I’m driving to school this morning wondering what the @#** is wrong with this country? If you’ve been around here before you know that I’m a public school teacher in my day job. Today was not the first day of school for my school, but for many schools it was – or they had started already. And, there’s this big “todo” about the fact the President of the United States is going to give a talk to students encouraging them to stay in school, to do their homework, to set goals for themselves, to work hard, and to do things for others – MAYBE EVEN A SERVICE PROJECT! That should be getting rave reviews from any decent, thoughtful American.This is the crux of what I’ve been trying to teach to kids for almost 20 years – in fact, when I heard the speech I was surprised and impressed with what the President said and how he said it. Who can argue against what he said today? Well, AS USUAL, I can give you the answer in a word! REPUBLICANS!

These people are so far over the “edge” that it’s hard to find words to describe them. I read where the governor of Minnesota was more or less encouraging parents to keep their children home from school so they wouldn’t have to listen to the speech. That was the “cry” of one ridiculous Republican after another. One pundit claimed that Obama was going to “indoctrinate” the students into socialism! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I didn’t check in with Rush Limbaugh after I heard all this other stuff because I knew I couldn’t stomach whatever he would come up with. When are the people of this nation going to understand that these Republicans stand for NOTHING! They are all about destruction when they’re not in power and they’re about destruction when they’re in power. Right now they are trying to destroy anything and everything that has any connection to Barrack Obama they can with the ultimate goal of destroying the Presidency of President Obama itself. When they’re in power their goal is to destroy the very government that we all rely on, especially in times like these.

And, speaking of the “times like these.” This HORRIBLE “GREAT RECESSION” is the result of “Republican Rule.” The Bush administration was openly trying to destroy the very institutions they took an oath to protect. It’s a miracle that we even have an education department left after almost 30 years of this aforementioned Republican rule. Ronald Reagan set his sights on destroying the Education Department in the early eighties, but thank God, there’s even enough Republicans out there who want their kids to get a good education that he didn’t succeed. Of course, being a teacher, I’ve seen how the “no child left behind” legislation has succeeded in undermining the very fabric of the educational system it was supposedly going to protect. In fact, I believe it’s just another attempt at destroying public education, they’re simply coming at it from a different angle. Just like everything else the Republicans come up with, when they put a title on something – look in the complete opposite direction to “get” what they’re really after.

The result of “no child left behind” is more and more children left behind. In my state, they’re not really children when they get left behind, they just drop out of high school because there’s nothing more offered than a bunch of standardized tests seemingly aimed at preparing EVERY student for COLLEGE! If you’re reading this, just take a quick deep breath – DO YOU REALLY THINK EVERY STUDENT SHOULD GO TO COLLEGE? Maybe that’s why they’ve been shipping our manufacturing jobs over seas for the past 14 or 15 years. To make everyone think they HAVE to go to college! Of course, they never had any intention of funding “no child left behind” and even if they did, could any reasonable person actually expect students in special education to compete at the same level as students without learning disabilities? Think of what that does to the student with the learning disability when he/she is asked to take a test that she/he has no chance to pass. Think of what that does to the student who isn’t enamored with college prep courses, but might possibly be good at fixing cars or other machinery, or might be good at building things, or welding, or the plethora of other jobs we could be preparing students for if they ALL weren’t expected to go to college! (PS – now they’re shipping college jobs OVERSEAS!) The real result of “no child left behind” is large numbers of students dropping out of school when they accept the reality that they’re never going to pass these tests. And, believe me – SOME OF THESE STUDENTS ARE VERY BRIGHT IN THEIR OWN AREA! They’re being “left behind” in droves!

I use “no child left behind” as an example because the President’s speech was to school age children about the importance of “staying in school.” But, in just about every other area you can see the result of Republicans trying to destroy this government. Take the DEFICIT that so many of them are now complaining about. I didn’t hear them complain when Ronald Reagan initiated the “rob the government blind” approach to governing. And, for those of you who don’t get this philosophy – check out the statistics of where the money’s gone since 1980 in this country! George HW Bush had even more obscene deficits than Reagan, and his son – George W Bush – well, he topped them all! He not only left Obama with a deficit of almost 2 trillion dollars (remember, Obama isn’t hiding the cost of Bush’s two wars), but he left a government that was in near ruins FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. In my mind, the main job of the President besides keeping us safe is managing the economy and the Republicans consistently manage it “into the toilet.”

Bill Clinton held office for the only 8 years during the previous 28 prior to Obama when a Democrat was in the White House and the money started to funnel back to the middle class (something Republicans hate, for some reason, because most of them are in the middle class). The budget was not only brought into balance, Clinton left office with a surplus of 250 billion per year (the Republicans really hated that and it only took a few months before they gave virtually all of that surplus to the “rich” of this country once GW Bush took office – people earning in the top 1% of all earners). Do you remember all the “investigations of Clinton that went no where?”

Yes, Clinton did do what, to me, was the unthinkable and “have sex with that woman.” But, the reality is NO ONE DIED BECAUSE OF HIS SIN! Of course, we’re all “sinners” so who’s to say one is worse than another, but personally, I’m still having trouble with the lying us into war (4000+ Americans and approx. a million Iraqi’s DEAD not to mention the MILLIONS of lives destroyed in other ways), wiretapping MILLIONS of his own citizens illegally, outing a covert CIA agent (treason), torture (one guy was waterboarded 183 times in one month, and that wasn’t enough so they put him in a small enclosed BOX full of bugs and left him there for an extended period of time), deregulating one business or government agency after another until the whole MESS was about to COLLAPSE – AND THEN BUSH/CHENEY LEFT TOWN! And, now you’ve got these Republicans standing in the way of every piece of legislation that is designed to “fix” the abuses of the Bush administration and, worse yet, BLAMING THOSE ABUSES ON OBAMA! The truth is, when you listen to them, THEY DON’T THINK THEY WERE ABUSES when they were in power! They want to do this again! I guarantee you that if the Republicans, by some miracle, get control of Congress and the White House again, they will IMMEDIATELY try to overturn EVERYTHING OBAMA HAS ACCOMPLISHED!

There’s something else – THEY WON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT BIPARTISANSHIP! I could go on with how ridiculous these thugs are. Or, I could write a complete piece about how disturbing it is that the media even gives these nut jobs a platform. Since when did the very worst among us deserve a majority of the time on the airwaves? Well, that’s the other thing here, the so-called LIBERAL MEDIA is totally controlled by CONSERVATIVES! They are pulling off probably the greatest “SNOW JOB” in the history of this country. I’m telling you, if it wasn’t for the internet THEY WOULD GET AWAY WITH IT! Somehow, people are finding millions of frustrated American’s sites like this one and the word is spreading that WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM on our hands!

We elected Barack Obama to take care of this problem and gave him a super majority in the Congress. So far, it’s not at all that clear whether or not we elected the right person. Tomorrow (today for many of you, yesterday for some – but I’m talking about Obama’s speech to both houses of Congress on health care) Obama has the opportunity to solidify his “base.” He also has the “peril” of losing his base if he caves to the idea of Bipartisanship. I can tell you with confidence that if President Obama fails to draw “a line in the sand” over the “public option,” whatever that means, he will lose a significant number of his base – NO MATTER WHAT CONGRESS DOES. He needs to realize by the time he takes the podium that it’s “We the People” who are the reason he’s in office and it’s us who will keep him there. There’s enough of us who are sick and tired of the bipartisan approach to dealing with these thugs, that we need to see some BACKBONE tomorrow (tonight, last night, you get the picture) night!

I’ve written here many times about the areas where Obama’s not “coming through.” Briefly, he’s in essence letting Bush/Cheney et al OFF THE HOOK for clear criminal activity – investigations that would “put the shoe on the other foot” as far as the public debate would go if it was enacted – this is faulty thinking on several fronts that I won’t go into again here tonight, his decisions regarding both Iraq and Afganistan have a distinct “General Patreaus” taint on them – certainly not what was promised or what his “base” expected when he assumed office (remember, Patreaus, Odierno, and the other Generals – whom I have great respect for along with their troops – received their “baptism” in Viet Nam, and they will do whatever they have to do to prevent us from “pulling out” and “losing” another un-winnable war), and probably the most frustrating thing about the President is this constant pandering to Republicans. He doesn’t seem to understand that with the most fervent of them – the ones in “control” of the party, THIS IS WAR! In this “WAR” with Republicans, it is far more important that it be won than what’s going on in Iraq and Afganistan. The future of this country – well, the immediate future – IS AT STAKE! And, I honestly don’t understand if President Obama “gets” that. He almost seems to be TOO WILLING to be a one term President. It’s not time for the “even keel” approach to governing here, it’s time to “roll up the sleeves” and kick @#**! As I listened to the comments by one Republican after another about Obama’s speech to little school children I wondered, “How can these people be so stupid?” But then, UPON FURTHER REFLECTION, I started to wonder about the stakes in this health care “fight.” The Democrats don’t look so smart themselves, right now, and they have no excuse for failing to pass a bill that has a “Medicare for all” – public option – and a plan to cover EVERYONE – to @#** with the insurance companies if they can’t compete. But, thinking back to the state of mind of all these Republicans making stupid comments about Obama’s speech to kids – HOW STUPID WILL THE DEMOCRATS BE IF THEY ALLOW THE REPUBLICANS BACK INTO POWER by failing to pass a bill that is acceptable to the people? 72% of the American public wants a “Medicare like public option.” And, trust me, the only way to screw this up is to openly submit to the health care lobby and fail to have the courage to do WHAT’S RIGHT in this health care debate!

I can’t say that I’m losing hope, but I can say that I’m getting VERY DISCOURAGED. This is coming from the perspective of a person who voted for, sent money to, and in a small way campaigned for Barack Obama. Every day it’s looking more and more to me that the person I voted for is very different than what I imagined prior to his taking office. At this point in time I feel as if I SHOULD BE blasting right wing Republicans who are in cahoots with the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and the one I heard recently Michael (I think) Savage – this guy might be the worst of the bunch – and a plethora of other right wing “talkers.” Today, while driving around, I listened to a guy (no idea who he was) proclaiming that he was keeping his kids home from school on Tuesday so that they wouldn’t be exposed to our “SOCIALIST” President. When asked why he was calling our President “socialist” his response demonstrated to me the dire straights this nation is in because of the propaganda machine from the right wing which has a large captive audience (or so it seems to me). The guy said President Obama is a socialist because when he took office he first took over the banks and then the auto industry! Whoever filled this guy’s head with this nonsense failed to point out to him that the bank “bailout” was caused by and initiated by George W Bush, as was the government “loans” to the auto industry, but that didn’t matter to him because the guy was simply another of the many (but dwindling) blindly loyal Republicans. I feel safe in saying that – because the guy was yearning for the return of the Republican party to power so “we can get our country back.”

The ignorance that shines through some of the statements coming from the right make me almost ashamed to admit that I’m a public school teacher. The only condolence I take in that is the Republican party wants to end public education, so I’m hoping most of these people aren’t the product of public education. I teach my students to check and double check their sources, and not to believe what they see and hear until they do so (and they are only sixth graders). Another example: I don’t know how many people who are on medicare (I’m close to that age) have complained to me about the possibility of a “government run health care system.” Not one of them, when I ask, says anything bad about medicare – none of them has said they are willing to give it up – in fact, when I ask, most say emphatically that they won’t give it up – they say something like “the government better not take away my medicare.” The only legitimate question I’ve heard from any of them would be “how will we pay for it?” That’s a question – or problem – that shouldn’t be too hard for our legislators to solve if they can get past the hurdle of doing something for the benefit of the people they serve as opposed to the people who are buying them off. This ridiculous Republican rhetoric seems to have no boundaries. We’ve had the “birthers,” the “tea baggers,” the “deathers,” those claiming Obama is a Nazi, a socialist, a communist, and I could go on – IT’S ALL BEYOND REASON!

