The Republicans' Disdain for the American People Should Be the Story of 2009

[babylonsister]

Mitchell Bard
Writer and Filmmaker
Posted: December 28, 2009 02:24 PM
The Republicans' Disdain for the American People Should Be the Story of 2009


Looking back on 2009, much of the discussion on TV news shows is whether President Obama and the Democrats in Congress correctly handled the problems facing the country. Somehow, a narrative seems to have emerged that the Democrats failed and would pay the price in the 2010 midterm elections.

But where is the discussion of how the Republicans have behaved in the last year?

It has been less than one year since President Obama was sworn in. When he sat behind the big desk in the Oval Office for the first time, he found himself responsible for a free-falling economy (and mounting staggering job losses), a massive deficit, the manpower and financial burden of hundreds of thousands of troops in Iraq, a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and a militant Islamic movement looking to inflict damage on America and American interests, all of which came as a direct result of the failed policies of his predecessor. Obama also had a host of other problems to address, from global warming to energy dependence to a corrupt and dangerous Iranian government struggling to hold onto power and capable of real danger, just to name a few.

The president didn't create any of these problems. Not one of them. And it is completely unrealistic to think that any person or party could solve these issues in less than a year.

Now, there has been much debate over whether Obama's handling of these issues was up to snuff. From listening to the ridiculous rhetoric from the right, you would think that the president was trying to turn the country into some bizarre combination of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. And many progressives are unsatisfied with Obama's handling of the re-regulation of the financial industry, as well as his approach to health care, LGBT issues and other points of contention.

But another way to put it is that the criticism form the right is not only unfounded, but the Republicans have offered no real alternatives to address the issues, aside from advocating for the failed Bush policies of the last decade. And progressives seem to forget that the arcane rules in the Senate limit what can be done with only a majority, while Republicans in Congress are single-minded and united to do anything they can to politically damage the president, without any concern for actually governing for the American people. We saw that in play in the health care debate, as the 40 Republican senators remained rock solid in support of the insurance companies and the status quo (the current system is a disaster, as health care costs chew up more and more of the country's GDP while leaving Americans with more and more health care expenses and less and less coverage).

What have the Republicans offered aside from "no"?

To me, that should be the real story of the first year of the Obama administration. The discussion should be about the utter disdain the Republicans have shown for the American people, as the party has put political games and protecting its corporate interests in the first position on every issue. That, and the out-and-out lies that have become the go-to strategy of the party (death panels anyone?).

Consider that in the last two weeks alone, we have been treated to:

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitchell-bard/the-republicans-disdain-f_b_405162.html

[MerryBlooms]

1. And, there's no end in sight as far as I can see.

<the utter disdain the Republicans have shown for the American people>

I think that disdain for the common citizenry has always been there, they just used to be a little better at cloaking it. The 'Contract On America' was the blueprint, imo, for what we're seeing these days.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Story of the Decade

When the decade ends in one year.

[unblock]

6. story of the quarter century

at the very least.

[Clio the Leo]

3. Jim DeMint is a threat to our national security ....

... not really, but WHY is the fact that he is stalling many of the President's security agency appointments being almost ignored by the press? Why is this not a bigger story?

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/confirmations_pending_4142b8da-8480-4296-86e9-25d95cdf17ad.html

[babylonsister]

5. I was happy to hear Jonathan Capeheart actually utter his name on

morning ho this a.m. He must not have got the meme.

[TheBigotBasher]

26. Yes he is a threat to it.

Sod going light on them. They destroyed the reputation of America across the World. they savaged the working people of America. They destroyed a great deal of opportunity by fueling property booms removing the opportunity for hard working people to get mortgages honestly and then blamed them when that property boom collapsed.

Jim Dm and the Republicans are domestic terrorists.

[Kdillard]

4. k and r. I absolutely agree.

[burning rain]

7. Look, I *hate* Republicans.

But to expect them to be at all cooperative, is absurd. They'd only be screwing their chances at the next election: their base hate Democrats in general, and Obama and Pelosi in particular, so much that working with Democrats would lead to a mass abandonment of the GOP.

It seems what Democrats have to hope going into 2010 is that teabagger types force Republicans to take such unpopular positions as full repeal of health care reform, that they fill people with angry enthusiasm to come out and vote against them in the midterms. If Republicans are able to keep their proposals low-key and inoffensive to moderates and independents, they will probably be able to make solid gains simply by riding a wave of backlash, with the Democratic base largely staying home, disenchanted by the anemic legislation we've been getting.

Given that Republicans are what they are (odious), the most practical thing is for Democrats to look at what they can control. Simply changing the Senate rules to require only simple majority would itself accomplish a lot--the Senate could then emulate the House's much-better work. If the Senate doesn't change its rules, that itself is prima facie evidence that as a group, Senate Democrats don't care to pass good legislation.

