There are many interesting ideas in this world. This blog is dedicated to pursuing them wherever they go. Politics, philosophy, religion, environment, and anything else that captures imaginations and leads to healthy discussions. Never take the world for what it is, there's always a better way to do something.
I voted for Obama in the last election. I’ll honestly admit that I fell in love with the idealistic qualities of his campaign. How you choose to interpret that is up to you, but I felt much more optimistic about him then about McCain and Pail. They scared me. I felt that if they were elected I’d be exposed to four more years of constant fear of terrorism, a threat of war, threat of Iran, threat of Korea. I was tired of being told to be afraid. That was primary reason for why I voted for Obama, I wanted a change in attitude.
However, now that a year has passed, I have definitely re-evaluated my outlook on him. I still support him, I think if given proper support he will accomplish great things for this country. You have to admit, America is struggling, she’s hurting, and we need someone to do something to heal hear, bring her together, bring the people together and stop the fighting. I think Obama, given a chance, will do that.
I must admit, up to this point I’ve been guilty of this myself too. We align much too quickly to political parties. That unfortunately not only hinders our objectivity and the development of our ideas, but it lets us fall in love with our politicians. This past year Obama was definitively the popular choice among the college age kids. Sarah Palin has herself infatuated a particular segment of the conservative America. There were strong grassroots movements for both during the election. And yet, while I voted for Obama and still believe he will do a great amount of good, I do not believe we should unify in full support behind him. While we should definitively maintain that movement and cooperation that elected him, we should not throw that support behind him blindly. I think it is our responsibility to question all our politicians, regardless of whether or not you voted for them, regardless of whether or not they adhere to your party, as long as they are in office they should face constant pressure.
The politicians do not get enough of that pressure to do whats right these days. I’m not referring to just criticism. They get plenty of that. Unfortunately, that criticism is unorganized and usually very decisive. If someone calls Obama a Nazi or a Communist, one of his supporters will get angry, and they’ll spend the rest of their time fighting each other instead of keeping their pressure on Obama. We need organized, united public pressure on ALL politicians, not just the ones from the opposing party. That’s how the lobbyists do it. While obviously the two parties are friendlier to some groups than others, when it comes to major issues, the special interests do not discriminate. …
Apparently if you’re bad, you not only miss out on presents form Santa, but you will also find yourself on Obama’s enemy list. Didn’t know that existed did you? Well, you can find the story, provided by Reuters, here.
One of the top Republicans Senators, Lamar Alexander, told Obama, and I quote: “suggesting that the president back up” and “don’t start an enemies list.” Of course the comments were made at the Reuters Washington Summit, in preparation for a speech he will give later today. He gives the White House clashes with the health insurance providers and the Fox News Network as examples of Obama adopting attitude to Richard Nixon.
What do I think of this whole thing? With the recent Washington Post-ABC News Poll showing that 57 percent of Americans support the government option (more on that here) and Democrats threatening to take away the anti-trust exemption from the health insurance providers, I think this is another crony taking a shot at Obama. His opponents have called him a communist, socialist, and a nazi, and now they’re trying to compare him to a Republican President who resigned to avoid impeachment. Nothing more than another Republican Senator trying to attach another negative connotation to Obama.
Another interesting article in Yahoo! News today. Its a Fact Check, written by Alan Fram, that addresses some of the statements in the commercials recently in regards the proposed Healthcare Bill. According to the article, the the insurance industry uses facts selectively and mixes accurate assertions with misleading spin and an embrace of worst-case scenarios.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a supporter of the Healthcare Overhaul that the Congress is trying to pass right now. To be honest, I think they should just raise taxes to pay for it, but that’s a discussion for a different day. But this article talks about a big player in the legislature process that many might not be aware off.. the Lobbyist.
It scares me how much power lobbyists have in Washington. With sometimes limitless bankrolls behind them, coupled with experience and connections in politics, these men and women probably have more impact on the laws that get passed in this country than most Senators and House Reps. Indeed, they quite often shape both our domestic and foreign policies.
The question is how do we stop them? Do we want to stop them?
When I started this blog I swore that I would be open respectful of everyone’s opinion, and would do my best to promote a civil debate, without over-committing to either the left or the right. However, as I immerse myself more and more in the world of political news and blogs, I am beginning to fear that that is an impossible dream.
I agree with conservatives on a few issues. The issues I disagree on, I still sympathize and try to see the reasons why someone take such a view. Many true conservative ideas are very attractive and have the potential to be beneficial. The problem is that United States does not have a Conservative party.
The Republican Party has turned into the Anti-Obama Machine. They celebrate his every failure. Indeed, they even try to spin his achievements, although few so far, as failures. Paul Krugman wrote an in Opinion Piece on how the Republican Party adjusts their views on Medicare to work against Obama’s Healthcare Overhaul. Not only that, but many things that Obama had no control over have been attributed to him as his failures, the economic depression for one. And that’s not even the worst.
The petty lies and rumors that go around are just terrible. At this point people just use any negative political connotation they know to describe him. A Nazi.. Socialist.. Communist.. Muslim.. Terrorist.. I question how many actually know what each of those things is and stands for. I would not be surprised if before long someone calls him a cannibal or a pedophile. The level of disrespect is stunning. How many of us would call our neighbor that? Or our co-worker? Obama isn’t that different from them.
The most disappointing thing about all this is that it’s the self-respecting, church going Americans who add to this. You don’t have to agree of like his views, but is it that difficult to respect enough not to call him a Nazi?
