Overwhelmed

by Ruth A. Sheets

I just checked back and saw that this is near the anniversary of the founding of the leastheardfrom blog.  I also noted that I have not made a contribution to the blog for a few months. That is really pathetic. It is not that I have nothing to say. There is a lot going on that screams for comment.

I realized as I sat down this evening that I am overwhelmed by the avalanche of dislike and disdain that some elements of America have aimed at the vast majority of Americans. 

I had hoped that with the victory of President Obama in November that some civility would seep into the work and rhetoric of Republicans. I  thought they would notice that the country is crying for some degree of unity.  Boy, was I naive!  If anything, the anti-Obama talk and the smear tactics Republicans crafted for 2012 are still in force.  The Republicans are still in “oppose everything” mode.

Sensible gun regulation should be a no-brainer, after the mass killings and the ongoing gun violence.  However, Republicans, along with their NRA handlers are doing their best to see that no changes in gun laws happen.  Well, not exactly, they want more people to own and carry guns, even in our schools.

Immigration reform should have been at the top of the Republican agenda since they received fewer than 30 percent of the Hispanic vote in November.  Nearly four months after being sworn in, this congress still has not even begun to seriously look at the topic. They want more and bigger fences before they do anything for the people involved.

Republicans whine that they are not perpetrating a “war on women.”  They even send their squad of token women out for interviews on shows that claim to present a balanced  view of the issue.  While these women gush that they have everything they need, Republican legislatures are significantly limiting women’s reproductive choice and equal pay. Men in the military are allowed to dismiss cases against convicted rapists, just "because."   

Our Republican “friends” are determined to limit Social Security and Medicare because it supports the folks they refer to as “The Takers” while of course, the Republicans are “The Givers.”  Even President Obama is caving and willing to stop cost of living increases for seniors to placate Republicans who have no intention of allowing the rich to pay their fair share.

The Republican assault on education continues. Vouchers, charter schools, funding cuts all undermine our real public schools. Then, in Atlanta, the teachers who cheated on the state tests so their kids could get more funding and resources were imprisoned with bails that murderers and rapists rarely see.  Isn’t it nice we don’t have to seriously look at the relationship between low scores and poverty?  It’s teachers who are to blame for all that.

Our Supreme Court talks of “racial entitlements” and complains that same-sex marriage is just too new to be ruled on effectively.  They didn’t seem to have any trouble giving the money-soaked corporations opportunities to influence our elections anonymously, calling these corporate players,  “persons.”  What about the real persons who just want their relationships to be recognized?

So, possibly like you, I am overwhelmed.  I am appalled that we taxpayers support Republicans in congress who are not working for us.  They can’t give up cherished biases for the good of the country.  In fact, I suspect that most elected Republicans have no idea what “the common good” is.  The sad part is that I am not sure how much more aware Democrats are.  They too have their handlers for whom they must perform. 

Where does that leave those of us who do know what “the Common Good” means?

 

One-Issue Decision? Not This Year

by muon

I made a list last night of all the issues, off the top of my head, that seem to hinge on this election. I'm sure I forgot something. Here's my list, in no particular order:

Unemployment
Education
Energy independence
Climate change
Renewable energy
Equal pay for women
Middle East, terrorism, war, national security
Healthcare
Women's healthcare, including contraceptives, abortion, and Planned Parenthood
Medicare and Social Security
Immigration
FEMA and crisis management
Infrastructure
Welfare, food stamps, other poverty issues
Science, Arts, PBS
Deficit
Gun control
Citizens United
Supreme Court appointees
Banking/mortgage industry problems
Foreign and Domestic Trade
Wealth imbalance

For all of you still undecided folks out there (if any), really, all you have to do is go down this list and decide who you trust to make policy for you on these issues, at the Presidential, Congressional, State and Local levels. For instance, if you're hit by a natural disaster in the next 4 years, do you want someone who acted the way President Obama, Governor Christie and Mayor Bloomberg acted this week, or say, the way President Bush acted during Hurricane Katrina? Do you want a president who'd shut down FEMA and tell the states to handle disasters themselves, even when their infrastructure is completely compromised?  You might say, oh, but I don't live in a natural disaster prone area. I thought so, too, until Hurricane Sandy.

