Category Archives: Politics

The Clampetts meet Hee Haw.

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For the past year, the political movement known as the Tea Party has garnered lots of attention.  I’ve watched in wonder as the followers shouted down Senators and Congressional Representatives, and marched with signs calling Obama a Socialist, a Communist and even a Nazi.  I found it difficult to understand what these people were so angry about.  After all, past Republican administrations had done more to run up the national debt.  And it’s Republicans who have orchestrated a 30-year attack on the middle class while transferring wealth to the richest one percent of the population.

But after watching Sarah Palin ratchet up the anger at a Tea Party event with her hillbilly twang, it suddenly came to me.  The Tea Party isn’t a new movement at all.  It’s the audiences of “Hee Haw”,” Beverly Hillbillies” and Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Know You’re a Redneck When…“ all put together.   These people are rednecks and damn proud of it.

Led by Palin portraying a brunette version of Elly May Clampett, Joe the Plumber cast as Larry the Cable Guy and Glenn Beck as an erstwhile traveling preacher, the followers of the Tea Party seem to revile education and worship the past.  To them, all of America’s problems are the fault of eggheads and immigrants.  They see themselves as modern-day Paul Reveres out to save America from the new invaders.  And when they were credited with affecting the outcome of the Massachussett’s Senate race they became as happy as hillbillies who struck “black gold.” 

The only question is what’s next?  What if some of these people are actually elected to office?  It’s hard to imagine any redneck with a G.E.D. trying to regulate slick Wall Street bankers, let alone understand a Credit Default Swap.  I cringe at the idea of these people trying to re-interpret the Constitution.  And can you imagine any one of them having control of our nuclear weapons? 

Within weeks we’d likely be at war with Mexico and Canada and all of those nations with funny-sounding names they can’t find on a map. 

Let’s hope that, before the next elections roll around, the Tea Partiers return to their usual outlets for venting anger.  Like pro wrestling, demolition derbies and family bar fights.

The bullies of broadcasting.

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Most of us have been victimized by bullies at some point in our lives; usually on the school playground.  Even as adults, we also may be victimized by corporations that use their money, resources and power to force us to pay a fee or back down from a situation in which we feel wronged by the company.  There may be no better example of corporate bullying than the constant attacks on ACORN which were aired by Fox News Channel and its right-wing pundits. 

ACORN stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now; and for many years the organization stood up for homeless and the working poor to help them find jobs and housing.  As a minor part of its charter, the organization also helped register voters.  And since many of these new voters voted for Democrats, that incensed the Republican Party and its conservative zealots.

You may remember that, for several years, conservatives angrily accused ACORN of election fraud, and they were frustrated when no state, county or local investigation uncovered any wrongdoing.  Then, last year, the wingnuts found their opportunity.  A young freelance “journalist” approached Fox News Channel with a series of videos that purported to show ACORN employees advising a young woman posing as a “prostitute” and O’Keefe posing as her ”pimp” to lie about her profession and launder her earnings.  Fox News Channel pounced on the gift it had been presented.  For months Fox reveled in showing the James O’Keefe-produced videos.  Indeed, the network practically had it on a continuous loop that played every day for months. 

As a result of the publicity, several of the ACORN employees shown in the videos were fired.  In addition, Congress voted to suspend funding for the organization and ACORN collapsed.  Meanwhile O’Keefe was hailed as a hero for revealing the real “truth” about the organization.  Even when O’Keefe was later arrested for entering a Congresswoman’s office under false pretenses, allegedly to install an illegal wiretap, O’Keefe was still revered by Fox and its conservative audience.

I believe that Fox News Channel not only owes ACORN an apology and equal time for the retraction.  It probably should face charges for libel.  You see, investigators in New York and California, where the alleged incidents took place, have debunked the O’Keefe videos as a hatchet job done with some slick editing. 

Upon investigating the incident in Brooklyn, the District Attorney found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by ACORN.  And, as first reported on The Rachel Maddow Show, California Attorney General, Jerry Brown, concluded that O’Keefe edited his footage to make it appear that an ACORN employee was agreeing to assist the smuggling of prostitutes into the U.S. from Mexico.  The raw footage showed that the ACORN employee was actually trying to elicit more information from the pimp played by O’Keefe in order to help the police intercept the smuggling operation.  Indeed, the employee called the police shortly after O’Keefe left his office.

It seems that the only real scandal is that O’Keefe’s version of the story was so readily accepted and aired by Fox News Channel without corroboration or a thorough investigation.  But that’s what bullies do.

The selective memories of the “Leave It To Beaver” crowd.

