A friend was explaining to me the easy thing Republicans in Congress had to do to guarantee they'd win the 2012 elections. "If they simply focus on jobs," he said, "if they just pass a jobs bill, then Democrats will be in a lot of trouble."
It was an excellent point. Except for one huge flaw with his scenario:
Republicans in Congress don't care about jobs. They not only don't care, they don't want to see the job situation improve. After all, if unemployment drops, credit rises to the president, Barack Obama. Not only don't Republicans in Congress want to see jobs improve, it's the very last thing they want.
This isn't some random theory, but an observation of reality. If Republicans in Congress actually cared about jobs, they wouldn't have spent the past two years campaigning against the jobs stimulus bill. If they actually cared about creating jobs, they wouldn't have blocked the president's proposal to unfreeze credit to struggling small businesses. They wouldn't have voted near-unanimously against the president's aid bill to the states, designed to save 140,000 teaching jobs. If Republicans in Congress actually cared about unemployment, they wouldn't have voted against extending unemployment benefits.
To be clear, many people can articulately defend these Republican actions. The one thing they can't do, though, is defend them and also claim that they care about creating jobs.
Further, it's not that Republicans in Congress don't care about jobs -- it's that they only care about accomplishing three things: lowering taxes for the wealthiest 2% of the country, getting rid of Social Security and Medicare, and gutting health care and Wall Street banking reform.
When I explained this to my friend, something ruminated in the back of my mind. I'll get to that in a moment.
In the meantime, though, I got into another conversation with a different friend, this one on Saturday. I had been describing an email exchange with someone whose fury at All Things Liberal is so over-the-top outraged that even he describes it as "insane and irrational." He periodically passes along vitriolic articles he receives from his far-right circle that stir up red-hot, sputtering wrath at the White House.
After describing these emails, my friend commented, "I am truly shocked by the visceral hatred of President Obama." (This wasn't a reaction to there being hatred, that's politics, but rather the convulsive, feverish depth of it.)
I'm sure that psychologists are having a field day explaining the reasons. Honestly, I don't believe for a second that the far-right hatred of President Obama is actually a hatred of President Obama. The intensity doesn't match the facts. It's so many other things all ratcheted up by a long-existent, right-wing, hate-and-fear-building machine that churns out an end-product, "Must HATE Obama." A hate-and-fear-building machine that dates back to painting Bill Clinton as a murderer, his wife a lesbian, through creating a "Terror Alert" to keep Americans petrified, to warning that the next smoking gun could be a "mushroom cloud," onto portraying the Democratic presidential candidate as a foreign-born black Muslim who pals around with terrorists while making terrorist fist-bumps with his wife who hates America.
After a decade of this, and more, how could fear and hatred not finally ooze out of the pores of those anxious to be frightened, looking for an excuse to blame for troubles in their own lives? Shaken at losing power at the White House. Disoriented at having a White House that for the first time wasn't white.
And after explaining this to my friend, that same something as before once again ruminated in my mind.
It is something that has, in fact, been there for several years.
What keeps returning is a memorable speech written by Aaron Sorkin in his movie, The American President. It comes when President Andrew Shepard has finally heard enough hate-filled demagoguery from his opponent and finally breaks his silence. The long speech is eloquent, but what stands out is one passage, words that today have become eerily recognizable.
"And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections."
The Republican Party of many years, dating back to Joseph McCarthy, but turned into high gear the last decade, has been Bob Rumson.
They don't care about your problems. They don't care about jobs. They care only about terrifying you and pointing fingers of blame at the scary liberals and frightening black man.
And to return this full circle, it is because of that that Republicans stand on the precipice of being crushed in 2012. Because, once again, It's the Economy, Stupid. It's Jobs, Stupid. And Republicans in Congress won't do anything about any of that because if the economy improves, if unemployment lessens, it's bad for them. And they caused the problem in the first place. But more to the point, Republicans in Congress won't do anything about any of that because -- in the end -- They...Don't...Care.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how, in 2012, you lose elections.
But, I forgot, we are not allowed to blame anyone for what a president inherits. They all come in with a blank slate.
I'm hopeful that a viable not-Dem-or-GOP candidate for ANYTHING run for office somewhere I can vote for them... I may even attempt to do so myself in a few years. I think rationality, integrity and not-takingÂ-campaing-ÂcontributiÂons-at-ALL would be interesting virtues upon which to run... and I think anyone who made a demonstrably honest attempt to do so would have my vote on general principle.
http://wwwÂ.wasabisofÂt.net/2009Â/02/18/intÂegrity-covÂers-rock/
It's possible for a candidate running on... sanity, quite honestly... to get elected, but only if the American people come to the realization that the false decision between Dem and GOP with which they are being presented is, well... false. I think we're starting to see more of that sentiment amongst our populace, but it's motivated more by ANGER than by any kind of thought or reasoning... which tends to drive more of a "vote for the OTHER guy" mentality than a "don't vote for EITHER" mentality... and that's what would really be necessary for myself or anyone like me to have a chance.