The Republican political leadership has shown itself to be totally without conscience. THEY JUST KEEP FUELING WHATEVER FIRE seems to incite the fringe base. I can see them now, after one of the “crazies” they’re inciting does something really stupid, disavowing any responsibility for what happened. We’ve already seen that to a certain extent. Did Bill O’Reilly take responsibility for the killer of Dr. Tiller – who he had clearly incited to some undetermined degree? Of course not. And, you won’t see Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or this Savage dude taking responsibility when one of their listeners does something tragic either. They’re just going to keep inciting the troops because evidently they’re making a lot of money doing so – and that’s the bottom line for the Republicans, isn’t it? That’s the only reason they could be making such a stink about the idea of the United States joining with the rest of the civilized world in providing health care to ALL its citizens. These guys make no sense AT ALL!

That is why it grieves me so to feel this impression of ALMOST hopelessness in analyzing President Obama by the decisions he’s been making since taking over in the White House. The health care debate isn’t the most important to me, but President Obama has succeeded in making it the MOST IMPORTANT FOR HIM. He’s the one who initiated this plan, seemingly without a good idea of how it would get done. I’m a person of faith, and maybe President Obama just had faith that our Congress would come through because it’s so obvious that our country needs health care reform desperately. Well, I’m sure by now he has figured out that “trusting” Congress was a huge mistake. Actually, the House of Representatives, where the members are more accountable to their constituents, will produce a bill that is palatable to the American people. As usual, it’s the high and mighty Senate, where members only face the wrath of their voters every six years and can usually buy their way into re-election with the help of corporate donors who have seemingly unlimited pocketbooks. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise when Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley, both of whom have received multi-millions in donations from the healthcare industry they have been commissioned to “reform,” come up with a health provider friendly “reform” of the system. I can see it now, the final bill will provide more customers for the health insurance companies and the taxpayers will be footing a fair share of the bill. Again, I HOPE I’M WRONG, but signals out of the White House would indicate that President Obama is determined to get a bill, NO MATTER WHAT!

When he speaks to the nation this coming Wednesday, President Obama is going to have to decide who his supporters are. I have this awful feeling that he’s going to continue his push to get a couple Republicans to vote for this bill, and just gamble that the people who voted him into office will be there when the smoke clears. I’ve got this nasty sensation that our President is getting some BAD ADVICE! I don’t, for a minute, think that I’m the only progressive minded American who is not going to blindly support our President. I worked to get President Bush out of office because I thought his policies and decisions were reprehensible. I can’t imagine getting to that same place with President Obama, but the discouragement could be as great, just because of my high initial expectations. I saw President Obama as a statesman – which is what we need -and not a cunning politician – which is what I’m beginning to feel is what we’re getting. A statesman has the will and the courage to fight for what is “right.” He would draw lines “in the sand” for legislation of this magnitude and not back down – PERIOD! Additionally, if President Obama was really as transparent as he said he would be, there wouldn’t be so much misunderstanding of what is happening. WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE “PUBLIC OPTION” IS, and I believe Obama’s Presidency could rest in the balance on whether he fights for it or not.

I’ve said before, if he loses this battle – by caving into the Republicans before there’s even a vote – his own supporters very likely will “turn” on him. And with good reason. Here’s another “I hope I’m wrong” statement – and I would really like some national reporter to ask President Obama right up front about his – I believe he’s continuing the Bush wiretapping policy. I would really like to hear it from his own mouth that he has ended it, but I wrote him about this – pointing out my dissatisfaction with the FACT he was doing it – and never got a response. Last year, when I wrote about the FISA vote – remember Obama voted FOR the FISA bill which, among other things, gave retroactive immunity to the telecoms who had enabled Bush to illegally wiretap his own citizens, in the name of “the war on terror,” and whoever was then Senator Obama’s surrogate responded by saying that he would “fix” the bill once in office. So far, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED, and I’ve heard more than one of Obama’s present members of his administration say that “he doesn’t want to give up the power.” Ughhh!

And, believe me on this one, if Obama caves on the “public option,” it won’t take long for the focus to return to Iraq. So far, the Obama administration has succeeded in keeping Iraq out of the news. The reality of Iraq is that the Iraqi’s are no closer to reconciliation between the Shia and Sunni, not to mention the issues with the Kurds, AND WE STILL HAVE OVER 130,000 troops there. When this “war” is FINALLY over, we will be hearing the same terrible reflections we heard after Viet Nam! What did our troops sacrifice so much for? And, are we going to take the same kind of care of them as we did after Viet Nam – the ones who have survived? And, what about Afganistan? How long are we going to stay there? What the @#** are we fighting for? How much money do we have to throw at these two occupations until we see the light that we’re THROWING OUR MONEY AWAY? Do you think Democrats aren’t smart enough to figure out that we’ve spent over a TRILLION dollars on these two occupations, with another TRILLION to clean up the mess which includes the assistance that our TROOPS DESERVE post deployment(s), and won’t spend a trillion (which should be able to be financed with payroll deductions) dollars on health care?

I have no idea why President Obama has such a need to pander to Republicans. They will not support ANYTHING he proposes. They are blaming him for the economy that GW Bush virtually ruined, they are blaming Obama for the “bailouts” of the banks and the auto industry which was initiated by Republicans (Obama is a socialist because of Bush policies, how much sense does that make?), they will blame Obama for any health care bill that is passed NO MATTER WHAT’S IN IT, and the way he’s going they will soon start blaming him for Iraq and Afganistan. The truth is, there’s nothing President Obama can do that won’t be received by a chorus of negativity from Limbaugh and the rest of the Republican party. So, why is he even giving them ANY LEGITIMACY? Isn’t it time to tell the truth about what the Republicans are doing? And, unfortunately, the one who has to lead the charge AGAINST them is President Obama himself. I guess that’s what is so discouraging. These Republicans deserve NO LEGITIMACY WHATSOEVER! (in fact, many from the previous administration SHOULD BE IN JAIL) President Obama should be leading the charge against them. He has a chance to do that on September 9th, when he addresses both houses of Congress and the nation. I’m hoping that we hear a straightforward challenge for Congress to “DO WHAT’S RIGHT,” instead of more capitulating to “bipartisanship.”

I know that President Obama is far more intelligent than I, so I’m hoping he’s got some kind of “trick up his sleeve.” The consequences are immense. I hope that he is not taking his base for granted, as it appears. I believe most of them are “hanging” with him because the alternative is so unpalatable. Can you imagine a political party where the defacto leader is Rush Limbaugh gaining the White House? Maybe President Obama is calculating that the Republicans have become so “out there” that he has nothing to worry about, because his supporters just couldn’t stomach another Republican in office, and to a certain extent he’s probably right. But, I believe there’s a whole lot more voters out there who are like me and are tired of voting against the least favorable candidate. If Obama, on Wednesday, demonstrates that his desire for bipartisanship is greater than his desire for the so-called “public option” – no matter what that means – I believe you will see millions “jumping off the bandwagon,” and these other issues will begin to surface, further pushing President Obama’s “approval” ratings DOWN! The Republicans have set a trap for him, and he seems to have fallen into it, hook, line, and sinker. Here’s the part that makes me sick to my stomach as I’m writing this. If Obama’s “faithful” start to turn on him, it will re-invigorate Republicans and they will get “fired up” for 2012. I’ll make a prediction right here; If Obama blows it, the Republicans will start pushing Jeb Bush as their nominee for President in 2012!

I’ve been saying since before Obama’s inauguration that “I WANT OBAMA TO SUCCEED………….but” – and, unfortunately, I’m still saying pretty much the same thing. However, I’m REALLY starting to feel that President Obama is – well, I really even hate to say this – empty rhetoric. I REALLY HOPE I’M WRONG. The truth will be borne out in the coming weeks as the proposed “health care reform” comes to a head. The problem with the health care reform as it’s evolving out of the different committees of Congress is that “we the people” have no idea what’s in the bill. And, I’m not sure the politicians involved know what’s in the bill, either. For example, there is a firestorm brewing over the so-called “public option” and I don’t know a single person who really knows what “public option” means. However, reports that Obama is about to abandon the “public option” is not sitting well with me, or millions of other “supporters.”

For me, “public option” means a medicare type plan which would have comparable benefits to “the plans Senators and Representatives have” and would be available as an OPTION to anyone who would choose to purchase it. People who have employee based health care would have the OPTION to transfer into the “public option” if they choose – hopefully reducing the outlay for their employer while giving them the same level of coverage. There would have to be some kind of employer mandate, and I believe it would be reasonable for the employee to pay a percentage of the premium just as we do for medicare now. I’m not sure how the Congress could set something like that up, but if they fail to do so, I agree with the house “progressive caucus” that there will be no bill. Today, I heard Nancy Pelosi say that there would be no bill coming from the house without the “public option.” (don’t you wish Pelosi would have been as firm when “impeachment was on the table?”) This morning I listened to an interview with Ron Wyden, Democratic Senator from Oregon, who pointed out that the proposed “public option” might not be even close to what people are envisioning. Wyden claimed, also, that it is unlikely for a bill with the “public option” to pass in the Senate.

So, here’s the rub for me. At this point I’m OK with the bill not making it. No one who has paid any attention at all to the debate could not understand that the Republicans are lined up against this bill unanimously (unless it’s watered down to the point that it will never pass the House in exchange for Olympia Snowe’s vote) and the so-called “Blue Dog” Democrats are not cooperating with their President. They also know that this legislation has not been President Obama’s finest hour. He made a generic proposal and left it up to Congress to write the bill and come up with the solution. I’m not sure if he miscalculated where the “Blue Dogs” were coming from, or if he’s just by nature obsessed with being a uniter and not a strong leader, but the rumors that he’s about to abandon his most ardent supporters seem valid. There’s too many signals coming from what I consider to be reliable sources indicating that President Obama is relying on advice from his “insiders” instead of taking a strong position on this legislation and giving people a clear “bottom line.” It continues to look to me as if our President is more determined to get at least one or two Republican votes on the bill than to work toward the will of his “base.” I hate to say this, but it feels to me as if President Obama is taking the support of his base for granted.

The Republicans are calling the health care legislation Obama’s “Waterloo.” That, of course, suggests to them that if they can defeat this bill they will have defeated President Obama. I don’t TOTALLY agree with that scenario, but, I can see how things could play out that way. If President Obama continues to cater to Republicans, I think it is his own party that will make this his “Waterloo.” I believe totally that most of the Republican LEADERS – unfortunately at this point in time I’m talking about: Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Tom Delay, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, John McCain, Chuck Grassley, Glenn Beck (I can’t believe things could get to the point where I would HAVE to say that – the guy is really a WEIRD ONE), and I could go on and on – just can’t handle a black person (really half black) as Commander in Chief. Their attitude makes me want Obama to succeed more than ever. However, I’m not the only person who supported Obama in the election who is befuddled by his constant sucking up to Republicans. I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT. I think Democrats (rank and file) will be OK with Obama not getting this bill if he doesn’t “cave” to the whims of the Republicans, who won’t support him NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES!

