By Rob Meyne
- May 9, 2023
- 4-min read
Whose side are they on?
It is often argued there is little or no difference between America’s two major political parties. In all honesty, if you say there is NO difference between two options you are uninformed or lying. There most certainly are differences. The issue is how important are they?
The bottom line is this: the differences between the two parties are both few and essential. Yes, in many ways, each party is depressing and like the other. However, it is the few areas of distinction that make one party worthy of tentative support and the other deserving of unending derision.
As we’ve observed previously, the biggest factor that makes both party organizations distasteful is that they are composed of … wait for it … people. Many people are lovely and admirable, but far too many are corrupt, undependable, and narcissistic. And those are their GOOD qualities! 😊
All humans are to some extent dishonest. That’s like saying water is wet, the sun is bright, and Al Gore is boring. So how much sense does it make to clutch our pearls and whine about how our institutions have failed us when we know organizations are fundamentally flawed, from the start, because flawed humans are in charge of them?
Those who perennially throw up their hands in desperation and say “there is no one to vote for” are lamentably honest IF they are looking for perfect people to support. And if you’re looking for them, just stop it, please. You’re going to be disappointed.
People who are disappointed in political choices strike me as folks who don’t know much about life in general. What area of life offers you perfect choices? Do you have the perfect job, spouse, kids, house, car, or church? (I have a perfect wife, of course, but most don’t.) Most of life’s choices present us with alternatives between imperfect options. So what? They can still be marvelous. Perfection isn’t a necessary predicate for most of life. It makes no sense to expect it ONLY from government.
That doesn’t mean we don’t get to be disappointed. Of course we do. Anyone who wishes we had “better choices” has a lot in common with most of us. Who doesn’t? But focusing on primarily the negative aspect of candidates and parties isn’t likely to lead us to a better place.
Neither party is perfect. That is not the same thing as saying they are equal. They are not. The way our system is supposed to work is that people vote for a candidate that pledges to do things we want them to. We were never expected to vote for someone who we enjoy hanging out with, who we would like to see date our sister, or who you would hire to mow your lawn. We’re supposed to care about the policies that determine our quality of life and the future of our nation. And we’re supposed to vote for the people or party that support the policies that we do. It isn’t that complicated. Yet we act like we either can’t figure that out or care more about a person’s looks, personality, or tweeting habits than we do the well-being of the country.
But back to this: yes, the Republicans suck, but the Democrats suck even more. If that seems like a weak campaign slogan, it is. There are differences, even if neither party has earned your support. The parties are not the same, but the world looks different under Democratic leadership in 2023 than it did under Republican leadership in 2020. If you don’t see that, again, you just aren’t living on the same planet as we are.
Let’s look at a few recent votes that show the significant differences between the parties.
First – The House recently approved legislation to protect the rights of female athletes to compete only against biological females. This sounds like the kind of common sense, “you’ve got to be kidding me” question that everyone used to agree on. Today, you are considered barbaric, hateful, and out of touch if you believe biology determines sex.
There are thousands of female athletes who lose important athletic competitions to opponents with Y chromosomes, penises, larger frames, and rampant testosterone. So the Republicans in the House tried to stand up for the rights of women athletes. Not one Democrat supported them. None.
Second – The House recently approved parental rights legislation. It required that schools make publicly available the curricula, lessons, books, and similar resources that are used in educating their children. The bill recognized a parent’s right to know what their schools are doing. Not one Democrat supported it. None.
Third – Last year the Senate passed legislation that would have removed all barriers to abortion. All of them. You could waltz into a doctor’s office and say you had decided to abort your baby, rather than have it, even if your C-Section was scheduled for the next day. You could kill your baby and have it tossed in the trash, even though it was fully developed and capable of living on its own. Not one Democrat voted against it. None.
A few minutes searching online will reveal videos and articles on how abortions are carried out on full-term babies. It is easy to find, but not often talked about because the mainstream media tends to not cover things that are unpleasant, even when true and impactful.
If you’re curious, generally speaking, late-term abortions are carried out by inserting a needle through the mother’s stomach directly into the baby’s brain, where deadly chemicals are injected, killing the baby. If it doesn’t die right away, they do it again.
If they can remove the baby intact through the birth canal, they do. If not, they reach in with metal tools and tear the baby apart, removing legs, arms, the head, and body in separate pieces. As they move along, the baby’s body parts are assembled on a tray to make sure they got the better part of it. Again, this is done even with babies who are fully developed and capable of living outside of the womb.
IF you have no problem with that, you support the Democratic view on abortion. If you DO have a problem with it, you’re a human being.
Do you still believe all parties are the same? If so, issues must not matter to you. You cannot support the Democratic Party if you believe parents have a right to know what is being taught to their children; that men should not compete against women in athletics; or that full-term, healthy babies should not be killed just because the mom changed her mind. Whatever you do, please try not to continue saying the two parties are the same. Manifestly, they are not. All we have to do to prove it is to watch how Democratic leaders vote.