Perhaps Barack Obama's biggest personal weakness is an exaggerated tendency to cater to what is perceived as "White Opinion." It seems to have motivated his decision to appoint the so-called Deficit Reduction Commission as if to say "Hey, I'm not a tax and spend liberal." The Commissions recommendations of steep cuts in every program including Social Security will get nowhere. Neither will Congressional Repubs approve any reduction in farm subsidies. So the whole thing is ultimately a waste of time.
Obama fundamental mistake was to try and govern on a post-partisan, post-racial basis. It might seem admirable, in the abstract, but he should have realized, by the end of 2009, that the Repubs only wanted to hang him from a tree. So the question now is, will Obama confront the Repub House and can he win? Bill Clinton, who let's face it had all the fighting instinct of an apple fritter, ultimately had to stand up to Newt Gingrich. Obama, if he wants to have any success, had better get ready to fight.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
What Were They Thinking
It seems that Lisa Murkowski has defeated Joe Miller for the Alaska Senate seat, and has managed to do that while running a write in campaign, which rarely works. I guess that many Alaskans had second thoughts about voting for the thuggish Miller, especially after his security guards attacked and handcuffed a reporter back in October. If so, Alaskans are probably smarter than people in many other parts of the country.
Of course, many things about this election don't add up. The Democrats lost 6 seats in the Senate, by that measure they should have only lost about 20 seats in the House. Maybe the mistake many Democrat Reps made was in running as "fiscal conservatives" thereby alienating their base and ceding the high ground to the Repubs.
Of course, many things about this election don't add up. The Democrats lost 6 seats in the Senate, by that measure they should have only lost about 20 seats in the House. Maybe the mistake many Democrat Reps made was in running as "fiscal conservatives" thereby alienating their base and ceding the high ground to the Repubs.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Consensus Sucks
The failure of the Democrats in the past election is largely due to a misguided search for consensus. Barack Obama wasted his first year in office trying to achieve a "Post-Partisan" consensus, and he persisted even though it should have been obvious by the latter half of 2009 that the Repubs weren't interested in cooperating and basically wanted to hang him from a tree.
Unless of course people voted because of a misundestood memory of the 1990's. This line of thinking might go something "But didn't a Democratic President and a Republican congress lead to the prosperity of the era?" It is important to remember that the relative prosperity of the 90's occurred because the Democrats raised taxes and cut the deficit during 93-94. Congressional Democrats committed political suicide and the Repubs reaped the benefit. Let's not forget all the partisan wrangling of the era--low points of the government shut down , Monica Lewinski, and Whitewater, the scandal that never happened. The situation of the next two years won't be any better, and it might even be worse.
Unless of course people voted because of a misundestood memory of the 1990's. This line of thinking might go something "But didn't a Democratic President and a Republican congress lead to the prosperity of the era?" It is important to remember that the relative prosperity of the 90's occurred because the Democrats raised taxes and cut the deficit during 93-94. Congressional Democrats committed political suicide and the Repubs reaped the benefit. Let's not forget all the partisan wrangling of the era--low points of the government shut down , Monica Lewinski, and Whitewater, the scandal that never happened. The situation of the next two years won't be any better, and it might even be worse.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
We Need Leaders Not Wonks
If we look at the decline of the Democractic party over the past 4 decades, the most obvious problem is a lack of leadership. The Great Democrats of the twentieth century--FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ--were bold innovators who were determined to make their mark on history. They didn't always achieve what they set out to do, but they weren't afraid to take on challenges. Since the 1970's, however, the Democrats have mostly produced tinkerers and fixers: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and it appears that Barack Obama falls into the same pattern.
It seems that when the Democrats get elected they mostly confine themselves to administrative tinkering rather than real reform. As I pointed out back in June 25 Obama's biggest failures consisted in sticking to closely to the policies of the previous administration and not really taking the country in a new direction. Even his healthcare reform plan, in the end will only benefit people who already have health insurance.
Now that the Repubs have regained control of the House, we can expect at two years, possibly more, of partisan wrangling and "fishing expeditions" at a time when the country can least afford it. That leaves most of us with the options of either moving to France, or buying respirators and rubber boots, because the crap is going to get think and smelly.
It seems that when the Democrats get elected they mostly confine themselves to administrative tinkering rather than real reform. As I pointed out back in June 25 Obama's biggest failures consisted in sticking to closely to the policies of the previous administration and not really taking the country in a new direction. Even his healthcare reform plan, in the end will only benefit people who already have health insurance.
Now that the Repubs have regained control of the House, we can expect at two years, possibly more, of partisan wrangling and "fishing expeditions" at a time when the country can least afford it. That leaves most of us with the options of either moving to France, or buying respirators and rubber boots, because the crap is going to get think and smelly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)