The Republican Party should now be called the Grand Oppressive Party based on its performance since President Obama's election. If the Democrats are for it, the Republicans have voted "no." No previous president, liberal or conservative, has had to overcome the negative opposition that President Obama has from the Republican members of Congress.
What the Republicans have accomplished has deeply divided our nation and spawned radical fringe groups like the Tea Party, who protest that our president wasn't born in the U.S., demand lower taxes, even though our 2009 taxes are the lowest since the 1950s, and they want their country back. From whom?
The Republican Party might find that their carefully orchestrated plan to win back a majority in Congress will backfire. Americans are now asking, "What is really wrong with United States' having a comprehensive health-care plan?" Also, "What is wrong with having regulations on our financial institutions?" The answer: to prevent another meltdown of our economy.
It is becoming more and more difficult to understand the Republican "no" votes against measures that would improve the lives of the American public. There is a strong trend shaping up that the voters will oust Republican incumbents this election. We expect our representatives, either in Congress or the state Legislature to work for the benefit of the people they represent. In Idaho, we find that our congressional delegation has voted "no" to the stimulus package even though Idahoans are now seventh in home foreclosures, and unemployment and business closures are some of the highest in the nation. The health-care bill also got a "no" from all our guys in Washington, even though 250,000 Idahoans do not have health insurance.
In our state Legislature, the Republican majority has left our schools underfunded, which will affect our state educational system for years. We are now 47th in national educational funding, yet the Republican majority voted $100,000 in state funds to sue the federal government over the health-care bill.
Betty Murphy
Ketchum
