SALON

Thursday, Jun 24, 2010 10:20 PM UTC

Do Republicans actually want America to fail?

Is there a better explanation for voting in lockstep against every measure designed to prop up the economy?

By

Topics: Republican Party, War Room, U.S. Economy, U.S. Senate,

Do Republicans actually want America to fail?House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, left, accompanied by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., talk to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 10, 2010, after meeting with President Barack Obama regarding the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)(Credit: Charles Dharapak)

Tomorrow, more than a million people who’ve been out of work for six months or more will lose unemployment benefits, because Senate Republicans and theoretical Democrat Ben Nelson joined together to block an already too-small package of half-measures designed to provide some modicum of help for the nation’s millions of jobless people.

The vote was 57-41. Oddly, the side with 41 votes actually won. Because that is how the Founders wanted things to not work in this god-blessed nation.

Hundreds of thousands of public- and private-sector employees will also soon to joint he ranks of the unemployed (and hope they don’t become the long-term unemployed, because no one much seems to care about them), because the bill could not be made quite weak and ineffective enough to win the support of the only two “moderate” Republicans alive (two women from Maine who never actually act on their “moderate” beliefs).

“It’s unpleasant to think about, and I really hope it’s not true, but it may be time for a discussion about whether GOP lawmakers are trying to deliberately sabotage the economy to help their midterm election strategy,” Steve Benen wrote.

Senator Debbie Stabenow suggested much the same thing after the vote:

It is very clear that the Republicans in the Senate want this economy to fail. They see that things are beginning to turn around. You know the numbers. When this president took office, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. … Now we are gaining jobs. … Unfortunately, and cynically [on their part], in cynical political terms, it doesn’t serve them in terms of their elections if things are beginning to turn around.

Do Republicans actually want the economy to fail? Greg Sargent says they just want the government to fail, and they don’t care if they take out the economy in the process. Ezra Klein says they’ve just deceived themselves into believing that tackling the deficit is more important and responsible.

I think Republicans don’t want to hurt America, but I also think they literally don’t give a shit about the poor and unemployed. Philosophically, Republicans are not concerned about a huge and growing underclass of desperately impoverished people, and instinctively they just dislike the unfortunate. That’s why Orrin Hatch want’s to drug test the unemployed.

Obviously that’s not true of all conservatives — some of them do, indeed, think there are conservative policies that will help the poor or unemployed lead more comfortable and dignified lives — but it’s apparently true of the vast majority of elected Republicans.

Republicans don’t hate America, they just don’t care about lots of Americans. (And many of them don’t count about half of Americans as Real Americans.) They don’t want the country to fail, they just don’t think it counts as a failure when millions of people can’t find work or afford healthcare or buy groceries.

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 184 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations