Democrats keep trying to drive our country forward with policies designed to help Americans in the 21st century. Unfortunately, Republicans are stuck in reverse.
Attorney Louise Raggio drafted and helped pass the Texas Marital Property Act of 1967, affording married women the right to own property, secure a bank loan and start a business without their husband's consent. Now in 2015, many Republicans harken back to "the good ol' days" and propose laws stripping women of the right to make appropriate health care decisions with their doctors and families. Abortions were once performed mainly in back alleys and by unskilled practitioners. Do we really want to revert back to those days?
Along with women's rights, Republicans also want to reverse minority's rights. By requiring unnecessary voter identification, gerrymandering districts, limiting early voting days, eliminating same-day registrations, and sending out false information, they are making it harder for minorities. This is in opposition to the Voters Right Act of 1965.
Thom Tillis' believes the government shouldn't regulate the need for restaurant employees to wash their hands, as long as institutions hang signs stating that employees are no longer required to wash their hands. How is this proposal beneficial to the American people? If his idea is supported, the risk of spreading diseases could skyrocket unnecessarily. Tillis says he wants less government control. But, if the institutions are still required to hang a sign, then the only difference are the words on the sign -- and the amount of illness spread.
Schools once required that students' immunizations are up-to-date in order to enroll each year. Rand Paul however, believes that vaccinations should not be mandatory. He supports parents having the right to choose vaccinations for their children even though it might spread diseases, like measles, that have been eliminated in the U.S. Why can't we continue with the laws that protect the country's citizens and provide waivers to some parents when warranted?
Certain Governors, like Scott Walker, are reversing our public education policies and undoing higher education for the masses. They are focusing policies and funding on the elite, want to get rid of school lunch programs and food stamps, and leave millions of kids in America hungry.
Republican's want to reinstate Bush's policy of "trickle-down economics" even though it increased income inequality, expanded the number of people in poverty, and gave tax breaks to billionaires. Instead of growing the economy, "trickle-down economics" sent the country into a recession.
Twelve years of war, many lives lost, and a trillion dollars later, the Republican Party wants to involve America in another war in the Middle East.
Democrats on the other hand, want to take steps forward not backward.
They want to raise the minimum wage, pass immigration reform, decrease income inequality, build better roads and bridges, provide health care for all, and assure equal pay for men and women.
Democrats want to learn from past role models, regardless of party affiliation, rather than revert to the past. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower constructed a world-class highway system in the fifties and put millions to work pulling the country out of a recession. The Democrats want to implement his ideas and repair and replace deteriorating roads and crumbling bridges. The infrastructure bill proposed by the Democrats would boost our economic growth, reduce citizens' car repair bills, and employ millions of workers in full-time, good paying jobs. Unfortunately, the Republicans will not support this bill.
When you continue to take steps back you never progress. Whereas, if you take steps forward, you get where you are headed -- whether it is building a bridge or passing the ACA, it is progress... and that is what makes America great.
Going in reverse only lets you see where you have been, not where you are going in the future.
Drive, ambition and innovation are what make our society advance. Going forward keeps America a world-leader. In 2016, let's find Democratic candidates who will move the country forward.