The House Republicans are the most reactionary group seen in Congress in modern times, as evidence now shows that they are opposing not only general public opinion, but also that of voters of their own party, along with Independents and Democrats!
Issues where this is true include the following where some Republicans supported the proposed legislation in the Senate:
ENDA–the bill to stop discrimination in employment against gays and transgendered people, passed 64-32 in the Senate.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which passed the Senate 68-32.
At the same time, Republicans in both houses of Congress are fighting against the following, which are also supported by Republicans in polls, along with Democrats and Independents.
The Minimum Wage increase legislation to $9 an hour.
Background Checks on Gun Purchases
Who would think that a political party could ignore the views of its own voters and expect to stay in office? It makes one wonder how the GOP can believe it will keep power in the House and gain control of the Senate, as they seem to believe they can accomplish, when they have such a high level of arrogance as they are demonstrating!
GOP hypocrisy on Obamacare.
http://www.winningprogressive.org/the-gops-partisan-hypocrisy-on-obamacare
Hello Professor,
After reading this latest post the quote from John Stuart Mill came to mind.
“Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.”
I love that quote, Engineer! LOL
As we approach a time of celebration of family in different faiths, different cultures and races here in our country, where for a short time people come together, this article really made me think. It also made me kind of sad.
WHY DO WE HATE EACH OTHER IN
AMERICA?
November 16, 2013 | Filed under: Headlines,Opinion,Politics,Social Issues | Posted by: Robert De Filippis
http://thebigslice.org/hate/
Writing about the United States, Australian, Karen Pickering mused, “For a country that loves the idea of itself so deeply and passionately, I often wonder how it can hate its own people so profoundly and enduringly.â€
Ms. Pickering has identified one strain of the schizoid nature of American society. As crazy as this sounds, we love the idea of egalitarianism and do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen.
Nothing says it better than Virginian Congressman, John Randolph comments when he said, decades after the American Revolution. “I love liberty; I hate equality.â€
Colin Woodard, in his book, American Nations: A History of Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America, makes the distinction of nations verses states. A nation is a group of people who share a common culture or set of values regardless of artificial geographic boundaries like states.
According to him, “When society was turned upside down by mass immigration at the turn of both the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries, intellectuals counseled that America is in danger of losing the “Anglo-Protestant†culture and associated “American Creed†that supposedly kept the nation unified.â€
The truth is the nation was never unified. It was dominated by an archetype from one of the eleven nations that make up America. And the upheaval we suffer is shaped by a futile effort of that group (think Republican Party here) to maintain domination rather than share power.
Think about healthcare and how much political energy they have put into resisting our attempt to assure everyone access to the medical services they need.
Think about how they resist everyone getting a decent education by underfunding elementary and secondary school programs and their recent attempt to increase the interest rates on college loans.
Think about how they fight raising minimum wages to a level that allows working people to survive on their earnings. And think about how they fight against paying these benefits that these same people need to survive.
They classify people into those who deserve and those who don’t. Deserve what? Deserve the equality in the American creed.
Generally speaking the deserving are those who meet specific criteria, which is generally organized into several categories like religious, financial, social, and racial.
So in America, certain people who meet the criteria deserve to be considered equal and those who do not, don’t. Let’s look at the archetype from which any deviation costs points.
A particular interaction in a movie titled The Good Shepherd portrays it well. Matt Damon, playing a CIA officer, is threatening to deport a mob figure played by Joe Pesci. Joe’s character says, “Tell me something. We Italian’s have our families and the Church. The Irish have their homeland. The Jews have their traditions. Even the blacks have their music. What do you have?†The CIA officer replies, “We have the United States. The rest of you are just visitors.â€
The history of the power structures in the United States is the story of white, Anglo-Saxon, mainstream Protestant males who have reluctantly given as little as possible to everyone else while trying to keep the mob at the gate from coming in.
The mob is in and now we are engaged in a great transition being called a culture war. In fact, it is several culture wars between and among eleven nations within the United States.
Why is the great right-wing corporate propaganda machine willing to spend untold millions to convince us our first black president is a failure using a constant barrage of accusations that have convinced the great misinformed masses of his otherness?
The Republican party has given up the age honored process of politics for a deal and instead is holding the country hostage in the vain hope that the dwindling numbers of white Anglo-Saxon protestant males will someday rise again to dominate politics.
The result? The non-responsive, ineffective government we now suffer
Robert DeFilippis
http://thebigslice.org/hate/
This is so true, and so horribly tragic!
The GOTea’s Katrina comparisons are ridiculous!
http://www.winningprogressive.org/hurricane-katrina-vs-obamacare
So what else is new, Princess Leia? Not surprising at all!
David Gregory stupidly compared Obamacare to the Iraq War.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/16/david-gregory-fool-comparing-aca-rollout-bushs-iraq-war-debacle.html
Obamacare = helping people
Katrina = the failure to help people
@Rustbelt
I miss the days of investigative journalists. Folks like Tim Russert, Walter Kronkite and so many other REAL journalists of the past.
Me too Princess Leia. It used to be that journalists would report facts and then let Americans form their own opinions on an issue based on those facts. Now they are reporting their opinions and trying to pass them off as facts.
Ladies, you are showing your age by mentioning Walter Cronkite! LOL
@Princess Leia
We don’t have news anymore. We have entertainment disguised as news.
Sadly, Jane Doe, I have to agree with you!
Senate Democrats are ready to go nuclear concerning the filibuster.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/19/republicans-pushed-harry-reid-ready-nuclear.html
The need to change the filibuster is obvious, as it is paralyzing the ability of the Obama Presidency to do the business that needs to be done, the approval of nominees for the courts and other positions.