In today's opinion section of the Sunday Oregonian, Gary Andres of Dutko Worldwide (by all accounts, a lobbying company--we all know how helpful lobbyists have been in helping ordinary Americans), argues that "Democrats can't count on lock of younger voters." He goes on to cite that the president's approval has gone down, even among younger voters, and how, for a bunch of other idealogical reasons, the Democrats are in trouble come the next election (likely a veiled way of saying that if health care fails so does Obama and his party).
What he doesn't address is how the Republicans are going to recapture or raid the young voters that were so crucial to Obama's victory last year. After all, enthusiasm may fade after a pivotal election, and the public most certainly is frustrated with the lack of action by the government to solve our nation's problems, but deep down the fact is that most of us realize that when we vote for one major party or another, we are choosing the lesser of two evils. And while the waffling and some of the bad bills we've gotten on health care from the Democrats are downright discouraging, the simple truth is that if health care reform fails it is due to one reason: the Republican party's absolute refusal to participate in the process, along with their eagerness to lie about what that reform would mean and obscure the benefits of such action. You can be damned sure the Democrats will bring that up in the next election.
Yes, the Republican party has its 20-25% base that would vote for them even if they started wearing Swastika's on the right arms. But the party has gone so far to the right that in securing that base that it has alienated the rest of the American public. No matter what happens in the next two, and likely the next four years, unless the Republican party actually puts forth some kind of platform that is pragmatic and based in solving some of the problems our country faces (rather than the same old impotent ideological dribble), the Democrats have absolutely nothing to fear. Indeed, it is the Republicans who should be worried, because given their current position, the only solution left the American electorate would be to elect MORE Democrats in order to get something done on health care, not less.
Since poignant ideas are not currently the Republican's forte, I'll give them one: a simple solution for a problem that resonates with a massive swath of the voting public. Put forth a bill in the house, or senate, that makes hiring illegal immigrants a federal crime carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. If the democrats oppose the bill, it will give you potent ammunition going into the midterm elections (most Americans will back you--even most Dems), and if they join on, you can take credit for being the first party to pass effective immigration reform, and bringing bipartisanship back to Washington. It is a win-win situation, and one which would greatly benefit this nation if immigration reform were passed. This is how you win back the young voters, Republicans, the question is: do you have the heuvos to do it?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Outburst, and a Choice
I am not sure how many of you saw the president's speech on health care last night, but during the speech, Republican house representative Joe Wilson decided to shout, "You lie!" after Obama dispelled notions that his plan would offer free health care to illegal immigrants. His outburst underlines the tremendous efforts Republicans, along with most of the mainstream media, are making to obscure what health reform means, and obstruct its progress in any way possible.
Of course, this is simply a continuation of two recurring themes:
1) Republicans have made the shrewd calculation that if they can stop health care reform, Obama will be seen as a failure, and thus, their chances to take back seats in the House and the Senate will increase, along with their presidential aspirations in 2012.
2) The media treat health care as a middle of the road issue, in which each side has an equally legitimate claim for their position; moreover, by confusing people and generating fear, they drive up their ratings as people seek the latest news on the issue. This is not the first issue to receive such treatment by the media, and it won't likely be the last. Coincidental or not, this treatment of news almost always benefits the GOP, which grows more old and less grand with each passing moment.
If this sounds more like a soap opera than two institutions taking seriously their responsibility to do some good for the American people, well, make no mistake: it is, and it seems quite plain that if this trend continues, government will essentially cease to function, and that is something that Americans can simply not afford during economic turmoil and changing times.
During certain historical periods, it is true that government hasn't done anything but line the pockets of those fortunate few that happened to govern; the eras of 1820-1860, 1870-1900, 1920-1932, and 1948-1960; and largely, the recent era from 1970-today. The periods immediately following each of these periods are marked by government actions that drastically altered the shape and course of our nation: the civil war, the progressive era, the New Deal and reforms of FDR, and finally, the civil rights expansion and social reforms of LBJ. These periods of reform were necessary for the good of our country, and we come now to another such period.
