Well, we have made it through yet another joint cession of congress, but this time there was no heckling; No Shouts of "You Lie", from the recalcitrant right. Instead a sober President, challenged our nations leaders to meet the demands of the moment. The eternal optimist, put forth a plan designed to appeal (yet again) to both sides of the aisle. The President's new initiative consists largely of tax cuts that both parties have suggested in the past. Bloomberg News described the plan as,
"$447 billion jobs plan tilted heavily toward the Republican prescription of tax cuts."
But does this bill have any chance of passing? Almost certainly, NOT! The President has crafted a plan that will save the jobs of teacher, invest in our infrastructure, and cut payroll taxes for workers and the businesses that hire them. But the plan that consists of ideas culled together from GOP proposals will likely encounter the same opposition his previous proposals have met. The question readers should ask, is WHY? Why would republicans oppose their own proposals? And how can they get away with such blatant obstruction? The right wing is out spinning, in every way they can to justify, the irrational.
The President repeated his demand, "PASS THIS BILL, RIGHT AWAY"! But the right doesn't want to let go of it's election year bone. The economy is still anemic. The suffering is still severe and its the hardship of the american people that the GOP is relying on to garner votes in the next election. But what happens to the GOP if the economy turns? What happens if the suffering is abated? The right wing has attempted to present this President as the most Left Wing, Socialist to ever ascend to the oval office. He has been called a communist. The right has suggested that he is so fundamentally foreign, that he cannot possibly understand what makes this nation great, and as a result, they have argued that he has utter contempt for the very foundations of our democracy. The rhetoric has been effective. Republican voters can be seen shedding tears at the very thought of President Obama winning a second term. The GOP has effectively painted Obama as an extremist and yet their depiction couldn't be further from the truth.
The President's proposals have largely maintained a single pattern; that is, centrality! No matter what proposal you consider, each Obama initiative has been derived in nearly equal measure, of Republican proposals and Democratic ideas. The Republicans for instance have claimed that the health care reform, known to them as OBAMACARE, is the single-most destructive bill "EVER" passed in the history of the nation. In fact, they have argued that it has been the arbitross around the neck of the nation's economy. Yet, the most common complaint about the healthcare bill has been against the Healthcare mandate-which requires citizens to purchase Health Insurance. The right has called it communism; the product of a socialists mind. Ofcourse they have forgotten that the socialist mind that originally proposed the mandate, was a member of the Republican party. The Mandate was actually first proposed by "Reagans favorite Think tank"-The Heritage Foundation. It then became the centerpiece of Presidential Nominee-and Republican-Bob Dole's healthcare bill during the Presidential race. Newt Gingrich proposed it. The majority of Republican senators during the 90's supported it. Mitt Romney even proposed that the UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM he established in Massachusetts, should become the model for the nation.
The Presidents stimulus package dedicated 40% of its total, to GOP requested Tax Cuts. If the stimulus package didn't work, as the republicans claim, then they should have to own 40% of its failure. We have at some point, failed to hold the GOP accountable. We are in dangerous waters when parties oppose legislation simply as a matter of pure partisanship. While I consider myself to be rather independent, I can tolerate ideological leanings. If leaders were voting on the basis of principle, or ideology I could understand their behavior. We often think of politics and our political persuasions as being the result of rational thought and consideration. In truth, our position on the political spectrum is the result of our own inbred tendencies; our own natural proclivities and leanings. I have found that the politics we adopt is much less subject to reason then we would like to think. It may seem like an exaggeration, but I believe that many of us were simply raised with the perspective to be liberal, or conservative, and that rarely changes throughout life. This is why, I hold no real malice against those I disagree with. Ideology is acceptable and understandable in my mind. But this is not about ideology.
The rise of President Obama has been accompanied by the rise of a form of GOP politics that sanctions opposing policies, even their own proposals, simply as a means of opposing the President. The Pay Day Tax Cut, was a GOP proposal, and yet the morning papers are filled with Republican statements declaring the Tax Cut to be ineffective. How these lawmakers can call proposals that they once championed, ineffective is beyond any understanding. The reality is that the media has failed to hold GOP lawmakers accountable. Partisanship in America has reached such a fevered level that it has made the entire American body-politc, ill. And it will not end, until the media calls these republican lawmakers on the carpet, and demands that they at-the very least-vote for their own damned, ideas!
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