Kyle Brady: Blog » Obama

Education Is Not A Budget Solution [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:05:35 +0000

The California Legislature has become infamous for its inability to pass timely legislation or manage a budget, regardless of deficits or surpluses, and they have recently been using the legislative magic bullet to solve their budget woes: the public education system.

Whenever states have budgetary issues, they turn to cutting expenses they see as needless rather than handling the issue appropriately, or even cutting their own salaries and benefits – raising taxes on rich corporations that jump through loopholes to be tax-free is never an option, of course, and neither is substantially taxing individuals who receive exorbitant compensation. The solution six months ago for California was to cut funding for the UC, CSU, and CCC state higher education system, which resulted in higher tuition while reducing class sizes, enforcing mandatory faculty furlough days, and cutting funding to related programs. This, they believe, was a good decision that would benefit all of California, and they’ve done it again, with a possible 32% increase in tuition with admission denied to younger students and a continuation of the “higher price, lower quality” policy.

This, quite simply, is idiotic.

America’s public school system has become something of a joke, where reading is a difficult task and remedial math is the pinnacle of most students’ academic careers – cutting budgets to an already underfunded, understaffed, drowning-in-problems system is not going to help it improve. The rhetoric in Congress, as well as from President Obama, is that education is fundamental to the nation’s future and in regaining status as the most brilliant and scientifically-minded in the world. President Obama, in fact, has emphasized the importance of true higher education, rather than handing out degrees to those that bothered to attend class.

An understanding that education is important is helpful, until the political leaders decide that education is not important enough to be worthy of proper funding. This is a problem nationwide, and it must be stopped. Granted, the tuition increases for a California state school may seem low, even with an increase, but this system provides for those that are not financially well-off enough to be able to afford the Ivy League education many may wish for. Furthermore, decreased class offerings and furlough days not only detract from the quality of the education paid for, but make a student’s graduation significantly more difficult, often extending the time needed to graduate, which, by its very nature, puts further strains on an already strained system.

Politicians need to understand a basic, fundamental truth: America will not prosper as a nation with a pitiable sixth-grade reading level that can barely do algebra, let alone understand the principles of calculus or understand philosophical ideologies. Yet this is where the future seems to lie, as educational funding has been in a downward spiral for some time with an additional, and worrying, de-emphasis of outside-the-classroom learning by many modern parents. Those who cannot read cannot think for themselves, thereby becoming political and economic sheep – the precursors of which are already being seen.

Budgets are understandably constricted at times, but funding should be increased, rather than decreased, for education, regardless of the effect it may have on other sectors. Corporations can afford to pay higher taxes, especially in the current climate of tax-free companies, and exorbitant salaries, benefits, and programs can be either cut entirely or downsized. Politicians should not a rich lifestyle make, and yet this is often found to be false.

As if President Obama didn’t have enough issues to address in the first quarter of his first term, education must be quickly added to the slate. Rhetoric is simply not enough, and action must be taken – federal-level legislation to assist in the funding of the nation’s education, as well as a mandate that educational budgets may not be downsized, would be a decent start.

Time To Leave George Bush Alone [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:42:48 +0000

George W. Bush was not the best President the United States has ever had.

Regardless of individual political stance, or even opinion on the current Obama Administration, this is a generally accepted fact – what varies is whether former President George W. Bush was a “failure”, “success”, or just average. Once again, however, political opinions on the validity or incompetence of Bush’s Presidency are not important, because what’s occurring around his Terms of Office, right now, that is.

Without the September 11th attacks, Bush would have arguably just been a generic President that wasn’t remembered for being particularly great or horrible, similar to historically unrecognizable names such as Martin van Buren, Millard Fillmore, or Benjamin Harrison, and without any significant policy impact. For the substantially worse, however, the 9/11 events did occur, and they changed America forever. Following the events of September 2001, George W. Bush morphed from a amicable Texas man into a policy hardliner that wished to bring severe pain to those that had attacked the nation – and some that hadn’t.

