The Gary Null Blog

By Sally Kohn, AlterNet
Posted on June 27, 2011, Printed on June 28, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/151435/conservative_politics_increasingly_out_of_whack_with_public_opinion_--_is_an_anti-gop_backlash_coming_up

The Republican Party is now officially out of touch with the vast majority of the American people. While there was no real doubt of this before, Republicans did a better job of feigning mainstream populism on and off. Until last week, when the GOP proudly stood its ground against not only core American values and principles but even mainstream popular opinion.

First, it was taxes. Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Republican Senate Minority Whip John Kyl petulantly abandoned debt negotiation talks with Democrats because the Republicans are firmly opposed to any repeal of tax breaks for the super rich.  Here were are, a nation that has always relied on those who get the most out of America to give the most back — now at a time when, as the profits of the rich continue to reach record levels, unemployment and economic stagnation for the rest of us remains.  All the Democrats want to do is restore the upper tax rates to the levels under President Clinton, then the economy was thriving — not even to the much, much higher levels under past Republican presidents like Reagan or Eisenhower.  And almost two-thirds of Americans agree that we should raise taxes on the rich to address the deficit

Yet the Republicans continue to push irresponsible and unpopular cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.  It should now be apparent to every American that the Republican agenda in these respects does not prioritize the economic health and well-being of the hardworking American middle class but, rather, the greedy interests of wealthy campaign donors and Wall Street.  The GOP would rather create even richer billionaires than create more jobs for working people.  The GOP would rather give handouts to insurance companies than make sure our seniors can keep affording their health care.