I must admit, I didn't see the movie, but figured the main character must be evil and, well, despicable. When I read the plot, I found out I was partially right. Gru started out evil, but when he adopted three orphan girls, he changed. My question is: What do we have to do to change the hatred and evil ways of the Republican Party so that they love something like... their country?
I find it amazing that the people shouting for transparency are the ones also covering up things. For instance, Darrell Issa continues to say his party wants the truth about Benghazi. Yet, when Elias Cummings commented on the one-sided proceeding, Issa turned his microphone off so he couldn't speak. Outraged, Cummings fought back. We all know the truth about Benghazi. There have been eight special hearings, 25,000 pages of documents, thousands of hours, and taxpayer dollars spent. Instead of using the orphans, like Gru did, to benefit themselves, these Republicans have chosen the death of four Americans to raise money, even though the families asked them not to.
John Boehner, one of the greatest super villains of our time, continues the Party's Benghazi quest by calling another special committee together to investigate it yet again. Instead of wasting all this time and money, why don't the Republicans focus on real issues -- jobs, immigration, climate change, the crumbling infrastructure, etc? Why can't Boehner find the good inside of him like Gru and work to solve the country's economic problems? How can Boehner be so despicable that he can overlook the wishes of the majority?
In the movie, there are many villains who live in a happy suburbia. In our country, there are many villains that live within our Republican Party...
Paul Ryan might come to mind when you consider his rehashed budget continues to cut taxes for the rich, increases the deficit dramatically and takes away the safety nets from the elderly, poor and veterans.
Eric Cantor who opposed abortion, food stamps, raising the minimum wage, same-sex marriage and other equalities for Americans could be compared to Gru's rival Victor who loves everything evil. Even though Cantor has not accomplished anything under the Obama administration, far right wing extremists and voters who used to support him, finally had enough.
Mitch McConnell is one of the most devious, obstructionist and evil villains in the Senate. His latest lie is that you can repeal Obamacare/ACA and Kentuckians can keep their Kynect, which is funded by the ACA. That is blatantly false. He wants to take health care away from nearly half a million people for his own political gain.
Our Bank of Evil Employees might include...
Michael Grimm, a New York Republican, who threatened to "break" a local reporter in half and throw him off the Capitol balcony and who is currently under investigation by federal prosecutors for rampant fraud.
Vance McAllister, from Louisiana, who ran his successful campaign on family values, but then was videotaped kissing a staffer. Did I mention both the staffer and McAllister are married?
Rick Scott funded his campaign for governor of Florida with his own money. So why is he under consideration for minion? Because Scott ran for governor using $75 million of the $350 million in stock he walked away with after he was forced to resign as CEO of Columbia/HCA. He was required to pay a nominal $9.88 million in settlement for Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Columbia/HCA also pled guilty to 14 felonies and agreed to a $600+ million fine (the largest fraud settlement in U.S. history). In addition, HCA admitted to striking illegal deals with home care agencies, filing false data about use of hospital space and systematically overcharging the government for "reimbursable" marketing costs. The government settled a second series of similar claims with Columbia/HCA in 2002 for an additional $881 million. The total for the two fines was $1.7 billion.
The minions might include...
Thom Tillis who believes free speech only applies if you agree with him. In North Carolina, he had 12 people arrested for a quiet protest. They were protesting one of his conservative rulings.
Republicans say the First Amendment entitles them to all the money they want in campaigns, because money equals free speech. Who knew free speech really isn't free?
Ted Cruz, the tea party hot head who shut the government down is dangerous and one to fear. He is against immigration reform, although he comes from immigrant parents. He has fanatical views on minimum wage, women's healthcare, guns and government.
Rick Perry, the four-term governor of Texas, is contemplating a second run for President. Some people just love making fools of themselves. Perry's state has the highest uninsured numbers in the country and he refused Medicaid expansion. He closed Planned Parenthood clinics and took away women's primary health care in many rural areas. How despicable is that?
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, now embroiled in a campaign funds scandal, promised to create at least 250,000 jobs by the end of his first term. He is falling far short of his goal and has devastated his state by getting rid of all workers' rights.
Dave Wilson, a perpetual conservative Republican failure who was tired of losing, became a marketing master of disguise. Wilson, a white guy in a mostly African-American district, misled voters to think he was black. Wilson, in a razor thin victory, emerged as the surprise winner over 24-year incumbent Bruce Austin, upsetting numerous Houstonians. His rationale: "Every time a politician talks, he's out there deceiving voters."
Chris Christie can be included in this evil pack with the Bridgegate scandal, the Sandy funds mishandling and the pension fund questions. His hide-and-seek skills with government contracts and his threats to people if they don't cooperate with his agenda will serve him well in the role of evil minion.
There are many other candidates that were not mentioned but that could certainly be included in our list of super villains, bank of evil employees or minions in our Despicable Republican Party. Feel free to write-in the candidate(s) you believe to be the most despicable, villainous Republicans today and why...