Democrats

The Developing Gender, Age, And Racial Gap In American Politics Will Determine The Future

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What is becoming more obvious by the day is that America is facing a major split politically over the nation’s future. It will show up in the results of the Presidential Election of 2012.

A gender gap, already present, is growing, between the majority of women, who vote Democratic, and the majority of men, who vote Republican.

An age gap is also widening, as younger voters tend to trend toward the Democrats, while senior citizens seem afraid of the future, including the racial changes coming in the population, and are tending Republican, even though the Republicans should be seen as a threat to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

There is also an obvious racial gap, with the majority of whites voting Republican, while the majority of African Americans and Hispanics-Latinos are voting Democratic.

This split, along gender, age, and racial lines presents many challenges to the winner of the election, and indicates the stresses and tensions within the nation, as we see an aging white population, and an emerging, much younger and growing minority community becoming the major factor in the future of American politics. It also shows the growing conflict between men and women over their roles in American society, as women become the challenge to men’s dominance economically.

The old traditions are being upended by a changing dynamic that will affect policy making in the future. And it will also affect both the Democrats and Republicans as they come to grips with the political future. The party which accepts the future will dominate, while the party that resists the future will suffer!

Tea Party People And Conservatives Take Note: The Constitution Established A Strong National Government, And The Amendments Have Made For A More Liberal, Nationalist Nation!

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Tomorrow, the House of Representatives is spending taxpayer money to read the Constitution out loud, as a supposed lesson to the nation as to what the Constitution contains.

This is occurring due to the impact of the Tea Party Movement, but if that group and other conservatives really listen to and think about the words of the Constitution, they would realize what the Constitution is all about.

The Constitution was created to REPLACE the Articles of Confederation, a document that gave the states authority that led to chaos, anarchy and bankruptcy, and forced the hand of liberal nationalist Founding Fathers who realized that the country would not survive without a STRONGER NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.

The Constitution gave the US Congress tremendous and specific powers in Article 1, Section 8, the ELASTIC CLAUSE–necessary and proper for the common defense and the general welfare–, creating vague language that could be interpreted broadly, and has been by the Supreme Court over 200 years since the time of Chief Justice John Marshall.

Liberal nationalists brought about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights!

Liberal nationalists brought about the Civil Rights Amendments (13, 14, 15) in the years after the Civil War.

Liberal nationalists brought about the “Progressive” amendments on the federal income tax (16), direct election of the US Senate taken away from the state legislatures (17), and woman suffrage (19) in the second decade of the 20th century.

Liberal nationalists brought about the right of DC residents to vote for President (23), the end of the poll tax in all elections (24), and the 18 year old vote (26) in the decade of the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Constitution has been made the great document it is by the actions of the Founding Fathers and later generations of liberal nationalists, whether Federalist, Republican, or Democratic, and by Supreme Courts led by great Justices, including John Marshall, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, William O. Douglas, Earl Warren, William Brennan, Harry Blackmun, John Paul Stevens and many others!

No matter what conservatives, Republicans, and Tea Party activists might say or believe, it is LIBERAL and PROGRESSIVE activism that has led to the Constitution and its amendment improvements over two centuries!

Liberals and progressives stand together in pride as to their enactment and expansion of the document which inspires people all over the world, the greatest constitutional document ever created by the will of mankind!

Independents Wanted Parties To Compromise: Instead They Have Produced Greater Polarization! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

It has often been said that Independent votes decide elections, and certainly the majority of Independents supported the Democrats in 2008, and this time backed the Republicans in midterm elections.

Independents have always been those who condemn partisanship, and call for the two major parties to cooperate and work together toward compromise, but ironically, what they have done this time is to produce total stalemate, gridlock and polarization bound to be greater than the first two years of the Obama Administration! 🙁

The “Blue Dog” Democrats and some “mainstream” conservative Republicans have been defeated, and instead we have the most liberal Democrats and most conservative and “Tea Party” Republicans becoming dominant in their parties, which means no real chance of “crossing the aisle” and moving toward compromise! 🙁

So expect no real progress on the economy or other significant issues, but rather “fireworks” and heated rhetoric over the next two years! 🙁

The question is how Independents will vote in 2012 for Congress and the Presidency. Will they blame the GOP in the House of Representatives, or the Democrats in the Senate and the White House for the failure to deal with America’s problems? Which party will be in control of the Congress and the White House in 2013?

One thing is for sure: the great “theater” of politics will be in full swing, entertaining us and mortifying us at the same time, in 2011-2012! 🙁

Who Gained From The May 18 Primaries? The Democrats And Progressives!

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It is interesting how many see the results of yesterday’s primaries as a defeat for President Obama!

