Civility lost by GOP

Republicans now decrying "civility" are like the big schoolyard bully that finally gets his nosed bopped in retaliation and cries. Since 2007, the Tea Party has spent a decade spewing racist bile. And we have a president who spews hate on a daily basis. Mothers must turn down the TV or limit Twitter when POTUS comes on to protect their kids' sensibilities.

Yes "civility" has been lost in our politics. However, it's not some recent occurrence. It is a decadelong descent into the gutter by people with no "off" switch. Those who have hijacked a once-respectable political party and turned it into a radical cult. A cult so vile it is devoid of the ethical standard set by its founder, a statesman from Illinois named Lincoln.

In 2013, while they were celebrating and getting drunk over the government shutdown, I was retiring from federal service on a disability. I was rendered penniless because there was no one to process my pension. And because my pension was not processed, I could not even access my own money in my federal 401(k) account.

So, I have utter contempt for a once-respected party that has turned into an "uncivilized" cult of radicals devoid of ethics. As one GOP strategist said, "It is time to just blow it up and start over. It's that bad."

Jeffrey Crowell

Naperville