It is sadly apparent today that the guiding philosophy of the modern Republican Party is, “I’ve got mine, screw you.”

Look at any current political issue and ask yourself, ‘what would my position on this issue be, if my guiding philosophy in life was “I’ve got mine, screw you?” Invariably, your answer will be the Republican position.

• Health care?  “I’ve got health care, screw you.”
• Immigration? “I’m already here, screw you.”
• Gun violence? “I own three guns, screw you.”
• Public schools? “The schools in my neighborhood are good, and I can afford private school for my kids, but I wouldn’t mind having poor taxpayers toss a few bucks my way in the form of school vouchers. Screw you.”
• Opioid addition? “I’m not addicted, screw you.”
• LGBT rights?  “I’m straight. Screw you.”
• Abortion rights? “I don’t need one, and if I, or any woman in my life, ever wants one, we can afford to obtain it safely and discreetly. Screw you.”

Of course, as a philosophy, ‘I’ve got mine, screw you,’ is neither illegal, immoral, nor even unethical.  It might be a little short on compassion, but there’s nothing in the Constitution about being compassionate or even being considerate of fellow Americans.  After all, that compassion nonsense is just church talk, and it’s not like Republicans claim to be defenders of Christianity or anything.

But though wildly popular among Republicans today, “I’ve got mine, screw you” has not historically been the guiding philosophy of the GOP.  For many decades, Republicans actually supported federal government efforts to address large-scale problems like poverty, environmental degradation, racial discrimination, economic inequality, and other social ills that were clearly beyond the ability of state and local governments to correct.

• Republican president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and Republicans in the Congress passed the 13^th amendment, outlawing slavery, and the 14^th amendment, which guaranteed equal protection under the law and other rights of citizenship to all citizens.
• Republican president Ulysses S. Grant deployed federal law enforcement and military forces to break the power of the Ku Klux Klan.
• Republican president Theodore Roosevelt supported stronger consumer protection laws, stronger regulations on business, and conservation of natural resources. He created the U.S. Forest Service and established five national parks, 51 bird reserves, and 150 national forests.
• Republican president Dwight Eisenhower deployed federal troops to enforce school desegregation, reduced defense spending, and warned of the dangers of an unconstrained military-industrial complex.  He also had a 90% tax rate for the super wealthy and a huge infrastructure program that pumped billions into the economy to create jobs.
• Republican president Richard Nixon created the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He also signed legislation creating the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, the 1973 Endangered Species Act, and the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act.
• Republican president Gerald R. Ford supported the Equal Rights Amendment and signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which established special education throughout the United States. He also signed the Helsinki Accords with the Soviet Union, which reduced tensions between the Soviet bloc and the Western democracies and pledged all participating nations to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• Republican president George H. W. Bush raised taxes to reduce the federal deficit, signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) with the Soviet Union, and built a 34-nation international coalition to militarily oppose Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
• Republican president George W. Bush started the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Program (PEPFAR), which saved an estimated 5 million lives in developing countries. He also signed the Medicare Act of 2003, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare and he urged Congress to allow more than 12 million illegal immigrants to legally work in the United States under a temporary guest worker program.

June 5, 2018