Like many Liberals I have been dissappointed in some of the things that this Administration and the Democratic Congress have done in the past two years.
There are clearly things that could have gone better, but the reality is that the President and Congress have been historically successful in enacting most of their agenda.
Start with Health Care Reform. It didn't go as far as I would have liked, it didn't even contain a public option, but its still an amazing advance for this country, something Democrats have been advocating for almost a century.
Reform of the student loan program that will result in more student loans and more Pell grants and simplier applications.
Extending unemployment benefits for long term unemployed until the end of 2011.
Repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell
Reform of the regulations that govern Wall Street and new customer protections in lending.
The largest stimulus package in history resulting in the creation of saving of as many as 4 million jobs.
One of the largest tax cuts in history.
And thats only the highlights.
All in all an amazing legislative record.
I wanted more. I still do. We need to address Global Warming with either Cap and Trade or a simple Carbon Tax. Immigration Reform is incredibly important. We need to finish our withdrawl from Iraq and remove ourselves as much as possible from Afghanistan. Close Gitmo.
I want more.
But they have accomplished a hell of a lot.
I call it a Success!!
We should be proud!
They Just Won’t Leave the Kids Alone
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The program resonates with me. I recall my days as a Young Pioneer in Perth
in the 1950s. I was proud of my uniform of white shirt and red scarf, and
our r...
1 hour ago
4 comments:
Oh yeah a raging success walter, so successful that their approval ratings are so far down the toilet you have to comb the sewers to find them.
The democrap congress has been so great that the people wiped them out at the last election. You really got your finger on the pulse of the nation unkie walt.
You forgot the national debt by the way, the level that reached is simply amazing. You really should be demanding statues of them to be erected just for that one.
I'm just sitting here wondering if there are any Patriot Guard Riders, or Black Panthers etc. in Mass. They're the ones that show up at military funerals originally to keep the protesters away, but they show up here just to pay respects. Maybe they could show up at polls, video in hand. No action, just a video camera. It amazes me that in this country we now feel as if we need protection to go to the polls. We gotta change that people!
I wonder if Our Dear Leader is going to contract the National Citizen Patrol to intimidation control in Mass.
If you want to measure the success of an Administration then go right ahead. I prefer to measure the sucess of an administration by what they have accomplished. As an aside, President Obama's approval rating is higher right now than either President Clinton's or President Reagan's at the same point in their Presidency, and both got reelected and both had very successful Presidencys. President Obama's approval rating right now is well below that of President Bush II, and we all know how well that turned out. By this point in his Presidency President Bush II had already screwed up the war in Afghanistan and was preparing to invate Iraq under the mistaken belief that he could make democrats out of all those misguided Arab and Muslims just by toppling Saddam Hussein.
And President Obama's rating are climbing as the economy slowly gets better.
The party in power in the White House almost loses seats in Congress during an off year election and the party in power during economic crisis almost almost always loses seats during Congressional elections so I am not sure that you can actually read the election as a ringing endorsement of the Republican party or their policies. Just before the election a poll came out that pointed out that the American people still blame Republicans for the recession more than then blame Congressional Democrats or the President.
It is funny some how, that some people have conveniently forgotten the size of deficits that this administration inherited from President Bush. The deficits are large, and the Republican response to huge deficits is to insist that the Bush Tax Cuts be extended for the top 2% of earners. The large majority of the current deficit is the result of two Bush policies, tax cuts that he made no attempt to pay for and fighting two wars completely on the national credit card.
So yes, despite my frustrations that some things didn't go as far as I would have liked, the Congress just ended had an absolutely amazing legislative record.
So I still call it a success, despite the polls.
JAT,
I am not sure where you vote, but I have never felt that I needed protection to go to the polls.
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