"Well, I'm a big believer in personal responsibility, so I'm a Republican." Thus began my long, dark, journey into the mindset of the Lower Republicans. You know, those Republicans who aren't rich enough to benefit from Republican policy, and aren't getting paid to make it seem like the Repubs care about all the rest of us little guys.
But those of us who are unbrainwashed independant observers are often forced to ask the question, "personal responsibility for who?" As Kerry begins to promote his health care plan, he brings this question back to light at a time when it isn't being allowed to hide too much in the shadows.
Making the point that Bush is failing to deal with the health care crisis while drudging up a Social Security crisis for his own benefit, the answer to that question is obviously that personal responsibility is only applicable to the less than wealthy and the non republicans.
If you are a wealthy Republican, than you can go ahead and get indicted for a felony, but still keep your leadership seat in the senate. Well, okay, you can't anymore, but for a while there you could. If you are a wealthy Republican, you can go ahead and lie to the populace about public policy for your own ideological benefit. If you are a wealthy Republican, don't worry about paying off someone illegally to promote your program, it's okay, you're a part of the in crowd.
Wait a sec... That doesn't sound too bad. That's it, I'm changing teams. I'm gonna be a Republican! I'm all about personal responsibility for others and not me! I'm gonna lie, and cheat, and get away with it! Wait, damn, I'm not rich. Alright, sorry about that, I'm back with the good guys again.
So what personal responsibility means is that for the rich, you sit in your really big and fancy home, drink some wine from some year, smoke really nice cigars (okay, I'm a little guilty of this last one. If you are a cigar fan, I suggest the Arturo Fuente Opus X. It's about thirty dollars and worth it), and whenever you see some guy who is down on his luck, you call him lazy and tell him to get a job. Welcome to the ownership society.
Kerry, as the first article linked to shows, is getting it right though. It's still relatively early after the election, but the senator is showing signs of doing what I wanted him to do when word first got to me that he lost the election. He's still pushing the programs that he wants to get through, and he's becoming a big voice of the opposition party. Putting the health care program out there as a way to remind us of a real problem, as well as openly criticizing the SocSec plan is not bad. Tossing in the fact that he is one of the very few senators that actually voted against Condi, and things look hopeful.
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For those who do stop by Left of Center once in a while, this Sunday's Edition will focus on two very interesting governors, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Virginia's Mark Warner. I promise it'll be a hoot. Till then, keep on your toes, and stay tuned.
Mr. M
Left of Center
1 comment:
Hi Mr M,
Great post, good point. I think this is another of those issues the Democrats and lefties in general in the US haven't made enough of - yet.
You may have noticed this item from DefenceTech, part of the Military.com network, in the Newshog news briefs the other day. Let me quote a couple of sections:
The Transportation Security Administration is spending $4 billion -- 80 percent of its budget -- on airport screening. Making sure grandma takes off her Mary Janes before she gets on the plane. That leaves "well under $1 billion for everything except airlines: roads, bridges, subways, tunnels, railroads, ports, and other facilities through which most of the nation's people and commerce move."and:
From President Bush to Senator Kerry to just about every homeland security guru in between, all these guys agree that "loose nukes" -- the 30,000 atomic warheads from the former Soviet arsenal -- are the worst threat to our nation imaginable. But, as Fallows notes, the U.S. seems to be "in no apparent hurry" to make sure these weapons are "safely locked away."
Yes, it's true that the U.S. has helped secure in recent years about a hundred kilograms of Russian bomb-grade uranium. But that's out of 460 metric tons of Russian weapons-usable material. The Defense Department will spend about a billion -- a twentieth of a percent -- of its annual budget next year on "all forms of nuclear material control." The Energy Department will add some additional dollars. But still, we're talking relative peanuts thrown at what everyone agrees is the biggest threat to our country.
For the cost of a handful of Raptor stealth fighters, we could double our efforts to gather together these loose nukes. For what it takes to pay a couple of dudes at the airport inspecting grandma's shoes, we could hire a Russian nuclear scientist -- and make sure he doesn't start working for the other teamIn the meantime, this administration seems to be preparing the ground for yet another multi-billion dollar invasion, this time in Iran. Who maybe will have nukes sometime soon. The lack of sense is breathtaking.
Regards, Cernig
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