Domestic Policy

Mitt Romney: The “Stealth” Candidate— We “Hardly Know Ye!”

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Mitt Romney has turned out to be the “Stealth” candidate, who refuses to open up and tell us who he is!

After running for President twice, and being a public figure for two decades, we do NOT know much about the following areas of Mitt Romney’s life:

His Mormon religion
His activities at Bain Capital
His tax returns
His economic plan
His foreign policy views
His friends and associates
His plans if he became President

Mitt Romney is a total unknown, who leaves the impression that he is always changing his mind; is always secretive; is not interested in people as much as acquisition of wealth; has no concern for the average American; has no great knowledge or interest in the outside world; has no great intellectual thoughts on any subject; prefers to be accepted on face value, rather than open up; and is just, simply, not very likable.

These facts and traits about Mitt Romney is what will ultimately doom his candidacy this November!

Four Path Breaking Domestic Policy Presidents In American History: All Democrats (Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Barack Obama)!

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Looking back at American history, it can now be said we have had four path breaking Domestic Policy Presidents, all Democrats, who have transformed America in so many ways!

Leaving out foreign policy as a factor, and realizing that the prosperity and security of the American people internally is very important, there is no question anymore that our greatest Presidents in domestic affairs, in chronological terms are :

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
Barack Obama (2009-?)

Wilson’s Presidency gave us the Federal Reserve banking system, the Federal Trade Commission, the Clayton Anti Trust Act, Agricultural subsidy laws, and the first national labor laws, under the terms of the New Freedom and the New Nationalism.

FDR’s New Deal gave us Social Security, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, Public Works Agencies, Unemployment Compensation, Aid to the Disabled and Handicapped, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Public Housing, Banking and Stock Market Regulation, and numerous other laws.

Johnson”s Great Society gave us the modern Civil Rights Acts, Medicare, the War on Poverty, Federal Aid to Education, Consumer Protection Laws, Environmental Protection laws, and numerous other initiatives.

Obama has given us the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”), consumer protection laws, equal pay for women, immigration reform for children of immigrants, promotion of gay rights and equality, the saving of the auto industry, and numerous other reforms.

Most experts and rational people would put Wilson, FDR, and LBJ in the top ten of our Presidents, even with controversial foreign policy records.

Now, it would be fair to put Barack Obama in that elite group when scholars and experts reassess the Presidency at the end of the Obama Presidency!

What Progressives Have To Be Thankful For On Thanksgiving Day 2011

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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!

66 Years Since FDR’s Passing: The New Deal Legacy

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On this day, April 12, in 1945, the second greatest President in American history, Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed away after 12 years and 39 days in office!

The President during the Great Depression and World War II, FDR saved the country from dictatorship and perpetuated democracy; saved the American capitalist system; promoted a sense of hope and faith in the American future; gave people dignity and a sense of optimism; provided millions of Americans with employment and income; promoted thousands of public works projects; gave American labor rights to collective bargaining; revived American agriculture; provided a sense of security for the elderly through the establishment of Social Security; provided public housing and electricity to millions of poor people; and convinced the American people that big national government could be responsive and successful as compared to incompetent state governments!

FDR also saved the country during World War II in the fight against Fascism, Nazism, and Japanese imperialism; advocated the concept of an international organization called the United Nations to promote world peace and cooperation; and promoted American becoming the leader of the free world!

Of course, there are criticisms that can be made of FDR and the New Deal and World War II policies, but despite those, FDR offered so much good service as President, and gave America the future it would have in the next two thirds of a century!

Now, sadly, the Republican Party is starting an assault on the New Deal, as well as Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, but liberals, progressives, and the Democratic Party must continue to fight, and not give in, to the reactionaries who wish to return us to the 1920s and Gilded Age mentality!

Fundamental Differences Between The Democrats And The Republicans

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In the heat of all the debates on domestic and foreign policy matters, one can often fail to understand the fundamental differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party cares about PEOPLE, the advancement of opportunity and human rights to people of all nationalities and religions. It cares about the working man and woman, advocating the cause of labor rights. It understands the plight of underprivileged women and children, who are the mass of the victims of poverty. It recognizes the importance of education, health care, and decent housing conditions in the daily lives of Americans who just want a fair shake and an equal part in the American Dream. It wishes to promote human rights and a sense of camaraderie with the people of other nations, and the promotion of a world in which nationalism is less important than international understanding and cooperation, and realization that all people have a similar desire to learn to understand each other and promote tolerance and friendship.

The Republican Party, on the other hand, cares about PROPERTY and the protection of material wealth, and the preservation of the advantages and opportunities afforded the wealthy in society. Business freedom and avoidance of regulation in the public interest is their motivation, and they wish to promote the concept that being of European heritage is a sense of superiority over others from other cultures. The acquisition and preservation of wealth matters more than education, health care, and decent housing, and life is one of promoting one’s own self interest. Nationalism and the belief in American superiority, and the lack of concern about how other countries perceive us is dominant, and while those of European ancestry feel they are superior, they wish to reject the concept that European ideas and laws in present times are to be accepted, as the United States has passed the stage of needing to lean on “old Europe”! Unbridled Capitalism and the promotion of fundamentalist Christianity is all that is needed, and any alternative is to be repudiated as “UnAmerican”!

Many Americans are clueless on these differences, and so many vote in an ignorant way, totally unaware of the reality of the differences in philosophy and outlook that creates a chasm between our two major political parties!

America At The End Of World War II And Today–65 Years Later!

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World War II ended on this day, September 2, 1945–65 years ago!

America was at its peak of power and on its way to its greatest prosperity, after having suffered through the Great Depression!

Now, America is in the midst of the Great Recession, the greatest economic collapse since the 1930s, and it is challenged by other nations, and has participated in wars it has not been able to win!

The country is bitterly divided as to what its role in the world should be, and how it should deal with its numerous domestic problems!

There is no sense of unity or purpose, and the future is cloudy as to the power, role, and significance of the United States!

This is a time to reflect on the events of 65 years ago, and for Americans to consider how to continue to promote a future America with a sense of pride and hope, the prevalent mood back in 1945!

It is time to stop fighting and to unite behind the concept of joint goals, no matter what political persuasion, what ethnicity, what race, what religion, what part of the nation one lives in!

We all have a responsibility to leave this country better that what it is today for our children and grandchildren!