Throw All the Bums Out in November

by: Gary Patton

Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 11:33:44 AM EDT

"Just what's making you so mad Crawford," I replied.

"The federal government's my problem, that's what," groused Crawford. "It's wasted my tax money, and has nothing to show for it. Let business and the free market solve our problems; tell big government to get lost."

"Do you think everybody agrees with you that big government should just exit the stage? If you do, you're in for a surprise. Jon Cohen and Dan Balz report in the Washington Post that "A new study by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University shows that most Americans who say they want more limited government also call Social Security and Medicare 'very important'. They want Washington to be involved in schools and to help reduce poverty. Nearly half want the government to maintain a role in regulating health care."

"Cohen and Balz later write, 'Americans continue to see major areas of government spending as essential. Whether it is Medicare, Social Security, national defense, food stamps, education, unemployment benefits or environmental protection, about nine in 10 call these programs at least somewhat important.'"

"Well", said Crawford, "these smarty pants researchers never mention the fact that excessive federal spending is about to drive the nation into bankruptcy. No one will have Social Security or Medicare then."

"I have to admit that a lot of people agree with you, Crawford. A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll notes, 'More than three of four also see a day of reckoning approaching. They predict the cost of entitlement programs (e.g., Medicare, Social Security) will create major economic problems for the United States in the next 25 years if no changes are made. Recognizing the issue isn't the same as reconciling it, however. Raise taxes to address it? Fifty-six percent say no. Cut benefits instead? Sixty-six percent say no. Just 12 percent say both steps should be taken."

"In other words, Crawford, the general public wants a free lunch. It wants something for nothing - benefits without having to pay for them. That's not the way the world works."

"Well, I don't care what you say, Patton. I'm going to vote every incumbent out of office. They're all a bunch of dishonest, lying son of a guns - including Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter."

"Crawford, it's strange that you should put Shea-Porter in that category. There's irony in this election. Voters say they want to replace dishonest, lazy, deceptive office holders with honest, hardworking challengers who talk straight and vote independently. However, no one, but no one, has ever questioned Carol Shea-Porter's honesty. No one, but no one, has ever said she doesn't tell you exactly what she thinks. She may not always vote the way you like, but she doesn't lie to you. No one, but no one, has ever said that Shea-Porter doesn't work hard and effectively to meet the needs of her district."

Now, I was warming to my topic. "Contrast that with her opponent, Frank Guinta. Is Guinta honest? Recently, Guinta amended his financial disclosure statement to add a bank account containing $355,000. Where did that money come from? Guinta says that he 'forgot' that he had the account. Would you forget an account holding $355,000? If that money was a gift or loan from another person, Guinta broke election laws that limit such contributions to only $2,400. Guinta could answer questions by disclosing bank statements showing that the $355,000 was in his account for the past two years. Guinta adamantly refuses to do that, increasing suspicion that he broke the law."

"Is Guinta deceptive? He has flip-flopped on the issues of cap-and trade, global warming, the stimulus package, and abortion to win votes. Do straight shooters do that? I think not. Would he vote independently of party interests while in Congress? I think not. How do you think that Republicans were able to defeat so many Democratic initiatives during the past two years? By demanding that GOP members of Congress vote as a bloc; that no one deviate from the party line; that opposition to Democrats be unanimous."

"And," I added, "there were penalties for any GOP member who thought of defecting. Assignment to lousy office space in remote locations. Assignment to dead end committees. Loss of seniority on committees. Loss of funding from party sources. Bad parking places. Intimidation was effective in whipping GOP members into line."

"If Guinta goes to Washington", I concluded, "he will follow the party line just as other Republican members have. So, there's your irony. You want honesty, diligence, straight talk, and effectiveness? Support the office holder, Shea-Porter, not the challenger, Guinta. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Remember the old saying, 'vote in haste; repent in leisure.'"

This column first appeared in The Forum. It appears here with the permission of The Forum.

Obama Doesn't Get Credit for What He Has Done

by: Gary Patton

Mon Oct 11, 2010 at 23:57:47 PM EDT

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.

