For Dubya's comeback, I suggest renting Will Ferrell's America:You're Welcome, a comedic but accurate account of the Bush presidency. It seems Dubya is annoying our allies. Gerhard Schroeder lambasted Bush for lying about why he didn't support the American invasion of Iraq and the British called him out on the assertion that waterboarding yielded information that prevented the Heathrow Airport plot. As a library of research has shown, it was the handiwork of the Brits and uncoerced leads from Muslims that stopped the plot.
In one of the televised interviews, W defends his approval of torture by saying that his lawyers said it was legal. Of course, Dick Cheney massaged the legal opinions, which another whole library has established.
If you are confused about Rightness and Wrongness of America's torturing people, I recommend Charles Fried and Gregory Fried's "Because it is Wrong:Torture, Privacy and Presidential Power in the Age of Terror". The father and son team debated the issues in the book privately and publicly over a year before committing their ideas to print. Charles Fried had been Reagan's Solicitor General and his son Gregory is a philosophy professor. The two handle the approaches to warrantless wiretapping and torture in their book. While both conclude they are wrong, they disagree to what are the remedies. Charles Fried backs the Obama approach of moving forward, while Gregory wants the torturing part of the Bush years to be punished and some semblance of a national reconciliation commission created.
George W's admission that he approved torture actually puts the United States in a difficult spot. Under the Torture Convention, signatory states are required to take the necessary remedis to stop the practice but also to bring the culprits to justice. This also applies to all sugnatories. In effect, George W. Bush should not be allowed to travel to Europe, Canada or any other country that has signed the Torture Convention. In addition, the United Nations rapporteur on torture is also owed considerable explanations by the United States about its practices on torture and renditioning. These requirements do not end with a change in administration. Jonathan Turley at the beginning of the Obama Administration cautioned the DOJ that if they brushed the crimes of torture under the rug than the new Administration would become liable under international law.
For those tempted to buy "Decision Points", don't. I'll report on anything newsworthy or noteworthy in the weeks ahead. I'll be reading in a quest to answer the question about why the Bush Administration was always so passive/aggressive toward every crisis. It seems Bush himself always needed at least two years before he acted on anything. In his interviews, he has lied about when he first learned about the impending financial collapse of the world economic system. He says March 2008 but the hard-copy evidence points to the same time the previous year. In the memoir he admits he let the situation in Iraq deteriorate for two years before he did anything about it.
My bet is still on Rumsfeld to produce a memoir, which actually says something truthful.
From the interviews to date, the tone of the former President gives you some hint of where the current GOP gets its rhetoric from. This tendency to make bold-faced assertions and then double-down on them if they are proven to be factually incorrect. Dubya's revisiting the reasons for war with Iraq takes us back to the good old days where he accused Saddam of harboring terrorists (he did harbor the PFLP), building vast amounts of WMDs (he wasn't and hadn't since the Gulf War), or at least having the capability (recent justification but also proven wrong), and gaming the international system by cheating on the UN food for oil program (true but can you justify war on these grounds?).
I can't wait to read about 9-11. What was it about the August warnings titled "Bin Laden Plans to Attack America" that he didn't believe. In the interviews, he tries to maintain that no one really knew who committed 9-11 until days later when intelligence picked up Al Qaeda's bragging about it. He and Cheney have argued that no one knew anything about Al Qaeda until after 9-11. This is just plain wrong as the Clinton Administration had a full-time office just tracking Bin Laden and documenting the group's plans and ideology. The same can be said about determining the group's personnel. There has been a huge smokescreen created by the Bush people over 9/11 and the rationale for why the huge military/ terrorist/ intelligence complex was created after that day.
Some of this is understandable. You get caught with your pants down on the worst attack on America since Pearl Harbor. It's understandable you would want to cover up the obvious tracks leading to this event. But I find the whole rationale for torture in the Bush Administration to hang on this supposed ignorance about Al Qaeda and the wonderous revelations produced by waterboarding Khalid Sheik Mohammed. But those revelations made the U.S. chase around the world on false leads, produced the false info that Saddam Hussein was linked to Al Qaeda, and did not produce information about the LAX plot or the Healthrow plot or anything else. The United States and its allies knew buckets of information about AlQaeda. They didn't need torture or the wonderful fantasies about the "ticking time-bomb" to motivate people.
Watching Dubya, I still get this sense the guy was not in control. If you go back to the parts of the interview with Matt Lauer about his authorizing torture,listen to it closely. You get the sense his participation was very late in the game and that he was merely asked to bless the torture that had already been approved. Even in this very major decision, he comes across as disengaged, not quite aware of what is going on.
Years ago, people speculated about Nixon's state of mind and whether he was actually engaged in the last years of his presidency. There were rumors about drink, maudlin late night tours of the Capitol, boatrides to Mount Vernon. But then slightly more than a decade ago, a book was published of all the memos he wrote while President. In these memos he was obsessed with the most minute details of policy, personnel, and politics. He even spent time actually describing the ridiculous uniforms for the White House Guards. In fact, Nixon was in total control--just not emotionally in control of himself.
Maybe we will find out the same about Dubya. But today I have my doubts.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
ERROR
The Previous Post was an analysis of the Republican threat not to raise the National Debt Ceiling and its implications for our short-term and long-term economic situation. As with many of my economic posts, this seemed to have disappeared in the Google Monster.
All I wanted to say was that Eric Cantor's threat to close the government if tax cuts for the rich aren't passed would mean the nearly half the government would cease overnight. The US would have to maintain its interest payments on its debt. but seriously jeopardized would be the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, social security and medicare payments as well as unemployment insurance. It would also ake us an economic pariah globally. It also would lead to a rapid search by the global community for another reserve currency.
All I wanted to say was that Eric Cantor's threat to close the government if tax cuts for the rich aren't passed would mean the nearly half the government would cease overnight. The US would have to maintain its interest payments on its debt. but seriously jeopardized would be the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, social security and medicare payments as well as unemployment insurance. It would also ake us an economic pariah globally. It also would lead to a rapid search by the global community for another reserve currency.
Unsolicited Advice to President Obama
The American people like a fighter and, as Yoda says,fight we must.
While it takes courage to weather the storm and congressional politics to see healthcare reform enacted, this is not obvious to people. People are not interested in process and I am afraid you got bogged down in mastering process here in the Beltway. Healthcare would have been more popular if it had the Medicare 55+, which some proposed, because that would have been a visible tangible. And with so many Americans of that age being unemployed or underemployed it would have made a dramatic difference.
Likewise, the Administration and the Democrats failed to sell the stimulus package. As I wrote months ago, the Administration should have broken the stimulus out into its components parts and sold those to the public. What is staggering is that your administration passed the largest Middle Class tax cut in history but no one noticed. In fact, the majority of Americans still believe you raised taxes. In the 2008 contest, you actually won the war over taxes.
