 684.5 4,591.3 8.2 37.1 220.9 418.3 987.1 3,043.8 560.4
1996 636.6 4,451.0 7.4 36.3 201.9 390.9 945.0 2,980.3 525.7
1997 611.0 4,316.3 6.8 35.9 186.1 382.1 919.6 2,891.8 505.7
1998 566.4 4,049.1 6.3 34.4 165.2 360.5 862.0 2,728.1 459.0
1999 523.0 3,743.6 5.7 32.8 150.1 334.3 770.4 2,550.7 422.5
2000 506.5 3,618.3 5.5 32.0 145.0 324.0 728.8 2,477.3 412.2
George W Bush:
2001 504.5 3,658.1 5.6 31.8 148.5 318.6 741.8 2,485.7 430.5
2002 494.4 3,630.6 5.6 33.1 146.1 309.5 747.0 2,450.7 432.9
2003 475.8 3,591.2 5.7 32.3 142.5 295.4 741.0 2,416.5 433.7
2004 463.2 3,514.1 5.5 32.4 136.7 288.6 730.3 2,362.3 421.5
2005 469.0 3,431.5 5.6 31.8 140.8 290.8 726.9 2,287.8 416.8
2006 473.6 3,334.5 5.7 30.9 149.4 287.5 729.4 2,206.8 398.4
2007 466.9 3,263.5 5.6 30.0 147.6 283.8 722.5 2,177.8 363.3
2008 457.5 3,211.5 5.4 29.7 145.7 276.7 732.1 2,167.0 314.7
Obama:
2009 431.9 3,036.1 5.0 29.1 133.1 264.7 717.7 2,064.5 259.2
2010 403.6 2,941.9 4.8 27.5 119.1 252.3 699.6 2,003.5 238.8
Well that is pretty stark isn’t it? Violent crime peaked under GW Bush at 757.5 incidents per 100,000 people. It began falling dramatically under Clinton (despite the dreaded revolving door) to 506.5 per 100 thousand. It fell slightly under Bush II down to a low of 457.5 and has again began a dramatic decline under Obama. What’s more, the murder rate has fallen below 5.0 per 100,00 for the first time since before 1977.
So, crime prevention also belongs to the Democrats it would seem.
Well, if you don’t vote Republican because of Debt, Deficit or Crime, then it can only be “NATIONAL DEFENSE”
Ah, yes, that must be it. Republicans are all out for protecting the Republic but not being afraid to confront the enemies of freedom. But is that accurate?
Well, let’s consider; there’s only one thing worse than not fighting when you should. That is fighting when you shouldn’t and then losing the fight.
That was what Bush & Cheney did in Iraq.
Don’t pretend they didn’t when you know they did. They LOST the war in Iraq. The point of that war was to establish a stable, pro-American government that would form a bulwark against Iran. That did not happen. Despite 10 years and billions of dollars, Iraq became a quagmire and the best the U.S. could do was limp out leaving behind a country that despised them.
Iran’s power in the region is now magnified and enhanced in ways they could never have imagined.
Another reason for the invasion was the supposed need to keep Iraq from getting a nuclear bomb. As we now know, Iraq was never even close to getting a nuclear bomb. But you know who is? That’s right. IRAN. What’s more, North Korea already has one.
So, the Republicans invaded a country that had no chance of developing a nuclear bomb in order to prevent it from getting a nuclear bomb, but ignored two countries that posed an even greater threat to the U.S. that actually are and DID develop a nuclear bomb.
So who’s best at protecting America again?
As for the “War On Terror”, well, in 10 years, the Republicans failed to capture/kill Bin Laden, failed to secure Afghanistan from the Taliban (and for God’s Sake, REALLY? They couldn’t even do that in a country where the U.S WAS greeted as liberators?), failed to destroy Al-Qaida and failed to stop terror cells from expanding into Yemen and Somalia.
You know who did kill bin Laden, destroy Al-Qaida as an effective organization, inspire democracy movements throughout the Middle East, confront the Taliban and target terror groups in Yemen and Somalia? That’s right, the Democrats.
But hey, that is the past right. What about the future?
Well, the democrats are leading the world effort to confront Iran on its nuclear ambitions, setting the stage for increasing sanctions. They have already secured an agreement from the North Koreans to abandon their own nuclear program.
What is the Republican plan? Invade Iran. If you want to know how that will go, see Iraq.
So on the topic of National Defense, the Democrats get the passing grade and the Republicans fail with a capital “F”.
So, its honesty time now Republicans. Really. Why? Why are you Republican? I mean really? What possible reason could you have for voting for a party that has consistently and without pause, led your nation to almost complete and total economic, social and military failure?
You claim you are patriots, that you love America and put your country first ahead of politics, so patriotism or ideology can’t be the reason.
So if you can give me that one good reason why you are still voting Republican, it would be appreciated. I mean, you have to have one right? ONE reason to put Republicans back into office instead of Democrats?
It has to be there.
So what is it?