Are Democrats Really Just as Bad as The GOP?

Photo by Jack Corn, Wiki Commons

Don’t believe the right-wing media lies

Conservatives often respond to criticism of Trump and other Republicans with the line, “the Democrats are just as bad.” Sometimes they’ll even add that the Democrats used to protect the working class, but now they’re just “woke” extremists. This has been the narrative on right-wing media and they’re buying it hook, line, and sinker. The only problem is it simply isn’t true. Two recent news stories that largely went under the radar of most news outlets show exactly what I’m talking about.

Texas Republicans

The first example is a bill that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed into law that would prohibit cities from mandating construction workers get water breaks. Republicans passed the bill along party lines with nearly all Democrats in opposition. Austin and Dallas had passed laws mandating employers give construction workers at least a 10-minute water break every 4 hours. That’s the extreme wokeism the Republicans are up in arms about. 

The difference between the parties on this issue is stark. The Democratic led cities saw construction worker’s health being jeopardized by the Texas heat and corporate greed. They responded by passing common-sense rules to let workers get mandated water breaks. Texas Republicans saw a potential decrease in profits and banned cities from mandating these water breaks. The priorities of the two parties were laid bare for anyone who was watching. 

The Biden Administration

While Texas Republicans were protecting corporate profits from mandated water breaks, the Biden administration was instituting a new rule to protect coal miners. Again, the contrast between the parties is clear. Republicans care about the coal, Democrats care about the miners. Black lung disease has been on the rise the last couple of decades after being mostly eliminated by the 1990s. Last year the 5 Democratic senators from the Appalachian states wrote a letter pushing for tighter regulation of silica dust in mines. Interesting that none of the Republican Senators choose to sign the letter. The previous rule allowed miners to be exposed to twice the level of silica dust as other workers. The new standard eliminates that loophole and lowers the acceptable level for miners to the same as other workers.

These are just two examples, but we see this play out over and over again. Republican led legislatures have pushed to loosen rules on child labor, to make it harder to sue over unsafe working conditions, and to eliminate regulations over industrial waste. Democrats, on the other hand have proposed rules to protect gig workers, to limit forever chemicals in drinking water and to prevent industrial chemical spills. Republicans are doing the bidding of their big corporate donors, while Democrats are protecting the rights of workers and consumers.

The Takeaway

If you want to be cynical you could say that both parties are just doing what they think will get them into power. Fair enough. Republicans have decided the way to get into power is raise as much money as possible from big donors who want to maximize corporate profits. Democrats have determined the way to win elections is to promote policies that benefit average people. Maybe the Democrats are promoting these policies because they really believe in them, or maybe it’s just to win votes. Does it really matter if the result is better policy. 

The parties are not alike. Look at what the parties are doing instead of the clickbait news headlines. If you’re a conservative, you’ve been abandoned by the Republican party. You might not like everything the Democrats are doing, but at least they’re working to make the country better rather than making billionaires richer.