Republican chaos

by Donald Gardner, Corvallis

Many Montanans, like people across the country, have a tough time making ends meet and paying bills for essential needs. The Republican party has the political power in our state and nationally. What are these folks with Rs behind their names doing with their power and what are they doing to help the voters who gave them power? Policing the hall bathrooms? Is that helping you find affordable childcare? Slapping tariffs on our friendly neighbors, Canada and Mexico? How is that working out for Montana farmers and ranchers trying to make a living selling their products on the global market? How is that helping shoppers afford produce at the grocery store or buy a car or truck built with steel and parts from those countries? Or how does it help a contractor find affordable lumber to build needed housing? Making sure the almost nonexistent transgender boy isn’t playing on a girls’ sports team? How is that helping you find affordable health care? 

Keep in mind that Republican representative, Ryan Zinke, voted for over $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid while the Republican U.S. Congress looks for a way to allocate $4.5 trillion to extend tax breaks for the wealthy. Representative Zinke is more interested in reminding anybody within earshot that he was a Navy Seal and making sure any camera within a half mile captures him wearing his cowboy hat than he is in helping Montanans in need.

The Republicans in power aren’t interested in governing and finding ways to help the voters who continue to put them in power. Culture wars and chaos aren’t helping Montanans trying to find affordable childcare, food, housing and healthcare. These are the issues that are important to families and the issues the Democratic party has always fought for. But these issues keep getting put on the shelf so that those currently in power can showboat and “own the libs.”