The current debate on Health care Reform has opened the eyes of many in America to the true nature of the elitist inhabitants of our current representational republic. I make a point here in strictly defining America's government in its true terminology - "representative republic" - because I believe that our government is now broken and does not function the way the founders had intended.
Take, for example, the recent comments by New York Democrat Representative Eric Massa (New York's 29th Congressional District). Mr. Massa was addressing an intimate gathering of Net Roots activists during a round table discussion at the annual Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh this weekend.
He is adamant that he is not going to have a town hall meeting in his district to discuss health reform, nor is he going to vote against any proposed health reform legislation, regardless of the wishes of his district, which he categorizes as "one of the most right wing Republican districts in the country".
For me the whole health reform debate has thrown open the door to the most pernicious practice in American congressional politics: allegiance to your political party and its leadership rather than representing the wishes of the people who sent you to Washington. The House of Representatives should be exactly that: a body consisting of individuals who have been sent by the voters in their district to be their voice in Washington, and to vote on legislation in the manner that the voters - the people for whom the Representative is actually working - instruct him to.
It's obvious to everyone that this is no longer the case; that party loyalty is more important than the wishes - and the voice - of the voters. Mr. Massa has made this abundantly clear when he states that he has no intention of voting with his constituents, but rather with the wishes of his party's leadership in Washington:
The national approval rating for congress before the 2008 election was at the lowest level since polling began. Yet Americans saw fit to return their representative and senator back to Washington. It's obviously some other government hack's fault, right?
Wrong.
What Mr. Massa and others like him need to understand in 2010 is this: if they don't truly represent their district, the voters in their district will throw them out in 2010. Tell him so on his website: http://massa.house.gov/index.html. Find your representative's website here and make sure they know how you feel.
My fear is that the political memory of the average American is only about a month long. My hope is that the anger of Americans will surpass their limited memory and that the 2010 election will truly be a watermark in American politics; a message sent loud and clear: you work for us, not for your party.
According to news reports it began showing up on streets and highways in Los Angeles over the past weekend. Since then it has made appearances in other cities in other states.
Well, in LA the poster is causing "quite a stir." Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson went to far as to say, "Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery. It is mean-spirited and dangerous."
At the time of his weekend statement Hutchinson was evidently unaware of this image, which appeared in the July 29, 2008 issue of Vanity Fair:
Yes, it's George W. Bush. And yes, it's the same Heath Ledger Joker character. Read the comments after the brief Vanity Fair article.
One of Earl's friends must have tapped him on the shoulder... "ah, Earl..." because now Hutchinson is trying to spin himself out of the hole he dug with commentary posted today in The Huffington Post. He claims that, contrary to his comments from the weekend, he supports free speech and decries censorship; he even makes mention of the Bush Joker picture (something of a mea culpa, but obviously insincere) in a vain attempt to paint himself as a anything but an Obama boot-licking hysteric.
Part of his strategy in the Huffington piece is to downplay his weekend screed by comparing it to his own over-wrought depiction of the Right's response.
...when this writer and a handful of other critics had the temerity to brand the Obama Joker poster as a demonic and mean spirited slur of President Obama, the Obama loathers went into a manic tail spin.
Of course nothing could be further from the truth. Once again the Left is caught making vitriolic statements about those who have the "temerity" to depict their leader with such a "vile" characterization, yet condoning through their silence the exact same image used against their political opponent, George Bush.
The American people aren't stupid, and they can certainly see through this charade, which in part explains why more and more people are fed up with the Left in America and are starting to stand up and be heard.
"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."
The man obviously needs another tap on the shoulder. Not only is the Obama poster itself publicly available from zazzle.com, you can also get t-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, mouse pads, and bumper stickers with the same image!
Driving down the street, are you noticing the dearth of Obama bumper stickers? They seem to be vanishing quicker than the man's credibility. During the election season you couldn't drive a single block without seeing at least one sticker. Now, they're as rare as a gaffless Joe Biden speech.
