Day: July 24, 2009

Here we are into the last week of July, with a congressional recess due to start in the next ten days,  and the Democratic party is badly split over details on  the health care legislation that President Obama is promoting as the major program of his first year in office.

The "Blue Dog"  Democrats, who are in many ways ideologically similar to many Republicans,  and many of whom come from the South and Appalachia, the GOP strongholds,  are resisting a public plan which most liberal and many moderate Democrats want.  In the Senate, there is also opposition from a small group of moderate Democrats, again heavily from the South and Great Plains,  where only a small portion of the American population resides.

This is all very frustrating, and only serves to encourage and excite the Republican party, which is totally opposed except for a couple of senators.  Conservative Jim DeMint of South Carolina has said he wants to promote the rejection of the legislation as a means to destroy the Obama Presidency, and says this legislation, if defeated,  would be the President’s  "Waterloo".   GOP National Chairman Michael Steele has emerged again as totally combative, and at the same time, unrelenting in his negativism toward dealing with the health care issue in any form.  Conservative ideologist Bill Kristol of THE WEEKLY STANDARD has called for total defeat of any legislation regarding health care.

The hope is that the Democrats,  during the recess, with the activities of President Obama and others, and a large scale advertising campaign,  can make a case for the necessity of a comprehensive national health care plan.  The fear is that IF it is prevented from being enacted,  then the GOP could use it,  along with the slow economic recovery that was obvious from the beginning of the economic crisis,  as a tool to shoot for regaining control of Congress in  2010,  as it was able to do in 1994 after the defeat of the Clinton health care initiatives.  The likelihood of such a scenario occurring seems remote, but still it is troubling.  🙁

Upon further reflection and information now available,  the controversy over Professor Henry Louis Gates’s arrest looks more complicated and not as clearcut as it seemed to be when first reported.

President Obama became involved in the controversy at his press conference on Wednesday,  by stating that he felt the police department of Cambridge, Massachusetts,  had been involved in "stupidity",  by the actions of the police sergeant.   Today, however, he responded, after much criticism,  that this had been a case where both the police officer and the professor had allowed the situation to escalate, and that his goal was to promote discourse on the issue of racial relations, basically saying that he wished to retract his unfortunate language.  He made it clear that he did not intend to malign the police department or the police sergeant.

He told of calling the police officer, smoothing things over, and calling for a meeting at the White House of the police officer, the professor and himself, to have a "beer".  He said he wanted to make this a lesson that would benefit the nation at large and promote dialogue.

Despite the attempt of right wing talk show hosts and Republican leaders to exploit the issue as one of the Democrats and President Obama insulting law enforcement,  I think Obama has done a good job of de-escalating this unfortunate situation.  It is clear both men involved in the incident could have handled the situation differently, and hopefully,  Obama’s response to the growing crisis today will have a positive effect and resolve the issue, rather than aggravate it, as the enemies of the administration wish to accomplish.  What a sad day that this whole issue should be so politicized. 🙁

Governor Rick Perry of Texas has been the executive leader of his state for nine plus years, the successor to the governorship by the election of George W. Bush to the White House.  The longest lasting governor in America has been and remains a total disgrace, and now he threatens to refuse participation by his state in the health care reform program being promoted by the Obama Administration.

Earlier, he had rejected stimulus aid and also talked about secession from the Union, bringing back memories of the Civil War.  He has been an embarrassment to his state and made a fool of himself nationally by his utterances and his actions.

But his plans to reject national health care reform is detrimental to his state, which has 25 percent of the population having no health care coverage, and having more people uncovered than any other state of the Union.   Texas ranks near the bottom of the nation in many different social statistics, and Perry has been responsible for a lot of this tragedy affecting the poor and disadvantaged of his state.

Hopefully, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison  will be able to defeat Governor Perry in the March 2010 Republican primary.  Compared to Perry,  Hutchison would be a tremendous improvement, although it would be great if the Democrats, who are seen in the long run as likely to be a majority with the growing number of Hispanic residents, could come up with a nominee who could restore power to the party that gave us President Lyndon Johnson and Senator Ralph Yarborough.

Of course, Perry’s irresponsible behavior and statements only add to the tragedy that is the present day GOP.  Are there any respectable leaders left in the Republican party beyond maybe Mitt Romney and a small handful of others?   The party of Abraham Lincoln,  Theodore Roosevelt,  Robert La Follette, Sr,  George Norris,  Arthur Vandenberg, Nelson Rockefeller,  William Scranton, Charles Percy,  Mark Hatfield,  Charles Mathias and numerous others is in deep trouble and total collapse.  Just mention Rick Perry,  John Ensign,  Mark Sanford,  Dick Cheney,  Newt Gingrich,  Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele,  Tom DeLay,  Dick Armey, and Yes, George W. Bush, and numerous others,  and weep!  🙁