liberals

First Impressions Of CNN-Tea Party Express Debate In Tampa, Florida

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It will take some time to analyze and interpret the CNN-Tea Party Express debate just completed in Tampa, Florida, this evening.

But first impressions include the following thoughts:

1. The debate was much more vigorous and challenging than any earlier debate, with excellent questions asked by all who had the opportunity, including the moderator, Wolf Blitzer of The Situation Room on CNN.
2. The reactions of the Tea Party audience were quite horrifying and scary, and to imagine a majority of the nation having these views and voting them into the White House is enough to encourage nightmares! These people as a group are very reactionary, mean spirited, self centered people, well dressed and making it clear that they do not want to feel any responsibility to society, but only to their own selfish interests. This is a guarantee of anarchy ahead as America faces a future quite different than the overwhelmingly white, older age, comfortable upper middle and wealthy class of citizens.that showed up at this debate!
3. Rick Perry came under sustained attack, held his own quite well, making very few concessions, but still can no longer be seen as a guaranteed front runner in the Presidential race.
4. Mitt Romney was also under attack, and held his own better than Perry, and remains a serious challenger for the duration, but not well liked by the Tea Party crowd.
5. Jon Huntsman again performed very well, but faced, as Romney did, a unsympathetic audience, but his answers were solid and mostly good in content, even if one did not agree with all of them.
6. Ron Paul gave some great responses if one was a libertarian, and received some applause, but also some strong boos when he condemned US foreign policy.
7. Michele Bachmann recovered from a lackadaisical performance in the last debate, strongly criticizing Rick Perry,and must be seen in a more serious light with her recovery in this debate.
8.Rick Santorum also improved, going on the offensive against Rick Perry, and must be seen in a more serious light than before.
9. Newt Gingrich gave some strong condemnations of Barack Obama, and showed his usual intelligence, but it is doubtful that he gained much overall in this debate.
10. Herman Cain was the least impressive of the eight candidates, and cannot be seen in any way as someone to watch, and his lack of government experience is a major negative.

So overall, Huntsman, Bachmann, and Santorum probably gained the most, while Perry and Romney held their lead. Paul got some sympathy support, but it is bound to go nowhere, and the same for Gingrich and no real gain for Cain.

It will be interesting to see how polls look at these eight candidates later this week, but to say it is strictly a Perry-Romney race is almost certainly incorrect.

Finally, if this debate does not convince Democrats, progressives, liberals, and Obama supporters, of the need to contribute to the campaign and work for Barack Obama with great devotion over the next 14 months, then nothing will!

This is a crisis for the nation, with a nightmarish alternative that must be seen as unacceptable! More will be said about this debate in future posts on this blog!

From “Give Them Hell Harry” To “Give Them Hell Barry”!

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In 1948, President Harry Truman was in deep trouble on the economy, had organized labor and many liberals against him, and had a Republican Congress majority in both houses, dedicated to destroying the New Deal and making Truman less than a one term President, an accidental President.

But the GOP turned against organized labor, alienated the masses by trying to repeal the New Deal, and Truman gained support of those who had been critical of him, and waged an active campaign against the 80th Congress as a “do nothing” Congress, and went out to the country and gained the nickname “Give Them Hell Harry”!

Now it is time for Barack Obama to do the same with the 112th Congress House Republicans and the reactionary Tea Party Movement that has taken over the party and its Presidential nominees, with the exception of Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney.

He needs to end the cooperative nature he has been promoting, and wage “war” on the GOP as a party which has no concern for the average American! He needs to go out to the country and gain the nickname “Give Them Hell Barry”!

With such a campaign, pointing out that the Republicans wish to destroy Medicare and Social Security, the backbones of the Great Society and New Deal, respectively, Barack Obama has the potential for a major victory against the Right Wing Republicans and bring back a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, and maintain a Democratic majority in the US Senate!

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute And Civic Literacy Testing

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The Intercollegiate Studies Institute is an organization which promotes civic literacy among the American people.

In a survey done in 2008, it was discovered that the average American taking a 33 question test scored 49 percent, and more shockingly, college educators only scored 55 percent! But those in public office scored lower than the average citizen, only 44 percent!

