Tag: Political Discourse

These political scientists may have just discovered why U.S. politics are a disaster

I know that I am a bit long winded when I get on my soapbox on the Middle East and war in general but……….Today I have decided to take a break from my analysis of international situations and writing about a few issues we have in this country…..you know what I mean…those subjects that make some people loose their ever loving minds………

Everybody is scrambling around trying to explain why candidates like Carson, Trump and Sanders are so popular….especially with the rank and file…….and the more traditional candidates like Bush, Clinton, Rubio, etc are struggling to get recognition……the media does not have an adequate reason for this turn in American politics…….so what is the answer?

In my search for good answer I came across this article……after checking it out…..we need to look no further….

[The Washington Post] It’s not your imagination: America really is becoming more divided, both in terms of its wealth and its politics.

Source: These political scientists may have just discovered why U.S. politics are a disaster in West Virginia Politics

The American people have awaken……I like it……..but how long before they are lulled back into their political slumber?

Elections In Name Only

You know I have been analysis for about 40 years and at one point I had high hopes for this country……different people of varying ideologies would run for office and the people would show some genuine concern for the fellow Americans…..they would listen and then decide who was best for the country and vote for that person…….but the 90’s brought my optimism to an end.

To be truthful….I have become disheartened with the whole system……the country is NO longer the most important thing……instead the voter picks an issue and everything they do revolves around that issue……no longer is the subject of politics anything but the selfish ramblings of ego-centric individuals…..no longer is society and its people important but rather some emotional dribble that does not move this country forward…..

As much as I am disappointed in my fellow Americans….I still drag myself up and look everyday for that ray of hope…..so far that ray is hidden from view by the personalities that lie and cheat to gain a seat at the table of power….

And that table of power is the government…….no longer is there a grand scheme for moving us forward….but rather individual ego trips…..say the most outrageous things and you are assured massive coverage……that is NOT the way to move a country forward…..but it is a great plan to move the individual forward….and there is the problem.

These individualistic ego trips have turn the country from a majority rule to one of plurality….no longer is there a two party system….more like a 3 party system……at least in the House…and the Senate is not far behind……..“On paper, the GOP currently has 245 members, but when 50 feel they can walk away from their leadership on any given day, it’s really a plurality, not a majority,” Politico notes.

“The House, then, is not controlled by one party but better understood as a playing field for at least three: the party on the right, the dominant Republican core in the center, and the left represented by the Democrats. The challenge is to build alliances among these three to get to the 218 votes needed to move legislation. This coalition approach may seem a blow to Republican pride but it could also be liberating for John Boehner since it brings him back to the role he often forgets: Speaker of the House.”

I have heard some people voice optimism in the 2016 elections…..that we can find our way out of this minefield that is slowly choking the life out of our system…….BOLLOCKS!

2016 will be the same game…..theatrics, hysterics, lies, misinformation and more insulting rhetoric…….in other words…..same song, different year.

Nothing we do in 2016 will change anything…..that will happen when someone wakes up to the games and the disrespect for the American people….and that cannot happen as long as the voter enables the morons to run and win.

Am I Being Too Hard On Americans?

The military-industrial complex has got what it desired the most….all out war !  The fun…..has begun!

I have been hard on my state because of their inconsistency in their patterns of voting……they are always voting against their best interests…..something I cannot understand…..either it is stupidity or they just do not acre enough to keep up with the issues of the day………I am thinking the later……

Then after bitching about Mississippi voters I read several pieces that illustrate the Mississippi is not an isolated example…..it appears Americans, in general, are not that sharp either…….

Annenberg Public Policy Center released a survey on Constitution Day that reveals Americans know very little about their government.

Some of the findings are:

• While little more than a third of respondents (36 percent) could name all three branches of the U.S. government, just as many (35 percent) could not name a single one.

• Just over a quarter of Americans (27 percent) know it takes a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to override a presidential veto.

• One in five Americans (21 percent) incorrectly thinks that a 5-4 Supreme Court decision is sent back to Congress for reconsideration.

And it gets worse…

Read more

I do believe that education should emphasize Civics more than it does today…….the American voter is ill-informed and it shows in their voting habits……

Then there is Scotland…..it recently voted against independence….in other words they were trying to secede from the United kingdom………what do Americans think of secession……..

