Well, it's football season again, but in reality it is always football season when it comes to politicians using political footballs and intellectual dishonesty toward issues for their own political gain. One of the worst culprits of this appeared on today's Meet The Press, Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. With regard to the essential two topics discussion, the building of the Islamic Community Center in lower Manhattan and the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the top 2% in this country.
Senator McConnell said that we are to take the President 'on his word' that he is a Christian and not a Muslim, he can't explain why one in four republicans think the President is NOT a Christian. This is the worst kind of political shiftiness, knowing that people who represent Republican interests are out there spreading this kind of false information to further their own agenda and then turning around and saying, "I don't know where this comes from."
Senator McConnell additional stated that the President is ignoring public opinion of this 'issue' in not condemning the construction of this facility at this particular location. Then later in the interview, the senator quips that the President shouldn't be weighing in on a local zoning decision. This basically says that no matter what the President had said or didn't say would be used against him.
Mr. Gregory, to his credit, called out Mr. McConnell on this, pointing out that up until this very moment, it was a much bigger topic (not an issue really) than a zoning decision. And with regard to the extension of the Bush tax cuts, we finally got answer!
The answer is that Mr. McConnell is either being intellectually dishonest with regard to these taxes to serve his own political agenda or he that he simply doesn't understand how the finances of the government works. We're beginning to believe the latter because of his answer.
When asked how the tax cuts extension would be paid for, Senator McConnell said that they are existing tax cuts and there is no paying for them. It's a matter of reeling in spending, but in typical style, he never bothers to explain what cuts Republicans would be inclined to make. He seems to not understand that by giving these tax breaks there is a loss in governmental revenue and then hence, the government needs to borrow more money to compensate for the shortfall.
Again, what's sad is that he doesn't understand this, that he can be totally oblivious to the statements by Alan Greenspan from August 1st's program, and then sit and blame the President and his policies for what is happening in the country right now.
Politically, it is pretty obvious what the Republicans will do if they score some luck and come out ahead in the midterm election. What's dangerous is they are not saying what they would do, and in the meantime, only contributing negatively to the general political discourse - assigning blame.
What is out there is Congressman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) platform for economic reforms, a bill which only has 13 co-sponsors at the moment. Mr. McConnell, when asked, didn't really answer why there were so few. We suspect it is because contained within Mr. Ryan's roadmap are radical cuts to Social Security and Medicare, practically to the point of eliminating those programs as we know them.
These cuts are politically unpopular, but they are in line with the Republican agenda to dismantle all social safety nets. So the question is: If the Republicans gain control of the House and/or Senate, will there then be more sponsors of Mr. Ryan's ideas.
Dick Armey appeared on today's Meet The Press alongside Jennifer Granholm, the Governor of Michigan, to discuss the economy, and the former Republican Congressman from Texas said that Mr. Ryan is the most creative thinker in Washington right now. He also emphatically stated that standing alongside of Mr. Ryan and his platform is determined by courage.
Mr. Armey is no longer a politician, but in reality he is far worse. He is the example of politics beholden to corporate interest. With a new book out, Give Us Liberty (A Tea Party Manifesto), Mr. Armey uses proxies to further his corporatist agenda and enjoy wide influence over the political landscape without ever being beholden to the public. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are feeling quite empowered from being private politicians, but it is Mr. Armey who rallied the corporate donors to fund his organization, Freedomworks, that spawned the Tea Party movement. Hence, now we have his, excuse us - 'their' manifesto, which calls for limited government in matters of social safety nets. Mr. Armey uses the example of the Christian Scientist...
"Let, let me ask you a simple question. If you happen to be a Christian Scientist and have never seen a doctor in your life and never intend to go to a doctor in your life and never bought insurance in your life, is it right to, to be told at the age of 65 if you don't buy--sign up for Medicare, we'll take away your Social Security? That's not in the law. "
Hmmm... then one could ask... if there is a shaman in the deepest rainforests of Borneo who had never heard of Christianity, the Bible, of Jesus, and he is approached one day by a Christian preacher and told of Jesus, but still doesn't believe in Christianity, is the shaman now condemned to hell? The Christian preacher would say yes. This is simply presenting contrarian logic.
However, here's the real rub with Mr. Armey's example. He said that he agrees with Congressman Ryan that Medicare should be optional, and that you can elect to pay into it at 65 instead of mandating. However, at 65, if you have never paid into the system. Can that individual afford to them buy into Medicare. The answer is most likely no, and then at the time when an individual most needs health care and has no income to pay for a doctor's visit, they end up with nothing. It's all a ruse to funnel more money into private corporate hands.
As Governor Granholm pointed out, 85% percent of Americans do not want Social Security drastically cut to reduce the deficit. Mr. Armey rebutted that politicians who don't cut it drastically lack courage. Also, we like the fact that Governor Granholm accidentally called Mr. Armey "Mitch," but she may as well have been talking to the Senate Minority leader and the views of the two men fall in line with one another.
Lastly, with regard to the proposed community center/mosque in lower Manhattan, it really comes down to this: In The United States of America we have religious freedom and that freedom gives the right to a group to build a religious facility on private property.
Now, if we uphold this right, even if it's tough to swallow, and we understand that point of view completely, the light of this country's ideals still glows brilliantly. When we start selectively employing our Constitution, that is when our institution is broken.
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