Today is the first day of the Republican National Convention. \u00a0I saw something over the weekend that got me to thinking about what we are likely to hear from the Republican convention.\u00a0 First of all, we will hear from a lot of Trumps!\u00a0 The \u2018key\u2019 speakers listed by Fox News include Melania, the four kids Ivanka, Donald Jr., Eric, and Tiffany and Trump himself.\u00a0 I can only be thankful the Duggars aren\u2019t running for office!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We won\u2019t hear much about the Republican Party Platform because, in contrast to previous years, there isn\u2019t one.\u00a0 There is basically a resolution stating the Republican party\u2019s support for Trump and his \u2018America First\u2019 policy.\u00a0 I guess this is a clear sign that the Republican Party has ceded all control over the agenda to Trump.\u00a0 For me, I\u2019d kind of like to know what the plan is for the next four years but I guess it will be whatever Trump wants to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Democrats, on the other hand, published a 90-page document outlining the Democratic platform.\u00a0 However, I\u2019m sure we will hear many speeches about how the Democrats and the \u2018far-left\u2019 want to make America a socialist country, are a danger to the \u2018American dream\u2019 and way of life, and only Donald Trump can save the country.\u00a0 A few of the policies that are regularly attributed to the radical left are: universal health care, the Green New Deal, \u2018defund the police\u2019, tax the rich, equal access to education, a woman\u2019s right to choose, reasonable gun control, equal rights for all, immigration reform, to name the most significant.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Universal health care<\/strong>: \u201c<\/em>The U.S. is the only high-income nation to lack universal health care. As the report notes, this has effects that go beyond just access issues. Administrative efficiency, for example, lags because of the time wasted sorting out billing and insurance claims.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Though there is plenty of room for the U.S. to improve, the Commonwealth Fund concludes that for the country\u2019s health care system to compete with those of other high-income nations, a drastic change in course may be necessary.\u201d<\/em>1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the US system, healthcare is usually tied to a job unless you are over 65 and eligible for Medicare, or you are a low-income individual eligible for Medicaid.\u00a0 The Affordable Care Act tried to address part of that problem but the Trump administration is trying to dismantle it.\u00a0 If successful, the healthcare system in the US will become worse than it currently is \u2013 and it\u2019s already one of the worst for any high-income nation in the world.\u00a0 Affordable healthcare for all \u2013 radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Green New Deal<\/strong>: Virtually all credible environmental scientists agree that climate change is real and we are already feeling the impacts around the world.\u00a0 The Green New Deal simply acknowledges that fact and believes that we should aggressively explore ways to mitigate the man-made impacts on the environment by moving towards alternative energy resources and away from fossil fuels.\u00a0 Trying to ensure the long-term survival of the planet and the human race \u2013 radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defund the police<\/strong>: It\u2019s understandable why this phrase pushes peoples\u2019 buttons.\u00a0 However, it is hard to deny that systematic racism exists in the policing and judicial systems.\u00a0 All you have to do is look at the data.\u00a0 Denying it is like denying that pay inequality exists between men and women.\u00a0 The data are very clear.\u00a0 So, the real question is, is there a way to reimagine how we do policing in this country?\u00a0 Is there a better way to spend the money than equipping our police departments with military grade hardware?\u00a0 The US has the largest incarcerated population in the world and more people are killed by the police in the US than any other high-income nation \u2013 by far.\u00a0 Rethinking the policing and judicial systems \u2013 radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tax the rich<\/strong>:\u00a0 Wealth disparity in the US continues to worsen and that has happened even during this pandemic.\u00a0 The marginal tax rate for the wealthy is less than that for many \u2018normal\u2019 Americans due to the availability of tax shelters, trusts, foundations and the ability to hire tax professionals that are simply not available to most people.\u00a0 People simply want a system where everyone pays their fair share \u2013 radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Equal access to education<\/strong>: Being the father of a college student about to enter her senior year at a private university here in the US, I am intimately familiar with the cost of college and what a daunting burden it can be.