Well, essentially the American people are coming to the realization that what they were told by Obama's opponents in the 2008 election really IS true: the guy is an empty-headed Chicago talking head who has never run anything in his life. All he knows how to do is talk, and his endless campaigning for the job of president, even six months after his inauguration, is beginning to wear thin in the heartland.
There are those who would suggest that middle America is beginning to catch on to Obama's socialist agenda, but I don't buy that. I don't think your average, Oprah-overdosed family unit gives a hoot about socialism. Wasn't that their grandfather's enemy? Hwah... old stuff. Socialism died with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Right? I mean Chavez is just a mean frat boy, right? Wasn't loved enough by his mother, right?
Something like that.
No, what I think is really causing this turnabout - especially in the minds of Republicans who voted for Obama in order to punish Bush (try not to think of the logic behind that decision TOO much - you'll get a headache) - is the fact that the guy really is an empty suit. Just talk. Talk, talk, talk. And they're tired of his condescending voice ("Let me be clear").
Most Americans were able to forgive Clinton for his endless self-obsession; his easy charm disarmed their questions about his policies. The true problem for Obama is that his charm is not easy, it's forced. Just like the lover who see the man she brought home from the bar the night before in the harsh reality of brutal morning sunlight, voters are wishing they'd kept their legs closed that cold November evening in 2008.
The good news in this is that Obama's policies can no longer hide behind his quickly-eroding charisma. Maybe, a few months after Obama's new-car sheen is just a faded memory, middle America will finally see those policies in the harsh reality of morning.
An interesting article from The Los Angeles Times: What's really behind Obama's sudden plea for troubled health reforms today. The article basically states that Obama's nationalization of America's Health Care industry is beginning to look like anything but a done deal and desperation is setting in at the White House. Congressional support is slipping, including support from Democrats. This is all good for America, bad for the socialist left who sees Obama as their last, best hope for implementing their sweeping Marxist agenda.
There are comments after the article. One is by a "Jack Smith," obviously a pseudonym. I did a Google search for the title of his far-left screed (AMERICA’S NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY!) and came up with the fact that this person - probably an agent for the Obama Administration - has been posting this "commentary" on blogs all over the internet.
You can read it if you wish. I responded to his post with the following commentary:
First off, you should all know that the "Jack Smith" post has been appearing on blogs throughout the internet in the exact form you see it here. So, it's obviously NOT from a "Jack Smith", and it IS an attempt by someone either in the Obama Administration, or one its far-left social media outlets to promote Obamacare.
Let's dissect this nonsense:
"It’s official. America and the World are now in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC."
Pretty scary words. Yet, despite the propaganda of the WHO, this swine flu disease has still not exploded like they predicted. Scare talk, nothing more.
"STAND READY AMERICA TO SEIZE CONTROL OF YOUR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM."
Fascist tautology. You are being given your marching orders by the socialist left. Who's going to seize control of the healthcare system? The people? No, the government.
"All because of GREED! And the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare system in America."
Nothing could be further from the truth. Don't let the "greed" word scare you. This is a tried-and-failed buzzword of world socialism. To them capitalism means "greed". They know nothing except what their socialist educators tell them. And it's all lies.
"And while all this is going on, some members of congress seem mostly concern about how to protect the corporate PROFITS! of our GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT NATIONAL DISGRACE. A PRIVATE FOR PROFIT DISGRACE that is in fact, totally valueless to the public health. And a detriment to national security, public safety, and the public health."
The biggest load of socialist claptrap I've read in a long time. You have go to back to speeches by Lenin and Stalin to find garbage as skewed as this. Or maybe Chavez... Note the words "greed" and "profit" together. The red flag should be waving over your heads, folks. This IS Marxist. Plain and simple.
"Progressive democrats the Tri-Caucus and others should stand firm in their demand for a robust government-run public option for all Americans, with all of the minimum requirements progressive democrats demanded."
First, note how many times he uses the word "robust". Have you EVER seen any program that has been run by the government that is "robust"? It's a joke. We know from history that EVERYTHING the government runs is turned to ruin. Just look at Social Security. You want THAT for healthcare? And "public option"? The House bill OUTLAWS all private health insurance. Page 16. Read it. And whenever you read "progressive", know it's liberal-speak for the far left.
