Tag Archives: liberal

Cabinet Shuffle: Kerry and Hagel

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The election season now well behind us, a newly inaugurated Barack Obama begins his second and final term as President of the United States. His first term was widely praised for having successfully handled foreign policy thanks to the strong team in place since 2008 including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. With the transition to the second term comes a reshuffling of the cabinet. But like every occasion in modern American politics, the Republicans are putting up a fight, this time attempting to block their comrade Chuck Hagel from being appointed the country’s Secretary of Defense.

SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY

 

official secretary of state photo john kerry

Courtesy: Wikipedia

John Kerry was a powerful Senator who achieved national prominence during the failed 2004 presidential campaign against W Bush. In 2009 he rose to be the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He had been a senator for nearly 30 years before assuming the role of Secretary of State on January 29th, 2013. He was a shoe in, and only 3 votes of 97 dissented.

Kerry’s international chops are well known. He received three Purple Hearts during his service in Vietnam, and is well respected on both sides of the aisle. It was no wonder that nearly all senate Republicans supported his nomination, but perhaps not entirely for genuine reasons. Kerry’s national fame and high position meant that the Democrats had an immovable obstacle at the head of the senate. His influence extended far. Now that he has left the legislature, the Democrats are essentially down a man; there are few other Democrats as powerful as he was (and still is, but not on a lawmaking level).

For the country, he is undoubtably a solid pick in his new role. His anti-war stance during the 2004 presidential election — reinforced by his heroics in battle — means that the country will enjoy leadership that knows the consequences of war firsthand. Interestingly enough, he is the first Secretary of State to be a white male since 1997.

CHUCK HAGEL’S APPOINTMENT UNSURE

hagel's future uncertain

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Conversely, and somewhat uncharacteristically, Republicans have decided to focus their energy on blocking Obama’s nomination for Secretary of Defense, former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. Republicans have already been successful in preventing one of Obama’s early nominees, UN Ambassador Susan Rice for Secretary of State from gaining office. Now the fate of Hagel’s nomination is uncertain at best.

The primary opposition to Hagel’s nomination comes from Hagel’s criticism of the Iraq war and its consequences. By 2005 he had become very outspoken, mocking Dick Cheney and comparing the war there to the war in Vietnam — something he knows a lot about during his combat experience there and two Purple Hearts. He opposed W Bush’s move to send a surge of 20,000 more troops to Iraq, claimed that Guantanamo Bay is ruining America’s image abroad, and all round referred to the W Bush presidency as: “the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus—almost every area.” He has our vote.

But the real reason does not come down much to ideology. There are many in the Republican Party who disagreed with W Bush but still held to his tight approach to national security, including supporting the Patriot Act like Hagel did. But Hagel took it a step further and in a sense broke with the party in 2008 during John McCain’s failed attempt for the presidency. Hagel did not endorse McCain; he did not support McCain’s handling of foreign policy. Now that it is Hagel who must face the Senate voters, guess who “questions” Hagel’s foreign policy chops?

The shame is that Hagel understands the consequences of war just like McCain does, but Hagel never got to the highest levels of the Republican Party where supporting everything that W Bush did was mandatory for party cohesion. Alas Hagel is what the Republican Party needs more of: free thinkers who demand smart defense that parallels the ideals the nation was founded upon.

 

The State of the Gun Control Debate

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The tragic events at Newtown at the end of 2012 were a horrendous reminder that we, as a civilized nation, have made no single stride towards curbing the rampant violence of having an armed population. No matter the arguments for gun ownership or control, the culture and national environment have never come close to shifting towards a more responsible, modern, and sustainable society. That is, until now.

restricting gun access

Will we finally see progress?

When schoolchildren get massacred, tempers flare higher than usual. Not many shed tears when an armed drug dealer is gunned down in the streets (we do). But when helpless and innocent children become the target of a sick shooting spree, the nation naturally looks to find a way of preventing another such tragedy. It’s how we evolved. We adapt to situations to continue the pace of time and ensure our own survival.

