Disgruntled Republican
Republicans made the decision to place their political desires and tactics ahead of governing the nation. Once a bill they oppose is passed they look for ways to sabotage it. The voters should be outraged. These tactics cost the country time, money and in many cases opportunity.
Radicals have taken over my party. The GOP has gone from one with conservative principles seeking to do what is best for the nation to a party that is focused on winning elections at all cost, even if the cost is borne by the country and its citizens. They look at themselves as the ruling class. Their tactics extend beyond the issue they oppose. They oppose health care reform and in order to impose their will they block Presidential appointments for cabinet and judgeship positions. They also implement strategies to stall other unrelated legislation.
I am a Republican and voted for the Republican running for President in every election starting in 1968 up to 2008 when I supported Barrack Obama and I voted for him again in 2012. I hope to be able to vote Republican in 2016. Presently I am upset with the GOP and things must change before I will give them my vote.
The modern day GOP created the tactic of holding the government hostage until they get their desired result on certain issues. This has been going on since 2008 and it came to a crescendo when the Republicans shut down the government, put millions of government employees on furlough and came precariously close to having the country default on its debt.
Republicans are obsessed with defeating Obama instead of doing what is right for the country. The result is our government is getting nothing done, lowering this nations stature across the globe, diminishing our world leadership, impacting our ability to influence world events and jeopardizing the living standards of future generations.
I read somewhere that our elected officials spend 80% of their time campaigning and fund raising. This is true in both parties. The voters must accept the blame for this. We let it happen. Being in politics is the only profession where you receive a paid leave of absence to find another job, your reelection.
I am opposed to much of what the Tea Party has done; but at least they did something. I also realize there are two "Tea Party's". One controlled by the likes of the Koch Brothers who have used the Tea Party movement to further their own agenda at the expense of the country and a second Tea Party that is a grass roots movement comprised of individuals concerned about our countries future and trying to do something about it. This grass roots movement wants a financially sound government that is working for the general welfare of its citizens and not for the politicians and their big money backers.
I have my differences with "grass roots" Tea Party members but I give them credit for trying to do something about the problems.
I'm here because I read your comment today in the NY Times, enjoyed it, and understand your consternation. I'm a pragmatist, I hope, and want to solve problems that I see leering in front of us, my two daughters and five grandchildren, the country and this planet.
ReplyDeleteThere are two Tea Parties, the Koch-induced one and the concern-induced one, as you clearly describe. Am I afraid of the first of those? Absolutely. As Citizens United shows, buying a government can now be done almost out in the open. Am I afraid of that second party? Not at all. Financial soundness, and "working for the general welfare of its citizens", and implicitly in there, "all of its citizens", sounds like a recipe for sanity and progress. I expect that Koch et al is deathly afraid that the second party and I will discover each other and start talking.
I don't know if we will ever meet in person, but it's a pleasure to meet you in this arena. I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Posted on behalf of WallyS
ReplyDeleteI'm a Canadian who observes your factional political process with growing concern. In a parliamentary system, as in Canada, we witness disgraceful bouts of partisan rancour in our House of Commons with numbing frequency -- name-calling and slander protected by parliamentary immunity that makes your Senate debates look like a model of decorum. But with the election of a party with a majority of seats, and a strong electoral bias towards that result (because a simple plurality wins each seat), the majority party can pass its legislative agenda and control the executive too, in the form of the cabinet. Given 5 party splits, a party that can win 38-40% of the national vote will almost invariably form a majority government. The Prime Minister is chosen by his/her party, and the voters in only one riding. So in this highly centralized system, partisan rancour and non-co-operation between the parties does not paralyze the government, torpedo spending bills that lead to credit downgrades, etc.
The American federal government, with its checks and balances, is very decentralized: two legislative bodies, elected by district or state, and a separate executive branch with a President at its head, elected nationally. (The Canadian electorate is also regionally divided -- contrast the voting preferences of the residents of Alberta and Quebec -- but this does not paralyze the federal government.) In the American two-party polity with the electorate fairly evenly split, bipartisan cooperation is essential to get legislation passed and move it to the President's desk. When this breaks down, the government's legislative business grinds to a halt.
There are many virtues in the American form of government, as shaped by your founding fathers who distrusted the centralization of power found in the parliamentary system of its British colonial master. Your ancestors fought a revolutionary war to be freed from that. But American citizens of all political persuasions must elect people for Congress who are serious about finding common ground, negotiating deals, compromising to get things done. Your form of government demands that, and you pay a very high price in its absence. This is the spirit of your blog and I commend you for it.