Why I am no longer a Republican

In my youth, I would proudly proclaim being republican. I used to think they were the party of the people, I used to think that they were for letting us live our lives; but now I have grown up.... Well that is no longer the case.

In no particular order....

Reason Number 1: No Logic

How is it logical to be so staunch against gay marriage? 
It is not logical to be so hardcore against gay marriage, in fact, supporting the unions that gay couple want could serve to strengthen our country by removing a cultural wedge.


How does coddling the rich help the rest of us?
IT DOESN'T!!! The notion of "trickle down" economics is absurd; anyone with two eyes can see that an economy is built up, not trickled around.

These illogical notions have driven me so far away from the party that it is impossible for me to even consider going back. 

Reason Number 2: The party belongs to the Top 1 (Economics)

There is a direct relationship between Political Polarization and Income Inequality, this is because the 1% has effectively bought out the Republican Party. The Polarization has come from the endless measures taken to coddle the rich and the fact that party members have been tricked into believing that they (the rich) have their (The American Worker) best interest in mind.
We are becoming The Working Poor as the Rich become Richer.

Rather than spend money on things like infrastructure and education, The GOP would rather spend that money on our military. Unfortunately, they are not spending money to protect us, rather they are spending money on Military contracts where the rich profiteer our tax dollars.
see THE TRUTH ABOUT HALLIBURTON

Example: When the financial crisis struck, Wall street got a bail out, Main Street got a boot out.

Keep Vilifying the Occupy movement, the majority of them are FORMER tea-party members and Libertarians. 
 

Reason Number 3: They ARE the party of NO!

Republicans on capitol hill shoot down EVERY measure that is brought to the house floor that could help the American Economy.
Google Republican Filibusters and you will see just how bad they are when it comes to saying "NO".
see: Dems warn: McConnell will regret these filibusters

Reason Number 4: The HYPOCRISY!

Payroll Tax Cut: Republican idea shot down by Republicans on Capitol Hill after being proposed by Democrats
The Individual Mandate: Several years ago, the Heritage Foundation, and several prominent Republicans, were among those that pushed the idea of requiring people to buy health insurance.
Cap-and-trade: originally proposed by conservatives and Republicans as a market-based solution to solving environmental problems.

That's just the past couple years... and that's not all of them.... 

Reason Number 5: The Environment

Sadly the Republicans seem to think it is okay to waste away our environment, to strip the land of the natural resources and then leave it barren and unusable. Well maybe not to that extreme, but they have no problem with ignoring the repercussions to their actions. Take the Keystone Pipeline for example, Republicans are more than willing to risk our water supply in the name helping Big Oil.
This in theory could be attributed to Republicans belonging to the top 1%.

How I used to see things... 

When I would hear that republicans were for the rich, I would laugh and talk about how they are letting us live our lives and not forcing things down our throat, that they were letting businesses do there thing and thus creating jobs; that was in my youth and naivety.
I used to think DRILL BABY DRILL!! But never about the consequences.
I used to think we needed to spend more on our military, but now I want to cut that in about half.
I used to think we should get rid of the social programs like welfare and food stamps, but then I learned how people do not stay on them permanently.

I used to think a lot of things, but now I think a lot different. I wonder how I will think in 10 years.  

To answer what you may be thinking, no I am not a Democrat, I am a Libertarian. 

A Keystope Pipeline Solution

WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES 

Memo to Big Oil, We The People are NOT going to be Bullied!

That is right, We The People will not be bullied! We The People will not allow Big Oil to destroy our lives in the name of profits!

You may have the Politicians in your pockets, but We The People are the ones being put in jeopardy.We will NOT let you TAKE our land! We will NOT let you endanger our lives! And WE WILL NOT BOW DOWN TO YOU!!!

Let Us Be Politically Direct!


The Keystone Pipeline puts the Ogallala Aquifer in harms way!
This Aquifer supplies water to MILLIONS of people, it irrigates the crops MILLIONS of us live on! We can not let this injustice happen!

“With so many unanswered questions about the safety of this project, perhaps it’s time for the U.S. to hit the brake pedal,” Randy Thompson, a cattle buyer in Nebraska, wrote in testimony for a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in May. “And perhaps it’s time that our government starts placing the concerns of American citizens over and above those of a foreign corporation.” 

A Simple Solution!

There is no arguing the need we have for oil, as much as we want to rely on other renewable sources we still need it. Rather than Pump oil through our the ground down to Texas, lets move it by train.

Why by train? Well by building a rail system that is capable of hauling the crude oil to the refinery, other industries will be able to use the system to transport other goods. Accidents will be mitigated by there being an efficient rail system, any accidents will be more easily managed, and to top it off more than oil will be able to be transported on these railways. Plus, the necessary infrastructure already exist.

With rail being as efficient as it is when it comes to transporting goods, it is a shame that America has had to cut back on its rail system. The cutback has more to do with the federal funding of roads and not railroads. We need to create a public rail system open to be used by ALL rail companies. In so doing we will usher in an era of rail competition, but back to oil.

STOP THE EMINENT DOMAIN BY TRANSCANADA!

As many may or may not know, TransCanada has been threatening landowners with eminent domain. Check out the NY Times Article, TransCanada currently has 34 eminent domain actions against landowners in Texas and an additional 22 in South Dakota.

David A. Domina, a Nebraska lawyer whose firm represents 45 landowners, said there was “no way” that TransCanada has eminent domain powers under Nebraska law, and that the company was “acting in bad faith.” 

Norman Ladd, a lawyer in Tyler, Tex., whose firm represents more than a dozen landowners, said the company has low-balled on prices and threatened to use eminent domain “instead of coming down here and saying we can work with you.”

In addition to enraging those along the proposed pipeline’s 1,700-mile path, the tactics TransCanada is using have many people questioning whether a foreign company can pressure landowners without a permit from the State Department, the agency charged with determining whether the project is in the “national interest.” A decision is expected by year’s end on the pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Alberta to American refineries.

An East Texas landowner, Eleanor Fairchild, said that a TransCanada representative arrived at her house a few days before her husband died of Alzheimer’s in 2009. At first, she considered the $42,000 offer, later raised by $18,000, for a 50-foot easement on her 425 acres. But she said that the more she learned about the pipeline, the less she wanted it on her land.

“It was a hard decision whether I wanted to fight and spend all this money even though I could lose the thing,” Ms. Fairchild said; “But somebody needs to fight them. I decided it would be me.” 

TransCanada’s condemnation suit against her is still pending.