Over the following years, and two Terms of Office, Bush’s legacy swung unpredictably from success to disaster, and back again, on an almost daily basis, resulting in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, unstable situations in both North Korea and Iran, and domestic policies that would lead to both scientific regression and economic collapse. Inevitably, accusations of torture arose during and after the Administration, with regards to those held at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, specifically focusing on waterboarding.

In the months since President Obama’s ascendancy to the White House, liberals throughout America, and many people in the world at large, have called for high-level investigations into the former President, Vice President, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense for their alleged involvement in torture, with the accusers’ intentions to find them guilty in a sympathetic court. This, however, simply cannot happen.

The investigations of both Nixon and Clinton were devastating to the United States and its people, tarnishing the world’s perspective of the country and dividing that nation into vicious politics, and yet neither of them were accused with such heavy-hearted allegations as would Bush. America’s image has vastly improved as President Obama has worked to reestablish a formidable presence on the world stage, and trials for war crimes of a former President barely out of office would likely erase any progress that has been made. Even more important, however, is that prosecuting George W. Bush for said accusations would set a dangerous precedent that would likely result in a greater Presidential disinterest to act as they feel is necessary, not to mention indicate to the world that the country is willing to submit to the political whims of those outside its borders.

Modern politics, the Age of Obama, does not need any additional help to divide the nation or bring out the worst in American citizens – fringe Republicans and FOX “News” have done enough damage. Now is a time to look forward, and push onward, rather than dwell on the intellectual and ethical Dark Ages that recent history may very well have been. As healthcare reform, economic recovery, financial sector regulation, and numerous other issues hold the attention of both the President and Congress, the United States seems to be heading in the direction of progress and self-improvement, despite the massive effort and time investments apparently necessary to accomplish these goals.

Former President George W. Bush is just that – a former President. As a man from Texas that’s not known for his eloquence or brilliance, he managed to change the country over his eight-year reign in a way that hasn’t been seen for decades, but it’s time to let him fade into the political ether as is only inevitable. The media, liberals, and high-minded individuals nationwide must relinquish the idea of prosecuting the previous Administration for alleged crimes, and understand that it’s in the best interest of both the country and the world to leave George Bush alone.

Ironic And Fallacious Political Punditry [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:05:49 +0000

The era of the Bush Administration is clearly delineated as from 2001 – 2009, and was succeeded by the current Obama Administration, which will be in Office until, at least, 2012 – why, then, are the voices of the previous Administration being given credence for highly partisan armchair criticism by the mainstream media?

Since President Obama’s Inauguration, and perhaps even prior, former Vice President Dick Cheney has made a career out of publicly defaming, criticizing, and generally undermining the very Office he was previously sworn to assist. Regardless of the various successes and failures of President Bush, one fact has become abundantly clear: Dick Cheney was a highly skilled puppetmaster while in Office, and made many decisions based on personal preference, monetary gain, or other bias instead of acting appropriately, most of which were legally and ethically questionable.

But it is this selfsame individual that is attacking President Obama for supposedly not acting fast enough, or with enough conviction, in terms of troop deployments in Afghanistan, the removal of American forces from Iraq, and the political tightrope with Iran. It should be recognized, at this point, that the Bush Administration is the very reason focus was lost on Afghanistan, for simple cronyism politics. They are the Administration that significantly miscalculated the post-Saddam situation in Iraq, that has led to the never-ending struggle now typical of the country. The same Administration that destroyed all political interactions with Iran, specifically Ahmadinejad, by taking a hardline ideological approach that has set the entire process back by years and directly influenced the current nuclear situation.

Yet the admitted orchestrator of these events finds no irony in criticizing his policy successor, or sees even the beginnings of his own fallacious reasoning.

