Moderate Wing
Democratic politics from the center
3 Reasons why I’m loosing faith in republicans
Aug 28th
I have always seen myself as having a political outlook based on a mix of idealistic progressism and pragmatic reasoning. This pragmatism has – sometimes – led me to harbor econo-capitalist views that prevented me from fully embracing the ultra liberal viewpoints of some of my democratic friends.
Five months into this project and it seems like things have changes… A lot!
I attribute this change mainly to the Republicans’ descent into bat_shit_fucking_crazy territory.
The republican party has been taken over by extremists who are setting an agenda that will assure its future irrelevance. Let’s go through the list shall we?
Immigration – I have no idea why, but they somehow don’t understand that racial profiling is wrong. Everyone understand that immigration should be fixed, but at least democrats don’t do it through racist laws.
Muslim center in New York – I wrote about the Cordoba project earlier this summer, but the issue just recently caught the eye of the media. I was very surprised by Newt Gingrich reactions. He’s post-Obama views haven’t earned him any brownie points (see what I did there!) , but his comment on the mosque have made me lose any respect I had left. The opposition to the mosque is just bigoted, ethnocentric and very dangerous. Why would anyone who believe in Islam ever vote republican after this? Republicans are using the 9/11 victims arguments as a face card. The real issue here is that – just like we claim – they hate anything that is different or that they do not understand.
Obama’s nationality – Like many have said before. Would this be an issue had his dad been white and from Europe? The answer is of course not. He would have fit into the mold established by those before him and no one would have tried to figure out if he was truly who he says he is. The fact that this has stayed an issues shows that America still believes that you cannot be truly American unless you look a certain way. Which is quite sad.
Cameron-like concervatism in the U.S.?
Jul 24th
According to Michael Gerson UK conservatism is the biggest threat to democrats and President Obama. His column argues that republicans may regain power by proposing austerity measures in the mold Cameron’s June 22, budget.
It’d be interesting to see if his prediction materialize. This would require — as he acknowledges — the republicans to raise taxes (on the wealthy); a crucial step that they seem unwilling to take. Congress is going to have to vote for tax hikes as well as spending cuts to successfully decrease the deficit. Cuts would not only impact welfare programs but also the defense department, including its off budget items (Iraq and Afghanistan). Are the republicans ready for that?
Palin’s “Peace-seeking muslim” commnent
Jul 19th
Sarah Palin’s twitter profile sent out a two very controversial tweets yesterday.
Here is the first:
Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan if you believe catastrophic pain caused @ Twin Towers site is too raw, too real
Here is the second (and most controversial):
Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing
I’m not very familiar with the underlying issue, but I find these quite disturbing. There is no question that Palin is entitled to her views on the mosque’s construction, but these tweets’ wording is inconsiderate and imprudent. Perhaps Palin’s true intent was lost in the days of 140 character long statements, but she is still responsible for her words. What is the point of adding the words “peace-seeking Muslims” when the tweet could have instead called on New York’s community and those pushing for the new mosque (actually it’s going to be a center) to empathize with those against its construction.
I personally do not see the harm More >
A new dawn for black republicans?
May 9th
Jennifer Steinhauer wrote an article in the New York Times (I should really get more sources!) last week titled: Black Hopefuls Picks This Year in G.O.P Races. According to the article, this year marks the largest surge in African Americans candidates since reconstruction. Some of these candidates site President Obama’s election as the driving force behind the surge, which is quite odd considering that the republican party has moved further to the right since the elections.
I personally believe that most of these candidates will have a hard time getting elected this year. They are not going to appeal to the republican base, which today consists of the tea party. No matter how hard they spin the situation they will still be black candidates trying to gain support from a movement whose message harbors racist undertones. Also, any kind of affiliation with the tea party will turn-off black voters most of whom already have a negative perception of the G.O.P . So these black republican candidates — in most cases — are not going to be able to gain support from either the base or their own community. This severely reduces their chances of building a coalition and getting past the primaries.
