Netanyahu and US Republicans’ Agenda as the Politics of ‘No’

The right-wing coalition of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains steadfast as the regime of “NO” regarding many issues, including no real negotiations with Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, no real commitment to finding a negotiated ceasefire settlement, no dismantling the so-called Jewish “settlements” on the West Bank, and definitely, no peace settlement that includes an independent Palestinian state.

This negative stance inhibits Israel, the Palestinians, and the entire region of the Middle East from escaping from the vicious cycle of hostility, recrimination, and violence that has only intensified since Netanyahu’s ascension to power.

Gazing into the looking glass of the United States, since the Democrats took over the Oval Office and both houses of Congress in the 2020 elections for two years, national unemployment rates have fallen considerably to pre-pandemic levels, and wages have risen.

Congress, with the help of President Biden, passed landmark legislation, including comprehensive COVID relief for free vaccines, masks, and home testing kits, and payments to struggling businesses and households.

For the first time since the Eisenhower administration, Congress passed a wide-ranging bi-partisan infrastructure bill to repair outdated and crumbling highways, bridges, sewage and water systems, and mass transit, and to extend internet access.

In addition, President Joe Biden has shown true leadership in bringing back together the Western alliance of nations to counter the unwarranted and brutal invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign nation, by the Russian Federation’s totalitarian regime under Vladimir Putin.

Despite this progress, Democrats have been falling in the polls primarily because of past inflation rates that have hit a 40-year high but have since receded dramatically. But what policy initiatives are the Republicans proposing for the voters to give them governing power?

As a political observer, I have recorded Republican talking points and agenda items since the last election, and I developed a preliminary and continually expanding list of items they will initiate if they hold majorities in the White House, Congress, and in the State Houses across the nation.

As it turned out, the list is composed of items that the Republicans will obliterate or take away rather than provide to the residents of the United States:

• No Abortion
• No Federal Funding of Reproductive Healthcare Clinics
• No National Healthcare Plan
• No Appropriate and Quick Response to Public Health Emergencies
• No Trust in Science
• No Paid Parental Leave
• No National Childcare Plan and No Eldercare Plan
• No Knowing about Critical Race Theory
• No Knowing about Race in Schools
• No Knowing about Gender in Schools
• No Knowing about Sexuality in Schools
• No Knowing of “Hard” History
• No Reading of Controversial Books
• No Bilingual Education Programs
• No Judges & Justices Nominated by Democrats
• No Marriage Equality
• No Public Accommodations for Trans People
• No Gender Confirmation Medical Procedures for Trans People
• No Separation of “Church & State” by instituting a patriarchal Christian White Supremacist Theocracy
• No Consumer Protections
• No Labor Unions & No Collective Bargaining
• No Guaranteed Federal Minimum Hourly Wage
• No Authority of the Federal Government over States
• No NATO & No United Nations
• No Limits on Fossil Fuel Emissions
• No Limits on Gas & Oil Drilling, Mining, & Deforestation
• No Cleaning of the Environment
• No Commitment to Clean Energy Sources
• No Gun Restrictions of Any Kind
• No Black & Brown Immigrants & No Immigration Reform
• No Path to Citizenship for Black & Brown Undocumented Immigrants
• No Police Reform
• No Public Safety Net Programs of Any Kind
• No Reductions on Student Loan Debt
• No Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
• No Reduction in Prescription Drug Prices
• No Voting Rights & No GOP Limits on Gerrymandering
• No Trust in the Electorate to Make Informed Decisions
• No Trust in Elections Unless Republicans Win
• No Equitable & Fair Tax Policies
• No Narrowing of the Massive Income & Wealth Gaps
• No Social Security, No Medicare, & No Medicaid
• No Government Regulations on Business & Industry
• No Prosecution of Capitol Insurrectionists & Any Republicans
• No Accountability
• No Ethics, No Truth, No Facts, No Decency
• No Desire to Govern Even When They Have the Power To Do So
• No Democracy

The Democrats must tell their story, the highlights as well of the items that need more time to improve. They must also tell the truth that the only thing the Republicans will do and say is “No.”

Netanyahu and his cronies need to take note from this cautionary tale.