In all reality, such vitriolic rhetoric is likely occurring for three simple and small-minded reasons: President Obama represents everything Dick Cheney is not, and exists as a major threat to the political party that supported his every shady move; the former Vice President feels as if he has a legacy to defend, and the only way to do so, given the actual events of said legacy, is to make the succeeding President look worse; and he may be making a ploy for the Presidency based on some misguided principles and extreme lack of understanding of the modern American political situation. If even one of these reasons are close enough to his true intentions, then he exists as nothing more than a shell for pure and unadulterated sophistry, stupidity, and savagery.

Throughout all of this, however, former President Bush has kept relatively quiet – he may not agree with Obama’s policies and actions, and in fact likely disagrees wholeheartedly, but he seems to understand the need for respect of the Office of the President, something Dick Cheney has proven he cannot or will not understand from his first moments under George W. Bush.

All of the media outlets should immediately, without exception, stop featuring the real-life embodiment of Emperor Palpatine as a commentator, pundit, or even a guest – failing to do so only further propagates his insanity to the American people, and provides him a soapbox from which he can attempt to justify his past behaviors with fallacious and, many times, ironic arguments.

Democrats Finally Exert Control [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:05:13 +0000

It seems as though the Democrats in Congress may have finally realized what the thinking-person’s America has known for months: if President Obama was elected on certain ideals, and Democrats have the requisite majority to accomplish these items by themselves, then concessions to Republicans are not necessary when they’re not interested in participating on any logical or coherent level. The evidence in this can be found in any news source, excluding those that include the word “FOX” in their trademark, over the end of last week.

This long overdue exertion of control has manifested itself in the regulation of Wall Street pay for institutions still under government financing, and is likely a prelude to overall Wall Street regulation; the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, intended, among other issues, to prevent banks from overexploiting American citizens, has taken a substantial step closer to being realized; equal rights for LGBT individuals has taken its first federal step in the form of hatecrime legislation; and, most importantly, the public option has suddenly become a viable legislative option once more, after a few weeks of resounding political depression across the nation.

What has inspired the more rationally-minded portion of Congress to suddenly take such control is unknown, but their decision to do so is apparent in their actions. In these four recent issues, it could be argued that the voices of the American public have not only reached the halls of the Capitol after long being ignored, but that they’ve become too strong to ignore. Momentarily disregarding healthcare reform, it would seem that so-called populist outrage over the behavior of banks, exorbitant bonus of still-failing institutions, and continued inequality became such a politicized and discussed issue that there was no choice but to act, for fear of not being re-elected come time for midterms.

Healthcare reform is, in and of itself, a large beast – especially when the issue of a public option, Medicare-E, or any of its other names arises. Recently, however, the insurance industry may have ruined their chances at receiving government subsides as a pretend reform measure by releasing what essentially amounted to a promise to increase healthcare costs by unacceptable amounts in the near future. This report was then followed by a number of polls from mainstream organizations that showed upwards of 60%, depending on source, of the American people support a public option – not a fake public option, or a public option through subsidies, but a real, robust, legitimate federal option for healthcare.

The coming weeks will show what is truly occurring with Congressional Democrats, and just how strong their political will to accomplish true change is – change that their President has demanded. If all is for the best, the last six months of extreme minority manufactured outrage by Republicans on behalf of the insurance companies will have been all for naught, proving that even the most astroturf-laden campaigns are often ineffective.

Something that is worth analyzing in the weeks and months to come is slowly revealing itself: were the summer months of unintelligible screaming part of the Democratic plan? Was President Obama’s occasional public option ambiguity part of the ploy to manipulate the Republican Party into destroying itself? Did Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and Joe Wilson play right into the arms of a grand political scheme?

Only time will tell, but if this is the case, the Republican Party should be scared – President Obama may be an even greater politician than America already believes.

