The Republican “Brand”

Some congressional Republican leaders are worried that failure to reach an agreement on extending the debt ceiling would “destroy the Republican Brand.” The Republicans would be blamed for their refusal to negotiate with President Obama and the Democrats. They are starting to worry about how the voters will view them in 2012. It started me thinking about the concept. Just what is the Republican Brand?


If you were to ask a Republican today, they would probably say that their “brand” stands for smaller government, less regulation of business and banks, lower taxes, the sanctity of marriage and pro-life. The Republican Brand stands for family values and fiscal responsibility. Now that sounds reasonable. Who wants a “big brother” government dictating your every move? Why should banks and corporations be bogged down with all kinds of troublesome regulations that prevent them from doing what they do best…make money? Who wants to pay higher taxes? That’s a no-brainer! Duh! Marriage should always be thought of as sacred in my book and who’s not for life…liberty… and the pursuit of happiness? In fact, who’s not for family values or balancing the old checkbook? Sounds like a pretty good brand that even Martha Stewart would be proud of.

Then I started thinking about how Republican President, Herbert Hoover, ushered in the Great Depression. Another Republican president, Richard Nixon, had to resign because of a little thing called “Watergate” and dirty tricks against the DNC. Thank God for the savior of the Republican Party with President Ronald Regan. Finally, the golden age for Republicans! But wait, wasn’t there that little thing called, “Iran-Contra?” We finally arrive at President George W. Bush, former Republican governor from the great state of Texas. When he left the Oval Office after 8 years, he had turned a government surplus into a huge deficit. America was involved in two costly wars that were adding billions of dollars a month to that deficit. In the middle of all this national expense, Republican President Bush gives tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. When this president left office, America’s economy was headed to the toilet, rivaling another Great Depression. (Remember President Hoover? Full circle?) The economic crisis that resulted was helped by years of a Republican administration’s neglect and undoing of banking and finance regulations.

During this last Republican administration, Americans saw the size of their government explode with the creation of another cabinet level position called Homeland Security. Americans began to stand in long lines as a new government agency, the TSA checked, scanned, poked and prodded airline passengers right down to their shoes, socks and fingernail clippers. This Republican administration expanded our government’s reach right down to town librarians with the passage of something called the “Patriot Act.” George Orwell had nothing on this group of NEOCON Republicans. Now what was that about smaller government and getting government out of our lives?

And talk about your “military industrial complex” warned about by President Eisenhower back in the 1950’s, VP Dick Cheney’s corporation, Halliburton, has done very well contracting with our military in Iraq and Afghanistan. (No conflict of interest there!) Large corporations and their lobbyists descended upon Washington and helped write all kinds of laws and regulations from environmental protection to banking to big oil and gas. (Remember Tom Delay?) Jobs went not to Americans, but were exported to cheaper labor in India and China further widening our trade gap and adding to American unemployment. Large corporations like GE could avoid paying income taxes and earned large tax credits under this Republican administration.

Today, under Democratic President Obama, the Tea Party Republicans have added a whole new dimension to their “brand” with opposition to the Affordable Healthcare Act (they continue to call it “Obama Care”) which seeks to do for the American Middle Class what Medicare did for our seniors and Medicaid did for dependent children and families. Republicans today want to cut back or eliminate altogether long treasured entitlement programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that the disabled, seniors, women and dependent children depend on for their survival in this economy.

And finally in Wisconsin, the state’s newly elected Republican governor has launched an open attack on public service unions triggering voter outrage and recall elections to help overturn the governor’s anti-union law. Republican dirty tricks again raised its ugly head when they ran “fake Democrats” against bonafide Democrats in Wisconsin’s open primary. The Republicans poured a lot of outside money into these fake Democrats to foil the election. They failed, but the fact that they tried to pull it off to cheat voters…speaks volumes about the Republican Brand.

So what is the real Republican Brand? Is it to cut crucial programs that act as a safety net for millions of vulnerable Americans under the guise of deficit reduction while preserving tax cuts and credits for the wealthy? Is it doing away with the EPA and all their bothersome regulations? Is it the union busting party? Is it the mean-spirited, Party of NO? Is it the party of intolerance? Is it the party of I’ve got mine now you go scramble for yours? Is it the party of no taxes for the wealthy, because we provide the jobs? (oh, really) Should Americans continue to buy and vote for this brand?

So what is the Democratic Party Brand, you ask? Is it the tax and spend liberal party? Is it the massive debt party? Or is this the party of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, alternative energy, education, jobs and recovery? Is this the party of the greatest good for the greatest number?

Food for THOUGHT…