It was a strategic blunder to announce the stimulus, promising unemployment would not rise above 8% and that we would see job growth of 250,000+ per month by summer. Even still the Administration depended on others to sell the notion that the stimulus ever saved or created 3 million jobs. In my opinion, this accounts for a large part of the Democrats' losses.
You have already made history as our first African-American President so govern as if you don't care about 2012. Let Obama be Obama. Even if you are a one-term President, you will have accomplished more substantive things than the last two Presidents combined. Remember James K. Polk. He made a list of what he wanted to accomplish and when he completed it he didn't run again. And he still ranks high among historians.
Don't let Congress get you bogged down or tangled up. The Republican leadership in Congress still have approval ratings below 20% and Congress itself will remain unpopular. Be prepared that the Republicans will not compromise and not change their obstructionist policies of the last two years. This time because they have "skin in the game" you can make them pay for this.
The only possible achievement you might get from Congress in the next two years is some agreement on infrastructure spending and that's only because our Highway Fund is depleted and congressmen need to brag about jobs in their district. Remember you only have to suffer through a year of the new Congress because nothing can get done in 2012.
On investigations adopt the policy of the George W. Bush administration and ignore all subpoenas. The House just wants to create kangaroo courts. They don't have the guts to impeach you anyway. Use hearings on Climate Change, etc. as a way to educate the public. No climate change legislation will pass anyway and the Cap and Trade bill proposed during the last Congress had no real Cap so trash it.
Don't compromise on the tax cuts for the wealthy. Let the House pass them if they want but use the Presidency as a bully pulpit and veto such legislation with a call to responsible policies to deal with the debt. Play the Republican problem of saying they want to cut the deficit and wanting to give the wealthy enormous tax breaks. Even if the middle class tax breaks expire because of the Republican game-laying, so be it. You can explain and point to your past record of giving the largest Middle Class tax break and saying you would like to in the future but these games are intolerable and the Republicans are acting in bad faith.
Stop apologizing. You have nothing to apologize about. The Republicans never apologized about anything. When you talk about debt reduction, please break out the national debt in terms of where and when they occurred. Of the 14.3 trillion, 13 trillion was accumulated under the Republicans. You might say so.
Lay out your ideas for the reduction of the national debt by keeping it simple. Please defend Social Security and clearly state your position. Even just say it would all be saved by lifting the cap on the FICA tax and use a chart to explain it. Then let the Republicans try to argue differently. You will have the facts on your side and can clearly exxplain it in a way Americans understand.
Please explain more simply what your three year freeze on discretionary spending means in terms of the size of federal government compared to the rest of the economy. This is simple and should be explained this way. Don't play this game of waiting to see what can be negotiated. If you lose, you lose but at least the public will have a clear sense of where you are coming from.
On DADT, this is a prime example of how you got hung up on the process and not the result. You say and I believe you that you want to repeal it. Give it one last shot with the lameduck congress and if that fails, repeal it by executive order and let the Republicans go batshit. Over 60% support the position that openly gay people should be able to serve in the miltary. then go for it. If it actually gets to the Supreme Court, it opens up a whole other bag of beans. You are the Commander in Chief after all.
Which brings me to the war party beating the tom-toms on going to war against Iran. Don't get muscled by these punks. They didn't pay for the last two wars, they won't for another one. The idea is insane.
As Commander-in-Chief sign an executive order closing Gitmo and if need be move the prison population to the Military prison in South Carolina. That is federal, not state property. Get the issue done with and don't bother with threats of not paying for their transfer.
Make the case for cutting unnecessary weapons systems, especially the jet engines produced in John Boehner's backyard. Defense spending has to be cut dramatically.
Use executive orders to get as much possible done in the last two years.
Forget the idea that somehow you have to appease Congress. Make them directly challenge the Presidency, not you. Frame these situations as things of presidential perogatives, not subjective choices by a black man.
Absolutely ignore all advice by the established punditry--there are all wealthy, predominantly white people who have not suffered one whit in the recession.
If you come out fighting, people will shutter and the GOP will shot back, but who cares? The American people will defend you as soon as you speak clearly and simply and push back against all these clowns.
Encourage Nancy Pelosi to be an attack dog back-bencher. Ignore all the Washington nonsense that she will cause your problems because everyone thinks you should accomodate the GOP. Since she knows the details of what the GOP want to repeal, let her have at it.
You might suggest to the television networks, who have featured round-the-clock Republicans the last two years, that this time they should feature Democrats to balance the Boehner/ Tea Party coalition.
While it takes courage to weather the storm and congressional politics to see healthcare reform enacted, this is not obvious to people. People are not interested in process and I am afraid you got bogged down in mastering process here in the Beltway. Healthcare would have been more popular if it had the Medicare 55+, which some proposed, because that would have been a visible tangible. And with so many Americans of that age being unemployed or underemployed it would have made a dramatic difference.
Likewise, the Administration and the Democrats failed to sell the stimulus package. As I wrote months ago, the Administration should have broken the stimulus out into its components parts and sold those to the public. What is staggering is that your administration passed the largest Middle Class tax cut in history but no one noticed. In fact, the majority of Americans still believe you raised taxes. In the 2008 contest, you actually won the war over taxes.
It was a strategic blunder to announce the stimulus, promising unemployment would not rise above 8% and that we would see job growth of 250,000+ per month by summer. Even still the Administration depended on others to sell the notion that the stimulus ever saved or created 3 million jobs. In my opinion, this accounts for a large part of the Democrats' losses.
You have already made history as our first African-American President so govern as if you don't care about 2012. Let Obama be Obama. Even if you are a one-term President, you will have accomplished more substantive things than the last two Presidents combined. Remember James K. Polk. He made a list of what he wanted to accomplish and when he completed it he didn't run again. And he still ranks high among historians.
Don't let Congress get you bogged down or tangled up. The Republican leadership in Congress still have approval ratings below 20% and Congress itself will remain unpopular. Be prepared that the Republicans will not compromise and not change their obstructionist policies of the last two years. This time because they have "skin in the game" you can make them pay for this.
The only possible achievement you might get from Congress in the next two years is some agreement on infrastructure spending and that's only because our Highway Fund is depleted and congressmen need to brag about jobs in their district. Remember you only have to suffer through a year of the new Congress because nothing can get done in 2012.
On investigations adopt the policy of the George W. Bush administration and ignore all subpoenas. The House just wants to create kangaroo courts. They don't have the guts to impeach you anyway. Use hearings on Climate Change, etc. as a way to educate the public. No climate change legislation will pass anyway and the Cap and Trade bill proposed during the last Congress had no real Cap so trash it.
Don't compromise on the tax cuts for the wealthy. Let the House pass them if they want but use the Presidency as a bully pulpit and veto such legislation with a call to responsible policies to deal with the debt. Play the Republican problem of saying they want to cut the deficit and wanting to give the wealthy enormous tax breaks. Even if the middle class tax breaks expire because of the Republican game-laying, so be it. You can explain and point to your past record of giving the largest Middle Class tax break and saying you would like to in the future but these games are intolerable and the Republicans are acting in bad faith.
