George W. Bush

Tea Party Extremists Gone Amuck: Defeat Of Utah Senator Robert Bennett!

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Senator Robert Bennett of Utah would be considered, by any reasonable standard, to be a solid conservative Republican, certainly in no way a liberal or moderate.

This man, a Mormon whose father Wallace Bennett served in the Senate before him; the grandson of the seventh president of the Mormon Church; and married to the granddaughter of the ninth President of the Mormon Church–was unable to win a fourth term nomination at the Republican State convention today!

What stood in the way of this senator, who voted against abortion, affirmative action, gay rights and marriage, health care reform, energy standards proposals, even emergency funding for Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina–and for the Patriot Act and tighter immigration controls, and repeal of the inheritance tax and support of the flat tax which favors the most wealthy taxpayers, among many other votes?

You would not believe that the vote which doomed Senator Bennett as NOT conservative enough, was his decision to support, as many others in the Senate and House did, the “bailout” of Wall Street institutions introduced by the Bush Administration in the fall of 2008, and continued in 2009 by President Obama’s Administration!

This event, the rejection of Senator Bennett, is an example of the absolutely sickening, crazy, loony Tea Party Movement’s influence, and a warning to Senator John McCain, Governor Charlie Crist and many others–establishment Republicans with a solid record of accomplishments for conservative causes–but also an element of individualism and maverick nature who DARED to use their brain, rather than ideology, to do what was the proper thing to do in a dire emergency, as we had not seen or experienced in 80 years!

The fact that what the US government has done has indeed worked toward the beginning of an economic revival does not matter to these lunatics! They are such “puritans” regarding their backwards ideology that they do not care what harm they do to the party which has best represented their right wing interests for all these years!

This is a warning to the GOP–continue to embrace the Tea Party extremists–and IF the American people have any common sense, these right wing rebels will be rejected at the polls this November!

Obviously, SOME of these characters will manage to get through and poison the political atmosphere, but Democrats MUST do whatever they can to keep the ship of state on an even keel, as a Tea Party takeover of American politics would be the triumph of insanity and harm the long term future of the United States!

By the way, there is the possibility that Senator Bennett will wage a write-in campaign for his seat, since this rejection was not in a primary where all registered Republicans could vote. With a famous name in Utah politics, and 18 years in the Senate behind him, it could occur that Senator Bennett will yet overcome the wingnuts who defeated him in the state convention today! For a state that is solidly conservative Republican, his eventual write in victory is the best that could be hoped for!

More Than Half A Million Jobs Created In Last Four Months: A Good Start!

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The US Labor Department reports that a total of 573,000 jobs have been created in the past four months!

Revised figures show 14,000 job growth in January, 39,000 in February, 230,000 in March, and 290,000 in April!

This is great news, but the reality is that, even with that job growth, with more seeking work, the unemployment numbers went up from 9.7 percent in March to 9.9 percent in April, which sobers the thoughts of happiness!

There is a long way to go, considering that there are more than 15 million people out of work, and it will still take many years before the unemployment rate returns to “acceptable” levels of 5-6 percent.

This is the result of failed economic policies of the Bush Administration, plus the open abuses practiced by corporations and banks, which led to the Great Recession we are now suffering through!

But at least, there is optimism that the number of jobs created will continue to grow as the months go by!

Glenn Beck, George W. Bush, And The Term “Progressive”!

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Talk show host Glenn Beck is at it again, continuing to distort history and the meaning of the word “progressive”!

According to this character, George W. Bush was a “progressive”! Is there anything more crazy than that assertion? 🙁

George W. Bush destroyed the environment during his administration!

George W. Bush undermined organized labor during his time in office!

George W. Bush abused civil liberties with the promotion of the Patriot Act!

George W. Bush undermined regulation of Wall Street and the corporations during his Presidency!

George W. Bush cut taxes on the wealthy and, as a result, the rich became richer, the poor became poorer, and the middle class was decimated!

George W. Bush doubled the national debt, with a good part of the debt increase being due to two undeclared wars that were sold to the American people as a question of national security, even though neither war has made our national security any more the reality for our nation!