LGBT Rights Are About More Than The Military [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:05:07 +0000

The concept of religious marriage should be explicitly divided from what the government recognizes as a legal union between two people, and yet the intertwining of church and state continues. Furthermore, the military has a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, curiously similar to many religious organizations' views on LGBT individuals, that expressly states their lack of interest in their personnel’s personal habits, so long as they do not interfere with the military lifestyle – but discovery of less-than-straight behavior often results in dismissal. President Obama has recently promised to end the policy, even as the so-called “marriage debate” rages on across the country.

What needs to be understood by so many is a simple fact: LGBT individuals are the only group in America that are still legally second class citizens. Both women and African Americans have long since been given the legal rights to which they are entitled, along with various other groups, and live without prohibitions on marriage, religion, military interests, or lifestyle. Yet it is still acceptable to tell said persons that they cannot be married, or even recognized as a legal union, in the eyes of the government, that they cannot participate in the military, and are explicitly barred from certain religions – in addition to the numerous illegal discrimination and hatred that are so often engendered.

In an era where a loudmouth public figure is scandalized over unintelligent comments about another race, and face the onus of federal-level fines and their employer, how is it legal for similar individuals to make comments about the “abhorrent” nature of gay marriage, LGBT’s are “unnatural”, or other offensive vitriol? This last front of civil rights is fundamentally no different than any of the past battles, and yet the actual rights in question are staunchly ignored by critics and commentators alike.

This is not a an issue that has opinions on one side or another – it is, very simply, ethical vs. unethical behaviors. Congressmen, Governors, or even the average citizen do not need to understand, condone, or even “agree with” the lifestyle of those in the LGBT community to legalize same-sex marriage and grant the same basic, American rights that run to the very core of the country’s foundation principles. The prohibition of same-sex marriage, along with current military policy, is akin to a public official claiming “blacks can’t be married” decades ago – this would not, and does not, stand in modern America.

The tone of this struggle will slowly change over time as younger, less judgmental generations grow into positions of power and mold the world into something closer to what it should be – the election of President Obama depended heavily on young, first-time voters that saw in him an embodiment of their own ideals, and is therefore proof-positive that LGBT rights and equality is, at this point, simply a waiting game. The aging, bigoted segments of the population can continue to rant and rave, write policy, and influence legislation, but their power will eventually wane. President Obama and California’s Governor Schwarzenegger have seen that the political power over the coming years truly rests with the vocal, politically-invested electorate, and fundamental rights will be restored for those who remain the final subjects of civil rights discrimination.

Legitimate Healthcare Reform Is Fading Fast [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:05:18 +0000

Senator Max Baucus produced a bill from the Senate Finance Committee not long ago that has since been lauded as “revolutionary”, a “win” for the American people, and, most importantly, as the bill that will likely form the basis of what Congress will actually pass as so-called healthcare reform. Not only is this ethically wrong, it’s a farce that’s been handed to the American people in the hopes that they accept its very minimal reforms as truly revolutionary and placate the 70+% of the country that is pining for change within the medical, insurance, and otherwise healthcare sectors.

The “Baucus Bill” does a number of things, but there are two central pieces to it: forcing every American, under penalty, to have some form of health insurance, and providing subsidies to private insurance companies to make it more affordable to citizens. There is no public option, or any semblance of a government-run healthcare plan. There is no extension of Medicare to younger crowds. There is no tax to pay for these subsidies. There is no forced transformation from healthcare corporations to non-profits.

Rather than put together an intelligent bill, Max Baucus chose to give in to the current Republican ideal of not instituting progress for the average American citizen, as well as not increasing the size of federal government, and this has resulted in a mashup of horrible ideas with even worse implementations. Take, for example, the way the bill is paid for: rather than having a relatively low and inexpensive federal-level tax, individuals or families with extensive healthcare plans are taxed. This means that people who prefer to have substantial coverage for themselves, essentially those who are able to afford the best care/plan in the unnecessarily expensive world of health insurance, are now being taxed on their free-market expenditures.

