Post-mortem? Nah. Not so much.

I write here not because I fancy myself to be a pundit or excessively intelligent or somehow able to 'read' the voting public better than others. I write this as much to collect my thoughts as to find others who are on the same page with me.

So, I start with the basic facts. 2010 mid-term elections were a massive loss for the Dems. Historic losses. But we live in historic times. More on this later. But several things stand out to me:

First, the voting population. Like most midterms, it was predominantly white, older, and conservative. And like most midterms, it was less that half of the registered voters who cast ballots. And, despite the overall results, many many people cast votes for Democratic candidates. When you think in those terms, it adds a perspective. It also adds fire, for me, to keep moving forward and to understand the importance of staying on course. We are always going to have different views of how our country should be governed. That is the essence of democracy. You know what else is the essence? Voting. Not punditry, prognosticating, or *shudder* even giving up on the whole process. Voting. That assumes an educated electorate. Cheerleading mantra #1: Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Stay in the fight!!

Second, the narrative IS important. Remember how, after health care reform passed, polls kept coming out showing a majority of Americans against the law? Remember how frustrating it was because the poll results were not getting at the issue? Two things were now know: people were (are) confused about what the bill is truly about, and many of the 'dissatisfied' votes were from people who wanted the bill to go further, to change our system more radically than the bill actually did. Well, I think this is analogous to these election results. Now, before you start screaming, of course there are many who did vote AGAINST Obama specifically and even health care reform specifically. Those are philosophical differences that will always stand. (Hell, we cannot get many conservatives to even say that health care for all is necessary or needed.) We will not ever win that fight with that sub-population of voters/politicians. But back to the analogy: these results can be interpreted as a failure to win the narrative. A failure for Dems, the White House, all of us to get the message out, to state clearly what the bill will do and why it is important. Same analogy for the stimulus. The message was so confused, many voters could not differentiate between TARP and the stimulus, far less make informed decisions about their worth. The lack of Democratic turnout can easily be understood in these terms. Cheerleading mantra #2: go beyond how things are presented to us. Stay informed!!!

Of course, the bottom line is that the economy drove these results. Fox News, et al. were always going to drive the 'Obama is a socialist message' into the ground. That is a given. But if unemployment was down to below 6%, I would not be writing this. I would be writing a smug, snarky post about how much progressive politics RAWK! Ok, not really. After all, this IS still America. For some reason, our populace prefers the label 'conservative' over 'progressive', even when said persons support progressive causes. Sad, but true. Cheerleading mantra #3: I am proud to be a progressive. Woo hooooo!

So, that is the end of my thoughts on Tuesday's midterms. A post-mortem? Not so much.

Health care summit punditry & other evils of the day

(NOTE: I am not a pundit, don't wish to be a pundit, don't call me a pundit. Look at the title of my blog if you are still confused.) 

So, I watched most of the health care summit, aka Blair House Project, yesterday. I can't say that I had high expectations. When it comes to politics, I rarely do. Does that make me cynical? Probably. Oh well.

But it WAS interesting to watch for several reasons. There were brief moments of actual discussion; unfortunately, there were too many moments of talking points on both sides as well. There was the very rare scene of a President sitting before a roundtable (ok .. square table. whatever) talking to ranking members of Congress from both sides of the aisle about an important piece of legislation.

Let's be honest. President Obama called this summit for two basic reasons: 1) to have an open forum to let the Republicans display their obstructionism & defend their *ahem* policies, and 2) to display a public attempt at opening up the conversation about health care reform. Here is what I took from the day's event:

• Politicians can rarely (at least in a public forum) resist the overpowering urge to blather talking points seemingly without the ability to stop themselves.
• The Republicans strategy of the Party of No was exposed for all to see. While I appreciate that they have a few *cough cough* proposals, the focus of EVERY opposition was anti-Obama health care and pro- ... well nothing. They kept acknowledging the need to reform our system, but simultaneously kept offering ... well .. nothing.
• Republicans whined about being left out of the process. I am not sure how I feel about that argument. On it's face, it seems disingenuous at best and hypocritical at worst. I mean, if your party position is to refute EVERYTHING the President says, then why would they need/want to include you in the process? Seriously. Politics aside, if I know that you have an agenda to shoot down everything I propose, then guess what? I am not inviting you to the party. I will say "fuck you, I'm having this party without you."
• President Obama was calm, cool, & collected throughout the proceedings, even in those soundbite moments with Alexander and McCain. The fact that the right-wing douches call his performance arrogant is yet another indication of their bias/prejudice/ignorance/stupidity ... whatever.
• In the end, nothing was really gained. Each party began their spin, then pundits weighed in with ratings, commentary, bullshit analysis, etc etc etc.

