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What have Republicans made their priorities? What have they shown they don’t care about? This list is an attempt to compare the high priorities of the Republican Party with the things that are not a priority to them.
High Priority: Giving tax breaks to billionaires and corporations.
Not A Priority: Allowing state employees to keep their pensions, and their rights. Programs that help the poor, and the middle-class.
High Priority: Cutting funding to NPR, PBS, and the EPA.
Not A Priority: Cutting funding to NASCAR
High Priority: Making sure all babies are born, regardless of how they were conceived.
Low Priority: Making sure that women living in poverty have the means to take care of those babies once they’re born.
High Priority: Cutting funding for Pell Grants for college students.
Not A Priority: Making sure teachers , school administrators, and other union workers have rights.
High Priority: Going to war.
Not A Priority: Helping our Veterans.
High Priority: Deregulating anything they can.
Not A Priority: Holding corporations accountable.
High Priority: Spending money to sterilize wild horses.
Not A Priority: Spending money to provide human women with contraception.
High Priority: Anything pro-Fetus.
Not A Priority: Protecting pregnant mothers from dying. Abolishing the death penalty, ending unnecessary wars.
High Priority: Lower taxes for rich people and corporations.
Not A Priority: Creating jobs.
High Priority: Making Obama Fail.
Not A Priority: Making America succeed.
These are just 10 examples of contrasting Republican priorities, feel free to add any additional examples in the comments.
Feel free to tell me what a terrible person I am on my facebook page; Matthew Desmond
“2 – Again, if NPR and PBS deserve funding, while really only promoting a liberal mindset – how is that a fair representation of the “Public” when not everyone listens to or supports their agenda? See, if more people were interested in the fluff they were saying, perhaps they wouldn’t need funding because they’d have the ratings needed to sell advertising and create a business that the public truly like and supports.”
The whole basis for NPR and PBS is that they don’t take advertising so that they are not dependent on what those company’s want them do show or say.
“3 – Perhaps women in poverty need to understand that making babies will only make life harder for them and if they can’t afford 1, then for sure stop having 4 and 5 kids that will also depend on handout to survive since they are in a place that simply promotes this kind of life. Live within your means and raise the family you can afford. Slap on a condom and stop making babies you can’t afford to give a good life too! Again – wrong here. How come you seem to forget that you had a choice to have sex and not use protection. Now – i’m all for women having a right to do what they must to their own bodies! But if the “chose” to have sex and were not raped or molested, then live with your “choice” to have sex unprotected! ”
Misogynistic much? What about those who are divorced? Widowed? The other parent just takes off? Those situations have nothing to do with not using birth control, or making the wrong choices. You are making judgements about people that you don’t know, based on . . . what?
“4 – ever wonder why our education is ranked so low compared to the rest of the world? Teacher unions. All they do is protect mediocrity in education. Perhaps we should get rid of the old teachers that are bitter, biased and over their jobs but hang in there to “collect a pension.” Teachers are greatly important, but not teachers that have no desire to teach, yet know they can make a lot of money in retirement if they just “get by” long enough! Again, wrong here. ”
It is the local school boards the set the requirements for graduation. Talk to them. Not the teachers.
“What about what’s happening in S. Africa? Talk about human rights being smashed!!! 1000s of people killed in a village but no help from Obama and that’s where his family roots are from?”
You seem to be a bit geographically challenged. Kenya, which is where Obama’s Father is from, is on the east coast of the African continent, between Somalia and Tanzania. South Africa is thousands of miles away, at the southern tip of the African continent.
“It’s a simple thing…with the world economy being so large, it will take many years after a president before we will see the affects of his policies.”
That’s right. So why are so many people already saying that Obama is a failure?
“When you run on a liberal platform promising everyone the “right to own a home” versus the “right to EARN ownership in a home” you have to change the point of entry to ownership. ”
The banks were NEVER forced to make a loan to people who did not qualify. What they were forced to do was to include ALL their income. The banks CHOSE to make loans to people who already had too much debt because they knew that Fannie and Freddie Mac would buy them in bundles. The reason that they bought them was so that the banks had more cash to loan. Fannie and Freddie Mac did not buy individual loans. They bought them in bundles.
And the majority of people who defaulted on those loans were NOT the poor. They were the ones who already had homes and were buying more to fix them up and “flip” them. Basically, they overextended themselves and got caught with their pants down.
“9 – Create jobs? Really? You do know the current administration has done NOTHING to create jobs outside of the GOVERNMENT SECTOR while losing 100,000s of jobs during his time in office? Again, how is it a republican problem that there are no jobs when your boy Obama is doing nothing.”
You seem to be mistaken about non-Government jobs. The Government doesn’t create them, the private sector does. If you want jobs, talk to the private company’s and find out what it will take for them to hire more people. You will find out that it will take more people buying their services or product. The Government has nothing to do with that, other than to try and stabilize the economy. Which Obama has started doing.