And what is the "Tri-Caucus"? Anyone?
"President Obama declare a state of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY! Seizing and replacing all PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance plans with... (A Single-payer National Healthcare Plan For All)."
Hey, Chavez did it with the oil industry and the communication industry in Venezuela! THAT should make Obama's poll numbers skyrocket!!!
"Coverage can begin immediately through our current medicare system. With immediate expansion through recruitment of displaced workers from the canceled private sector insurance industry."
"Recruitment of "DISPLACED" workers." - All those health professionals who will lose their jobs under government health care. Of course, the government will set their wages - which means they won't have enough money to pay off their education debt. The number of people entering health care will drop drastically.
Basically everyone who now works in the healthcare field and the private health insurance field will now become government employees. Run the numbers... You think your current tax rate can sustain this many added government employees?
"Funding can also begin immediately by substitution of payroll deductions for private insurance plans with payroll deductions for the national healthcare plan."
This is also known as a tax. Do you think they'll only tax the "rich' on this because that's what they told you? Everyone will be taxed through this back-door method of "payroll deductions". See your "FICA Deductions" on your pay stub? That's your Social Security tax. Tax.
"This is what the vast majority of the American people want."
A flat-out lie: you can tell this is boilerplate crap because our mysterious poster NEVER read the article! "70% of Americans are satisfied with current healthcare, and 98% DON'T want taxes to go up to pay for" Obamacare.
"And this is what all objective experts unanimously agree would be the best, and most cost effective for the American people and our economy."
Not even the democrat-controlled Congressional Budget Office agrees with this statement! They KNOW it's going to be a budget buster. So, who is this person talking about, anyway? No sources cited means it's just propaganda.
"STICK WITH [OBAMA]! He’s doing a brilliant job."
Even the left is beginning to question Obama's brilliance at anything other than campaigning.
"THE BATTLE OF GOOD Vs EVIL!"
Capitalism=Evil. Socialism=Good. This is the bottom line for these people. Read Ayn Rand's "We The Living" if you want to know where we're headed with this type of thinking.
"Join the fight."
A Socialist rallying cry from the beginning of the 20th century.
Listen. America needs only TWO THINGS to fix 95% of what ails our country. 1. Tort reform, 2. Term limits for congress. Think about it. That's the fight we should be fighting: smaller government and stopping the abuse of our legal system as a weapon. It will be a tough fight, but we have to do it. And the first thing we must do, in 2010, is THROW OUT ALL INCUMBENT CONGRESS MEMBERS. Boom. Out. replace them with real people, not career politicians.
I avoided Twitter like the plague for months. Then I took the plunge, just to check out something for work. For the last four weeks I have been immersed in this interesting online community, and while I may still be considered a neophyte by some, I have learned a few basic rules if you want people to follow you.
1. Upload An Avatar Picture - Most people won't follow someone without an Avatar, unless they know them personally.
2. Follow People Who Follow You - Keep your "Follows" to "Followers" ratio close. You may have some bumps when you hit Twitters limits, but you'll get over these.
3. ENGAGE! - This is huge. Don't just continually Tweet about your MLM (I delete MLMers, BTW), or your blog, or your business. Talk to people. Get to know them. Make it personal. This will be a big plus on Follow Fridays!
4. Follow Fridays - Since I mentioned this, I'll explain it. On Fridays Twitterers refer people they're following to others who are following THEM. And the general rule of courtesy is this: if you suggest people for YOUR followers to follow, those people will suggest YOU to their followers. Return the favor! You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
5. Re-Tweet - Another BIGGIE. If you find a Tweet that you like, Re-Tweet it! This is simple using TweetDeck or Seesmic. This way that cool Tweet will now be seen you all of YOUR followers. This works like Follow Fridays: you will notice people will start Re-Tweeting YOUR posts, and you will get new followers.