Stop apologizing. You have nothing to apologize about. The Republicans never apologized about anything. When you talk about debt reduction, please break out the national debt in terms of where and when they occurred. Of the 14.3 trillion, 13 trillion was accumulated under the Republicans. You might say so.
Lay out your ideas for the reduction of the national debt by keeping it simple. Please defend Social Security and clearly state your position. Even just say it would all be saved by lifting the cap on the FICA tax and use a chart to explain it. Then let the Republicans try to argue differently. You will have the facts on your side and can clearly exxplain it in a way Americans understand.
Please explain more simply what your three year freeze on discretionary spending means in terms of the size of federal government compared to the rest of the economy. This is simple and should be explained this way. Don't play this game of waiting to see what can be negotiated. If you lose, you lose but at least the public will have a clear sense of where you are coming from.
On DADT, this is a prime example of how you got hung up on the process and not the result. You say and I believe you that you want to repeal it. Give it one last shot with the lameduck congress and if that fails, repeal it by executive order and let the Republicans go batshit. Over 60% support the position that openly gay people should be able to serve in the miltary. then go for it. If it actually gets to the Supreme Court, it opens up a whole other bag of beans. You are the Commander in Chief after all.
Which brings me to the war party beating the tom-toms on going to war against Iran. Don't get muscled by these punks. They didn't pay for the last two wars, they won't for another one. The idea is insane.
As Commander-in-Chief sign an executive order closing Gitmo and if need be move the prison population to the Military prison in South Carolina. That is federal, not state property. Get the issue done with and don't bother with threats of not paying for their transfer.
Make the case for cutting unnecessary weapons systems, especially the jet engines produced in John Boehner's backyard. Defense spending has to be cut dramatically.
Use executive orders to get as much possible done in the last two years.
Forget the idea that somehow you have to appease Congress. Make them directly challenge the Presidency, not you. Frame these situations as things of presidential perogatives, not subjective choices by a black man.
Absolutely ignore all advice by the established punditry--there are all wealthy, predominantly white people who have not suffered one whit in the recession.
If you come out fighting, people will shutter and the GOP will shot back, but who cares? The American people will defend you as soon as you speak clearly and simply and push back against all these clowns.
Encourage Nancy Pelosi to be an attack dog back-bencher. Ignore all the Washington nonsense that she will cause your problems because everyone thinks you should accomodate the GOP. Since she knows the details of what the GOP want to repeal, let her have at it.
You might suggest to the television networks, who have featured round-the-clock Republicans the last two years, that this time they should feature Democrats to balance the Boehner/ Tea Party coalition.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
One More Cup of Coffee Before I Go*
*Bob Dylan
One of my many election blunders was to suggest Bill White might win the election fro Governor of Texas. All Texans and Americans would have been better off. Now Rick Perry announced after winning an unprecedented third term that he might not complete his term. Immediately, he appeared on national television because he is going to run for President. He said George W was a great President because "he defended us against our freedom."
Following on the George W.'s ideas that the deficits have nothing with your own actions, Perry is facing a mammoth $25 billion budget deficit he failed to inform voters about during the campaign. So in the new Republican mantra, what does he want to do?
Appearing on CNN's Parker/Spitzer show, he suggested that states be allowed to opt-out of social security. Has anyone noticed during the last year how individual citizens have dropped off the Republican rader screen in favor of corporate entities such as companies, banks and states? Perry pointed out that three counties in Texas had opted out of social security for their public employees in 1981 and he said the program was successful. However, observers of that program say that the public employees over the years did poorly compared to what they would have done in social security.
Joe Miller, the thug candidate for Senate in Alaska, also proposed the same thing. He suggests that states takeover Social Security and Medicare. His plan once analyzed required draconian provisions, such as a mandate that everyone must retire in the same state that they worked and paid taxes. Also, younger workers would move to an opt-out state to avoid paying Social Security taxes and then promptly move to a state with Social Security benefits the moment they become eligible. Eventually the whole system would collapse.
Well, in Texas, Republican lawmakers are actually proposing to drop out of the federal Medicaid program so as to solve their budget shortfall. Helped by the D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, Texas would save some $60 billion from 2013 to 2019 by opting out of Medicare and the Children's Health Insurance Program, dropping all coverage for acute care. Currently, Texas has 3.6 million children , people with disabilities and impoverished Texans enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
In the type of new Republican thinking, State Senator Jane Nelson summarized it best saying that it was worth considering dropping out of Medicaid for fiscal reasons--as long as that didn't jeopardize the quality of care.
They could also save enormous amounts of money by eliminating public education and privatizing all highways (which is something Perry is doing).
And seniors voted for Republicans because Barack Obama cut $500 billion from the Medicare subsidies to the health insurance companies? Puh-Leese.
Stay tuned as more of this insanity gets transmitted through the Great Right-Wing Wurlizer.
Another great moment of the day was Eric Cantor wanted to separate aid to Israel from the overall foreign aid bill, signalling the Republicans want to decimate foreign aid. Now think about this--our foreign aid has increased as a substitute for our military expenditure in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. The idea was that our aid would help stabilize these countries after we have left, thus ensuring that it wouldn't look like we just abandoned these people. This has escaped the new House majority. However, it was the Jewish groups that flipped out and objected, having been promised that American foreign aid in general would not be cut. The other point is that if you do separate aid for Israel--some day the vote will turn against you.
Up in Halifax, Nova Scotia--which had enjoyed my sane presence about one month ago--Senator Lindsey Graham fired up with Republican victories told the Canadian audience that Barack Obama must abandon his approach to Iran and be willing to go to war against Tehran, even though Americans don't want any more wars. Also, Lindsey called for a confrontation with China. Don't laugh. Mitt Romney before the Heritage Foundation last year said the same thing.
Senate Republicans led by Country Last McCain believe their increased strength will force President Obama from leaving Afghanistan this coming summer and will pressure him to attack Iran. The David Broder article suggesting that Iran would save Obama was not just the idle thoughts of a senile old man--apparently there are the idle thoughts of several senile old men.
I guess everyone missed being radicals when they were young so now in their later years they are going for broke.
One of my many election blunders was to suggest Bill White might win the election fro Governor of Texas. All Texans and Americans would have been better off. Now Rick Perry announced after winning an unprecedented third term that he might not complete his term. Immediately, he appeared on national television because he is going to run for President. He said George W was a great President because "he defended us against our freedom."
Following on the George W.'s ideas that the deficits have nothing with your own actions, Perry is facing a mammoth $25 billion budget deficit he failed to inform voters about during the campaign. So in the new Republican mantra, what does he want to do?
