12 Republican Myths That Are Killing Us

GOP Clown College

 Alan Grayson was a U.S. Representative for Florida's 8th Congressional District from 2009-2011.  He was defeated for re-election, but while in the Congress was one of the few progressive voices who spoke out forcefully against the right.  Most notably, during the health care debates he had the audacity to describe the Republican health care plan as "'Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly."  He is running for Congress again, and it would be great to have him back.  (Click here to help.)  Here's a taste of his wit and wisdom.  -- Lovechilde

By Alan Grayson, cross-posted from Reader Supported News

As the Republican demolition derby rolls on, I continue to be amused by how each remaining contender tries to assume the "small government" mantle.

Mitt Romney wants a government so small that it provides universal health care.

Newt Gingrich wants a government so small that it will establish a permanent base on the moon.

Rick Santorum wants a government so small that it will fit inside a woman's uterus.

The only real remaining advocate of small government is Ron Paul. Dr. Paul appears to be disqualified from the Republican presidential primary, however, because he is unwilling to drench himself with the blood of our imagined enemies, like Gerard Butler in the movie "300."

But what about that Jon Huntsman guy? This week three different people told me, quite independently of each other, how sorry they were that Governor Huntsman never gained any traction in the Republican presidential primary.

I told them that they should get over it. Huntsman wasn't any better.

It somehow counts as an act of courage for Huntsman to have tweeted: "I believe in evolution." Of course, it would have been more courageous if Huntsman had said that to a Tea Party audience, and then they tore him limb from limb, thereby disproving the theory of evolution right before our eyes.

And evolution is not something that you "believe" or "disbelieve." Evolution is like gravity; it's not like Santa Claus or the Abominable Snowman. (Question: Why do they both live at the North Pole?)

Be that as it may, neither Huntsman nor any other Republican presidential candidate has been willing to take on the hard myths. The myths that are killing us. Here are a dirty dozen, right off the top of my head:

1. The government can't create jobs. (Tell that to FDR, who created four million jobs in three months.)


2. Tax cuts reduce the deficit. (Doesn't it bother them that a man named "Laffer" came up with this one?)


3. A fetus is a baby.


4. The poor have too much money.


5. Cutting the federal deficit will end the recession.


6. The rich are incentivized by tax cuts, while the poor are incentivized by lower wages, no benefits, an end to the minimum wage, and unemployment.


7. An unwanted child is God's will.


8. Everyone who wants health insurance has it.


9. The problem with education is the teachers.


10. The "free market" satisfies every human need.


11. There is no discrimination in America anymore.


12. The distribution of wealth and income are irrelevant.

I don't remember Jon Huntsman disputing any of these myths. And these are the ones that do the real damage. Show me a candidate who is willing to take on these myths, and I'll pay more attention.

Courage,  Alan Grayson