Folks, I do not hate the GOP or it’s contenders as much as my words my say and there are times where I’ve agreed with them. What I’ve been trying to do is get the other side of the story out there, the parts that the Media leaves on the floor because it doesn’t fall into their political partisan programming ways.
Face the fact, the Media leads the conversation, whether from Fox News, MSNBC, Thinkprogress, Huffington Post or The Blaze, they determine how most Americans think in today’s partisan political regurgitated thought.
In today’s political divide, no matter who is thrown in front of the podium, devoted Republicans will vote Republican and devoted Democrats will vote Democrat on Election Day and we have the Media to thank for widening that divide. And it’s that fact that causes more harm than good.
I’ve asked the question to many “If you are a Republican/Democrat and you are able to agree with the opposition challenger 100% or you are upset with the incumbent, would you vote for the opposition?”
The answer 93% of the time has been a resounding “NO!” And the reasoning was simply “because he/she is Republican/Democrat and I cannot vote for the opposition.”
Even when President Ronald Reagan ran for a 2nd term and many Democrats detested him, they still voted for him and he won 49 of 50 states. So look where we have come some 27 years later, a division that cannot reach compromise.
After Pres “O’s” job speech last Thursday, many of the Republican Hierarchy ran for the cameras to say that they believe they can work with the President on many of his points, for they were in line with their views. It took all of 24 hours for some to say “Why would I want to work with the President and give him a win when we have him against the ropes and can win in Nov 2012?”
It’s that thought process that keeps this country stagnant on so many issues that plague us.
Either side would rather hold Congress hostage to make a symbolic stance, then actual work to correct the situation.
I care about the current debates and what the GOP contenders are saying, even if much is simple talking points and no substance.
I don’t believe Ron Paul has a chance to win, but he makes a great point on Nation building and our Defense budget. Why are we building schools and roads in Iraq & Afghanistan for $130 billion taxpayer dollars?
Gov Perry believes we should be Nation building but says it’s no place for government to do so here. So let’s create jobs in other nations and let our unemployment numbers sit at 9% or higher.
The GOP contenders talk about shrinking the government employee list, which is a great talking point and people drink it up, but no one will go further and talk about the 500k that already have been written off in the last 4 years by both the Bush and Obama administrations.
And what happens to those 500k, well they go on unemployment, becoming debt to society. But no one talks about that. They do not magically disappear, they become part of the problem. The longer that people are on unemployment and the numbers grow, the further the economy sinks.
How many of those placed on unemployment were baby boomers that were close to retirement age? Well many of those are now collecting their Social Security, while the 9% unemployed aren’t paying into Social Security creating a larger drain on the system.
No one at the podium talks about the amount that are collecting unemployment, there creating a draining domino effect on revenue and entitlements.
The political divide doesn’t stop at with the economy; it has become a social issue as well.
During the MSNBC/Politico debates, when Brian Williams asked the question of the 234 executions in Texas that Gov Perry signed. Perry gave the simple answer of "If you come into our state and you kill one of our children (or a police officer)....you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas and that is you will be executed." The audience gave Gov Perry a loud applause.
Where Brian Williams failed as a moderator was not following up about those executed that were requested a stay of execution by a judge. Even with a request, Gov Perry still went forth with the execution.
At the CNN/Tea Party debates, Ron Paul was asked the hypothetical question (paraphrase) “If a healthy person, with no medical insurance, falls into a coma, who should help him pay?”
Ron Paul’s extremely long answer can be broken down to “they took the risk of not having insurance. We need to get away from the thought that government can take care of everyone.”
I can accept that answer, but I cannot not accept the audible reaction of “No let him die” coming from the audience and applause.
Over at The Blaze, Joe Seidl, tried to play off the reaction by saying “the applause came from a few liberals in the audience for Wolf Blitzer’s ‘Gotcha’ question” as well as “the applause came from delay in reaction to an earlier answer by Ron Paul.”
The overused answer of “those people were planted by so-so opposition group” doesn’t hold water any longer. There are immature, whack-o people on both sides of the political divide.
I have written many blogs looking into the past actions of Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Michelle Bachmann and Mitt Romney to know what they bring to the game. And there are the other candidates that Media trots out, just to say they are being fair, yet give little air time to.
Heck when former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain mentioned his “9-9-9” plan, I thought he was talking about “9 slices-9 toppings-for $9 dollars.”
When I hear Newt Gingrich speak, I’m waiting for him to tell me to go to his website and buy one of his books or documentaries to understand his position as if he is on the Home Shopping Network.
I am not a fan of Rick Santorum, but I’m glad he is acting mature and not the total spaz he normally is when trying to make a point because he feels no one is listening.
McCotter, Roemer and Huntsman are non-figures at the debates, hell McCotter and Roemer are never invited to speak.
No, I care about the debates because I am the type of voter these candidates are trying to sell too. There are many Independent and disenfranchised Democrats looking for a candidate to get behind.
I care because this country’s divide is growing larger by the day, and it’s the Media’s programming that’s got both hands on the edges pushing the rift further apart.
Wow. I read your blog and had to laugh...you know, the kind of laugh that people make when they are stunned that people really are doing something or saying something foolish. Don't pretend to be unbiased and be a bastion for media expertise. You seem to have a level of naïveté that could be excused if you were a high school student. I'm hoping that's what you are. If that's the case, I applaud you for what you are doing and look forward to when you see a broader spectrum of the world and have less of a narrow-perspective.
ReplyDeleteDominic, please inform me of naivete? Apparently I hit a few marks correctly, as the FOX/Google debate made correctioons that I wanted to see. Herman Cain & Rick Santorum jumped in the polls as they were given a broader podium to work with.
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