Tag: Partisan Politics

The Failing of Our Politics Continues

people-politico-super-committeeThe “Super Committee”, a group of twelve Congress members, were tasked with finding a solution to America’s debt crisis and the deadline is 24 hours away. The outlook is grim.

The official vote for whatever solution the “Super Committee” was supposed to engineer must be delivered to the public at least 48 hours before the voting deadline on Wednesday. That means the plan is due tomorrow. If no plan is presented tomorrow, the “Super Committee” will have failed.

The possible failure of the “Super Committee” follows a long line of failures of Congress to act in the best interest of the American people. Their failure is just a reflection of the larger failure of American politics.

Who imagined a half dozen bull-headed politicians could agree on anything when they couldn’t do it before?

Why has it become OK to forget what comprise means?

Why has it become OK to continue to hurt America and its people over politics?

Why isn’t it OK to make those that forced us into multiple wars pay for the costs of those wars?

Why isn’t it OK to make those corporations that tanked the worldwide economy pay for their  disregard?

Why must those that that are the victims of these injustices now be asked to pay for them?

Why are we all suffering the failures of our politicians, our government, and our people?

I wish I had a good answer for these questions but I don’t.

Our politicians have failed to do what is right for our country. Our people have failed by letting these political failures into office.

What is our recourse for the continued pulling of  America down the drain.

Everyday Americans need to speak out, shout out. Join the Occupy Wall Street movement and help make these voices heard. When the topic comes up in conversations, use it as an opportunity to inform people that Occupy Wall Street is about the vast majority of Americans taking back the power, and holding those who are endangering America’s future accountable for their actions.

Contact your representatives. Let them know that you are in favor of compromise, that you are either in favor of their actions or you disagree. Our representatives have gotten away with doing what’s best for their re-election campaigns or the lobbyists for a long time. Let them know that Americans are no longer the apathetic sheep we used to be. We are watching what they do, we will remember, and they will be held accountable.

Come election time, make sure you go out and vote these obstructionists out of office. Vote these uncompromising political failures out of office.

We need to, no we MUST, send a message to Washington and the politicians that represent us that we will not stand for failure. We will not stand for their inability to legislate. We will not stand for them to demean, degrade and deconstruct this country that we all love.

Super Committee Members

Democrats

  • Patty Murry
  • Max Baucus
  • John Kerry
  • James Clyburn
  • Xavier Becerra
  • Chris Van Hollen

Republicans

  • Jen Hensarling
  • Dave Camp
  • Fred Upton
  • John Kyl
  • Pat Toomey
  • Rob Portman

Tweet the Super Committee the Peoples Will

older-womanSo this has seemed to fade into the news cycle somewhere but a huge and potentially country changing decision is looming in near future. What will be the Super Committee’s decision and/or suggestions going to be to our current financial crisis? Will the Super Committee be able to craft a solution that satisfies both the Democrats, Republicans and the American People?

The hope is that they will have some ingenious solution to make our pains go away. The hope is that they will bridge their differences and come up with an all-encompassing compromise that will make us all do our fair share.

The reality is that they are very unlikely to come up with anything of substance at all unless we speak up.

With the very idea of compromise seeming to be a bad word in Washington recently. Compromise and working together is openly shunned. It is unlikely that anything real will happen. The current political strategies of obstructionism are wreaking havoc on our country, our government and most notably the people of the United States of America. We are all suffering because of the quagmire of politics right now.

We have seen in recent days that the voice of the people can make a difference should we shout out loud enough.

Stand Up For Healthcare has created a handy little tool to help you get a list of your representatives and their twitter accounts. There is currently a campaign now to inundate our representatives with what the people really want through Twitter in hopes that they will actually represent us and provide what we ask for.