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Attribute it to a loss of brain cells from using too many drugs in the 60s.  Or maybe it’s the result of the two martini lunches of the 70s.  Or perhaps the champagne parties celebrating the investment returns from the 80s and 90s.  But the people who look back so fondly at the America of the “Leave It To Beaver” and “Ozzie and Harriet” days in the 50s have it all wrong.

They remember an America of a thriving middle class with white picket fences, big cars with fins and lots of chrome, and hula hoops.  And they’re furious because they think that a “socialist” President is taking it all away from them.  They whine that they’re overtaxed, underemployed and our budget is overspent.  So they’re joining the Tea Party to take their America back … with guns if necessary.

One wonders how they missed the fact that the top tax rate in the 1950s was more than 90 percent as compared to a highest rate of 35 percent now.  How could they forget the oppression of African Americans who were segregated and denied the right to vote?  How could they forget the days prior to adequate birth control when young women who became pregnant weren’t allowed to finish their high school education?  How could they forget the talk of coat hangers and back-alley abortions prior to women gaining the right to a legal abortion?  How could they forget the Cold War which threatened to annihilate us at any moment?  And how could they possibly ignore the fact that it was so-called conservatives who de-regulated Wall Street and the oil markets? 

It was conservatives who led the U.S. into “globalization” and the race to merge thriving companies into mega-corporations who would export our jobs.  It was Reagan who led the fight against labor unions that negotiated decent wages and benefits.  It was Reagan who cut taxes for the wealthy while raising taxes on the middle class by eliminating tax write-offs for interest payments on cars, credit cards and other purchases.  And it was Reagan and George W. Bush who presided over the greatest deficit spending in U.S. history.

All of that is conveniently forgotten by the Palin-led and Fox-fueled Tea Party types who now blame all of our problems on a black President and Democratic Congress.  How ironic that the Tea Party labels as Socialists, Communists and Nazis the very people who are fighting for the middle class … who are trying to end 30 years of upward wealth distribution by creating new green jobs, cleaning up our environment and rebuilding our failing infrastructure. 

If the Tea Partiers succeed in throwing out the current government, they want to rewind the way-back clock to days when there were only white people on their block.  When there were no Americans of non-Christian faith (except the Jews, who were tolerated because, after all, Christ was a Jew).  When the only Latino they had to confront was Ricky Ricardo on “I Love Lucy”.  When they were free to discriminate against anyone; women, people of disabilities, the elderly, gays, the homeless … the list was almost endless. 

I lived through those days.  And as far as I’m concerned, the only people who could possibly long for a return to those days likely fit into three groups:  Bigots, racists and the memory impaired.

Small government = Big fraud

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In 1980, Ronald Reagan declared that the government is the enemy of business and our citizens.  And led by the “Great Communicator”, Republicans set about down-sizing government by eliminating “red tape” and regulations; an effort that continues to this day.  It’s a tantalizing argument.  After all, who wants their taxes to go toward unnecessary bureaucracy? 

Unfortunately, that argument neglects one very important fact:  For a government or, for that matter, any organization to operate efficiently, it must have some way to enforce its rules.  Without enforcement, the criminals, the unscrupulous and the greedy will prosper at the expense of the law-abiding.  By gutting Government regulation, Republicans have encouraged runaway greed. 

Want a few examples?

The financial collapse of 2008 and current recession were the direct result of gutting the Glass-Steagall Act which created firewalls between financial investment institutions, insurance companies and banks of deposit.  The housing crisis was the result of a lack of oversight with regard to mortgage lending.  The estimated $80 billion in Medicare fraud is made possible by the fact that there are precious few regulators.  The run-up in oil prices in 2007 was the direct result of Republican deregulation of the commodity markets.  And the rampant fraud in military and construction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan was the result of no-bid contracts with little to no oversight.

The list could go on and on. 

Yet despite all evidence to the contrary, conservatives continue to push for more deregulaltion.  Why?  For some conservative legislators, it may be a misguided and misinformed philosophical decision.  However, the cynic in me is more likely to believe that our representatives are paid to push for deregulation by the large corporations which contribute to their campaigns.

What else could explain why the conservatives in Congress continue to fight regulation of our “too big to fail” financial institutions even after their misadventures nearly led to the collapse of the world economy?

Hey Republicans! Cram this!

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For weeks now, Republicans have been chanting their new talking point; that Democrats are trying to cram health care reform down our throats.  They say that we should just “throw out the current bills and start over with a clean sheet of paper.  If you buy that, I think I can find some mortgage-based credit default swaps to sell you.

