I read and see on my TEE VEE many opinions of conservative pundits, disgraced ex-Speakers, faux noozers, how 2010 will be the year the Republicans re-take the House, make up ground in the Senate, and in general will wipe out the Democrats and make it nearly impossible for President Obama to get any legislation through Congress in the next Congress.
I guess I have a different perspective which is grounded in the following realities. The Republicans are all in on a policy of trying to make both the president and America fail. The Republicans have stood in the way of helping our economy, which they were responsible for most of its failures. The Republicans have stood in the way of ending our dependence on foreign oil and reducing carbon emissions. The Republicans have stood in the way of reducing health care costs, and expanding health care coverage to all Americans.
In fact, the Republicans have chosen a path that should be highlighted in every Democratic campaign for every office in America. The Republicans have chosen not to be the loyal opposition, but just the opposition with no interest in helping to govern America, our states and its cities, but just to interfere with good faith efforts by other officeholders to solve real problems.
A recent case in point here in Ohio. Governor Srickland, a Democrat and the Democratic House in our General Assembly, faced an $850M shortfall for next year's budget. The Republican controlled Ohio Senate stood in the way of a very difficult budget plan which was endorsed by even the Ohio business lobbies, the major newspapers, and many other parties with massive stakes in the outcome. The only thing left to cut was aid to primary and higher education, and the cutting of $850M from that budget would have disqualified Ohio from over $5B in federal educational aid because matching funding requirements would not be met.
The negotiated solution, while painful, was to delay a 4.5% reduction in the state income tax which was scheduled to take place this year. The Republican leadership in the Senate was castigated by every newspaper in the state, the governor, and nearly everyone who had a stake in the outcome. Only when it was pointed out that their inaction would cause a delay in the mailing of state income tax refunds were the Republicans moved to break the impasse. They finally passed the same thing that had been proposed with only a minor tweak, but they demonstated once again that the Republican agenda is obstructionism, not solving the state's problems. Blame someone else and kick the can down the road, but don't lead, and don't propose any workable solutions or don't propose any solutions at all. The Republicans at the state level look just like their brethren in Washington.
So how do the Republicans, who only comprise 20 per cent of the electorate, propose to win in 2010 when they have demonstrated no ability to lead, no ability to compromise, no ideas, and no desire to solve anyone's problems? How? The truth is that with only 20 per cent of the electorate willing to identify themselves as Republicans, the Republicans would likely need 75 per cent of the independent vote to make inroads in the Democratic majority.
How can Sarah Palin stand before America and say that she has the toughness to stand up to an international bully or handle a crisis when her record screams that she is a quitter and lacks that toughness? She bailed on the people of Alaska when the time to balance a budget without the oil company dollar spigot turned on. When the kitchen got hot, she got the hell out of the kitchen. Would an American who cared for the future of our country, when confronted with the choice between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, pull the lever for Sarah? I do not think a majority of Americans would make that choice. Not. Even. Close.
So what positive agenda will the Republicans have to run on in 2010? Have they expressed or fought for any new idea concerning how to deal with America's problems in 2008 and 2009. By what magic transformation will they be able to come up with an idea that they can sell in 2010? If they had such a good idea how come they weren't pushing to implement them this year? What is their idea? Cut taxes for the rich? Been there, done that, caused many of our current problems. How about deregulate banks? Been there, done that, caused most of our current economic problems. How about support our troops by helping to pass better treatment for our wounded veterans? Did they help with this? No.
When your entire program has been one of block, obstruct, delay, defeat, deny, denigrate, obsfucate, change the subject, don't to the people's business, this is a hard program to sell if you want to become a majority. It looks like a positive program to become a more insignificant miniority because the American people are fed up with gridlick in our halls of government, and the Republicans are the party of No and their program has been to continue gridlock, to keep the lobbyists in control of our government, and I believe the people are ready to send a message that if the Republicans are simply the opposition, not the constructive loyal opposition, then they will be turned out in even greater numbers in 2010.
The pundits don't make any sense. I encourage commenters to add their own thoughts on why the Republicans platfor won't sell to the American people.