The day is Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. Democrats have just swept to victory electing Barack Obama President of the United States and rolling up large majorities in both the House and the Senate. Rip Van Democrat yawned, stretched, and smiled to himself. His hard work for the Democratic Party had paid off. Barack Obama would deliver change. Rip could afford to rest his weary body, ignore politics, and take a long rest. The country was in good hands. All is well.
And so Rip Van Democrat slept . . . and slept . . . and slept. Finally, in October 2010, he stirred. Rip sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked at a newspaper lying at his feet. Bold headlines proclaimed "Economy in the doldrums;" "Unemployment hovers around 10 percent;" "Afghanistan War drags on."
Rip felt that he must be having a nightmare. How could all of his hopes and dreams for the nation have gone so far astray? What happened to President Obama and those impressive Democratic majorities in Congress? Did elected Democrats go to sleep, too? Have they done nothing? Rip was so depressed that he decided to go back to sleep and not vote in the 2010 General Election.
At this point, I happened to walk by Rip. He looked at me, and said, "What happened, Patton? Why is everything such a mess?"
"Because," I replied, "Republicans and the media are promoting the story line that nothing good has happened since Obama became President. Republicans do it to try to win elections. The media does it to attract viewers and readers. That story line is a tall tale. I've been reading a paper by Robert P. Watson, Professor of American Studies at Lynn University. Watson lists things the Obama administration has accomplished in the last two years."
"Rip, you mentioned the economy. Obama signed an historic Wall Street reform bill. Credit card companies are now prohibited from raising rates without advance notification if customers are paying their bills on time. Obama signed the HIRE Act to stimulate economic recovery. The bill includes tax cuts for small businesses who hire someone unemployed for at least two months. He authorized the 'Cash for Clunkers' program that stimulated auto sales and removed old, inefficient, polluting cars from the road. Obama authorized a $789 billion economic stimulus plan that designated 1/3 of the money to tax cuts for working families; 1/3 to states for infrastructure projects; and 1/3 to states to prevent the layoff of police officers, firefighters, and teachers at risk of losing their jobs because of state budget shortfalls."
"Well, what about taxes?" said Rip. "Republicans are complaining about taxes."
"Republicans always complain about taxes" I replied. "Actually, federal taxes are the lowest they've been in 60 years. Obama negotiated a deal with Swiss banks to permit the US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals. Companies and individuals who are delinquent on their taxes or owe back taxes are no longer allowed to bid for federal contracts. He ended the Bush-era policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs. Obama ordered the closing of offshore tax havens for individual and business tax evaders. He reduced taxes for some small businesses to stimulate the economic recovery. And he signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which provides small tax cuts for 95 percent of working families."
Rip still wasn't satisfied. "What about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? They're still dragging on."
"Obama," I answered, "has completed the withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq. He will begin the withdrawal of US military from Afghanistan next July. He increased unmanned drone strikes on Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama funded new mine resistant ambush vehicles. He ordered the procurement of better body armor for US troops. He authorized the Navy SEALS operation that freed by force the US shipping captain held by Somali pirates.
"Once they were home," I added, "Obama did not forget the members of our military. He ended the Bush-era blackout imposed on media coverage of the return of fallen US soldiers. Obama ordered that conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other neglected military hospitals be improved. He ended the Bush-era "stop-loss" policy that kept soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date. And Obama provided a new GI Bill for returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan."
"All right, all right," exclaimed Rip, "I get your point - Obama has done a lot; people just don't give him credit for what he has done."
"But wait," I replied, "I can't stop now. I've covered only 24 of the 244 accomplishments of Obama and congressional Democrats that Watson listed. Don't you want to hear the rest?"
Rip van Democrat looked at me glassy-eyed. "Look I admit that I was wrong. I'll make you a bargain. If you don't read the rest, I promise to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 2."
"That's a deal," I said. "That's a deal."
This column first appeared in The Forum. It appears here with the permission of The Forum.
|
