Democratic politics from the center
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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.
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.
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 >
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.
Dissecting the NYT/CBS poll
Feb 12th
Obama's approval ratings
A new poll by the New York Times and CBS was made available yesterday. There weren’t major changes from past polls, but some results should be highlighted.
President Obama is still facing lower approval ratings despise recent changes by the White House. The president is still suffering from damages made by a year long fight over healthcare. He is also faced with 52% and 58% disapproval ratings when it comes to the economy and the budget.
The poll also shows that congress isn’t fairing much better. With a 75% overall disapproval rating and with 81% of respondents ready to see new people in office, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more incumbents lose their seats this fall.
The good new, however, is that the republican party still hasn’t been able to turn this situation to their benefit. Americans still believe that our current economic woes were caused by the previous administration and democrats are still viewed more favorably than republicans.
Right now the focus needs to be a on the economy and providing jobs. These two issues outrank anything else and I am glad that the administration has decided to highlight them.
Jump on over to the Times article for more details.