Yesterday the Republican National Committee released its NEW! AND! IMPROVED! Ten Commandments. Get ready. Get set. Go!
(1) Smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus†bill
(2) Market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;
(3) Market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;
(4) Workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check
(5) Legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;
(6) Victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;
(7) Containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat
(8) Retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;
(9) Protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and
(10) The right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.
•••
Andrew Sullivan’s take is great. Personally, I don’t know what to say, except that I’m dazzled, in a this-s•••-can’t-be-serious sort of way. Absolutely nothing about global warming, which is slowly (or quickly) destroying our planet? Defending marriage (or, in other words, opposing gay marriage) ranks as one of the top 10 most pressing things in the United States? Guns are truly that important?
Mostly, I’m staggered by the blatant (and literally spelled out) anti-Barack Obama message. During the Bush years, the Republicans (often rightly) complained about the Democrats slamming George W. Bush for the mere sake of slamming George W. Bush. They termed it “unpatriotic” during a time of war. So are we no longer in a time of war? And when did it officially become the goal—not just an option, but a goal—to oppose the president of the United States?
Truth be told, the ongoing health care debate speaks volumes about our ragged-ass political system. Nearly every Democrat votes with his/her party, nearly every Republican votes with his/her party. It’s pathetic. This isn’t an issue that should be nearly so clear-cut, one-side-or-the-other. It’s nuanced and detailed; it impacts different states and regions in varying ways.
And yet, this is where we are—a Ten Commandments that commands you not to ever, ever, ever support the rival party.
Sad—but not surprising.
