It is time (party loyalty be damned) Democrats recognize that the U.S. is in deep trouble. When Obama repeated the oath of office he took responsibility for fixing things, just as Bush took responsibility for protecting the budget surplus he was given when he took the oath. As a lifelong Democrat I can despise the situation we are in and still support the President but I can’t say, painful as it is, that Republican lies betray the truth and that we are making significant progress. The patient, folks, is a little better but he’s still in ICU and in danger of relapse. The stimulus, like an organ transplant, is in great danger of rejection and there aren’t too many more drugs available with which to experiment.
The deficit spending brought on by the crash of 1929 and perpetuated by every President except Bill Clinton since then, has caught up with us. Don’t be fooled by conservative’s claims of fiscal responsibility either. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush ran up some of the largest deficits in history while paying for their tax cuts for the rich out of the Social Security trust fund thereby placing it in jeopardy. And don’t forget, the TARP fund bailout took place under President Bush, not President Obama.
Yes, we can point to some progress in the last two years but we can’t say with any certainty that we are on the right track. Unemployment is still high, although the major hemorrhaging has stopped, the housing market remains anemic and anorexic, economic growth is very low (1.5% at last check) we are still fighting two wars and we are in danger of fighting two more (North Korea and Iran).
Fortunately my family is grown and gone and doing well but if we still had kids at home I don’t know if we could support them. I was self-employed before I retired four years ago. In order to provide for our future I had to invest wisely, I had no corporate or union pension upon which I could depend. Since the early 21st century, though, I’ve seen our investments drop to a fraction of where I had hoped they would be. When you live off the dividends of investments and Social Security payments you can’t afford 20-30 and even 40% reductions in liquid assets.
Here’s a fact of life. I get about $2,000 a month in Social Security payments. When you combine the cost of health insurance (in addition to Medicare) along with Part D prescription coverage and the price I pay for prescription drugs when in the donut hole (I am a heart transplant recipient) most of my SS money is gone before I ever get it. I thought we could overcome even that, but when our investments tanked, times got tough and we were forced into a frugal lifestyle to which I am not accustomed … and I know mine is but one story in millions and I’m better off than most.
Am I blaming Obama? Of course not! But at the same time I cannot support the Democratic mantra that we are making good progress. Once you take the oath of office you take on the responsibility of an entire nation, its history and its future direction. Blaming obstructionist Republicans, former presidents and greedy lobbyists may be accurate but does not change the facts. We are a country in deep trouble. I call on my own party to reject emulating the Republican strategy of obstructing opposition initiatives just to win elections. That’s the worst kind of political expediency and Republicans don’t have a lock on the market. In this past session of Congress Republicans even rejected their own ideas if President Obama liked them. The implication is easily deciphered, “If Obama and the Democrats like it, it must be bad! That kind of fits in with the Mark Twain analogy, “It’s un-American, it’s un-British….it must be French.”
I have worked on several political campaigns and I held a senior position with a Minnesota Governor, I understand the realities faced by office holders and seekers. At the same time I think it is time that Democrats gave Republicans a lesson in “Doing the right thing.” All politicians, political parties, activists and others should be devoted to doing what’s best for the country, not what will help their special interest, increase fund-raising and therefore assure election or re-election to office. When you compromise your integrity in order to get votes, you cannot use “public servant” as a job description, that’s deceitful!
When I see Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pander to the anti-Mosque people in New York I get sick. He’s politicizing a constitutional issue in order to get votes and that’s wrong no matter the party to which you belong. It’s time to abandon blind political loyalty and work for the good of the country. So Republicans, Tea Partiers and Glenn Beck-ers, examine your motives. Do you oppose Obama because he is a Democrat and you want a Republican in the White House or do you oppose him because he is usually wrong? And Democrats — do you support Obama because he’s a Democrat or because he’s doing the right things and you are comfortable with the way things are?
I agree that Obama has had only had a short time to address issues of monumental proportion, but two years into his term unemployment is still high, the economy is tilting on the edge of a re-recession and we are still fighting two wars with an eye on two more, Iran and North Korea. It took a long time for the U.S. to get into this mess and we’re not going to get out of it overnight. It’s the same as complaining about the thirty pounds you gained in the last two decades and then expecting to lose them in a couple of weeks. Let’s get real.
Your Comments are welcome and encouraged if they are civil and reasonably argued. I will delete any comments that resemble party talking points, are hateful in nature, racist, sexist, profane and that consist of nothing more than personal attacks.
You may contact me via email at Jaxbob@gmail.com. Also please visit my Facebook page on organ donation and transplantation at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=15612565382&ref=ts or my Donation/transplantation blog at http://bobsnewheart.wordpress.com.
