The GOP should be ashamed of itself. You would think the Republican Party would get a clue, but unfortunately that is not the case.
When the House passed health care reform just a few short weeks ago, members of the tax Tea Party were outside the chamber hurling racial slurs at members of Congress.
One of those congressmen, John Lewis Amanda, walked hand-in-hand with Dr. Martin Luther King.
Members of Congress have had their offices vandalized, and they, as well as governors of different states, have received death threats from right-wing extremists.
You even have Sarah Palin telling her supporters to “reload.”
This kind of childish behavior is beneath us as Americans and it does a great disservice to our democracy. We should be able to have a debate without resorting to the days of “if you disagree with me you get the sword and the war.”
Unfortunately, it’s almost like the GOP wants to go to war.
This is why many Americans are displeased with Congress as a whole, because they can’t seem to conduct themselves in a dignified way – as public officials are expected to.
This kind of behavior is what you’d expect from little kids arguing over toys, not the grown men and women who are supposed to be writing our nation’s laws.
But you can only expect this when Republicans listen to the far-right extremists in their party, people like the tax Tea Party, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
At some point we have to ask ourselves, is this the way we should represent ourselves around the world?
There’s a problem when 535 grown men and women have a problem conducting themselves in a respectable manner, especially during times when very serious issues are being debated.
No one is asking the GOP to agree with every single thing Democrats support, but I do expect both parties to have some sort of respect for one another.
Is that not what we teach our kids? When they’re grown up to be respectful and to use the ‘magic words?’
It seems as a country we believe the rules applying to children do not apply to adults.
What is even more disturbing is when we have members of Congress encouraging this type of behavior. I believe we are a better nation than this.
We need to get back to the days of “I guess I may disagree with you, but it does not make me any less of an American” and “if we do disagree I am still going to afford you the same respect I expect to get people to give me.”
These are the thoughts that should be in the minds of our national lawmakers when they take up the business of our nation.
This is the best way to get things done.
We need to do better.
