ok, politics…
we have an election coming up in the states, and the media is giving pretty steady coverage to the tea party.
what/who is the tea party? essentially they are an extra angry right wing bunch of republicans (according to polling 95% of tea party members are registered republicans or regularly vote republican).
today they, and their republican representatives in dc, released a ‘pledge’ to america. even other republicans were/are kind of dismayed by the republican ‘pledge’ (redstate.org called it ‘pablum’). it basically repeats ideas that have been mainstay republican ideas for over a decade:
- tax cuts for the wealthy
- cutting government spending except for defense
- making government more transparent
- restricting a womans right to have an abortion and etc.
there are a few problems with this ‘pledge’.
- the republicans were in power for 8 years and they raised government spending and created a huge federal government and made government as un-transparent as its ever been.
- the spending cuts they talk about are around 1% of the federal deficit. so they want tax cuts for the wealthy, defense budget increases, and small, token cuts to the federal budget.
- they only give passing lip service to the pressing issues, such as medicare, medicaid, and social security, saying that these will be dealt with. but they already had 8 years and they essentially just created deficits, a huge federal government, and a redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy.
going back to 8 years of failed republican policies after 2 years of democratic governance is like going back to an abusive boyfriend after 2 years of trying something new. the republican party in 2010 is like an abusive boyfriend saying, ‘no baby, really, i’ve changed’, and hoping that his girlfriend doesn’t remember just how bad it was when he was beating her up. the republicans had EIGHT YEARS to prove themselves. and they failed. it truly makes no sense to give them another chance after only 2 years of democratic governance. and it’s worth remembering that most of the bailouts to banks and financial firms came under the republicans and gw bush.
i really hope that americans aren’t dumb enough to fall for republican smoke, mirrors, and lies again.
-moby