The pressure for change is on. Gun control groups are finding unprecedented national support for pressing the government to do something. Obama, who was hoping to wind down Afghanistan and make his mark on immigration reform in his second presidential term, has an unexpected challenge and opportunity. The left has been begging for tougher restrictions on gun access and the places where people can legally carry them. Many on the left viewed Obama’s first term as too centrist and not progressive enough. Nothing was said about gun control during the 2012 election. But now Obama — and particularly Joe Biden — are pushing for at least a symbolic move to stem the free flow of guns through our population.

Change will not come easily. The NRA wants its members to keep selling guns, and its other members to keep buying them. In response to the Newtown tragedy, they famously recommended putting armed guards at every elementary school. Completely ignoring the fact that an assailant could arm himself with assault rifles, snipe the guard from a distance, and then manage to kill as many children as his bullets will allow, the underlying motive was clear: the answer to guns are more guns. Why the nation still pays any attention to the NRA is itself a big discussion point now after so many sensible people realize that the NRA only cares about themselves, even at the expense of the lives of our children.

The marginalization of the NRA has been happening naturally but their insensitivity and clear greed have accelerated it. The people want to be safe, safe from guns, and one does not feel safe when everyone around them has a gun. Life is too tenuous to allow people to carry devices that could effortlessly extinguish it. The current possibilities toward increasing gun control might be merely symbolic, but like the Affordable Care Act, it is a step in the right direction, and must come before the steps after it. If Obama and Biden can leverage the national outrage into action, it might be the beginning of the end for the second amendment’s ridiculous application.

Budget Negotiations Underway in Washington

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Negotiations are underway to find a solution to America’s public finance problems. Cuts and tax raises are necessary. Not having to face the nation’s vote again, Barack Obama can afford to lead the charge for tax reform and a return to the tax environment pre W Bush. The pressure is on. 

balanced budget impossible

Compromise is the only way forward

With congress basically crippled, Obama needs to act. The loss of moderate politicians who were central to deal making has meant that no bill stands a chance, unless it is something obvious and cross party. The budget is neither. It requires compromise from both sides to even the books. Some of the cuts must be painful, and some of the taxes will have negative effects on the economy. But politicians have to take responsibility and pass a budget.

There is a divide between the two sides on how to approach the balancing. Republicans, ever mindful and beholden to their rich donors, dont want to see tax cuts expire. They also are unwilling to cut from defense. They have proposed closing loopholes as the answer, which would only hurt middle and lower class families who cant afford to pay financial advisors to find loopholes for them. In this strategy, nothing changes for the rich.

The Democrats, for their part, are unwilling to cut from Medicare and social security, two staples of their base. They want to see a return to the tax structure of the 90s, and refocus spending from the defense department.

OPPORTUNITY

There is opportunity here to find a balanced solution that gets us back on track. However, the politicians in congress are playing their own strategy games, and no one wants to have been on the wrong side of a budget deal when re-election comes up. But there are two sides: and in fact they are not down party lines. There is passing a budget, or not passing a budget. Let’s hope they get it done.

 

Barack Obama Wins: Victory Speech [VIDEO]

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President Barack Obama has won the 2012 election. Reelected comfortably for four more years, the election was over quickly, avoiding the horrible nightmares of provisional ballots, lawsuits, and recounts. When the dust settled, Obama cruised to victory in the majority of the battleground states, including the bell weather state Ohio.

barack obama michelle obama

Hope.

Elation abounds across the nation. Everywhere, those who voted for Obama are excited to see the man who reformed health care, took our nation out of a decade of war, opened up society for everyone, advanced the cause of all groups, and most importantly earned the trust of the nation that when a difficult decision needs to be made, he is the one to do it, can continue America’s crusade towards the future. We deserve it.

But the single biggest reason to be proud of America today is that even when corporations and special interests are able to do and say whatever they want — to drown the voices of actual citizens, to compromise equality, fairness, and our physical safety, to yield disproportionate influence over those who make policy — when it comes to the polls, we each get one vote. And we all voted. We voted to say that as a society we are equals as humans. We broke the teeth of the rich donors and businesses who wanted to profit at the expense of our nation, not for our nation as they so claimed.