It's Not Fair To Blame Obama

by: Gary Patton

Mon Aug 02, 2010 at 15:35:54 PM EDT

It is Wednesday, October 16, 2030. Professor Stan Drobnik walks into his American Political History class. The students, each one trying to appear more nonchalant and disengaged than the others, slouch in their chairs. Drobnik places his class notes on the lectern, then speaks to the class. "You may remember that to fulfill the community service requirement for this class, you were to consider a number of different options. Do you have any preferences?"

John Boomer, the president of his social fraternity and president of the local chapter of the College Republicans, raises his hand. Boomer's hair is carefully trimmed, and though it is mid-Autumn, he sports a deep, summer tan that tends toward orange in color. Boomer speaks. "The College Republicans in this class have considered the options. Here is a summary. With regard to the idea of donating blood, we unanimously vote No. Every red-blooded American should create his own blood. With regard to visiting senior citizens, we unanimously vote No. Every American should entertain himself. They have shuffleboard and bingo. That's enough. With regard to donating to the local food pantry, we unanimously vote No. Hunger is a good motivator. It will make these slackers get jobs."

Drobnik remains impassive. "Any other responses?" The students stare at him blankly, having forgotten to consider the community service options. "Okay," says Drobnik, "then we'll move on to today's topic: an evaluation of President Obama's first two years in office - 2008 to 2010. Obama entered the White House facing overwhelming problems: two wars; the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression; America's standing in the world at its lowest point in history; a crippled health care system; and a huge financial deficit."

Drobnik continues. "Yet, despite everything Obama accomplished quite a bit during those two years. MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow said at that time, "I mean think about what President Obama and congressional Democrats have accomplished in the last year and a half; the most historic financial reform since the Great Depression; health reform - something politicians of both parties have been chasing for generations; the economic stimulus package, which not only included the largest middle class tax cut in history, but also historic investments in infrastructure and alternative energy. They passed credit card reform. They passed really good student loan reform. There was civil rights legislation like the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women and hate crimes act. Historic nuclear agreements: both an international one about nuclear terrorism and one with Russia about nuclear weapons. Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. And then, of course, there's the minor matter of achieving economic growth now, pulling the country back from what was by all accounts the brink of the Second Great Depression."

Sarah Failin raises her hand. Sarah is now attending her fifth college. Her grades are poor because she really isn't interested in the course material, but there is a certain cunning about her. She is a platitude generator, able to make remarks that, though shallow, appeal to others. "Didn't the public thoroughly refudiate Obama?"

The student next to Failin looks puzzled. "Don't you mean 'repudiate?'"

Failin smiles and winks at her classmates. "Refudiate, 'misunderestimate,' 'wee-wee'd up.' English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it."

Drobnik replies to her. "Well, yes they did repudiate him to an extent during those two years. The American people were impatient, and expected instant solutions to these problems. That's not the way the world works. The United States took 11 years from 1929 to 1939 to climb out of the Great Depression. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had been going on for many years before Obama took office. And Washington doesn't change. Partisan politics rules. The Republicans made it their priority to oppose virtually every Obama proposal. In the words of Republican senator Jim DeMint, they wanted to have Obama 'meet his Waterloo' by denying him any victories so that the GOP could regain control in Washington. Republicans put their quest for power ahead of the well being of the country."

"So," continues Drobnik, "the American public was frustrated - the economy was improving only slowly and disengagement from Iraq and Afghanistan was taking time. In addition, things happened over which Obama had little or no control. An oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, and the leak continued unabated for three months. Under these unhappy conditions, people look for someone to blame, someone to scapegoat. That person was Barack Obama."

A student in the front row looks dissatisfied. "But that's not fair to blame Obama. Now, some 20 years later, we have the historic perspective to see that Obama did many good things during his first two years. It wasn't fair to scapegoat him."

Drobnik pauses a moment, then answers. "Young man, in the words of John F. Kennedy, 'Life is not fair.' Don't expect fairness. Class dismissed. See you Friday."

Gary Patton

This column first appeared in The Forum. It appears here with the permission of The Forum.