The test deals with American history, government, and economics, and it demonstrates how poorly our citizenry is knowledgeable about its own institutions and traditions.

79 percent of those in public office did not know that an official establishment of religion is banned in the Bill of Rights! 43 percent do not know the purpose of the Electoral College! 54 percent do not know that the power to declare war resides in the Congress! 27 percent cannot name one right or freedom guaranteed in the First Amendment! And 49 percent cannot name the three branches of government!

The author of this blog is proud to announce that he got a 90.91 percent result, 30 out of 33, matching his son David, on the exam, with both of us somewhat stumped by economics questions, but fortunately, only three of them!

By the way, IF such an exam was given to Rick Santorum, who this week condemned liberals for the poor knowledge of American history in America, it seems certain he might not even score the average of 49 percent of the typical American citizen who participated in the exam in 2008 or the average of 44 percent of officeholders. And it is clear that Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin would also fail miserably. Instead of them all blaming liberals, who have promoted an expansion of the American history curriculum to cover the history of minorities, women, and labor, from just the usual white male leaders of government and great business capitalists constantly idealized by conservatives, they might finally learn the truth and complete story of American history!

President Obama Comes Out Swinging: It’s About Time!

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Many liberals and progressives have been frustrated by President Obama’s desire to come across as moderate and to cooperate with the Republican Party opposition, despite their concerted campaign to oppose him in every possible way in the past two and a half years.

Obama’s willingness to compromise on the budget deal in December and again this month has made many wonder if Obama had the “cajones” to come out swinging against the GOP agenda to take us back to the 1920s, or even the Gilded Age of the late 19th century!

Obama’s speech this Wednesday resolved that issue, as the President came out in an assertive manner against the Paul Ryan plan to gut Medicare, and promote a ruthless cutting of the social safety and economic regulatory network that the Democrats set up under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society!

Obama declared that he will not allow the destruction of Medicare, in favor of a voucher system which would put senior citizens and disabled people back into poverty, as was the case before Johnson pushed through a way to promote dignity in old age by providing what every other industrial nation has, not only for older and disabled people, but all citizens in their nations!

Obama declared that he would not abandon the needs and security not only of senior citizens and the disabled, but also the young, the poor, and the average working man and woman, who is being victimized by a tax policy that has created more stratification of incomes than ever in American history, and greater than any other democratic nation in the world!

While there is a need for reforms within Medicare and Medicaid and other government programs, Obama said he would use a scalpel rather than a machete to deal with necessary changes.

He defended the rights of working people and the middle class, who have borne the burden of taxes, while the elite upper classes have been gaining tremendous tax breaks for the past decade, at the same time that the Bush Administration put us into tremendous national debt growth due to two unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a Prescription Drug Plan not paid for by taxpayers!

Obama emphasized the importance of investments in education, transportation infrastructure and energy research, and cuts in wasteful defense spending, of which there is much evidence, and the need to stop thinking of all defense expenditures as sacrosanct.

Obama also said what is going on is part of the perennial battle over the role and size of government, going back to the Founding Fathers (meaning the struggle between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson). We must understand, he declared, that this is a country which has a social compact to care about others, not just oneself, and that the concept of ME must be transformed to WE–that when some are victimized, the rest of us should be seen as lessened in our commitment to human dignity! The “American Dream” must be kept alive for future generations!

The Republican reaction was to say that Obama was overly “partisan”, as if they have not been such since Day One of the Obama Presidency!

The problem in reality is that Obama has not been partisan enough, and finally seems to have woken up to that fact, that this is a battle over the future of the country, and we cannot allow the extreme right wing of the GOP to win control of all branches of government!

We must fight back and give the Republican Party “hell” as Harry Truman did in 1948, and speak for real change as Franklin D. Roosevelt did with his New Deal in the 1930s and Lyndon Johnson did with his Great Society in the 1960s!

This is a battle to retain the political, social and economic reforms of the past hundred years, and to move into the future with optimism, and a belief that all citizens must play their role in the future of the nation, rather than the obsessive gathering of wealth at the expense of society at large!