The problem is that Democrats and progressives cannot do it alone, dragging the others along kicking and screaming. The old adage stands true like a prophecy that, united we stand, divided we fall. So, Republicans, throw down your weapons, and instead of merely thinking of how to politically gain from the obstruction of progress, join in and reap the rewards; bring your ideas, tell us where we're wrong, but let us at least work toward a common goal, rather than continue this futile tug-of-war.
As Americans, we have a choice now, and two roads we can go down. The first road is led by the fear of change and the slow rotting decay of our social, political, and economic instituions; the second, by the hope of a prosperous future, the gumption to work hard for the benefit of all Americans, and the courage to meet and throw down the challenges that stand in the way of progress.
Which road will the press and the GOP choose? That remains to be seen. For the sake of this nation, I hope it's the latter.
Of course, this is simply a continuation of two recurring themes:
1) Republicans have made the shrewd calculation that if they can stop health care reform, Obama will be seen as a failure, and thus, their chances to take back seats in the House and the Senate will increase, along with their presidential aspirations in 2012.
2) The media treat health care as a middle of the road issue, in which each side has an equally legitimate claim for their position; moreover, by confusing people and generating fear, they drive up their ratings as people seek the latest news on the issue. This is not the first issue to receive such treatment by the media, and it won't likely be the last. Coincidental or not, this treatment of news almost always benefits the GOP, which grows more old and less grand with each passing moment.
If this sounds more like a soap opera than two institutions taking seriously their responsibility to do some good for the American people, well, make no mistake: it is, and it seems quite plain that if this trend continues, government will essentially cease to function, and that is something that Americans can simply not afford during economic turmoil and changing times.
During certain historical periods, it is true that government hasn't done anything but line the pockets of those fortunate few that happened to govern; the eras of 1820-1860, 1870-1900, 1920-1932, and 1948-1960; and largely, the recent era from 1970-today. The periods immediately following each of these periods are marked by government actions that drastically altered the shape and course of our nation: the civil war, the progressive era, the New Deal and reforms of FDR, and finally, the civil rights expansion and social reforms of LBJ. These periods of reform were necessary for the good of our country, and we come now to another such period.
The problem is that Democrats and progressives cannot do it alone, dragging the others along kicking and screaming. The old adage stands true like a prophecy that, united we stand, divided we fall. So, Republicans, throw down your weapons, and instead of merely thinking of how to politically gain from the obstruction of progress, join in and reap the rewards; bring your ideas, tell us where we're wrong, but let us at least work toward a common goal, rather than continue this futile tug-of-war.
As Americans, we have a choice now, and two roads we can go down. The first road is led by the fear of change and the slow rotting decay of our social, political, and economic instituions; the second, by the hope of a prosperous future, the gumption to work hard for the benefit of all Americans, and the courage to meet and throw down the challenges that stand in the way of progress.
Which road will the press and the GOP choose? That remains to be seen. For the sake of this nation, I hope it's the latter.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Real Solutions for Real Americans
Let me start this post with a question: what has happened to the "can-do" spirit of the American people? It seems that everyone is so hell bent on dissenting, or pointing out flaws in ideas of progress, that we have gotten ourselves into a cycle of thinking that amounts to little more thank spinning our wheels in the mud. I think that we all realize that we're stuck--most rational Americans (so this obviously discludes all supporters and members of the Republican party, who are little more than an angry group of mentally challenged nihilists) understand that our economy, our schools, and our health care system are deeply flawed; yet we are so focused on the potential problems that change presents that we forget that the real problem is the status quo.
