Back to the Future

Yesterday's  blog post by Jayne Martin struck a chord.  She reprised a 2 year old post about the  continuing dominance of "tired old white men" in our political system and the not-so-hidden prejudices of the political and emotional landscape.   

I watched PBS' airing of the two part "Clinton" series last week.  It was interesting to go back in time and realize how similarly their presidencies began and the hatred directed towards President Clinton and, worse, towards Hillary.  In most respects, she turned out to be the more politically prescient of the two.  But the nation wanted her head.  They obviously overcame some of the derision only to become mired in the Whitewater and Monica-gate scandals.  Clinton was his own worst enemy as those who worked for and admired him note in the program.  But even he has come out on the other side.

My husband and I are convinced people hate Obama because of his color more than his policies.  In the spirit of bi-partisanship, he's attempted to appease those who do not deserve to be appeased, i.e. McConnell, Ryan, Cantor, Boehner.  They've done all but spit on him.    

 ttaken from the The Schiller Institute newsletter of Lyndon LaRouche  Note remark re: Constitution

We have journalists like Mark Halperin calling him a "dick".  This is our president!  I may have thought G.W. was all those things & more but I don't believe I put it in print, let alone say such a thing on national television.

We can only hope President Obama, if re-elected, has the opportunity to achieve his goals in the second term, unencumbered by the need to seek re-election and please an old white bread male dominated Congress of politicos indebted to PACS, lobbyists and corporate America.

Random Political Tidbits

Mitch McConnell's GOP Agenda?  Take Down Obama

"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one term president."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
National Journal 10/25/10


Meg Whitman Endorses Opponent Jerry Brown






 President Clinton Hammers Michelle Bachmann
But Not in a Biblical Way

"She 'makes Richard Nixon look like a member of Students for a Democratic Society.  They make Newt Gingrich and George Bush look like garden variety liberals'..."
twincities.com 10/25/10


Unendorsed R.I. Gubernatorial Candidate Says
Obama Can "Shove it"

Health Care Reform Passes 219-212!!!

Shouts of "Yes we can!" heard on the floor.  Read all about it here.

Image below uploaded from The Huffington Post

Health Care Reform Clears First Hurdle

Remember that "anchor" reference my husband used in this post?  He was referring to one likely reason the Nobel Committee chose President Obama for the Peace Prize.

Yesterday, Olympia Snowe and fourteen other senators cleared the Baucus health care reform bill out of the Senate Finance Committee.  It has much farther to go and there are big elements fighting it.  From  "The Daily Beast" this morning, an excerpt:

"The opposition party's hostility to this modest reform looks hysterical, and the interest groups fighting against reform don't really seem to grasp how easy on them Obama and Congress are being. Private-sector players, in particular, ought to recognize that the Senate Finance Committee’s bill is incredibly generous to their interests by international standards and that if that generosity isn't rewarded with political success, next time around they're likely to see proposals they like a whole lot less."

We still don't have a public option and, frankly, without it, what's the point?  We need insurance companies to compete with something other than themselves.  Whether or not they openly collude, there isn't enough competition for any of us to get a real choice.  This goes far beyond health care.  Have you tried re-pricing your homeowner's or automobile insurance of late? 

I am often struck by the comments of people living outside the U.S. who are satisfied with their government provided health care.  Are they totally satisfied?  Some are.  And some are dissatisfied.  For the most part, however, I tend to see more pro government provided health care than con.  In fact, much of the criticism of those other health care plans seems to come from within the U.S.

U.S. citizens need affordable health care plans and that includes a public option.  More hurdles to clear.

WTF?!*#@#!!!

I am friggin' blown away by the rash of sex scandals in government. I was listening to NPR yesterday afternoon, with my mouth hanging open, when Neal Conan and Don Gonyea came on the air with this story (listen, it's quite a radio moment) about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his unlikely, unknown and unexpected trip to see his Argentine amor. Holy infidelity! John Ensign, the Nevada senator who couldn't keep his "promise" to his wife or his faithful; John "Oh how the mighty have fallen" Edwards, his infidelity and & possibly a child (yikes!)with a staff member; Mark Foley, gettin' it on with pages; Larry Craig, Idaho senator, gettin' it on in with any male port in the bathroom of the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport (yuck); Eliot Spitzer, the Elliot Ness of NY who was cleaning up the city couldn't clean up his own act. The list goes on and on. We can blame it on President Clinton whose tawdry affair with Monica Lewinsky is still headline worthy or we can accept that this has and will continue ad infinitum.

What astonishes me is how these men are so transparent, so careless and so unrepentant. Were they repentant, most would resign their posts and show true contrition. I don't understand how aspiring politicians with good solid careers commit so many stupid acts. Yeah, okay, I'm naive. My husband laughs at me and says, "What do you expect? These guys think they're bullet-proof. They think they're above the law. It's all about entitlement."

Interesting article in the NY Times yesterday regarding this. Another good article on the NPR's "Talk of the Nation" program and how the story broke live on the air.