Since Obama supported Senator Arlen Specter, because he helped the Democrats on important legislation after switching parties last year, it is argued that Obama lost! But actually, he gained in the long run by having the more “progressive” candidate and a “true” Democrat, Congressman Joe Sestak, defeat Specter!

Obama may have backed Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas in a party loyalty way, but the fact that the more “progressive” opponent, Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, forced Lincoln into a runoff primary for June 8, by her failure to win a majority of the vote in the the three way race, is seen as leading to the likely nomination of Halter in the final two candidate election in three weeks!

The fact also that the moderate to conservative Democrat in the Pennsylvania district long represented by the late John Murtha, a former aide to Murtha, won the congressional seat by almost ten points over his Republican opponent, despite a large investment of money and advertising by the GOP, is also seen as a major Democratic win!

And although the Tea Party people feel they have accomplished a great victory with their libertarian candidate, Rand Paul, son of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, over the “establishment” Republican candidate in Kentucky’s Republican primary, it will likely be a mixed blessing as the attack against the extremist views and statements of Rand Paul will be one of the highlights of the 2010 Congressional elections! This is NOT a great moment for the “Establishment” Republicans or Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell! Rand Paul represents an attack on just about everything that most Republicans profess in domestic and foreign policy!

It is noticeable that neither House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, nor Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, had much to say today about yesterday’s election results! It is obvious that they realize their party is being marginalized, while the Democrats have seen a swing to the left, but not a move toward anarchism, which will never solve the problems this nation faces!

The Impact Of Momentum: Success Breeds Success!

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For much of the time in the first year of the Obama Presidency, there was a lot of impatience and skepticism that his could be a transformational Presidency, as Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan had.

The impact of the Health Care reform legislation, finally being enacted into law after a long, hard fought struggle for a year, can already be seen.

There is much greater optimism that President Obama will be able, even without a bipartisan spirit, to accomplish reforms in the financial industry, in immigration policy, in climate change, and in mortgage foreclosure and job creation.

Psychologically, the momentum of a great victory promotes a sense of success, and it can be said that success can breed success. The impact of momentum can be seen already!

The odds of Obama being a transformational President has grown exponentially with the aura and halo that has been created around him by the good fortune that many never expected to happen. And with the Health Care reform success, it helps the Democrats to minimize the losses in the midterm election!

Senator Lamar Alexander’s Prediction Of “Armageddon”!

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Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, formerly Secretary of Education under the first President Bush, and two time seeker of the Presidency in 1996 and 2000, always had an image of being reasonable and decent among fellow Republicans in the Senate until now, when he is opposing health care reform in irresponsible ways.

Alexander seems unwilling to understand how important health care reform is, and has been flirting with the far right in his party, and in the process, harming his moderate reputation from the past.

He now predicts that if health care reform passes, it will be “Armageddon” for Democrats, leading to the loss of both houses of Congress by the Democrats, and immediate action to repeal the legislation.

This is hyperbole, which has no basis. Could the Democrats lose control of both houses, as they did in 1994? Yes, in theory, but highly unlikely, although certainly the party out of the White House DOES gain a lot of seats, typically, in a midterm election.

Would there be immediate action to repeal what had passed both houses and been signed into law by the President? Again, theoretically yes, but when the people get away from the hyperbole and hysteria and realize how much good will come out of the extension of health care, and reforms in areas such as preexisting conditions and lifetime limits, it will lead to growing support for the reforms.

Of course, there will be opposition, but that does not mean that the hysteria and propaganda will lead to repeal, as it is rare to repeal legislation once passed into law, and besides, the President could veto repeal, and to imagine a two thirds override in both houses is beyond any sense of reality.

In truth, the GOP could very well suffer for their refusal to cooperate in necessary reform, as there could be a counter reaction against them.

So, Lamar Alexander, you are much too loose in judging Armageddon, as if we need more religion context in government! How about leaving religion out of government context, except to point out that a truly religious person would wish to deal with a basic human right, to decent health care, not fight against it and show lack of concern for those who suffer from lack of such coverage!

The Difference Between Democrats And Republicans On Scandal

Ronald 1 Comment

It is disgraceful when either Democrats or Republicans get involved in scandal, but there is one major difference: their reaction to it, at least in many cases.

Eliot Spitzer, Jim McGreevey, and Charles Rangel all resigned or stepped down from their position of authority (Rangel). While David Paterson has not done so yet, it is clear he will be forced to very soon.

On the other hand, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Sanford, and John Ensign refused to resign, and decided to “tough” it out, no matter how embarrassing to their party, and all but Craig are still in office, showing no shame.

Of course, it might be said that what is the real difference, since all of the above individuals have been involved in activities that should never have happened.

