Alyson Atkins

Over the past couple of years, it has come to my attention that the right (i.e. “centrist” Democrats and all Republicans) continues to play a political game of hypocrisy. The centrists act as though they care about social issues, proclaiming oxymoronic “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” identities while Republicans continue to inch their way into corporate fascism. Regardless, even the DNC establishment often votes against the interests of the people, too.

Lately, issues started to plague the economic well-being of the average American more than usual, and even the centrist Democrats are standing up in an attempt to marginalize the proletariat (in favor of further consolidating power and wealth to their rich benefactors). Republicans have been working overtime to point fingers at the Biden administration, when the reality is that Democrats introduced bills to mitigate the effects of hyperinflation and supply chain issues on the average American.

The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act—introduced by centrists and progressives like Katie Porter; passed on partisan lines—is a bill that only mentions not allowing fuel companies to price gouge at the pump or anywhere else during times of emergency. Republicans effectively proved their position against the American people, with not one of them voting for the bill. Most people would assume that the Democrats packed the bill with other measures, but they didn’t not.

Another recent example of the same political tactics used by Republicans is evident on the issue of the baby formula shortage. While one bill to ease the burden of low-income parents’ access to formula through the WIC program was passed on bipartisan lines, a bill to appropriate the funds to eradicate the issue nationwide was passed through the house on entirely partisan lines. All but 12 Republicans voted nay, of course.

And why on Earth would they strike such bills? Republicans—and many centrist Democrats—do not think of politics as anything more than a game to keep them in power. Instead of using policy for good, they exploit legislation to line the pockets of corporations, billionaires, and themselves while placing the tax burden on the middle and lower classes. If you look closely, fuel prices and baby formula shortages were issues with bills proposed to directly address the problems—only for Republicans to vote nay and still complain about the said issues on social media and conservative news outlets.

While it may sometimes seem as though Republicans are the only ones that play the game of corruption in Washington, that is certainly not the case. In fact, the representatives in the Democratic Party that do not champion progressive policies are often culprits of corrupt practices, as well. One issue plaguing many people in the United States is access to quality healthcare without fear of going bankrupt for medical problems. This problem is pervasive, and there is one answer that would make healthcare affordable and accessible for all: Medicare For All (M4A).

M4A is consistently shot down by the Republican and centrist Democrat lawmakers alike, despite popular support and overwhelming evidence that the policy would save the average American—as well as the government—money. Not shockingly, Big Pharma spent $233 million per year from 1999 to 2018 on politicians and propaganda to ensure such a measure does not get passed into law. Two thirds of representatives up for election in 2020 accepted Pharma checks. These politicians will say that a measure like M4A doesn’t work and point to countries that struggle with their universal healthcare due to defunding, underfunding, and austerity. They resort to these haggard talking points because they can’t seem to come up with any real reasons why the policy wouldn’t benefit the average American. In effect, these same corrupt practices are why pharmaceutical prices continue to skyrocket in the U.S. despite bipartisan support for capping prices.

These issues can be fixed, but all Republicans—as well as the centrist Democrats—stand directly in the way. Both literally and figuratively, they cannot afford to work against the interest of their clandestine benefactors, the extremely small group of super-wealthy plutocrats behind Big Pharma. To quote Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776), “All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind.”

Though the phenomenon of hypocrisy in the government has always existed, it takes a more watchful eye to see through misinformation. Republicans and centrist Democrats alike are culprits of keeping effective, tangible change from happening. They are responsible for this, as the news outlets that personify their existence will typically fixate on ‘issues’ raised in their manufactured culture war instead of focusing on the real problems we face. The culture wars will only continue to evolve in the form of surface-level social issues packaged in histrionic polemics, further polarizing the American public until everyone sides with one of two groups—each represented by politicians who push virtually the same policies, i.e. ones that perpetuate a corrupt system.