cru·el·ty
ˈkro͞o(ə)ltē/
noun
- callous indifference to or pleasure in causing pain and suffering.
- behavior that causes pain or suffering to a person or other animal.
- behavior that causes physical or mental harm to another, whether intentionally or not.
- synonyms: inhumanity, brutishness, sadism, bloodthirstiness, viciousness, callousness, ruthlessness
Look at the definition above.
Is it or is it not a perfect encapsulization of the values, goals and policies of the Republicon Party right now?
Their Pr*sident, their political leaders, their hateradio personalities, Fakes News hosts, pundits and spokesbots, even random members of the base, have all been exuding an aura of gleeful intentional cruelty. For weeks.
Some started right after election day. Some of it started after inauguration day.
Callous indifference to suffering. Or intentional celebration of suffering.
Cruelty in the way they treat people. Cruelty in the laws they pass. Cruelty in their political goals.
In true Ayn Rand fashion they are proud of their lack of compassion and consider brutishness a strength to be celebrated. Caring for others is weakness and they must avoid appearing weak, no matter what the cost.
They are eagerly looking forward to causing even more pain.
God help and forgive me, I try very very hard not to hate them for this. But it is a challenge when the entirety of their vile granny-starving agenda keeps swirling before my eyes.
They are so unself-consciously cruel that it won’t even bother them to be called cruel. They will wear it as a badge of honor.
They WANT to be cruel. They ENJOY it. That was the most fun about the DJT rallies for them—the two minutes’ hate when they got to feel all their anger and entertain all the revenge fantasies and there was no one around to tell them not to.
Their ability to care for/notice/relate to people outside their bubble has been damaged by relentless exposure to hard-core GOPropaganda for years and sometimes decades.
Instead, they have been persuaded that THEY are under attack, and like any cornered animal, their response is to lash out.
They believe causing pain is their right. Their due. Their reward for putting up with eight years of a president their racism told them was not a real president. Or a real American. Or a real man. Someone so far beneath them that he didn’t deserve to have the power of the office, no matter how their fellow countrymen voted.
Real or imagined mistreatment out in the wide world, including being forced to be respectful to people they do not want to respect, makes them want to come home and kick the dog.
Damn anyone to hell who tells them kicking the dog is wrong!
And damn anyone to hell who interferes with the precious few things they cling to to help them feel strong, and important, and useful. The false comparisons they set up to make sure they never come up short.
Holding all that in mind, just look at this partial list of some of the types of cruelty the Republicon party stands for, embraces and celebrates right now.
Feel free to add your own observations in the comments.
Republican plans and policies that earn them the title PARTY OF CRUELTY:
- take health care services away from seniors and children and babies
- take health care services away from the disabled poor
- take home care services away from disabled adults
- take home care services away from disabled children
- cut social security and Medicare benefits to the elderly
- increase age limits to receive Social Security and Medicare benefits
- reduce SSDI payments to the disabled
- turn social services payments into block grants so that the vulnerable would be at the mercy of (Republicon) governors to get services they need
- support cuts to elder services such as meals on wheels
- support cuts to child services such as school breakfast & lunch programs
- require poor mothers with small children to work to obtain benefits, while expecting simultaneously that well-off women should stay home with children instead of using child-care facilities
- allow hunting of pregnant hibernating bears and allow hunting of newborn bear cubs while hibernating
- allow hunting of animals from airplanes and other “fish in a barrel” techniques
- create “game farms” where predators are artificially reduced to increase the population of animals hunters enjoy killing for trophies
- separate parents and children at border crossings for hours without contact or reassurance
- proposals to send all undocumented Spanish speakers to Mexico even if that is not the country they came from
- refuse refugees entry into the country after years of examination and waiting
- kill the innocent family members of people suspected of terrorist activity
- push for a harsher version of TrumpCare because a substantial minority of R congressmembers thought it did not take enough benefits away from enough people.
- remove voter registration locations disproportionately from minority neighborhoods.
- remove voting machines disproportionately from minority neighborhoods.
- promote animal cruelty in the food industry, cosmetics industry, and in medical research
- prohibit the use of stem cell research
- restrict palliative care and fight against death with dignity legislation
- enact voter ID requirements that disproportionately affect poor and minority voters
- deport parents away from their American citizen children
- allow federal contractors to discriminate openly on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation
- tell loving married couples, some of whom have been together for a lifetime, that they can't be married anymore
- and tell other couples they are not allowed to get married
- create “free speech zones” at major events under the guise of public safety but in actuality just intending to make it harder for the message of protest to be noticed
- criminalize abortion and force women to give birth to children they are unable to care for
- eliminate internet privacy for medical and financial information
- end free and low-cost health screening for poor and working class men and women at Planned Parenthood
- terrorize abortion care providers
- create hospital affiliation requirements that reduce the number of clinics providing abortion care and add additional practical hardship to terminating a pregnancy
- create waiting period laws and parental consent laws that disproportionately affect poor young women’s access to abortion care
- make it harder for workers or organize and easier for companies to fire them for organizing
- reduce workplace safety protection for coal miners and other hazardous professions
- dramatically cut funding for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- keep the minimum wage at a poverty level $7.25
- keep the restaurant tipped wage at $2.13 an hour
- reduce spending programs for those who are struggling, in order to give millions in tax cuts to those who are already comfortable
- allow the death penalty for children and mentally challenged people
- allow death penalty convictions to stand even in cases of extreme lawyer misconduct
- allow death penalty convictions to stand even when the defendant is innocent (!)