Now, obviously, for the sake of our nation's prosperity and survival, this metacognitive trap has to change in order for any real progress to occur, so here is what I propose: we have to start holding each other accountable, and we have to do so by simply not allowing people to dissent to a transformative idea without proposing an alternative solution. Here is how a hypothetical conversation with someone who opposes health care reform should work:
RP (rational person): what we ought to do is have some kind of public option that competes with private insurance in order to keep costs low and ensure competent service.
M (moron): I don't want the government running my health care.
RP: Why? What is wrong with the government insuring people if it means you get better and cheaper coverage?
M: Well Rush Limbaugh says...
RP: Well, clearly you are letting a fat, corpulently rich, drug addict think for you, but fine, if you don't want to have a public option, what do you then propose we do?
M: I don't know...nothing.
RP: To do nothing is innately irrational. The average cost of insurance premiums has gone up by 50% in the last eight years, we continue to have more than 40 million people that have no insurance coverage at all, the health care industry comprises nearly 20% of our GDP, and all forcasts suggest that all of these numbers are going to rise if we do nothing. So if you don't agree with what Obama is proposing, then what do you propose as an alternative?
If the person continues to waffle, then continue to press them for solutions. This will accomplish two things: 1) it will force the person to wrestle with the foolishness of their position, and to perhaps at least dabble with the idea of thinking creatively about change, because you are simply asking for a solution, which is non-partisan and inviting in nature. 2) It underlines the fact that the status quo is untenable, and rather than doing this in a way that leaves the person defensive, it leaves them feeling stupid and unprepared by their respective pundit. Stupid people, most of whom are Republican, like to begin statements about polity by prefacing them with, "I believe..." because this allows them to disassociate themselves with facts and rationality. By essentially asking them what they believe in a solution oriented way, they can neither refuse to answer the question, nor can they really answer it, because their entire political stance is based on believing certain things that they then define themselves with personally. The key is to hammer on the point that doing nothing is not an option. Once they concede this, they have to answer the question, or else concede that they have no standing whatsoever. And who knows: maybe the conversation will produce a thoughtful solution.
Ultimately, it is becoming painfully clear that our Congress is bought and sold, and that reform, especially health care reform, faces huge hurdles in the vast sums of money, media, and resources lined up against it. These are problems that are going to have to be overcome through campaign finance reform, and a concerted effort by voters to oust members of the good old boy network that currently exists in Washington. But until we have a rational, solutions oriented dialogue about the problems that face our country, nothing is going to get done. So please, make every effort to force opponents of reform to offer up solutions if they are going to bitch about change; do not let any email, co-worker, friend, or family member go unchallenged--we need to force everyone to start thinking about solutions, because if we don't, the seemingly docile status quo will eventually bury us.
Now, obviously, for the sake of our nation's prosperity and survival, this metacognitive trap has to change in order for any real progress to occur, so here is what I propose: we have to start holding each other accountable, and we have to do so by simply not allowing people to dissent to a transformative idea without proposing an alternative solution. Here is how a hypothetical conversation with someone who opposes health care reform should work:
RP (rational person): what we ought to do is have some kind of public option that competes with private insurance in order to keep costs low and ensure competent service.
M (moron): I don't want the government running my health care.
RP: Why? What is wrong with the government insuring people if it means you get better and cheaper coverage?
M: Well Rush Limbaugh says...
RP: Well, clearly you are letting a fat, corpulently rich, drug addict think for you, but fine, if you don't want to have a public option, what do you then propose we do?
M: I don't know...nothing.
RP: To do nothing is innately irrational. The average cost of insurance premiums has gone up by 50% in the last eight years, we continue to have more than 40 million people that have no insurance coverage at all, the health care industry comprises nearly 20% of our GDP, and all forcasts suggest that all of these numbers are going to rise if we do nothing. So if you don't agree with what Obama is proposing, then what do you propose as an alternative?