George W. Bush undermined our relations with foreign nations, particularly what had been our close friendship with the Western European democracies!

The Presidents who have been seen as “progressive” were all Democrats from Woodrow Wilson onward, plus Theodore Roosevelt, who set the example for Wilson and other Democrats, and in some limited ways, Richard Nixon!

To call George W. Bush a “progressive” is enough to make one wonder if the person stating such is a “sane, rational” individual!

In the case of Glenn Beck, we know the answer to that question! 🙂 LOL

The Confusion Of The American People About The Purpose Of Government

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We have been hearing so much about the Tea Party Movement, which hates government, wants the government out of their lives, and feels overtaxed, despite the fact that taxes are the lowest they have been on the national level for 60 years!

Even those not allied with the Tea Party Movement seem to complain about government, and consider it not worthy of their trust.

And yet, whenever there is a problem, people look to their government! Government is necessary, and government is essential, but try to tell that to ignorant, emotional citizens who seem to think government IS the problem, a view promoted by Ronald Reagan and other Republicans for the past thirty years, as that party, in control of the Presidency for all that time except the eight years of Bill Clinton, and of Congress for twelve years, added tremendously to the national debt!

With all of that anger toward government, much of it totally irrational, now a Washington Post poll finds two thirds of those polled want MORE government regulation of the financial sector, just in time for the debate now beginning on regulation of that area of the economy!

And yet, so many people in polls complain that the government intervened to prevent what could have been a second Great Depression, in the Fall of 2008 under George W. Bush, and the Winter and Spring of 2009 under Barack Obama.

So what gives here? It is clear that a vast majority of Americans are acting like children in a temper tantrum! They want what they want from their “parents”, but yet resent their “parents” intervening! They also want what they individually want, but do not dare to care about other people!

This is selfishness, narrow mindedness, and greed–the ME attitude so well professed by Republicans and conservatives since the time of Ronald Reagan! They brought about this economic mess we are in, but when Barack Obama is trying to reform the system, the answer is to call him a Socialist and every other ridiculous libelous name, and yet also call for government intervention, which could very well be called Socialism, although it is NOT that!

Can the American people get their act straight, stop complaining, face the fact that we need government, and it is time to reject the naysayers who love to divide the American people and only promote what is best for the elite, not giving a damn for most of us?

In other words, let us not promote socialism, which is not what Barack Obama is attempting to do, but a new Progressive Era, where the government is of, by and for the people, instead of the corporations and the wealthy!

The Tea Party: Analysis Of What Makes Them Tick! Not A Pretty Picture! :(

Ronald 2 Comments

A New York Times/ CBS News poll last week examined the issue of what makes the Tea Party backers tick, what motivates them, and who they really are. It is all very revealing!

The poll shows that the Tea Party has 18 percent of the people behind them. It depicts them as more likely to be wealthier and well educated than the general public, and are very likely to be white, male, married and Republican. They are also older and define themselves as very conservative, and see Barack Obama as very liberal.

More than half feel Obama is more concerned about the poor than about them when it comes to policy making, and one out of four think that the administration favors blacks over whites.

The Tea Party people resent the Health Care overhaul and increased government spending, and think by overwhelming numbers that Obama is a Socialist, and do not like the President on a personal level. Many believe, wrongly, that he has increased taxes for most Americans.

And more than half hold a favorable opinion of President George W. Bush, and blame Congress for what has happened in the past two years.

They have the view that programs should be cut, by getting rid of “waste”, meaning those who are poor and deprived being supported by various social programs. But don’t dare cut Social Security and Medicare, while cutting spending and lowering taxes!

When one analyzes this poll date, it is obvious who the Tea Party people are. They are angry, white, upper middle and upper class people, who don’t like the fact that the country is changing so rapidly with growing minority groups, and they don’t want taxes to go up, but also don’t want their programs that benefit them to go down.