So a salute to the President, and we look forward to a year and a half of active, aggressive campaigning by him as he seeks a second term in the White House, and a repudiation of the anti labor, anti women, anti children, anti elderly, anti poor, anti environment, anti science, anti health care, anti consumer regulation, anti financial regulation, anti education, anti Hispanic and Latino, anti African American, and ultimately anti middle class agenda of the Republican Party, and the Tea Party extremists within and outside the party establishment!

Wisconsin And The Future Of American Politics: A Turning Point For 2012!

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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans in the State Senate may have won the struggle with public workers over collective bargaining in the state of Robert LaFollette, Sr. for the moment, by their dastardly legislative “trick”, which allowed them to take away labor rights without a quorum in their legislative body!

But it has aroused liberals, labor, the young, moderates and independents who recognize what Wisconsin represents: an attack on the basic human rights of workers to be able to have a “fair shake” at the bargaining table with their employers, whether the government or private corporations!

A recall movement is beginning against Republican State Senators, and some will be coming up for such elections within a few months. Early next year, the recall campaign will begin against Governor Walker.

The Wisconsin battle will also reverberate in the national campaign of 2012, including the Presidency and Congress, as well as the state governments. Public opinion polls already indicate heavy opposition to what happened in Wisconsin, both inside the state and throughout the nation!

It will mobilize many citizens to get actively involved in the political campaign, and to contribute financially to the Democratic Party, because it is more clear than ever before that the Republican Party continues to work against the interests of the working man and woman, whether blue collar or highly educated white collar workers!

This is a battle for the future! Will America’s future be one of billionaires, such as the Koch Brothers, dictating and mandating working conditions and promoting what is good only for the top two percent and the corporations and banks?

Or will it be one of the promotion of the interests of the rapidly dwindling middle class, and compassion for those less fortunate, who are not born to wealth and privilege and just want a “fair shake” from their government?

This is not just a political battle; it is also a moral battle for decency and social justice, and if it is lost in 2012, the long range implications are horrendous for the future of American democracy!

New Hampshire Republicans War On Young College Student Voters

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The Republican Party is really big on alienating major blocs of voters with their narrow minded views on social issues and on economic issues, but now they are starting a “war” against college students and young people generally by attempting in New Hampshire to prevent them from voting in local elections and in state primaries and elections unless their parents become citizens of the state!

The argument used is that a majority of college students tend to be liberals and Democrats because they allow their “feelings” to govern their minds, and that they lack life experience, which apparently would make them Republicans and conservatives!

What an insult to young people, stereotyping them and trying to deny them the right to participate in elections where they live, working against the idea of voter participation as provided for in the 26th Amendment in 1971!

And the idea that most young people and college students are liberals is far from the case, as many young people were seen at the CPAC convention in Washington, DC, and there are indeed many young people who ally with conservatives and Republicans!

And to say that people vote their feelings is nothing new, as ALL voters do that! Could it not be possible that many young people, however, are not as selfish, self serving, and greedy as older voters, and actually care about more than their own self aggrandizement?

The Republican Party is giving more evidence every day that they are anti democracy and anti people! What else do people have to know to realize that the GOP is not the party of the people, but rather of the special interests?

Tea Party People And Conservatives Take Note: The Constitution Established A Strong National Government, And The Amendments Have Made For A More Liberal, Nationalist Nation!

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Tomorrow, the House of Representatives is spending taxpayer money to read the Constitution out loud, as a supposed lesson to the nation as to what the Constitution contains.

This is occurring due to the impact of the Tea Party Movement, but if that group and other conservatives really listen to and think about the words of the Constitution, they would realize what the Constitution is all about.

The Constitution was created to REPLACE the Articles of Confederation, a document that gave the states authority that led to chaos, anarchy and bankruptcy, and forced the hand of liberal nationalist Founding Fathers who realized that the country would not survive without a STRONGER NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.

The Constitution gave the US Congress tremendous and specific powers in Article 1, Section 8, the ELASTIC CLAUSE–necessary and proper for the common defense and the general welfare–, creating vague language that could be interpreted broadly, and has been by the Supreme Court over 200 years since the time of Chief Justice John Marshall.

