Azelma wrote:
Eturnal, do you think the Republican party (senate, congress, etc.) has tried to help Obama clean up the mess in any way, shape, or form?
To me, it seemed like from the minute Obama got in office, the Republican Party had a unified front with one goal, and one goal only, "we will stop Obama from getting reelected" Do you disagree that this has been their strategy? Their track record suggests it has been.
They have consistently voted things down that would help the country, have ignored when he has made concessions and attempted to find some common ground....and you want to lay all the blame at Obama's feet?
Obama had control of the House and the Senate for the first half of his term. During that time he would've been able to pass a majority of his agendas and, in some cases, get to bypass any filibuster in the Senate with the support of one or two from the other side of the aisle. Obama's problem, as it's turned out, is he's a polarizing figure, he's not receptive to criticism or other ideas, he hasn't been a very good leader and he's been rather dumb on important issues. He's become toxic and a majority of Americans, based on recent polling data, are seeing him less favorable and less deserving of a second term.
So, do I think the Republicans tried to help the President? They tried to bring alternatives to the table during the ObamaCare debate, but they were often shut out of discussions. Now, the legislation that the President said would "pay for itself" is going to cost hundreds of billions of dollars... and frankly, we don't have that money. Neither does Obama... that's partly why there was a re-appropriation of Medicare funds. What's worse is the legislation still doesn't cover everyone... and, I thought that was the goal? Anyways, costs of services are going up, people are losing their doctors, etc.
Republicans have also presented their own budgets in hopes to pass a budget -- something that hasn't happened since the President has been in office. One of the budgets, Paul Ryan's, had every House democrat vote against it, although it did something other than what the Democrat's proposals have done -- create a downward trend in deficit spending.
The Republicans have been able to force the President to bend on the issue of spending cuts. If you recall, the President eventually reached a debt ceiling and he needed it raised. He, however, didn't want to give any concession... he just wanted to have the chance to spend more money. The Republicans were the ones who allowed that vote to pass if, and only if, there was language written into the bill which would've forced action on assessment of our budget or automatic cuts if certain criteria wasn't met.
Other way's the Republicans tried helping...
Largely opposed to the GM auto-bailout. The American Tax-payer is now at a 14Bn loss since the government wrote off that portion of the 80Bn loan. GM is still around, and is still selling cars, but Ford (who didn't take any unusual federal funds related to the bailout) was able to out-perform GM.
Republicans also supported the Keystone Oil Pipeline, which would have created jobs. Also, on the energy front, the Republicans aren't deterred by mishaps in the Gulf and they've been advocating we expand all our sources of energy; Oil, Coal, Natural Gas, Nuclear, etc. Obama, on the other hand, would rather destroy the Coal industry at a time when the cost of energy is increasing, shifting the burden to the people who rely on that power.
Also, it's worth point out that the President, despite all the tax increases he's quietly fed to the middle-class, has been over-spending each year by over a trillion dollars. He's accrued more debt than all of the Bush administration (who was fighting two wars for a majority of the time), in less than half the time (with wars that have been winding down.)
Maybe you can tell me where the Republicans have been blocking all these initiatives that are "good for the country." While you're at it, why do you think Obama is deserving of a second term?
Mns wrote:
Azelma wrote:
Their track record suggests it has been.
You don't even need their track record, they've flat out said it.
Nice misrepresentation, Mayo.
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“Well, that is true,” McConnell replied. “That’s my single most important political goal, along with every active Republican in the country.”
“But that is in 2012,” he added. “Our biggest goal for this year is get this country straightened out and we can’t get this country straightened out if we don’t do something about spending, about deficit, about debt and get the economy moving again. So our goal is to have a robust vibrant economy to benefit all Americans.”
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Do you want the president saying "Oh, this is too hard, I quit."? I sure don't.
I do. If anyone, at any position or role, is failing (even though they have the ability to use the best and brightest people in the world as resources) then they shouldn't be there. It's that simple. If it's a teacher, businessman, line-cook, mechanic, officer or whatever else were to have such an abysmal record then you need to do something differently. I get it though, you've been fed a plate full of lies and now you're trying to hide the stomach pains.
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Too bad all of the votes would be slashing taxes for the richest 1% and rampant deregulation of big business while destroying medicare and social security to do it.
Strange. Not only would Romney reduce the tax rate for the top 1% of earners, but he'd also reduce the tax rate of the bottom 99%, as well.
Mayo - Serious question. Is Medicare and Social Security solvent? If not, isn't it time to have a serious discussion about its viability and whether or not we need to restructure the system?