This health care legislation is not the only place where President Obama is on “thin ice” with his base. However, the opportunity still exists for him to show some guts and take the fight to the Republicans and the conservative “Blue dogs” in his own party. DRAW THE LINE ON THE “ROBUST PUBLIC OPTION” that 72% of the American public wants. And, STOP CATERING TO REPUBLICANS! I’ve written numerous posts explaining the falacy of trying to make everyone happy – you end up making NO ONE HAPPY! Here’s what I believe President Obama is having a hard time accepting – the core of the Republican party wants him to fail – NO MATTER WHAT. The idea of him succeeding brings a harsh reality to the minds of the Limbaugh’s, Boehner’s, etc. of the potential reality of them spending generations in the minority. Actually, the way they’re going about it, if Obama does “succeed” I think the Republican party, as it’s presently constituted, could be a thing of the past (hence, a good explanation for their intense opposition – In my mind they fully understand this). I believe that if President Obama gets tough for the rest of this legislation, his “base” will rally around him – and they’ll be forgiving for some of the other potential “week-spots” which are not in the news right now – but, trust me, if this legislation fails and Obama “caves” there are several issues that could blow up in his face – from his own supporters.

Remember, we STILL HAVE 131,000 troops in Iraq – and we’re almost nine months into Obama’s promised 16 month withdrawal. I know that he modified that “promise” to 18 or 19 months, but I don’t even think that’s possible at this point. And, during the campaign he never mentioned leaving a force of 50 – 75,000 “non-combat” forces after the “deadline.” I know he’s busy, but our troops are still dying, being wounded, getting PTSD by the droves, and the same political issues that existed “pre-surge” in Iraq exist there today. As the violence increases, I believe President Obama will be listening to the military leaders who want to stay there for over a decade and be tempted to follow their advice – General Patreaus is persuasive (if you don’t believe me, read Thomas Ricks “The Gamble” – Ricks also wrote the great book on Iraq, “Fiasco,” and I believe he’s the most connected reporter in this whole “fiasco”). On top of that, when the reality of Obama’s escalation of the conflict in Afganistan sinks in to his core supporters, he’s going to need some serious understanding from his base regarding the seriousness of the conditions he inherited (which is being lost in the way he’s going about the present health care debate). The potential exists for some very unhappy Democrats in respect to Afganistan and Obama’s policies.

On close examination it gets worse. President Obama has been defending the Bush wiretapping policies in court. No one in the “main-stream” media, to my knowledge, has even asked President Obama to his face if he’s not still following the Bush wiretapping policies. Is the NSA still “data-mining” the phone calls and emails of MILLIONS OF AMERICANS? Remember, then Senator Obama INEXPLICABLY voted for the FISA bill during the campaign in a complete sellout to his supporters which was overlooked because he “promised” to “fix” the bill once in office – of course, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency to do so. President Obama has directed the Justice Department to support the “States Secrets privilege” that President Bush used to prevent information unfavorable to the administration from being admitted into evidence in court. With the continuance of both inherited conflicts along with the wiretapping and secrecy issues, I’m worried that at some point we’ll start hearing Obama referring to the “War on Terror” – just like President Bush! To me, ALL OF THIS IS ALARMING!

Then there’s the point that has already turned me off to our new President – although I still HOPE HE SUCCEEDS – it will just be without my vote or my occasional few dollars unless he somehow manages to rectify this issue. He seems to be doing everything in his power to prevent any kind of investigation of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the other leaders in the Bush administration who committed heinous crimes. I’ve listed many of the crimes often in previous posts, but the fact Obama keeps trying to protect the Bush administration – to the detriment of our Justice system – is beyond my ability to comprehend. I realize that Eric Holder has named a special prosecutor to investigate abuses by CIA agents and private contractors who went beyond the limits created by the bogus “memos” written by John Yoo, David Addington, and Jay Bybee (now a federal judge – ughhhh!), but he went out of his way to limit the investigation to just those agents, and not the people who authorized the “enhanced interrogation” in the first place. I guarantee you that there are millions of Americans who just assumed that these investigations would take place once Obama was in office and there would be no limits as to where the evidence could “lead.” That’s because everyone who’s been following this torture issue knows that both Bush and Cheney have already admitted to authorizing waterboarding among other shameful practices. It’s almost like Bush/Cheney assumed the way to defeat terrorists was to become even worse than the terrorists. It doesn’t take a legal expert to understand that if we prosecuted “waterboarders” after WW II, and if the Geneva Conventions define waterboarding as “torture,” and “enemy combatants” were waterboarded OVER AND OVER AGAIN (one guy was waterboarded 183 times in ONE MONTH! – with NO ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE as a result – not that that would be a justification for war crimes), and both Bush and Cheney admittedly authorized it, then THEY HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM.

If President Obama caves to the Republicans on health care, then he will be the one with the huge problem – and it will be with his own supporters. Obama’s supporters are different from Bush’s. Bush could do anything and the Republican Congress and the Republican base would support him. Obama’s supporters include most Democrats and a large block of independents (like me) and many dis-affected Republicans, those who finally have had enough of the divisiveness of the Republican party. However, this is not blind loyalty. We expect Obama to be pushing the “progressive” agenda, and his pandering to Republicans is causing him to lose support among his own followers. I believe if he takes the approach that any health care bill is better than no bill, and sacrifices the centerpiece of the legislation for Olympia Snowe’s vote, President Obama will find himself fighting for political survival among his own supporters. I mentioned earlier in this post how Obama’s rhetoric is becoming hollow to me – in fact, I cant bring myself to listen to his speeches at this point in time. I DON’T WANT FLOWERY SPEECHES WITH WHIMPY ACTION – I want a President who is willing to stand tall against all the abuses of the past eight years (actually, more like 30 years) – and show some political backbone and a fighter’s spirit. If that happens, I believe Obama will succeed whether or not he gets this bill through Congress (the people will put the blame on Congress – where it belongs – IF OBAMA DOESN’T CAVE). If he does what’s been rumored and abandon the “public option” for one or two Republican votes, I believe all these other issues will “mushroom” into a “cloud” from his own party that will ensure President Obama is a one-term President. Let me sum up my thoughts for tonight: If President Obama abandons the “public option,” he will be a one term President!

There is no doubt that the health care legislation is important. Getting true health care reform would be a great step forward for this nation. However, if one weren’t paying attention, one would easily think health care is the only issue of importance these days. I guess our media only has an attention span capable of handling one important thing at a time. The reason that bothers me so is because yesterday I was reading the local newspaper and saw an article, buried somewhere far from the front page, describing how a local member of the national guard was killed last week in Iraq – DURING HIS THIRD TERM! What is going on in Iraq is so egregious that it makes me sick to my stomach. Since the economy tanked Iraq has worked its way to the back pages of the newspapers and, seemingly, off the charts of the broadcast news media. We seldom hear anything about it. And, this month at least 47 American troops have died in Afganistan with the military leaders there requesting more troops which makes real the possibility of 100,000 troops in Afganistan if they get their way.

On top of two unwinnable wars going on – that no one except the troops who keep going back over and over again seem to be aware of – being forced out of the news by the health care debate, today I saw footage of an interview Dick Cheney gave on Fox “news” yesterday, which also made me sick to my stomach. Cheney is back claiming that torture works and blasting the Obama administration for “allowing” an investigation into the heinous abuses of certain CIA agents and contractors (presumably Blackwater employees) who committed war crimes while “interrogating” so-called enemy combatants. I only saw exerpts of Cheney’s interview, but that was enough. The guy is either an idiot or a pathological liar (or both). And, as far as I’m concerned, the sooner the man is SHUT UP the better. That means, take the “limits” off these investigations so that Dick Cheney can get what’s coming to him. He made the ludicrous claim that it is “against the rules” (I can’t remember his exact words) for one administration to investigate a previous one. That type of thinking, of course, would only encourage future administrations to ignore the constitution as Bush/Cheney did – especially if Obama gets away with “looking forward and not backward,” a policy that puts Obama, to a certain degree, on the same plane as Cheney (ughhhh!).

I heard with my own ears Dick Cheney claim that the President is the top law enforcement officer, as per the constitution, in the United States. Well, while that explains a lot about what went on in the Bush administration, it couldn’t be further from the truth. While it is true that the President appoints the Attorney General and the Attorney General is part of the Cabinet, it is imperative that the Attorney General be the top law enforcement officer in the nation (IT’S IN THE CONSTITUTION THAT WAY – REALLY!) and that the Justice Department be non-partisan and work independently of the White House. In the Bush administration it was obvious that the Attorney General was a White House “minion” and following the orders of the administration, which was one of the most critical areas the Obama administration had to correct once in office. If you remember, Monica Goodling was hiring attorneys during the Bush adminstration and they had to take a loyalty pledge to get a job, and Justice Department lawyers were writing “memos” that gave Bush/Cheney “permission” to violate the one law after another – INCLUDING TORTURE – as if these partisan “memos” made it OK.  Many outstanding career prosecutors left the Department because of the atmosphere created once Bush was in office due to the fact they, in good conscience, couldn’t participate in the undermining of their department. This nation will not survive in its present form if and when the people lose faith in our justice system as being fair and based on facts – not partisan political gain.  If the Bush/Cheney theory were true elections would REALLY mean something, wouldn’t they? – and, do you really think that if the “shoe was on the other foot” Bush and Cheney wouldn’t investigate Obama if Obama had violated the law?

A good example of what happened under Bush was the imprisonment of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman at the whim of Karl Rove. Rove still hasn’t had to answer for his involvement in that injustice and that case is a major “test” of the Obama administration and Eric Holder.   If Rove and his co-conspirators are allowed to “get away” with a VERY SERIOUS CRIME we will all be worse for it.  This idea of not “looking back” is NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION. If you think about it, should that become precedent, there would never be another conviction for a crime – ANYWHERE – OR, WE WOULD HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT OUR LEADERS ARE ABOVE THE LAW – BECAUSE THE CRIME ALWAYS HAPPENS BEFORE THE PROSECUTION OF IT!  It’s almost as if President Obama wants to confirm President Nixon’s claim that “if the President does it, it must be legal.” That is clearly the position that Cheney takes, and the Fox network is more than willing to give him a platform in which to spout his crap – and that is exactly what it is (there’s actually a better word for it, but I don’t use that word, except for an occasional bad golf shot! :o). IT’S TIME FOR ERIC HOLDER TO PUT THESE THUGS IN THEIR PLACE – And he should start with Cheney! President Obama is worried about the “distraction” doing so would create. THAT IS FAULTY THINKING!

The distraction of Cheney and Bush under investigation IS EXACTLY WHAT OBAMA NEEDS in order to get the health care bill passed. Get it out of the news and into the conference rooms of Congress so that they can come up with a “public option” that mirrors medicare or the Veterans administration’s health care. As it stands now, I’m concerned that what Congress will come up with is a plan that forces the 50 million or so Americans without health care to join Blue Cross or some other for profit insurance company which will then give these companies even higher profits. Does anyone besides me find it interesting that in the middle of the worst economic downturn in 70+ years the health insurance companies are still getting away with double digit increases in premiums – despite profits in the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS?! While I’m thankful that I’m one of the people with health insurance (and a day job), my paycheck will be about $100 lighter EACH MONTH starting soon because of increased health care insurance premiums. I’m pretty sure that is happening EVERYWHERE. So it is imperative for Congress to come up with a plan that ACTUALLY DOES COMPETE WITH THE PRESENT FOR PROFIT PROVIDERS, and that would best happen if Republicans had their attention on something more important to them.

