Wishful thinking by the GOP?

Not even 9 months complete, some political handicappers consider President Obama's presidency to be such a failure that right now is not "will Republicans make gains at the midterm elections?" but "how large will those gains be?" I don't know about that. While the party in power almost always loses seats in midterm elections, a lot has to happen or not happen before next November for big changes. However, ignoring that incumbents tend to win in a very high percentage and that a number of somewhat moderate Republicans who could probably attract Obama supporters, have already announced they are not running again next year, the GOP has a bigger problem -- their leadership gap. In 1994 the GOP had Newt who, while out there, was somewhat rationale. He had a 10 point Contract for America plan and some of it made sense to Clinton supporters. Also, the purge of moderates that Reagan democrats could vote for hadn't begun yet. I don't see that with the GOP today. While there are those who do have good ideas they are being shouted out by the crazies whose main goal is just to obstruct. But even so, the GOP has other problems.

Just because they choose to highlight their celebration of ignorance and their passion for stupidity does not mean the rest of the country is going to follow that path. They point to the teabaggers as their new base but, if that is the case, why were the teabaggers not out demonstrating against the Medicare drug benefit, the Sarbanes-Oxley bill, and all the other pork-barrel spending that President Bush refused to veto -- much of which was passed when the Republicans held both houses of Congress? Are we seeing a real grass roots movement or just a bunch of Republican hacks in disbelief that they have been exiled from their seats of power?

If this movement was a majority, we would have seen rioting in the streets months ago. Instead we seem to have a few thousand hard-core individuals intent on destroying and undermining the man that a majority of Americans elected without any proposals of what they would do, aside from not doing what the President wants to try. That is not a grassroots uprising; that is a communication strategy, same as the ability of a very few people to mess it up for everybody because they can.

Instead of growing their base, they are appeasing their worst by chasing away Latinos, who Bush, in theory, was going to bring into the party as natural Catholic conservatives, at the same time their demographics continue to increase. Their embrace of the birthers who think the state of Hawaii was part of Kenya for a brief time in the early 1960s, and other crazy theories is also chasing away voters. Add in that many in what is left of the middle class may have finally come to the realization that the GOP doesn't always have their best interests in mind and it may be hard as sooner or later more will realize that they spent the Bush years working more hours for less dollars, at least until their jobs were outsourced so CEOs could enjoy the additional profits that their tax cuts failed to provide. Their only real hope is that President Obama continues to show the lackadaisical leadership lately that has helped to lead his poll numbers down. If the President stops speaking softly and starts using his big stick then that might be it.

Who do the GOP have now on the national scene? Rush Limburg? Glenn Beck? Sarah Palin? Screaming "you lie" is not leadership. Instead of grooming new leadership they have concentrated on chasing away all but the pure, who will just follow without question. The GOP's supporters may be loud but they are fewer in number then they were 16 years ago and coverage of some of their antics feels more like filler news because there is not much else interesting going on.

The GOP may gain some midterm seats, many if the healthcare war ends badly, or the auto and bank bailouts turn out to not have helped the economy and unemployment remains high. But unless they get the crazies out, like the Dems did over the last 25 years or so (with Kennedy gone are there any real liberals left?) they're going to set themselves up for a bigger disaster in 2012.

Caribou Barbie

Did you see the interview Sarah Palin had with Katie Couric on CBS? Yikes!! No wonder the McCain campaign is keeping her from the press, which finally seems to be waking up to this problem. More disturbing though is the thought she could be President one day. While I don't expect her, a governor suddenly thrust onto the national stage to be as well versed in national issues as Senators McCain, Obama and Biden after just a few weeks, I would expect her to at least be able to answer a question with a rudimentary, basic answer. That she can not disturbs me. It is not so much that she didn't know the issues facing this country that bothered me as her seemingly inabilityto still understand them. She is not qualified to run for the second highest office of this land.

Being governor of Alaska, a state with a population smaller than Brooklyn, is not the same as being a governor of New Jersey, Texas or Arkansas. She basically has the same executive experience as one of the many mayors of New Jersey's small towns. My father in law has executive business experience running his small radio communications company, that doesn't mean he has the skills to suddenly run CBS tomorrow, even though he watches the network on a regular basis. If Governor Palin can't handle Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric or even her own supporters throwing softballs, how can she handle Putin when he bombs Georgia again? How will she work with foreign leaders who already see her as just eye candy like Pakistan's leader did?

I'm not a Dick Cheney fan, but I wouldn't be too worried if he was suddenly President. He has been engaged in national and international issues for decades and would be an adequate President. Same for Al Gore if something had happened to President Clinton. Even Dan Quayle, who was also thought to be a lightweight, had some experience with national issues and, as I recall, was at least able to answer reporter questions (though not spell potato). But Governor Palin? Maybe 8 years from now, but not today. And, after this last round with Couric I think I am being generous.