And it is reckoning time for the Republican Party, whose fracturing divisions and increasingly marginalized positions will mean that if it remains unchanged, it will rapidly lose influence. They must accept that the majority of Americans want a better place to live, not a place that removes obstacles for some people to succeed, while leaving everyone else outside the gate. They must accept that religious influence to the point of clouding reality has no place in real political debate. They must accept that compromise is the only way forward.

As Obama says in his acceptance speech, we are hopeful. Sing it, Mr. President:

Tomorrow, The Election

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Tomorrow the United States of America votes. At stake, the control of the most influential country in the world, and the application of a vision of how America the country should operate itself. One candidate has the possibility to continue the progress that has been made over the course of our history to keep our nation great. The other has the ability to take us back into that history, as if the past 50 years never happened. We cannot let ourselves make the wrong choice.

Political theory is abstract, disconnected from time. Political reality is linear, each year building upon the one that came directly before it. Republicans today fail to realize that energy spent fighting time is wasted, squandered on a directive with an impossible end. The only thing that we can do, that we can or will ever be able to do, is control what we do today. The past is gone, the future is our responsibility. What we do today is our character.

Millions of Americans will vote tomorrow, in an exercise of the greatest right that society has ever created. Around the world people sacrifice their lives everyday to get anywhere close to where democracy for America is today. We take it for granted, we often feel disenfranchised, that the mechanism is too big for our little arms, our singular voice.

But there is nothing without a vote. There is no progression, there is no adaptation, there is no collective voice that is not started by one, and amplified by many. The vote is not merely a bit of ink and stock paper. It is a decision, one that we make for ourselves, which determines the leader of our collective wills.

Democratic National Convention: Day 2 Recap

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Former President Bill Clinton’s speech last night at the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina went well over its allotted time, but no one at the convention seemed to notice. Using his effortless style of strong statistics and southern (liberal) charm, he made clear the difference between Democrats and their wrong wing counterparts: all for one vs. every man for himself.

democratic national convention speech

Can he get white men to love Obama?

Clinton pointed out the economic differences during his presidency and Bush’s, where the economy saw huge gains during his tenure and collapsed under Bush. There are some technicalities to his claim, however, the dot com bubble famously burst in March of 2000, before Bush had taken office, and the repeal of Great Depression era banking laws arguably caused the type of risky profit seeking that created the recession of 2008.

Either way, Clinton’s speech focused attention away from critiques of Obama’s governing and onto the bigger picture. Facing stubborn unemployment, rampant discontent, and diverging political ideologies, Clinton portrayed the right as being divisive and the left as made up of everyone else. This is absolutely true. The conservatives have blocked change at every turn, preferring instead to expend all energy to try to preserve the status quo, even when it doesn’t work for everyone, instead of using our massive brain power to continue to advance our society.

When Obama joined Clinton on the stage, the crowd erupted in cheers of support. They felt a connection to the two men that our nation will never feel with Romney, even if he is elected in November.

Democratic National Convention: Day 2 Preview

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Some compare him to a rock star, others to a shmoozer with no decency. But like him or not, Bill Clinton was the last President of the USA to preside over big economic growth. That is the message that he will be driving home to Americans as he delivers the keynote speech tonight at the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The last decade of the 1900s was a golden time for America. The internet blossomed and with it the petals of e-commerce opened. Silicon Valley became world famous, and America was again viewed as the land of opportunity. Bill Clinton got to benefit from the momentous change in economy, and together with the Unethical Amphibian, passed the first balanced budget in 1998 since 1968.

But at the same time, Clinton was sucked into a mess of affairs, scandal, and perjury which the Republicans exploited to maximum gain. Entirely responsible, all Clinton could do was try to smooth it over. His popularity today shows that he succeeded.

Now he will appear at the convention to remind Americans that it is the Democrats who are most capable to steer the economy in the right direction, and that the misguided tax cutting of the Bush years served to only create so much debt that we pushed past $16 trillion yesterday. He will remind people that economics is not helping the rich pay less taxes, but about creating a place where people want to live, regardless of the costs.

Bill Clinton will nominate Barack Obama as the official candidate for the Democratic party tonight, and if Obama is reelected and enjoys a second term that was as economically successful as Clinton’s, we will be in for a good four years.

