(c) WXPN 2012
Some simply amazing things have been happening in American political history over the past month! The really amazing part of these events is the fact that those involved have absolutely no idea how their actions are being interpreted by the American public. What things could possibly be so amazing considering everything America has been through since Election day? Let's look at them and see if you agree.
On Election Day, Barack Obama was re-elected to the Presidency, despite the best efforts by the GOP since 2008 to paint him as a "Loser" and a "Failure." Amazingly, not only did GOP leaders publicly admit this was their #1 priority, they enlisted the daily help of Fox News to promote this narrative to the American public. Despite their rhetoric about making jobs their priority during the 2010 Mid-Term Elections, the GOP instead embarked on a path to legislate social issues, from limiting Union and voting rights on the State level to limiting women's reproductive choices on a National level. They took control under one premise, and instead began to rule from the House of Representatives utilizing a Tea Party initiated policy hatched from the minds of the Right Wing Heritage Foundation, FreedomWorks, Karl Rove's Crossroads Super PAC's and Grover Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform group. From 2010 on, the GOP has operated with the sole objective of obstructing the Obama Administration so severely, that the American public would come to blame him for all the problems created from said obstructionism. Once they and Fox News became convinced the strategy was working, they engaged in a purge of all moderate Republicans from the National race for the White House and instead paraded a rogue's gallery of politicos to seek their Party's nomination. From Herman Cain with his "999 Plan" to Rick Perry and his "Oop's Plan" to Michele Bachmann and her "Shots lead to Mental Retardation Plan" to Newt Gingerich's "51st Lunar State Plan" to Rick Santorum's "Man on Dog Plan" to Mitt Romney's "47%% Solution Plan." When the dust settled, Mitt Romney, backed by the GOP establishment won the nomination and embarked on an ill-conceived campaign based upon the "Rich are Job Creators and the rest of Americans are Moochers" ideology. He also told the Nation that the economic recovery was too slow and an illusion based upon "cooked books" of unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the Party and their mouthpieces at Fox News went right along with the deceptions.
When the election was over, President Obama won a sweeping victory, but according the the GOP, Obama barely won in a close race but for all of those "Urban voters" that just wanted to continue getting their "free stuff from the government." And again, Fox News reported exactly those narratives. Yet, they also began blaming Romney for losing and the GOP immediately distanced themselves from the Romney/Ryan ticket. Remember how Fox claimed all of the polls were wrong? How would they know in their world of deception?
After the Election was over, Fox News turned its attention to the fabricated Benghazi Scandal claiming "Obama was engaged in a cover-up worse than Watergate." Now that the facts have been revealed about the tragedy, Fox News and the GOP are questioning why Hillary Clinton has not appeared before their own investigation committees, despite the fact she was advised to rest after fainting and suffering a concussion. Charles Krauthammer and Fox News have gone so far as to demand her medical report to prove she is not using a fabricated excuse to avoid testifying to the GOP led committee!
Last week the Nation suffered a collective tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut with the deaths of 26 Americans, including 20 elementary children. In response to the overwhelming pleas of Americans to legislate regulations on the access to guns and assault weapons, President Obama promised to move swiftly. He appointed a commission to be headed by Vice President Biden to present recommendations for such regulations to Congress for action no later than January, 2013. And what do we hear from the National Rifle Association ("N.R.A.") about this tragedy? That they will present a major recommendation on the tragedy by Friday, December 21 (today).
In the meantime, President Obama has lowered his demands to Speaker Boehner to include Chain Inflation proposals to Social Security recipients and raising the proposed tax increases on Americans making from $250,000 per year to $400,000 plus additional cuts to spending. Obama also asked that the Debt Ceiling be removed from the table as a bargaining tool. The GOP response? Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY), introduced legislation in the Senate granting the President authority to raise the debt ceiling himself, with Congress having the power to override his decision to do so with a 2/3 override vote. McConnell, hoping to embarrass Obama, was planning on the Democratic Senators to refuse to cede this authority to the President, so he actually waived having the Bill go through the Cloture process and instead, moved the Bill directly to a Floor Vote. Amazingly, the Democrats in the Senate mustered the 51 votes necessary to pass the Bill! What does McConnell do? He BLOCKS THE VERY BILL HE INTRODUCED FROM BEING VOTED UPON! What does Boehner do? He proposes a GOP "Plan B" which includes a permanent extension of the Bush Tax Cuts to Americans making up to $1 Million a year with unspecified cuts to spending, yet all targeted to "Entitlements" and not to loopholes and deductions. Boehner offered less than half the revenue the President was seeking to reduce our deficit spending! What happens to this GOP "Plan B" initiated to embarrass the President? Boehner fails to get his OWN party to approve the Bill. As a result, Boehner's position as Speaker has been severely damaged, so much so that he runs a serious risk of losing his speakership next month. Can you say "Lame Duck?" Perhaps just "Lame" will do!?