[DisgustedInMN]

9. Nicely stated.

Add in that some of us are feeling "disdain" from more than just one party and I'm left with one heck of a lot less "hope" of seeing "change we can believe in" than I was just one year ago.

No public option.

No job.

No debt relief.

No prosecution of torturers.

More war.

....

[babylonsister]

10. Ummm, what proposals have rethugs proposed? That's kind of the point.

They've proposed nothing other than obstruction to every facet of Dems' proposals, and I for one hope Americans see that for what it is.

[burning rain]

11. That is a fair point.

But I think it's very much in the nature of things given how thoroughly congressional Republicans discredited themselves during the George W. Bush years. Any sort of positive program they offered at this point would be met with guffaws, hell, they can't even speak credibly of fiscal prudence, with their record of combining sharply increased spending with supply-side tax cuts. From their political perspective, obstructionism is probably the only viable option.

[NorthCarolina]

12. There would still be the DLC to contend with, so even a simple majority vote

may not help in crafting better legislation. From my perspective, real Change You Can Believe Inwould require not only changing Senate rules for a simple majority vote, but also coupling that with a movement to eliminate Corporatist DLC'ers from the party through successful primary challenges from the left. The POS Senate health care legislation was crafted to the benefit of Corporate Insurers by the DLC, not the GOP.

[AspenRose]

8. Absolutely. K&R

[Armstead]

13. Ir's true but it';s not news -- When have they ever not shown disdain for the peope?

Maybe what is new is that they don't have Rove in the White House making their disdain seem like it's something different.

[Beetwasher]

14. Thank Goodness Traditional Media Is Dying

And may it be a gloriously painful death at that. But please be quicker about it.

Yes, this is the story, that Obama has accomplished so much considering what he's up against.

[Pirate Smile]

15. kick

[Cha]

16. It's the top Negative Story..that's

for sure.

[WT Fuheck]

17. they are utterly without redeeming merit.

Obama's contempt for his base and campaign commitments is another major story.

[IndianaGreen]

18. The disdain of the political elites of both parties for working Americans should be the story!

The pox on both!

[shadesofgray]

23. [phone]

[depakid]

19. It had better be the story & narrative of 2010

or the Dems are in for a larger than anticipated thumping come next fall.

[Cha]

20. KIck

[butterfly77]

21. K&R!!!

[HughMoran]

22. I think the Dems have some excellent ad material for this fall.

They need to repeat this - over and over and over again until the Republicans are weeping.

[RepublicanElephant]

24. k&r

"And progressives seem to forget that the arcane rules in the Senate limit what can be done with only a majority, while Republicans in Congress are single-minded and united to do anything they can to politically damage the president, without any concern for actually governing for the American people."

[PurityOfEssence]

25. Yet it isn't. So what does that show you?

It should show you a few MAJOR advantages that conservatives will always have over liberals.

1) People fear change, even when they're getting screwed by the current system.

2) Conservatives have more money and power, and know how to use it. (This shouldn't be a big revelation: they're the ones benefiting from the system, and that means money.)

3) They don't give a damn whether people like them or not, whereas liberals--and even chronic, appeasing ultramoderates like our President--are habitually hamstrung by needing people to love them.

4) Liberals are cowed into shying away from calling thugs out as the skunks they really are, while conservatives will sling the worst invectives at the drop of a top-hat. Liberals realize that people are different and mostly have a right to exist; conservatives know that they're correct and anyone else is a scourge to be literally destroyed. There is inherent tolerance in liberalism; conservatism is cold and simplistic in its dismissal of difference, which is why religions are inherently conservative: certainty.

5) Many people in this world don't truly give a damn about other people, so the smarmy way that conservatives are able to insinuate themselves into the "hearts" of those working poor reveals a sad truth in humanity. Appealing to one's good nature for one's fellow man is a non-starter in our political system; one has to appeal straight to the coldest selfishness.

6) Those who pass as progressives in our politics are often merely milder corporatists, and even those who truly ARE honorable pluralists are fighting a constant survival battle while plying a trade that demands fealty to big money.

7) This is a class war, and those who don't acknowledge this when fighting against entrenched power do us all a disservice. Had we fought for aggressive health care and compromised down a bit, it would have brought more credibility to our cause and more allies to our fold, but we didn't.

8) We simply don't fight. A conservative will call you a communist and spend 60 million dollars clutching at every straw for 8 years to impeach and literally destroy you. We have a President who starts out praising Ronald Reagan and asking for permission to exist if he behaves himself nicely, and the wolves on the other side circle...

This is merely random thinking here, and in no real order, but these thoughts need to be kept in mind if there's to be any chance of "change". They talk about destroying us, and we can't even seem to bring up the timid suggestion that they might be a little bit out of line.

They win because we don't fight, and at the end of it, we take the blame. Frankly, if we're going to be such spineless, appeasing, suck-up enablers, we deserve every embarrassment we get on the road to ruin.

[gtar100]

27. K&R your post.