Modern “republicans” seem to be taking an opposite viewpoint to what my father would have recognized as republican.

Republicans stand for:

• not interfering with any activity done by consenting adults in their own homes
• not trusting anyone who claims that god is on their side
• simple transparent approaches to taxation and government, no complicated schemes, no special interest deals
• trusting people to make their own medical decisions
• not permitting exploitation or destruction of commonly held resources
• the wealthy have a moral obligation to help fund basic services for those less fortunate

Modern “republicans” seem to favor

• exploiting fears and prejudices to get elected even if it means interfering with private activity
• not only claiming that god is on their side but that any reasonable diversity of opinion should be labeled as evil
• complicated taxes and secret no bid contracts, special interest deals
• interfering with doctor/patient decisions
• tax breaks for polluters, subsidized pipelines for exploiters, sweetheart deals for the connected few

Since it is difficult to cut through rhetoric, permit me to list some simple republican ideas we should be able to support

1. the tax code should fit on 1 page
2. the government has no business moralizing, telling adults what they can and can not do if they are doing no harm to others, telling adults what medical procedures they should or should not have
3. permitting a few to exploit and pollute commonly held resources
4. the richest should pay a tax on their wealth every year to help support the disabled, demented, disadvantaged, for instance if the 1% paid a 3% tax health care could be free for everyone