Ashley Pierce is a political science freshman and Mustang Daily conservative columnist.
I was in an economics class in high school in which the teacher drew a line on the board representing the political spectrum. He placed liberals on the left, conservatives on the right. The extreme left he labeled socialists (a peaceful serene tone in his voice) while he simply pointed to the extreme right of the line stating “racists.”
The Republican Party and conservatives in general do not have the skill or ability as of late to properly communicate to the general public what their cause and stance truly is on political issues. Their lack of articulation is best demonstrated through the eyes of the media that has been stereotyping conservatives as racists, sexists, greedy and selfish monsters (I only wish we were that cool as to have fangs and spikey tails).
These generalizations couldn’t be farther from the truth and conservatives must find words to make that clear if they wish for a GOP victory four years from now (unless President Obama has since decreed himself King of America through his much loved use of executive order). For those out there who still carry prejudice and stereotypes against conservatives, I wish to take the time to explain some of the GOP’s positions and why labels such as “greedy” are inaccurate.
The common action of the GOP that promotes its “racism” is its stance to block the borders and force immigrants to come into the country legally. Yes, that’s right folks, legally. We are such evil, evil monsters. We even have a whole website dedicated to us entitled “republicansareracists.com” (isn’t that charming?).
It’s not that conservatives are racists and hate Hispanics, it’s that they recognize that in a country crumbling under a $16 trillion deficit, we can’t afford to have people residing in our country free of taxes (especially when Democrats are so insistent on raising them). Conservatives also are seen as racists for not supporting the Dream Act. I’m half Mexican and even I can’t support the act when we have actual citizens of this country unable to afford college. If Democrats are going to insist that the government provide more welfare, then it should be going to American citizens at least. It’s not a hatred of immigrant students, of not wanting them to achieve and get an education; it’s caring for American citizens first — and that very well includes legal immigrants.
Conservatives are seen as sexists in part because of the stereotype of Republicans being only old, white males, but that’s only because the public has shaped the party as such. Any conservative who defies that stereotype is put down almost immediately by the media.
Sarah Palin, a conservative woman?! Gasp! The news media was in uproar and she was labeled as an idiot before the election season was over. Michelle Bachman? Her “crazy-eyed” front page cover of Newsweek Magazine still haunts us in our sleep, but who picked that photo? The Newsweek staff of course! They chose to make her look ridiculous and the public stopped taking her seriously as result.
Both of these women were obviously intelligent to have gotten as far as they did in their political careers, but the minute it came to the attention of the masses, they were twisted into silly laughable characters. Sarah Palin was the poster child of the Tea Party movement, hardly a sexist move by conservatives. Both women were embraced by conservatives; the masses rejected them, not the GOP.
What else are conservatives seen as? The money hoarding one percent. Type into Google the words “Republicans” and “greedy” and the top hits are an article from US News discussing the history of money bag Republicans and links titled “Why are Republicans so greedy?” or the equivalent asked by five different people on Yahoo Answers. Apparently that is a popular inquiry along with questions about high school biology homework.
The public fails to recognize that conservatives have the belief that the government in general should be less involved in our lives. The reason taxes are high at the moment is because of a swell in government services and programs. Conservatives feel that the government should let us do as we please with our finances and provide fewer services.
Now I know what all liberals are thinking right now (if they are still suffering through this article). “But welfare!” they scream in an uproar. See, conservatives have the view that welfare is much better taken care of by nonprofit organizations such as church charities, and they’re right. According to economist James Rolph Edwards, only 30 percent of government-funded charity is given to people who actually are in need, versus 65 percent of total revenue or more given from private charities. It’s not greediness, it’s an understanding that welfare has a way of keeping the poor in poverty rather than teaching them how to better sustain themselves.
As for the implication that we’re all monsters, most people have developed Republican beliefs simply for the ability to breathe fire, hide in the closets of small children and the clown face paint. It’s just too hard to pass up. What can I say, we just really like the perks of being able to destroy whole cities in one Big Gulp (a perk Mayor Michael Bloomberg will never know).