Liberal nationalists brought about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights!

Liberal nationalists brought about the Civil Rights Amendments (13, 14, 15) in the years after the Civil War.

Liberal nationalists brought about the “Progressive” amendments on the federal income tax (16), direct election of the US Senate taken away from the state legislatures (17), and woman suffrage (19) in the second decade of the 20th century.

Liberal nationalists brought about the right of DC residents to vote for President (23), the end of the poll tax in all elections (24), and the 18 year old vote (26) in the decade of the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Constitution has been made the great document it is by the actions of the Founding Fathers and later generations of liberal nationalists, whether Federalist, Republican, or Democratic, and by Supreme Courts led by great Justices, including John Marshall, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, William O. Douglas, Earl Warren, William Brennan, Harry Blackmun, John Paul Stevens and many others!

No matter what conservatives, Republicans, and Tea Party activists might say or believe, it is LIBERAL and PROGRESSIVE activism that has led to the Constitution and its amendment improvements over two centuries!

Liberals and progressives stand together in pride as to their enactment and expansion of the document which inspires people all over the world, the greatest constitutional document ever created by the will of mankind!

Another Progressive And Liberal Victory: The Struggle For Civil Rights For Gays In The Military Finally Accomplished! :)

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Another major victory for civil rights was celebrated this morning at the Interior Department before an overflow crowd, as President Barack Obama signed into law the ending of the policy in the military of “don’t ask, don’t tell”.

It was an emotional moment for many, and shows what the constant battle has been throughout American history: to overcome discrimination, prejudice, favoritism, elitism, based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and now sexual orientation.

There is absolutely no justification to deny any American the same rights and liberties that every other American has, but in the past, only white men of property had any rights.

If we were to go by the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the concept of “originalism”, we would still have denial of equality for African Americans, other ethnic minorities based on religion and nationality, gender, disability and sexual orientation.

Instead, we have had the expansion of equality over many generations of struggle, whether those who were privileged at the time liked it or not.

There is no negotiation on basic human rights in this nation, and we must all remember that when one looks at history, whether in the 19th, 20th, or 21st century, who was it, broadly based, who fought “tooth and nail” against civil rights and civil liberties for all Americans?–the conservatives of each time frame, not always identified by political party, but by an attitude of privilege and entitlement! 🙁

And who was it that fought for human rights in each time frame, not always identified by political party, but committed to justice and equality?–progressives and liberals who were committed to principles that come from the Constitutional Convention, but developed beyond the “originalism” view so vehemently espoused by conservatives!

And sooner than we think is possible, gay marriage will be accepted, as interracial marriage was adjusted to in the 1960s, and it will not be a question whether everyone approves it, as basic human rights, including marriage, are not to be seen as negotiable due to one’s personal or religious beliefs. After all, no one demands that a person like what is going on in society, but simply that he or she accept the fact that it is none of their business to interfere in a basic human right!

Personal freedom is an inviolable right that is not subject to the whim of public opinion polls!

The Bernie Sanders Filibuster Against The Obama-GOP Tax Deal: An Honest Expression Of Frustration, But Not Ultimately A Winning Strategy! :(

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As the author writes, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders is conducting a filibuster against the tax deal negotiated by the Obama Administration with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Minority Leader, and others.

In an unprecedented move, Congressional Democrats are staging a revolt against what their own party’s President has done, and the anger and venom felt by many progressives and liberals seems to have no limit.

They feel that the President has surrendered to the GOP, and that the tax deal is unacceptable, but the Republicans are “holding hostage’ all action on other issues, and already have prevented a final vote on the DREAM Act, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, the START Treaty, and the September 11 First Responders Medical legislation.

As the author has stated before, there are many problems with the proposed tax legislation, but continues to feel that the shortness of time prevents a major rebellion against the proposal, as if it is not done, unemployment compensation extension will be prevented, along with failure on the above list of priorities.

So while the author is sympathetic to what Senator Sanders is doing, and what Chuck Schumer, Anthony Wiener, Gary Ackerman, Jerrold Nadler, Mary Landrieu, and numerous others in both houses of Congress are expressing, it seems an unwise action, and it is certainly unusual to see progressives and liberals utilizing the filibuster tactic!

