| Before the State of the Union | for everyone |
I am terribly discouraged. I am more and more convinced that the system is irreparably broken and, short of a major disaster, not fixable.
The Republicans want nothing more than failures to blame on President Obama and the Democrats so that they can regain power, and the Democratic leadership has sabotaged their own party's president in willful power plays of their own. As near as I can tell neither party really cares about the country, only their own power agendas.
To listen to those who purport to speak for the Republican Party, President Obama has not a single idea worthy of consideration. The GOP can whine all it wants about being frozen out, but Republicans seem to believe (perhaps even accurately) that if they concede any points to the President it diminishes their chances to return to power (and to hell with the country in the meantime).
The Democrats are no better, perhaps worse. I have little doubt that Congressional Democratic leadership has frozen out the Republicans, getting their evens for their years out of power (and, ironically, probably hastening their return to that position), seemingly afraid (perhaps even accurately) to concede any points to the GOP because it diminishes their chances of staying in power (and to hell with the country in the meantime).
And no one in either party has the courage to stand up to their leadership, no one is willing to stand up for the people, no one is willing to stand up for the country. Instead both sides resort to screaming, inane, polarizing name-calling* and "Gotcha Politics," twisting and distorting the other's positions for their own power agendas (and to hell with the country in the meantime). This is my most significant disappointment with President Obama, that he has failed to publicly call out Speaker Pelosi or Senator Reid and demand that they actually listen to the Republicans (of course, those same Republicans want him to fail, so I'm skeptical about how much good that would actually do). I don't know, maybe I watched West Wing too long.
Neither party has a monopoly on reasonable ideas; neither party has all the answers. Yet it seems too much to expect that they work together, putting the welfare of the country first, compromising (and without compromise, this country would never have had either the Declaration of Independence OR the Constitution) to find the best solution possible (not necessarily the "best possible solution") for the multitude of problems we face as a nation.
Right now it seems to me that both parties are going for a monopoly on selfishness, power-grabbing, and extreme stupidity. This is one brawl that's too close to call. A pox on both their houses; I trust neither of them to do anything that puts the good of the country first.
No, I won't be watching the State of the Union, because it won't matter what the President says. The man can't win. The Republicans will trash him and the Democrats will undermine him. And we'll all lose.
* Do you know how many years politicians in the United States have been fear-mongering by accusing each other of being "socialists"? Hint: We're into triple digits. And most of the name callers wouldn't even define the term in the same way (or like former Governor Palin, be able to define it at all). I'm guessing that the United States is the only democracy in the world where being called a "socialist" is considered an insult. Guess what, folks. That train left the station a long time ago and we've managed to not only survive, but prosper.
ReplyDeleteI Chrisi wrote on Jan 27, '10
I agree. I had hope for health care when Obama took office, now that has evaporated (at least in me). I remember when the Republicans lit their torches and went after Hillary Cllinton when she wanted to work on health care for all children in this country (this was right after Bill Clinton took office in his first term). It seemed like a simple ambition and one that everyone could agree on, but that put a large tattoo of a target on her back.
No one will even look at places where our country is bleeding money out like a gash in a femoral artery. Things that we could do without like the war or presence in Iraq (what ever you want to call it) or (while it was a nice idea) the failed welfare system.
I remember listening to Jimmy Carter (the first President I voted for) and think about how prophetic he was about not only the Miiddle East, but conservation, energy policies and the direction we were taking as a nation. He was our own Nostradamus, but no one wanted to listen and change.
E Carl Anderson wrote on Jan 27, '10
ReplyDeleteWe need to get a lobby of us common folks together and get some direct representation!
B Shahan wrote on Jan 28, '10
ReplyDeleteI share your discouragement. I've been politically aware since Stevenson vs Ike when I was 7 years old, and I did not bother to watch the State of the Union. It's odd isn't it, Bush did fail, and now so many want Obama to. I suspect a large percentage of the criticism is racism. The news media turns every news item into an opportunity to criticize the "liberal Democrats." And my own state is in the front of the pack.