The present state of politics and economics in America brought to mind a most unusual response by a politician, following George H. W. Bush's being elected president in 1988. A Reporter asked then Democratic New York Governor Mario Cuomo if he would seek the party nomination in 1992. Cuomo's responded that he wasn't sure because he would "be pulling for President Bush to succeed." The present climate in Washington causes one to wonder what happened to the days when who was president was less important than his ability to lead the nation toward solving its problems.
But because the goal of Republicans is "to make President Obama a one term president," they are taking "opposition party" to both a new level and a new kind of political competition. That goal is made more likely if Obama is incorrectly perceived by voters to have both caused and failed to revive the failing economy, and if he can be perceived to have caused whatever adverse conditions lead up to the 2012 presidential election, despite the conditions being caused by circumstances predating his presidency.
Consequently, if Obama's failure is the primary Republican goal, then whether Democrats or Republicans have the better plans for the future of our economy really is no longer debatable Besides, when the President fails, America fails. Certainly, there are things this president might attempt that would cause all Americans to wish his failure. But so far there is no evidence that he has either done or sought to do such things.
Health-care reform, for example, was an attempt to address the health needs of people who are less able to afford quality care, and at the same time reduce the increasing contribution of health care costs to the nation's debt. What's wrong with these? Republican objections to every attempt to benefit the American people are always based on their negative effects on businesses.
Businesses make profits because the American people work for them, buy their products and pay for their services. Businesses don't have to pass tax increases or the cost of health insurance to consumers in order to maintain adequate profits. Businesses whose profits are adversely affected by new regulations or taxes should be allowed to either pass on some of the costs or receive special tax considerations. But the economy must be either self-regulating or managed with rules and restrictions that benefit business, the people and a functioning American society.
But if Republicans are committed to making Obama fail, then everything they do will be toward that end, even if it means letting the government default in debt payments and hope Obama gets the blame. Politics in Washington have always been partisan but was never before so obviously driven by forces of greed and deliberate class destruction.
Barack Obama was elected CEO of the United States. He is the nation's main advocate, representative and spokesperson. As such, he sets the agenda for leading the country. It is an agenda on which he campaigned and was elected president by a substantial majority. His goals were clear and they were consistent with those he has pursued.
The pursuit of those goals, however, often has had to be compromised, consistent with democracy and a government where the people have representation in Congress who are both Democratic and Republican. But because Obama was elected by a substantial majority of the American people, the goals and the intent of the President's agenda should not be seriously compromised, and certainly not surrendered. The Congress should recommend, but not attempt to derail the people's intent as expressed in the President's agenda.
Unfortunately when Republican talk about what "the American people" want, they are really talking about the American people who give them marching orders and finance their elections.
Prior to the Nov. '10 elections, Republicans used polls, not the 2008 elections, to determine what "the people" wanted. However, since the 2010 elections, they don't use polls; they infer the people intent from those elections. How absolutely unbelievable can Republicans be and still be trusted?
Congress' job is to finance the president's programs and assure that the money is wisely spent. It is not their job to establish a counter agenda, but rather to make laws that, consistent with sound judgment, support the president's efforts. If the president fails in his pursuit of those goals, failure should be attributed to the president's programs, not to obstructions by the opposition party whole expressed intent is to cause his failure.
Although they may act as if they possess a crystal ball, Republicans have no way of knowing whether their economic plan or Obama's economic plan will better secure the nation's economic future. We do know, however, by their intent that Republicans will oppose any Obama's plan they believe will succeed. In a time of crisis, the political parties should be working together to help the people's leader succeed. There would be plenty of time in the future--when times are again normalized--to fight over which party is better for the country at that particular time.
Many Americans are presently in need of help because they have been denied equal opportunities to receive a quality education and, hence, get better paying jobs. Others have become impoverished by conditions they did not create. Yet, the wealthy want to punish them even more by denying them assistance to help them survive the conditions. The newly elected House Republicans are acting as if they have a mandate from the American people to be heartless.
We're in trouble on many fronts, and our salvation rests the following: (1) middle-class white Americans accepting that reality that most wealthy people don't care about them, either; (2) all Americans feeling enough responsibility for their own well-being by continuing to become better educated, being more involved in their children's education, and becoming better informed voters; and (3) American Christians not being persuaded by Christians pretenders who seek to link the teachings of Jesus to the shortcomings of socialism.
The Christian religion helped lay the foundation for this country. It undergirds our morality, ethics, and national integrity. If these attributes no longer matter, then self-control by public officials is no longer a viable option, making more regulations and oversight necessary--but also suspect if no one can be trusted.
Nearly everything pursued in America nowadays seems to be a race to the bottom.
Ronald
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