Last week in Texas, the state Republican party announced its official platform. It included positions on LGBTQ+ Americans — “an abnormal lifestyle choice” — and the 2020 Election, claiming Joe Biden’s victory as “illegitimate.” There’s more: repealing the Minimum Wage Act, waiving the requirement of going to law school before practicing law, opting out of Social Security… there are more than 30 pages of this batshit, 337 items including, ironically, No. 63: “Keep oath to the Constitution,” which itself contradicts many of the party’s aims.
These are mainstream views in today’s GOP, now less of a political party and more of an enemy of the state.
They may be draped in American flags, they may have the word “patriot” stitched on their clothing or tattooed on their skin, they may have law enforcement or military experience, may even currently hold elected office.
But they hate this country. They hate its institutions, like public schools or Medicaid or libraries — not to mention the US Congress, which was overrun on Jan. 6 by right-wing insurrectionists bent on disrupting one of our most American traditions: The peaceful transfer of power.
They hate our traditions, like not going to church, accurately counting votes or being gay.
And they hate our country’s promise of equality — a broken promise, yes, but still technically enforceable because it is most definitely written down somewhere.
They hate our Constitution, even as they say they’re willing to fight or die for it.
Because you can’t love this country when you’re trying to shut it down. You can’t be a patriot if you don’t believe in the law. You can’t love America and hate Americans at the same time.
And this is coming from Texas, one of the biggest and most populist states in the country.
The fact is that most of us want to find out more about the elected officials involved in the planning of Jan. 6. Most of us want to see Trump charged with crimes relating to the events of that day. More than 7 percent of us identify as LGBTQ+ — and another 7 percent are likely closeted. None of us can survive alone on a wage of less than $15 per hour. And all of us benefit from strong public schools.
Even, and especially, in Texas.
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