Could the US see a Scotland-like secession vote of its own? Nearly a quarter of Americans wouldn’t have a problem with that, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Some 23.9% of us strongly or somewhat support secession for our states, Reuters reports. That’s compared to 53.3% who strongly oppose, or tend to oppose, the idea. The idea of leaving the country is most popular among Republicans and rural Americans in the Western US, and President Obama’s policies are a major reason for it. But plenty of Democrats—some 21%—would also lean toward seceding.

“When I say secede, I’m not like (ex-NRA head) Charlton Heston with my gun up in the air … It’s more like we could do it if we had to,” and it’s a way of getting Washington to listen up, says a Texas Democrat. Some 29% of Republicans, meanwhile, back the idea. “I have totally, completely lost faith in the federal government, the people running it, whether Republican, Democrat, independent, whatever,” notes one. Geographically, Americans in the Southwest are most supportive of the idea, with some 34.1% of people backing it; New England is least supportive, at 17.4%.

Do Americans think about the consequences?

What Has Happened To Political Courage?

College of Political Knowledge

Lecture #

Political courage is doing what is best for the country,  not what is expedient for one’s political career….Washington has No one with political courage….just political cowards (a strong word, I know…..but sometimes the truth hurts)……or as I call them  CENTRISTS!  (a post to follow…stay tuned)

This is one of those subjects that will not be easy to analyze….there is a wealth of angles from which to approach the subject……I will start with the last debate in Washington….the tax cuts proposal that both Left and Right have a problem with…

The media is talking with those on the Left and the right that have voted NO on the new tax bill….they are being portrayed as some kind of hero for standing on principles…..this is mostly bullsh*t!

It is called “corralling” ……the two leaders of each house, the majority and the minority, round up the required votes to pass the bill and once that is accomplished they allow some to vote in opposition to the bill….it is a way of padding a resume for the next run for office……there is NO political courage in this!

In reality, the US Congress has NOT been a serious institution for 40 years or more…..they have NOT really attacked anything of consequence, they only tackle little battles while the war rages on….they have been immature, nay…..cowards, for close to 50 years and soon it will be too late to repair the damage they have caused….and when that occurs, I hope that history will NOT be kind to them and paint them as the cowards they were and are….

The media when they make these idiots out something they are not,  are doing NO one any good and are just part of the problem with our governing system…political courage is just a catch phrase in today’s politics….it NO longer exists…..the system dashes all hopes for political courage……the system is corrupt and NO one wants it to change….the prestige, the power, the cash all work in conflict to the people’s desire and that will continue because NO one wants it to change…..NO ONE HAS THE POLITICAL COURAGE TO CHANGE IT!

Oh Boy! Here We Go Again!

2010 Mid-term Election Series

Lecture #11

Just as the election of 2008 was about change….so was the 2010 mid-terms…the American people impatiently wanted change and did not get it quick enough and they once again voted for change…..will they be disappointed yet again…..you bet your butt they will!

If you are a Repub I would not be thumping my chest like some sex crazed primate…..why?  As pollster Charlie Cook has said…..the GOP were not winners, but rather beneficiaries…….the people did not vote for them in particular, but rather voted against the ones in power at the time……

So….what can we expect from the new Congress in January of 2011?  They will work 3 days a week and spend  the other four raising money for their next election….they will work about 14 months total in that 2 year time frame…they will spend time on their knees in front of special interests begging for cash……so far not much change has come with the new crop of veggies…..

Today’s vote shows such promise, but the promise that the 2008 election showed was just the typical illusion of American political activity.  After the voting there will be the same song and a slightly altered dance in Washington….the GOP will be looking at 2012 and the general election….so the politics will be about securing a win for the GOP and the country will just have to wait another two years for it to be important anough for actions coming out of Washington.

If you think the the last two years have been silly or absurd……then you will just love the next years for partisanship and obstructionism will be all the rage…..the only difference will be that the Dems will have someone they can actually run against…..John Boehner  and his colleagues foolish promises will they push….it will be intersting to see how many jobs the GOP can pull out of its butt….

As I have said….”Here we go again”!