Some signs of polarization are more subtle than others. Decreases in the number of bills passed, public disagreements between the White House and the Capitol and conservative and liberal splits in the Supreme Court are all examples of the growing gap between the left and right side of the American political spectrum.
However, a progressive group based out of Washington D.C. has overstepped the bounds of political polarization. The liberal Agenda Project Action Fund (APAF) has released a new commercial titled “Republican Cuts Kill.” The video features prominent Republican leaders from the Senate and the House saying the word cut in quick film clips, then flashes back to images of health workers in hazmat suits and dead African victims of Ebola. The Action Fund is airing the commercial in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Dakota and Kansas which are the main swing states in the race for the majority in the Senate.
Erica Payne, producer of the ad and president of the group said, “I think that the blame for the situation that we’re in now with the Ebola crisis is 100 percent the fault of Republicans and their fanatical anti-government philosophy,” she then added, “they did this.”
Payne and the Action Fund were also responsible for the “Granny Off the Cliff” video featuring a man in a suit throwing an elderly woman off of a cliff. The 2011 ad was a call to arms against Paul Ryan and his fellow conservative’s mission to privatize Medicare.
These two ads illustrate the extreme polarization that is plaguing America. While it is true that the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative’s funding has nearly halved since 2006, entirely blaming Republicans for the Ebola outbreak is a poorly played political card for the midterm. Both sides of the isle are to blame for situations such as this where polarization trumps sensible actions. Americans should be outraged that their country’s politicians are more interested in taking swings at each other rather than fighting the problems facing this nation.
The one year anniversary of the federal government reopening is this Friday, but little work is actually being done. The only accomplishment of the 113th Congress in recent memory was the passage of the bill to arm Syrian rebels until Dec. 11. When a democracy is only able to compromise and pass a bill for protection from the most extreme Jihadist group yet, it is an obvious indication polarization has gone too far.
This country is facing a breaking point. America’s leaders must decide whether their own views, liberal or conservative, are more important than compromise for the sake of returning the United States to its spot as the premier world leader. If those leaders choose in favor of their own views, they must be voted out. In making the decision of who to vote for this November, voters should be repulsed by ads such as “Republican Cuts Kill.” They should not inform themselves with biased columns and articles bashing the other side.
In this election the informed voter should support the candidate who promises to vote moderately for the good of their constituents. Candidates who promote their own views and ideas, rather than mudslinging their opponent’s, should be voted into office no matter what party they’re from. This November vote for moderate progress, not political stagnation.
Do you believe that polarization is ruining our nations political system? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
