The GOP Wears Black Hats

What is the GOP offering you? The latest great new ideas from the mighty Republican party are pretty sad. How about this one? The government should freeze spending.

Yes, there is a good one. While the entire private sector screeches to a halt, let's take the last best chance for restarting economic activity and just "turn it off"? Only a complete idiot would suggest such a thing right now. You have to be 100% blind to what is going on around you.

Or how about this one? Let's not take stimulus money to extend unemployment benefits. WOW! Now that is a great idea there. What ever happened to compassionate conservatism? It sound more like, "lost your job, eh? Screw you conservatism".

I believe that when times get tough the "real" face of the political parties emerge. When you are faced with big challenges, how will you respond? The GOP is responding like walled-in rich people trying to protect their own interests by saying no to everything that could be good.

For those rich folks, I guess I can understand. What is sad though, is all the people that have been "feared" into following the same crap. These people, who are often worse off then most, are lead by what they hear on late night conservative radio. They believe what Rush and Hannity say. What they do not realize is that that are being used. Used as a small puppet army to parrot what the rich people want. Used by touting issues like guns and abortion.

America needs universal health care.

America needs alternative energy.

America needs good high paying jobs.

America needs to reduce terrorism around the World.

But rather then focus on the BIG things, all we hear are the same old petty snipes from the GOP.

I live in Kansas and it is very frustrating to hear people parrot the GOP line. I actually had someone argue that all unions should be wiped out so we can complete with the Chinese. This was his great idea. I said, heaven forbid that we have high paying manufacturing jobs in the U S of A. In the America my grandpa grew up in, it was with a ton of pride that you worked hard at your job. Blue or white collar, and everyone shared in the prosperity. I do not recall him ever saying that we should try to make our workers equivalent to 3rd world workers.

So this is where we have come to. It is those that ask, "why not" versus those that say, "we can't". I am proud to be a Democrat. I no longer have the patience for small thinking, trite Republicans. I will work hard to ensure that my kids live in a cleaner, safer and more prosperous America and feel great in knowing that our side wears the white hats in this battle for our future.

Where is the Money Going?

The government has started to put the stimulus dollars to work. Track where they are going here: recovery.gov

Easy To Be For "No"

My parents always told me to be "for" something.

Just like the country song says.

It is easy to be against something, and that is the road the weak Republicans are taking. They also seem to be relishing in their new role as the Party of No.

Here is something to think about. Complex problems need complex solutions. The GOP has never believed in this. Their philosophy is based on simple black and white messaging. Tax cuts, government is bad, pro-life, anti-gay, etc... these all make for simple, easy to understand messages for the ill-informed.

What they lack is the hard work required to sort out complex issues like the financial crisis we are in now. Look at Bush's performance and the GOP controlled House and Senate for most of the last 8 years. Applying simple solutions to complex issues has lead to the greatest financial collapse since the Depression.

Now we have a President that will need to be better than most in order to get us out of their mess. It will be hard and mistakes will be made but after less than a month in office the reviews are positive. Obama reached across the partisan divide. Despite what the "all or nothing" GOP says, there are many Republican ideas in the stimulus bill. So do not be fooled by the GOP buzz being stirred on late night talk radio and the Fox News channel. This President is succeeding and is credible.

The only thing the GOP can do now is be the Party of No. They do not have the credibility to do anything else. Any argument they make other than "no" is going to be looked at as ridiculous. So we should not expect anything different. The GOP will only truly change once it is truly defeated. That day of reckoning for the Grand Old Party is coming. They think they have hit bottom but the truth is that the hole they are falling in is much deeper then they think. Their free fall to obscurity will continue and there is no Palin Parachute that is going to save them. They need to come to the table as honest brokers and allow for compromise. Unless they do that, they will be walking through the vast desert of irrelevance for decades to come.

Giving Just Enough Rope

Media reports have passed the judgment that this past week was pretty bad for the White House as the GOP leadership was able to stick to their talking points and pick apart the stimulus plan.

What came out was the true nature of the GOP. Putting politics ahead of working families and, especially, the middle class. In the end, the GOP will lose on the legislation, lose on public perception and lose on moral grounds.

They have had some strange plays through this process. To suggest that the New Deal did not actually save the country from ruin in the 1930s is treating the electorate like they are idiots. Or that government jobs are not "real". These are just plain dumb things to say.

No, no... I think that Obama gave the GOP just enough rope to hang themselves. This may not have been intentional but it worked.

The GOP has an obvious and severe crisis in leadership. They will now be the party of "do nothing" and that label can really stick if Obama wants it to. The GOP has forgot an important lesson, that no voice is ever louder than the bully pulpit of the President.

The Republicans may be able to stick together, but for what? The ruining of our economy? If today's serious challenges can not muster their support, then really nothing outside of war probally can.

The Republican brand is dirt and they are only adding filth to it.

GOP Just Doesn't Get It

The only thing that the GOP Congressional members will understand is YOU walking from the unemployment line to the VOTING booth.

Watch out Pat Roberts, Lindsey Graham, etc... those solid red starts are showing a bit of purple.

The economy will be fixed and it will be because of the Democrats and those smart Republicans that contributed.

The rest can keep obstructing their way right out of power.

Here's An Idea

For all the obstructionist GOP senators and representatives who vote against the stimulus, leave their states and districts out of receiving any of the spending. Simple.

Then they can explain to all the people losing their jobs in their state why they voted the way they did.

Real Leadership

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