Now that we know who Mitt Romney has chosen to be his running mate on the GOP ticket, we can certainly begin to understand the actual choice we have in this important presidential election. Do we want to reward the GOP for its abhorrent political behavior? "Abhorrent political behavior?" Huh?
From the very election of Barack Obama as president, the GOP has by its own admission, made it their sole objective to obstruct every initiative offered by him. In fact, they openly pledged to do whatever was necessary to ensure that his presidency be marginalized, delegitimized and limited to one term. Falling in lock step with this strategy has been every Republican leader in Washington, including one of their designated "attack dogs"...none other than Paul Ryan! With the support of their corporate sponsors and Media, Obama has been vilified, pilloried, eviscerated, you name it. But how much of this is legitimately earned? Some perhaps, but none of the faux claims including but not limited to Photoshopped pictures of him saluting with the wrong hand, observing Ramadan in the White House. not celebrating Christmas in the White House, eliminating the National Prayer Breakfast, spending $200 Million a day for a trip to India, having a jet fly his dog to a vacation spot, raising taxes, increasing the deficit with out of control spending, creating "job killing regulations" (lower number of regulations since before Reagan), and I can go on and on. None of these allegations are true, but the GOP and their supporters in the media promoted them as if they were, knowing that Americans susceptible to their rants will believe them (all of these were reported on Fox, as well as by Limbaugh and Beck as being true when they were not).
Now folks, I am an Independent with a Capital "I", but like most Americans, I believe in "Fair Play" and I dislike and disrespect anyone that engages in competition and then tries to change the rules when they lose. The adult version of "Nah nah, you'll see" after suffering a loss is what the GOP has been engaged in. Americans do not like sore losers, and the Republicans have been acting like sore losers since November 2008. Why else can anyone explain why Obama is currently leading in the polls with unemployment so bad?
What gets me the most though, are the GOP narratives that Obama is not one of us, is bent on destroying the rule of law, the Constitution and America by dividing the nation, all the while the GOP has been pursuing division all along. How else can you evaluate the claims that Obama is engaged in "Chicago style politics" or Obama has ties to "Northeast Elites" or as Sarah Palin just mentioned, "Obama's America is Today's California." Last I checked, folks living in the Northeast, Chicago and California are all Americans too. But isn't the GOP's current standard bearer a former governor of a Northeastern state? What gives? What gives is a pure drive to cynically divide this nation by pitting the poor and working middle class against each other while the GOP leaders engage in an effort to reward the wealthy further with tax cuts and benefits paid for by cuts to services to the poor and higher taxes on the working middle class.
Why else would Romney have chosen Paul Ryan, one who learned at the feet of GOP Ohio Governor John Kasich, a huge proponent of slashing government and services to the poor and middle class? Why else would Romney choose Ryan, a man who is on the record stating that the Walker recall election victory in Wisconsin was a national rallying call against all unions representing the working middle class? Ryan himself is on record also saying:
"If we simply operate based on political fear, nothing’s ever going to get done. If we allow
entitlement politics — fear that your adversaries will turn your reforms into a political
weapon to use against you — and we cow to that, then America’s going to have a debt crisis.” (March 2012).
Ryan is on record calling Social Security and Medicare, not being things folks paid into and earned through their lifetime of deductions from paychecks, but as being simply forms of "entitlements" that require "reform." But what about the entitlements given to the wealthy? To American companies outsourcing jobs overseas? To Agribusiness? Petrochemical Companies? To Wall Street Bankers? What about the billions in subsidies and tax loopholes afforded the military industrial complex? "Entitlement Politics" as defined by Ryan, and now Romney, seems to be limited to money and services to the poor and working middle class. I submit, that Americans believe it must also include the billions spent on subsidizing corporate benefactors and interest groups too. Will Romney and Ryan have the political will to challenge these subsidies and tax breaks to folks like the Koch Brothers? I doubt it.
Americans play and live by the rules. The GOP has been playing fast and loose with the rules since 2008, and have not exactly been good sports about it. Although the London Olympics are about to close, let the real games now begin for the White House. But let all of the politicos on both sides of the aisle know one thing clearly, and that is that Americans believe in fair play!
An additional excerpt from my book "How Our Government Really Works, Despite What They Say", from Ch. 9 "Public and Economic Policies, For Public Consumption?"
"It is obvious in current times that our government consists of political leaders with polarized views,
which inevitably leads to potential conflicts between our citizenry. Differences of opinion are healthy
in a democracy. Differences created to divide us all, though, can be dangerous to our democracy.
