The Republican Party is not the party of conservatism. It is the party of the Koch brothers, the Ayn Rand philosophers of small government ideology, the takers of the Grover Norquist pledge not to raise taxes no matter what (start a war and don’t pay for it), voter suppresors by unconstitutional legislation, climate change deniers, evolution deniers and who believe 47 percent of Americans like me, who receive Medicare, are takers.

Republicans believe it is OK to shut down the government to get their way. They have a very long list of Americans to demonize (student/minority/poor voters, postal workers, gay/lesbian people, unionized teachers who collectively bargain, Medicaid expansion recipients and people who receive unemployment compensation benefits or Social Security disability insurance benefits and many more Americans). Republicans continue to cling to the long-defunct idea that cutting taxes on the rich will result in trickle-down-money to create jobs.

A pastor, GOP leader and a friend recently wrote letters that their GOP candidate for the state house, Peggy Bennett, is a good person mainly demonstrated by her elementary school teaching experience. She may have good intentions.

But Ms. Bennett is running on the GOP ticket. In the recent past, six GOP legislators crossed the aisle and then were vilified by their party when they voted to increase taxes to pay for much-needed bridge and road construction. Most of the six did not run for re-election. One of the six is my brother-in-law.

Are we so naive to think that voting for any Republican today is a vote for conservatism? Or is it a vote against the common good on which our Founding Fathers based our country?

 

Ted Hinnenkamp

Albert Lea