If the person continues to waffle, then continue to press them for solutions. This will accomplish two things: 1) it will force the person to wrestle with the foolishness of their position, and to perhaps at least dabble with the idea of thinking creatively about change, because you are simply asking for a solution, which is non-partisan and inviting in nature. 2) It underlines the fact that the status quo is untenable, and rather than doing this in a way that leaves the person defensive, it leaves them feeling stupid and unprepared by their respective pundit. Stupid people, most of whom are Republican, like to begin statements about polity by prefacing them with, "I believe..." because this allows them to disassociate themselves with facts and rationality. By essentially asking them what they believe in a solution oriented way, they can neither refuse to answer the question, nor can they really answer it, because their entire political stance is based on believing certain things that they then define themselves with personally. The key is to hammer on the point that doing nothing is not an option. Once they concede this, they have to answer the question, or else concede that they have no standing whatsoever. And who knows: maybe the conversation will produce a thoughtful solution.
Ultimately, it is becoming painfully clear that our Congress is bought and sold, and that reform, especially health care reform, faces huge hurdles in the vast sums of money, media, and resources lined up against it. These are problems that are going to have to be overcome through campaign finance reform, and a concerted effort by voters to oust members of the good old boy network that currently exists in Washington. But until we have a rational, solutions oriented dialogue about the problems that face our country, nothing is going to get done. So please, make every effort to force opponents of reform to offer up solutions if they are going to bitch about change; do not let any email, co-worker, friend, or family member go unchallenged--we need to force everyone to start thinking about solutions, because if we don't, the seemingly docile status quo will eventually bury us.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thank You to the Republican Party (earmuffs)
Perhaps you had the same reaction I did when you saw the self aggrandizing ad that the Oregon Republican party has put out recently: have they finally gone completely batshit krazy, or as my students would put more succinctly, "WTF!?"
I mean, I get it, they realize that they need some serious PR, but this recent ad is just about as genuine as trying to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese while your planes napalm villages and your army massacres civilians.
The ad is just another example of the Republican party using a Machiavellian political tactic (see divide and conquer, or the use of fear to control the population). Consider the following, taken from The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, "A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it." The recent Republican ad is nothing more than this--attempting to walk in past accomplishments of other Republicans who came before, specifically civil war era party members and Ronald Reagan.
So they attempt to appeal to environmentalists by heralding the fact that a Republican, Ulysses S. Grant, signed a bill that created the Yellowstone, the first National park. They attempt to cleanse themselves of racism by citing the fact that the first black U.S. congressman and state governor were Republicans. They then appeal to their base by noting the Reagan and Bush era tax cuts, and the absurd claim that Republicans help make American "the land of the free." All of these facts are available on the Oregon Republican Party website.
What they fail to mention is that any accomplishments in the post civil war era were going to be accomplished by Republicans de facto, because the Union army and U.S. government at the time was held by the Republican party. Moreover, at that time, it would have indeed been insane for an African Americans to join the any other party, because prior to the war most Southern States were governed by Democrats, and the Republicans were the anti-slavery party. Then again, that was over 140 years ago. At the last Republican convention, only 1.5% of the delegates were African American, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
They also gloss over the fact that while they did cut taxes, both Reagan and W. are responsible for the biggest government debts in American history.
Of course, according to the ad, we're also supposed to be thanking the Republican party for "making American the land of the free." The website doesn't offer any factual support for this statement--in its nature, the statement is so rhetorical that to do so would be kind of ridiculous. There is, however, plenty of evidence to the contrary, including: government wiretaps, the opposition to gay marriage, the attempt to interfere in state government and state laws passed by citizen's initiative, Watergate, stop-loss...I mean for Christ's sake, Republicans hate the ACLU.
