Protest against Trump administration family separation policy
Sometimes, the difference between Democrats and Republicans can be distilled to one word. Right now, that word in “inclusivity.” Donald Trump set the tone for this war over inclusivity when he announced his candidacy for president four years ago. In that hate-filled announcement speech, Trump attacked immigrants who come to the U.S. across the Mexican border, saying, “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” Since then, Trump instituted an anti-Muslim ban on foreign nationals entering the United States; instituted the inhumane family separation policy; hyped up false fears about a migrant “caravan” before the 2018 midterm elections; and even continues to try to build a Medieval-style wall on our southern border. This past Monday, Trump threatened to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants beginning as soon as next week.
Another area where Trump and the Republicans practice exclusion and hatred, besides on people of different races or ethnicities, is toward the LBGTQ community. In April, for example, Trump banned transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence has a history of hostility to gay rights, including marriage equality. Likewise, the GOP continues its War on Women, for instance, with state-level restrictions on abortion.
On the Democratic side, the contrast could not be more stark. First, the current Democratic Party Platform (adopted at their 2016 national convention) has many sections expressing the Party’s value of inclusivity, such as “Bring Americans Together and Remove Barriers to Opportunities” (which includes “Ending Systematic Racism” and “Reforming Our Criminal Justice System”), “Protect Our Values” (including “Women and Girls,” “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People,” “Religious Minorities”), and more.
In keeping with those stated values, Democratic elected officials, led by Nancy Pelosi in the now-Democratic majority House of Representatives, have taken numerous actions and votes, passed many bills and laws, and made countless statements to show that they think everyone in America should be included when it comes to civil rights, equality, and much more. Just a few of these many examples are:
— Passing a House bill to protect DREAMers;
— Passing multiple House bills on equality, paycheck fairness for women, voting rights, and, just two days ago, blocking funding for Trump’s transgender military ban. Of course, virtually all of these Democratic House bills are D.O.A. in the U.S. Senate controlled by Mitch McConnell and the Republicans. Nevertheless, Democratic House members are making it very clear where they stand when it comes to inclusivity.
Likewise, the Democratic candidates for president, including many elected officials, are out on the campaign trail demonstrating how inclusive they are on numerous issues. For example:
— South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg (himself an example of Democratic inclusiveness as a gay elected official) supports updating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to apply non-discrimination protections to the LGBTQ community;
— Julián Castro, former San Antonio, TX mayor and Obama administration Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and who is Hispanic, desires to reverse many Trump administration immigration policies, such as the aforementioned Muslim ban, the border wall, and cuts to refugee programs;
— U.S. Senator Cory Booker, who is black, has proposals for reforming the criminal justice system (which disproportionately punishes minorities), voting rights, and reproductive healthcare, including access to legal abortion and birth control;
— U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who jokes that she “has a plan” for just about everything, indeed has proposals to invest in historically black colleges and universities (“HBCUs”), as well as reproductive rights, college debt, and more.
The Democrats have a stellar list of examples to demonstrate how inclusive they are in their policies on many issues, especially compared to Donald Trump and the Republicans, and they largely agree on the goals, if not the specific means to achieve these goals. What would be even better is for these Democrats to run proudly on the fact that they, not the Republicans, are the party of inclusivity.
Photo by John MacDonald, used under Creative Commons license. https://www.flickr.com/photos/caw-johnny/33919829158/
