Petty Republicans

So the U.S. government has finally gone into shutdown, but not like the last couple of times it was threatened when it was the issue of budgetary constraints which was the primary sticking point; the issue now is universal healthcare. That’s right, a significant portion of the Republican Party is appalled that hard-working Americans should be entitled to visit a hospital for treatment without paying extortionate amounts of money or enrolling in private insurance programmes which can often go to great lengths to not pay out on claims. I imagine these right-wing politicians think that the British National Health Service – one of the fairest healthcare systems in the world – represents some form of communism! It’s time that American citizens were put before party politics, and the Republicans need to grow up and understand that this level of petty immaturity will only cause their party to eventually disintegrate from within.

South Carolina Nutcases

The Republican Party in the USA is, in my opinion, basically a party for rich people. When the Presidential elections take place in November, I will be staunchly hoping for a re-election of Barack Obama; even though I’m English and will not have a say in American politics, I know that the Democrats are better for the world, i.e. more peaceful. But it is still important to monitor the process of deciding who will represent the Republicans. On Saturday, South Carolina voted for Newt Gingrich (that’s right, he’s named after an amphibian!). Although this is the first state to declare him their favourite, it is still a disconcerting phenomenon. He is the most socially conservative of the remaining contenders. In the United States, socially conservative is often viewed in high esteem, but what it actually means is that abortion will not be funded even in the most extreme of cases, and the teaching of creationism will probably be given priority in schools rather than evolution. If Newt actually became President at the end of this year, the world may very well be in just as much trouble as when George W. Bush decided that invading Iraq was generally risk-free. Mitt Romney is still the most likely contender to win the race, but there are still some genuine concerns about his past tax returns (he’s only releasing details of the previous two years; what’s hiding before that?). Personally, I would love to see Ron Paul represent the Republican Party; eccentric as he is, he’s the most honest and trustworthy politician that I’ve seen in a long time. But he was sadly in fourth place in South Carolina. They must be mad.