Why Have The Republicans Abandoned Individual Rights ?

There was a time when the Republican Party, and conservatives in general, stood up for the rights of the individual. They once believed that if a choice had to be made between individual rights and the right of government, the choice should be made to come down on the side of individual rights.

That is no longer true. It started in the 1960's when women and minorities were able to secure at least some rights. As the Democrats supported those rights, millions of racists and misogynists fled the Democratic Party -- and the Republican Party was happy to embrace them. I think at that time they thought they could use them to create a majority, but could control them. They were wrong. The racists, misogynists, and other bigots are now in control of that party.

It had reached the point where the only rights they respected were those of well-to-do white men. Now, it looks like they are willing to even throw them under the bus, and support government all the way (i.e., Big Brother).

A judge recently ordered Apple to provide the government with a way to unlock the encryption app available to I-Phone users. The government says it would only be used to access the phone of the San Bernardino shooters. That is simply not to be believed. That same tool could be used to access millions of other I-Phones owned by Americans, and the government has shown us many times in the past that if they can do something, they will do it. It would also give hackers and criminals the ability to access those phones.

Where do the Republicans come down on this issue? Every single Republican presidential candidate (one of which will be the future leader of the party) has come down on the side of the government. They simply don't think any American should have a right to privacy.

Why is this? It's because they have made a crass political decision. They have decided that fear works better to get votes than standing up for rights. They have been trying to scare Americans with the specter of terrorism, and seem to have convinced people that they are in great danger of being a victim of islamic terrorists (with a terrorist hiding behind every corner). It's ludicrous, of course. Americans have a greater danger of being hit by lightening than being killed by a terrorist.

But that fear-mongering has worked well for the Republicans, and they aren't about to change now. Votes from scared people are more important to them than individual rights for American citizens. I have to think that conservative giants of the past would be ashamed of today's Republican Party -- because that party has become the party of big government -- a government with the right to spy on its citizens.

It seems that the modern Republican Party only believes in two rights these days -- the right of state (and federal) governments to deny rights, and the right of rich people to avoid paying taxes.

Remember this when you go to vote next November.

(The image of the frightened elephant above is by DonkeyHotey.)