I guarantee that if President Bush and Vice President Cheney were under investigation for what both have admitted to – which is war crimes – the public attention of Republicans would switch from health care.  Their interest is not in what’s best for this nation, it’s in REGAINING POWER, anyway they can.  So, Bush/Cheney under investigation would “trump” the health care debate because Rush Limbaugh and company would “get” the longterm effect of the general public understanding how many crimes were actually committed by GW’s administration.  Two things would then have a chance of being accomplished. First, true health care reform would have a decent chance of passing. Secondly, and in my view MORE IMPORTANTLY, we could restore the foundation of this great nation which is that we are a nation of laws and not men. President Obama and Attorney General Holder could reaffirm that our constitution is a sacred document and that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.  I mean, how can President Obama with one breath affirm that no one is above the law (I heard him say that with my own ears) and then with the next breath say we’re not “looking backward?” As stated above, JUSTICE REQUIRES LOOKING BACKWARD! I don’t think President Obama understands that while Cheney is busy riling up the Republican “base” with his outrageous lies, the distractions which Obama wants to avoid by “looking forward” are happening anyway.  And, to the diehard Republicans, Cheney becomes a hero. I’m sure that Obama would claim that investigating and prosecuting Cheney for his crimes would make him a martyr to the “base,” but I feel that would be only for the extreme “fringe.” There are many Republicans who still don’t understand the truth about how far “over the line” Bush and Cheney went. THIS NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT OUT INTO THE OPEN. The continuing idea of secrecy IS ONLY MAKING MATTERS WORSE (and, for any Republican – or Democrat for that matter – who believes the President and Vice President should be able to commit crimes – well, all I can say is – well, actually, I don’t know what to say to someone who thinks like that – except that I, and millions like me, expect our leaders to follow the pledge they make when taking public office, which is to uphold the constitution.  Defending that pledge is what our troops are sacrificing their lives/limbs for).

Cheney’s latest outrageous claims about how President Obama is weakening our national security are OVER THE LINE themselves. His misinformation and lies are one thing, but his constant claim that he “kept us safe for the last eight years” is such nonsense that someone needs to put him in his proper place, and whether Obama likes it or not, he’s the one responsible for doing so. It’s like Cheney wants another attack to happen to this nation and he’s almost encouraging it (and, if another attack does happen, as far as I’m concerned, it would be because Cheney/Bush MADE US LESS SAFE with their outrageous behavior in office).  CHENEY NEEDS TO BE SHUT UP! Oh yes, and if you’re not aware – BUSH/CHENEY DIDN’T KEEP US SAFE FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS!  9/11 happened on their watch and there was sufficient warning which THEY IGNORED to call them asleep at the wheel. I along with millions of other Americans are not willing to give up our liberty for Cheney’s idea of protection. Make no mistake, these interviews Cheney keeps granting to Fox are designed to protect himself from being investigated or prosecuted for his many crimes which would expose the truth (Cheney wants to be able to enjoy the $100 Million he profited from the Iraq war).  And the truth is, the fact Cheney and Bush allowed us to be attacked is not a reason to torture, it’s not a reason to throw out the fourth amendment to the constitution and violate the privacy rights of millions of Americans, it’s not justification to lie us into an endless occupation of a soveriegn country, it’s not justification to out a covert CIA agent, it’s not a reason to suspend habeous corpus, it’s not a reason to refuse subpoenas to Congress, it’s not a reason to politicize the Justice Department, and it’s not a reason to condone massive lying to Congress.  The next interview Dick Cheney should have is under oath in front of a Grand Jury!

In my last post I postulated about what it might be like if up to three Republicans would jump on board with Teddy Kennedy’s health care bill which emerged from the Health committee he chaired prior to his brain cancer making it impossible for him to continue working. The bill was “ushered” through by Kennedy’s close friend Christopher Dodd and it includes the so-called “public option” which myself along with, I’m certain, most Americans can only surmise what “public option” means. Personally, I picture it as a medicare for all type option that would allow me the opportunity to get the same coverage I’m getting through Blue Cross with less of my premium dollars going to corporate overhead -which includes both the exhorbitant salaries executives seem to feel entitled to these days and the branch of Blue Cross which is dedicated to denying benefits to customers. I was suggesting in my post that, not only would that ensure Kennedy’s dream of health care as “a right not a privilege” would be the final piece of his legacy, but also that it could lead to the end of gridlock in the Senate (and, maybe as important, the revival of the Republican party as something other than corporate panderers).

Kennedy’s passing is obviously of interest to millions of Americans and his influence in Congress is and will continue to be legendary. Yesterday I listened to an interview of Nancy Reagan as she spoke highly of Kennedy as a good friend and someone who constantly was in touch with her and her husband as he was succumbing to Alzheimers. Despite the fact Kennedy and President Reagan were almost polar opposites politically, he, according to Mrs. Reagan, was always respectful and since the Reagans left the White House Kennedy had never forgotten even a birthday without flowers or well-wishes. Tonight I heard Orrin Hatch speak at Kennedy’s memorial service further demonstrating Kennedy’s history of working with those “accross the isle.” We are seeing our new President trying to emulate that approach – which is where my thought is tonight – but with much different results than Kennedy’s. I’m going to see where my thoughts lead me on that topic tonight.

Barack Obama owes his Presidency to Teddy Kennedy. I don’t think there are too many people who follow politics that don’t understand the significance of Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama during the primaries of 2008. At the time the Clinton “camp” reacted quite bitterly to the endorsement, presumably knowing the impact it would have. If you don’t remember the primaries of 2008 roughly one third of the delegates to the Democratic convention were called “super delegates.” That means the voters in the primaries do not determine, ultimately, the party’s nominee. This was the Democrats response to the nomination of George McGovern back in the early 70’s which led to a Republican landslide. The idea of the super delegates, presumably, is to prevent the voters from “making a mistake.” That is to say that if the “big-wigs” of the Democratic party determine the candidate who won most of the delegates from the actual voters can’t win the national election they can “choose” someone else. In fact, right up until the end of the campaign, Hillary Clinton made a huge push to convince the super delegates that she was the most electable candidate and that Obama couldn’t win. I believe Kennedy’s endorsement of Obama guaranteed that strategy to failure.

And, right from the start of Obama’s Presidency, I’ve been writing about how I believe his overt strategy of bipartisanship is doomed to failure. I don’t know if he’s trying to follow in Kennedy’s footsteps as someone who can work “across the isle,” but even if he is – he’s going about it in entirely the wrong way. Kennedy was not overt in his workings with Republicans. He was called the “Lion of the Senate” for a good reason. He would routinely take Republicans “to the woodshed” publicly, and then in private carry on his civil and caring relationships, presumably during those times working out the compromises which has made him legendary. President Obama entered office at maybe the most challenging time for any President in our history. The economy was close to ruined, the government beauracracies were decimated (purposefully) by Bush cronies, the military was/is stretched razor thin by overcommitment to two “endless” occupations, our international image was in ruin, and trust in our legal system was on the verge of collapse. I will give President Obama an A for his ambitious agenda, despite the fact it’s scaring many people because it is encompassing a lot of MAJOR legislation in a relatively short period of time, but his grade for carrying out his agenda is not so good.

President Obama has been “right up front” with his attempt at bipartisanship. This is in the face of a Republican party that, for one thing, WANTS HIM TO FAIL. It has been clear to me, right from the start, that any Republican votes Obama can snag on his legislation are not worth the “compromise” it takes to get them. Additionally, most of Kennedy’s bipartisan workings were “behind closed doors” – at least that’s how it appeared to me. I had no idea he had such close relationships with so many Republicans. Kennedy did not mince words when he was on the Senate floor and attacking, and when he sensed he had the upper hand on an important issue he went for the “jugular.” Obama, on the other hand, has been right out in the open with his “courting” of Republicans – even while they are “stabbing him in the back.” Example: on the health care debate on one day Obama praises Charles Grassley for working in a bipartisan manner and the next day Grassley says the bill has “death squads” (he used the term “the government will pull the plug on grandma”) and adds that he won’t vote for any health care bill (including the one he’s helping to draft). Obama is constantly being undercut by his own STUBBORN determination to have bipartisanship.

Here’s my main point. President Obama owes his Presidency to Kennedy’s endorsement (in my view). It’s time for him to start acting with the clarity and courage that was the hallmark of Kennedy’s tenure in the Senate and I’m sure what Kennedy expected to see from him. Kennedy was not afraid to do the “right thing.” He voted against the Iraq invasion and he led the battle for many civil rights issues and health care reform was his ultimate objective. As an advisor to Obama I can’t imagine Kennedy endorsing some of Obama’s decisions since he took office. I know presume that Kennedy was working behind the scenes on the health care bill – for example, I’m sure that the bill that came out of Kennedy’s health committee had his stamp of approval on it – but I’m not sure how happy he would be with President Obama overall. Take for example the two wars (occupations) mentioned above. For some reason Obama seems to be getting “sucked in” by the “military industrial complex” as it was so aptly named by President Eisenhower. The sixteen month “promise” from Obama’s campaign is no longer even remotely realistic as far as exiting Iraq. In fact, the question now is are we actually going to exit Iraq? The American troops have pulled out of the cities, but they’re still there – all 131,000 of them – which is the “pre-surge” number – THAT’S THE SAME NUMBER OF TROOPS WE HAD IN IRAQ AT THE TIME OF THE 2006 ELECTION – violence is increasing in Iraq, the al-Maliki government is suspect, Moktada al Sadr is returning within the next year, and I’m CERTAIN OUR MILITARY IS LOBBYING FOR AN EXTENDED STAY – BEYOND THE NEGOTIATED “END-DATE.” It is really discouraging to me that President Obama is following the Bush negotiated exit strategy – I don’t see any sign of courage in the decisions coming down on Iraq. I have no doubt that Kennedy, if in Obama’s shoes, would have half the troops home by now.

Then there’s Afganistan. Obama is escalating our involvement in Afganistan and NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHY. I’m not hearing anything about why we’re there (other than to continue fighting the Taliban – this could go on for years upon years) or what “success” would be. Nothing about when we’re getting out, and nothing about the strain this is putting on our troops AND OUR ECONOMY! I mean we’ve got all these Republicans fighting against health care, complaining about the budget deficit, but seemingly OK with two EXPENSIVE miltary occupations (the bill for Iraq and Afganistan would easily cover the cost of health care for our own citizens – how ridiculous is that!?) As of my writing this post we have close to eighty thousand troops in Afganistan PLUS AT LEAST AS MANY PRIVATE CONTRACTORS – INCLUDING BLACKWATER. I really do often think that I WANT MY MONEY BACK from Obama. These two occupations look like, to me, more evidence of Obama’s strong desire to please Republicans. I mean, at least half of our troops SHOULD BE HOME FROM IRAQ BY NOW and by what authority is Obama escalating the occupation in Afganistan? Can you imagine being one of the troops who’s being deployed for the 4th or 5th time? THESE TWO OCCUPATIONS DON’T MAKE ONE OUNCE OF SENSE.

On the domestic “front” I don’t see a lot of courage coming from Obama either. Well, it took some guts to put out such significant legislation, but Obama had to know what a fight he would have in getting the health care bill passed. Coddling Republicans, which is what appears to be Obama’s strategy, is not, has not, and WON’T WORK! Publically, we shouldn’t see any of this “coddling.” If he want’s to give Republcans an opportunity to influence the bill it should have all been done privately. Sure, Republicans should be able to join in the discussion, but Obama should have guarantees as to what they “bring to the table” before he gives them a “platform” from which to speak. IT SHOULD BE CLEAR THAT IF THEY WANT TO CONTINUE THEIR OBSTRUCTIONIST BEHAVIOR, THEY’RE ON THEIR OWN! He really does give the impression of being weak the way he’s going about this. And, because he’s made this the “centerpiece” of his agenda means he should be emulating Kennedy’s “lion” approach all the more. Obama shouldn’t be acting “wishy-washy” at these town hall meetings. For example, it would be nice for him to state that no bill will be signed without a “robust” public option – AND THE PEOPLE SHOULD UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS! He can’t do that because even President Obama doesn’t know what “public option” means, because he’s leaving it up to the Congress to come up with the bill. OBAMA SHOULD HAVE SET DOWN THE PARAMETERS OF WHAT’S ACCEPTABLE RIGHT FROM THE START! The Senate, left to their own “devices,” likely will come up with something that is a boon to insurance companies. If President Obama wants to gamble his second term I would prefer that he chose the “high road.” That is, use the majorities in Congress which “we the people” gave him, pass true progressive legislation (no Republican votes is OK), and let the success or failure determine the consequences. STOP WATERING EVERYTHING DOWN SO WE CAN HAVE BLAMING MATCHES WHEN IT ULTIMATELY FAILS! For once, make a stand, and give your supporters what they understood you to promise during the campaign. Health care reform without a government run option will be little or no reform at all.

