I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. While I believe in free market economics, big business and the wealthy have done everything possible to distort the market against workers and in favor of themselves. Both parties are to blame for this, but the Republicans have been far worse than the democrats. For instance, the science on climate change is now very solid. The adverse effects are possibly worse than even the worst predictions of scientists, yet the Republicans are still denying climate change because they want to put profit over people. We just saw them pass a huge corporate tax cut, with a temporary tax cut for individuals. Talk about freedom and rights? Why not give a tax cut to individuals so that it will trickle up to businesses? Why not support unions so that workers can fight back against the abuse of large companies.
Immigration has been decreasing for some time. Most of the people at our border are following our laws and requesting asylum. And note that also by our own laws they cannot apply at a US Embassy. My own take here is to start jailing and fining business owners who employee illegal immigrants, then carefully change immigration law to make a legal path easier where we need workers. But businesses should first raise wages and benefits. Big construction and ag businesses are complaining because American's don't want to work at the rates they are paying. Well, I say let them raise those rates--eventually at $30 or $40 an hour, plus health care, American's will accept the jobs. Yes, housing and food will go up, but if we want Americans to make a living wage, that will have to happen. Besides, businesses can and should cut their profits to pay workers more.

I work in healthcare. It is not and will never be a free market, because it does not meet the conditions required for a free market. Things like lack of information asymmetry and prices being set by a willing buyer and a willing seller. The entire point of businesses is to sell more, but in healthcare you really only want what you need. The truth is that it is inhumane to not have universal healthcare. That does not mean government run healthcare, but it does mean largely single payer, just like social security and medicare. The only positive changes I've seen in healthcare over the last several decades have been in response to pay for performance initiatives. Republicans, of course, don't want this, but it is not clear what their plan is, because they have no plan. The only plan I see from them is this: If you not wealthy, don't get sick. From an economic perspective we know that the US pays 50% more per capita than the most expensive developed country that has universal healthcare. In addition, most of our health outcomes are worse than those countries.

So no, democrats are not destroying the republic. Republicans are already doing that for the vast majority of us. Sadly, they are doing it for our children as well. It is our children and grandchildren who will face the worst of climate change and the growing inequality. I wonder what they will think of their grandparents and grandmothers who were too shortsighted, or perhaps brainwashed by Fox news, to actually spend the time logically understanding the implications of what they were voting for.

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