Not only did Boehner lose his leverage in the House, he lost total credibility by immediately calling for the House to go on Christmas Break! Instead of continuing negotiations to save the Nation from falling off the self-imposed "Fiscal Cliff" the GOP elected instead to go on vacation. The Senate however, remains in Washington along with the President. And what does Fox News continue to report? There is a "War on Christmas!"
Now today we have the big announcement from the NRA with regard to their recommendations in light of the Newtown tragedy. Their big recommendation? Putting armed police in every school in America because "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," according to NRA Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre. Nothing from the NRA about background checks at gun shows? Nothing about helping those with mental illness gain treatment? According to the NRA. adding more guns is the solution! But how should communities throughout America pay for all of those police officers? Will they be armed with automatic weapons to face intruders with assault weapons? It's bad enough communities have no money to pay for teachers, they now should instead pay for police protection? Does anyone else see this strategy playing right into the GOP efforts to privatize schools or promote home schooling because it will be safer?
One thing is for sure after all of these events. Americans ARE finally paying attention. According to the most recent CBS poll, only 11% approve of the GOP's leadership in Congress. 89% disapprove of the actions of the GOP leadership! And what does the GOP House leadership do? Punt and go home for vacation! What does Fox News do? Focus in on faux "War on Christmas" and begin to attack Hillary Clinton in anticipation of her candidacy for President in 2016. But America IS paying attention. The only problem that exists is the fact that the GOP is already dead as a national party and it will be so evidenced in the Mid-Term elections of 2014. As long as the GOP avoids this reality, perhaps we should call them the "Zombie GOP?"
On Election Day, Barack Obama was re-elected to the Presidency, despite the best efforts by the GOP since 2008 to paint him as a "Loser" and a "Failure." Amazingly, not only did GOP leaders publicly admit this was their #1 priority, they enlisted the daily help of Fox News to promote this narrative to the American public. Despite their rhetoric about making jobs their priority during the 2010 Mid-Term Elections, the GOP instead embarked on a path to legislate social issues, from limiting Union and voting rights on the State level to limiting women's reproductive choices on a National level. They took control under one premise, and instead began to rule from the House of Representatives utilizing a Tea Party initiated policy hatched from the minds of the Right Wing Heritage Foundation, FreedomWorks, Karl Rove's Crossroads Super PAC's and Grover Norquist's Americans For Tax Reform group. From 2010 on, the GOP has operated with the sole objective of obstructing the Obama Administration so severely, that the American public would come to blame him for all the problems created from said obstructionism. Once they and Fox News became convinced the strategy was working, they engaged in a purge of all moderate Republicans from the National race for the White House and instead paraded a rogue's gallery of politicos to seek their Party's nomination. From Herman Cain with his "999 Plan" to Rick Perry and his "Oop's Plan" to Michele Bachmann and her "Shots lead to Mental Retardation Plan" to Newt Gingerich's "51st Lunar State Plan" to Rick Santorum's "Man on Dog Plan" to Mitt Romney's "47%% Solution Plan." When the dust settled, Mitt Romney, backed by the GOP establishment won the nomination and embarked on an ill-conceived campaign based upon the "Rich are Job Creators and the rest of Americans are Moochers" ideology. He also told the Nation that the economic recovery was too slow and an illusion based upon "cooked books" of unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the Party and their mouthpieces at Fox News went right along with the deceptions.
When the election was over, President Obama won a sweeping victory, but according the the GOP, Obama barely won in a close race but for all of those "Urban voters" that just wanted to continue getting their "free stuff from the government." And again, Fox News reported exactly those narratives. Yet, they also began blaming Romney for losing and the GOP immediately distanced themselves from the Romney/Ryan ticket. Remember how Fox claimed all of the polls were wrong? How would they know in their world of deception?