Appearing on CNN's Parker/Spitzer show, he suggested that states be allowed to opt-out of social security. Has anyone noticed during the last year how individual citizens have dropped off the Republican rader screen in favor of corporate entities such as companies, banks and states? Perry pointed out that three counties in Texas had opted out of social security for their public employees in 1981 and he said the program was successful. However, observers of that program say that the public employees over the years did poorly compared to what they would have done in social security.
Joe Miller, the thug candidate for Senate in Alaska, also proposed the same thing. He suggests that states takeover Social Security and Medicare. His plan once analyzed required draconian provisions, such as a mandate that everyone must retire in the same state that they worked and paid taxes. Also, younger workers would move to an opt-out state to avoid paying Social Security taxes and then promptly move to a state with Social Security benefits the moment they become eligible. Eventually the whole system would collapse.
Well, in Texas, Republican lawmakers are actually proposing to drop out of the federal Medicaid program so as to solve their budget shortfall. Helped by the D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, Texas would save some $60 billion from 2013 to 2019 by opting out of Medicare and the Children's Health Insurance Program, dropping all coverage for acute care. Currently, Texas has 3.6 million children , people with disabilities and impoverished Texans enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.
In the type of new Republican thinking, State Senator Jane Nelson summarized it best saying that it was worth considering dropping out of Medicaid for fiscal reasons--as long as that didn't jeopardize the quality of care.
They could also save enormous amounts of money by eliminating public education and privatizing all highways (which is something Perry is doing).
And seniors voted for Republicans because Barack Obama cut $500 billion from the Medicare subsidies to the health insurance companies? Puh-Leese.
Stay tuned as more of this insanity gets transmitted through the Great Right-Wing Wurlizer.
Another great moment of the day was Eric Cantor wanted to separate aid to Israel from the overall foreign aid bill, signalling the Republicans want to decimate foreign aid. Now think about this--our foreign aid has increased as a substitute for our military expenditure in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. The idea was that our aid would help stabilize these countries after we have left, thus ensuring that it wouldn't look like we just abandoned these people. This has escaped the new House majority. However, it was the Jewish groups that flipped out and objected, having been promised that American foreign aid in general would not be cut. The other point is that if you do separate aid for Israel--some day the vote will turn against you.
Up in Halifax, Nova Scotia--which had enjoyed my sane presence about one month ago--Senator Lindsey Graham fired up with Republican victories told the Canadian audience that Barack Obama must abandon his approach to Iran and be willing to go to war against Tehran, even though Americans don't want any more wars. Also, Lindsey called for a confrontation with China. Don't laugh. Mitt Romney before the Heritage Foundation last year said the same thing.
Senate Republicans led by Country Last McCain believe their increased strength will force President Obama from leaving Afghanistan this coming summer and will pressure him to attack Iran. The David Broder article suggesting that Iran would save Obama was not just the idle thoughts of a senile old man--apparently there are the idle thoughts of several senile old men.
I guess everyone missed being radicals when they were young so now in their later years they are going for broke.
Our Profligate President
Did you hear that President Obama's trip to Asia is costing American taxpayers' $200 million a day? And not only that but half the U.S. Navy is there to escort him? This just keeps on the amazing spending ways of the Obamas. How about the First Lady's expensive summer vacation to Spain and Italy? And what about the cost of remodelling their home in Chicago?
The Great Right-Wing Wurlizer promotes this little meme that the President is a big spender and blowing through the national budget. I have no idea how this interlinked media machine can be stopped. It's obvious that the Wurlizer played a great role in the mid-terms. Obama raised your taxes when in fact he cut taxes for 98% of Americans and initiated another 25 tax breaks for businesses. He badly mismanaged the TARP program so the American taxpayer is on the hook for hundreds of billions, when in fact they stand to make a profit of $16 billion from TARP. One elderly voter said "Obama needed his comeuppance because he took my Medicare away." Stunning. The Beat goes on and will go on uninterrupted.
Did you know that President Obama cut over $100 billion from the deficit this year? Did you know that his call for a moratorium on discretionary spending for three years would bring the percentage of government spending to GDP to its lowest level since the 1950s? Or did you know that when Congress votes on raising the national debt ceiling to over $14.3 trillion, that $13 trillion of that debt is courtesy of George W. Bush? You won't hear that either.
Our budget busting President is actually a money maker. One story you will never hear in the media is that Barack Obama has the Midas touch. Today, he announced a $15 billion trade deal with India. So he's already paid back the price of the trip. The U.S. makes a $16 billion profit on TARP. General Motors is paying back its government loans five years early with interest. Put another couple billion in the bank. The President saved over $1 billion on the census. The British Petroleum oil spill resulted in pay outs of $35 billion to taxpayers. Otherwise, we would have been on the hook for that amount. So that little list has earned us over $75 billion. This doesn't include the savings in healthcare reform. Not bad. We have to put him on the road some more. Oh, I forgot, American corporations made 65% profit this year, the largest in decades. Socialism is grand!
I wrote yesterday of John Kasich of Ohio and Martin Walker of Wisconsin turning down $1.3 billion in infrastructure funding for high speed rail. Today, Andrew Cuomo, not missing a beat, said that New York would take it and that it would mean the Erie Canal for New York State in the 21st century. At least Andrew gets it. So do Illinois and Iowa, which today assured voters of the commitment to the rail link from Chicago to Illinois.
The new numbskull Republican House wants to continue the Party's awesome policy of being anti-science by cutting back on the President's request to increase funding for NASA's earth science programs. If you want an example of this program, watch the new photos from the Hubble studying the latest comet. There are reasons we want to know more about the Earth.
P.S. President Obama's trip does not cost $200 million a day and half the U.S. Navy hasn't been deployed to Asia. If they were, that would mean they would have to travel from India,to Indonesia, to Korea and Japan in less than 10 days. That would set an all-time military record for naval deployments.
The Great Right-Wing Wurlizer promotes this little meme that the President is a big spender and blowing through the national budget. I have no idea how this interlinked media machine can be stopped. It's obvious that the Wurlizer played a great role in the mid-terms. Obama raised your taxes when in fact he cut taxes for 98% of Americans and initiated another 25 tax breaks for businesses. He badly mismanaged the TARP program so the American taxpayer is on the hook for hundreds of billions, when in fact they stand to make a profit of $16 billion from TARP. One elderly voter said "Obama needed his comeuppance because he took my Medicare away." Stunning. The Beat goes on and will go on uninterrupted.
Did you know that President Obama cut over $100 billion from the deficit this year? Did you know that his call for a moratorium on discretionary spending for three years would bring the percentage of government spending to GDP to its lowest level since the 1950s? Or did you know that when Congress votes on raising the national debt ceiling to over $14.3 trillion, that $13 trillion of that debt is courtesy of George W. Bush? You won't hear that either.