So now what? The Republicans seem to have two talking points post-summit:

1. The Democrats got to talk more that us. Wah wah wahhhhhh.
2. We can't afford this government takeover of health care. *yawn*

What is left to conclude? The Republicans don't really have an interest in fixing our healthcare system, they will continue to obstruct, and they will continue to stay on their talking points - one of their core strengths.

The rest of us? We will continue to be frustrated by a populace that does not understand the process, yet hates the process. Bad combination. An ignorant voting public does not always make great decisions. A smart Republican party knows this and stays on task for POLITICAL GAIN .. NOT for the betterment of our country.

Will health care reform take place? I don't really know. It seems it has died 462 deaths over the last year. I will await the ultimate end to this long road. But for now, I support my President and I continue to detest what the Republican party has become.

I am angry .. or maybe it is depressed.. nope I'm pissed

On the weekend, I try to disconnect a bit. Spend time with the family, laze around and read books, and so forth. I turn on the news or I check my Google reader. But I try not to invest too much energy, for better or worse, into the shitty news of the day.

Yesterday, I saw a brief snippet on CNN about a new poll showing that a majority of Americans are now against the health care reform bills that are now in the House and Senate. I jerked my head around fast enough to guarantee whiplash, then yelled, "Whaaaaaatttttt?"

Then, I got pissed. I rattled off a rant to my husband, whose eyes glassed over when I started talking about polls, policy, politics (apparently, the three "P"s don't have quite the same appeal to him!). I still decided to push the news aside and enjoy the weekend. Until now. Now I just need to sort my way through this frustration.

Obama campaigned on health care reform. It was a big part of his platform. Multiple polls indicated that the American people believed that we should reform our broken system. We are one of the only large democratically-ruled countries that doesn't provide health care for it's citizens. Other countries shake their heads at us, puzzled that in a country with this much money and power, we can't even get on board with whether we should take care of the health of our citizens.

This is basic stuff, right? I mean, sure we can disagree on what should dominate domestic policy. But the need to fix the broken, potentially disastrous future that our current system could bring .. is that really questionable? The answer is yes and no. That is, yes if you are the party of NO. No if you understand the alternative.

Here's a quick progression (or lack thereof) of health care reform. Congressman go out during summer recess and conduct town halls - standard practice designed to get the in touch with their constituency. Only this summer, some asshat tea party schmucks put out a memo asking people (not necessarily constituents) to attend DEMOCRATIC members' town halls, specifically, and to disrupt them with shouting, interruptions, generally annoying commotions. The purpose of this? To 'rattle' the Democratic congressman. That's right, not to promote discussion, not even to be heard; just to disrupt.

These wild, chaotic town halls were tailor made for the bored mainstream media. All manner of shouting, insult-hurling, faux outrage made for good TV. The problem? Two things. One, it was manufactured and at best disingenuous. Two, it gave the appearance that this opposition was widespread and righteous. So, now the American public, who are notoriously politically-apathetic and lazy, are now like "Wait, what is so scary about this bill? Should I be scared? I'm scared. What was that sound? Did you hear the boogey man, cuz I just did. *cue scary music* We are all doomed!!!" (or something like that)

Of course, when the Congress returned, it was noted that these *cough* disruptions were not common place or widespread or reflective of the feelings of the constituents (in many cases). No matter. The opposition's strategy worked.


Then Teddy Kennedy dies. This wasn't unexpected, but still it was ironic that the cause of his political life teetered on it's own death. Then there was the on-again, off-again, it's dead, it's alive, public option, no public option, Senator Snowe as President, Max Baucus and the Gang of Six rule the world, etc. etc. etc. drama that played out every day. It was exhausting to watch. Difficult to follow even if you are an invested, educated, informed politically-minded American, which coincidentally leaves out 89.8% of the general public.