They are conservative and Republican in orientation, who have troubles dealing with a Democratic administration, which is led by an African American President, an African American Attorney General (Eric Holder), and has a Latina Supreme Court Justice (Sonia Sotomayor). They would be the first to applaud the new Arizona immigration law, failing to see it as what it is–a racist, discriminatory law, not all that different than African Americans faced in the South for more than a century until the Civil Rights laws were finally passed and enforced in the 1960s.

The Tea Party people want an America which is no longer that of their youth, and have trouble adjusting to rapid change. And they are certainly self centered and selfish, only concerned about “ME” rather than “WE”, the good of the nation at large! They would claim they are patriotic, but they are far from it, as they see the advancement of the nation only in the sense as to how they avoid taxation and have the least responsibility to their fellow men and women! And yet, many would claim to be “religious”–a mockery of the true meaning of having faith! 🙁

Former Vice President Dick Cheney: Crude And Disgraceful! :(

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Former Vice President Dick Cheney has long been controversial by his actions and his words, and he has been seen by his critics as an evil force who represents the worst elements of American politics.

Without a doubt the most powerful Vice President in American history, at least up to the last two years of the Bush Administration, when the President seemed to begin a separation from him and start to ignore his advice, Cheney has become even more controversial as the leading critic in the Republican party on the policies and programs of President Barack Obama.

And when Cheney has remained silent, his daughter, Liz Cheney, has been his mouthpiece, and is rumored to be planning to run for the Senate in either Virginia, where she lives, or in Wyoming, Cheney’s home state.

But now, six years after one of the most controversial public incidents of Cheney’s years in the Vice Presidency, he has revived memory of the moment when he used the f bomb out loud in the Senate chamber against Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy.

At the time, he refused to apologize for inappropriate language, and it certainly added to his poor image among decent thinking Americans.

But now, he has reasserted, in an interview with comedian Dennis Miller, that he looks back on that incident as a moment of pride, that many people approved of it, and that he thinks of it as the greatest thing he ever did in public office!

Can one imagine bragging about such uncouth behavior? How is this something to be proud of? What kind of example does this set for the younger generation, that a Vice President feels proud of using such language and will not cooperate for it even six years later?

Dick Cheney is a crude man, a disgraceful man, and should be ashamed of himself! 🙁

Auto Industry Revival Proof That Obama Administration Was Correct In Giving Aid!

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It has now been proved that the Obama Administration was correct in deciding to assist the auto industry from complete collapse by giving financial aid.

General Motors is paying back already $8.2 billion in aid to the government, and Chrysler is also on the road to recovery.

This idea of aiding business through loan guarantees to keep a company afloat are nothing new, as Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush all did it before Barack Obama.

The naysayers who said that the government should allow the auto companies to fail were absolutely wrong in that view, as by assisting them toward their recovery, millions of workers in auto and related industries, and many Midwestern and Southern cities, were able to avoid even greater unemployment and what would have been a depression, rather than a severe recession!

This whole concept that it is improper for the government to intervene when the economy is in trouble has again been proved to be totally false! The Tea Party, Republican, and conservative attacks on Obama over this are totally wrong, but of course none of these critics will dare to give Obama any credit. But those cities and workers, who have benefited from his wise decision to follow what other Presidents have done in economic crisis, know that they can give thanks that we had a President who did the absolutely right thing!

And there are many signs that the economy is recovering, and that will further prove that the critics are just that, critics, who do not care about the truth, but rather simply wish to divide and stir up trouble for the sake of partisan gain! Hopefully, the American people will prove in November that the politics of deception and lies will not be rewarded!

Poll Shows Most Want To Tax Rich, But Not Cut Medicare And Social Security!

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A Quinnipiac Poll shows that a vast majority of people, 60 percent, want to tax more those who make over $250,000, and 70 percent want to tax more those who make over $1 million. This includes both Democrats and Republicans stating such views.

But 80 percent do NOT want any tax increases on those making under $250,000, and most are vehemently opposed to any cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

Unfortunately, it is not sensible to think that such an attitude can work, as the irresponsible cuts in taxes since the Reagan Administration have helped to create the budget deficits we now face! The Republicans have been responsible for most of this budget shortfall, by tremendous increases in defense spending and war spending, particularly under George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Sales and income tax increases will be necessary in the long run, no matter what people might feel or wish. And future reform of Social Security is unavoidable, as it was once modified in 1983 during the administration of Ronald Reagan.

