President Obama seems to be backing away from the public insurance option. This is a huge mistake. A vast majority of the voters favor it, and the base of the Democratic Party insists on it. The last thing the Democratic Party can afford is to have the people forming its base shrug their collective shoulders and say “what’s the use” during the upcoming elections. Holding the conferences on health care is politically sound. Those televised conferences should allow President Obama to draw a sharp contrast between the absurdly partisan representatives of the special interests and the party that actually represents the working men and women of this nation. But when all is said and done, it will be time to pass a bill that includes the public insurance option. This must be done soon, and it must be done even if it takes drastic measures to accomplish it.
I know many people will say the filibuster has been useful in the past, but that argument is not valid anymore. When the Republicans threatened to do away with it the Democratic Party caved in. The result is that we now have the most reactionary, and arguably the worst Supreme Court in our nation’s history. Far from being useful, the filibuster rule has become detrimental.
I cannot believe how many people are misreading what happened in Massachusetts. Partisanship per se is not what caused the voter dissatisfaction. What caused that dissatisfaction was the inability of the Senate to get anything done because of the irresponsible actions of the Republican Party. It is time to call the Republicans on that. It is time to do what needs to be done to get the badly needed reforms and programs passed. If this means steam rolling the Republican Party, then we must steam roll them. The people of this nation want and deserve changes they can believe in. Passing the public insurance option will energize the base of the Democratic Party. Furthermore, it will demonstrate an ability to do what needs to done. Independents will forgive the partisan measures that are necessary to accomplish that. In fact, they will actually breath a sigh of relief over the fact that their government is functioning again.
As I have said before, no party has behaved as irresponsibly as the Republicans are behaving and survived. If the government must function in spite of them, they must change their ways or cease to exist as a competing party. They have already suffered some serious defections. It would not surprise me if other sensible conservatives also defect and form a viable third party. It would not be the first time in our history that this has happened, and the results are usually beneficial in the long run.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Damning The Uppity Prompter
I must admit that I have been baffled by it. I have spent many hours trying to figure it out. Why would the Republicans object to President Obama’s use of a teleprompter? All news persons and politicians use a teleprompter. Last night I had an epiphany. It is not his use of this device that disturbs them. What they find so disturbing is the quality of the material he has placed in the teleprompter and his wonderful delivery of the text he reads. The problem is that his eloquence challenges the education of much of the Republican base. In private many Republicans call his eloquence uppity. In public they call it… What do they call it? Do you think Republican speakers would let me look at their teleprompters to refresh my recollection?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Read All About It!
“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” People who watch old movies are very familiar with that cry. It was the call of boys selling newspapers. The headline in this case is, “Republican Hypocrisy Revealed.” Stories of this hypocrisy have now been printed in such conservative publications as the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times. The fact that those conservative newspapers are pointing out the hypocrisy of Republicans means the hypocrisy must exceed all bounds of reason, and it does. The Wall Street Journal actually published letters from Republican Congresspersons requesting Stimulus money for projects in their districts. Those letters were sent at the very time that those Congresspersons were voting against and/or railing against the Stimulus package. Both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times have also printed a list of the names of Republican Senators and Congresspersons who are taking credit for this stimulus money and for what those funds are doing for the people in their districts and states. Remarkably, the Republicans who are giving themselves credit for bringing this money to their districts and states are doing so while publicly criticizing the Democrats by saying that the Stimulus package is a failure that helps no one. Do they mean no one but the people in their districts and their states? If they do mean only the people in their districts and their states, their constituents would still want them to support the stimulus.
One would think that having your hypocrisy exposed in this manner by publications that usually support you would make you think twice about what you are doing, but this does not seem to be the case. Those hypocrites are simply ignoring the absurdity of their actions. They obviously think the voters will not notice or care. The sad thing is that they might be right. How many people actually read newspapers today? I am reminded of what Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall once said about Thomas Nast: “Stop them pictures. I don’t care what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t read. But, damn it, they can see the pictures.” The constituents of today’s politicians do not read, but they do watch television. I am not disappointed with Fox; unprincipled people will always try to make a profit by pandering to the fears of the delusional who actually accept the fear mongering as news. What bothers me is the mainstream media. They have traditionally felt a civic obligation to keep the public informed. Keeping the public informed means more than simply reporting statements that you know are lies; it means revealing the lies as lies and the hypocrisy as hypocrisy. It is high time to show the constituents of modern politicians them damn pictures!