“10 – OBAMA is failing on his own.”
You already said that nobody knows if the policies are going to work until long after that person is no longer President. Are you saying that you lied earlier?
High Priority: helping to create jobs overseas.
Low Priority: helping to create jobs in America.
Jeez Jeff don’t you have any compassion for people in other countries? Shouldn’t they have opportunities to work and earn a living also?
High Priority: “investing” in people who can make money for themselves.
Low Priority: investing in people who can help ALL OF US make money.
Let’s see…
2 – Again, if NPR and PBS deserve funding, while really only promoting a liberal mindset – how is that a fair representation of the “Public” when not everyone listens to or supports their agenda? See, if more people were interested in the fluff they were saying, perhaps they wouldn’t need funding because they’d have the ratings needed to sell advertising and create a business that the public truly like and supports. Again – handouts don’t make things better! They only prolong sub-par work from ending.
3 – Perhaps women in poverty need to understand that making babies will only make life harder for them and if they can’t afford 1, then for sure stop having 4 and 5 kids that will also depend on handout to survive since they are in a place that simply promotes this kind of life. Live within your means and raise the family you can afford. Slap on a condom and stop making babies you can’t afford to give a good life too! Again – wrong here. How come you seem to forget that you had a choice to have sex and not use protection. Now – i’m all for women having a right to do what they must to their own bodies! But if the “chose” to have sex and were not raped or molested, then live with your “choice” to have sex unprotected!
4 – ever wonder why our education is ranked so low compared to the rest of the world? Teacher unions. All they do is protect mediocrity in education. Perhaps we should get rid of the old teachers that are bitter, biased and over their jobs but hang in there to “collect a pension.” Teachers are greatly important, but not teachers that have no desire to teach, yet know they can make a lot of money in retirement if they just “get by” long enough! Again, wrong here.
5 – Going to War? Sure thing Libya! Na…Dems don’t ever go to war and Obama never ever wants to kill anyone. Yet, it’s cool by you and perhaps not viewed as war with what’s happening in Libya? What about what’s happening in S. Africa? Talk about human rights being smashed!!! 1000s of people killed in a village but no help from Obama and that’s where his family roots are from? Hmmm…seems again like you’re wrong on this one! Or wait, Clinton didn’t drop bombs on people in Eastern Europe either – must have been Bush Senior doing that??? Come on man…
6 – Deregulating anything they can? Do a little digging on your own and stop sounding like Chicken Network News (CNN). Look up how many time G. Bush Jr tried to “REGULATE” wall street when he was in power? Oh yeah, guess who controlled congress and the senate during the span in which he tried to regulate it? YOUR DEMS. See, again, wrong. Also, look at how CLINTON deregulated the MORTGAGE industry and caused the incredible problems we face in REAL ESTATE in this country. But have you even thought to understand a term called “economic lag times?” It’s a simple thing…with the world economy being so large, it will take many years after a president before we will see the affects of his policies. When you run on a liberal platform promising everyone the “right to own a home” versus the “right to EARN ownership in a home” you have to change the point of entry to ownership. Wrong again buddy…it was Clinton who DEREGULATED the lending industry that has caused so much pain for the lower income people…again, WRONG!
7 – I’ll leave alone b/c horses? And i’m also one to believe women have a right like I mentioned above.
8 – Same as 7
9 – Create jobs? Really? You do know the current administration has done NOTHING to create jobs outside of the GOVERNMENT SECTOR while losing 100,000s of jobs during his time in office? Again, how is it a republican problem that there are no jobs when your boy Obama is doing nothing. Oh yeah, and tax breaks – Can you say General Electric? Look it up…also look up the new job appointment by obama for the CEO of GE. And I’m sure if you dig just a little, you’ll see how much of a tax break GE got while posting record profits? Again – WRONG! This is way too easy for me my man!
10 – OBAMA is failing on his own. Spending and spending and spending will not work. How has he really helped this country get better? We are broke beyond compare. We have no jobs being created. Housing market still in the slumps because no new jobs being created so people can “earn” their own home. This is what happens when you have a bunch of “academics” running the largest business in the world. This country was built by hard work and not handouts – yet our current GOV believes handouts are the key to getting us back on track? Again WRONG!
That is the most rational, intelligent and fact-based post I’ve seen on this site yet. Way to go Travis!
You did forget #1 however. The fact is that if the top 5% of income EARNERS pay nearly 60% of the income taxes I think it’s pretty hard to say that they aren’t paying their share and if anything they are being over-charged.
I think if the top 1% control 90% of the money, maybe they should be paying 90% of the taxes.
Your “responses” seem like canned text from Fox News pundits. Not to mention, you’re all over the place… let me just address #3 and #10.