Our budget busting President is actually a money maker. One story you will never hear in the media is that Barack Obama has the Midas touch. Today, he announced a $15 billion trade deal with India. So he's already paid back the price of the trip. The U.S. makes a $16 billion profit on TARP. General Motors is paying back its government loans five years early with interest. Put another couple billion in the bank. The President saved over $1 billion on the census. The British Petroleum oil spill resulted in pay outs of $35 billion to taxpayers. Otherwise, we would have been on the hook for that amount. So that little list has earned us over $75 billion. This doesn't include the savings in healthcare reform. Not bad. We have to put him on the road some more. Oh, I forgot, American corporations made 65% profit this year, the largest in decades. Socialism is grand!
I wrote yesterday of John Kasich of Ohio and Martin Walker of Wisconsin turning down $1.3 billion in infrastructure funding for high speed rail. Today, Andrew Cuomo, not missing a beat, said that New York would take it and that it would mean the Erie Canal for New York State in the 21st century. At least Andrew gets it. So do Illinois and Iowa, which today assured voters of the commitment to the rail link from Chicago to Illinois.
The new numbskull Republican House wants to continue the Party's awesome policy of being anti-science by cutting back on the President's request to increase funding for NASA's earth science programs. If you want an example of this program, watch the new photos from the Hubble studying the latest comet. There are reasons we want to know more about the Earth.
P.S. President Obama's trip does not cost $200 million a day and half the U.S. Navy hasn't been deployed to Asia. If they were, that would mean they would have to travel from India,to Indonesia, to Korea and Japan in less than 10 days. That would set an all-time military record for naval deployments.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Whom Do You Represent?
It seems the GOP has trouble grasping representative democracy. Even though you win elections, you do have to represent all your constituents. The exit polls for this year's elections clearly indicate the issue was jobs and the economy. Yet, our newly elected Republicans have taken this to mean an outright endorsement of their ideology--and an ideology it is. They claim they are for "limited, constitutional government, cutting taxes (although they will not acknowledge Obama cut them) and the deficit".
While the President extended his hand to reach compromise, both John Boehner and Mitch McConnell said that Obama would have to adopt the Republican agenda or else they will close down the government. Oklahoma Tom Coburn threatened to close down the government unless $300 billion cuts in spending were found immediately. Senator Jim DeMint has demanded the right to read every bill before he would consent to let it come to a vote. A punk Michigan congressman, who just barely won election, demands that Obama do what Republicans say or the government will be closed down.
All of this rhetoric comes around the impending need to raise the debt ceiling of the country. The last time the GOP blocked this under the Clinton Administration we were not in a depression, fighting two wars, and having to assure the international community we can manage the awesome debt accumulated during the Bush-Cheney years. A failure to raise the debt ceiling now would trigger a collapse of the stock market and another severe challenge to the international economic system. Yet, our great media doesn't call these people out on their sheer insanity. They like the sports analogies of politics.
Dick Armey gave an interview with NPR where he outlined what the new Republican House should do. He claims that this is utterly the last chance the Republican Party has or else it will be finished on the national stage. He said that new teabagger members should just vote for limited government and cut all spending. The only spending that they should guarantee is military because that is the only function the federal government must perform. He said that he would suggest introducing a bill immediately to repeal Obamacare and even if it didn't go to the President then they should keep voting on it to fulfill their promises. (Note: repealing Obamacare would increase the federal debt by trillions as we know from the OMB report.) Asked whether Republicans should compromise with the Democrats and President Obama, he said Obama called Republicans "nasty things" during the campaign , unlike the nice epithets the GOP has called the President since Day 1, and that the Republicans can not trust him.
Now listening to Dick Armey talk about "limited government", you get a sense we are a country the size of New Hampshire, have no international obligations, social commitments to our citizens and aren't pivotal to the world financial system. The Exit Polls show that 37% of the Republican voters wanted more spending for job creation, not less, and a majority really didn't care about the national debt--like Republicans never have since Eisenhower. Also, the largest voting bloc for Republicans were the white elderly and the Party can not risk alienating its last base of support by cutting entitlement programs.
Now we have Republicans sitting in Congress saying they will not compromise. It's like they have never participated in the legislative process before.
But what bothers me is whom do they think they represent. We always hear Boehner say "The Voice of the American voter has been heard." but he never said that when President Obama won. When healthcare reform enjoyed a 59% popularity before the disinformation campaign was launched, we didn't hear Boehner accepting this. Only when Fox News and the faux teabaggers started their white riots, did he invoke the popular will. BUT, we once understood that if you were elected to such offices, you represented everyone in your district or your state no matter what their affiliation. Already, new members are turning away calls from constituents who did not support them. They is unprecedented in recent memory.
This is a serious problem. For example, John Kasich barely won by a whisker his battle against Gov. Strickland. During the election campaign he was asked what he would cut and what taxes would he raise etc. Like all GOP candidates this year, he dodged or refused to answer these questions. Yesterday, after the results were announced, he proclaimed that he was cancelling the rapid train plans through Ohio, which had been approved by the Federal Government, stated he would refuse to accept any further stimulus funds for the depressed state, would not enforce the voter-approved tax hike to support the public school system and would totally reorganize State government and eliminate whole departments. He said he would drastically cut education spending. Remember nearly 49% of the state voted against him. The scenario was repeated in Wisconsin with the election of a new Republican Governor. The first day after his victory, he announced he was cancelling the new rail link into the state as developed as part of the rehabilitation of our rail systems.
Like Chrissie in New Jersey cancelling the tunnel to Manhattan, these Republicans try to make a great show of cancelling such projects as if they are saving money. In all three cases, they will have to pay hundreds of millions back to the Federal government. Also, all three rail projects were to be funded by US-backed transportation bonds.
But it's the collossal arrogance and ignorance of these people which is appalling. We should expect this in the next year because you can look it up--none of these people told the voters what they would actually do. But it is clear that they all had a coordinated plan. Cut to Karl Rove. Speaking in western Pennsylvania yesterday to oil drillers, he assured them that there would be no new regulations on oil drilling passed by the House and that anything having to do with Clean Air was dead. How Does He Know? Was this a quid pro quo, all the candidates agreed to for the support of Crossroads America? Is this not bribery?
Out on the West Coast, a tired, old, hoarse Jerry Brown made his victory speech in an Art Deco movie theater built in 1928. Brown had refurbished the building and created two schools there while Mayor of Oakland. Perhaps it's his Jesuit training or Zen practices or simply his memory of his past time as Governor. He opened his speech with his firm commitment to a younger generation and stated his first priority as governor would be to get the resources to support the public education system in the state. Jerry Brown was one of the reasons California could brag about its public education system and its extensive college system. This jewel in the state's crown had been tarnished by draconian budget cuts in recent years.
