For a long time Republicans denied there was an aspect of class warfare in their message whenever an event threatened the fabric of our society. Their solution to every problem was tax cuts for the rich. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said,
“I see this as the president returning to the theme of class warfare,” said Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois. “It may have been effective in 2012, but I don’t find it to be effective anymore. I think, frankly, he’s out of ideas if he is unwilling to work with Republicans, and I think he is unwilling to work with Republicans.”
So the typical refrain from Republicans has been that if there is class warfare we didn't start it. Obama did. Of course Obama has all but begged the Republicans to work with him, but their strategy has been to oppose him at every turn. Moreover, it is actually the Republican ideology that has led our country into class warfare and not Obama.
Currently in Baltimore you have a situation happening where due to the tragic death of another African American riots are taking place. However, I believe the riots are a symptom of a larger problem. Baltimore did not become a powder keg overnight. It has a long history of problems. In fact the problems in Baltimore are not racial. Michael A. Fletcher of the Washington Post writes,
Baltimore is not Ferguson and its primary problems are not racial. The mayor, city council president, police chief, top prosecutor, and many other city leaders are black, as is half of Baltimore’s 3,000-person police force. The city has many prominent black churches and a line of black civic leadership extending back to Frederick Douglass.
Yet, the gaping disparities separating the haves and the have not's in Baltimore are as large as they are anywhere. And, as the boys on the street will tell you, black cops can be hell on them, too.
So the problems in Baltimore stem from having two America's. An idea the Republicans reject because it goes against their economic belief in the trickle down theory. A theory that has proven time and again to be destructive. As Bill Maher said, "It’s never worked and it never will work for good reason. Because it is like three dogs and giving a wiener to one of them and thinking, ‘He will share it with the others.,'"
Lest you think there are not two America's here are some facts from Bob Burnett at HuffPO.
1. Since the Reagan administration, the gap between the rich and poor has grown to an unprecedented degree due to conservative policies. In 2011, the Congressional Budget Office found that between 1979 and 2007, "After-tax income for the highest-income households grew more than it did for any other group... 275 percent for the top 1 percent of households, 65 percent for the next 19 percent, just under 40 percent for the next 60 percent, and 18 percent for the bottom 20 percent." A recent Gallup Poll found that only one-third of respondents believed the current distribution of money and wealth is "fair" and 59 percent felt they should be more evenly distributed. 52 percent felt the government "should redistribute wealth by heavy taxes on the rich."
2. Since 1980 the wages of working people have declined because of the Republican class war. Economist Robert Reich observed: "Nearly 55 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 have experienced at least a year in poverty or near poverty... Half of all American children have at some point during their childhoods relied on food stamps."
3. Republicans in the 113th Congress haven't addressed jobs or inequality. In fact the Republican-controlled House of Representatives hasn't done much of anything. In 2013 Congress sent a record low number of bills to the White House. (Instead of working on America's economic problems the House voted 47 times to defund Obamacare.)
4. Rather than address jobs, in October the Republican-controlled House of Representatives shut down the government for 16 days. This damaged the economy.
Certainly there is a racial divide in this country that has to be healed. However, these wounds are exacerbated by a financial system that creates a huge gap between the two America's. We need more politicians like Elizabeth Warren and less politicians who continue to rely on the dis-proven economic policy of trickle down theory. We need to write a tax code that is fair, we need to close the loopholes that allow companies to hide profits off shore, and we need to have meaningful regulations that punish those who break the law. Finally, Americans need to stop voting against their self interest. Republicans do not represent GOD, apple pie, and the flag anymore than Democrats. What they represent is a greedy small minority who only care about amassing wealth no matter what the cost. It's time to use your vote and trickle these bastards out of office.