Somehow, those behind this bill imagine that the federal government providing money to already corrupt and money-hungry insurance companies will help solve the situation, even without any actual regulation of the healthcare system or a legitimate nation-wide option for health insurance. The bill does nothing about pre-existing conditions, those truly unable to afford healthcare, regulating the health insurance companies, or even addressing the skyrocketing cost of healthcare in America, and yet the American people are expected to support a large cashflow of their money to the companies that have caused these very problems.

Is this what American politics have become? A system so entrenched in its fundraising process that it can no longer make intelligent policy decisions that have an effect on large corporate entities?

There are rumors that some Democrats, including President Obama, are supporting this bill merely to get something on the Senate floor, in order to pull a trick in the process of Reconciliation: sticking the public option in at the last minute, while removing the pocket-lining of insurance companies. This is a risky strategy, at best, because its failiure would obviously result in millions of dollars being freely given to an industry that has already proven itself as both irresponsible and unable to behave properly. To this end, there is a growing number of Democrats that are looking at the public option as the only solution, no matter its inherent partisan nature, something that should have occurred months ago, and Alan Grayson has become the focal point of this movement by publicly decrying the “Republican plan” of denial while calling out his fellow Democrats that have thus far failed miserably.

In response to the Baucus Bill, hundreds of amendments have been proposed, most of them as inane, or worse, than the bill itself - not the least of which is the ability of states to “opt-in” or “opt-out”, depending on the proposal, from a federal public option. Among proposals such as the public option becoming a state-level enterprise, the lack of backbone by many Democratic Congressmen has been shown, since the country’s citizens overwhelming want not only healthcare reform and industry regulation, but a federally run public option - this cannot, and should not, be accomplished at the state-level or with a provision for objecting states to remove themselves from federal law. Why is this so difficult to comprehend?

As the days and weeks pass, the hopes that many Americans had for a decline in healthcare costs and the de-emphasizing of grossly self-indulgent corporations is fading. Short of a coup in the Reconciliation process or a magical unity of Democrats, which would include the self-labeled “Blue Dogs” that masquerade as liberals, the American people have lost. Not only have the American people lost, but Congress has lost – the people’s faith in not only Congress but the government itself has been visibly shaken by the recent public display of corporate influence on the future, fate, and form of this very nation.

Rationally Analyzing Obama’s Nobel Prize [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:26:10 +0000

Editorial Note: this is a special Friday edition of the OpEd column - thanks to the Nobel Peace Prize.

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President Barack Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize today – that should be obvious to anyone that’s been awake within the last 12 hours.

What’s important, though, is exactly what the Nobel Peace Prize is and the disgusting reaction of many people.

The Nobel Peace Prize is not always given to someone for great accomplishment, but is sometimes given to someone who is trying to affect great change for the better in the face of obvious and heated opposition - according to its founder:

"to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses"

-Alfred Nobel, Last Will and Testament

Does that sound at all familiar? Within the first nine months of Obama’s presidency, he’s taken steps to remove all American troops from Iraq; close down the Guantanamo Bay prison facility; procure universal healthcare for the American people; remove cultural, political, and religious bias from public policy; and a litany of other feats both peaceable in nature and epic in scope. Not many of these action items have been accomplished, but politics is a lengthy process and not even a year has passed since his Inauguration.

All of these actions that President Obama has taken have been in the face of great adversity and opposition – not a single interview can be given, nor can a press release be published, without the default contradiction, accusation, lies, vilification, and anger coming forth from FOX "News" and those Republicans that bend to its tactics. This includes almost all Congressional Republicans, a good number of state Governors, and anyone that’s been protesting or disseminating propaganda against the health of their fellow citizens over the course of the last few months.

Now the picture should be considerably clearer.

When President Obama is compared to his predecessor, George W. Bush, the reasons for which the world-at-large embraces him with such open arms becomes immediately obvious. From outside America’s borders, Obama has been a welcome breath of fresh air to the majority of countries, allies and enemies alike, for not only his personality, but also his policy on any and all subjects - despite what some would call his lack of accomplishments, the mere fact that he has such great and high-minded intentions is reason enough for them to celebrate.

