We Are Not The Same

by Clayton Callahan, Washington County Democrats Communications Committee Member

One of the common laments I’m hearing from my more conservatively inclined acquaintances is that the Republican and Democratic parties are functionally the same. They decry the gridlock in our nation’s congress as emblematic of this problem and note how each party is made up of people beholden to big money interests. Interestingly, these sentiments are most commonly muttered after it’s pointed out that Trump has thus far completely failed to live up to his promise to resolve working class woes.

Now, I will admit to some level of sympathy for this opinion. Congress is, after all, made up of people who are forced to beg the rich and powerful for enough cash to lubricate their political campaigns, otherwise they’d fail to win elections in the first place. For this, we can thank the Republican dominated Supreme Court for its terrible Citizens United decision–but I digress. It is also true that—in the current state of affairs—our congress has time and again failed to bring about meaningful improvement in the lives of everyday people. However, just because both the vandal and the housepainter use paint, that does not mean that they are both the same class of professional.

When Democrats are in power, they consistently work to pass legislation that makes the lives of ordinary citizens better. For instance, there is the Affordable Care Act which allowed millions of our friends and neighbors to get health insurance for the first time in their lives. And once the wheel of fate cycled to put Republicans back in charge, what did they do? Simple, they shot as many holes in the ACA as possible to keep as many people as they could from affording basic care. Hell, in the first year of the last Trump regime, the GOP tried to repeal the ACA altogether even though they had no replacement plan at all!

Then after Trump lost in 2020, Democrats once again worked hard to get things done for regular people. Under Democratic control, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that Biden signed into law less than two months after stepping foot in the White House. Then came the CHIPS and Science Act that sought to incentivize new advanced tech manufacturing projects in the United States. And if you live in Washington County, you have personally seen the fruits of CHIPS as Intel experienced a huge local hiring boom in our community. Then came the PACT Act, wherein a more than quarter-trillion-dollar expansion of veteran healthcare opened up for service members you may know (like me).

And when the wheel turned again and Trump returned to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of ‘Merica, what did Republicans in congress do? Well, not much by legislation actually. Most of today’s GOP “accomplishments” have been through Trump’s executive orders wherein he’s driven prices up through his tariffs, terrorized our streets with masked ICE raids and soldiers, and then started construction on a 200-million-dollar ballroom nobody asked for. During this time, the Republican congress has largely done nothing but get out of the maniac’s way and cower behind their podiums. The GOPs signature legislative “achievement”, the “Big Beautiful Bill,” simply cut taxes for the rich (again), and drove up our deficit by a couple of trillion dollars that our children will one day have to figure out how to pay.

Good citizens, let me speak plainly: one of these things is not like the other. And in a democracy such as ours, one of these things just doesn’t belong.

While admitting that neither party will ever be perfect, it is clear that one is functioning as an instrument of the people and the other is acting as a sledgehammer for the powerful.

The fact that every now and then some stray individual Democrat gets caught in a corruption scandal cannot hide the fact that today’s Republican Party IS a corruption scandal lock, stock, and barrel!

So, to my conservative leaning acquaintances, I must beg to differ rather strongly. Both parties are not opposite sides of the same coin. In fact, one isn’t even a coin at all but rather a counterfeit wooden nickel. Now, if you are frustrated with our broken congress and want to see it mended–as I also do–first, please open your eyes to see where the crack lies. And if you are a Republican who’s aware enough to perceive this problem, I ask only that you do something to fix it. 

My solution? Stop comparing a rotten apple to a ripe orange and vote for the party that consistently serves our nation’s people better. And maybe, just maybe, if the Republicans lose enough elections, they may start behaving like they care about regular folks like us more than they do the rich wackos who write their checks.

Stay strong, everybody.