Damn I'm glad to see the American public as a whole isn't as stupid as some would have you believe: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/12/poll-bush-still-blamed-for-economy/?fbid=Z3r2sySYkIK&hpt=Sbin The part I like best though is that both sides are deemed to carry the responsibility to get us out of this mess.......both sides.......working together. I wish there could be a mandate that caused every member of Congress to feel some real heat from their electorate about working with the other side on solutions. Instead we have Sarah Palin showing up at an extremist rally to galvanize the attendees up to a frenzy about how inept the other side is. Instead in this day and age of bloggers.....radio extremists....openly biased news networks and other loud voices it seems that elected reps on both sides are more afraid of the fringe elements in their own party than they are inspired to do the right thing for America. Pretty damned sad state of affairs......
You are the problem, Dave. As much as you rail against the established political parties, you only find comfort with them. What "extremist" rallys are you referring to? The Tea party gatherings? A bunch of people who want to see the US return once again to the Constitution as the basis for our government? God forbid we return to the values this country was founded on! You will align yourself with whatever party gives you the most "freebies". At least I understand completely where you are coming from now. By the way, why does someone like Sarah Palin frighten your kind so much?
I see you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning George. That statement is absurd. What I am looking for is cooperative government......with an eye on both side's philosophy and not a polarized state like the one in which we live. I see the Tea Party as aligned far on the right......which I abhor as much as any group far on the left.
Reading the poll 31% of the respondents blamed Bush. Less than 1 in 3. So the Democrats led by Pelosi drop a 2000 page bill on the desk of Republican House members 24 hrs. before they're scheduled to vote on the bill. Now that shows me real bipartisan cooperation. Reid and the Democrats in the Senate did not invite any Republicans to join in the negotiations regarding the bill that came out in the Senate. Where the hell was CNN and the other media folks with their polls and calls for cooperation back then? The fact is the Dems with their super majority in the Senate felt that they didn't need any imput by Republicans and didn't give them the time of day. Now that they have apparently failed miserably in their efforts it's all of a sudden Kumbayah. Perhaps that biggest problem is that Democrats and their brain dead followers are paying more attention to Sarah Palin than the economy.
Gipper I thought some GOP members were invited but refused.....is that right or wrong? Hey...I'm the first to lump uncooperative....self serving Democrats in the group I despise. I'm looking for genuine politicians with high levels of integrity who want to serve all Americans. Maybe that's an impossibility.
MCG were you talking about prior to or after the Health Care bill stalled? http://reason.com/blog/2010/01/05/democrats-cut-out-republicans
If true Gipper it's a B/S move by the Democrats. Of course I would like to see more than a blog link reporting the veracity of this contention. Also.... "Friday, 31 percent of Americans said the Bush administration is at fault for the current state of the economy while only 7 percent pointed their finger at President Obama and his team. An additional 23 percent said the fault lies with Wall Street institutions while 13 percent assign the blame to Congress. Nearly 10 percent said the blame lies with all of them." Bush is fingered in 41% at least when you add in the "all of them" numbers and the Wall Street bunch may favor Wall Street as the culprit but I'll bet the Bush Admin isn't far behind in their thinking. But who and why is besides the point if we can just get off this blame train and start taking positive steps toward the future. That won't happen if there are no unified efforts......if everyone keeps pointing fingers and railing against the other side on the podium for potential future personal political gain. Yes....the Dems could do better....Obama could do better and yes the GOP screwed it all up while in charge with some serious help from the Dems I'm sure and a heaping dose of greed and carelessness on Wall Street. But we have to all get past that and work together as Americans toward a recovery.
Did you watch the SOU speech? He's still blaming Bush and will continue to do so because he can't figure out how to fix the economy. Pissing away hundreds of billions doesn't seem to be working.
Dave, Amazing things can be done with statistics. That 31%... where was the sample taken? I wasn't asked. If I go ask a person that is educated and successfully operating a business (or working for a successful company), I would assume that the answer would be different than if I asked a person that was unemployed taking government handouts. That educated successful person has to foot the bill for those taking the handouts. The Obama administration is all for throwing money out to anyone that has a hand out. The Obama administration is for skyrocketing tax rates to pay for the handouts. That is redistribution of wealth. Those that will be footing the bill will not side with the Obama administration. Therefore, I would not be one of the 31%... But I wasn't asked. More than likely, the majority asked were the ones with hands out.
I guess you can assume they are asking all the wrong people if you so choose but it was the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/us/politics/12poll.html?ref=politics In any event they are not asking if people approve of Obama.....they are asking who is most to blame for the current economic conditions. As I recall vividly and painfully the economy and housing market were on a very fast....steep....slippery slope downward in the year or two prior to my lay off in Dec. of 08. As I recall also George W. was in office.....not Obama. The only reason I even post this is that before our government can move forward as they need to and effect a solution there needs to be some reality injected into the situation over rhetoric.
And that equates to pointing fingers and casting blame? This administration needs to concentrate less on who is to blame and determine who is going to make things better and what is the best way short term and long term to accomplish that goal. The minute that the Obama administration speaks out against this Liberal Rag of a paper printing rhetoric that will continue the status quo, that is the time that I will bend an ear to listen.
That is absolutely correct.....and the amazing, hard to accept fact for some people is that it applies to both parties. The sooner everyone gets off of that blame horse the sooner we might all get somewhere. In business if we all stood around pointing fingers....frozen by the unwillingness to accept some responsibility we would be abject failures. In other words....I agree with the rest of your post.
Well, this topic has not been a complete clusterf#ck. We have identified Sarah Palin and talk radio as the principal issues facing America today.
You really don't see it, do you. Its an act; its nothing more than theater to justify each other's political existence. They can always get together on the important issues like their own free, customized healthcare plans, their continued salary increases when they ask their constituents (employers) to sacrifice more, their absolute flaunting of the very laws they pass. They compliment one another, the Dems need the GOP and vice versa. Meanwhile we are the saps who foot the bill and get screwed. Neither party gives a **** about you or me; just keep shelling out your tax dollars like a jerk. So a group of middle income Amercians who actually appear to have some knowledge and respect for the Constitution and form an alternative party based on the principles this nation was founded on and you have identified them as the threat. Take a close look at them Dave... that's right, its like looking in a mirror. The only difference between them and you? They have had enough and they are fighting back. If you watched Beck tonight you already know what I'm talking about. If not, set your DVR for the replay in the middle of the night.
Interesting debate on a day when many of us go to work so we can pay taxes so that government employees can have a paid holiday.
Unfortunately I agree with you. Truthfully I haven't looked too closely at the Tea Party but as I understand it if it does in fact get a foothold like a Ross Perot etc. it will hurt the GOP in the next presidential election so that places it squarely on the right. I really and truly want a strong new party squarely in the middle. Also...I might have applauded Palin's speech if she would have added a little George Bush sucks with her Obama sucks rhetoric.
<i></i> George, GREAT POST!!! Nice to know that I'm not the only one who sees things this way... Ralph
So now I see the situation getting much worse before it get's better: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/15/bayh.centrist.democrats/index.html?hpt=T1 Smart guy....too bad he is giving up.