I hope all of you use the tool provided below to make your voice heard. We the people are being systematically silenced but we can use the tools of today to keep out voice. Use yours.

 http://www.standupforhealthcare.org/tweet

Time for a Third Political Option

people-politico-steps-government-buildingI was raised in a staunchly Democratic household with Democratic generational roots in Northern Indiana. I grew up supporting Democratic policies and candidates and looking down on Republicans as backwards and not out for the middle class. I even said many times while living in Northern Ireland that “I will not move back to the States if that country-bumpkin Bush gets elected.” I did, however, eventually move back to the US on September first 2001. I watched the horror that seized the nation ten days later and then watched helplessly as the Bush’s two terms pass. During that tenure, I watched as civil rights and liberties were diminished, an ill-fated war be waged based on faulty intelligence (against a country that had nothing to do with September 11th), torture and abduction become acceptable, national debt skyrocket while more and more money is poured into our military industrial complex, and finally a the crash of the entire financial system. The tide of fear that gripped the nation left no room for any form of decent against what was happening for fear of being labeled unpatriotic or worse yet, a terrorist. In my mind and in my conversations, I had one nice and neat place to lay the blame…BUSH and his Republican cronies.

Does the U.S. Two-Party System Still Work

Does the U.S. Two-Party System Still Work?

I was filled with the “hope” and “change” that swept the Democrat Barack Obama into office and looked forward to congress being held by the Democrats as well. Things will change, they have to get better, I thought. As the dust settled and the Obama presidency got underway, I watched again helplessly as more and more Bush policies were adopted, as a healthcare bill was written by the insurance companies, as more troops die in both wars, and every effort seems to be made to compromise towards a “Republican platform” on social programs. Then one day as I was thinking about the state of our nation, I thought to myself, “What would I think if this were a Republican president?” I came to the realization that neither party has my interests at heart, neither party is willing to make the hard decisions on difficult challenges facing our country with both parties willingly perpetuating problems for political gain. No longer can I support the Democratic Party. I now believe that there is only one “hope” for our country and that is to break the two party strangle-hold that has established its permanent place of power and make our government much more transparent and working for us. We need to return to a point to where the government is the servant of its citizens and no longer its citizens being indentured servants of the government. I do not believe that can or will happen under this two party system.

Facts vs. Belief

government-buildingI would find it amusing were it not so appalling that people support the idea that the struggles between Democrats and Republicans are simply matters of belief. These problems are a matter of facts. Republicans ran on a platform of jobs and the economy. Since taking office in January the Republican led House of Representatives has rallied behind social issue after social issue while doing everything in their power to make sure taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans were kept at record lows.

It is a fact that corporations are sitting on some of the largest stockpiles of cash in American history. It is a fact that the wealthiest 4% of Americans have an effective tax rate lower than the 1950s and lower than the vast majority of their fellow citizens today. It is a fact that those who the Republicans have deemed “job creators” are doing very, very well despite the perceived economic climate when, in fact, very few jobs have been created. It is also a fact that if we do not raise the debt ceiling we will only worsen our economic climate. In fact, the Republicans (who I will remind you controlled the White House and both houses in Congress for six years) raised the debt ceiling ten times. Ten times they raised it, and now they are playing politics with the one time when it looks imperative that we raise it again.

The Suffering American People

The fact is most Americans are suffering. Why aren’t our Republican friends worried about tax breaks for the 90%? Our roads and bridges are crumbling. Why aren’t our Republican friends talking about improving America’s infrastructure? We are paying 20-40% to export our goods to countries like India and China, while only charging them 2-4% to import them to America. Why aren’t our Republican friends concerned about trade inequity?

Rep. Jared Polis actually proposed legalizing and taxing online gambling and marijuana as a solution. Why aren’t all solutions being considered? Why do we have to have things one way or the other? Why can’t we have spending cuts AND tax increases? Surely if one of these solutions will get us out of our current financial situation, utilizing all of them will get us out faster.

While it is not a fact, I think that both parties have failed us. Unfortunately we do not have a strong 3rd party. Until we do we must vote for the “lesser of two evils” so to speak. If you take out your own long held political beliefs, look at the facts, remember that social issues are not really in the realm of a limited government, and vote for who actually has a plan and agenda to help you, then you will very clearly know who falls into the “greater of the two evils” category.

Steven Colbert Super PAC Shenanigans

people-politico-steven-colbert-super-pacUsing the Supreme Court’s decision on Citizens United, Steven Colbert, of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central, has legally and legitimately started his own Super PAC.

Over the last several months, he’s been working to form his own Super PAC in order to show that he can use the Supreme Court ruling in order to push his own political agenda. Steven Colbert is a comedian and his show is brilliant. What’s frightening about this stunt is that it goes beyond satire—he is showing the public exactly how anybody can do this. Because his program is a comedy show, he is not being taken seriously, except by those who truly understand the horror of what he is able to accomplish.

www.colbertpac.com

What is the Supreme Court’s Decision on Citizens United?