And also, Medicare spending will have to be modified, to get rid of waste and fraud, a lot of it caused by corrupt hospital practices and doctors who overbill with reckless abandon!

What it comes down to is there is no “free ride”, and the American people will have to learn that you must pay for what you want, and that you cannot expect others to pay while you gain everything as if there are no limits!

This, unfortunately, is an age of greed and selfishness, a new Gilded Age, which has been with us for 30 years and must now be reckoned with! We will have to limit expectations that the American people have become accustomed to as entitlements without responsibility!

Congressman John Murtha Dead: Had Great Impact On Iraq War

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Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a conservative Democrat who rose to the fourth ranking House position as the person in charge of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on defense, and who was very close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, passed away this afternoon at age 77.

Originally elected to the House at the time of the Watergate scandal under Richard Nixon, Murtha became a powerful force in the House, and made many enemies of people who respected and also feared him.

A gruff Marine who always supported defense spending, he surprised everyone by coming out against the Bush Administration Iraq War policy in November, 2005, and after that, he suffered from constant, bitter attacks by conservatives and Republicans, but that criticism of the administration took a lot of guts and courage on his part.

Often criticized for excessive “earmarks”, and thought to be involved in crooked dealings at times, he was under attack and was facing a tough 2010 re-election challenge this fall.

While many had mixed feelings about John Murtha, he certainly made a difference in our history, if for nothing else, than his willingness to stick his neck out–this Marine and defense advocate–against the Commander in Chief and the war he waged!

Why Did The Tea Party Movement Start In 2009? The Truth Is Clear!

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When one analyzes the “anger” and “frustration” of the Tea Party Movement and Freedom Works Movement, which began in February 2009, one has to wonder would the same rise of these movements have occurred if John McCain had been elected President?

It is clear that the answer would be No. While there is no way that our economy would have been any better than it is now, if McCain had been in the White House, the difference is that we have an African American President in the White House! Either McCain would have done much the same thing along the vein of what George W. Bush was doing in his last months in office to deal with the economic crisis, or had he done nothing to stimulate the economy, we would be now in a Great Depression Number 2 rather than a Great Recession! But at least we would have a WHITE President, and the country would be “safe”!

It is not as if Barack Obama CREATED this economic collapse! It was caused by LACK of regulation under Republican control of both houses of Congress and the White House for six years. Obama INHERITED this mess, rather than creating it!

Why is it these discontented “folks” did not rise up in anger and frustration over the wild spending on two wars and a “socialist” Medicare Part D prescription plan during the Bush Administration? Why is it that doubling of the national debt under George W. Bush did not cause outrage among these people? Why is it that all of a sudden when an African American President, with the backing of almost 54 percent of the American people, the biggest margin since 1988, takes the oath, all of a sudden, there is awareness of how terrible things are, and they are totally the fault of someone who was not in power and did not have authority to do anything to prevent it?

It is quite clear and obvious that all of the attacks on Obama as a “socialist”, an “illegal immigrant from Kenya”, as a “racist” and a “Hitler” is motivated by anger that we finally have someone in the White House who is there for ALL of the people, not just the privileged upper class and the corporate classes! And again he is African American! What a horrible tragedy, isn’t it, in the mind of these bigots!

The Republican party and conservative ideology are the cause of this collapse of the American economy and society, just as it was in the 1920s, and again, we have to look to the Democrats and progressive values to restore America to a condition of promoting equality of opportunity and hope in the future, now under Barack Obama, as then under Franklin D. Roosevelt, who suffered the same ideological attacks, but is now remembered for his greatness, while his critics are forgotten or recalled as the “lunatic fringe”!

The Tea Party Movement and the Freedom Works Movement are indeed the lunatic fringe of today, groups with no principles or ideals except their own advancement and aggrandizement!