Yes, there are still a lot of things that have still not happened, and we all have every right to be angry, but angry with whom? Naturally, the President and Vice President can’t say what I’m about to say, because if the did, they’d look like whiners. But I can say it, because I’m not in the beltway bubble. I’m just part of the general population, so I’m seeing the situation differently than a politician. Stop for a moment. Think, and remember the last 2 years. See if you don’t notice some obvious dots that should be connected.
From the very beginning, from before President Obama even took office, the Republicans were agreeing to stop any legislation that the President might support. This unrelenting and unreasoning opposition was not a mass spontaneous act. Republicans and big business agreed to show a unified opposition to anything that the President might propose. Anything at all! This plan was discussed, agreed upon, and the groundwork laid before the election even took place.
We know that to be true because many Republicans even bragged about intending to vote no on everything. Before Barak Obama even took office, James DeMint was announcing his intention to “break Obama.” He said it many times.
And look how they carried out their plan. The Republicans have filibustered everything, and forced everything to pass by a super majority. That’s the record of their behavior during the past 2 years. That’s how they behaved. That’s what they did. They refused to cooperate on everything for two years. Could their unwillingness to cooperate be a factor in the slowness of the recovery process? Think so? Connect the dots!
The partisan gridlock and antagonism in congress is well known, so I will not give specific examples. I simply mention it because it is another instance of the Republicans’ obstructionist behavior. We are talking about two years’ worth of unified, unrelenting, premeditated opposition to everything. We are talking about outright, undeniable, undisguisable personal attacks. DeMint’s threat to “break Obama” is a case in point.
It seems obvious to me that if one side is going to make it as difficult as possible for the other side to pass legislation, and acts to prevent legislation from even being discussed, that such behavior could very well account for a measure of the slowness of the recovery process.
How could it not?!! Connect the dots!
It stands to reason that if individual pieces of legislation are being consistently blocked, then a slowdown of the whole legislative process is bound to happen. Why isn’t that obvious? Why can’t everyone see that?
The President played everything correctly. He took the other side at their word when they said that they would cooperate. He treated them fairly. Their response over the past 2 years is now a matter of record, of history. The Republicans opposed every bit of legislation that was introduced, even legislation that would have helped the middle class and the economy as a whole.
It’s been the same with unemployment. While the Republicans fasten on the ‘jobs’ buzzword, they are actually blocking and filibustering the very legislation that would stimulate the economy and create jobs. The Democrats are introducing legislation that addresses the real problems of today, while the Republicans are just spinning fantasies of what will happen in the future. They completely ignore the situation as it is today. They just don’t care about the suffering of the American people. It’s all about “breaking Obama.”
And again, we are looking at an organized and coordinated resistance. Could it be that this planned and coordinated opposition to everything might have contributed to the slowness of the recovery process? Connect the dots.
The banks received our tax money so that they could lend to small business, so that they could create jobs and help stimulate the economy. They refuse to lend it. They are sitting on the money, using it for investments and acquisitions. They are not lending to small businesses. Is this part of the reason why recovery has been slow? Is it possible? Connect the dots!
What about the stupid distractions that were manufactured by leaders and lobbyists in the business community? Working in concert with each other and with individual politicians, they created phony grassroots organizations to distract the voters’ attention away from the really important issues. I refer to the Teabaggers and the Birthers, and the believers in death panels. What about the deliberate lies those organizations spread? Could that have helped create the toxic atmosphere that was such a large part of the partisan gridlock that slowed the recovery process? Gee, do you think so? Connect the dots.
Then too, there’s the personal nature of the opposition. Republicans fought everything because they were working to defeat and embarrass Barak Obama personally. No matter what he proposed, the Republicans were automatically against it for purely personal reasons. The public welfare mattered not at all. The only thing that mattered was that President Obama should fail.
Yet, in the face of such brutal and unreasoning hostility, President Obama has gotten a lot of legislation passed. Why isn’t there more? Well, that question brings us back to the original question: who are you mad at? Who are you blaming? Connect the dots!
If everyone agrees to deliberately frustrate your every act, to slow down or to completely stop any progress you’re trying to make, how is this not a significant factor in the slowness of the legislative process? You who complain and criticize are directing your anger at the wrong target.
President Obama can’t make any of these points, or he’d really be made to look like a whiner, but I can. And everything I’ve said is true. You who complain and criticize need to stop and think. You need to connect the dots. It’s time we put the blame where it belongs.