There is but a fine line separating the two."
Please note that returning to teaching will delay daily postings until after 5pm est. Thanks for checking in.
From the very election of Barack Obama as president, the GOP has by its own admission, made it their sole objective to obstruct every initiative offered by him. In fact, they openly pledged to do whatever was necessary to ensure that his presidency be marginalized, delegitimized and limited to one term. Falling in lock step with this strategy has been every Republican leader in Washington, including one of their designated "attack dogs"...none other than Paul Ryan! With the support of their corporate sponsors and Media, Obama has been vilified, pilloried, eviscerated, you name it. But how much of this is legitimately earned? Some perhaps, but none of the faux claims including but not limited to Photoshopped pictures of him saluting with the wrong hand, observing Ramadan in the White House. not celebrating Christmas in the White House, eliminating the National Prayer Breakfast, spending $200 Million a day for a trip to India, having a jet fly his dog to a vacation spot, raising taxes, increasing the deficit with out of control spending, creating "job killing regulations" (lower number of regulations since before Reagan), and I can go on and on. None of these allegations are true, but the GOP and their supporters in the media promoted them as if they were, knowing that Americans susceptible to their rants will believe them (all of these were reported on Fox, as well as by Limbaugh and Beck as being true when they were not).
Now folks, I am an Independent with a Capital "I", but like most Americans, I believe in "Fair Play" and I dislike and disrespect anyone that engages in competition and then tries to change the rules when they lose. The adult version of "Nah nah, you'll see" after suffering a loss is what the GOP has been engaged in. Americans do not like sore losers, and the Republicans have been acting like sore losers since November 2008. Why else can anyone explain why Obama is currently leading in the polls with unemployment so bad?
What gets me the most though, are the GOP narratives that Obama is not one of us, is bent on destroying the rule of law, the Constitution and America by dividing the nation, all the while the GOP has been pursuing division all along. How else can you evaluate the claims that Obama is engaged in "Chicago style politics" or Obama has ties to "Northeast Elites" or as Sarah Palin just mentioned, "Obama's America is Today's California." Last I checked, folks living in the Northeast, Chicago and California are all Americans too. But isn't the GOP's current standard bearer a former governor of a Northeastern state? What gives? What gives is a pure drive to cynically divide this nation by pitting the poor and working middle class against each other while the GOP leaders engage in an effort to reward the wealthy further with tax cuts and benefits paid for by cuts to services to the poor and higher taxes on the working middle class.
Why else would Romney have chosen Paul Ryan, one who learned at the feet of GOP Ohio Governor John Kasich, a huge proponent of slashing government and services to the poor and middle class? Why else would Romney choose Ryan, a man who is on the record stating that the Walker recall election victory in Wisconsin was a national rallying call against all unions representing the working middle class? Ryan himself is on record also saying:
"If we simply operate based on political fear, nothing’s ever going to get done. If we allow
entitlement politics — fear that your adversaries will turn your reforms into a political
weapon to use against you — and we cow to that, then America’s going to have a debt crisis.” (March 2012).
Ryan is on record calling Social Security and Medicare, not being things folks paid into and earned through their lifetime of deductions from paychecks, but as being simply forms of "entitlements" that require "reform." But what about the entitlements given to the wealthy? To American companies outsourcing jobs overseas? To Agribusiness? Petrochemical Companies? To Wall Street Bankers? What about the billions in subsidies and tax loopholes afforded the military industrial complex? "Entitlement Politics" as defined by Ryan, and now Romney, seems to be limited to money and services to the poor and working middle class. I submit, that Americans believe it must also include the billions spent on subsidizing corporate benefactors and interest groups too. Will Romney and Ryan have the political will to challenge these subsidies and tax breaks to folks like the Koch Brothers? I doubt it.
Americans play and live by the rules. The GOP has been playing fast and loose with the rules since 2008, and have not exactly been good sports about it. Although the London Olympics are about to close, let the real games now begin for the White House. But let all of the politicos on both sides of the aisle know one thing clearly, and that is that Americans believe in fair play!
An additional excerpt from my book "How Our Government Really Works, Despite What They Say", from Ch. 9 "Public and Economic Policies, For Public Consumption?"
"It is obvious in current times that our government consists of political leaders with polarized views,
which inevitably leads to potential conflicts between our citizenry. Differences of opinion are healthy
in a democracy. Differences created to divide us all, though, can be dangerous to our democracy.
There is but a fine line separating the two."
Please note that returning to teaching will delay daily postings until after 5pm est. Thanks for checking in.
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