Effectively the Supreme Court ruled that corporations and businesses have the same rights as an individual United States citizen, and that no caps or limitations can be applied to the amount of money they can contribute politically because it limits a company’s freedom of speech.

This ruling has effectively given them the ability to amplify their influence on candidates. Companies with millions of dollars to spend to further their own agendas will absolutely take the opportunity to do so, in many respects drowning out or outright buying votes for their corporation and PACs.

What is a PAC (Super PAC)?

PAC Power: Inside the World of Political Action Committees

PAC Power: Inside the World of Political Action Committees

PAC stands for Political Action Committee. A Super PAC is just the bigger corporate type of PAC. A PAC is a committee that can be formed by anyone having some kind of political goal or agenda. Anyone can donate to a PAC, and this donation is undisclosed. This can be a donation of 1 cent to 1 billion dollars. Since this kind of political spending does not have to be disclosed it is a perfect and legal way to hide contributions to any PAC that supports your cause or that you yourself have created.

Why is the Citizens United decision and the formation of PACs so detrimental to our democracy?

For years, in fact for 100 years, a Supreme Court ruling has limited the amount of money corporations, lobbyists, and other interest groups can dump into the political system, whether for advertising, campaigning, or directly supporting candidates. The reasoning was that the country and the justices felt that it is important to limit these contributions so that companies and special interests didn’t drown out the will of the people. The people, even those that lobby for corporations, all have a vote and already have significant power when determining elections, without the overbearing influence of multi-million or even multi-billion dollar campaign ads, smear ads, propaganda and all of the other ways that voters and elections are influenced.

Now, with the ability to form PACs and Super PACs, the floodgates have been opened for these special interests to pour in as much money as needed to keep the legislation and politicians they want in power. There is a correlation between the amount of money put into an election and the results of the election. The influence was once limited, now it is not.

This decision by the Supreme Court is a new one and we are yet to see the full extent of what unlimited lobbying will do. I cringe to think about the damage we, our country and even our world might endure when faced with such forces as the petroleum industry, which literally has tens of billions of dollars PER MONTH it could potentially sink into campaigns. $10,000,000,000 a month to buy an election, and those that contribute can remain completely anonymous. How can the normal citizen even have a chance to combat such overwhelming funds, coming from questionable sources? And that is exactly the idea of PACs.

So I appreciate what Steven Colbert is doing. He has legitimately created a Super PAC, with his admitted intended use of the money to be completely frivolous. He has clearly stated that he wants a Super PAC so he has more money to have fun. And he actually got his Super PAC, and there are many people giving money to the PAC as we speak!

I think what Steven Colbert is doing is great. He is making Super PACs very public and showing what kind of sham they really are. He is illustrating the kind of shenanigans that he and anyone else could do, with their own PAC. There’s no accountability, there is no transparency, if the source of the money is anonymous. Transparency is one of the biggest wishes the American people have for their government. A government for the people is the very foundations that our democracy has to have to function properly. It was never meant for the corporation or special interests with the biggest coffers to have the biggest influence on our elected officials and the bills that become laws.

I hope you are all shocked and appalled that this is even possible. If you haven’t gotten to that point yet, watch below and try to understand the insane and horrible consequences that the ruling on Citizens United can, and probably will, cause our democracy. Our government is not supposed to be able to be for sale. But right now, it is.

Viacom Stops Steven Colbert PAC

Forming the Super PAC

Viacom Sends Letter About Super PAC

Viacom Does Not Want Colbert to Start Super PAC

FEC Questions Colbert ‘s Super PAC

Filing for Super PAC

Colbert’s Hearing on His Super PAC

Steven’s Victory Forming His Super PAC

So there you have it. He gets his Super PAC. If he can do it, so can anyone else. I know this is supposed to be a joke. The problem is, the joke is on us.

