I guess that I keep writing about Republicans because it is just so hard for me to understand how they have ANY credibility left AT ALL! Tonight, I’m going to write about Republicans again, but before I get started, I’ve got to throw in a bit on Democrats. I mean, the ugly reality is that we are stuck with Republicans and Democrats. And, honestly at this point, I don’t know which group frustrates me more. The Republicans seem to have the unmitigated gall to say whatever they think will get the attention of the public – NO MATTER THE COST, NO MATTER HOW ABSURD IT IS (what they’re saying, that is). The Democrats just seem to be SPINELESS! And, the sad truth is that too many members of Congress on “both sides of the isle” are bought and sold by the lobbyists and special interest groups. I’m guessing that these lobbyists and special interests actually write the legislation which gets “debated” in Congress. My take on Democrats tonight: Well, by my count, there are at a minimum (including one of my Senators, Maria Cantwell and Oregon’s Ron Wyden) 20 Democrats in the Senate who are standing in the way of the so-called “Public Option” in the health care debate. It is truly going to be “on them” if this doesn’t get passed after “we the people” put the Democrats in a “super majority” position in the Senate. I can see the claims now for the next election: “If we can just get to a caucus of 70 votes, MAYBE we can get something positive done. America’s Congress is getting more laughable all the time – the problem is their incompetence IS NOT FUNNY!

Back to the Republicans. These guys are going to stand in the way of everything. Now, as stated above, I’m going to blame the Democrats (and the Republicans know this) when nothing gets done. However, the absurdity of EVERY ARGUMENT I hear coming from the mouths of people like Mitch McConnell and John Boehner is UNBELIEVABLE TO ME! I don’t know how these thugs even get an audience anymore. I guess you could give them credit for being so open about their LYING (I can’t believe I’m even feeling the need to write this – how can things in a country like the United States get to this point?) that they aren’t even trying to hide their prejudices anymore. I watched a short amount of the hearings for Sonia Sotomayor, and I honestly couldn’t believe what I heard coming from the mouths of these Republicans. ONE OVERT RACIST AFTER ANOTHER – and the great irony was that these guys were essentially basing their objection to Sotomayor on the grounds that SHE WAS A RACIST! Honestly, it was all I could stomach to listen to Jeff Sessions of Alabama accuse the nominee of being a racist. These guys have no conscience about taking one line out of a speech and twisting it to serve some ridiculous purpose – and even after having the line put back into context – THEY KEEP DOING IT! I didn’t hear one Republican talk about Sotomayor’s record as a judge – with the exception of one case where she ruled with precedent that if a city gives a test for promotion and NONE OF THE MINORITY PERSONS TAKING THE TEST PASS IT – the test needs to be rewritten so that it’s fair to all aspirants. As a school teacher I’ve seen many a test which was totally unfair to certain students just based on the vocabulary used in the test (among other factors).

The Supreme Court overturned this decision by essentially rewriting the law – and these Republicans on this committee which was interviewing Sotomayor took that to mean that she was a racist. I suppose had she ruled the other way (this was a case which came before the appellate court she is presently sitting on) they would have accused her of being an “activist” judge. And, of course, they didn’t suggest “activism” for the Supreme Court’s ruling because it was essentially the Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Scalia, and Kennedy block that the Republicans hold dear to their hearts. These Republicans accusing Sonia Sotomayor as being a racist was one of the most extreme examples of “The pot calling the kettle black” I’ve ever seen. They all knew that she is undoubtedly going to be confirmed (and by all accounts that I’ve heard, she should be a very moderate addition to the court) and they decided that “playing to their racist base” was more important than turning off millions of other Americans in the process. I actually believe that the Republicans think that NO ONE IS WATCHING.

So, Republicans are fighting any kind of health care legislation which would be beneficial to the every day American, they’re showing themselves as overt racists (seemingly with pride), and – when it comes to energy – it’s almost like they would be OK with the planet self-destructing. I’m thinking maybe they think that would be the fulfillment of Revelations in Scripture. At this point I’m assuming Republicans will stand as much in the way as they can of every attempt to reduce carbon emissions, reduce our dependency on oil, clean our air, create a new energy grid which will transport electricity from wind turbines or solar power generators, and anything else that might reduce our dependence on the oil and gas companies who have billions to spend to keep these politicians “in line.”

I could go on and on about these Republicans, but the sad reality is that as I’m sitting here writing this and thoughts are swirling through my head as to what can be done to counteract these people – the solution keeps coming up the same and it’s almost as depressing; Democrats. There are a few Democrats who I believe are keeping their eyes “on the ball.” One that I’m personally very impressed with is Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont and former head of the DNC – in fact, he’s probably the most responsible for the resurgence of the Democratic party as far as gaining a majority in Congress. The problem is that he can’t control how these people vote. Dennis Kucinich is another Democrat who I have a lot of respect for. And, Bernie Sanders is neither a Democrat or Republican and he seems to be someone who has a conscience and is willing to vote it. I have to say that I’m beyond discouraged when I hear that my own Senator, Maria Cantwell, who I sent money to, seems to be at the mercy of the Insurance industry when it comes to the health care proposals. I would expect her to be at the forefront fighting for the “Public Option” and yet she’s apparently standing in the way. If she persists I will never vote for her again. This legislation needs to be passed and passed in a reasonable time frame – I’m OK with them taking a bit more time to try to “get it right.” What I’m not OK with is my Senator, the Senior Senator from Oregon, and about 18 other Senate Democrats siding with the health care industry and against 72% of the public.

So, this is all hard to swallow. I’ve been “putting up” with the Republicans for too many years – but I’m feeling a bit “used” due to getting my hopes up that we would really have “change we could believe in.” And, I do believe ultimately the responsibility will rest on the shoulders of Barrack Obama and if these Democrats don’t get their act together – THEY WILL BE THE ONES IN DANGER OF GETTING VOTED OUT IN 2010! Here is what I’m beginning to hope for. A THIRD PARTY WITH A MAINSTREAM AGENDA AND A VIABLE LEADER. I’m not sure how this emerges. Call it the PROGRESSIVE PARTY! The people of this great nation thought that’s what they were voting for in the past two election cycles. President Obama is acting (by my thinking) way too much like a “politician” instead of a firm leader, the Republicans are – well the best I can say is disgusting, antiquated, corrupt beyond help, – I don’t know – they should be “history.” There is some possibility with the Democratic rhetoric, but their actions bely their words – so there HAS TO BE A VIABLE OPPOSITION. At this point in time too many Democrats seem to be beholden to the special interests that their constituents want “reeled in,” and Republicans are essentially hopeless. In reality, it doesn’t look good that Congress with it’s present make-up will be able to come up with policies which actually move us in a different direction as a nation – what it appears to me that I’m seeing is the SAME OLD SAME OLD! Maybe what the Progressive movement needs is a third party, THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY!