When the voters threw their temper tantrum in 2010 they elected right wing ideologues as governors and state legislators in a half dozen states. Those extreme right wing fanatics quickly set about pursuing their radical agenda. Taxes on businesses were slashed and there was a move to reward favored businesses by privatizing many government services. The fanatics then used the revenue shortfalls caused by decreasing taxes on large corporations to justify severe spending cuts for services the middle class depends upon, such as public education, health care and unemployment insurance. The right wing fanatics also mounted an all out assault on labor unions by stripping away the collective bargaining rights of public workers unions. This union busting correctly became a symbol for the destructive assault on the middle class, and it provoked massive demonstrations against the bills to bust the unions representing teachers, nurses, firemen, and policemen, among others. What is happening in those states where right wing fanatics have gained control of state governments should serve as an example of what will happen if the Republicans gain control of the federal government or are allowed to continue obstructing reasonable efforts to deal with our current recession.
Among the states in which the right wing ideologues gained control of the state governments are Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida. I have chosen to focus on those states because there are some very interesting things taking place there. The constitutions of Wisconsin and Ohio provide middle class voters with some tools they are using to fight back. In Wisconsin there is the recall that has been used to oust two Republican State Senators who supported Governor Scott Walker’s unconscionable agenda. Scott Walker becomes eligible for recall in January of 2012. The defeat of two of the six Republican state senators the unions were trying to recall and the failure of the Republicans to recall any of the four Democrats they were trying to recall does not bode well for Governor Walker, nor do the polls which indicate that he is in serious danger of being recalled as soon as he becomes eligible for that procedure.
Governor Kasich of Ohio has a slightly different problem. Like Governor Walker, Governor Kasich did not even bother to try to negotiate with the unions or the Democrats; instead he ignored the demonstrations and rammed his union busting bill through the state legislature. Ohio does not have the recall, but it does have a referendum that allows voters to repeal unpopular legislation. More than enough signatures have been gathered to put a referendum to repeal the anti-union bill on the ballet. All of the polls indicate that Kasich’s union busting bill will be repealed. Furthermore, the polls indicate that his approval rating with the voters has slipped drastically. Governor Kasich is now sweating bullets over the certainty of the repeal, his slip in popularity, and what is happening in Wisconsin. He is desperately trying to back peddle. Come, let us compromise he is saying. This is a far cry from his demand that the unions apologize to him and the people of Ohio for protesting the passage of his union busting bill. The unions and the Democrats are saying he should have been willing to compromise before now. It seems that the only choices left to Governor Kasich are to repeal the union busting bill on his own and start over or to let the referendum process play out. The time for him to act like an adult has already run out. It is very unlikely that he will be able to take back what he has done and to demonstrate the ability and the willingness to be reasonable. Such efforts are a bit like trying to unpick a fight you started when you punched someone in the nose.
The Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, does not have to worry about a recall or a referendum. In this regard he is like the governors of most of the states where right wing fanatics have taken over the state governments. What he and the other right wing governors and state legislators do have to worry about is what the voters are thinking and feeling. All of the polls have shown a large increase in the number of voters who disapprove of what those right wing governors and state legislators are doing. None of those right wing governors, however, have experienced as great of a disapproval rating as has Governor Scott in Florida. A mere seventeen percent of the voters approve of the job he is doing. He has become so desperate that he is now sending out robo-calls in the middle of his term as governor. The voters of Florida are letting him know what they think of those robo-calls and his performance as governor by flooding his office with reverse robo-calls. Bless the hacker who was able to allow them to do that! As one voter who identified himself as a life long Republican said: “I’m so angry at you that I will not vote for any Republican again.”
It has taken something truly horrible to rouse the voters from their slumber and make them realize what the agenda of the right wing fanatics is doing to the middle class of this country. Now the voters in those states where the right wing Republicans rule are directing their anger where it should have been directed over the last ten years. And the voters in those states are finally fighting back. A serious battle has finally begun, and it is a hopeful sign. This is not good news to those right wing governors or the Republican Party. I am finding the right wing’s consternation of over the events in those states rather amusing. They are spinning for all they are worth, but it will do them no good; they are now spinning on the extended middle finger of an electorate that is very angry about the destructive agenda of the Republican Party. If I were in a more charitable mood I would take up a collection to buy and send to those governors some drip-dry underwear. Perhaps I am being overly optimistic, but I think they and the Republican Party are going to need such underwear when the voters render their verdict in 2012.
Even Karl Rove is trying to warn the Republican Party of the perils of drifting too far to the right. The warning is too late, Karl! The Republican Party has nothing to offer but pettifoggery, and that will only carry them so far. The voters are finally beginning catch on. It is now up to President Obama and the Democratic Party to focus on jobs and reveal the intellectual bankruptcy of the obstructionists who put the interests of their party above the needs of the people of this country. President Obama and the Democratic Party must take the battle into the Senate, the House, and the Streets. They must urge the voters to follow the example of the good people in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida. They must urge the people to demand an end to the obstructionist tactics the Republicans are using to prevent the government form doing what it needs to do to create jobs!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Another Election Stolen?
As a Southern Californian and an avid fan of PAC 10 football it is not often that I cheer for Wisconsin regardless of the fact that I have a tremendous respect for that state, its schools, and its football teams. Over the last year, however, I have been cheering mightily for the good people of Wisconsin. When the voters foolishly threw their temper tantrum in 2010 one of the results was the election in Wisconsin of a radical right wing governor and radical right wing legislators. Those right wing Republicans wasted no time in attacking labor unions, education and other things that are so important to the middle class while following the Republican agenda of enriching the rich. The good people of Wisconsin fought back. They held massive demonstrations and filed recall petitions against six entrenched Republican state senators. The results of the recall elections are now in. The Democrats won two of the six recall elections. They fell one election victory short of the total they needed to take over the state senate. The fight continues, and getting rid of the two right wing Republicans was still quite an accomplishment given the millions of dollars the right wing threw into those elections. What makes that accomplishment even more remarkable is that the election of one of those Republicans, Ms. Darling, is tainted.
Once more the results from Waukeshal were delayed and the Republican miraculously received the number of votes needed to win once those votes were counted. During the Supreme Court elections over fourteen thousand votes appeared two days after the election to give a supporter of Governor Walker the victory. The incompetence of the election clerk, Kathy Nicholaus, was noted at that time. The question then as now is whether it is a matter of incompetence or something far worse. There is nothing new about stealing elections. Bush quite obviously stole a presidential election in Florida. Furthermore the legislation passed in Wisconsin to severely restrict voter registration makes it clear that right wing Republicans will do anything to win elections and push their destructive agenda. While I cannot say that anyone tampered with the election results in Wisconsin, I can and do say that someone needs to investigate the possibility that there was tampering.
To the people of Wisconsin I say bless you. There is no doubt in my mind that you will continue to fight the good fight. You are an inspiration and an example we should all follow. The middle class needs to take this country back and return it to its place of being the land of opportunity.
Once more the results from Waukeshal were delayed and the Republican miraculously received the number of votes needed to win once those votes were counted. During the Supreme Court elections over fourteen thousand votes appeared two days after the election to give a supporter of Governor Walker the victory. The incompetence of the election clerk, Kathy Nicholaus, was noted at that time. The question then as now is whether it is a matter of incompetence or something far worse. There is nothing new about stealing elections. Bush quite obviously stole a presidential election in Florida. Furthermore the legislation passed in Wisconsin to severely restrict voter registration makes it clear that right wing Republicans will do anything to win elections and push their destructive agenda. While I cannot say that anyone tampered with the election results in Wisconsin, I can and do say that someone needs to investigate the possibility that there was tampering.
To the people of Wisconsin I say bless you. There is no doubt in my mind that you will continue to fight the good fight. You are an inspiration and an example we should all follow. The middle class needs to take this country back and return it to its place of being the land of opportunity.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
It’s About Jobs, Stupid!
President Obama has been sucked into the nihilistic vortex of right wing fanatics. I do not blame him for this. When economic terrorists are threatening to blow up the economy by not paying our existing debts the President has to do what he can to avert the disaster. The problem is that his opponents see his willingness to compromise as a weakness. He gave into the Republicans before by extending the Bush tax cuts for the rich when the Republicans threatened to block an extension of the tax cuts for the middle class and threatened to shut down the government. In all fairness, I must say that the President gained something from the compromise reached at that time, but the Republicans saw the concessions he made as a capitulation. The combination of the weakness they perceived in President Obama and their fear of the lunatics taking over their party prevented Republicans who know better from opposing the dangerous scheme of holding the debt ceiling as a hostage. What is all too apparent is that those tea party fanatics are so delusional they think that if they cause another depression the voters will blame it on President Obama, and they are so viscous that they are willing to create another depression regardless have how much that harms the people of this country. I am afraid that the horrible precedent set by the extortionists and by our efforts to appease them will harm the recovery we so desperately need and will pose another grave threat to our economy in the future.
It is time for President Obama to stand up to the Republicans. He cannot continue to let the destructive fanatics define the issues and set the agenda. He has to start acting like a Democrat. The real issue is about getting this country moving in the right direction again. IT IS ABOUT JOBS! That is what the voters will tell him, and that is what he must emphasize. The Republicans cynically manufactured the debt ceiling crises in an effort to accomplish what the defeated Ryan plan failed to do. It is painfully obvious that the Republicans think destroying Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is more desirable than creating jobs and that their insistence on draconian cuts to federal spending is just another attempt to destroy those entitlement programs. While the budget deficit is a legitimate concern decreasing it will not create jobs. In fact drastic spending cuts are far more likely to increase unemployment. Greatly reducing government spending will dump laid off government workers onto the labor market and deprive private businesses of government contracts. In other words, sharp spending cuts will deepen the recession.
