What ever happened to the Republican Party of old? I miss it. The Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight David Eisenhower, is no more, it has long since passed. Even the days of Richard M. Nixon are missed, and so is the optimism of Ronald Reagan.

It is hard to find what the Republican Party is for but it is easy to find what they are against. They are against immigrants, they are against gays, against gun safety, against equal pay for women, ETC. The hardest to fathom is why they are against the minimum wage and why are they against raising it.

It should be self evident that if the American worker could make enough money to be out of poverty they would contribute to paying taxes, reducing the debt, and be consumers thereby insuring that the economy keeps humming along. Most importantly a pay raise would uplift a person’s self esteem and they would no longer be dependent on others. But no, the Party of Big Business, the Republican Party, continues to on one hand, demand that people stand on their own two feet but on the other hand they help defeat the ability of the average citizen to provide for themselves by having a wage that they can live on. No one should work full time in America and live in poverty.

Here, again, Republicans seem to be the purveyors of pain, demonstrating their anger and frustrations by depriving others of the ability to take care of themselves. Our society should demand fairness.

When people are in need and work to get out of poverty by going to school or being the victims of hard luck, what does the Republican Party promise them? They promise to get rid of food stamps. And they in the most part claim to be Christians. I can see it now, Jesus refusing to take care of the hungry and those who are sick, NOT.

The Republican Party wraps themselves in the flag. They like to have a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other hand. Can you imagine Jesus holding a gun? I can’t!

But no the party of death, anger and pain, are not willing to abide by the wishes of the people. In poll after poll, sensible gun safety has overwhelming support. Sensible gun laws would end the loopholes so that felons could not buy a gun so easily at gun shows. And who would want a person who is dangerously mentally ill to be able to buy a gun?

Even the favored women of the Republican Party, the Mama Grizzlies, speak to a message of pain and violence. Sarah Palin and the new flavor of the month, Senator Joni Ernst, send out these subliminal messages. Ernst for example talks about castrating a pig, and making those in Washington squeal. That sounds like someone will be hurting and in pain, doesn’t it?

No plan will be perfect, no plan will have absolute success. Republicans always talk about fraud or abuse or the fact that felons might still be able to obtain a gun. Yes, these things are true, but if you reduce violence, reduce the dependence that some have on government are we not all better off as a result? One gets the idea that Republicans would like to have the excuse to , if a plan is not perfect, throw the baby out with the water along with the tub.

If life were so paternalistic where we we’re all allegedly on our own to suffer, life would really difficult to live. But here again, some among us and particularly members of Congress would like to see people suffer pain. But alas, most members of Congress are millionaires. It must be easier to be for tough love if you are a millionaire. By the way, I have never understood the term tough love. Love should not be about pain. Even though some people are into pain, I prefer a hug.

In this era of materialism and selfishness, there is no love that you receive back from your material possessions. Whether you have seven houses or an elevator for your cars. There is absolutely no way you can relate to people who are among the have-nots, when you are part of the 1 and 1/2 percent.

The Republican Party, the party, that likes to claim the flag as their own, treats the veteran as a pariah when they come home. They send them off to war, but when it comes to helping a veteran, they are strangely silent when it comes to helping veterans get jobs or treatment for Post Traumatic Stress.

The public as a whole differs from the Republican Party on issue after issue. Even Arkansas voted for a rise in their minimum wage by a two to one margin. If the Republican Party is to be relevant for the future they have to be more than the party of no. For proposals that were once offered up for consideration by Republican President’s like Nixon such as the issue of health care, Republicans are strangely reactive. Those who are without health insurance at some point will be in pain if they don’t have it. Today’s Republicans are against the ACA, but they are silent on any alternative plan. They are against keeping the disabled covered by Social Security and in their heart of hearts, they have wanted to get rid of Social Security since it began.

Can you imagine going back to the day when seniors had no retirement plan and no medical insurance? Well, America, if these so-called conservatives could, they would get rid of providing for the aged, entirely. Welcome to the Republican world of death, anger and pain!