I hope that Kennedy’s passing inspires President Obama to emulate him (politically, I included that for all you Kennedy haters who would bring up Kennedy’s personal failures) and get tough on the Democrats that we voted in to allow him the support for “the change we can believe in.” There is nothing Obama can do that won’t be met with skepticism and ridicule by Republicans, that is a given. So, just focus on what’s “right” from the progressive standpoint and take the “lion” approach to getting it passed. President Obama should be able to get at least 50 votes in the Senate to pass the legislation that the people want and not the insurance companies. He should refuse to sign anything less, and if there aren’t 50 Democrats willing to support this, then it’s up to “we the people” to take care of that. Every Democrat who sides with the insurance companies should be publicly exposed so that they can be removed from office come 2012. When 72% of the American people agree on something, it shouldn’t be this hard. Senators who value campaign contributions over their constituents should be removed from office!

Oh yes, there’s one more thing I believe President Obama MUST do if he’s to be the President many progressives thought they were voting for, and that is to BRING OUR SOLDIERS HOME! That is just more pandering to the right wing. The troops should have never been in Iraq and the sooner they’re home the better, and the reason for going to Afganistan was 9/11 – not an endless occupation with no purpose. When President Bush redirected our troups to Iraq and allowed Al Qaeda to escape Afganistan he BLEW IT! Osama bin Laden would like nothing better than for the United States to bogged down in these wars until we’ve totally bankrupted ourselves. It’s time to GET OUT OF BOTH OCCUPATIONS! (I have no doubt Senator Kennedy would agree with that last statement)

I like many was saddened by the passing of Edward M Kennedy last night. He was appointed to the Senate during my sophomore year in high school when his older brother was elected President. At the time I, like most Americans, was focused on his brother who was assasinated during my high school career on a day when the world seemed to stand still, at least from the perspective of my school. Not too many of us were into politics, but virtually everyone stood around in shock with many many tears being shed. I started college during 1965 which was when the Viet Nam fiasco was accelerated due to the phony Gulf of Tonkin incident – the first President (Lyndon Johnson) who lied us into war in my lifetime – OK, we were already tangled in the Viet Nam conflict, but Johnson found a way to escalate the situation and ultimately over 50,000 Americans and untold Vietnamese paid the supreme sacrifice because of Johnson’s decision.

Being somewhat brainwashed out of high school I, during my junior year of college, enlisted in the Marine PLC (Platoon Leader Corps). A leg injury prevented me from fulfilling the obligation I signed up for and it wasn’t long after I was discharged from the Marines that I realized I could no longer support the war my government was fighting. This led me to my first political campaign in 1968 for Robert Kennedy. Kennedy was trying to get the nomination over long odds against Huber Humphrey who had been Johnson’s Vice President (Johnson pulled out because he understood the blowback about the war would prevent him from being re-nominated). Kennedy pulled off a victory in the California primary and everything started looking up for the anti-war movement (at least from my perspective) – hopes that were dashed shortly after Kennedy won the primary by an assassin’s gun. Robert Kennedy’s death on the heels of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and JFK essentially “took the wind from my sails.” I watched politics more distantly after that, occasionally getting my interest peaked, but continually feeling a sense of frustration to the point where I just stopped talking about it (until, of course, GW Bush and the Iraq occupation which led to this site).

Teddy (Edward’s nickname to most people) Kennedy kind of became a national leader by default, pretty much because of his brother’s stature. He proved over the years, however, to be an incredibly dedicated and brilliant politician and he got an enourmous amount of legislation passed during his 47 years in the Senate. One only has to look at the gridlock that has been the norm over the past 10 – 15 years – something that seems to be peaking as I write this piece – to understand what a brilliant Senator Kennedy was. He accomplished enough to be one of the greatest legislators in the history of this great nation despite having a large “block” of people who virtually despised him. Today as I was driving around in my car I heard one of Kennedy’s “haters” call into Thom Hartman’s talk show and blast Kennedy as essentially a murderer. If you’re not old enough to remember, Kennedy was driving a lady named Mary Jo Kopechne home after a party and drove off of a bridge into the water around Chappaquiddick Island, freeing himself but unable to save her. Many people have held this against Kennedy, like the caller to Hartman’s show, and they can’t get past it. Hartman acknowledged that it was a “fall” on Kennedy’s part, but interestingly quoted scripture to the guy who was portraying himself as a Christian as he reminded him about the importance of forgiveness. I too had always questioned Kennedy’s role in Kopechne’s death, but as Hartman pointed out, Kennedy did so much more significant “good” since then and “who hasn’t screwed up?”

Kennedy was instrumental in so much legislation that benefitted working class people, minorities, women, poor people, children, and I could go on, that he was regarded as the “lion of the senate.” Kennedy’s main goal was health care reform. He was determined to see the day when universal health care in the United States was a right and not a privilege. In fact, there was a lot of speculation that Kennedy’s main reason for “throwing his weight” behind Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential primaries was because he felt Obama had a better chance to get REAL health care reform than Hillary Clinton. One of the many health care reform bills being considered in Congress at present came out of the Senate Health committee which Kennedy chaired up until his death. Christopher Dodd of Connecticuit took the “reins” of that committee when Kennedy became too ill from brain cancer to show up for work in the Senate and pushed out a bill that fulfilled Kennedy’s wishes. The bill, as you might imagine, has a “strong public option” as one of its key ingredients. Of course, if you’ve been following the health care debate in Congress, the Senate has been “bogged down” by another competing bill being drafted in the Senate Finance Committe which is chaired by Max Baucus of Montana – a so-called blue dog Democrat who has accepted huge amounts of campaign donations from the health care industry – something exceeding 3 million dollars (I believe it might even exceed 4 million).

It is the enabling of this committe by President Obama which has spawned the erosion of Obama’s support among his own supporters. Baucus, Kent Conrad, and Chuck Grassley (Republican from Iowa) were supposedly creating a bipartisan bill which could gain, according to Grassley, 70 votes in the Senate – although, since then I’ve heard Grassley say he’s not going to vote for his own bill! It is Obama’s insistance on finding a bipartisan solution to the health care legislation which has his own followers anywhere from “jumping ship” to deep frustration. Both Grassley and Conrad have stated publicly that there will be “no public option” in the final bill. Unfortunately, Kennedy’s health prevented him from participating (in person) in the debate over the legislation and it looks a lot like the Senate Finance committee is writing a bill that will be a “boon” for the private insurance companies – which, if it happens, I believe really will be Obama’s “Waterloo,” which is what Limbaugh and the other right wingers are hoping for.

The House “progressive” caucus is on record as saying that any bill without a “robust” public option won’t pass the house with their support. Considering it is unlikely that a single Republican will vote for anything Obama is in favor of – remember their stated objective is OBAMA’S FAILURE – I take my hat off to these House Democrats. No bill is better than a bad bill – and a bill without a true “medicare for all” public option is unacceptable to enough Democrats and independents like me who tend to vote Democratic under the present alignment of the two parties to undo the President if he’s not careful. Considering the high esteem which most in the Senate held Kennedy and considering one of the bills coming out of the Senate was the one supported by Kennedy (the Health Committee’s bill), I’m really hoping that President Obama gets behind that version of the bill and sets down a marker where he won’t accept less – PERIOD!

Who knows, maybe there’s a Republican or two who want to go down in history as the one(s) who finally broke with the obstructionist wing of the party and got behind the Kennedy bill so that it would pass with bipartisan support. OK, I’m probably dreaming, but this is a golden opportunity for a Republican to go down in history as a hero. None of them seem to have the courage to “buck” Rush Limbaugh and the other bloviators on the right who are inciting one fringe group after another in an attempt to cause as much chaos as possible. Do you remember Limbaugh’s “operation chaos” during the last Presidential campaign? Most of these guys on the right have no interest in what’s best for this nation, their only interest is in power and siphoning as much wealth out of the system as they can before they are finally unearthed as subversives.

Here’s the question all these Republicans are facing right now. The whole world is going to be watching and listening to the Kennedy story and his wish for health care to be a “right not a privilege.” WHAT KIND OF PERSON CAN REALLY ARGUE WITH THAT? I’ll tell you, even the people who have been used by these right wing groups as “paid protestors” would benefit from a health care system that provided more for less. I MEAN IT SHOULD BE A NO BRAINER – but the Republican water carriers have an unlimited amount of money behind their obstructionist campaign because the health insurers, the pharmaceutical compainies, many of the hospital chains, and other health providers are reaping huge profits they (understandably – from a greed standpoint) don’t want to give up. A few million dollars to buy off Senators is a small investment for them compared to the BILLIONS of profit they’re reaping each and every year! For them, IT’S NOT ABOUT WHAT’S BEST FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, it’s about what’s best for their shareholders and their CEO’s and other upper level executives. When the CEO’s of private health care insurance companies are making hundreds of millions of dollars each year, WE KNOW THE SYSTEM IS MESSED UP!

This is what Kennedy was fighting for all these years and he felt that with the election of President Obama his dream of universal health care would become a reality. So, I’m suggesting right here that anyone who reads this page call their congress person and demand they vote for the Kennedy version of the health care legislation. Call President Obama and tell him that anything without the ROBUST public option (a medicare for all option – with competitive reimbursement to doctors and hospitals) championed by Teddy Kennedy will get vetoed. And lets all start contacting Republicans in the hope that there might be a Republican in the Senate who wants to go down in history as putting his/her country ahead of loyalty to Rush Limbaugh and the corporatocracy that is essentially bribing them. Edward M Kennedy was famous for working “across the isle” to get significant legislation through the Senate. Wouldn’t it change the whole atmosphere in Washington if one or two, or maybe even three Republicans found the courage to stand with Teddy Kennedy on health care post mortem?!

Today it was announced that Attorney General Eric Holder has expanded the role of the special prosecutor who is investigating the destruction of CIA tapes which showed the waterboarding of at least two “enemy combatants.” Our government is finally going to investigate whether or not CIA and contracted interrogators (most likely Blackwater contractors) “went too far” in carrying out the (illegal) orders of “enhanced interrogations” during the Bush crime years. Well, at least this is a first step in America reclaiming her place as a leader in “human rights.” Now, I’m not so naive to think that some of the stuff which came out during the Bush administration hasn’t been going on for years, (if you want to read a good book which will enlighten you on the subject, read Naomi Klein’s “The Shock Doctrine”) but with Dick Cheney apparently “calling the shots” our CIA (and others) went WAY BEYOND any reasonable parameter as far as what was “acceptable.” In fact, in documents made public today (and, if you’ve seen the documents you will understand why what little money I have for donations is going to the ACLU – because without them, the Obama administration would “get away” with allowing the Bush administration to “get away” with war crimes) members of the CIA speculated themselves that they were probably committing war crimes. I put both of those “get aways” in quotes because, as far as I’m concerned, if the investigation isn’t allowed to go all the way to the “top,” if warranted, then Barack Obama and Eric Holder become complicit in the alleged war crimes.