Whether you agree with her or not is not as important as whether she can actually be President. Her running mate is a 72 year old former POW cancer survivor running for the most stressful job on the planet? Will he still be here in 4 years? What happens if we really do get a President Palin. As I said before, picking Palin was a great political move, but is it good for the country?

Yes, the role of the VP, which constitutionally is just to make sure the President is breathing and break ties in the Senate, doesn't require much, but when there is a chance that VP may be President, it is time to worry. And, as the recent financial meltdown has shown, we will need a leader who is not only engaged but also can understand what is going on. Senator McCain is intelligent and knowledgeable, Palin is not. Governing a nation such as our requires skills and an ability to make the right decision based on an understanding of the facts to make complex decisions, not just simply doing what your advisers tell you to do because all you are is an empty figure head. It requires a leader prepared to understand the issues facing him or her, able to partake in serious thought. I have yet to see a view from Governor Palin that would convince me she has these skills.

I like John McCain, though not his campaign (which reminds me of Gore's 2000 campaign filled will missteps because the handlers wouldn't let the candidate be himself). If he had won the nomination in 2000, I may have voted for him over Gore, but then I may not have. Though there were polices of his I disagreed with, I never doubted his ability to be President then. However, it is now 8 years later. He is 72 and has had health issues. While his mother is still around, both his father and grandfather died at much younger ages. While though those could be blamed on the stresses of WWII and Vietnam, both the stresses of our financial mess and Iraq will not be going away anytime soon and I worry about a President McCain making it to 2012.

There is a reason why some of the left leaning blogs came up with the nickname Caribou Barbie for Governor Palin (I think, I'v heard it many places). These are dangerous times, we can't afford an incompetent person running the show. As long as Governor Palin remains on the ticket, I will not vote for McCain. There are many competent conservatives who, while I may not agree with politically, are competent to step into the role of President if the need should sadly arise.

The Fifth Column

One of the great things about the United States is that I can express myself and criticize our government by expressing myself on a page like this without fear of retribution from government officials.

Born in the late 60s, my first real political memory is Watergate. I do not have many memories of the Ford administration (aside from the Daily News's "Drop Dead" front page). I recall the Carter years as one of gas lines and the hostage crisis. Later, I recall, during my 7th grade lunch period, the students counting down the minutes to the end of Carter's presidency, followed, 40 minutes, later by cheering students when the principal announced the Iranian embassy hostages were free. At the time, I thought the Republican party was king and the Democrats were wimps. While my left leaning, but far from liberal, parents, were upset by Reagan's budget cuts (and as New Yorkers that made sense since we were paying more in federal taxes then we were receiving in federal aid), I saw some of his moves as necessary to right a bloated government (at least as per my limited understanding of the time). Though too young to vote for President in 1984, my dad was appalled that I voted for Reagan over Mondale in my high school's class mock elections.

Today, I look at the Republicans of the 1980s and wonder what happened to them. The GOP points at Reagan's outspending the Soviet Union, and bringing democracy (or at least ending Communism) to Russia as a point of pride. However, the GOP is still living on the fumes of events, climaxing with the fall of the USSR, that occurred almost two decades ago.

When I look at the Republican party of today all I see is a party of incredible fiscal irresponsibility that will leave massive debts for me and my children. I see a party that is short sighted, refusing to invest in their own nation to ensure that we remain a strong super power in lieu of quick profits today. They lie about WMDs to grab some cheap oil from a guy, evil in his own right, but of no real harm to America, just because he was an annoying thorn in their side (sticks and stones ... ) who they were tired of. Worse, I see a party refuse to take care of the veterans whose lives were destroyed by their "oil war." I see a party unafraid to call un-patriotic anyone with the nerve to question them (and, to be fair, that was a bipartisan thing back in 2003), something that should be a basic part of a functioning democracy in our republic. When I think of the worse terrorist attack on the US, I see the Republicans in charge. I see a party happy to use the Constitution as toilet paper, harping and flaming the fears of average Americans to maintain their hold on power. I see a party happy to use torture on prisoners, despite the harm this may do to our own, captured soldiers, not to mention what that does to our image of ourselves as the "good guys."

Contrary to that, the Democrats seem to be the source of fiscal responsibility (I'm talking national level). They may raise taxes, but at least they don't leave as big a bill as the next guy. They even balanced the budget for a few years. More importantly, they at least show a little respect for civil rights.

I'm not a "liberal pinhead" by any means. I'm a socially liberal, fiscally conservative American citizen. And, as an American citizen, I can't vote for the fifth column Republicans any longer.The GOP needs to lose, and lose badly this fall. Cleaning house might be the only way they get the deadwood out. I don't agree with everything the Democrats stand for and, I realize, they are only slightly to the left of the GOP, beholden to many of the same corporations/supporters of the GOP. However, I will hold my nose and gladly vote Democratic down the line this fall in the national elections.

One of the great things about the United States is that I can express myself and criticize our government by expressing myself on a page like this without fear of retribution from government officials. I want it to remain that way for my children and grandchildren.