Last Tuesday, while democrats were bemoaning throughout the chambers of congress over the loss of Ted Kennedy’s senate seat to republican Scott Brown, President Obama must have realized a deeper problem. The problem was bigger than Health Care Reform being reexamined again. It was bigger than GOP Scott Brown becoming the new “41st vote.” The much bigger problem reared its ugly head precisely when Obama thought it couldn’t get worse. No doubt, what ran through President Obama’s mind while observing the antics of his fellow democrats was, “What the hell is wrong with these guys!? I’m stuck with a bunch of losers! How the hell am I going to get anything done with these weenies!?”
The Democratic Party is like a really, really bad sports team. They are so bad that even when they have the advantage over their opponents, they go out of their way to sabotage themselves just so they can resort to being losers again. They’re practically saying, “Please take our win because we have no idea how to win as a team.” If I were Obama, I would want to switch parties just because the democrats absolutely suck as a team.
Prior to becoming president, Obama thought all his party needed was to learn a little savvy, and carry a big game plan. He calculated that with a plan, all he needed to do was communicate the logic of the plan, gain the confidence of his fellow democrats and have them all on board to execute it as a unified front. In his mind, momentum will pick up and be on your side – as in sports – and with a little luck, everything clicks. Yes we can.
Sure we can. Try explaining an overall success plan with intangible rewards to members of congress and right before your eyes, you will actually see the vault door creaking shut in their minds. As far as they’re concerned, without any guarantees, it’s all nonsense, so momentum, and setting a “magic” deadline for results is fortune-telling mumbo-jumbo. To them, successful results happen when they are good and ready and at whatever time they are good and ready – which was almost never.
Indeed, nothing like hindsight to fully understand an opportunity after it’s too late. Surely now the democratic members of congress know why President Obama insisted last year that he should have a Health Care Reform Bill on his desk before the August legislative recess. Had they done that, Health Care Reform would be on its way to becoming reality by now, and the uproar a distant memory. People would be realizing that Health Care Reform wasn’t the big scary monster that they thought it would be, and everyone would be for the better right now. How can people work, and pay taxes, if they are sick or worried sick? Simple common sense.
If the HCR game plan wasn’t a good enough reason for Obama to have the bill on his desk last year, there was another more obvious reason why President Obama wanted it before the ‘09 summer recess. All you had to do was just look at all the democratic congressmen and women. Democratic representatives were whining, “Slow-down, Mr. President, you’re moving too fast!” From President Obama’s perspective, he’s staring at them thinking, “Slow-down!? Have you guys looked in the mirror lately!? One of you might just suddenly fall out of your chair and croak! And with our party’s luck, we’d have five of you croaking at once!”
Alas, President Obama and the Democratic Party now find themselves in a bigger quagmire – they’ve lost the momentum. They have lost ground and problems are coming in faster than being solved.
Now with the Supreme Court ruling last Thursday allowing corporations limitless spending on political campaigns, President Obama immediately responded that he would have his administration “work immediately with Congress on this issue” and “talk with bipartisan congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision.”
The 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court was appalling. The five Republican Justices who voted to overturn the previous ruling – Anthony Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas – were aware that the balance would tilt in favor of big corporations, yet claimed finance limits on political campaigns violates the First Amendment free-speech rights of corporations. Obviously the free-speech rights of big money trumped free-speech rights of individuals.
Some corporations even came out against the ruling as well and are fighting against lifting the ban. It turns out they want limits too. Even they are unwilling to pay more for their already highly-funded candidates to carry out their business agenda.
Sadly however, the corporations that are balking are not the humongous big money companies such as Big Oil. The overturning of limiting campaign spending by the five Republican Justices was clearly a show of them thumbing their noses at the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of Individual Freedom. The GOP justices need to be held in check.
Thank goodness for President Obama. The Democratic Party may not be the party with a winning attitude, but they are the party with a conscience. Their miscues and missteps, and seemingly hapless and hopeless demeanor, is still better than the GOP’s big Wall St. corporations, shelling out money to convince you –yes, you – that the GOP is just like you. Think about it.
© January 2010 Reiko Eoh
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t know why corporations wouldn’t be against it. It just puts more pressure on them to donate in big ways just so they can be ridiculed by the incumbancy.
LOL, Bearman! Thanks for the comment! I agree!
It’s hard to play on a team where no one wants to pass the ball (only the buck).
Wonderful article! I laughed until I cried about the line “Have any of you looked in the mirror lately?” Reiko, you are an awesome writer! You know how to say things just the right way!
The Supreme Court really scares me. Conservative ideology boggles my mind.
You got that right George! LOL, Thanks for the comment!
Aww, thanks much Tammy! Appreciate it!
Chuck, yes, it scares me too!! That decision was a slap in the face to every citizen. Sadness!