Democrats have been making a case for the need for health care reform since the 1930s.  We have millions without health care coverage and tens of thousands die each year as a result.   And those numbers are climbing as rapidly as insurance company premiums.  But Republicans are in no hurry to see health care reform pass.  They’d like to delay it.  Indeed, Republicans controlled the White House and maintained substantial majorities in both houses of Congress until 3 years ago.  The need for reform was no less apparent then.  Yet, in 6 years of Republican majorities, they never once tried to reform any part of the health insurance industry.  There was no talk of tort reform.  No talk of preventing insurance companies from dropping patients whenever they want.  No talk of helping patients with pre-existing conditions.  And the only reason Republicans are concerned with those issues now is that they want to prevent Democrats from dictating to the industry that donates so much money to Republican election campaigns.

The truth is Democrats aren’t cramming health care reform down Americans’ throats.  They’re cramming it down the throats of the Republicans who have spent decades trying to block it. 

Health care reform has already passed.  It passed the House with a large majority and a very similar bill passed the Senate with 60 votes.  The only thing remaining is for the two houses to come to some agreement on the few details that are different in the two versions.  That’s hardly “cramming” it through.

Moreover, prior to the votes, Democrats engaged Republicans in crafting the bills.  House Republicans offered dozens of amendments that were included in the House version.  And despite their majority in the Senate, Democrats let 3 Senators from each party craft the bill.  Yet despite all of their amendments and input, not a single Republican voted for the bill.  In fact, they even verbally attacked their own amendments! 

It’s apparent that Republicans don’t want to address the problems in our health care system.  They merely want to protect the large health corporations and block any form of Democratic accomplishment. 

It’s time for Democrats to ignore the Republican protests and get the bill to the President’s desk for his signature.

America’s New Sport.

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The televised “Health Care Summit” highlighted the new reality of American politics.  It has become a sport or, if not sport, a high-stakes game of “Survivor.”  At least that’s the way Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN would like you to see it.  They want you to tune in to see which side, the Democrats or the Republicans, will score the most points in the latest tracking poll. 

Who will be portrayed as the latest villain?  Who will stand out to become the MVP?  And who will be shot down in flames? 

Like it or not, politics have become a daily competition for your support and your vote.  If President Obama scores with a speech or a proposal, the RNC with Fox and Limbaugh as cheerleaders, try to rally their base with appeals for fundraising, letter writing, phone calls and demonstrations to counter it.   If John Boehner or Mitch McConnell score, the DNC with the MoveOn cheer squad immediately ask for money and petitions to smack down the opposition.

If the issues facing America weren’t so serious, this might all be great fun.  But creating policy based on the ever-changing opinions of an under-informed public is a lousy way to govern.

Both sides need to stop trying to score points and do what they were elected to do:  Solve problems for the American people.  We still have thousands of Americans in harms way in two wars.  We have millions who are unemployed and losing their homes.  And according to the latest statistics, 33,000 people will lose their lives this year for lack of health insurance.  Many more will face bankruptcy as a result of catastrophic illness. 

These issues are too important for gamesmanship.   

Majority Rules!

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Over the past year, Senate Republicans threatened to filibuster legislation more than at any time in our nation’s history.   They have threatened and blustered.  And Senate Democrats have backed down.  The result is that Democrats now need 60 votes to pass a bill instead of the 51 actually required by Senate rules.  

Given that Democrats now number 59 in the Senate, and given that no Republicans have been willing to break ranks and vote for a Democrat-sponsored bill, what now? 

To see the way to the future, Democrats simply need to look to the past. 

You see, the reason the filibuster was seldom threatened in past decades is that the proponents of a bill were willing to call the obstructionists’ bluff.  The mere threat of a filibuster was not good enough.  If you threatened to filibuster, you actually had to do it.  That meant speaking around the clock to prevent the legislation from moving forward.  The filibustering party would move beds into the Senate chamber and prepare for a long, embarrassing ordeal.  They would be forced to stand at the Senate lectern for days on end.  If they tired and stopped, the filibuster ended. 

The sight of Senators babbling for hours on end reading the Bible, the phone book and everything else at hand was great theater.  But it seldom worked.  A filibuster might last for days, but the obstructionists would eventually tire and the bill would proceed to a vote.  In addition, the filibustering Senators often were punished by the voting public in the next election. 

There was no need to seek compromise.  No need to back down.  The question is, why don’t Democrats force the filibuster?  They have the majority.  It’s time to rule.  

Snarky Palin good at criticizing. Not so good at leading.

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Palin’s speech before a Tea Party convention of hundreds clearly points out two things.  One, Palin is really good at delivering snide criticisms of the political left.  Witness her comment directed toward President Obama, “How’s that hope-y, change-y thing working out for you?” 