But Jerry Brown reminded his audience that the political situation in the state and in the nation was highly polarized. He said that over 40% of the voters did not cast their ballot for him but his opponent. But he urged everyone not to compromise on principle but to compromise so that all Californians could seek common ground and a vision for the future. This is not the winner--takes--all principles we are seeing among Republicans. His words may be corny but they remain true in all of political life. Once the campaign ends, governing begins and we have to search for the common good. Maybe it's Jerry Brown's 71 years or maybe it's his experience as a successful governor 35 years ago, but it was clear that he would try and serve all Californians. You do not get that sense from any of the Republicans who have been elected. There is a ruthless nihilism that comes through that should scare everyone. There is no sense of the common good. It is completely lacking.
Another bright spot in the last few miserable days was the YouTube talk by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka. I guess you have to have led a long miners strike to have the bounce he did after the election. He addressed his rank-and-file and talked in detail of all their election activities and said how much they had affected the elections in Nevada, Colorado and California. He could have said that they came damn close in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio. But if you are going to speak in defeat, Trumpka had the tone down pat. He said the work begins again today to fight for workers' rights. I find myself more and more impressed by him.
Not to miss a beat, Nancy Pelosi was in California to start the formation of the state's "exchanges" for the implementation of the healthrefom bill and made an extensive speech about how this will help the state rebound from its economic woes and generate new jobs. As for her loss as Speaker, she can claim that she led the most progressive legislation in over a generation. It's really too bad some 400 of these bills never got taken up by the Senate.
Progressives are finally waking up to find that almost all their caucus is left in place. It was the Blue Dog caucus that was slaughtered. Progressive really have to find a way to commuicate their positions. Throughout the last two years, polling on policy reflects that the American people support "progressive" positions if phrased specifically. Almost 60% of the American people backed a public option for healthcare reform. Similar percentages back a larger stimulus and also President Obama's plans for the infrastructure. Given that Teabaggers supported funding for job creation, there might be room for a little subversion in the next Congress.
Republicans are now showing their true attitudes to the teabaggers. Michelle Bachman's attempt to make a move to #3 in the House was rebuffed and Karl Rove has now openly gone after the teabaggers. In the House, they will get their pet rocks like the gratuitous investigations into ACORN but they will not have a say about the corporate agenda of Tan Man Boehner. Boehner had already plotted policy in his meeting with Wall Street in New York last Spring.
So far, the Republicans have overreached in their statements about their mandate. The Rasmussen poll is actually looking quite prescient about the degree of disappointment people will feel with the new Congress. It's going to be interesting to see how the teabaggers react to getting their orders from the leadership. The new Republicans are far more radical and less corporate than their leaders. It would be delightful if the GOP didn't vote in a solid block for the first time in years. It might take the new authoritarians to break up the authoritarian rule.
Forget the Democrats for a minute. The new Republican party has an ideology that is like the mirror image of a Marxist paradise. It is libertarian, free market utopianism. Col.Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff, said that these Republicans' views on economics are so laughable except for the situation we're in as a country. Wilkerson warned that the United States has to have good presidential leadership for the next four terms to get out of our mess and if we don't we will decline rapidly.
What does "constitutional, limited government" mean in the 21st century? We know from the past eight years that endless tax cuts and de-regulation did not create jobs and prosperity or make us stronger abroad. We know that economic development depends on education, investment in research and development and infrastructure, which did not happen until this President took over. And how do you square "limited government" with your imperial dreams? People like Pat Ryan with his "Blueprint for the Future" tries to square all this but only comes up with a country that would de-develop but remains a formidable military power. And he now will be head of the budget committee in the House. Over 15 libertarians won seats in the New Hampshire legislature and maybe that's where such people belong.
The problem we face is that people like the simplistic solutions until the implications are spelled out. If you eliminate social security, will your children take care of you in your old age? Will you and your family be able to afford healthcare? If you severely cut public education, won't we be at the mercy of other countries' who can out-compete us and out-arm us?
It seems to me an indicator of a Great Society is how it takes care of its most vulnerable. This new Republican vision has no room for compassion, empathy or solidarity with others. There is no social compact. There is really no role for government except to protect us from real and imagined foes. Limited government breeds large corporate entities, which Republicans frame as "entrepeneurs", "the producers", and "small business". Only government can violate human rights, not corporations. The rest of society--the old, the infirm, the poor, minorities--are just out of luck. Because that's the price you pay for your freedom.
Many of the new Republican senators and congressmen proclaim that "Atlas Shrugged" is their inspiration. Almost all who said this are dependent on government for their wealth and their families receive unemployment insurance, social security and government pensions. I received an e-mail tonight from a conservative complaining about Obama's mythical plans to raise taxes on the "European model" with a complete chart of all of Europe's tax rates. He said the example was Greece, where until this year you could retire at the age of 48. What is strange is that this person receives a nice miltary pension, benefits from government health insurance at $300 per month, works for defense contractors and also receives a stipend from a news agencies partly owned by the Saudis. He basically gamed the imperial side of our system to have a permanent livelihood. But he has no sense of irony when he advocates these right-wing positions about our welfare state.
Now this call for the repeal of healthcare. The Republicans are promising they will repeal this signature accomplishment of Barack Obama. They might as well try and air-brush him out of history. What they never say--and our media doesn't mention--millions more Americans will go bankrupt because of health costs. We are currently spending 2.5 trillion dollars a year on healthcare in this country, several times the percentage of GNP of any other developed nation. From the healthcare debate, we saw how that cost will continue to escalate unless something like the healthcare bill was passed. The Republicans scared seniors this year--this was Karl Rove's doing--that Obama cut $500 billion from Medicare. What he did was eliminate that much in fraud, waste and over-charging by insurance companies. Any repeal of healthcare would out the country again at the mercy of rapacious health insurance companies. But even they don't want it repealed as some of their spokesmen made clear today. They need the individual mandates--the precise element the Republicans oppose--in order to survive as a viable business.
Somehow the bipartisan agreement that we have a dysfunctional healthcare system seems to have vanished once Barack Obama triumphed. The alternative offered by House Republicans last time would only increase coverage of 3 million Americans, not 40 million and would only save $58 billion in a one time move. We would be stuck with the monstrous system as it is and all go bankrupt.
To answer Senator Coburn, President Obama should repeat his desire to kill the new fighter jet, which is running billions over budget and would cost $300 billion to complete. That would be the instant budget cut Coburn was looking for. But the problem is that the House doesn't want to cut this needless weapons system that was geared for the Cold War.
There are some cynics who believe we should just let Republicans have their way and then the American people would become aware of their treachery. But we know from this mid-term that the American people have already forgotten how we got to the present place. And they would buy into tax cuts for corporations as job creation. Even though we found out the contrary during the George Bush years. A key element in this mid-term elections was the almost relentless 20 month propaganda campaign by the right against President Obama so that none of his significant achievements were acknowledged and almost all the bad moves at the end of the Bush years were blamed on him such as the TARP program, which he turned into a profit.