The Democrats have to educate the public. They need to define the programs that create jobs and the policies that kill jobs. They need to point out that it is the Democratic Party that is trying to create jobs and it is the Republican Party that is killing jobs. The Republicans have used the filibuster in the Senate a record number of times to keep the Democrats from passing legislation to encourage job growth, including a bill that would do away with tax incentives that actually reward companies for exporting American jobs. The Republicans have also opposed the stimulus bill, the loans that saved the automobile industry, and a tax break that encourages the growth of small businesses. There is not a single piece of legislation the Republicans have introduced to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Instead the Republicans stubbornly cling to the trickle down economics that failed during the great depression and failed again under George W. Bush. Enriching the rich does not create jobs, but that is all the Republicans are willing to offer – that and ill advised cuts to government spending that will only exacerbate the unemployment problem.
The Republicans have created the deficit smoke screen to mask their destructive agenda. The Democrats need to blow away that smoke screen to reveal the real economic conditions that are causing so much misery. Saying that we should take a balanced approach to balancing the budget is fine, but the Democrats cannot let the Republicans treat the deficit as a separate issue. The deficit is not a separate issue; it is simply a part of the overall economic situation. The way to avoid getting bogged down in a debate about the deficit is to put the Republicans on the defensive about the high unemployment. The Democrats need to introduce another stimulus bill or infrastructure bill in the Senate as quickly as possible. The Republicans will use the deficit as an excuse for blocking those bills, but this merely helps to draw the distinction between the party that is trying to create jobs and the party that is not trying to create jobs. Every time the Republicans scream “deficits” the Democrats should respond by screaming “Jobs!” If more people are working and paying taxes much of the deficit problem will be solved! Would you rather decrease the deficit by creating jobs or by destroying Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security? That is the real issue. There is little doubt in my mind that most of the voters will choose jobs. That is what all the polls indicate. It is also what our uncommon sense tells us. I say uncommon sense because the people who think all you need is common sense are demonstrating that they have no sense at all. They seem to think that balancing a household budget makes them economists. I suppose they think that their ability to use a knife and fork also makes them qualified to perform brain surgery.
It is time for President Obama to stand up to the Republicans. He cannot continue to let the destructive fanatics define the issues and set the agenda. He has to start acting like a Democrat. The real issue is about getting this country moving in the right direction again. IT IS ABOUT JOBS! That is what the voters will tell him, and that is what he must emphasize. The Republicans cynically manufactured the debt ceiling crises in an effort to accomplish what the defeated Ryan plan failed to do. It is painfully obvious that the Republicans think destroying Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is more desirable than creating jobs and that their insistence on draconian cuts to federal spending is just another attempt to destroy those entitlement programs. While the budget deficit is a legitimate concern decreasing it will not create jobs. In fact drastic spending cuts are far more likely to increase unemployment. Greatly reducing government spending will dump laid off government workers onto the labor market and deprive private businesses of government contracts. In other words, sharp spending cuts will deepen the recession.
The Democrats have to educate the public. They need to define the programs that create jobs and the policies that kill jobs. They need to point out that it is the Democratic Party that is trying to create jobs and it is the Republican Party that is killing jobs. The Republicans have used the filibuster in the Senate a record number of times to keep the Democrats from passing legislation to encourage job growth, including a bill that would do away with tax incentives that actually reward companies for exporting American jobs. The Republicans have also opposed the stimulus bill, the loans that saved the automobile industry, and a tax break that encourages the growth of small businesses. There is not a single piece of legislation the Republicans have introduced to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Instead the Republicans stubbornly cling to the trickle down economics that failed during the great depression and failed again under George W. Bush. Enriching the rich does not create jobs, but that is all the Republicans are willing to offer – that and ill advised cuts to government spending that will only exacerbate the unemployment problem.
The Republicans have created the deficit smoke screen to mask their destructive agenda. The Democrats need to blow away that smoke screen to reveal the real economic conditions that are causing so much misery. Saying that we should take a balanced approach to balancing the budget is fine, but the Democrats cannot let the Republicans treat the deficit as a separate issue. The deficit is not a separate issue; it is simply a part of the overall economic situation. The way to avoid getting bogged down in a debate about the deficit is to put the Republicans on the defensive about the high unemployment. The Democrats need to introduce another stimulus bill or infrastructure bill in the Senate as quickly as possible. The Republicans will use the deficit as an excuse for blocking those bills, but this merely helps to draw the distinction between the party that is trying to create jobs and the party that is not trying to create jobs. Every time the Republicans scream “deficits” the Democrats should respond by screaming “Jobs!” If more people are working and paying taxes much of the deficit problem will be solved! Would you rather decrease the deficit by creating jobs or by destroying Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security? That is the real issue. There is little doubt in my mind that most of the voters will choose jobs. That is what all the polls indicate. It is also what our uncommon sense tells us. I say uncommon sense because the people who think all you need is common sense are demonstrating that they have no sense at all. They seem to think that balancing a household budget makes them economists. I suppose they think that their ability to use a knife and fork also makes them qualified to perform brain surgery.
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