The Senate defeated a Republican bill on Thursday that “would have curtailed assistance for thousands of Afghans evacuated last month,” Reuters reported (here).
All 50 GOP senators voted to “cut off housing, medical, food and other aid for the resettled Afghans after March 31, 2023,” Reuters said. Only a month ago, they were criticizing the Biden administration for not getting more of them out of Afghanistan.
Their attitude toward these Afghans mirrors how they treat women who seek abortions. They force them give birth, then vote against food assistance, child care subsidies, and other necessary support for raising those children.
It’s driven by ideology, a determination to interfere in other people’s lives, lack of compassion, and unbridled hypocrisy.
People aren’t perfect, and our social systems need to take that into account, if we want a functioning society. There’s room for some generosity; we can afford it. Politics shouldn’t be entirely selfish. A majority of Americans understand this, and it’s one of the reasons why the GOP is a minority party. They don’t have to be, no one makes them be that way. They could change if they want to.
Related stories: Republicans oppose resettling Afghan refugees in their states (story here); Fox’s Tucker Carlson falsely blames U.S. housing shortage on influx of refugees (story here).