In any case, I have my own list, which I modestly title, "A general fuck you to Republican party." OK, here we go: Fuck you for lying our troops and resources into Iraq, fuck you for torturing people, fuck you for opposing health care reform, fuck you for disenfranchising voters, especially African American voters in order to win the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections; fuck you for passing the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which does neither and actually prevents people from being able to file for bankruptcy while stiffening the laws that enable corporations to collect; fuck you for passing the Clear Skies Act that actually reduces air pollution controls; fuck you for bailing out Wall Street, fuck you for cutting taxes for the wealthy while running up our country's debt; fuck you for opposing science and not accepting evolution; fuck you for politicizing religion; fuck you for being bigots and opposing equal rights for gays; fuck you for dividing this country for your political benefit; fuck you for your lack of civility and rational discussion; fuck you for lying all the time and always trying to twist the facts to suit your agenda; fuck you for Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and that absolute deushbag Glenn Beck. Finally, fuck you Republican party, for trading your promise of small government, fiscal conservatism, and states rights, for war, fear, hatred, and the status quo. We have so much to be pissed about. Fuck you Republican party.
This message paid for by the Americans for Rational Thought and Science (ARTS)
I mean, I get it, they realize that they need some serious PR, but this recent ad is just about as genuine as trying to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese while your planes napalm villages and your army massacres civilians.
The ad is just another example of the Republican party using a Machiavellian political tactic (see divide and conquer, or the use of fear to control the population). Consider the following, taken from The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, "A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it." The recent Republican ad is nothing more than this--attempting to walk in past accomplishments of other Republicans who came before, specifically civil war era party members and Ronald Reagan.
So they attempt to appeal to environmentalists by heralding the fact that a Republican, Ulysses S. Grant, signed a bill that created the Yellowstone, the first National park. They attempt to cleanse themselves of racism by citing the fact that the first black U.S. congressman and state governor were Republicans. They then appeal to their base by noting the Reagan and Bush era tax cuts, and the absurd claim that Republicans help make American "the land of the free." All of these facts are available on the Oregon Republican Party website.
What they fail to mention is that any accomplishments in the post civil war era were going to be accomplished by Republicans de facto, because the Union army and U.S. government at the time was held by the Republican party. Moreover, at that time, it would have indeed been insane for an African Americans to join the any other party, because prior to the war most Southern States were governed by Democrats, and the Republicans were the anti-slavery party. Then again, that was over 140 years ago. At the last Republican convention, only 1.5% of the delegates were African American, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
They also gloss over the fact that while they did cut taxes, both Reagan and W. are responsible for the biggest government debts in American history.
Of course, according to the ad, we're also supposed to be thanking the Republican party for "making American the land of the free." The website doesn't offer any factual support for this statement--in its nature, the statement is so rhetorical that to do so would be kind of ridiculous. There is, however, plenty of evidence to the contrary, including: government wiretaps, the opposition to gay marriage, the attempt to interfere in state government and state laws passed by citizen's initiative, Watergate, stop-loss...I mean for Christ's sake, Republicans hate the ACLU.
In any case, I have my own list, which I modestly title, "A general fuck you to Republican party." OK, here we go: Fuck you for lying our troops and resources into Iraq, fuck you for torturing people, fuck you for opposing health care reform, fuck you for disenfranchising voters, especially African American voters in order to win the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections; fuck you for passing the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which does neither and actually prevents people from being able to file for bankruptcy while stiffening the laws that enable corporations to collect; fuck you for passing the Clear Skies Act that actually reduces air pollution controls; fuck you for bailing out Wall Street, fuck you for cutting taxes for the wealthy while running up our country's debt; fuck you for opposing science and not accepting evolution; fuck you for politicizing religion; fuck you for being bigots and opposing equal rights for gays; fuck you for dividing this country for your political benefit; fuck you for your lack of civility and rational discussion; fuck you for lying all the time and always trying to twist the facts to suit your agenda; fuck you for Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and that absolute deushbag Glenn Beck. Finally, fuck you Republican party, for trading your promise of small government, fiscal conservatism, and states rights, for war, fear, hatred, and the status quo. We have so much to be pissed about. Fuck you Republican party.
This message paid for by the Americans for Rational Thought and Science (ARTS)
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