Hope, Change, and…Distraction?

Warning: this is a rant. When I campaigned for President Obama I was excited by his hope and change message. He talked about things I thought were important for the country. He talked about things I am interested in, that I’ve gone to school for. He talked about renewable energy, energy independence, jobs, universal health care, financial reform, and other endeavours which we, as a nation should strive for.

Of course prior to his election the proverbial economic chickens came home to roost. The excesses of the Bush administration finally came due. The housing bubble burst. The bill for the wars came due. Bear Sterns went belly up and it looked like Lehman Brothers and AIG were soon to follow. Our economy crashed. It looked like the auto industry was about to go under. We never even had a chance to see what Hope and Change would look like. The President inherited an economic shitstorm unprecedented in history.

The President has actually done a remarkable job dealing with it though it hasn’t made him any friends in the political arena. Nor has he had any help from elected officials. In fact, all that he has been met with is resistance. Does anyone realize that the number one issue that has tied up local and regional governments is? Abortion. Abortion issues have risen by sixty percent on state ballots. This is a topic that was addressed back in 1973 but we’re being forced to continually deal with little nit picking abortion issues. Next big issue? Unions. Realizing that there was little that could be achieved on a national level, Republicans tried going through the back door. They’ve been taking on unions at the state level. The next item? Oh my God it’s a budget crisis!!! We’ve been held hostage by budget issues that are normally mundane housekeeping items. We get past one budget battle and we’re assaulted by another one. And what are they fighting over in Congress? Light bulbs. Seriously?!? We’re about to become China’s bitch and the big argument in congress is objections to energy efficiency standards for incandescent light bulbs?

I’m just dismayed that all that has been addressed are Republican distractions. It’s been their conversation for the last two years. Just yesterday Representatives Michele Bachmann, Steve King, and Louie Gohmert went on TV to blame President Obama for the debt ceiling battle. Talk about the three stooges. Once we get past this debt ceiling mark in August I plan to spend my energies turning the Republicans into a permanent minority. This has just gotten absurd and it’s long past time to turn this conversation to something more constructive. This country has the potential to exude greatness, yet we’re stuck arguing about its ability to strive for mediocrity.

Related articles

• McConnell warns GOP: Don’t help re-elect Obama (thegrio.com)
• Michele Bachmann Attacks Obama on Debt Ceiling Resolution (blogs.abcnews.com)
• David Katz, M.D.: Abortion, on Middle Ground (huffingtonpost.com)
• GOP urges ‘freedom,’ fights light bulb law (msnbc.msn.com)
• House to vote to ban rules on new light bulbs (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Republicans Claim That They View Restrictions on Light Bulbs as an Excess of Big Government, NPR Doesn’t Have a Clue What They Believe (businessinsider.com)
• Dems slam GOP over light bulb distraction (thehill.com)