One would think that having your hypocrisy exposed in this manner by publications that usually support you would make you think twice about what you are doing, but this does not seem to be the case. Those hypocrites are simply ignoring the absurdity of their actions. They obviously think the voters will not notice or care. The sad thing is that they might be right. How many people actually read newspapers today? I am reminded of what Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall once said about Thomas Nast: “Stop them pictures. I don’t care what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t read. But, damn it, they can see the pictures.” The constituents of today’s politicians do not read, but they do watch television. I am not disappointed with Fox; unprincipled people will always try to make a profit by pandering to the fears of the delusional who actually accept the fear mongering as news. What bothers me is the mainstream media. They have traditionally felt a civic obligation to keep the public informed. Keeping the public informed means more than simply reporting statements that you know are lies; it means revealing the lies as lies and the hypocrisy as hypocrisy. It is high time to show the constituents of modern politicians them damn pictures!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Phillip Buster
Phillip Buster is the new poster child for the Republican Party. His sole purpose is to make sure our government cannot function by preventing any legislation from being passed and refusing to let any Obama appointee be confirmed by the Senate. In the nihilistic world of the tea partiers the best government is the one that does nothing, and the Republicans are doing their best to make sure that this government does nothing. The surest way of getting any law or rule repealed is to abuse that rule by overusing it to the extent that it becomes detrimental. The Republicans are now abusing the filibuster to an extent that is detrimental to the good of our country and its vital interests.
There is no such thing as a reasonable give and take or debate at this time. The Republicans have turned politics into a street fight. There is no rule they will not abuse and no lie they will not tell. They are hoping that the voters are stupid enough to blame the Democrats for our dysfunctional government, even though it is the Republicans who are causing it to be dysfunctional. It is time to repeal the filibuster rule and take it out of their hands. Set this up by getting a bill on the floor of the Senate to regulate Wall Street or to stimulate the job market. Do this before the upcoming elections. Let the Republicans filibuster it, and let the Democratic candidates run against the filibuster. When the voters see the Republicans filibustering a popular bill they will understand why the filibuster rule must be changed. They will also be far more inclined to vote for Democrats.
Forget about even trying to compromise with the Republicans. They have become so irresponsibly obstructionist that it is time to govern without them. Once the threat of the filibuster has been removed, pass a single payer public health insurance option! In fact, pass all of the legislation needed. Ram it down their throats. No party in our history has behaved so irresponsibly and survived. Making the Republican Party irrelevant will drive the point home.
There is also a Republican Senator holding up the vote on the confirmation of Obama’s appointees. The reason many cite for this is that that Senator is trying to extort the expansion of a military base in his state. If this is true, the solution is simple. Have the pentagon conduct a study on the feasibility of moving all military basses out of his state. Let the son of bitch know that two can play that game. This is not the way our system is supposed to work, but the Republicans have set the rules. They have turned it into a street fight. The only way to end that fight is to kick them in the crotch until they finally figure out that street fights are painful and counter productive. At that point they might be willing to listen to reason, and conflicting viewpoints might be fairly represented again.
There is no such thing as a reasonable give and take or debate at this time. The Republicans have turned politics into a street fight. There is no rule they will not abuse and no lie they will not tell. They are hoping that the voters are stupid enough to blame the Democrats for our dysfunctional government, even though it is the Republicans who are causing it to be dysfunctional. It is time to repeal the filibuster rule and take it out of their hands. Set this up by getting a bill on the floor of the Senate to regulate Wall Street or to stimulate the job market. Do this before the upcoming elections. Let the Republicans filibuster it, and let the Democratic candidates run against the filibuster. When the voters see the Republicans filibustering a popular bill they will understand why the filibuster rule must be changed. They will also be far more inclined to vote for Democrats.
Forget about even trying to compromise with the Republicans. They have become so irresponsibly obstructionist that it is time to govern without them. Once the threat of the filibuster has been removed, pass a single payer public health insurance option! In fact, pass all of the legislation needed. Ram it down their throats. No party in our history has behaved so irresponsibly and survived. Making the Republican Party irrelevant will drive the point home.
