Day: July 16, 2010

What Obama And The Democrats Must Do To Defeat The Republicans In November 2010!

Republican House Leader John Boehner has made clear what the goal of his party is if they regain control in November: repeal all legislation passed under Barack Obama, and rescind all regulations and reforms that have been enacted! 🙁

This is a negative approach, which basically is saying that we should go back to the Bush years of deregulation and corporate malfeasance, and ignore the reality of suffering for millions of Americans affected by the Great Recession brought on during the Bush Administration!

So the Democrats MUST go on the offensive, and in a sense, fight a guerrilla war against those who speak up for corporate America, for the privileged, for the elite! Make it clear that we gave the conservatives nearly 30 years in power in one form or another, and that it is now time that progressive and liberal ideas be permitted to bring about necessary reforms and fulfill the American dream of equal opportunity and a sense of fairness and justice, all of which has been lacking over the past generation!

And understand, this is not an issue of race, as there are millions of middle class and poor whites who have been exploited by the corporate world with impunity; millions of elderly and retired people who have seen their nest eggs irreparably stripped from them; millions of young people who have a sense of hopelessness about the future!

The Democrats must use the tactics of the Republicans to fight them, including exposing the truth of their records, their connections, their associations, and their heartlessness! It is very evident that the GOP does not care about the damage done to millions upon millions of American citizens by the economic crisis, the oil spill, and overwhelming power of the special interests! 🙁

The Democrats are far from perfect, but their history, their connections and associations, and the accomplishments that have occurred under President Obama offers greater promise for a brighter future than the negativism and chants of repeal and oppose, which has been the GOP message in the first year and a half of the Obama Presidency!

Lincoln Chafee’s Courage: Speak Reality To Rhode Island Voters In Difficult Times!

Former Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, who served in the Senate for seven years as an independent minded Republican, and then became an Independent after losing his Senate seat, is presently running for Governor, and offering voters reality and truth, and leaving it to the voters to decide!

Chafee, always very principled, and often unwilling to back the Republican view on many issues, remains popular in his home state, despite his loss in 2006, and is now telling voters that they will need to pay more taxes in order not to have budget cuts which would be damaging and unacceptable!

He has told the public in his campaign appearances that more taxation is essential, unless they are willing to let murderers out of prison early; expel old parents from nursing homes; or close state parks!

In other words, there are real world consequences if people are not willing to pay somewhat more taxes in the form of sales taxes! There is no free ride, and public services will suffer if the tax base is not supplemented by moderate tax increases!

That sounds like a suicidal mission, to suggest that people come to grips with reality! It will be interesting to see if Chafee can convince voters of the absolute need to raise taxes in a recession year!

The one factor in his favor is that he is running in a three way race, where he does not need a majority, but instead a plurality, to win the Governorship!

But, of course, then the question is whether the legislature would follow his lead and adopt the Governor’s program, as he would not be allied with either party! So this is a story worth following, both for the race itself, and but also for the aftermath if Chafee wins!

The Growing Impact Of Florida As A Microcosm Of The American Political Scene For 2010!

Chuck Todd on MSNBC this morning referred to the state of Florida as a microcosm of the American political scene for 2010!

The Florida political scene includes the role of independent candidacies (Governor Charlie Crist); the impact of “outsiders” becoming factors (Rick Scott and Jeff Greene); the battle within the major party structures (Bill McCollum vs. Rick Scott in the Republican party and Kendrick Meek vs. Jeff Greene in the Democratic Party); the impact of the Tea Party Movement (Marco Rubio); the effects of the Great Recession (mortgage foreclosures and effects of the BP Oil Spill on the economy); and the constant change in the Florida electorate due to immigration and population growth and migration!

As the late Tim Russert once said, Florida has become the center of American politics in so many ways, as it has become the fourth largest state, on its way to number three, although delayed a bit by the Great Recession in its population boom!

So the primaries on August 24 and the elections on November 2 will be closely watched as barometers of the American political future in so many ways!

America’s Crisis With Institutions And Centers Of Authority: The Reality Of Class Conflict!

It is becoming increasingly evident that America is facing a crisis over institutions and authority!

The average American is disillusioned and angry with all major institutions and centers of authority, the feeling that the interests and viewpoints of the average American are being ignored, and that they are victims of the corruption and malfeasance that exists in all of these institutions and centers of authority!

The institutions are big business corporations, banking and finance, auto companies, insurance companies, but also organized religion, the news media, labor unions, major league sports, the most prestigious universities, and most disconcerting of all–our own local, state and national governments! 🙁

All of these institutions and centers of authority have witnessed corruption and scandals, and many have them have shocked average Americans who feel a need to believe that our major institutions work! But, along with corruption and scandals, we have also witnessed incompetence and a level of arrogance that has totally alienated millions of Americans, who feel as if they have no anchor to latch onto, no institution that can assure them of stability and reliability! 🙁

A lot of this feeling is due to the horrific economic situation that millions of Americans have suffered through in the past two and a half years as the economy has gone through the biggest meltdown since the Great Depression of the 1930s!

But the difference is that the average American has been accustomed to more materialism and prosperity prior to the Great Recession, than was true before the Great Depression!

Having become accustomed to more, the loss of economic status now is far worse psychologically and in real life situations than it was in the 1930s! This is a loss of economic status that affects not just those who are racial minorities (although they are comparatively suffering to a greater extent based on statistics), but also the white majority which also sees minority advancement and immigration as major threats to their own status, which has been rapidly declining as well! 🙁

So while there are racial tensions, and accusations back and forth this week between the Tea Party Movement and the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People, the real crisis is not race itself, but rather CLASS! The middle class is being rapidly destroyed, the poor are worse off than ever, and the upper class is becoming more stratified and narrowly based!

The dangers of violence and radical action, while certainly always possible between racial, ethnic and nationality groups, is much greater on the issue of class! Basically, the “American Dream” concept is being destroyed, although many would say it has always been a myth, that anyone can go from “rags to riches”!

This disillusionment and tension in America explains why millions have no faith in their national government under President Barack Obama, or even in the state and local governments!

This complicates the issue of how to deal with the economic crisis we face, if citizens complain about the power of corrupt economic interests, but also remain angry at government attempting to resolve the issue!

The danger is that the lack of faith in government could lead to anarchy in America, which is NOT acceptable as a solution! So the crisis of confidence in America’s future, and how to deal with it and resolve it, is the major crisis the country faces as we move into the campaign season for the midterm elections of 2010! 🙁