I’ve been reading the 2016 Republican Party Platform. So you don’t have to. I’m not pretending Trump believes any of it, but I do expect at least a handwave at principles from actual, practicing Republicans.
So, start at the beginning:
We believe in American exceptionalism.
We believe the United States of America is unlike any other nation on earth.
We believe America is exceptional because of our historic role — first as refuge, then as defender, and now as exemplar of liberty for the world to see.
We affirm — as did the Declaration of Independence: that all are created equal, endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I still haven’t warmed to ‘American exceptionalism’ nonsense. Sounds like a jingoistic version of “We’re exceptional because we say so.”
So we’re exceptional. Cool. Why? Well, first, because we’re a refuge, and I’m guessing that’s for people in need — refugees — although I’m open to reinterpretations. And I agree with the idea. Not absolutely, and not for every single refugee, but really: we’re rich, and powerful, and we accidentally broke an entire region. We owe the people trying to crawl away from war more than we’ve done so far.
Of course, Republicans have opposed admitting refugees in general for some time now, and in particular those damn, brown, Muslim people. Sure, we heard a (very) few Republicans protest Trump’s clearly discriminatory travel ban, but I didn’t see any Republican actually change a vote because of that.
And America is great because we’re a defender…
Now I’m wondering who they meant to defend.
…And an exemplar of liberty?
And now we get into words with actual definitions. So, liberty. Here’s the dictionary definition:
lib-er-ty
- the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.the power or scope to act as one pleases.
- the power or scope to act as one pleases.
Free from oppressive restrictions? Free from restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life? The power to act as one pleases?
Damn. Sounds positively subversive, doesn’t it? I can’t quite see how that means you have to oppose gay marriage and LGBTQ rights.
“The power or scope to act as one pleases”? Wowsa!
The Republican party came into existence when the abolitionist wing of the Whig party split away. They stood in sharp contrast to the rural, distinctly segregationist Democratic party of the time. Lincoln was perfectly suited to the party, and it’s had a long, honorable and… decent history.
Even when I was a kid, when I disagreed with most Republican ideas, I had to work at it. You couldn’t simply say ‘no’; you had to make a better case. And even as I rebelled, I was confident that the Republicans I tried to excoriate were still — with exceptions — good and honorable people; public servants in the best sense. I felt they were wrong, but I couldn’t simply discard their positions.
What happened? Where did those principled people go? We’re faced with a new Watergate, but I don’t see a Howard Baker anywhere. Was I fantasizing about them, back then? And if I am wrong, was I wrong then, or am I wrong now?