Then there were the endless polls. Majority favor health care reform; majority oppose health care reform; majority feel Congress is not doing enough to help health care problems; majority feel Obama not doing what is needed with health care reform; majority approve of health care reform; majority majority majority blah blah blah gah gah gah (I think this is how Lady GaGa wrote her new song).

Then a Republican (or a pseudo-Republican, depending on whom you ask) wins Teddy's seat??? What? How is this possible? What the hell is going on? Here comes the spin. I will not EVEN go into that topic now. Then our President decides to slow down health care reform. He vowed to listen to the people and try bipartisanship. Again, I will not even go into that here. Another post for another day.

Now the polls from the Massachusetts voters indicate they are against health care reform (ironic, considering that they already HAVE health care). Of course, it is a 46/48% split (favor/oppose), not exactly the mandate/landslide/OMG moment the Right tried to portray it as. In fact, those numbers generally match the nationwide polls, too.

Not bad enough yet? Then a poll came out suggesting 55% of Americans think Democrats should shelf the negotiations on the current bill. Not bad enough yet? Said 55% of people want Dems to go back and consider alternatives that would get more Republican support. Ummm.. pardon me? We have a majority of the Congress. My four year-old can figure out basic math. Republican support is not going to change shit. Besides, Republicans are the party of NO. Their mission has been to shoot down EVERYTHING that the Obama administration proposes, even if occasionally they try to make it seem otherwise. Interestingly, the same poll says nearly 60% of Americans are either pleased with the progress our President has made (39%) or wish he would have done MORE on his agenda (20%).

So what happened? I'll tell you what, it is what has me pissed off. The Republicans have stolen the message AGAIN. They block reform at every possible avenue, then cry about a lack of bi-partisanship. They successful got the meme of 'reform is too costly', despite CBO projections saying that the Senate bill will LOWER the deficit. They successfully got the meme entrenched that reform is 'being shoved down our throats', again despite the filibustering, stalling, bullshitting, and every other tactic imaginable that the Republicans have used to stall votes, debate, etc.

Google 'health care reform'. Now look at the right column under 'sponsored links'. What do you see? Half of them are Right-wing websites looking to kill reform at any cost. Who is winning the message now? Exactly. 

And now? They can sit back and watch their machinery at work. They have convinced the American public that somehow bi-partisanship will work; that the Republicans are the poor victims sitting at the unpopular table in the lunchroom. Just waiting for someone to talk nice to them. I waive the BULLSHIT FLAG on that meme.

I am pissed.

Get a grip America

I just recently returned from vacation. That is not said to show off (I swear). I say that because the Christmas crotch-rocket would-be bomber incident and all it's concomitant fallout happened while I was vacationing. I caught blurbs in the little Times Digest the resort gave us at breakfast, but honestly I was trying to disconnect. The first reports I saw made the incident seem potentially scary, but mostly just crazy. I quietly hoped that things weren't going nuts at home. I fantasized a day where right-wing wackos and pundits would quit constantly looking for a way to tear down our President and instead try to unite as Americans.

Alas, that fantasy was about as far off the one about me and David Beckham and a wild weekend in Vegas (*sigh*).

I digress. The point is it WAS nuts when I got home. Wingers were trying to slay the President again.

"He should have come home from Hawaii sooner." (because Underpants Bombers need to see a display of strength and confidence from the President. Hooey.)

"The President didn't take this seriously." (umm... whatever)

"Obama doesn't know we are at war." (an especially slimy position from the former VP considering his war-mongering and full of FAIL leadership in Afghanistan)

"We should treat him as an enemy combatant." (errr... Caribou Barbie, we don't even USE that term anymore. Try to keep up.)

Here's the thing. Sure, terrorism scares us. That is what is designed to do. People of all political stripes can admit that there is only so much that we can do in the way of national security to stop ALL terrorist plots. Does that excuse slack intelligence issues? No. Should the federal government be doing all that they can to protect us? Of course.

