Question: If they win the House of Representatives, will the Democrats embark on a two-year binge of investigations and score-settling? Or will they get serious about solving the country’s problems? — from David Ignatius at the Washington Post.
Answer: You can put your money on “investigations and score settling” because the Democrats don’t have any actual plans:
- They don’t have a plan for combating terrorism — cut and run is not a plan, it’s cowardice.
- They don’t have a plan for immigration reform — open borders, amnesty, and increased social programs for illegals in the US isn’t a plan — it’s business as usual.
- They can’t act on the “culture of corruption” in the Republican party, because it would expose and highlight the equal amounts of corruption in their own party.
The Democats have become the party that isn’t for anything…they have devolved into the party that is merely against everything President Bush and his conservative administration have been for.
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Man this is tired. You seem to be under the impression that George Bush has a domestic agenda.
I suspect four days into a Democratic Congress you won’t be complaining about how ‘nothing is happening’:
I’ve been thinking long and hard about this because it appears the Democrats will gain control of the House and possibly the Senate.
First off, I can’t stand Nancy Pelosi. Her first 100 hrs. proposal is practically a joke. The Dems deep sixed half of her own proposals when they were raised by Republicans in the House, but that aside:
I want: A national health care system BUT I don’t want one like Canada has. The people wait months for care that is substandard. Germany’s healthcare system is far superior. We need to be smart about our choices.
I want: To get out of Iraq in the safest way for our soldiers and the Kurds. I hear this morning the President is looking at dividing up Iraq among the three religious factions and that makes sense. He’s a day late and a dollar short on this one though. IMHO we cannot force our democracy on their theocracy.
I want: Protection from Terrorism. I am very concerned that the Democrats can’t deliver on this. They will be more concerned about privacy rights than human life. I guess we’ll find out. It scares me.
I want: Illegal immigrants to have to return to the border and apply for citizenship and I don’t want them to get any perks such as not having to pay all their back taxes. Stand in line. I want employers punished big time for hiring illegal immigrants. The Republicans in the Senate partnered with the Democrats on their legislation and they screwed their constituents big time. I’m still furious.
I want: Low taxes for the middle class. I don’t trust the democrats on this one. Nancy Pelosi is not to be trusted here. Her voting record show she voted against extending the elimination of the marriage penalty tax and the child care tax credit. I truly believe Bush’s tax cuts are the reason our economy is strong with one exception. He should not have given breaks to the ultra rich. Pelosi rolling back some of the tax cuts is a sham. She’s an entitlement democrat.
I want: A federal prohibition against partial birth abortion. It is so barbaric I cannot even fathom the horror of someone who would do this. Nancy Pelosi does not agree according to her voting record. Anybody who would advocate for this horrible procedure is sick. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will outlaw this procedure.
I want: The News organizations to quit running the politics of this country. Every day I hear our own politicians refer to “The New York Times article says” or something like that. What the f… is going on in this country when our own elected officials cite a news organization as the ultimate source?? It’s not right. News reporters are not the experts, or shouldn’t be. They are looking for the best story, not what’s best for the country.
The Republicans are responsible for the mess they find themselves in today and they are going to have to suffer the consequences. The Democrats are monopolizing on these mistakes and I think they are going to win.
Dianne- I (and the Democrats) agree with most of your points.
However- this is perplexing to me: I truly believe Bush’s tax cuts are the reason our economy is strong with one exception. He should not have given breaks to the ultra rich. Without tax cuts to the rich there would not have been a ‘Bush Tax Cut’. 50% of the tax cuts went to the top 1%.
(Seriously, look at the chart on this link for an idea of how dishonest Bush was in selling and constructing these tax cuts. Each income group up to the top 20% received 1/3 to 1/2 of their total tax cut in the first year. But for those in the top one percent their tax cut grew by 25 times at the end of the 10 year plan.
Perhaps you can argue that those earning several million dollars could really use the extra 80K but the dishonesty of the tax cut is revealed by the meager, initial $3,221 cut.
Furthermore, this economic recovery has been historically bad at increasing the number of jobs and the levels of salaries.
Preston,
I did spend a little time looking at your source, but before I would accept it, I would need to check other analyses by other sources and I don’t have time to do that right now.
I see you are admitting that we have had an economic recovery. Considering the massive hits on this country with 9-11 and Katrina, I think the recovery is very impressive. Just last week the stock market hit a historic high, unemployment is low and salaries are increasing, although expenses (gas, insurance, etc.) are also increasing at a disproportionate rate to salary increases so I’m less impressed with the salary aspect of this recovery.
Well, anyhow, economically speaking, people in my age group are for the most part doing very well. We’ve generally saved and made some good investments (401K, real estate, etc.). I think the younger people are not doing as well, but a lot of that has to do with “I have to have it now” mentality. Several 30′ish people live around me in these huge houses with huge mortgages, not thinking that tomorrow their jobs could be lost and their big houses suddenly unaffordable (it’s already happened to a couple of my daughter’s friends).
We live in tumultuous times. We already know the economy can turn on a dime and we all better be prepared for the worst.
Sure- the economy is growing but virtually all of the benefits are going to the very, very rich. Granted, this problem has existed in one form or another since the dismantling of labor began in the 1970′s but Bush’s tax policy is simply exacerbating the disparities.
I’m all for the Bill Gates of this country to have a pot of gold waiting for them if they come up with a great idea but this must be balanced the corrosive effects on democracy of an entrenched aristocracy (particularly when they have extraordinary access to political influence). We used to be proud of our strong middle class and regard a highly stratified economy as a characteristic of the third world- I think that was a better country to live in.
this must be balanced [against] the corrosive effects on democracy of an entrenched aristocracy (particularly when they have extraordinary access to political influence)
You mean like the “entrenched aristrocracy” and “political influence” of John Kerry-Heinz, the Kennedy clan, and George Soros — who are not only part of the entrenched aristrocracy, but a part of the political establishiment (how much more influence could one possibley have)?
I hope I’m not breaking any rules … if I am Robbie, delete this, but I just couldn’t resist sharing this sort of as a follow-up to Preston’s last post about the way things were. It’s really cool.
http://oldfortyfives.com/TakeMeBackToTheSixties.htm
Dianne
You mean like the “entrenched aristrocracy†and “political influence†of John Kerry-Heinz, the Kennedy clan, and George Soros — who are not only part of the entrenched aristrocracy, but a part of the political establishiment (how much more influence could one possibley have)?
Yes, exactly like them. Though, to the best of my knowledge, George Soros earned his money.
To their credit, each of them opposed changes in the tax laws that put thousands or millions of dollars into their pockets, because the don’t see politics simply as a way to make more money.
(Which leads me to the thought of George Bush’s retirement- for a man who has spent the last 12 years dedicated to public service he must have some ambitious plans for using his influence to better humanity. Or else there’s probably a spot at the Carlyle Group’s golf course for him. )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday
Give me a break, Preston. Yah he earned his money all right. The skunk.
To those who wonder why most of the money returned to those who earned it goes to the rich; consider that they also pay the most in taxes. Someone who makes $50k a year and pays ~$12k in taxes isn’t going to get $80k back. It’s that simple. Show me one period in history where economic gains have been made under higher taxation. (Footnote…The economy under Clinton was a house of cards built on dot com fantasies. The improvement his first two years in office were a direct result of Bush 1′s economic plan.)