There is also a Republican Senator holding up the vote on the confirmation of Obama’s appointees. The reason many cite for this is that that Senator is trying to extort the expansion of a military base in his state. If this is true, the solution is simple. Have the pentagon conduct a study on the feasibility of moving all military basses out of his state. Let the son of bitch know that two can play that game. This is not the way our system is supposed to work, but the Republicans have set the rules. They have turned it into a street fight. The only way to end that fight is to kick them in the crotch until they finally figure out that street fights are painful and counter productive. At that point they might be willing to listen to reason, and conflicting viewpoints might be fairly represented again.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
A Disturbing Poll
People on MSNBC were talking about the newest Kos/Research Poll 2000 of self described Republicans, in which 2000 Republicans were polled over the telephone. Knowing that the left can exaggerate the absurdity of the right wing, I went on the Kos Media website to check out the poll for myself. My confidence was not exactly bolstered by the statement that the Kos poll was at least as accurate as the Rasmussen polls favored by the Fox propaganda cable. I thought the pollsters might have cherry picked the states, but this does not seem to be the case. I am not going to nit pick this poll. In fact, I am urging people to go to the Kos website to see it for themselves. The results make it appear as though my comments about the lunatic right taking over the Republican Party are correct, but bear with me on this because I think there is more than meets the eye. Let me start by giving a few results of the poll:
36% still think President Obama was not born in this country.
24% think Obama wants the terrorists to win.
21% think Acorn stole the election.
53% think Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President than Obama is.
31% think Obama is a racist who does not like white people.
23% think states should secede from the Union.
51% oppose sex education.
77% think Geneses should be used to teach creationism.
31% would outlaw contraception.
76% think abortion is murder.
This is only a sampling of the poll, but it is enough to make any reasonable person think the Republicans have definitely gone off the deep end. The question then is why such a high percentage of Republicans appear to be so extreme and delusional. Part of the problem may be that “self described Republicans” were the ones who were polled. One of the oddities of the electorate today is the fact that so many people who usually vote for a particular party still describe themselves as independents. Voters seem to be reluctant to identify themselves as being part of a major party. This fact excludes from the poll many of the more reasonable people who usually vote for Republican candidates. Having said this, however, I think the poll is still instructive. People who do describe themselves as a member of either party are the activists and form the base of that party. This means that the poll does reflect the views of the people who are deciding who is reactionary enough to be a Republican candidate. Yes, I said reactionary. The people who have the views stated above are not really conservative, and I refuse to abuse that word by calling them conservative. I supposed I could have called them neo-cons, but that is really a euphemism for reactionary. And I do not like euphemisms.
I know some people are going to look at the numbers above and say that people who share many of those extreme views are not in the majority. I will concede that, but they have more influence than their numbers indicate because they make so damn much noise. Furthermore, the percentages are large enough for them to turn elections, particularly primary elections. This is why it is so difficult for reasonable Republicans to distance themselves from those extreme views. The only way that the Republican Party can return to the political center is if that party suffers enough catastrophic defeats to convince even the lunatics that they must be willing compromise. In order for that to happen the Democrats must be energized. President Obama’s grass roots must take hold and those people must turn out. They must realize that this goes beyond fighting for change we can believe in. The elections of 2010 are a referendum on mental health. If the extremists gain ground, the entire country loses.
36% still think President Obama was not born in this country.
24% think Obama wants the terrorists to win.
21% think Acorn stole the election.
53% think Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President than Obama is.
31% think Obama is a racist who does not like white people.
23% think states should secede from the Union.
51% oppose sex education.
77% think Geneses should be used to teach creationism.
31% would outlaw contraception.
76% think abortion is murder.
This is only a sampling of the poll, but it is enough to make any reasonable person think the Republicans have definitely gone off the deep end. The question then is why such a high percentage of Republicans appear to be so extreme and delusional. Part of the problem may be that “self described Republicans” were the ones who were polled. One of the oddities of the electorate today is the fact that so many people who usually vote for a particular party still describe themselves as independents. Voters seem to be reluctant to identify themselves as being part of a major party. This fact excludes from the poll many of the more reasonable people who usually vote for Republican candidates. Having said this, however, I think the poll is still instructive. People who do describe themselves as a member of either party are the activists and form the base of that party. This means that the poll does reflect the views of the people who are deciding who is reactionary enough to be a Republican candidate. Yes, I said reactionary. The people who have the views stated above are not really conservative, and I refuse to abuse that word by calling them conservative. I supposed I could have called them neo-cons, but that is really a euphemism for reactionary. And I do not like euphemisms.
I know some people are going to look at the numbers above and say that people who share many of those extreme views are not in the majority. I will concede that, but they have more influence than their numbers indicate because they make so damn much noise. Furthermore, the percentages are large enough for them to turn elections, particularly primary elections. This is why it is so difficult for reasonable Republicans to distance themselves from those extreme views. The only way that the Republican Party can return to the political center is if that party suffers enough catastrophic defeats to convince even the lunatics that they must be willing compromise. In order for that to happen the Democrats must be energized. President Obama’s grass roots must take hold and those people must turn out. They must realize that this goes beyond fighting for change we can believe in. The elections of 2010 are a referendum on mental health. If the extremists gain ground, the entire country loses.
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