This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Why do voters keep voting for Republicans? It should be apparent by now that Republican leaders don't support average working Americans. This is true at the state and national level. Locally, they won't even consider expanding Medicaid until next year for our poorest citizens. We are not "A Pretty, Great State" until everyone has access to affordable quality health care. We should cancel the legislators' health care coverage (for all who have voted against expansion) until they provide health care coverage to our poorest citizens.
Nationally, Republicans vote to shut the government down. They won't allow comprehensive immigration reform. They want to voucherize Medicare, and they want to sell off our federal lands. They only want tax cuts (which mostly benefit the rich and starve needed programs) and to cut regulation (then allowing their rich donors to fleece the rest of us).
There is an alternative. Democrats do have compassion for the average working citizen. They support education, expansion of our infrastructure, fiscal responsibility, protection of our federal lands, and protection of our water and air. Our country is only strong when average citizens prosper.
We have no one to blame for our current government but ourselves.
Mark Rothacher
Salt Lake City