This is a BFD (But Not in a Good Way)
By Judy Gordon, DPSC Secretary
Republicans didn’t have a party platform in 2020 because electing Donald Trump was their platform. If Republicans revealed what they really stand for, it would be a recipe for defeat, so don’t look for one in 2024, either.
But Sen. Rick Scott (FL), head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has said the quiet part out loud in his “Rescue America” 12-point plan. Although Mitch McConnell and some other Republicans have backed away from the plan because they know it’s toxic, it clearly represents the aspirations of the Republican Party.
Below are some “highlights” of the plan followed by a helpful GOP-speak-to-English translation.
GOP Plan | GOP-Speak Translator |
1. Our kids will say the pledge of allegiance, salute the Flag, learn that America is a great country, and choose the school that best fits them. |
We don’t want your kids to think for themselves. Not on our watch. Oh, and we want to destroy public education. |
2. Government will never again ask American citizens to disclose their race, ethnicity, or skin color on any government form. | We’re can’t wait to gut civil rights enforcement. |
3. We will secure our border, finish building the wall, and name it after President Donald Trump. |
“Your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . .” Ick. And they’ll eventually vote for Democrats anyway. |
4. The soft-on-crime days of coddling criminal behavior will end. We will re- fund and respect the police because, they, not the criminals, are the good guys. |
Except for our own criminal behavior. Defund the FBI. |
5. We will grow America’s economy, starve Washington’s economy, and stop Socialism. |
“. . . we will reduce government . . . [so] it can be . . . drown[ed] it in the bathtub.” (Grover Norquist). We and our friends will become obscenely rich in the process. |
6. We will eliminate all federal programs that can be done locally and enact term limits for federal bureaucrats and Congress. | Don’t get too attached to your Social Security, Medicare, or the social safety net. See #5, “obscenely rich”. |
7. We are Americans, not globalists. |
But we worship Orbán and Putin. |
8. We will protect the integrity of American Democracy and stop left- wing efforts to rig elections. |
We solemnly pledge more voter suppression. |
9. We will protect, defend, and promote the American Family at all costs. | Yours isn’t a nuclear family? We don’t mean your family. |
10. Men are men, women are women, and unborn babies are babies. We believe in science. | We rejoice at the draconian federal anti- abortion laws on the horizon. Are you transgender? No gender affirming treatment for you. We just don’t care. |
11. Americans will be free to welcome God into all aspects of our lives. | Prepare for White Christian Nationalist rule. |
12. NOTE FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN: This plan cuts taxes. Nothing in this plan has ever, or will ever, advocate or propose, any tax increases, at all. |
This point was added later. The previous version raised taxes for 75 million Americans. Oops. |