If our major political parties were to undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether Republicans or Democrats are acting most crazy, there's no doubt who would be committed to a mental hospital for some serious treatment.
The Republican Party, of course.
There's so many current examples of this -- including the perennial favorite, how the lying, incompetent, democracy-defying, obnoxious Donald Trump is the clear favorite to be the GOP presidential nominee in 2024 -- that I'm going to limit myself to two issues that are particularly dangerously crazy.
Abortion and Ukraine.
Look, I've got no problem with Republicans opposing abortion. There's decent reasons to be against abortion, though I find much stronger reasons on the side of a woman's right to choose her own reproductive health care.
What is totally inexcusable is heartlessness that goes beyond the typical Republican position on abortion.
That's what is happening in Texas, where Kate Cox, a woman who already had two children, and was pregnant with a third, learned that the fetus had a serious genetic medical condition that almost certainly meant it would die at birth or shortly after.
Further, Cox had been admitted to an Emergency Room four times during her pregnancy. After a hearing, a Texas judge had ruled that she was entitled to an abortion under Texas law. But Ken Paxton, the horrible Texas Attorney General, threatened hospitals where her doctor practiced with criminal and civil consequences if Cox got an abortion.
So Cox was forced to go out of state for her abortion. She already was under a huge amount of stress due to the disappointment of learning that not only wouldn't her child live after being born, but her chance of ever becoming pregnant again would be at risk if she went ahead with the pregnancy.
This is what Republicans have become: nasty, hateful, preachy controllers of women's bodies. They have no compassion, no empathy, no caring for what Kate Cox and other women who are forced by medical circumstances to choose an abortion are going through.
Back when Democrats were trying to bring health care to many millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act, Republicans railed about government coming between a person and their doctor. Yet that is exactly what they are doing in Texas and elsewhere: coming between pregnant women and their doctors.
Then there's Ukraine.
After Putin, the dictator of Russia, invaded Ukraine almost two years ago there was pleasing unanimity between Republicans and Democrats that this unprovoked attack on a strong European ally of the United States had to be fought.
So our country, along with many other nations, imposed strict sanctions on Russia. Military equipment desperately needed by Ukraine was provided to this brave country. Other humanitarian support was given to Ukraine whose people were suffering from war crimes by Russia.
Now, though, Republicans in Congress are blocking an aid package for Ukraine that also includes billions for Israel, Taiwan, and securing our southern border.
The party of Ronald Reagan, who presided over the demise of the Soviet Union, has changed into a party that wants Russia to succeed in its invasion of Ukraine, apparently because Trump likes how Russia interfered in the 2016 election on his behalf.
This is disgusting. It's unAmerican. It's unpatriotic. It's giving aid and comfort to our enemy, Russia.
It's also encouraging China to invade Taiwan, since if additional support to Ukraine is cut off after less than two years of war between that country and Russia, China knows that the United States will be unlikely to support Taiwan for very long if it invades their smaller neighbor that, like Russia, they believe rightfully belongs to them.
My mother was a lifelong Republican. I grew up reading National Review and William F. Buckley. I understand the appeal of conservatism. But if my mother were alive today, she'd be appalled at what the Republican Party has become.
So am I.
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