Bunk & Debunk Went Out in a Boat: Debunk Fell In...

...and what was left?  BUNK!

As part of the first part of the final wave of the Romney campaign’s march to the White House, Jennifer Rubin’s article in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer – Debunking favorite myths about the Republican Party – is perfectly timed.  The core message - “The GOP is the grown-up party, while the Dems are the teenagers who are more focused on seeming cool & considered popular than acting like responsible adults."

While I must admit to considering her debunking just flat-out bunk, a few of her “corrections” stand out because they are oh! so true, although not in ways she’d care to own up to.

My personal fav debunk was her attempt to deconstruct the “myth” that the GOP is obsessed with social issues.  Ms. Rubin points out, “Mitt Romney barely talks about social issues.”  Spot on!  Neither did the candidates who were elected to office in 2010, neither have conservatives throughout the past decade – they campaigned on the economy & jobs.  That’s what got them elected.  BUT, once in office, the focused laser-like on social issues.  They NEVER campaign on social issues, because it’s a loser for GOP candidates.  As demonstrated in state after state, as well as on the national level in the House of Representatives, conservative Republicans have utterly master bait & switch tactics.   But just google Ralph Reed to see how much he thinks social issues a side issue. 

She chastises the Dems as the ones who “latched onto Todd Akin” and emphasize abortion.  She faults the Dems for “latching onto” someone running for the U.S. Senate who believes our bodies have a special mechanism that keeps us from getting pregnant if we’re the victims of a rape?  Who could resist???   Does she know how many women’s health care bills – including ones related to abortion – came up in the recent GOP-controlled House & in Republican-controlled legislatures nationwide?

She debunks the “myth” that the Tea Party has taken over the GOP.  Honey – read the Republican Party’s platform.  For a reference point, check the party’s 1980 platform.  See any influence? 

As for the myth that the GOP doesn’t believe in community – sure they do, as long as your community is Janesville, WI or Belmont, MA or Park City, UT or La Jolla, CA or Wolfeboro, NH.  When the Dems talk about “community” they mean something other tan simply “family, communities, churches, and other civil institutions (that are critical building blocks in society.”   People who come from a strong community, who have a deep faith & spiritual community watching their backs, who have the blessing of family & friends to share their joys & halve their sorrows have been shown to be better off financially, better able to regroup after financial set backs.  But how many people today have those blessings?  I do.  I’ve benefited tremendously because of each of those.  But, in 2012, my experience is the exception, not the rule.  The community that the Dems refer to is creating a sense of belonging for the chronically disenfranchised & for the people who have been knocked off their feet by the financial meltdown & resulting gutted economy.  By debunking the myth as she did, Ms. Rubin illustrates to me that she doesn’t get it – she can see the dots, just not connect them.

The biggest hoot has to be her attempt to debunk the idea that Republicans are out to hurt the poor.  She argues that “Republicans want to follow the welfare-reform model… because they think these programs can be managed better by the states.”  Yet, let the president agree to grant waivers to states who want to manage their own programs & he gets skinned, filleted, skewered & grilled by the Romney campaign as “gutting work requirements.”

Her argument for why the GOP is actually the party more committed to preserving the social safety nets that came out of & after the New Deal would leave my Mom, Gay Pendleton & Doris Pendleton slack-jawed in amazement.  Republicans defending ANY form of social safety net has got to be the most novel concept introduced into this & perhaps any election.  Getting rid of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid & similar programs has been an article of faith with Republicans since they were first passed.  Forgot to add repeal of the income tax, which they look to effectively do for at least one portion of our citizenry – just a very very very teeny weeny itsy bitsy portion.

Ms. Rubin – no one believes that Republicans have a problem with female voters because of abortion.  As you correctly point out, the issue is not gender-based.  What alarms the vast majority of female voters is the very real possibility of the birth control methods being made illegal through adoption of personhood bills that peg the life of a pre-born at conception.

Rolling on the floor with laughter at her claim that the GOP has “not moved to do away with the SEC, the FDIC, the FDA, the EPA or other regulatory bodies.”  No, they’ve just gutted their funding.  Same outcome.

Too worn out to continue.  We’re going to hear longer, louder, more persistent explanations about how the GOP is the party grounded in genuine compassion. 

And they’re going to pray that we pay attention to their talking points & ignore what’s happening real time.  Sadly, if the past is prelude, a lot of people will.  And then they won’t be left with myths, but cold sober reality.