Democratic National Convention: Day 1 Recap, Michelle Obama

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It is easy to see why Michelle Obama enjoys such a high level of popularity, higher than both Mitt or Ann Romney, and even higher than her husband. At the opening night of the Democrat National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, the First Lady stole the show as the Democrats sought to position themselves as the humane counterparts to the GOP.

michelle obama speech

Michelle Obama kicks some serious ass

Michelle Obama sought to portray her husband as in touch with the American people, something that both Democrats and Republicans have criticized Romney for lacking. Romney’s style, board room mannerisms, and immense wealth from birth have left most Americans feeling like their problems are irrelevant to him. Mrs. Obama outlined the humble beginnings of young Barack, and how he still spends nights as President pouring over letters from citizens who are dealing with the same problems he faced and overcame.

But this sentimental outlining does not allay fears that Obama is the wrong candidate to steer the USA towards higher economic growth over the next four years, the primary concern of the majority of Americans who will visit the polls in November. What Michelle Obama did to help the President’s cause was talk about student loan burdens and debt management, how the new health care plan helps young people stay healthy on their parents’ insurance until the age of 26, and focusing on helping the middle class, not the super wealthy. All of these were examples of policy that made it easier for young people to enter the job market even if it took them longer, and be more flexible with the jobs they took. These were things that Obama actually did, which in themselves contrast sharply with the no-details approach that Mitt Romney implored the American people to believe in his speech last week.

What many have pointed out already bears repeating: Mrs. Obama never once mentioned Romney by name, and stayed away from the attacks levied by other Democrats such as Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who rightfully harped on Romney’s refusal to release his tax returns. She instead took the opportunity to connect with the average American that the President understands their problems and is working on sustainable solutions that will help everyone, not just the super rich.

There is an advantage to going second in the conventions, and the other speakers took to the stage to outline everything that Obama has done to make America a better place than it was four years ago. This is in direct rebuttal to VP Candidate Paul Ryan’s Reagan strategy which simply asks voters: “are you better off than you were four years ago?” Even the staunchest conservatives would have to admit that the day Bush left office was like finally taking a huge shit after weeks of constipation.

Many Republicans feel threatened by the progressive approach, and fear that the  liberalization of society will lead to the end of their selectively-applied “American Morality.” They fret that an Obama that doesn’t need to face the voters again will veer to the left. But the truth is that Obama has ridden too far along the center, and has compromised his political capital to soften some of his ideas to fit more with the majority of Americans and appease the right. History shows that Presidents in their second term stay more towards the middle. Let’s hope for the sake of our country’s future that isn’t the case.

Democratic National Convention: Day 1 Preview

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The Democratic National Convention begins today in Charlotte, North Carolina as the progressives and President Obama take the big stage to make their case for reelection. At stake, control of a deeply divided American country and population suffering through prolonged economic hardship and enduring relentless political attack advertising funded almost exclusively by unchained Super PACs. Today the Democrats lead off with the hugely popular Michelle Obama and hope to set the tone of what politics should look like.

democratic national convention day 1

More popular than her husband

The first lady is important because she represents what the Republicans have squandered away thanks to heartless remarks from the likes of Todd Akin and centuries of sexism, a connection with women. Michelle Obama has focused much of her efforts on fighting obesity and educating families about nutrition, a commendable cause that addresses one of the nation’s biggest (literally) problems. Tonight she will speak about the progress that has been made and her husband’s focus on connecting with everyday middle class Americans who are becoming more socially liberal but who still worry about the economy.

Her biggest asset will be how effortlessly she is liked by women, in stark contrast to Ann Romney’s speech at last weeks RNC where she pleaded with every type of woman — mothers, sisters, daughters — to trust Mitt Romney. Without having to do that, Michelle Obama can focus on her husband’s strengths while not sounding desperate.

Additionally, the Democrats will focus heavily on their social issues, a place where Republicans have been slipping into irrelevancy. Their platform aligns much more with the majority of the American people, and contrasts with the Republicans’ hatred of immigrants, minorities, women, gay people, and the poor. It is almost as if the Democrats don’t even need to come out and say it, the Republicans have done such a good job of distancing themselves from these groups that all that is needed from the Democrats is an understanding nod of the head, and a disappointed sigh.