The GOP is walking away from middle-America

Some in the GOP rely on life-long support from a segment of the citizenry, including those who wrap themselves in the banner of any other issue besides race to cloak their discomfort with having a minority in the White House, that are emotionally committed to the Republican party. The capacity of the human mind to rationalize renders both those leaders and the voters they count on virtually incapable of accepting any progress the President makes on any issue, and so those votes are already in the right column for the GOP if they can get the folks anxious enough about “bad guys” to go to the polls.

The Republicans lost on that basis in 2008;  the GOP’s dominant strategists drove Republicans to Obama. Following extremists now who appeal to their emotions even farther away from the middle won’t win them moderates and swing voters.

Here’s an example from earlier this month showing our about the similarities of their hair-cuts.

As the linked article states, our President “not only values children, and families,” he has the, “willingness and courage to show the world his unscripted compassion.”

Former foes around the world realize that now is the time to mend fences and practice diplomacy — but more important (to voters) than Obama’s progress on key issues, moderate and swing voters find this human side of Obama more appealing than orchestrated media coverage (with flight-suits to act the part of a pilot before) standing in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner while Osama bin Laden remained at large and the Weapons of Mass Destruction that justified our support of an invasion of Iraq turned out to be less of a slam dunk and more of a, well…  I don’t want to accuse a “compassionate conservative” of lying, so let’s say the WMDs were mythical.

Americans were already dubious by that time, and the disingeuous ranting about liberal media coming from the conservative media couldn’t spin the anxiety the Republicans tried to foment into an electoral majority. Rather than change gears, rather than trying to become relevant, the GOP seems mired in a “stay the course” mentality on messages like taxation which may just drive even more of the coveted swing voters out.

After all, Americans (even the infamous tea-baggers) know that the authors of the constitution mandated revenue when they envisioned the role of government – nothing else explains the phrases such as “provide for the common defense.”  We aren’t against paying fairly for the things the government provides, we just want that tax burden to be fair.

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Never is a man so tall as when he bends to help a child.

I believe most political decisions are made on the basis of an emotional affiliation to one or the other major political party, even if we’re all very good at rationalizing about this or that issue to justify it “logically.” I believe, too, that there are all too many elected to serve in Washington who lose their way and become more interested in lining their pockets than in working on behalf of the voters who sent them there and the rest of the citizens of our great nation.

I believe I have seldom seen a more decent gesture by any sitting President than the one pictured above. I wonder what Steven Colbert, the man who promised to feel the truthiness of the news at his viewers, will feel when he considers this image from May 8th, making its rounds now on the internet.

There’s nothing here about federal intervention in state’s rights; there’s no judicial activism on display; there’s nothing about unfair executive compensation, overpriced health insurance, CIA briefings, weapons of mass destruction, or environmental protection in the picture. There’s just a man, perhaps the most powerful man on the planet, bending down for the education of somebody else’s son.

In my gut, this is evidence of the confidence and priorities of a great leader who respects everybody he meets. Today, the world is dealing with a very different sort of President in the United States than they have ever had before. This is a man who not only values children, and families, but who has the willingness and courage to show the world his unscripted compassion.

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The role of the federal government

With the effects of the credit crisis still rippling through our economy, we need more than bailouts and better regulation for our major financial institutions. First and foremost, the working class urgently needs the creation of millions of new jobs to replace those that have been slashed in virtually every sector of the work force as corporations hunker down to protect their bottom lines.

It seems likely that clean energy initiatives could contribute to the necessary job growth, and start our return to prosperity, by rewarding those who work a little more and globe-trotting CEOs a little less. Reducing our reliance on oil that has to be transported half-way around the globe has real and immediate benefits for the climate, the economy, and our national security.

Meanwhile, many Americans face the prospect of personal economic disaster not solely because they’ve lost a job, but because they may lose their overpriced health insurance as a consequence – if they haven’t already. Over half of personal bankruptcies in this country are triggered by medical expenses. The cost of providing health care coverage is needlessly high while insurance companies pay CEOs tens of millions of dollars annually, while 50 million Americans are uninsured. Insurance companies aren’t working to control the costs of our health care.

Productivity has doubled in this country over the past 3 decades, but the cost of health care has tripled the rate of inflation over that same30 years, while salaries and corporate profits in companies “too big to fail” have skyrocketed. The problem isn’t confined to deregulation on Wall Street: the U.S. lost 3 million manufacturing jobs during the previous administration, while companies sought tax credits for outsourcing. Washington has spent years looking out for the multinational corporations who buy their influence, and our economy is shedding jobs faster than ever and the rate of home foreclosures is breaking all records.

The role of government has to include holding business accountable, nothing else will stop the abuses that have led to this mess. We don’t need bigger government – it grew beyond all reckoning under the Bush~Cheney administration – we need better government.

Senators and U.S. Representatives have good health care coverage, job security, and so much discretionary income that some Senators have more homes than members in their immediate family. We need to get back to what our founding fathers described, a government for the people that worries a lot less about the already-rich.