After the Election was over, Fox News turned its attention to the fabricated Benghazi Scandal claiming "Obama was engaged in a cover-up worse than Watergate." Now that the facts have been revealed about the tragedy, Fox News and the GOP are questioning why Hillary Clinton has not appeared before their own investigation committees, despite the fact she was advised to rest after fainting and suffering a concussion. Charles Krauthammer and Fox News have gone so far as to demand her medical report to prove she is not using a fabricated excuse to avoid testifying to the GOP led committee!
Last week the Nation suffered a collective tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut with the deaths of 26 Americans, including 20 elementary children. In response to the overwhelming pleas of Americans to legislate regulations on the access to guns and assault weapons, President Obama promised to move swiftly. He appointed a commission to be headed by Vice President Biden to present recommendations for such regulations to Congress for action no later than January, 2013. And what do we hear from the National Rifle Association ("N.R.A.") about this tragedy? That they will present a major recommendation on the tragedy by Friday, December 21 (today).
In the meantime, President Obama has lowered his demands to Speaker Boehner to include Chain Inflation proposals to Social Security recipients and raising the proposed tax increases on Americans making from $250,000 per year to $400,000 plus additional cuts to spending. Obama also asked that the Debt Ceiling be removed from the table as a bargaining tool. The GOP response? Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY), introduced legislation in the Senate granting the President authority to raise the debt ceiling himself, with Congress having the power to override his decision to do so with a 2/3 override vote. McConnell, hoping to embarrass Obama, was planning on the Democratic Senators to refuse to cede this authority to the President, so he actually waived having the Bill go through the Cloture process and instead, moved the Bill directly to a Floor Vote. Amazingly, the Democrats in the Senate mustered the 51 votes necessary to pass the Bill! What does McConnell do? He BLOCKS THE VERY BILL HE INTRODUCED FROM BEING VOTED UPON! What does Boehner do? He proposes a GOP "Plan B" which includes a permanent extension of the Bush Tax Cuts to Americans making up to $1 Million a year with unspecified cuts to spending, yet all targeted to "Entitlements" and not to loopholes and deductions. Boehner offered less than half the revenue the President was seeking to reduce our deficit spending! What happens to this GOP "Plan B" initiated to embarrass the President? Boehner fails to get his OWN party to approve the Bill. As a result, Boehner's position as Speaker has been severely damaged, so much so that he runs a serious risk of losing his speakership next month. Can you say "Lame Duck?" Perhaps just "Lame" will do!?
Not only did Boehner lose his leverage in the House, he lost total credibility by immediately calling for the House to go on Christmas Break! Instead of continuing negotiations to save the Nation from falling off the self-imposed "Fiscal Cliff" the GOP elected instead to go on vacation. The Senate however, remains in Washington along with the President. And what does Fox News continue to report? There is a "War on Christmas!"
Now today we have the big announcement from the NRA with regard to their recommendations in light of the Newtown tragedy. Their big recommendation? Putting armed police in every school in America because "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," according to NRA Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre. Nothing from the NRA about background checks at gun shows? Nothing about helping those with mental illness gain treatment? According to the NRA. adding more guns is the solution! But how should communities throughout America pay for all of those police officers? Will they be armed with automatic weapons to face intruders with assault weapons? It's bad enough communities have no money to pay for teachers, they now should instead pay for police protection? Does anyone else see this strategy playing right into the GOP efforts to privatize schools or promote home schooling because it will be safer?
One thing is for sure after all of these events. Americans ARE finally paying attention. According to the most recent CBS poll, only 11% approve of the GOP's leadership in Congress. 89% disapprove of the actions of the GOP leadership! And what does the GOP House leadership do? Punt and go home for vacation! What does Fox News do? Focus in on faux "War on Christmas" and begin to attack Hillary Clinton in anticipation of her candidacy for President in 2016. But America IS paying attention. The only problem that exists is the fact that the GOP is already dead as a national party and it will be so evidenced in the Mid-Term elections of 2014. As long as the GOP avoids this reality, perhaps we should call them the "Zombie GOP?"
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