On this Thanksgiving Day, progressives have a lot to be thankful for, including:
1. We are witnessing the return home of our soldiers from Iraq after eight and a half years in combat, and the sad loss of about 4,500 brave men and women in a war that was unnecessary and helped to strengthen the more dangerous nation, Iran.
2. We have witnessed the development of the weakest Republican Presidential field in history, more an embarrassment than a legitimate field of candidates for the Oval Office, trying to outdo each other in their flubs and lack of concern for the average American.
3. We are fortunate to have as our President a man who, despite obvious shortcomings in some areas, has a record of accomplishment in national security and foreign policy that no Republican candidate can match.
4. We have a President who has gone the extra mile in trying to promote the interests of the middle class economically, instead of Wall Street, the corporations and the top two percent, all of which are obviously being supported by the Republican Party without any apologies. When the history of the Great Recession, the worst economic times since the Great Depression are written, the opposition party will NOT look good, any more than they did in the 1930s.
5. Finally, we can be thankful that by the Republican stubbornness on the budget and their greater loyalty to Grover Norquist than to the American people, the end result will be the automatic cutting of trillions of dollars by LACK OF ACTION by January 1, 2013, AND the END of the Bush Tax Cuts, and therefore a rise in taxation on those who have benefited for the past ten years on the backs of the American people. Tax rates will go back to the Clinton era rates, when we had the greatest economic conditions ever in our history, and fairness in taxation will return, while rational, reasonable budget cuts will also take place.
The Republican Party, by their obstructionism, will have slain themselves, so we must thank John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell for giving a campaign issue to the Democrats and Barack Obama.
This is a great moment for progressives, as Barack Obama has made clear that he will veto any attempt to keep the Bush tax cuts! Hallelujah, and now, let’s go and celebrate Thanksgiving!