Maybe I'll have to wait until "being from Mars" becomes a point in my FAVOR.
So for the Repubs to argue they are 'for jobs created by the private sector' is as much as to say, they're in favor of a crap-shoot and hope their number comes up.
Only it won't this time - because the multinationals who financed their campaigns don't give a dam'.
You see, the Republicans have done alot for jobs for their constituency; the top 2% of wage earners in the population. Those people are now pulling down 24% of the money each year. They have the Republicans to thank for bringing them such a good pay day.
As far as keeping their power, well there's all those poor fools to scare to death out there. Sick Glen Beck, Sarah Palin, and Rush Limbaugh on them and they'll be back voting for the Republicans once again. You see, there's nothing to worry about...if you're in the top 2% that is.
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
President Andrew Shepherd
Obama could have rightly called for a WPA type jobs program the states affected by Katrina and the BP disaster. Using an argument that said, "Once and for all we will repair, rebuild and restore." It would even have made good TV. Only he didn't do that. He told us the oil spill wasn't that bad and to trust the banks to fix the economy.
Economics isn't magic. You can't just take your hands off the rudder and get surprised when your ship runs aground.
Based on how I vote, I'm a twenty-something biracial lesbian immigrant union member. Few Neo-Cons and Tea Partiers seem to know anyone in any of those categories. You and I and DarianSentient agree: they live in a dream world. The Buddha taught that to reach nirvana, one must overcome greed, anger and ignorance--yet these are the very qualities that define today's Republican Party.
And, if the job situation improves the GOP WILL get the credit for it. Clearly, sir, you are unable to think like a Republican, and until progressives start to think like Republicans they will never be able to defeat them (when I say "think like" I do not mean emulate, but understand.)
The GOP will take the credit by saying they blocked Obama's "socialist, marxist, .....ist, .....ist. ........ist programs and that allowed the power of the free markets to work their magic.
And the GOP gets a two-fer because if the economy tanks further they can blame the Reid-Obama agenda.
sir, here is your first lesson in understand the conservative mind: the conservative mind is perfectly comfortable holding two completely opposite ideas at the same time and believe in both of them equally.
...And I apologise in advance for the extremely vague religion metaphor. But now that you know what I was going for... it makes a depressing sort of sense, doesn't it? :P
You thought you saw a whole lotta gridlock before, wait till you get a load of the new congress.
I'm hopeful that a viable not-Dem-or-GOP candidate for ANYTHING run for office somewhere I can vote for them... I may even attempt to do so myself in a few years. I think rationality, integrity and not-taking-campaing-contributions-at-ALL would be interesting virtues upon which to run... and I think anyone who made a demonstrably honest attempt to do so would have my vote on general principle.
http://www.wasabisoft.net/2009/02/18/integrity-covers-rock/
If they continue to not care about improving the employment outlook, it may be their turn in 2012 to take the "it's the economy, stupid" blame, and their two years of guaranteed gridlock starting next year will have been for nothing but the ongoing ruination of the nation.
Maybe deep down inside, they figure they're not hated enough yet.
Our government always finds a way to turn us on each other,while they devour our pathetic lives! Keep-Up It's amazing ,if more americans would do that ,there would'nt be so many absorbed ,winkeled butts still sitting in Government chairs ,professing to be for the people! We are like beggers, instead of the elet that we are ,take away the people and they are nothing! hey make decisions without our permission, when caca-dodoo hits the fan ,both parties fight to have us fight with them,,What was Vietnam about,the watts riot,?Cuba?And who really shot Kennedy! I have to be honest, I think it was masterminded by his own brother,forget the name ,he was a republi-cain! HUMMM! funny how the past is to be forgotten and forgave ,but, sits in our future,We the People pay for awhole lot more then our," Nowfather's" are willing to give up! Picture, Paul Revere riding thur our towns,Yelling, "You've been sold out"so your government can party!
There will be no jobs program legislated in the next congress. There will be major, well financed moves against health care, against Medicare and against the minimum wage. Taxes will be cut on the top two percent of the pigs in the front of the line at the public trough and social security will come under withering fire.
The next congress will attempt to put the final stake in the heart of the new deal.
No we as a country cannot affort its citizens anymore.