These issues are the main reasons I'm voting, not only for Obama, but for all the Democrats on my ballot.  I say main reasons because there are others.

I refuse to vote for a party that condones and spreads the blatant lies of its presidential candidate. This week Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders pressured the independent Congressional Research group to suppress a report showing that tax cuts for the wealthy do nothing to help the economy. I won't vote for anyone who has such a contempt for truth.

GOP leaders have gone out of their way to make voting more difficult this year. Voter ID laws, voter roll purging, laws restricting registration drives, reduced early voting in many states, and intimidation measures aimed at African-American and Latino voters are all forms of voter suppression. For the first time, the UN has sent monitors to the US to observe our elections. I'm not voting for the party that made all this happen.

Legislation in this country shouldn't be influenced by anyone but the voters. Many Democrats are in the pockets of lobbyists as much as Republicans, but the worst offenders right now--the Koch Brothers, Grover Norquist, the NRA, far-right religious fanatics, and Big Oil--are GOP cronies.

So that's the election in a nutshell for me. You're on your own.

LOOKING FOR PC

One might think from the title that this piece is about buying a home computer or expecting people to be politically correct.  Neither is the theme for this blog.  I want to discuss “Political Courage.” 

As our president and congress are working their way toward some kind of deal for raising the ceiling on our ability to borrow money, and on cutting the deficit, I have heard a lot of talk about political courage. 

It began with Paul Ryan’s proposed budget proposal which was called “courageous”, particularly in the media.  When examined more carefully, it showed little courage.  How much courage does it take to cut critical programs and funding for the most vulnerable people?  It seems only the “bleeding heart liberals” will fight to stop that (and we all know how effective they are).

Republicans, especially the Tea Party variety, are so tax-averse that they can’t conceive of even the wealthiest 2% paying a bit more to help get the country on an even keel.  Where is the courage?  Since no one is exactly thrilled with having to pay taxes, it does not require courage to stand unmoving against any kind of tax increase.  There is no problem with cutting the poor, elderly, and disabled off because even inept representatives and senators will never be in that position.  Once one is in Congress, health care and pensions are taken care of for life (through taxes, of course).

The Democrats are desperately watching the programs to improve the well-being in the country evaporate.  They've always supported these programs and, thus,  cling stubbornly to every aspect of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  These programs do need reworking and reshaping to reflect the needs of 21st Century America.  One can  understand their fear and reluctance to touch those programs because reworking them could devastate these supports, so desperately needed by so many.  Political courage requires respected Democrats to stand up and make realistic, practical suggestions for changes that would benefit everyone (e.g., have Social Security taxes paid on all income, raise the age to 70 years for collecting, discontinue Social Security for people earning more than $100,000.00 a year, but still allow Medicare when needed). 

And then there’s the military industrial complex!  Who has the guts to stand up to that monster?  No courage here!

There seems to be little courage on the state and local levels either.  Some governors and mayors are getting media attention by cutting programs, laying off state workers, blaming them for the state’s/city’s  woes.  It plays well, but isn’t true.  Now there are more folks unemployed.  Again, they hit programs that serve the disadvantaged who won’t make much of a fuss.  The politicians look like heroes because budgets are “balanced.” 

Political courage is standing up for what will be most helpful to the largest number of people.  It means holding personal standards of excellence and integrity that are reflected in one’s words and actions.  It requires one to explain positions to constituents in clear, honest language.  It also means acknowledging one’s weaknesses and mistakes and being able to grow in wisdom and understanding.

  

Courageous leaders might not be reelected, but they would certainly set a good example for the rest of America.  Maybe it could start a trend. 

Peace,

Ruth