Evangelist Franklin Graham has decided to leave the Republican Party in protest after watching Congress pass a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill that will continue to provide federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
“Shame on the Republicans and the Democrats for passing such a wasteful spending bill last week,” Graham said on Facebook. “And to top it off, funding Planned Parenthood!”
Graham went as far as to compare Planned Parenthood’s rhetoric with Hilter’s Germany. “Seeing and hearing Planned Parenthood talk nonchalantly about selling baby parts from aborted fetuses with utter disregard for human life is reminiscent of Joseph Mengele and the Nazi concentration camps!,” he wrote. “That should’ve been all that was needed to turn off the faucet for their funding. Nothing was done to trim this 2,000 page, $1.1 trillion budget.”
Graham said he was no longer optimistic about the future of the country. “I have no hope in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, or Tea Party to do what is best for America,” he wrote. “Unless more godly men and women get in this process and change this wicked system, our country is in for trouble.”
Conservatives who were wary about Paul Ryan’s ascent to Speaker got plenty of evidence to support their skepticism when this bill passed. Not only is the spending itself out of control, but the bill gave the Obama White House practically everything they could have hoped to get. And after months of speculation that Planned Parenthood could trigger a stalemate and a government shutdown, Republicans passed the bill with nary a fight.
There is still some hope that Ryan will turn things around in the coming year; this bill’s passing may have been orchestrated before he took over. But that hope is dim and uninspiring. Again and again, the GOP establishment over-promises and under-delivers. Now there’s talk of bringing Planned Parenthood to the floor next year. And they will probably pass another meaningless bill that can’t pass the Senate, much less avoid an Obama veto. This may let them turn to the voters and shrug and say, “We tried,” but it doesn’t do a damn thing to actually change the country.
If Republicans don’t get their act together soon, Graham won’t be the last man to leave the party behind. The rise of Donald Trump and the ousting of John Boehner proves that many Americans do not feel they are being represented in Washington. And the Republican Party as a machine has turned its back on these voters, viciously attacking both Trump and the congressional Freedom Caucus. Yet they still want that base to come out and support their pre-packaged candidates.
When another Graham – Lindsey – dropped out of the race this week, he said that the 2016 primaries would be a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. He’s absolutely right. This is the year we find out whether there is any heart and soul left in this party. The fact that outsiders like Trump and Carson have made such a splash should be a pretty clear indication of what the voters think. And the continued funding of Planned Parenthood should be a pretty clear indication that they’re right.
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