I have discovered that all of my problems with the Republican Party can be conveniently condensed into one issue. That issue is ethics. Merriam-Webster defines ethics as "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation," "a set of moral principles or values," "a theory or system of moral values," "the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group" and "a guiding philosophy."
I disagree with the GOP's apparent new definition of torture. I do not share their moral principles or values. This is a matter of ethics.
I disagree with the GOP's plan to pass off privatization of Social Security as a cure for the system's future fiscal issues. This is dishonest and a matter of ethics.
I disagree with the GOP's recent manipulation of the House of Representatives ability to enforce ethics. This shows the party's lack of respect for ethics.
I disagree with the GOP's intention to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent. This is the single largest contributor to our national debt. Putting your debt off to future generations is unfair to those future generations and is a matter of ethics.
I disagree with the GOP's intention to amend our Constitution to discriminate against a minority group of Americans. This is a matter of ethics.
I disagree with the GOP's obfuscation and outright lies in regard to what information was known about the threat of terrorism prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This is dishonest and a matter of ethics.
I disagree with the GOP's willingness to pay journalists to clandestinely promote the Party's positions on various issues. This is dishonest and a matter of ethics.
I have many more of these disagreements and I'm sure that everyone out in Kos land can add to this list. What I'd really like to see, though, is for this to become the Democratic mantra. The Republicans do much better than the Democrats when it comes to framing the negatives of the opposition. I want to see the Democratic Party become the party of ethics. I want every Democratic member of Congress to begin their responses to Republican measures and issues with the statement, "It's a matter of ethics, this budget strips away vital support for the poorest Americans while giving the richest among us a tax cut." "It's a matter of ethics, indefinitely detaining persons without giving them a day in court is against all of the principles America stands for..." "There they go again, Wolf, it's a matter of ethics, there were no controls put in place for the distribution of the billions of dollars of reconstruction money. Now it can't be tracked and we don't know whether it went toward the seemingly insurmountable task of restoring electricity and water or ended up with insurgents."