If the newest Nobel Laureate were to have accomplished as much as his detractors laugh at him for “failing to achieve”, then President Obama would not be so great a politician and national figurehead as he is – the Patriot Act, the Iraq War, and numerous other Bush-era pieces of legislation were rushed through Congress by the whip of the then-current President, and to what great accomplishment? The loss of worldwide respect? Spying on American citizens without reason or even warrants? A failed war that has existed for years longer than necessary?

President Obama does not wish to corrupt the political system any further than it already is – Congress does not need his help with bowing to the wishes and needs of others with power. He does not even wish to stoop to Bush’s level, preying on the fears of the American people, to accomplish what is so obviously right and necessary. Instead, he wishes to strengthen the political process, renew the world’s faith in America, and, most importantly, renew America’s faith in themselves.

The receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize was apparently a shock to President Obama, and he carefully accepted the honor as supporting his intentions and ideals rather than what he has so far accomplished. Given the current state of American politics, it is entirely possible that external forces sought to lend a hand and give credence to a man that is only trying to do what is proper in a country that appears to be unable to help itself, even in the worst of times.

President Obama’s award is not a recognition of a lack of accomplishments, but rather a “Thank You” and “Goodluck” from the world to an American President that, for once, seems to have everyone’s future in mind.

Don’t Forget The Other Issues [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:05:21 +0000

Over the course of the last few months, healthcare has become the core focus of the media, politics, and the American people – but it is far from the only important and pressing issue. The re-regulation of the financial industry is something that has returned to popular consciousness in recent weeks, thanks to the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and it serves as a good reminder that there are other issues that must be addressed both quickly and properly.

When President Obama was campaigning for Office, he understood there were many issues that needed to be approached during his hopeful Term of Office, and was not afraid to speak publicly about them: NASA, Social Security, Financial Reform, Education, Healthcare, and Net Neutrality, to name a few. However, after the Inauguration it became clear that the only issue then-addressable was the economy and attempting to not only prevent its collapse but to start its revival, resulting in months of stimulus packages, bailout funds, and federally investing in corporations - to varying degrees of success. Then, in late Spring, the focus shifted.

Healthcare and insurance reform is important – there is no denying this basic fact. But the issue of healthcare and its related reforms have been allowed to all but eclipse any other issues, thanks to the manufactured outrage and irrational responses seen over the last few months. Yet the final days of these long months seems to be approaching, since the debate within the Senate is now open – something will be passed, and it will happen relatively soon. What comes after healthcare?

The re-regulation of the financial industry is still necessary, evidenced by the skyrocketing profits of banks just months after their existential crisis - profits made at the expense of the American people, with interest rates and fees substantially increasing since the beginning of the financial crisis began so long ago. Is this the way a system meant to be helpful should operate? The obvious answer is “no”, and the bonus-based culture that encourages extreme risk and refuses to admonish abhorrent behavior continues even after these same activities plunged the world into the deep, dark economic abyss. Re-regulation is coming, albeit slightly late, after healthcare is finally laid to rest.

There exists a litany of other issues and problems that requires Congress’ attention, and should not be ignored – there is no reason Congressmen cannot multitask between two or three legislational issues. NASA is still significantly underfunded and has a questionable “moon mandate” based on technology that might not have been properly evaluated by the previous Administration; Social Security continues to exist in a state of suspended chaos, with its demise imminent; the public school system has crumbled to the point of near irrelevancy and produces barely literate graduates; telecom companies feel that they can operate as they wish and ignore the rights and privacy of their customers – these are the the issues that will likely be addressed at one point during the Obama Administration, but the sooner, the better.

Healthcare has shown the ability of the nation to focus entirely on a single issue, which is an admirable trait. In most situations, however, this is not acceptable behavior by Congress, especially when passing a single piece of legislation requires six months of feigned sincerity and circus acts. President Obama seems to realize this fact, having expressed similar concerns in recent speaking engagements, and so the remaining three-and-a-half years of President Obama’s first Term of Office will hopefully be more productive, both in terms of effectiveness and issues addressed.

