Wrapped up with the “big lie” that Donald Trump won the 2020 election is another whopper, the claim that any expenditure other than tax breaks for the wealthy is part of a “radical socialist agenda.” If that were true, seniors like me would still be eating dog food to afford needed health care, as we all were before the enactment of Medicare over bitter Republican objections that it was socialism.
There is nothing radical or socialist about having a national government described by Abraham Lincoln as a country “of the people, by the people and for the people.” Republicans, under Lincoln, not only ended slavery, they also implemented a vision of one nation connected by the transcontinental railroad tying the country together from coast to coast. They enacted sweeping changes to build the nation’s basic educational infrastructure by passage of the Morrill Act in 1862. These federal supported universities across the land, known as land grant colleges, taught agriculture, mechanics and promoted research all of which built the foundation for much of America’s inventiveness and leadership in the world. Republicans, under President Teddy Roosevelt, curbed the power of monopolies and trusts, and Republicans under Eisenhower built the web of freeways on which much of the nation’s commerce is now so dependent. None of this had anything to do with a “radical Socialist Democrat Agenda”. This is what enabled a new nation to not just compete. but to lead the world in technology and innovation. It is what we need now.
Today, we are in worldwide competition with undemocratic dictatorships in China and Russia. We will not win that competition if we are led by an undemocratic dictatorship of our own, built on the bullying and lies of one man or the undemocratic party he now leads. We will not win if Americans are denied access to the ballot box and wealthy corporations hide their income offshore and pay no taxes at all. We will only win if we rebuild our infrastructure base, from outdated roads and bridges to unaffordable colleges, support for fair wages and help for families and children.
We must protect the right to vote. It is foundational. So are two parties both respective of the Constitution and committed to honest dialogue. Let us resolve to only support and vote for candidates in 2022 who are willing to roll up their sleeves and vote for a positive agenda to rebuild the greatest democracy in the world.