And, the first reports out hint the prosecution is to be limited to the “operatives” who were interrogating prisoners under the guidelines set up by the likes of David Addington (Cheney’s legal advisor), John Yoo, and Jay Bybee (who was given a federal judgeship as a reward for enabling torture for the Bush administration through phony and legally faulty “memos”). You have to keep in mind that while under questioning by a Congressional committee Mr. Yoo, when asked if burying a man alive and then digging him up before he died was torture, answered that he wasn’t sure – it would depend on the circumstances! These people were/are THUGS who believe that the United States President has the right to do whatever he wants if he claims it’s in the interest of national security. We will never know how many detainees have died in the so-called “war on terror” without a much more thorough investigation than the one proposed. The book “Ballad of Abu Ghraib” documents one instance where top “security” personnel interrogated a prisoner to death – LITERALLY – and then just left him for the suckers who were taking all the pictures to take pictures of the corpse. THAT DEATH HAS NEVER BEEN INVESTIGATED to REALLY FIND OUT where the orders came from. No one’s been held accountable – except, indirectly, Lindy England and the other grunts who were convicted of abuse at Abu Ghraib. Everyone knows that the orders for the deplorable behavior there came from at least Donald Rumsfeld’s desk – and he will probably never have to answer for his actions.

The documents released today verify at least one additional death and when you look at them, you realize THERE’S A WHOLE LOT MORE TO COME OUT! Where’s President Obama’s transparancy that he so willingly promised? These CIA documents looked like some little kid got loose on them with a large tipped sharpie – well over half of them were redacted. WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT INSIST ON HIDING INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLIC. Those of us who have been paying attention are not going to be surprised when we find out how involved Dick Cheney and George W Bush were in ordering what they call “enhanced interrogation” and what the rest of the civilized world calls TORTURE! I’m not sure what President Obama is thinking here. Why did the ACLU need to go to court to force these documents to be made public? And, does the President really think that the ACLU is going to stop pursuing this issue with the conviction of a few “operatives” who “went too far?” Let’s just get all the information out there and get on with it.

It looks like the ACLU and many of Obama’s “base” are going to force President Obama to do the “right thing” here. I’m not the only American who feels that when my government does something like this I’M COMPLICIT IF I ACCEPT IT AS OK! In fact, I would venture a guess there are millions just like me out there. I mean, here’s some of what WE ALL KNOW if we’ve been watching the news or reading the paper in the past year. First, both President Bush and Vice President Cheney admitted on national TV that they authorized waterboarding which, according to our own laws, international law, and the Geneva conventions has been considered torture for generations. President Obama and Attorney General Holder have both said that waterboarding is torture and they both know that Bush and Cheney have admitted to authorizing it – therefore, I really don’t understand how they can block a thorough investigation of this (today’s news says that the only thing investigated will be the abuse by CIA and contracted operatives). Remember, as I understand the Geneva conventions, failing to prosecute known war crimes is a crime in itself.

Second, we know that Sheik Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times IN ONE MONTH, and Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in one month (someone must have thought they had a lot of information). The initial interrogator of Abu Zubaydah, when questioned before Congress, claimed that all of Zubaydah’s information given to him was gained prior to the waterboarding – once the waterboarding commenced the guy shut up. Which leads to the next thing we KNOW: despite Dick Cheney’s claims to the contrary, there is absolutely NO EVIDENCE that waterboarding or other forms of torture gain any kind of pertinent information. In fact, the evidence points in the opposite direction. Evidence gained through torture is totally unreliable (not to mention, it’s inadmissable in court – of course Bush never had any intention of going to court with any of these so-called “enemy combatants” – his plan was, evidently, to leave them at GITMO or the other “rendition” sites until “Hell freezes over”) according to experienced interrogators who claimed they were able to get reliable information from “combatants” with traditional interrogation methods – information which was actually “actionable.”

Third, we know that the torture went WAY BEYOND waterboarding. I mean when you’ve got John Yoo giving you the legal “permission” and, as stated above, he’s OK with burying someone alive “depending on the circumstances” you know the possibilities are endless. And, it appears that the Bush administration was quite creative in their ideas on how to torture people – I guess the word for it would be SADISTIC! From putting a man in a box the size of, or maybe a bit smaller than, a coffin filled with bugs (knowing he had a fear of bugs) and closing the cover and leaving him in there for hours – to forcing prisoners to get naked, putting hoods over their heads and putting them in human piles or forcing them to simulate sexual acts, or chaining them against the bars of their cell and parading females by taunting them – to just simply severe beatings of them. The stories seem almost endless, yet the investigation seems like it will take MORE THAN AN ACT OF CONGRESS to get it started in a manner which will hold the people who authorized this behavior to account.

Finally, there have been reports of how – during the initial invasion of Afganistan – “suspects” (remember, the Americans were paying Afgans and Pakistani’s up to $20,000 for info on who to arrest – and many of the “suspects” arrested were totally innocent, simply a thousands of dollars bonanza for some dishonest Arab) – were carted to the secret prisons in vans which had NO air vents to the rear compartments where the detainees were crammed in. I have read reports where entire truckloads of detainees were DOA (Dead on Arrival) when the truck(s) pulled into the detention site(s) because they suffocated on the trip – remember, in Afganistan the temperatures are REALLY HOT sometimes and, regardless, people need air to breathe. I can’t even imagine how horrible it would be to be in the back of a van, crammed with as many people as they could get in there, and having NO air – I WONDER IF JOHN YOO WOULD CALL THAT TORTURE? (maybe John should get a trip, just by himself, in one of those vans so he would have a better frame of reference) An untold number of these “detainees” died en route to their “prison” and no one seems too concerned about that. Hopefully, this proposed investigation will get to the truth – AS UGLY AS IT’S LIKELY TO BE – so that Americans can face up to what has been done in their name. WE SIMPLY CAN’T ALLOW THESE ACTIONS TO GO UNPUNISHED! The soul of our nation is at stake over this!

All of these FACTS are why I’ve been HARPING on this since President Obama first said he was going to “look forward and not backward.” HE DOESN’T HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO DO SO! The number of people killed because of our inhumane treatment of these prisoners MUST BE MADE PUBLIC. Restitution should be made to the families of the victims! THIS IS A MUCH MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE – FOR THE LONG RUN – THAN HEALTH CARE REFORM! I agree that the health care reform is an important issue and also must be resolved, but the very MORAL FABRIC of our nation is at stake over this torturing issue. MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA HOW DESPICABLE THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS. The world will view us as we view the Chinese or Russians or Iranians or Iraqi’s if we don’t rectify this problem.

I really want to see this issue on the front pages, on the nightly news, and I want to hear how people like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, John McCain (especially McCain), Sarah Palin, James Dobson and the Christian “Right” (wrong), and all the other right wing Republicans try to rationalize this away. It’s time for President Obama and the Democrats to do what they should have done on day one once they had control of the government and that is to have a VERY PUBLIC investigation of what was done under GW Bush and for Americans to have a PUBLIC DIALOGUE about where they REALLY stand on HUMAN RIGHTS. We hear the Republicans attacking Castro, the Chinese government, SADDAM HUSSEIN, the Iranians, the Russians – especially under communist rule, and many others ALL THE TIME over human rights abuses. Let’s find out where they REALLY STAND on the issue. I want to hear them defend Dick Cheney’s position that torture is OK – I WANT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TO HEAR WHERE EVERYONE STANDS ON THIS ISSUE! And, I really want us, as a nation, to find out EVERYTHING that went on, to take responsibility for it – not just say “it won’t happen again” – to hold anyone who committed war crimes accountable (show the world we can police our own – we REALLY ARE A NATION OF LAWS), and to provide restitution to the families of the victims.

As I’ve stated many times on this site, as a Christian myself, I find it deplorable that the Bush administration and the Republican party, as it’s presently constituted, finds its base of support from the so-called Christian right. This torture issue is a good example of the falacy of Christian leaders trying to mobilize people into a “block” with the intention of creating political “power.” Shouldn’t Christians be more concerned with their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ? I know that many of my Christian friends have little to no interest in politics, so they are vulnerable to leaders whom they trust but whom have alterior motives in causing them to become this right wing voting “block.” I would invite any of my Christian friends who might happen upon this site and who are part of the divisive Republican party to read John Dean’s “Conservatives without Conscience.” I honestly don’t understand the following: How can any Christian support a political party which believes in torture? The evidence I’ve seen suggests that the Christian “Right” not only is supporting Republicans involved in torture, but they are – whether they know it or not – supporting the militia movement which is showing itself at rallies where our President is speaking bearing arms. Many are also showing themselves as racists – which is a topic for another day’s rant!

You’ve heard the saying “Deja Vu, All over again.” Well, I’m very worried that we’re seeing a repeat of a disaster in American politics which really turned our nation in a downward direction in 1980. For those of you that remember Jimmy Carter, you may understand my point this evening. Jimmy Carter was a wonderful man, honest as the day is long, compassionate, and very intelligent. He came to the White House from the governorship of Georgia, and like Bill Clinton after him, he proved that not all southerners are racists. In fact, it was during the time of Carter when I took a second look at race relations in this country and realized that a lot of the so-called “liberal north” (like Boston for one example) had covert race issues which were more of an issue than those in the south where people were right up front with racism. Carter was a man who clearly understood that “all men (women) are created equal.” He made some courageous stands that either had, or would have had, long term positive effects on this nation from an economic perspective, and he took major steps as an American President who favored peace worldwide.

If you remember, Carter was undone by the “left wing” of the Democratic party in 1980 when he lost his bid for re-election to Ronald Reagan. Reagan brought the fringe right into prominence through some cagy, underhanded tactics that have been the mantra of the Republican party ever since. Most people don’t remember John Anderson, but he was the disenchanted Republican from the left side of the party who ran as a third party candidate. I have been convinced ever since that election that Anderson’s campaign was totally funded by the pro-Reagan Republicans because Anderson garnered the votes of the disenchanted Republicans (which would have otherwise likely voted for Carter) and the disenchanted Democrats. The likely scenario would have been that these disenchanted voters (and there were millions of them) would have voted for Carter or maybe not at all – but Anderson’s position on the ticket likely resulted in the “Reagan Revolution.” People also either forget, or didn’t know, that Reagan’s campaign made a deal with the Iranian government to hold the hostages (who had been captured during the Ayatollah Khomeini’s coup d’etat) until he took the oath of office. Both of these “tactics” gave Reagan the “bully pulpit” he needed, as an accomplished actor, to push the right wing “trickle down” agenda down our throats. We’ve been suffering from this for the past 30 years.

Essentially, Carter was undone when Teddy Kennedy decided to run against him in the primaries, turning people like my Mom – a lifelong Democrat – against Carter. She, along with many other Democrats, ended up voting for Anderson, unaware of the long term damage to her beloved country. My Mom died last year before she could accomplish her last wish, which was to see GW Bush voted out of office. It took her a long time to understand how good Carter really was, despite all the attacks in the “liberal” media. He was, and in many circles still is, considered weak – despite the fact he initiated energy policies which, had Reagan not reversed them, would have this nation close to energy independence as I’m writing this. He had solar panels installed on the White House in an attempt to show leadership in our need for alternative energy – and, of course, Reagan had them removed almost immediately when taking his turn at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The CAFE standards set by Carter, which were also reversed by Reagan (in favor the the gas-guzzlers), would have the average American vehicle getting between 30 and 40 mpg today. And Carter’s involvement in negotiations with the Israeli’s and the Arab nations set the table for possible mid-east breakthroughs that were only followed up by President Clinton in the nearly 30 years since Carter left office. His lasting legacy remains the hostages held in Iran for 444 days which included the last year of Carter’s Presidency. Carter proved to me that the lives of the hostages were more valuable to him than his re-election. He OK’d one rescue attempt, but refused to commit to a retaliatory strike against Iran and many in America saw that as weakness. It confirmed to me how much I respected Carter – A POLITICIAN WHO PUT PRINCIPLE BEFORE HIS OWN RE-ELECTION! When’s the last time you saw that?

