Democrats Ducking Out
Democrats are already starting to opt out. Elections aren’t until November, but many Democrats have caught wind that it’s not going to be pretty when that rolls around.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island becomes the fourth member of the House of Representatives to announce over the past three days that they’ll retire at the end of the year rather than run for re-election.
As things currently stand, eight House Democrats have announced retirement with another five running for state offices. Now, the Democrats will be defending 13 open seats in the midterm elections. More Democrat vacancies are expected to follow.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy
Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee said that many of the House Democratic retirements were occurring in some tough political territory, adding that “the fact of the matter is, Democrats in swing districts are retiring because they know what November has in store for them.”
We all know why things are going down like this; the question is, how are the conservatives going to capitalize on this?
Unipartisan Politics
Last week, the president met with Republican leaders in an attempt to put aside partisanship for the good of the nation.
Their goals included job creation and some other issues that needed to be taken care of somewhere between several months and over a year ago.
It didn’t really work.
“We can’t afford to allow politics to stand in the way of a well-functioning government,” the president said.
Does he know what a well-functioning government looks like? Please consider Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
Maybe Obama will eventually realize that promising bipartisanship and then voting for your guy without compromise is considered hypocrisy.
Compare it to your marriage all you like, Mr. President, this is not bipartisanship. And it’s not for the benefit of the nation.
The President Senses Discord
Obama’s pretty sure that something is wrong. . . . “There is a sense that something is different now, that something’s broken, that those of us in Washington are not serving the people as well as we should. At times it seems like we’re unable to listen to one another, to have at once a serious and civil debate.”
Yeah. We’ve noticed. Who hasn’t noticed? The Democrats are so giddy with their congressional majority that they haven’t stopped arguing amongst themselves long enough to do any good for our nation.
Speaking at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. the president said this “erosion of civility” sows division and distrust.
I say that the Democrats need to get over their favorable party position and remember the millions of Americans they serve. Watching on the news as our government functions shouldn’t be so scandalous an experience; the republic aspect of our government requires them to vote as their constituents would vote.
The argument would become a lull if congressional representatives would apply this principle in their practice. Who knows what would happen if Washington’s leaders could stop arguing long enough to speak nicely about something important?
What's not to argue with?
President Held Accountable by the People to the People
During the past six days, 55,340 people asked 11,695 questions to President Barack Obama on YouTube. Voters then cast 643,507 votes to determine the top questions YouTube asked Obama Monday at the White House in an unprecedented live interview streamed on YouTube.com/CitizenTube.
President Obama had no idea what he’ll be asked (well, sort of. Obviously we all had a long list of unanswered questions after last week). I imagine that had he addressed real issues during last week’s State of the Union Address, he wouldn’t have had reason to be nervous.
- “Why are the health care meetings, procedures, etc not on CSPAN as promised?” – Mr. Anderson, Texas
- “How do you expect the people of this country to trust you when you have repeatedly broken promises that were made on the campaign trail. Most recently, the promise to have a transparent healthcare debate…” – Warren Hunter, Brooklyn
Sure, there were a few frivolous and personal questions, but YouTube viewers, like the rest of America, had a few questions for our commander in chief. Steve Grove, who heads News and Politics on YouTube, notes that new mediums like the online video site promise to improve the “transparency and direct access” to politics.
The “pulse” of the nation can be revealed in this type of open question-answer session– we can now respond directly to the President’s televised speech of last week. This development in communication between the President and the People cannot be anything but beneficial.
New mediums seek to keep the government for the people by the people.
The Crotch Salute Returns
Really!? I believe that saluting the flag kind of goes with being a President of the United States of America. It is ridiculous and appalling that he could not muster the energy to salute for the servicemen that have died.
Actions talk louder than words, Obama. Yes, you do a swell job with speeches but I would be much more confident in the man representing me if his actions were just as, if not more, dependable than his words.
Late Night Commentary
“How many of you watched President Obama’s State of the Ruin – I mean State of the Union?” –Jay Leno
“A year into Obama’s first term in office, unemployment is higher, the national debt is higher and there are more soldiers serving in Afghanistan. When asked about it, Obama was like, “Well, technically that is change.” – Jimmy Fallon
“President Barack Obama told his Cabinet yesterday to insure that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely. But there was one embarrassing moment when he had to explain to the Cabinet what a taxpayer was.” –Jay Leno
“Obama said the No. 1 priority is saving jobs. His job, Joe Biden’s, Harry Reid’s, Nancy Pelosi’s . . .” –Jay Leno