3) Lol at Teacher’s Unions being the reason why education standards are so low in the country. No, the reason why is because the systematic under-funding of the public education system by Republicans and other tax-obsessed individuals who would rather future generations be behind the curve than to properly fund schools and teachers. You clearly know NOTHING about education in America. Fund education, and the educational results will increase proportionately. It’s common sense. Unfortunately, Republicans BENEFIT FROM A STUPID POPULATION of mis-informed fools who get their news from a political organization.
10) Maybe you should listen to Paul Ryan on why Stimulus spending is important:
Rep. Paul Ryan making a forceful, unapologetic case for stimulus to help the economy recovery in 2002 – when George W. Bush wanted it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48716561#48716561
High Priority: Making sure that people’s sexual lives are within the confines of Biblical dictates.
Low Priority: Allowing those who are not within their religious views and who have committed relationships to express their love for each other and take part legally in each others lives.
More Priorities:
Top Priority: Corporate Personhood
Not a Priority: Workers, women, immigrant, and individual rights
Top Priority: Polluting our air, water, and food
Not a Priority: Ensuring public safety
Top Priority: Spending Billions in no-bid Military Contracts
Not a Priority: Funding our local and state police and Firemen
Top Priority: Running up our National Debt
Not a Priority: Paying for the safety nets to help people stay out of poverty.
I am sure there are many more, but here are a few to add.
Yeah, Jon, got that right !
High Priority: Looking holier than thou
Low Priority: Actually acting in a moral manner
Great Job Mathew, keep it up!
High Priority: Convincing us that the deficit will destroy our children’s future.
Low priority: Protecting our children’s future through climate change action, alternative energy, research, health care, and peaceful coexistence with the world.
High Priority: Legislating elements of their personal belief system on all Americans to create a pseudo-theocracy
Not a Priority: Marriage rights for people who don’t live up to their standards (most of which they cannot live up to themselves).
High Priority: Cutting spending for Education, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, NPR, and more, BUT NOT the Dept. of Defense.
Low Priority: BALANCING THEIR OWN BUDGET (see (CNN) – Newly-installed Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has a $23-million hole to dig out of, according to a year-end report the organization filed with the Federal Elections Commission.)
High priority: Importation of foreign oil, which is both economically unstable and harmful to the environment
Low priority: Creating alternative energy jobs, which are cost efficient and helps reduce climate change
Obama doesn’t need any help from the Republicans to fail. He’s doing that well enough on his own. By acting like a Republican, actually.
You’re actually right, that Obama so easily complies with Republicans rather than standing up for what our country needs
High Priority: Trickle Up.
Low Priority: Trickle Down.
Good one!
Thanks for the clear juxtapositions. Republican priorities are a clear and present danger to truth and justice.
I’ve got a couple.
High Priority: Repeal health care so millions of Americans who could’ve been able to get coverage are now out in the cold.
Low Priority: Give up their own government-funded health care in favor of private insurance or nothing at all.
High Priority: Cut billions of dollars of funding that goes to necessary programs to help millions of people scrape by every week, in the name of fiscal responsibility and “trimming the fat.”
Low Priority: Taking even the smallest of paycuts or canceling even one benefit package for themselves to help “trim the fat.”
High Priority: Build a massive government infrastructure that’s sole responsibility is to poke it’s nose into the private lives of American citizens, by legislating morality, limiting rights, and actively discriminating against many groups (LGBT, Women, Minorities, Immigrants, Non-Christians, etc, etc, etc)
Low Priority: Devoting even a single dollar that they want to spend micro-managing the lives of Amercians to actually doing something HELPFUL for this nation.
High Priority: Keep the gravy train flowing to large corporations who can now anonymously donate metric tonnes of money to their campaigns, and say that it’s an expression of “Protected Free Speech” and “Democracy in Action”.
Low Priority: Let the left have any semblance of income from their primary private contributors (Unions, etc)
High Priority: Fly out to Cali to have an outstanding time with the Koch Brothers, while the nation languishes as much in their absence as under their leadership.
Low Priority: Actually doing their goddamn jobs, and doing what they promised to do when elected: CREATE JOBS.
I’m sure I can think of more, but this comment is long enough.
Great article as always, Matthew!
Yay, JBJ!!
How about this one:
High Priority: Accepting lobbyist money from health insurance(?) and pharmaceutical companies.
Related low priorities:
Low Priority (1): Establishing Medicare for all.
Low Priority (2): Compelling health insurance companies to use plain and clear language in their policy language.
Low Priority (3): Acting as “bodyguards” on behalf of health insurance policy holders by compelling health insurance companies to play fair to do what is right and just.
Unfortunately, I believe the high and low priorities I cited cross party lines. C’mon Dems! Start acting on our behalf!