George W. Bush's memoirs are out. Don't buy them. But one gets a sense how dumbed down we have become as a country when there is no outrage that he proudly asserts he approved the torture program and specifically ordered KSM to be waterboarded. P.S. Contrary to his assertions there was nothing learned from the torture other than disinformation that linked Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda. Also, W says that even though he had been told about the impending economic collapse two years in advance, he was more interested in things like the rate of inflation and not these larger issues. So he didn't do anything. The most distressing moment of his presidency was not 9-11 or blowing Iraq, but being called a racist by Kanye West.
George W. claims that he really didn't pay attention to the destruction going on in Iraq for two years and then he was forced to act. Compare what the Right says about President Obama and his achievements in 20 months. Can you imagine the reaction if Obama postpone a decision for two years? Look what happened when he deliberated on the strategy in Afghanistan.
That's why one can not believe the American people will learn the disasterous effect Bush's policy had on the U.S. and the world at large. What you see after the mid-terms is the revenge of George W. Bush and his henchmen. It really doesn't mean anything to have a reality-based politics. I believe it's essential but clearly the majority of Americans do not.
While the President extended his hand to reach compromise, both John Boehner and Mitch McConnell said that Obama would have to adopt the Republican agenda or else they will close down the government. Oklahoma Tom Coburn threatened to close down the government unless $300 billion cuts in spending were found immediately. Senator Jim DeMint has demanded the right to read every bill before he would consent to let it come to a vote. A punk Michigan congressman, who just barely won election, demands that Obama do what Republicans say or the government will be closed down.
All of this rhetoric comes around the impending need to raise the debt ceiling of the country. The last time the GOP blocked this under the Clinton Administration we were not in a depression, fighting two wars, and having to assure the international community we can manage the awesome debt accumulated during the Bush-Cheney years. A failure to raise the debt ceiling now would trigger a collapse of the stock market and another severe challenge to the international economic system. Yet, our great media doesn't call these people out on their sheer insanity. They like the sports analogies of politics.
Dick Armey gave an interview with NPR where he outlined what the new Republican House should do. He claims that this is utterly the last chance the Republican Party has or else it will be finished on the national stage. He said that new teabagger members should just vote for limited government and cut all spending. The only spending that they should guarantee is military because that is the only function the federal government must perform. He said that he would suggest introducing a bill immediately to repeal Obamacare and even if it didn't go to the President then they should keep voting on it to fulfill their promises. (Note: repealing Obamacare would increase the federal debt by trillions as we know from the OMB report.) Asked whether Republicans should compromise with the Democrats and President Obama, he said Obama called Republicans "nasty things" during the campaign , unlike the nice epithets the GOP has called the President since Day 1, and that the Republicans can not trust him.
Now listening to Dick Armey talk about "limited government", you get a sense we are a country the size of New Hampshire, have no international obligations, social commitments to our citizens and aren't pivotal to the world financial system. The Exit Polls show that 37% of the Republican voters wanted more spending for job creation, not less, and a majority really didn't care about the national debt--like Republicans never have since Eisenhower. Also, the largest voting bloc for Republicans were the white elderly and the Party can not risk alienating its last base of support by cutting entitlement programs.
Now we have Republicans sitting in Congress saying they will not compromise. It's like they have never participated in the legislative process before.
But what bothers me is whom do they think they represent. We always hear Boehner say "The Voice of the American voter has been heard." but he never said that when President Obama won. When healthcare reform enjoyed a 59% popularity before the disinformation campaign was launched, we didn't hear Boehner accepting this. Only when Fox News and the faux teabaggers started their white riots, did he invoke the popular will. BUT, we once understood that if you were elected to such offices, you represented everyone in your district or your state no matter what their affiliation. Already, new members are turning away calls from constituents who did not support them. They is unprecedented in recent memory.
This is a serious problem. For example, John Kasich barely won by a whisker his battle against Gov. Strickland. During the election campaign he was asked what he would cut and what taxes would he raise etc. Like all GOP candidates this year, he dodged or refused to answer these questions. Yesterday, after the results were announced, he proclaimed that he was cancelling the rapid train plans through Ohio, which had been approved by the Federal Government, stated he would refuse to accept any further stimulus funds for the depressed state, would not enforce the voter-approved tax hike to support the public school system and would totally reorganize State government and eliminate whole departments. He said he would drastically cut education spending. Remember nearly 49% of the state voted against him. The scenario was repeated in Wisconsin with the election of a new Republican Governor. The first day after his victory, he announced he was cancelling the new rail link into the state as developed as part of the rehabilitation of our rail systems.
Like Chrissie in New Jersey cancelling the tunnel to Manhattan, these Republicans try to make a great show of cancelling such projects as if they are saving money. In all three cases, they will have to pay hundreds of millions back to the Federal government. Also, all three rail projects were to be funded by US-backed transportation bonds.
But it's the collossal arrogance and ignorance of these people which is appalling. We should expect this in the next year because you can look it up--none of these people told the voters what they would actually do. But it is clear that they all had a coordinated plan. Cut to Karl Rove. Speaking in western Pennsylvania yesterday to oil drillers, he assured them that there would be no new regulations on oil drilling passed by the House and that anything having to do with Clean Air was dead. How Does He Know? Was this a quid pro quo, all the candidates agreed to for the support of Crossroads America? Is this not bribery?
Out on the West Coast, a tired, old, hoarse Jerry Brown made his victory speech in an Art Deco movie theater built in 1928. Brown had refurbished the building and created two schools there while Mayor of Oakland. Perhaps it's his Jesuit training or Zen practices or simply his memory of his past time as Governor. He opened his speech with his firm commitment to a younger generation and stated his first priority as governor would be to get the resources to support the public education system in the state. Jerry Brown was one of the reasons California could brag about its public education system and its extensive college system. This jewel in the state's crown had been tarnished by draconian budget cuts in recent years.
But Jerry Brown reminded his audience that the political situation in the state and in the nation was highly polarized. He said that over 40% of the voters did not cast their ballot for him but his opponent. But he urged everyone not to compromise on principle but to compromise so that all Californians could seek common ground and a vision for the future. This is not the winner--takes--all principles we are seeing among Republicans. His words may be corny but they remain true in all of political life. Once the campaign ends, governing begins and we have to search for the common good. Maybe it's Jerry Brown's 71 years or maybe it's his experience as a successful governor 35 years ago, but it was clear that he would try and serve all Californians. You do not get that sense from any of the Republicans who have been elected. There is a ruthless nihilism that comes through that should scare everyone. There is no sense of the common good. It is completely lacking.
Another bright spot in the last few miserable days was the YouTube talk by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka. I guess you have to have led a long miners strike to have the bounce he did after the election. He addressed his rank-and-file and talked in detail of all their election activities and said how much they had affected the elections in Nevada, Colorado and California. He could have said that they came damn close in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio. But if you are going to speak in defeat, Trumpka had the tone down pat. He said the work begins again today to fight for workers' rights. I find myself more and more impressed by him.