So, now we have another good, honest, intelligent person in the White House who seems to me to be a man who believes in principle (to a fault, in my opinion, regarding “bi-partisanship”). He, like Carter is a good husband and father, and to this point I have no reason to believe he’s a dishonest politician (although I’ve got some worries about things he’s doing which nobody’s asking him about). The sad part of the Obama legacy could be very similar to Carter’s as well. He stands to be undone by the left wing of the Democratic party. Essentially, in this case, they are the one’s who Obama energized in the campaign and who are responsible for his election. However, just as in the late 70’s they expect the President to follow through on issues of importance to them. Today, I saw clips of Obama speaking to a right wing talk show host and answering questions to the host’s right wing audience (the host claims to be moderate – which may be true, I’ve never listened to the guy’s program, he’s from Philadelphia). More evidence that Obama’s quest for bi-partisanship is intense. I’ve been saying this almost since his first days in office, it appears to me that President Obama is spending (far) more time talking to Republicans than to those who “got him there.” It’s starting to look like he’s taking his supporters for granted. He even seems somewhat astonished by the backlash coming from the “liberal” Democrats – which is somewhat alarming to me.

I REALLY DON’T WANT OBAMA TO BE A ONE TERM PRESIDENT LIKE CARTER WAS! But, I’m beginning to wonder what he’s thinking. Is it his advisors? Or is he not as intelligent as I gave him credit? Or, worse yet, is he a moderate to conservative Democrat who campaigned as a “Progressive.” I’ve mentioned in previous posts the “red flags” which I’ve tried to look the other way from during his first 6 months in office, but Obama himself has put the onus on this health care debate – which, in my opinion, HE CLEARLY WASN’T READY FOR. Now, he’s in a position of “guaranteeing” to his supporters that “we will have a bill.” At the same time he says that he also says that he still hopes to have Republican support for the bill. I’m sitting here thinking that if there’s one Republican vote for the bill, IT WON’T BE SOMETHING THAT WILL REFORM HEALTH CARE. President Obama has stepped right into the Republican’s trap, and I’m not sure how he’s going to get out of it. And, for those of us who are his original supporters the horizon could look very bleak. I SUFFERED FOR EIGHT YEARS UNDER BUSH! I’m starting to suffer under Obama, which I thought would be unthinkable. And, can you imagine in 2012 another Bush – or worse still – SARAH PALIN? I honestly don’t know how I’ll deal with that. I’m almost thinking I hope Mitt Romney wins the 2012 Republican Primary – wait a minute – I didn’t really say that did I?

It’s starting to play out like the Republicans couldn’t have orchestrated it better. President Obama is undermining his support within his own base. President GW Bush, VP Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove, David Addington, John Yoo, John Ashcroft, and many others will not only all walk away from their crimes scott free, but they leave a legacy of executive abuse that will be etched as precedence for the incoming President in 2012 if Obama fails to be re-elected (this is the part about Obama that REALLY BUGS ME – he says America no longer tortures, but by letting the torturers “off” he’s really saying we don’t torture while he’s in office, we’ll let the next President decide for himself if we should torture or not – because Obama has confirmed Nixon’s claim – “IF THE PRESIDENT DOES IT, IT MUST BE LEGAL”) – and it’s looking more and more as if that (Obama as a one term President) could happen. It almost looks to me as if President Obama thinks he can go around the country refuting Republican lies, as if he’s still on the campaign trail, and somehow convince the American people to continue to support him. And, the worst part of that is he’s focused on the people who aren’t going to support him, at least their congressional delegates aren’t going to support him, no matter what he says at his town halls and on these right wing radio shows. Obama has a 60 VOTE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS IN THE SENATE. He should be doing whatever he has to do to get those Democratic Senators in line to support his “signature” legislation – PERIOD!

As I said yesterday, President Obama needs to REGROUP and fast. Take a look at who the advisors are, and get rid of the ones who are telling him to keep sucking up to Republicans! If the health care legislation is passed and it doesn’t give me the option of joining a government run “medicare” like plan which would compete with Blue Cross in benefits, but without all the profit motive and heavy administrative costs, I will be really bummed. The only reason there’s such a debate going on is obvious – the health insurance industry doesn’t want to give up what I’ve heard is 800 BILLION DOLLARS in annual profits. For heaven’s sake, that amount is almost enough to pay for the plan itself – the one being proposed. The point I’m trying to make is that I’m really worried that President Obama is going to receive the same fate as President Carter. We voted out the Republicans because they were terribly corrupt. We not only didn’t picture President Obama on this constant mission to turn Republicans to “our side” (really, I’m an independent, but I can’t imagine voting for a Republican under the present circumstances) but expected accountability for their previous misdeeds. There aren’t enough Republicans left in this nation to vote President Obama out of office – UNLESS – people like me vote for a third party candidate, or don’t vote at all because they’re so discouraged at feeling betrayed by everyone who ever takes public office. The way to remind people that Republicans created the mess we’re in is NOT by sucking up to them! There’s not a Republican left in the Senate that deserves anything more than our disdain, and if President Obama wants a chance for success he’d better soon figure out that his “base” deserves his FULL ATTENTION! To hell with the Republicans! PERIOD, END OF STORY!

There’s an old saying, “those who choose to ignore history are bound to repeat it.” Just as I never in my wildest dreams figured we’d ever repeat the mistake of Viet Nam, now we’re stuck in two Viet Nam like situations – orchestrated by politicians who managed to avoid Viet Nam in their day.  Additionally, we’re faced with the real possibility of the Democratic party turning on their own President with the likely result a President who at one time was considered an impossibility for the office getting elected (Reagan was once considered too “out there” to be President – so all you people who think Sarah Palin is history and too “out there,” be careful – and don’t forget Jeb Bush who’s “laying in the weeds” waiting for the right moment). And the reality is that it’s President Obama’s responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen. I TRULY HOPE HE UNDERSTANDS THIS!

What is it about these Democrats that makes them want to be the minority party to a bunch of thugs? I really don’t get it. I’m watching this present “health care debate” with astonishment. It’s not a debate at all. How can you call it a debate when the people you’re supposedly debating are doing nothing more than OBVIOUSLY playing you for a sucker? And, why on earth can’t these Democrats “get” this? When I voted for Barack Obama I was thinking “finally, we’ll have someone with some intellect in the White House!” The problem, or so it seems, is that President Obama doesn’t understand how to deal with people that despise him. As I’ve been saying for months now, this “reaching out” to Republicans is going to make Obama a one term President. The worst part of that is that the Progressives who voted Obama in will not get the legislation they were expecting (and, believe me, it will be at least another 15 years until we have another chance to implement a people friendly health care system if the present attempt fails), they will end up putting up with another Republican administration (God, help us!), and all the misdeeds that Bush/Cheney put in place will still be “on the books” because of the errant attitude of “looking forward and not backward.”

Now, I fully understand how presumptuous it is of me to be giving President Obama advice (I’ve been doing this for several months now, and he’s surely not going to follow it, even if he somehow reads it), but my never say die attitude forces me to keep trying (if enough people email him this, maybe …… well, who knows). I’ll tell you why I feel like I need to keep doing this. The present debate has been manipulated by Republicans to the point where there’s no way the Democrats can win, short of tearing up everything that’s been talked about and starting over. I guarantee you, at this point, even if there ends up being a so-called “Public Option” on the final bill, it will be far removed from what most people picture in their minds what a “public option” should look like. I would bet that most people figure the “public option” to be something along the lines of a “medicare for all” policy that everyone would have the option to buy into, should they choose – therefore, public OPTION. However, I’m guessing that this so-called option will be so watered down that no one will recognize it. The fact that President Obama himself has said Repbubicans have over 160 amendments in this legislation tells me to “watch out.” What we’ll end up with is legislation which somehow makes the insurance companies EVEN MORE MONEY! Remember, the main agenda of the Republicans is to help Obama fail (and to help insurance companies make more money – they could get the old “two birds with one stone” here). THEY WILL DO NOTHING WHICH MIGHT HELP HIM SUCCEED! That’s just the reality!

So, President Obama, please listen carefully. Your “reaching across the isle” strategy is not only turning off large numbers of your “base” it’s totally playing into the hands of the Republicans who won’t sleep well until you’re out of the White House. They figure that the only job for someone of African descent in the White House is on the kitchen staff or the janitorial service. I know you don’t want to hear this about your former colleagues in the Senate on the Republican side (and, unfortunately, I think there’s some on your own side as well) – but, keep in mind these thugs run everything by Rush before they make it public – and, if you don’t know where Rush is coming from, then what happens is all on you. Those of us on the “progressive” side of things – you know, liberals before Republicans managed to make liberal a dirty word through their propaganda machine which has been picking up steam since the 80’s – are counting on you to put up a better fight to put these criminals “out to pasture.” This is why it was such an egregious error on your part when you decided that a President couldn’t possibly be a war criminal. You might as well have injected those in the Republican party with a shot of adrenaline – Mr. President, if this doesn’t work out, you will be responsible for the resurrection of a bunch of people who your supporters put up with for eight long years (actually, longer than that, because GW was just an extension of the “Reagan Revolution”) and worked diligently to get rid of – supposedly, ONCE AND FOR ALL!

All you had to do was get out of the way of the justice system, which – AS YOU SAID – clearly states that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! I would love to hear Rush Limbaugh criticizing your administration for upholding the constitution FOR ONCE IN MY LIFETIME! We’ve put up with Iran/Contra, Watergate, and worse than both of those Bush/Cheney et al! And, EVERYTIME, the Democrats (well, except Watergate – and the truth is that Democrats and Republicans alike stood up against Watergate – but that was before corporations owned our Congress – LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL!) let the Republicans off the hook. The problem with letting Bush/Cheney off the hook is that THEY COMMITTED WAR CRIMES, THEY WIRETAPPED AMERICAN CITIZENS ILLEGALLY, THEY OUTED A CIA AGENT, THEY REFUSED SUBPOENAS TO CONGRESS, THEY LIED TO CONGRESS AND EVERYONE ELSE – ALL THE TIME – AND THEY UNDERMINED THE VERY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT THAT WE THOUGHT YOU WOULD RESTORE TO RESPECTABILITY! Your “looking forward” has itself undermined everything your supporters stand for. You’ve even gone into court defending some of the indefensible positions of the Bush administration. You might be OK with being a one term President, but there’s a bunch of us out here who don’t want a Republican in 2012, and it’s almost as if you’re alright with that.

I’m going to assume that you really do want to do what’s best for America. So here’s some more advice. STOP THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE RIGHT NOW, AND PREPARE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN – WITHOUT REPUBLICANS! Enlist your supporters for the fight, because the real “war” in America right now is for the soul of this great nation, and if you don’t get over “bi-partisanship” and SOON, your supporters could be right back where they were before you entered the scene. NO ONE I KNOW ANTICIPATED YOUR KEEN DESIRE TO PLEASE REPUBLICANS! Anything you do that has their support will ultimately loose your support with your base. You need to GET THAT THROUGH YOUR (THICK?) HEAD right now. Once you have scrapped the present fiasco – WHICH IS GUARANTEED TO BE A FAILURE, (THE REPUBLICANS WILL VOTE AGAINST IT, AND DESPITE THE FACT THEY WILL BE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILED PARTS OF IT, THEY WILL TURN AROUND AND BLAME YOU FOR EVERYTHING – the classic LOSE LOSE situation for you!) – make a health care plan that you can explain to the people and take it out of the hands of the Congress to write it. THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE, admit it and move on. When you come up with the new plan, make sure that the “pure” public option, that is a Medicare like plan that every American has the option to buy into, is part of the proposal – AND MAKE IT NON-NEGOTIABLE! If the health care insurers don’t like it, well TOUGH S*@#!