\u00a0 Even when I was teaching a Gallatin College at MSU last year, many of my students were juggling classes, working jobs and worried about college debt just to attend a public land grant institution like Montana State University paying in-state tuition.\u00a0 Some believe that having equal access to education without a crushing burden of debt will lead to a stronger society \u2013 radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Woman\u2019s right to choose<\/strong>:\u00a0 This is a very emotional issue but if a person really believes in \u2018less government\u2019 and \u2018individual freedom\u2019, how is this position not consistent with those beliefs?\u00a0 The issue has been hotly debated since Roe v Wade was enacted decades ago. New issue? Hardly. Radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reasonable gun control<\/strong>:\u00a0 The US has more guns per capita than any other country in the world.\u00a0 First of all, very few, if any politicians on the left are calling for a \u2018repeal of the 2nd<\/sup> Amendment\u2019.\u00a0 However, even a majority of Americans are behind some reasonable things like universal background checks.\u00a0 Most other high-income countries also have bans on certain types of weapons, i.e. \u2018assault rifles\u2019.\u00a0 Given the high number of gun related deaths and mass shootings in this country it seems reasonable to at least have the conversation. \u2013 Radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Equal rights of all<\/strong>:\u00a0 The idea that the rights guaranteed under the US Constitution are applicable to every American \u2013 radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reasonable immigration<\/strong>:\u00a0 Like it or not, the US is a nation of immigrants and has been since Europeans landed, uninvited, on the shores of America.\u00a0 Outside of the indigenous people, everyone single one of us is the descendant of someone who emigrated to America.\u00a0 I have never heard one single person say they want \u2018open borders\u2019 but virtually everyone agrees that there needs to be some type of immigration reform.\u00a0 Radical?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while the Trump administration will try to paint the Democrats and their policies as radical, it is the Trump administration that is vocally supported by the conspiracy theory group, QAnon, which the FBI has labelled a domestic terror threat.\u00a0 QAnon is, of course, the group that propagates unfounded theories about a \u2018deep state\u2019 comprised of pedophiles and cannibals who are bent on subverting Trump.\u00a0 Wonderful!\u00a0 There are 2 avowed QAnon supporters who have won GOP primaries \u2013 one in Georgia and one in Oregon.\u00a0 Trump refuses to disavow the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trump administration has garnered support from most white supremacist organizations in the country \u2013 all of whom are heavily armed.\u00a0 And then there is the occasional \u2018Islamaphobe\u2019 like Laura Looner, who just won a GOP primary in Florida, and who was congratulated by Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Add to the mix all of the Trump associates that are convicted felons, currently under investigation or have been forced out of office due to ethics violations and it makes you begin to wonder which party is the more radical and it makes Trump\u2019s claim about being the \u2018law and order\u2019 president ring pretty hollow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m sure all of the speeches during the Republican convention will paint a rosy picture of what\u2019s going on in the US \u2013 in spite of almost 180,000 COVID deaths and a bleak economic picture.\u00a0 There will be a lot of blaming.\u00a0 China.\u00a0 The Democrats.\u00a0 The \u2018deep state.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0 There will be word pictures painted of a dystopian country overrun with immigrants and with no police forces anywhere.\u00a0 On the other hand, I suspect there will be very little discussion of what Trump will do to address the many problems facing this country.\u00a0 \u00a0Lots of blame.\u00a0 Lots of slogans.\u00a0 Very few plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Given where we are now and based upon who is supporting Trump, the kinds of people he is attracting to the party, and the abysmal job he has done to date, I\u2019m willing to take my chances on a \u2018radical\u2019 new approach.\u00a0 I never really thought of myself as a radical \u2013 but I guess I am!!\u00a0 Cool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today is the first day of the Republican National Convention. \u00a0I saw something over the weekend that got me to thinking about what we are likely to hear from the Republican convention.\u00a0 First of all, we will hear from a lot of Trumps!\u00a0 The \u2018key\u2019 speakers listed by Fox News include Melania, the four kids … Continue reading August 24, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7FBZO-hD","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1094,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093\/revisions\/1094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}