But really. How the HELL can anyone say that the President doesn't care about terrorists? That he is distracted by other pressing issues? I mean, it is sheer stupidity. I could be wrong here, but I don't remember Al Gore making the regular rounds to the pundit shows and blogging for WaPo spouting off about bad decisions that Bush/Cheney were making after he was out of office. In fact, I believe he spent his time working on something constructive .. like saving the planet. How very socialist.

Point is can't we get a grip? Bad enough that we are grounding flights over a container of honey. But Cheney, Palin, et al. are not helping the situation by their fear-mongering. In fact, they are only helping themselves politically. Shameful, at best.

Is it bothersome that al Qaeda continues to grow and morph and exponentially despise the West? Yep. Is it going to be difficult for intelligence agencies to find this new 'loner' whackjob terrorists? Yep. But drunk drivers scare me more than flying right now.

Seriously. Get a grip America.

"Indecisive" is not an insult

See Cartoons by Cartoon by John Trever - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

You're not going to catch me calling myself: 1) an expert on Afghanistan, 2) a policy wonk, or 3) vastly qualified to blather on about the 'true' problem of Afghanistan.  That being said, I'm deep in thought about this:

There is much gnashing of teeth lately over President Obama's supposed waffling on Afghanistan. Old, tired, worn-out terms like 'soft on defense', 'weak', 'indecisive' are being bantered about willy-nilly by the Right. Former Vice President Dick "I have a really short memory for the relevant, yet stupid shit my administration did" Cheney weighs in, too. He says the administration is "dithering" on Afghanistan. This from the man who declared the Taliban "out of business permanently".

It gets better ...

Bush NOW thinks Afghanistan is vital..

and we trust his judgment because ...

All of the windbags on the Right are having a boner party criticizing President Obama's decision-making...wholly ironic given that the 2008 GOP candidate for President did not think Afghanistan was a big deal, insisting that Iraq was the real war of concern.

Some think President Obama has no right to blame Bush for the mess that is Afghanistan. Oh, ok. My bad. I thought this war started during W's administration? I thought Bush and Cheney were the ones who lost focus on Afghanistan...focus spent on starting an immoral war, based on lies, against Iraq? I thought that Republican administrations had funded the Afghans' fight against the Soviet Union? Sure, whatever you say Party of No.

"Waffling", "weak", "indecisive", "just plain ignorant"? It's an old strategy that the Republicans drag out of the broom closet against pretty much anyone in the Democratic Party facing issues of national security and/or foreign policy. It usually involves some combination of unilateralism, poo-pooing the U.N., and incitement of a boogeyman.

But let's be honest here. Afghanistan is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. The President is weighing his options. The answers are far from clear. But the warmongers on the Right ranting on about the President not giving an answer about troop decisions fast enough to please the them frustrates the shit out of me.

Yes, the war is a serious thing. All war is serious and sending troops into harm's way should ALWAYS be carefully considered.

Yes, the Taliban is gaining influence. But to many Afghans, having the Taliban in power is a brutal, but necessary evil to ease the constant civil war and tribal tensions.

DO NOT FORGET, that 9/11 planning was conducted in Afghanistan. We trained and funded many of Bin Laden's people. We knew Al-Qaeda was there, being hidden and supported by the Taliban. But we squandered 7 years there with a hodge-podge strategy. We let Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda elude capture and escape into (probably) Pakistan. Yet, we remain there fighting a war... for what? Do the Taliban really threaten the U.S.? Yes, if they were harboring Al-Queda. Nobody really thinks they are anymore. Do we need stability in that part of the world? Sure.

The point is that the situation is complicated and deserving of thoughtful, well-intentioned decision-making. If you have never read "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson, you should. It is a fantastic book that gives a poignant & realistic picture of the complications and nuances of life in that part of the world. Perhaps having read that book has given me a modicum of understanding and more to the point, a healthy respect for thoughtful decision-making when it comes to foreign policy in that region of our world. If the Right chooses to call that 'indecisive', then I'll have to let them know that that isn't an insult. Sorry to disappoint warmongers. It isn't going to stick.

Our President will take his time and make his decision. Godspeed to him. I hope he makes a good one. But take the necessary time, he will. Funny how this same group of howling monkeys complains that health care reform is moving too FAST. Alas, they will never be happy as long as Obama is president. That is the real truth.