While you’re working up the new plan, push through a second stimulus bill that is solely aimed at creating jobs – and STOP WORRYING ABOUT REPUBLICAN VOTES! If you respond to the people who voted you in, THEY WILL STICK WITH YOU! It’s this coddling of Republicans that’s making your supporters crazy. If you can’t see the writing on the wall, we can! You watered down the initial “stimulus” package to get three Republican votes. IT’S NOT WORTH IT! We still have almost 10% unemployment – and, I’ll venture a guess that the true figure is more like 15%. Put your focus on JOBS, JOBS, JOBS. Let your surrogates put together a much more easily understood health care proposal – the single payer option would obviously be best, but a “Medicare for all” TRUE OPTION would be acceptable, and let the ground forces help you get it passed. The reason your support is waning is because EVERYONE KNOWS that the present legislation is watered down already – and you seem to be still looking for more compromises! ughhhh! Plus, even your own supporters don’t understand what’s in the legislation. Believe me, despite the fact many still trust you, HARDLY ANYONE – EITHER PARTY – TRUSTS CONGRESS, and that’s who’s writing this bill.

Oh yes, before you do anything after you scrap the present legislation, you’ve got to turn the justice department loose on Bush/Cheney et al. Stop with the enabling of their crimes. Give the Republicans like Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Hannity, DeLay, McConnell, Boehner, Palin, and the others something to complain about. While they’re busy complaining about how waterboarding couldn’t possibly be considered torture, and how even though Abu Ghraib was ordered by Rumsfeld, he shouldn’t be held accountable because if the “grunts” hadn’t taken pictures no one would be the wiser for it, you can be busy creating jobs for America’s middle class (while you’re at it, let’s pass the employee free choice legislation). And, let them make the argument again that Valerie Plame Wilson was just a desk secretary. There are enough TV sound bites to put these guys away for years (let alone what you’d find in normal “discovery” from a legitimate investigation), and there are a lot more people than myself who wonder why we’ve got some Privates and Sargeants who were poorly trained for the job they were given at Abu Ghraib and were doing what they understood had been ordered – and now are in Leavenworth while the people who authorized their actions are writing memoirs and making millions. Mr. President, with all due respect, if you continue to ignore the torturers you become culpible. According to the Geneva Conventions, as I understand it, you don’t have the option of “looking forward and not backward.” We all know that you understand that both Bush and Cheney committed war crimes (authorized waterboarding – admitted on national TV by both men), therefore, if you do nothing about it, you become part of the problem. I’ll end by asking you, can you tell me that you are absolutely NOT continuing the Bush wiretapping abuses? I REALLY hope I’m wrong on that one, because it will come back to “bite” you if you’re still doing it. Mr. President, the only thing being accomplished by your coddling Republicans is the restoration of the Republican party! They are not laughing with you, they’re laughing at you!

I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be writing in this “blog.” It all started when I felt such frustration over the Bush administration’s policies and the failure of the Democratic Congress (elected in 2006) to both end the Iraq fiasco and impeach the President and Vice President who had both clearly committed “High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” I have always been one to believe that the constitution would carry the day, no matter who was in the White House. I still remember the Watergate hearings, when the Congress of the United States showed that it had some integrity and there were statesmenlike members on “both sides of the isle.” Even Republicans in those days realized that the “President isn’t above the law” contrary to the claims of Richard Nixon. Well, George W Bush and Dick Cheney failed to understand that and were enabled, first by a rubber stamp Republican Congress and then by their “spineless” Democratic comrades, and finally by Barack Obama himself. As long as I live I’ll never forget the words of Nancy Pelosi when she became the first woman Speaker of the House; “Impeachment is off the table.” I should have known right there and then what lay ahead. The discouragement I’m feeling watching these Democrats in action is tempting me to go back into my “happy space” where I just ignore what my government is doing.

And, as much as I want to “bow out” of the dialogue at this point, I still have children and grandchildren who will be well-justified in asking “What the H were you people thinking?” when they understand how much “We the People” have taken from them in the past 30 years. Most of my ranting has been against Republicans, and they are deserving of every rant I can muster up, but lately I’m feeling more and more like ranting about Democrats. In 2008 we voted in enough Democrats to make the Republicans irrelevent – which is right where they belong until they change their tune. In fact, I’ve often thought (and written) about the need for a third party because the Repubicans are so “out there” that I figured it won’t be long and only the hard core 20 -25% would be listening anymore. I mean, for heaven’s sake, Rush Limbaugh is the de facto head of their party. THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE TO ME! The Republican politicians seem to be running everything by Rush to make sure it’s OK to say in public. Well, I couldn’t imagine anything making these thugs relevent again. However, it’s now become clear to me where I was wrong and what can bring them back into prominence – a combination of an un-educated public and DEMOCRATS! The truth is that the mess we are presently in is the result of eight years of Bush and his “rubber stamp” Congress and a bunch of Democrats who’s favorite saying is “We don’t have the votes.”

I confronted my local Congressman at a Town Hall (one that convinced him not to have more town halls – and we were civil in our disagreement with him) when he announced he would support the “surge” after the 2006 election. While it’s true that the “surge” was responsible for reducing the violence (short term) in Iraq – and believe me, I would like nothing better than to see a stable Iraq – NONE OF THE POLITICAL OBJECTIVES WERE OR HAVE BEEN MET because of the surge. The fissure between Sunni and Shia is deep and it’s still there. The Shia are in control now and are showing some signs of restraint, but the fact has always been that if Iraq is going to stabilize it will be because of what the Iraqi’s do – not Americans. I will always question whether putting off the inevitable (Iraqi’s deciding if they want a stable government) was worth the lives of well over 1,000 American troops, not to mention all the wounded, along with the BILLIONS of dollars spent there by us EVERY WEEK (and, unfortunately, counting). My Congressman is a Democrat and he clearly went against the will of his constituents in making that vote. So, I confronted him saying “I can understand you feeling an obligation to the Iraqi people, but what about our own people?” “If you have to vote for the surge, the least you can do is vote to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney,” (the whole auditorium broke into loud applause as I finished my sentence) and Congressman Baird’s response was the famous Democratic response to just about every important question: “We don’t have enough votes in the Senate (to convict).”

What these Democrats don’t seem to get, is that they are losing their “base” with all these timid responses to hard questions from their constituents. One thing that will get Republicans back into power will be a low voter turnout in the upcoming elections, and that is exactly what the Democrats are going to be facing in 2010 and 2012 if they don’t get their act together and FAST! Just as Nancy Pelosi didn’t have the right to take impeachment “off the table,” Obama didn’t have the right to “look forward and not backward” when he took office. They are not only ignoring us, they’re ignoring their Constitutional duties. We voted Republicans out OVERWHELMINGLY in the last election and by looking at what’s going on in Congress YOU WOULDN’T KNOW IT. Yesterday I watched in dismay as Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, said on national TV, “There will be no “public option” in the impending “health care reform” bill,” because “WE DON’T HAVE THE VOTES IN THE SENATE.” He then added, we never have. Well, what he forgets is that they did have the votes – they had them on November 4th, 2008. When they won’t have them will be in November of 2010 and 2012 if they vote against their own President on his “signature” legislation. I’m not the only “progressive” member of society who is sick to death of that excuse.

Now, I’ve stated in previous posts why I believe President Obama is making some critical mistakes in his first year in office. I have railed against the idea of “bi-partisanship” with these Republicans (in their present form) and I believe putting all his eggs in the health care basket (not even knowing where his party stood) was a huge mistake. So, now that the cards have been dealt, the reality is that for those of us who want President Obama to succeed, somehow this health care legislation has to make it to his desk WITH THE “PUBLIC OPTION” IN TACT! I salute the house Democrats who have stated that they will not vote for a bill without the so-called public option. I totally agree with them that we are better off with nothing than with what Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, and Charles Grassley – all recipients of millions from the health care lobby – come up with. President Obama needs to get out front and declare that he won’t sign a bill without the public option, and “We the people” need to let our Congresspersons know that we will hold them accountable for voting against it. That gets me to the main thought for the evening. President Obama needs to step it up. Even if he doesn’t get a bill, we – meaning those of us who got behind him in 2008 – need to see him standing tall for what we voted him in for. We’re smart enough to figure out how messed up the Senate is. And, I realize that they only get voted in every 6 years, but we can send an even stronger message in 2010 if we feel it will be worth our while.

However, President Obama hasn’t shown me he’s up for the challenge. I’m seeing too many signs of him being “wishy-washy” on important issues. I’m not one who would mind seeing the Republicans sleeping on cots in the Senate while they filibustered every piece of legislation offered up by the Democrats. I would like to feel that President Obama is actually leading the Democratic party as opposed to some kind of facilitator in “reaching out to Republicans” and constantly seeking bi-partisanship. The fact is that there isn’t a Republican who’s going to vote for anything that might make Obama successful. They have stated very clearly that their main objective is that President Obama fail. Unfortunately, the Democratic Congress is making that all too real a possibility. As the saying goes, someone needs to “grab the bull by the horns.” And that someone, by default, MUST BE PRESIDENT OBAMA! I’m on record as stating that his unwillingness to press for investigations of Bush/Cheney et al was a “deal breaker” for me. My thinking was that I’m just one vote, and it won’t make that much difference. But, that unwillingness is proving to be just a symptom of a bigger problem – instead of being the statesman we anticipated, Obama is looking more like the consummate politician who’s trying to make everyone happy. The end result of that: NO ONE ENDS UP HAPPY! (When I say “no one,” I’m obviously talking about progressives – BECAUSE THE COURSE OBAMA IS LEADING IS MAKING REPUBLICANS VERY HAPPY!)

President Obama is playing right into the hands of the Republicans. I’ll give them credit, they are a lot more “forward thinking” and “united” than the Democrats. Some Dems think that’s good – that the party is so diverse, and to a degree I agree with that – but, on REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF the Dems have proven themselves OVER AND OVER AGAIN to be cowards (or, worse yet, bought by the same corporations who rule the Republicans). I still remember one analysis of the Republican’s strategy in 2008 was to give up the White House for 4 years, anticipating that the American public would forget how incompetent they were under Bush, and then take back the White House in 2012. At the time, I thought they were dreamers. Well, they’re looking less and less like dreamers the more these Democrats show their disrespect for the people who voted them into office. Trust me on this one, these paid disruptors at the town hall gatherings during this August recess, are miniscule in comparison to all the good working class people who went to the polls last year and are just expecting their President and Congress people to follow through on the campaign promises – including a health care bill WITH A PUBLIC OPTION! If the Democrats allow these thugs to influence their vote on this health care bill, THEY DON’T DESERVE TO BE RE-ELECTED. And, if Obama doesn’t step up and show some assertive leadership here, HE WON’T GET RE-ELECTED! (and, I’m not talking about going around the country giving Town Hall meetings – I MEAN, TAKE CHARGE OF THE SENATE DEMOCRATS AND GET THEM ON BOARD HERE – OR ALLOW US TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.) My own Senator, Maria Cantwell, much to my chagrine is one of the “balkers” on the “public option.” I’m planning a visit to her office, and I’m sending no more money to her and hoping to be able to support someone else should she allow herself to be bought off on this. AND, BELIEVE ME, THE ONLY REASON A DEMOCRAT WILL VOTE AGAINST THE “PUBLIC OPTION” IS BECAUSE THEY’VE BEEN BOUGHT BY THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY! When 72% of the public wants something and they vote against it, there’s no other rational explanation. If they had any guts, they’d be pushing for a single payer “Medicare for all” plan that would really be the best and most efficient way to insure all Americans.