6. Find Cool Stuff to Share - If all you're going to do is talk about your dog, that meeting you were in, or what you're making for dinner, expect to fail on Twitter. Find cool stuff on the internet and SHARE IT with your followers. Use the URL shortening tools in TweetDeck and Seesmic. You will get Re-Tweeted. And followed.
7. Be Nice - Be courteous, respectful, and - yes, playful! Have fun. There are a LOT of cool people out there, and you just might make some good friends! That's why I'm in it!
Milbank - a self-avowed leftist - is pondering a phenomenon that goes against his orthodoxy. Namely, the left's current anger at Obama. In particular, the intensity of that anger has him scratching his head in wonderment.
It made sense for them to be angry when George W. Bush was in the White House. But now, even under Obama, the anger on the left is, if anything, more personal and vitriolic than on the right.
He queried his readers as to the source of this anger.
...many focused on a frustration on the left caused by Obama's centrism -- his opposition to prosecuting those involved with torture, for example. "I am angry because the whole Republican party has not been rounded up and thrown into a black site," one wrote. A reader in Evanston, Ill., took a similar view, that true believers on the left don't want "b.s. rhetoric about looking forward."
These answers obviously haven't relived him of the moral dilemma he faces: leftists' anger at a leftist.
Having observed the left now for the past 30 years - both as an witness of their leadership and policy and as a conversant with my liberal friends (hey, I get along with everybody!) - I have come to a conclusion.
If you tell a fish it's swimming in water, it will ask you, "What's water?" It cannot perceive of the medium in which it moves because it knows no other environment.
The same is true of the left. The medium through which it moves is anger. Individual leftists cannot see this quality in themselves because they know no other environment.
Those outside this "rarefied" liberal air are all too aware of it. We've seen it for decades: in violent protests, hectoring town hall rampages, physical attacks against any person or institution that stands in the way of liberal hegemony. And to those of us observers the left's anger has always been "personal and vitriolic"; it knows no other manifestation.
The Bush years were actually good for America if for no other reason than it forced the left out into the open. All their bile and hatred were now on public display. It sickened us; we couldn't comprehend how people who thought of themselves as open-minded and compassionate could display so much venomous rage.
But it didn't surprise us, because we had seen this anger before; just not on this scale.
Before Bush liberals were very successful at portraying the right as America's Haters. Their tactic was not unlike that of a grade school bully. They would continually poke the right with a sharp stick. We would quietly say, "Please stop." They would poke us again. "Please stop."
Poke. "Please stop." Poke.
Poke.
Poke...
...until we just couldn't take it anymore and would stand up and clock them in the face, at which point they would jump up, point to us, and yell as loudly as they could, "HE HIT ME! TEACHER, HE'S MEAN! DO SOMETHING!"
Milbank's quandary should be self-revelatory. Not likely. Just as the fish cannot survive without water, so the left cannot survive without anger.
OK, so we know the left is not going to stop calling the Tea Parties "teabagging", nor are they going to stop calling anyone who attends or supports these events and what they stand for "teabaggers". Their contempt does little to hide their fear, but - like the man who repeats the same experiment expecting different results - they know no other course.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill
As the left aims its sleepless insult machine at the average American, one need only look at the scope of Wednesday's gatherings to understand their hysteria:
Will this movement continue? Conservatives are not as dedicated in their public dissent as liberals; they don't have the staying power. We're busy people. Our belief system results in behavior that is more respectful, more family-oriented, more willing to believe that our word has meaning, so we only need to say it once.
And this is why liberals are ramping up their derision. They hope the sneers will forestall further Tea Parties, that Americans will see in their contempt a mirror image of the contempt all Americans feel for their behavior.
We must remember that the contempt of the left is borne out of fear and does not reflect the consensus of Americans. Also, know that the "mirror image" they are showing you is a mirage - it is an invention intended to deceive you.
Brush aside the insults of the left. Better yet, use them as a springboard for further action, use them as a recruiting tool.
Say to your friends, neighbors, "See what your government thinks of you? How does this make you feel? Join us."