It was a typically snide Palin comment sure to excite the anti-Obama, anti-progressive, anti-government, anti-everything crowd.  (In other words, the Fox News Channel viewers.)

In a Sunday morning interview on Fox, Palin broadly hinted at her candidacy for president in 2012.  It’s a candidacy unlikely to go very far, which brings me to my second point.  Palin has shown absolutely no ability to lead.  Yes, she has become the de facto leader of the rabble who call themselves the Tea Party.  And it’s true that she served as mayor of a small town in Alaska.  But almost anyone with a pulse could serve in such a capacity. 

The true test of her abilities became apparent after she was elected to the office of governor.  In that office, as demonstrated by recently released emails, she apparently spent much of her time looking for ways to defraud the state of Alaska into paying for travel for her family and rent for her personal home.  In addition, she took nearly 6 months off to run as McCain’s vice-presidential candidate.  During that time, it seems her only official acts as governor were to defend herself against a large number of ethics complaints – many of which were confirmed.  Then, after achieving some notoriety during the campaign, she quit the office for a book-signing tour of a book she didn’t even write.  More recently, it was revealed that she pirated funds from her Political Action Committee in order to purchase a large number of her books.

It has long been said that un-informed voters get the government they deserve.  Keeping that in mind, if Palin ever becomes president, or even a congresswoman, U.S. voters will deserve the disaster that’s sure to follow.

New poll proves that Republicans are stupid, crazy or both!

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A new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of those who identify themselves as Republicans confirms what many of us have long suspected:  Republican voters spend far too much time watching Fox “News” and listening to Rush Limbaugh.  But not even the most cynical among us could have predicted the findings of this poll.

For example, 58 percent of Republicans are not sure President Obama is a natural-born U.S. citizen. 

31 percent believe that the President is a racist who hates white people, and another 33 percent say they’re not sure. 

63 percent of Republicans think Obama is a socialist. 

24 percent of Republicans believe Obama wants the terrorists to win, and another 33 percent aren’t sure. 

21 percent of Republicans apparently believe that Obama was elected only because ACORN stole the 2008 election, and a whopping 55 percent are not sure.

23 percent of Republicans believe that their state should secede from the United States, 19 percent aren’t sure.

And in their greatest display of lunacy, 53 percent of Republicans said they believe Sarah Palin is more qualified to be president than Obama!  (Moreover, respondents to the poll didn’t even include those who claim to belong to the Tea Party.)

Obviously, these people are angry and colossally misinformed.   Now consider this:  These people represent the Republican base to which Republican candidates must answer.  Given that, can anyone believe that there’s still hope for bi-partisanship in Washington? 

What now for health care reform?

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The election of Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate, in effect, may have ended the existing Democrat-initiated bills for health care reform.  That is not only a disaster for the party.  It’s a disaster for the millions of people without health care, the tens of thousands who will face bankruptcy as the result of illness, and the more than 33,000 Americans who will die this year for lack of access to health care. 

It didn’t have to end this way.  If the Democrats had shown even an ounce of fortitude and political savvy, they could not only have passed health care reform by now.  In all likelihood, they would have retained the Senate seat that they had controlled since the 1950s.

But that’s all water under the proverbial bridge.  The Democratic Party can’t afford to wallow in self-pity and frustrations.  They can’t afford to point fingers at Republicans.  As voters in Massachusetts have shown, Democrats have nobody to blame but themselves.  If the Democratic Party wants to avoid a disaster in this November’s elections, it has to find a spine.  Democratic Representatives and Senators need to have massive injections of testosterone.The way forward is to act as if they’re representing the people who elected them.  Not the special interest groups and lobbyists.  They must do what they promised before they were elected.  And they must collectively confront a belligerent and bellicose Republican Party.   They not only must lead.  They must reveal their opponents for what they really are:  Representatives of big corporations and big money.

In a television interview, Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania pointed a way forward for health care reform.  He said that he would recommend that Congress pass a bill that would impose anti-trust laws on insurance companies and forbid insurers from exempting pre-existing conditions and prevent them from dropping coverage whenever it becomes too expensive.   He said that the insurance industry will, in turn, demand that all Americans be covered.  Congress could then pass a complete reform package one step at a time.  If Republicans threaten to filibuster, he said that he would let them do so.  Republican Senators would be forced to read the phone book and other nonsense for days and demonstrate to the American public how obstructionist they’ve become.

In my opinion, there may be better approaches.  But the intent is correct.  Somewhere Democrats must find what they have obviously been lacking for the past year – a pair of balls.