Politco Pandering to the Crazy People

barack-obama-birth-certificate
I find it mind numbing and a huge waste of our political will and time to pander to the crazy, inflammatory, vilifying, off the wall rumors and propaganda that seems to be coming in ever greater amounts from America. I am insulted that our national government felt it necessary to take time, effort and money to address ridiculous rumors, instead of the enormously important job of running this country. This is wrong. It is a waste of our time. We have a mountain of issues to tackle and we as a people seem to have an incredibly difficult time coming together to solve any of these issues, issues far more important, relevant and impactful than chasing crazy rumors. I’m talking of course about the ridiculous rumor about our President, Barack Obama, not being an American or born in this country.

He has already provided mountains of evidence regarding his citizenship, eligibility for the office of President of the United States and his legitimacy as to becoming the President of the United States of America. Also, he was rightfully elected through popular vote. Issue Resolved.

The problem is you know it isn’t. Soon after his press conference, people were screaming it was a fake. Experts appeared out of nowhere testifying that this was a forgery to keep the American public in the dark.

Just stop it.

Seriously, please just stop and think for a moment.

Can we please take a moment and look at the situation with a calm, sane, logical head? Our nation is struggling. America is having a terrible time economically, socially, environmentally, strategically and politically. Take a moment to think clearly about the real issues that are affecting you and me. The real issues that we each struggle with every day. Our jobs, our families, our health and are prosperity are teetering on the edge of disaster. Why is anyone wasting time with this rumor and hearsay?

Propaganda, Inc.: Selling America's Culture to the World

Propaganda, Inc.: Selling America's Culture to the World

There was a time when these lies, this propaganda and this outward and obvious smearing and vilifying of our fellow Americans, our neighbors and our people would have never been tolerated. Now it seems this kind of behavior is the norm. Somehow it’s ok to spread these tiresome lies and many American people are pushing this harder through blogging, tweets, the media and more.

We must find a way to turn the tide before it drowns us all. It is not acceptable to treat each other this way. It is not acceptable to lie about each other this way. It is not acceptable to be this way whether Americans or not.

Find the real moral high ground and put the slang and slurs aside. Stop circulating rumor and propaganda and move forward using facts, compassion and common sense to get this country on track. This whole situation embarrasses me as a person, as an American and a patriot. I will use this whole scenario as a reminder of how silly, ridiculous and flat out crazy all of this has gotten. I will use this as a reminder to keep the conversation rational, factual and on track to tackle the very real political issues we face in this country. I ask that you do the same.

Resources

Glenn Becks Day’s May Be Numbered

glenn-crazy-criesOne can only hope! The past several years of his ranting and raving have gone from strange to totally ridiculous. Amazingly his illogical and paranoid rants entertained and even convinced many Americans of the crazy things that came out of his mouth. If you sit back and critically think through what Glenn Beck has said over the last couple of years you should be astonished that he hasn’t been laughed out of the spotlight yet.

On a more serious note, it has become obvious that his shows over the years have done America great harm. From paranoid conspiracy theories to ridiculous connections between political players, he has presented the country with a bizarre viewpoint that many misunderstood to be news, due to his association with a so-called news network. Using fear, apprehension and good old fashioned trickery he has tugged at the desperate heartstrings of Americans who were only looking for a way to improve the country. Unfortunately his disjointed way of thinking has permeated into many people’s political views. This in no way is a good thing. He has taken the logic and and self-control out of incredibly important political discussion and somehow made it OK to be insane. He has made blatant racism, sexism and bigotry OK as long as you believe that you are doing what an “American” should do.

Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America

Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America

Think about how he handles issues or people who have a different opinion than him.  Now imagine you are sitting at Thanksgiving dinner with your extended family. Each of your relatives is from different areas of the country, with different upbringings and points of view. They are different people with different religious and political viewpoints. Now imagine you took a Glenn-Beck style stance about the way Americans ought to put gravy on their stuffing. In minutes there would be crying, fighting and food flying everywhere! The very thought of acting like this at the dinner table with your family should be preposterous. You wouldn’t dream of acting this way, of treating people with such disrespect. It is childish, immature and completely irresponsible. So why is it so many American people think we can put respect and courtesy aside when we are discussing politics?

This is the real damage that Glenn Beck has done. Many others on FOX take the same attitude towards politics and with working within our political system. They take a hard core, zealot stance, unwilling to budge on any issue. And they deride those that do appreciate the power of compromise and the dignity of working together as weak and lacking conviction. They call their fellows Nazis, unpatriotic, traitors to America and worse. This is not the way to a better country. This attitude is what is creating the terrible divides in this country, and the unwillingness to work toward real change. This style of politico battling is what is taking the power away from the people and giving it to a select few. By using this uncompromising stance on any and all issues, it forces people out of the political arena in disgust. How to reason with the unreasonable? You can’t.

Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance

Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance

We need to have, no we must have, a political environment that welcomes everyone and their opinions. We must have a political system the embraces different ideas and the philosophies of compromise to make America and its people a better, happier place. It has to start with each of us. It has to start with the People. We need to bring respect back into the debate. We need to bring honor back into politics. We need to strive, each and every one of us, to become a better steward of ourselves and America.

So I say good riddance to bad rubbish. It does my heart good to see arguably the most partisan and corporately motivated network even consider such a move. It gives me hope that maybe, just maybe the American people are a bit smarter than FOX gives them credit for. Maybe, just maybe FOX will strive for a more intelligent, honest and open political environment. And perhaps Americans will follow suit, and realize the way toward change is not through ridiculous talking heads telling people what to think.

Here’s to hoping.

Montage of Crazy Glenn

This one is great. They present some key arguments over the years for both sides of an issue, depending of course if there was a Republican or Democratic president.

Hating 911 Victims

Crazy Talk

Bye Glenn, we won’t miss you.

 

References

 

 

Together We Stand

Divided We Fall

us_flag_004We are a nation of people that has become incredibly divided and have been for some time. We have fallen from our perch at the top and we continue to sink lower. Our economy is floundering. Our politics is poisonous. Our news has turned into corporate spokes people pushing the agenda’s of private corporations and not the agenda of its people it is supposed to selflessly serve.

Our country is broken folks. It is not just annoying. It is not just frustrating. It does not just have a problem or two. America is broken and failing on many, almost all levels. Our education system is failing our children. Our economy is failing is people. Our military is failing our wars. Our intelligence is failing our security. Our politics are failing its people. Our fear is failing our freedom. You are failing your country. I am failing our country.

Not anymore.

I am a patriot. I love this country. I love this land I have grown up in and I have quietly stood back and watched it slowly crumble around me. I have sat quietly by while this country and its people rot all the while covered in an illusionary blanket of the American Dream.

Not anymore.

I am a middle class American. I live in the middle of the country. My income, my family and my life fall right into what middle class is. The problem is I see fear, panic and destruction all around me. Often of those that are as well off or more then I am. I see them losing their jobs. I see them losing their houses. I see them losing their pride, their determination and their hope in America.

This I cannot tolerate anymore.

We have all been fed an illusion of security and eventual happiness should we just hold onto the false promise that some day we will magically become one of the upper 1% of the country that holds over 90% of the wealth. [1] We hold to these hopes even while our jobs are taken. We hold to these hopes when our houses are taken. We hold to these hopes when we watch our friends and family die from treatable, preventable diseases.

This I will not abide anymore.

How does one like myself fight back against the corruption, the greed, the seemingly insurmountable barrier that is the multi-billion dollar corporate juggernaut?

I started www.peoplepolitico.com, a place those people stuck in the politico center can have their voice.

These corporations that are controlling our, my, your, political system can throw billions of dollars at our government but where we can match them, dollar for dollar, blood for blood is with our vote.

One person, one vote.

Your one vote could literally be worth billions of dollars of misinformation campaigns. Your one vote can bring you happiness now, not maybe later. Your one vote can turn the tides of the corporate behemoth more surely then all of the money they throw at a lie and illusion will not shatter the truth of an educated, voting public.

In the days, months and years to come I, along with the other great writers of peoplepolitico.com hope to help you stand up and bring your voice to the voting booth. We will work to provide perspective and insight from the vast majority of American people that are stuck in this toxic politico environment.

Our pledge to you is to be as factual as possible and site our sources. As sad as it is to say we hope to bring you news and information our free press has largely failed to do. Our focus will be on politics but we may venture into other areas should we feel they are relevant.

The sad and simple truth is that if all of the voting American people kept up to date on the workings of America and voted for what would benefit them the most, now, we would live in a strikingly different country where so many more of us would be prosperous and happy.

So please visit us frequently. Bookmark our site, subscribe to the RSS feed and share us on your favorite social networks. We are you. Middle class American people just looking for the country we want.

Welcome to People Politico.

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