God, country, and money. Or, the Republican Party platform

BY MARYANNE RAFKA, Guest Writer

With the election just over a month away, both the Republican and the Democratic parties are running around trying to rally up as many votes as possible.

But by now, it has become clear which party will win which vote. We have known for a while that the Republican party will not win the African-American vote (what else is new) and Mitt Romney kissed the female vote goodbye by choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate (Personhood Amendment anyone?).

But lately, the Republican party has been pushing away other groups of people – Latinos, the poor, the working class, and, in recent polls, many of the elderly.

So, who is left for the Republicans?

Plainly speaking, the rich, the white men, and the religious. And this election mainly focused on the economy, the rich are taking priority over everyone else.

In his secretly leaked video where he was addressing rich donors to his campaign, Mitt Romney said it loud and clear: “47% of Americans are dependent on the government…and my job is not to worry about them.”

By alienating almost half of the American country, Mitt Romney kissed the election goodbye. But is the problem really with Mitt, or is the Republican party? Mitt was merely saying what every other member of the Republican party says internally: “we don’t care about you if you’re not rich.”

This, reflected in their policies since the 1980s, has caused enormous income inequality and catered to the rich. Why many poor Americans continue to vote Republican is mainly because of social issues, which the Republicans are on the wrong side of in this progressive new era where young people are more liberal than ever before.

When most Americans support same-sex marriage and gay rights and you don’t; when most Americans support abortion, at least in cases of rape and incest, and you don’t; when most Americans are happy with the health care bill and you’re not; when most Americans believe the rich should pay more and you don’t – the problem isn’t with the beliefs of most Americans, the problem is with you.

So when we hear the Republican party pundits speaking of renewing the part with new members, they need to understand that it doesn’t matter who they elect; the problem isn’t with Republicans, it’s with the Republican party.