The New GHP
AJ Robinson

I so wanted to call this column “The New GOP.” I couldn’t find a synonym for “hypocrite” that started with an “O.” I’ll just have to go, instead, with what I have.

As today is both the kick-off to the healthcare exchanges and the start of the government shutdown, I thought this article quite appropriate. Now, let me preface this sad tale with the statement that I was once a Republican. Given the fact that I was born and raised in Massachusetts, that’s nothing short of a miracle! However, as the GOP truly has become a group of tea-bagger ultra-conservative loony birds, I no longer wish to be associated with them. As Ron Reagan, I’m now a Republican in Name Only (RINO).

Let’s review the heights their hypocrisy has reached, shall we?

The tea-baggers voted against relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. No money available, don’t you know? Their attitude was, “Eh, those people shouldn’t be living so close to the shoreline. Let the states deal with those issues.” Ah, but when tornadoes and flooding hit the states those same Grand Hypocritical Party (GHP) people represented, it was. “Give us money, right now!”

The GHP has lately been running a bunch of ads trying to convince young people to opt out of the Affordable Care Act. This comes from the party that made the term “trans-vaginal probe” a household expression. This comes from the party that has virtually crushed a woman’s right to basic healthcare. They now have the nerve to accuse the government of “playing doctor,” talk about major hypocrites.

On top of that, the GHP always pushed the idea of people taking individual responsibility, standing on their own two feet and so forth. Isn’t getting insurance so you have healthcare doing just that? Why is requiring people who drive to have auto insurance and people who have a mortgage have homeowner’s insurance okay, but health insurance is “Big Brother” sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong?

The GHP loves to talk about rooting out waste, fraud and corruption in government programs. I saw a recent interview with a GHP congressperson regarding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); he must have used the phrase “waste, fraud and corruption” half a dozen times. In fact, he used it twice in one sentence. Yet, these same GHP members of Congress voted in favor of massive farm subsidies, something many of them actually get: millions of dollars going to millionaires. They say it’s the Christian choice; throw millions of children off a program that ensure they receive nutrition.

Truly, that’s the ultimate hypocrisy. Every time one of them spouts that nonsense, I can’t help but remember the opening scene to the musical “Oliver.” The fat cat governors of the workhouse poor Oliver slaves away in, they sit down to a huge banquet, and meanwhile the children who do the actual work get a small bowl of gruel. Huh, and here I thought we’d moved beyond that form of social structure.

Finally, there’s their claim that they’re merely following the will of the people. Were they following the will of the people regarding something as simple as universal background checks on gun purchases? I seem to recall polls reporting that fully ninety percent of the American public, including registered members of the NRA, is in favour of background checks. The GHP did not even allow a vote on the subject.

I sure do miss the GOP. My dad and I found the party of Lincoln to be quite the Good Old Party, as well as Grand. Now, I’m sorry to say, the “G” stands for “Greedy,” “Ghastly” and “Grim.”