Posted by
AmericanMuser on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 12:00:00 AM
“Disillusioned” is the word that best describes how many Americans
feel after eight years of George Bush and the election of Barack Obama
a year ago. Republicans had a majority in congress and the presidency,
yet achieved little for Middle America. They betrayed voters by
inflating the deficit and growing government, sending men and women
into nation-building wars whose purposes are still unknown, and created
a culture of moral and ethical corruption in Washington D.C. It was
under lax and pathetic regulatory oversight that a Republican president
and Republican congress allowed corporations to betray shareholders
with questionable and highly leveraged credit default swaps, only to be
followed by a $700 billion taxpayer bailout created by the Bush
administration—so much for limited government. Republicans are a party
without a message and without a messenger.
Last week’s election results in Virginia and New Jersey, where
Republican candidates for governor triumphed over their Democrat
opponents, say more about the public’s rejection of Obama’s big
government solutions and less about Republicans articulating a message
to help Middle America. If Republicans think the public is embracing
the party again, they are simply whistling past the graveyard, drunk on
their own greed, and completely out of touch with the needs of Middle
America.
Not that Democrats are offering any worthwhile solutions to address
the most pressing needs of Middle America—job creation—but at least
Democrats are intellectually honest about their desire for big
government, universal healthcare, taxpayer-funded abortions, labor
union power, and a litigious society for plaintiff lawyers to fleece
the public. There is something, dare I say “refreshing and frank”
about knowing where Democrats are on issues that impact Middle America,
whereas Republicans pretend to be something they are not.
It is time for the Republican party to stop blindly whoring for the
business community and begin addressing the issues that impact Middle
America—job creation, affordable healthcare for all, and quality public
education for our children. Republicans are a one-trick-pony, where
“tax cuts” are their solution for all of Middle America’s problems.
It’s because the party cannot articulate rational policy solutions to
the real problems we face.
Take healthcare for instance; the Republican solution has been
health savings accounts (HSAs). Are you kidding me? We can’t get
people to save money in IRAs, never mind HSAs. That’s the best
Republicans have got? Why don’t Republicans push to allow consumers to
shop for healthcare across state lines, require everyone to have
healthcare, and deny insurers from rejecting consumers with
pre-existing conditions?
If Democrats have any hope of maintaining power, they too need to
put viable solutions on the table for Middle America, where people care
a hell of a lot more about jobs and the economy than government-run
healthcare, union card check, the protection of gays from hate crimes,
and cap and trade. Both parties have failed miserably to address the
needs of Middle America, which I suppose is why I feel so disillusioned
with both parties.
A. Muser
http://americanmuser.wordpress.com/