Bravo, Jon!
Well said, Jon.
Yes.
loncite::: the next time quit blowing smoke and get off your ass and get out and vote!
Qquit blowning smoke and get off your ass the next time and get out and vote!
agreed with everything except the wild horses. im the definition of a liberal, but I’m also very much a horse person, and there were democrats in on that bill as well…
So? I imagine there were dems going along with most of this shit, but that aint the point. No reason to change the subject just because somebody brought up pretty horsies.
Unfortunately, demonizing Obama is pure shill and scam. Obama IS a Repoblocrat, one of the not-so-new breed that walk like a Dem, talk like a Dem, and vote like a TeaPartier…
There is NOBODY on the side of the working class anymore. Get used to it.
We MUST start a third party, most likely the Small Business Party, named what you will. that supports small business and employee-owned business. This is the ONLY thing that has a chance of maintaining the US as a major player, we are rapidly being turned into the world’s first POST-industiral nation.
Let’s not let that happen, folks…
Actually the Green Party is very supportive of small business and is the only true Liberal party in the United States.
There are several such parties already started. J-Dog has already mentioned the Green Party (good catch, J!), and, here in my native New York, we have the Working Families Party. Facebook has several independent parties that are trying to form. It’s good news! There might just be a way to hold these jokers’ feet to the fire yet!
Instead of several there needs to be just one independent party. If there are several then that will end up diluting the voting power of the left. Which is why so many vote democrat instead of third party even though the dems are for the most part corporate shills just as much as the rethugs. There needs to be a strong third party candidate that is a true progressive.
High Priority: Winning Elections
Low Priority: Encouraging everyone to vote. Running an effective and efficient government when they do win.
High Priority: Starting wars.
Low Priority: Ending wars.
High Priority: Prosecuting illegal aliens.
Low Priority: Prosecuting the businesses who hire them.
High priority: Laying off thousands of public sector employees.
Low priority: Reducing unemployment.
If there’s one job available for every 4 people currently looking, the GOP plan is to make it a 1 to 5 ratio.
for some reason, it won’t let me “Like” this article
High Priority: Funding the Corporate U. S. Defence Department
Low Priority: Taxing Corporations who outsource US jobs.
Actually, taxing companies that outsource jobs isn’t a low priority. It isn’t even a priority. Republicans give tax breaks to companies that outsource jobs. Which makes absolutely no sense and proves that they don’t give a fuck about jobs, they just get paid to help rich people make more money.
High: Hacking money away from the EPA.
Low: Making sure that people, in particular children and young people, with asthma and other lung diseases don’t have to breath in pollution particles.
High Priority: Capturing the women’s vote
Low Priority: Women’s rights
Great, as always Matthew! I can’t wait to see the response to this one. Every point here is an incontrovertible fact demonstrated by the current pubs and TB’s. Of course, we all know how little facts actually mean to this particular group, but still, it will be interesting. Anyway, you nailed it. Thanks!
I can understand that you have allot of things on your plate, but lets face reality, >WE NEED JOBS<
lets stop wasting money that can be cut witch is what you want to do, by not fighting this DOMA issue, with this heading to court, do you think that it is free to do so? no it is not, so lets see here, go to court and waste time and money that we need for other things that are more important to get done, You want to save money? then do the right thing is everyone grating the jobs and get working on the leadership that our country was once admired as a leading nation,, only you and the dems can make this possible by working together.
Larry, ‘we’ do need jobs. You need to finish the third grade, and learn to spell and write in complete sentences. Until then, let the adults who actually work and pay taxes handle the complex issues. Enjoy recess.
So because my public education is inferior,My lacking the essentials to correctly form sentence,and punctuation, makes me less of an adult who could possibly hold a job that deducts money from me before they pay me.
Republicans are well educated Assholes too,and look at the ability they have to handle complex issues.
It is people like you that make me shy away because I know I am some what ignorant in grammar, but I at least make up for my short comings, and treat people with the respect that they deserve for sharing their opinion, and views.
And as I am here I would like to say. love your stuff Matthew, and thank you.
You and I may or may not agree with many things in this world, but I give you kudos for standing up and saying, “Hey I have issues with certain things, my education sucked, but here I am trying to be a part of an adult dialogue. So don’t put me down for my weakness.” I give you props for that!
Your grammar doesn’t seem to hold you back in the least bit. You write clearly and kindly.
Jack, you’re just a arrogant prick. I doubt you have much in the way of serious education or anything else to justify your arrogance or your pretensions.
…and you, Jack, need to take a high-school course on valid and invalid arguments (you can also do a google search on “Carl Sagan Baloney Detection Kit” and get a good starter). If you can do this, you will learn what an “ad hominem attack” is (hint: you just tried one on Larry Remmell) and why it’s an invalid argument.
Enjoy your study period.