"Oh, And Here Are Two More Things We're Against."

The list of things they oppose is lengthy:  civil rights, voting rights, women's rights, Social Security, Medicare, health care for everyone, environmental regulation, safeguards against gun violence, immigration reform, etc., etc.

Now the Party of No has added two more things they don't like -- healthier standards for school lunches, and any sort of student loan relief.

Michelle Obama led the push for improved school nutrition standards, including less fat and sugar, and more protein and whole grains.  It was passed into law in 2010.  But ever since, House Republicans have been trying to unwind it and delay its implementation.  Their stated reason for opposition?  Compliance is "too costly" and kids won't eat the new menu items.  The real reason?  The Republicans are up to their eyeballs in high-fructose corn syrup.  They've taken decades of campaign cash from the likes of ConAgra and PepsiCo, and have promised to do their bidding.

Barack Obama just signed a Executive Order permitting student loan repayment to be limited to 10% of one's income.  Elizabeth Warren just introduced a Senate bill which would allow student loans to be refinanced at lower interest rates. Student loans are notoriously hard to get rid of if you can't repay.  Warren wants to improve the odds of repayment with lower rates, which mean lower payments.  She would fund the refi effort with a minimum tax on incomes over $1 million.  (You know the GOP hates that!)  Republicans are opposed, saying both Obama's Executive Order and Warren's bill fail to address the core problem, which is the high cost of college tuition.

College tuition is expensive.  One of the primary drivers of ever-increasing costs is the proliferation of proprietary "schools" like Strayer, Phoenix and Full Sail.  These for-profit colleges have ridiculously high tuition and pathetically low graduation rates.  Student loans are a big part of their business plan -- saddle unsuspecting kids with tens of thousands of dollars of debt right out of high school, and if the kids can't hack it academically or financially, well, too bad.  The school made its money up front.  Republicans have long been championing this sort of racket as the free-market version of higher education, so they are wary of anything that might upset the for-profit-college apple cart.  And as for a Buffet Rule automatic tax on a million bucks or more,well, that's just out of the question, whatever the purpose.  Mustn't ask our job creators to invest a nickel in education.

The GOP may be against damn near everything, but there's one thing they're always for:  lower taxes on rich people.