PoliWatch - Political Meanings

The Republican Party is seriously crippled by its donor and social conservative base. Having failed to muster the will to embrace women's and minority issues was bad, and crippled Republicans in the recent election. However, the GOP's other leg is now evidently crippled by its donor base, (e.g. Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson). House majority leader Boehner evidenced this today with his statement indicating that allowing taxes to increase on the wealthiest is unacceptable.

It is time to itemize this growing list of the dumbest policy ideas floating in the political atmosphere. Hopefully, some who subscribe to these ideas will read this critique and restore their credibility by refusing to float these ideas any further.

The Tea Party will obstruct Obama's agenda. The 'Fiscal Cliff' and immigration reform will be top priorities for Pres. Obama. There is incentive for the GOP to resolve the Fiscal Cliff, however, getting any tax increases on the wealthy to pass the Tea Party and other Grover Norquist puppets, will be the challenge. Immigration reform may prove to be far easier, as the GOP must tap into the Latino vote to win in 2016.

Is it really going to matter who is the President if, 41 Senators from either Party can filibuster any, and every, proposal coming from the White House? Replace incumbents in Congress. Then, who is president may actually make a difference. As long as Congress' partisans are committed to defeating the sitting president, instead of solving national challenges, America's problems will pile up and bury us all.

Political parties, their candidates and incumbents, have no choice but to divide Americans into opposition camps for the purpose of garnering more votes for their camp than the other camp can muster. This does not, however, require Americans to divide against each other or their common and shared goals. If voters can remain united, while the politicians try to divide them, democracy will function as it was intended, as a check and balance by the people over its elected representatives.

The Republican Party has lost its integrity. All the money of the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson, will not buy that integrity back. Integrity matters in democratic elections, and will make a difference in the November 2012 election.

Most everyone is concerned the extremists on the other side are going to destroy it all for everyone. Republicans fear the Democrats and their socialized answers. Democrats fear the Republicans and their intent to bankrupt the government through the absence of taxes. Looking at such folks in the following way, will make such folks extremists as well.

With Tea Party challengers in GOP Primaries, and moderate Republican incumbents losing their primary bids, I have to question whether the liberals and Democrats are going to sweep November's elections. Many would argue that is not possible with the gerrymandering and voter suppression acts being implemented in GOP dominated states. However, there are two facts of the current landscape that cannot be ignored.

My problem with Mitt Romney is that he opposes nearly all of the successful Obama administration's results. President Obama has disappointed me on a number of occasions, but, those disappointments do not blind me to his administration's successes. This puts me and Mitt in different camps.

Liberals vote Democrat. Conservatives vote Republican. And independents slosh back and forth from election to election. This kind of democratic process is responsible for the government nearly everyone dislikes in America. The voters are responsible. Whether they assume that responsibility, has yet to be seen.