Dan Mitchell needs to develop his criticism of the Greek debt crisis
May 3rd
Dan Mitchell is a fellow at the CATO institute where he focuses on tax policy. He is a fervent proponent of tax havens and low tax initiatives. I found one of his recent posts on the front page of Digg.com (here) where he criticized a Times article regarding the Greek debt crisis:
A quick look at the budget numbers reveals that tax revenues have remained relatively constant in recent years, consuming nearly 40 percent of GDP.
Mitchell doesn’t provide any data to back-up his analysis, but nevertheless he is wrong. A quick look at the Greek GDP shows that it has grown at a rate of over 35% since 2005. This means that tax revenue has lagged behind GDP growth by a significant margin. Where has all the money gone? I’m not taking a stand on the issue at this point. I’m just trying to “clear out” the clutter. I’d love to hear Mitchell’s response
Thoughts on the Goldman Sachs hearings
May 2nd
The Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigation questioned a group of Goldman Sachs executives including the firm’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein this week. Sadly, the outcome was quite predictable. The committee’s members chose grandstanding as opposed to an educated discourse. Goldman’s executives didn’t appear to be very cooperative, but the committee’s aggressive posture gave them no incentives to do so. Blankfein tried to defend his company’s actions, but it was clear that him and chairman Carl Levin had a fundamental disagreement over the subject of ethical behavior. This fundamental difference will frame the debate over who should be blamed for the financial crisis. More >
Bayh announces retirement
Feb 15th
Senator Bayh from indiana just announced that he was leaving the senate at the end of his term. Although I disagree with him on some issues – mainly mandatory minimums and guns – I really believe that this is a loss for the Democratic party and congress. If there is one thing that we need more of right now, it’d definetly be moderates. Bayh mentioned the lack of bipartisanship, among other thing, as the reason for his choice. He is right, but lets not forget that Republicans have done next to nothing so far to help achieve true bipartisanship.
There are talks of a Gubernatorial run in his home state, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he just called it a day and just entered the private arena.
Trying the United States Justice System
Feb 13th
Tomorrow, Darth Cheney will be on This Week on ABC, and in what will likely be another diatribe of fearmongering, demagoguery, and blurring of history will undoubtedly touch on the Khalid Sheikh Mohamed trial and the mirandizing of the “underwear” bomber . Frankly, the idea that there is an argument about these things, the concepts that somehow are justice system is unable to process these individuals, that we are made more vulnerable and they stronger is incredibly insulting, and one that I wish conservatives would.
In understanding the Mohamed trial, what is most disturbing is how the argument has transformed. Initially, the argument was that because we will be holding a trial for a terrorist, that trial will give him a platform from which to spread hate. This has since devolved (which is difficult, because that argument is flaky as is) into a question of cost; should we be willing to pay the security costs for the trial? Should we annoy New York drivers in midtown to to transport this individual? It will cost a lot of money, and were already in debt.
Personal Popularity vs. Job Approval
Feb 12th
So, as President Obama’s job approval slides, what becomes increasingly interesting is that his personal popularity remains relatively static in the high 50%. In viewing this apparent discrepancy, I think there are some strikingly important concepts and extrapolations that can be drawn.
First, it is that Obama’s job approval rating is in sliding not because Barack Obama’s policies are viewed as bad, but because of his inability to accomplish them in a timely manner. Obviously healthcare is the greatest example of this, where Obama allowed the Finance Committee to serve as his primary carrier in the Senate (in the hopes of getting a “bipartisan” bill). In so doing, he allowed Republicans to drag out the debate over such a long timeline that it has made healthcare legislation the longest single bill to exist on the floor of Congress. As FiveThirtyEight.com points out here, after each health reform passed each house of congress, there was a small bump in polls. I think the eventual analysis that Mr. Silver is right, if perhaps lacking in nuance. More >