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Politics and Power
Author: BobR
Date: 11/10/2010 13:30:39
Politics in the U.S. is a strange animal. It seems that winning is more important than doing, and power is more important than than money (at least to the candidates). The most recent election, and the stories swirling in the eddies that any election creates (both prior and post) are no exception.
Leading up to the election, the meme from the Republicans is that they were the antidote to President Obama's "leftist agenda". As always, the Republican marketing machine worked very well, and even some Democrats were distancing themselves from him. The Democrats were never able to sell all the positives that they accomplished, nor counteract the Big Lies coming from the Republican smear machine. The American public may be catching on and having buyer's remorse already, though, since Obama's approval numbers are on their way back up.
Another odd story in terms of approval comes from the Republican side. You would think that after taking back the House and making serious inroads into the Senate, that Republicans would be happy. Apparently not. There are moves in the party to replace Micheal Steele as chairman. Perhaps they wanted even more power than they got, since they think he may not be up-to-snuff for the 2012 election:
I find this astonishing considering all the money that went into PACs like the U.S. Chamber of Congress. In fact, the amount of money spent in this election has been jaw-dropping (I wrote a blog a couple weeks ago about how $4 Billion dollars was being spent nationwide on campaigning). Meg Whitman spent $140 million of her own money in a failed effort to get elected. From a financial standpoint, that's a really poor investment. Is the power really worth that much?
And - did voters get what they wanted? Did they know what they wanted? Oklahoma voters approved a ballot measure to ban Sharia law - in Oklahoma. Was that really a problem to be concerned with? Or was it just a cheap trick to get right-wing voters to the polls? Ultimately, the joke may be on them, because of the vague wording in the law, it may also outlaw the Ten Commandments from being considered in Oklahoma courts. Of course, considering the 1st Amendment, why would the Ten Commandments be considered in court in the first place?
Most voters (from what I can gather) voted for Republicans because they wanted the deficit reduced, taxes cut, and they wanted more jobs (3 things that cannot occur at the same time). Considering the bang-up job the Republicans did last time, it seems that the memory of the electorate is not very deep.
Republicans also campaigned on shrinking government and stopping the waste of government dollars. If they wanted to stop the "socialist agenda" of the Democrats (yet another lie), then they got what they wanted. Government is about to come to a complete standstill. Exhibit 1: Darrell Issa
Now THERE'S a good use of our tax dollars - witch hunts for partisan posturing.
Which leads us back to the original premise: Winning and power are more important than governance, and Republicans know how to market themselves. If you think the Clinton blow job investigation was a waste of time and money, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Leading up to the election, the meme from the Republicans is that they were the antidote to President Obama's "leftist agenda". As always, the Republican marketing machine worked very well, and even some Democrats were distancing themselves from him. The Democrats were never able to sell all the positives that they accomplished, nor counteract the Big Lies coming from the Republican smear machine. The American public may be catching on and having buyer's remorse already, though, since Obama's approval numbers are on their way back up.
Another odd story in terms of approval comes from the Republican side. You would think that after taking back the House and making serious inroads into the Senate, that Republicans would be happy. Apparently not. There are moves in the party to replace Micheal Steele as chairman. Perhaps they wanted even more power than they got, since they think he may not be up-to-snuff for the 2012 election:
The moves against Mr. Steele are a result of a perception that has been developing for months among the party’s seasoned political hands in Washington. His critics say Mr. Steele has performed poorly at the helm. They argue that his fund-raising was lackluster and point to comments he made that at times proved distracting and were at odds with Republican orthodoxy, as when he said the war in Afghanistan was “not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.”
I find this astonishing considering all the money that went into PACs like the U.S. Chamber of Congress. In fact, the amount of money spent in this election has been jaw-dropping (I wrote a blog a couple weeks ago about how $4 Billion dollars was being spent nationwide on campaigning). Meg Whitman spent $140 million of her own money in a failed effort to get elected. From a financial standpoint, that's a really poor investment. Is the power really worth that much?
And - did voters get what they wanted? Did they know what they wanted? Oklahoma voters approved a ballot measure to ban Sharia law - in Oklahoma. Was that really a problem to be concerned with? Or was it just a cheap trick to get right-wing voters to the polls? Ultimately, the joke may be on them, because of the vague wording in the law, it may also outlaw the Ten Commandments from being considered in Oklahoma courts. Of course, considering the 1st Amendment, why would the Ten Commandments be considered in court in the first place?
Most voters (from what I can gather) voted for Republicans because they wanted the deficit reduced, taxes cut, and they wanted more jobs (3 things that cannot occur at the same time). Considering the bang-up job the Republicans did last time, it seems that the memory of the electorate is not very deep.
Republicans also campaigned on shrinking government and stopping the waste of government dollars. If they wanted to stop the "socialist agenda" of the Democrats (yet another lie), then they got what they wanted. Government is about to come to a complete standstill. Exhibit 1: Darrell Issa
California Rep. Darrell Issa is already eyeing a massive expansion of oversight for next year, including hundreds of hearings; creating new subcommittees; and launching fresh investigations into the bank bailout, the stimulus and, potentially, health care reform.
Issa told POLITICO in an interview that he wants each of his seven subcommittees to hold "one or two hearings each week."
"I want seven hearings a week, times 40 weeks," Issa said...
Now THERE'S a good use of our tax dollars - witch hunts for partisan posturing.
Which leads us back to the original premise: Winning and power are more important than governance, and Republicans know how to market themselves. If you think the Clinton blow job investigation was a waste of time and money, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