But at least the Democrats have not gone around touting their “family values” and “high moral principles” and then showing themselves as the hypocrites that Republicans regularly have been!

As a person who believes in total disclosure and promotion of truth, of course, it must be mentioned that Democrats John Edwards and Rod Blagojevich are in a separate class–despicable, and unwilling to come clean by their own confessions.

But at the end, whether revealed or confessed or not, all of the above and those others who are involved in scandal in both parties need to be condemned for their behavior, as having failed to uphold their oath of office!

American Politics In Crisis: No One Is Trusted Or Believed!

Ronald 1 Comment

The problem of our political system is that whether Democrat or Republican, we have reached the stage where events and behavior makes most Americans lack trust or belief in any politician, and that is indeed sad! 🙁

Between the dalliances of Republicans like John Ensign, Mark Sanford, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Foley and others, and that of Democrats like Eliot Spitzer, Jim McGreevey, John Edwards, Eric Massa, and yes Bill Clinton sadly along with others, most Americans have a very low opinion of the morals of our leaders.

Add to that the financial or other behavioral irregularities of such political leaders as Charles Rangel, David Paterson, Rod Blagojevich and others on the Democratic side and Bob Taft, Joe Wilson, Marco Rubio and others on the Republican side, and you get total cynicism by vast numbers of Americans!

Politics has become an industry where winning power is the only important thing, even though stalemate and gridlock is the constant result after elections. Negativism and character assassination is the norm, and radio talk shows, cable news, internet blogs, and political activists are only interested in confrontation, rather than compromise!

The sense of a common bond and a bright future are being lost, and yet there is no real alternative except to “throw out the rascals” and replace them with new leaders, who unfortunately will be likely to follow the same pattern, due to the overwhelming influence of lobbyists and pressure groups that care not a whit for anything but their own selfish interests!

And we live in a country which is oriented toward cutting taxes but keeping spending at the same or greater rate, but no one has yet figured out how to keep services such as education, hospitals, social workers, police, firefighters, paramedics, higher education, prisons, road, and other public needs met by cutting taxes. We live in an unreal world in which somehow we want and need the services, but want OTHERS to pay for them! The answer, unfortunately, is that we face the greatest cuts in public services since the Great Depression until we understand that the only way to meet public demand is to pay MORE taxes!

This is what the conservatives and the Tea Party Movement do not understand! Either more taxes are essential, or crippling cuts in public services that no one wants will have to occur! The age of constant cutting of taxes is nearing an end, whether we like it or not!

But will the American people ever again trust anyone who leads us? That is the question of the present and the future, and the likelihood is that the answer is NO! 🙁

The “Public Option” Returns As Health Costs Go Sky High

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Just as the health insurance companies are calling for record increases in premiums from their subscribers, creating a major crisis for millions of Americans, the concept of a “public option” is being revived by the Obama White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and a growing number of Democratic Senators.

After a cautious approach and attempts to gain GOP votes in the Senate, which has totally failed, now the thought is that the record increases in health care premiums are motivating Democrats to use “reconciliation”, requiring only 51 votes, to pass such a plan.

One must be reminded how many times the Bush Administration used “reconciliation” to pass tax cuts and other initiatives, so there is nothing illegal about using that tactic. It is time to stop allowing obstructionists from passing what a majority in every poll indicates they want–health care with a public option.

Maybe, who knows, when health care passes, after the fact, we might have Republicans taking credit for it, as they have, hypocritically, taken credit for economic stimulus programs that they opposed! 🙂 LOL

The Republican Hypocrisy: Is It Not An Embarrassment?

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The Republican party in Congress is showing itself to be totally hypocritical to the extreme!

The GOP refused to support the economic stimulus bill, but is now taking credit for any projects that are taking place in their districts.

The Republicans in the Senate, at least some of them including John McCain, supported originally the idea of a deficit commission to deal with the national debt, and then voted against their own proposal!

The Republicans in both houses complained that they were not being consulted by President Obama on the health care bill, and they insisted that such negotiations must be televised on C Span. Now they seem to be trying to avoid the upcoming White House conference on health care, and feel that televising it will be promoting political theater!

These are among the many examples of total Republican hypocrisy, even by such senators, besides John McCain, as Kay Bailey Hutchison, Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins. A lot of it is due to pure politics, to win races such as Hutchison for Governor in Texas and McCain for Senator in Arizona.

What is more important than anything apparently is politics and winning races or keeping their seats, than principle and doing what is best for the country.

It is ironic that the Tea Party people seem more angry at Democrats than Republicans, even though Democrats are attempting to bring change and reform to the nation, while Republicans, who messed up the economy when they controlled Congress, are still demonstrating no interest in doing anything to cooperate in the midst of an economic crisis.