American news media, you are culpable as well: do not single out national issues at the expense of others for the purpose of ratings – this effects the mindset of many of the nation’s people and is unacceptable. There are always other pressing issues for the President of the United States, Congress, and America-at-large – don’t forget them.

Now Is The Time For True America [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:05:36 +0000

All of the healthcare reform bills have left Senatorial committees, and are not only being addressed-at-large by Senate but are available online for public review. While HR3200 has been flaunted as the probable basis for the compromise bill that turns into law, for better or for worse, this progress from within the Senate marks an important change: all of the proposals, which address insurance company regulations, public options, Medicare, Medicaid, and more, have written, visible, public language. The time for rhetoric, hearsay, and speculation on the nature of the Federal Government’s interest in the health of its people is over – now is the time for true debate, non-partisanship, discussion, and democracy.

The screaming townhall meetings where “concerned” citizens air their irrelevant fears no longer have a place in the equation, no matter how hard extremists on either side wish for more time to behave childishly. The use of public power to manipulate the malleable masses for political or corporate gain, as Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin have been wont to do, may still continue at their insistence, but it will no longer be timely. The nonsensical protests, where those participating cannot agree on what exactly they are railing so viciously against, can have their numbers inflated as large as FOX “News” needs them, but their nebulous and shifting “point” has long since been made.

After a brilliantly destructive, embarrassing, and ultimately fruitless campaign by the Republican Party over the summer months to derail healthcare reform and discredit their enemy, President Obama is back in control and no longer interested in attempting to make a partisan effort. The result will be a show of America’s greatest democratic strengths in the coming weeks, as opposed to the demonstration of the country’s absolute, divided, political worst that still lingers at this very moment. The process may not be fast, and the results will not please all citizens or Congressmen, but it is America’s political process at work – the country is not a true free-for-all democracy, and instead prefers a representative method. This method was chosen in the hopes that the few hundred individuals that comprise Congress are more interested in agreement and procedure than endless argument, with the majority of its members hopefully more educated, informed, and generally in a better position than an average citizen to make grand, sweeping policy decisions.

Whether Congress and President Obama can make an effectual change in the world of healthcare and health insurance remains to be seen, but the mere fact that language has been produced from both houses of Congress, and in multiple bills, indicates that progress is being made. Perhaps this publicly-verifiable progress will help calm the extremely vocal minority whose vocal chords must be so very raw after months of shouting, and convince illiterate Congressmen that “the truth is out there.”

Debate, rationality, and compromise are some of the very principles on which the United States was founded – with the hopeful return of these principles to both Washington D.C. and the nation itself, now is the time for True America.

It’s Time To End The GOP [OpEd]

Kyle Brady — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:05:57 +0000

The recent months, and the last week more specifically, have proven a sad, depressing truth about the state of modern American politics: the Republican Party, which has existed in one form or another since 1854, needs to be either forcibly abolished or mobilized against. The actions of the party’s leaders, Congressmen, and majority of its members are disgusting, un-American, and no longer have a place in American politics.

Ever since Barack Obama seemed to have a legitimate chance at becoming President, the conspiracy theorists, white supremacists, party manipulators, and overall crazies have attempted to enrage the GOP masses for their own benefit, and have obviously succeeded in doing so – much to the chagrin of rational citizens nationwide. The nonsensical, highly partisan rhetoric increased as the recent summer months dragged on, but before the peak of healthcare irrationality, there was hope that the Republican Party may become irrelevant by its own actions.

The sad truth, however, is that the results have been quite the opposite: by catering to the irrational and racist nature of many of those who so strongly favor the status quo, the party has become invigorated by its own vitriol and not only detracted from the rational majority (note: not necessarily Democrats), but also seen the mobilization of its own members for what they imagine to be battles of ideology over the future of the country. While their intentions, logic, and claims are highly misguided at best, the results are undeniable – FOX “News” can be thanked for this.

