As someone who is royally turned off by both parties, the fringes of both surprise me and are a never ending source of fascination to me. The Republicans totally self destruct over the last 4 years and hit all time lows in voter approval. They have been totally bankrupt of ideas and have little if anything to promote other than their total disagreement with the Democrats main agenda points.
There are several reasons why someone may be against several of these programs that have nothing to be with being mean, stupid or stubborn yet the Republicans don't seem to be able to put any coherency around their objections. They come off as petty and silly.
With all of that said, the Democrats say they are getting beat by these same folks who have no ideas and no real arguments against their agenda. They call them the party of no. I agree they haven't offered much else. So lets look at the numbers for Democrats:
- The House of Representatives: 256 Dem, 178 Rep, 1 vacant. This gives them 58.8% of house that is straight majority rules. The Republicans can't even slow things down let alone stop anything that the Dems vote 100% in favor.
- The Senate: 60 Dem, 40 Rep. This gives them 60%. The Republicans can't stop anything. They have to get at least one Dem to filibuster.
- The President: 1 Dem, 0 Rep. There is no Republican. 100% Dem, no power here.
The Republicans can't stop anything that the Dems are for if they can get enough of their respective caucuses onboard. So, if the Republicans don't have numbers how are they stopping the Dem agenda? Can't be the force of their ideas, they haven't promoted any. Politicians are notorious for one thing and one thing only, their lives revolve around re-election.
Profiles in courage are not rampant in Congress or any group of politicians for that matter. The only thing that explains the difficulty the Dems have getting the moderates of their caucus is that they don't feel they can vote for it and win in ther districts/states. This fear must be great enough that they are willing to risk a primary challenge from their left. John McCain who has never voted against a Supreme Court nominee for the first time in Sotomayor because he has a primary challenge from the right. That is how serious politicians take primary challenges, yet this has had little influence on the Blue Dogs.
Could it really be as simple as they believe they are representing their constituents and are afraid of backlash from them if they go along? Many of these people ran and won in districts carried by McCain. There is only one reason a congressman stands up to amount of pressure these people are getting from their leadership, their national committee and a president from their own party; they are more afraid of the folks back home.
So you see, the only thing that the Republicans have done to kill health care reform is they have not done anything stupid enough to change the dynamics of the politics. That is small praise, however it is more than I thought them capable of after the last eight years.
Now for there next trick; can they regain Congress by not doing stupid stuff and letting the Dems destroy their majorities? Time will tell and a year is a long time for any group to not do something stupid and for the Republicans to do it will take the equivelant of Obama walking on water....oh wait a minute!!
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Comments: 27
But I have to point out the REAL culprit - the special interest that have corrupted and ruined both parties.
They have taken a simple non partisan idea of having healthcare coverage for ALL Americans and turned into an ugly battle royale that has us at each other's throats and they just sit back and continue to gouge the people no matter what their political affiliation.
I am also an Independent - infact 41% of the American people identify themselves as Independents - so we should just organize, vote out the corrupt and useless members of both parties and elect House and Senate members that will actually represent us and not the special interest
We'll be operating with a government that was designed to function with a population somewhere around the numbers of, say...13 colonies?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#32277034
Keith Olbermann was outstanding on this issue.
They also call out Democrats as well as republicans.
I can't listen to Limbaugh or Olbermann due to their being so far to the fringes of society. I wouldn't be surprised if they someday went far enough around the bend to run into each other. You see I don't believe political beliefs are straight line away from each other but rather circular. If you go far enough right or left you will run into the extreme on the other side. Take antisemitism. It is very prevalent on the extreme left and right.
If you look at the ratings, I think most Americans are feeling the same way. Fox is on fire in the ratings. Glen Beck is getting 2.4 million viewers at 5pm! Simply unheard of.
I began to do more research, and have found him to be the most honest, as well as entertaining in his presentation. I also continued to watch Fox, as was my habit, but more and more I saw they were blatantly under reporting, and mis-directing.
I noticed when I watched something, and saw it for myself, then later watched how Fox was reporting on it, and the same occurance, or speech was outlandishly characterized in such a way that I finally concluded that it was NOT just a different point of view, but was quite deliberately twisted.
For I long time, I questioned as to why, then I realized it could only be to one end. To misinform me, thereby manipulate me, not with good reason and logic, but through lies.
One sided politics is not working -no matter who is in charge
So needless to say both "Major" parties need our support to win - so we should start dictating OUR terms:
ban special interest, campaign finance reform and single payer health insurance for ALL Americans
Kill the Ins reform 2009 and things go back to the status quo...................nothing was DONE in the administrations after 'they' KILLED the Clinton Plan with promises of a BETTER plan.......NOTHING! NOT one THING! Their loyal army will be swept away with not so much as a fare thee well and the American people will lose again..thanks to THEM> Wouldn't ya THINK once burned..that folks would smarten up?
Practical politics leaves us with a two-party system, under which there is an urgent need to solve serious problems. The GOP has effectively ruled out bipartisanship. We are forced into accepting our government as a black & white entity - there is no grey.
American's, fearing what was happening in DC, killed it. As long as liberals and the media do not understand that, they will continue to insult those Americans and blame the Republicans.
Republicans are just tagging along for the ride.