- promote lethal injection methods of execution with untested chemical cocktails that cause unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment
- take money away from public education and create a two-tier school system leaving poor children in the dust
- support elected officials and partisan pundits who are proven sexual predators
- put guns in the hands of the mentally ill, children, and domestic violence offenders more easily
- reinstate and enforce sodomy laws against gay and straight couples
- reduce the availability of emergency contraception, and reality-based sex-education
- support “stop and frisk” laws
- enforce “stand your ground” laws with a racial bias
- support "comply or die" policing tactics
- refuse to prosecute police brutality cases in encounters between police and people of color
- refuse to prosecute police brutality cases in encounters between police and LGBTQI people
- support gerrymandering to dilute minority and Democratic voting power
- allow public vendor discrimination against black folks, LGBTQI folks, people of minority religion and no religion, and people of foreign national origin
- send ICE “police” to capture people at their most vulnerable, including during hospital stays
- build for profit prisons, then support and reinforce the school to prison pipeline
- warmongering about the use of (tactical) nuclear weapons
- deny global warming is caused by the profligate behavior of human beings
- weaken the Clean Air Act and weaken the Clean Water Act
- practice environmental racism—dumping toxic waste in areas where poor/minority people live
- nominate and confirm unqualified cronies to important cabinet departments
- only allow Supreme Court appointments when their party is in the White House
- belittling the idea that a Supreme Court justice should have empathy or compassion for the little guy
- create a hardship waiting period of ten years for legal immigration from highly populated countries, when applicants from smaller countries are approved faster
- use public office to gain a financial advantage over the people they purport to serve
- allow open discrimination against LGBTQ people in hiring, renting and purchasing of property
- allow open discrimination against LGBTQ people in other public accommodations
- hire white nationalists and proven racists for key administration positions
- support redlining policies that prevent marginalized populations from owning property or having clean drinking water or other public services
- issue public statements with language that appeals to and appeases racist groups
- deny and downplay the horrors of the Holocaust
- ignore First Nation treaties, especially with respect to fracking and pipeline concerns
- Refuse to renounce the Doctrine of Discovery
- refuse to acknowledge the lingering socioeconomic effects of slavery in the African-American community
- disseminate fact-free GOPropaganda through Fakes News and hateradio
- disseminate fact-free GOPropaganda online through various Right Blogistan sites.
- foist a pr*sident on the world who: lies about size of inauguration crowds, lies about the size of campaign rallies, lies about the number of TIME magazine covers he has been on, lies about unemployment rates, lies about murder rates, lies about which countries we have trade agreements with, lies about the number of people affected by the travel ban, lies about being a serial sexual predator, didn’t know that the health care system is complicated, didn’t know the history between China and Korea, doesn’t know what the nuclear triad is, doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and surrounds himself with incompetent advisers who know as little as he does about governing.
That’s my first pass. I could probably go on but I want to hear from everyone else.
We keep saying that no one would ever vote for Rs if they ever saw their whole agenda printed out like this.
Please add to the list.
And remember, this is not just a list of things Rcons do wrong, or incompetently. It is meant to be a list of R views and policies that will actually cause hurt and pain for many people, people Republicons are happy to ignore, or cruelly laugh at their inability to prevent the pain from coming.
So what other policy, belief, incompetence or cluelessness in the Republicon party has the potential to cause suffering and decrease the quality of life for the 99%?
How have they gloated, smirked, and been smugly confident about their ability to be cruel without caring about the consequences for those they hurt?
What additional reasons can you name to justify giving the Republicon party the label:
PARTY OF CRUELTY
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 11: Spicer’s comment was MUCH more than just an “insensitive reference to the holocaust”
Apr 10: If DJT changes policy based on televised images... let’s show him some
Apr 9: TBR SUNDAY: DJT supporters do not realize nuclear war could mean the end of the world
Apr 8: BLUE RIBBONS: Jeff Merkley, Gina Mathew & Connor Balthazor, 70 (!) advertisers dump Bill-O
Apr 7: Not taking our eyes off Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly—they should be primaried
Apr 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Apr 5: DJT ran for POTUS to get back at Obama but the person he is discrediting is himself
Apr 4: Obama’s is bigger—Twitter following, inauguration crowd size, and approval rating
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: BLUE RIBBONS for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: BLUE RIBBONS: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: BLUE RIBBONS: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: BLUE RIBBONS: Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: BLUE RIBBONS: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: BLUE RIBBONS: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense
cscs