With the aiding and abetting of most mainstream news outlets, the protests and manufactured outrage of self-proclaimed “teabaggers” appear to have more support than in reality, and those citizens who are weak-minded have begun to question their own political and ideological stances. This has resulted in more gains for a group of people who cannot clearly define what, exactly, they are upset about, what their goals are, or even define the terms they use so willingly to describe the President. Some efforts are being made by popular media – such as ABC News, Keith Olbermann, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report - to quell such willful exaggerations, but only so much can be done when Republican Congressmen choose to shout verifiably false accusations at Barack Obama, while educational institutions decide the President’s speeches are too “controversial” or “indoctrinating” to be shown to the very children for whom the speech is being made.

This is why, after 155 years, the Republican Party must be forced to go not-so-gently into the good night; while this is a large proposition, it is one that must be undertaken for the future stability of America. It is not an issue of Democrats vs. Republicans, liberals vs. conservatives, or even North vs. South, but instead one of intelligence and rationality being valued over baseless theories and irrational behavior. If a political campaign and seven months in the Office of the President has resulted in such national division and violent behavior, largely due to the presence of an intelligent black man proposing a return to common sense, what does the future of the country hold if the GOP’s actions continue?

In 2012, there will be another Presidential Election, and barring some major catastrophe or resounding political success, and President Obama will have likely have an opposition candidate that is at least partially viable. Assuming the bias of the present day continues in this not-too-distant future, the opposition candidate will likely be as different from Barack Obama as possible, resulting in a highly conservative, white, status quo-thumping individual who may even be female. The battle for the Office will be even more vicious than seen in 2008, but the outcome is of significantly greater importance: if Obama is reelected, the country will likely erupt in violence at the hands of those who imagine him to be somehow evil, but if the opposition candidate is elected, any progress made in the way of intelligent policy and planning for the future will likely be undone.

It is with this knowledge that the power of the Republican Party becomes worrisome – not because the “teabaggers” might actually produce a result, but because President Obama’s intellectual efforts may be erased within four years, or the country may once again erupt into civil war. An important fact to note is that not a single Democrat demonized President Bush during either of his two terms with falsehoods and lies, nor were public smear campaigns created in opposition to his every move, in spite of the countless displays of unintelligence and inadequacy. Yet a disturbing number of Texans find the idea of secession appealing simply because of a President they do not unanimously support, and believe FOX "News" to be the "true" media voice.

The Democrats must win the midterm elections in 2010, and hold on to or strengthen the majority throughout the nation – this is a fact known by any politically astute citizens that define themselves as intelligent. But the 2012 Election cannot be dependent on these citizens to not be swayed by smear and attack campaigns, so a new political party must rise from the ashes of the GOP beforehand. Whether it is the arrival of its Libertarian cousin as the new party for conservatives, or a different party altogether, is irrelevant - one must arise, no matter the difficulty. Ideally, politics in America would operate like its European counterparts: countless parties in a democratic government, all of which are viable options for voters. This, however, is unlikely to occur in anything close to near-term. Instead, Independents should temporarily side with the Democrats for a continued Union of States, and those Republicans that are embarrassed by their party's actions should stand up and define themselves as independent of irrational ideology.

The time of reconciliation or reform for the Republican Party is past, this much is clear. By their childish behaviors, willful ignorance, and continued knee-jerk opposition, the GOP has proven itself to be unworthy of not only its status as a major political party, but of also holding any relevant political office. Many outside the borders of America are shocked by the blatant misuse of power by those conservatives that have it, and the time has come for American citizens to stand up for what is truly, demonstrably the American Way of Life: a return to intelligence and rationality, basic national civility regardless of political ideology, and the actual consideration of the people's will.

It's time to end the GOP.