Not to miss a beat, Nancy Pelosi was in California to start the formation of the state's "exchanges" for the implementation of the healthrefom bill and made an extensive speech about how this will help the state rebound from its economic woes and generate new jobs. As for her loss as Speaker, she can claim that she led the most progressive legislation in over a generation. It's really too bad some 400 of these bills never got taken up by the Senate.
Progressives are finally waking up to find that almost all their caucus is left in place. It was the Blue Dog caucus that was slaughtered. Progressive really have to find a way to commuicate their positions. Throughout the last two years, polling on policy reflects that the American people support "progressive" positions if phrased specifically. Almost 60% of the American people backed a public option for healthcare reform. Similar percentages back a larger stimulus and also President Obama's plans for the infrastructure. Given that Teabaggers supported funding for job creation, there might be room for a little subversion in the next Congress.
Republicans are now showing their true attitudes to the teabaggers. Michelle Bachman's attempt to make a move to #3 in the House was rebuffed and Karl Rove has now openly gone after the teabaggers. In the House, they will get their pet rocks like the gratuitous investigations into ACORN but they will not have a say about the corporate agenda of Tan Man Boehner. Boehner had already plotted policy in his meeting with Wall Street in New York last Spring.
So far, the Republicans have overreached in their statements about their mandate. The Rasmussen poll is actually looking quite prescient about the degree of disappointment people will feel with the new Congress. It's going to be interesting to see how the teabaggers react to getting their orders from the leadership. The new Republicans are far more radical and less corporate than their leaders. It would be delightful if the GOP didn't vote in a solid block for the first time in years. It might take the new authoritarians to break up the authoritarian rule.
Forget the Democrats for a minute. The new Republican party has an ideology that is like the mirror image of a Marxist paradise. It is libertarian, free market utopianism. Col.Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff, said that these Republicans' views on economics are so laughable except for the situation we're in as a country. Wilkerson warned that the United States has to have good presidential leadership for the next four terms to get out of our mess and if we don't we will decline rapidly.
What does "constitutional, limited government" mean in the 21st century? We know from the past eight years that endless tax cuts and de-regulation did not create jobs and prosperity or make us stronger abroad. We know that economic development depends on education, investment in research and development and infrastructure, which did not happen until this President took over. And how do you square "limited government" with your imperial dreams? People like Pat Ryan with his "Blueprint for the Future" tries to square all this but only comes up with a country that would de-develop but remains a formidable military power. And he now will be head of the budget committee in the House. Over 15 libertarians won seats in the New Hampshire legislature and maybe that's where such people belong.
The problem we face is that people like the simplistic solutions until the implications are spelled out. If you eliminate social security, will your children take care of you in your old age? Will you and your family be able to afford healthcare? If you severely cut public education, won't we be at the mercy of other countries' who can out-compete us and out-arm us?
It seems to me an indicator of a Great Society is how it takes care of its most vulnerable. This new Republican vision has no room for compassion, empathy or solidarity with others. There is no social compact. There is really no role for government except to protect us from real and imagined foes. Limited government breeds large corporate entities, which Republicans frame as "entrepeneurs", "the producers", and "small business". Only government can violate human rights, not corporations. The rest of society--the old, the infirm, the poor, minorities--are just out of luck. Because that's the price you pay for your freedom.
Many of the new Republican senators and congressmen proclaim that "Atlas Shrugged" is their inspiration. Almost all who said this are dependent on government for their wealth and their families receive unemployment insurance, social security and government pensions. I received an e-mail tonight from a conservative complaining about Obama's mythical plans to raise taxes on the "European model" with a complete chart of all of Europe's tax rates. He said the example was Greece, where until this year you could retire at the age of 48. What is strange is that this person receives a nice miltary pension, benefits from government health insurance at $300 per month, works for defense contractors and also receives a stipend from a news agencies partly owned by the Saudis. He basically gamed the imperial side of our system to have a permanent livelihood. But he has no sense of irony when he advocates these right-wing positions about our welfare state.
Now this call for the repeal of healthcare. The Republicans are promising they will repeal this signature accomplishment of Barack Obama. They might as well try and air-brush him out of history. What they never say--and our media doesn't mention--millions more Americans will go bankrupt because of health costs. We are currently spending 2.5 trillion dollars a year on healthcare in this country, several times the percentage of GNP of any other developed nation. From the healthcare debate, we saw how that cost will continue to escalate unless something like the healthcare bill was passed. The Republicans scared seniors this year--this was Karl Rove's doing--that Obama cut $500 billion from Medicare. What he did was eliminate that much in fraud, waste and over-charging by insurance companies. Any repeal of healthcare would out the country again at the mercy of rapacious health insurance companies. But even they don't want it repealed as some of their spokesmen made clear today. They need the individual mandates--the precise element the Republicans oppose--in order to survive as a viable business.
Somehow the bipartisan agreement that we have a dysfunctional healthcare system seems to have vanished once Barack Obama triumphed. The alternative offered by House Republicans last time would only increase coverage of 3 million Americans, not 40 million and would only save $58 billion in a one time move. We would be stuck with the monstrous system as it is and all go bankrupt.
To answer Senator Coburn, President Obama should repeat his desire to kill the new fighter jet, which is running billions over budget and would cost $300 billion to complete. That would be the instant budget cut Coburn was looking for. But the problem is that the House doesn't want to cut this needless weapons system that was geared for the Cold War.
There are some cynics who believe we should just let Republicans have their way and then the American people would become aware of their treachery. But we know from this mid-term that the American people have already forgotten how we got to the present place. And they would buy into tax cuts for corporations as job creation. Even though we found out the contrary during the George Bush years. A key element in this mid-term elections was the almost relentless 20 month propaganda campaign by the right against President Obama so that none of his significant achievements were acknowledged and almost all the bad moves at the end of the Bush years were blamed on him such as the TARP program, which he turned into a profit.
George W. Bush's memoirs are out. Don't buy them. But one gets a sense how dumbed down we have become as a country when there is no outrage that he proudly asserts he approved the torture program and specifically ordered KSM to be waterboarded. P.S. Contrary to his assertions there was nothing learned from the torture other than disinformation that linked Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda. Also, W says that even though he had been told about the impending economic collapse two years in advance, he was more interested in things like the rate of inflation and not these larger issues. So he didn't do anything. The most distressing moment of his presidency was not 9-11 or blowing Iraq, but being called a racist by Kanye West.
George W. claims that he really didn't pay attention to the destruction going on in Iraq for two years and then he was forced to act. Compare what the Right says about President Obama and his achievements in 20 months. Can you imagine the reaction if Obama postpone a decision for two years? Look what happened when he deliberated on the strategy in Afghanistan.
That's why one can not believe the American people will learn the disasterous effect Bush's policy had on the U.S. and the world at large. What you see after the mid-terms is the revenge of George W. Bush and his henchmen. It really doesn't mean anything to have a reality-based politics. I believe it's essential but clearly the majority of Americans do not.
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