Hopefully, some tinkering with the legislation can be arranged, but major change will have to wait for the election results of 2012. Meanwhile, President Obama is meeting today with former President Bill Clinton to gain advice as to how to deal with this messy situation, similar to what Clinton faced after the disastrous midterm losses of 1994.

Liberals, Progressives, And The Reality Of American Politics

Ronald 2 Comments

Liberals and progressives in large numbers are denouncing the agreement reached between President Obama and Congressional Republicans on the issue of the so called Bush tax cuts being continued for another two years.

The author is not happy with this agreement, which will raise the national debt by nearly a trillion dollars, take money away from the Social Security reserves by the fact of a lower collection of Social Security taxes, and allow the further stratification of America by making the rich richer, the poor poorer, and the middle class further exploited! 🙁

However, the restoration of the estate tax, the continuation of unemployment compensation for the millions out of work in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the retaining of other tax credits for the poor, and the two year limit on the extension of tax cuts, are all good points in an unpleasant but realistic compromise for the moment, so that taxes do not go up for everyone on January 1!

Barack Obama made clear yesterday at his news conference that he felt the GOP were “hostage takers”, but that the American people would be further victimized by the GOP, which he said only cares about the super rich, if he did not make a temporary deal!

Obama made clear that the battle over taxes was just delayed, not resolved, and that he would make it an issue in the 2012 campaign. So although he may be seen by many as “caving in” and “surrendering”, his contention is that the fight will be brought to the GOP in the next election, and it sounded as if he was prepared to be Harry Truman a la 1948, and “give them hell”!

Certainly, his rhetoric was aggressive and confrontational regarding the GOP. But it was also critical of the “purist” progressives and “pie in the sky idealists” who are criticizing his strategy!

Obama pointed out that he has either accomplished what his goals were, or has made progress on those that are not achievable in the short term. He is looking to the long term, and he feels that he has kept the promise of his campaign to bring change, or start to bring change in many areas where the politics make it impossible for now to accomplish success!

Obama said compromise is unavoidable in American politics, and that playing politics alone would not bring about desired results. We would not be the nation we are if not for compromise, Obama asserted. In that, he is absolutely right!

And when one looks at the history of the Democratic Party and the progressive and liberal crusade for a better America, one unfortunately MUST realize that this nation is fundamentally a conservative nation slow to react to the need for change! 🙁

Progressives, liberals, and the Democratic Party have accomplished great things since the 1930s, but the resistance and opposition to these changes has been fierce, and therefore, progress has been incremental, often delayed and often frustratingly slow! 🙁

But one thing is absolutely clear: When Democrats, progressives and liberals fight and divide amongst themselves, the right wingers of this country triumph! 🙁

When discontent leads to a decision to work against a Democratic President because everything is not ideal and perfect, the Republican Party wins! 🙁

It happened in 1980, when liberal opposition to President Jimmy Carter, as exemplified by Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown, helped to lead to Ronald Reagan in the White House!

It happened in 1968 when liberal opposition to Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey led to Richard Nixon in the White House!

It led to Al Gore losing Florida in 2000 when Ralph Nader, a true “pie in the sky idealist” took enough votes away to throw the state to George W. Bush!

So do we want Barack Obama to be damaged and cause his loss for 2012 and get a far less desirable Republican in the White House? 🙁

Certainly, a second term of Obama will bring more chance of change and reform than if a Republican is elected!

If nothing else, the Supreme Court and lower federal court judge appointments will be a lasting legacy, which would be better under the control of Obama than a Republican President from 2013-2017!

So the reality of American politics is that compromise is often essential, as only TWICE has a Democratic President had enough of a margin of his party to be able to accomplish most of his goals: Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s and Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s!

Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and now Barack Obama have had to work within the framework of a strong opposition blockading a lot of change!

This is the sad truth and reality of American politics, and progressives and liberals NEED to recognize this and work with President Obama and give the Republican Party “hell” over the next two years and in the Presidential Election of 2012!