When I was 18 years old I registered as a Democrat. I have been one ever since and have believed in my party. I have worked on campaigns to help Democrats that I have believed in to get elected. And I have tried to educate others on the great things Democrats have done for America and the world.
I am a Democrat not because somebody told me to be one, or because my parents were Democrats (which they are not), or because I wanted to fit in, but because I share many values that the Democratic Party represents. Here we are, the Democrats have more power at this moment than they have in over 4o years. The Presidency (with a very strong president) and both houses of Congress with overwhelming majorities in both houses.
I've been so exited because this is the farthest we've come as a party since the Reagan revolution took us down almost 30 years ago. And now my question is, WHERE THE HELL HAS MY PARTY GONE?
The leadership in the Democratic Party has so disappointed me since Obama has taken office. Harry Reid is a wimp who cowers to many who disagree with him and although he may be the Senate Majority Leader, he is not much of a leader. Because really, when it comes to Reid, who is following? Nancy Pelosi is an impressive person with lots of potential but can't seem to steer Congress the way a good Speaker of the House can. The infighting among Democrats in the House and the Republicans refusal to work across the aisle despite their dwindling representation in the House tells me that Pelosi may just be the wrong person for the job. With the amount of power the Democrats have in representation right now they should be fairly comfortably pursuing a progressive agenda. But they're not! The leadership keeps making excuses and then eventually blaming the Republicans for eveything that goes wrong. I know that the opposition party will always try to take the party in power down. And I know that the Republicans are playing that game right now. But do the Democrats want to be victims or do they want to lead? Right now it looks like they would rather be victims and that disappoints me.
I believed in these people. I believe in this party. The party of Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Kennedy stood for progress and leadership. And they delievered. The party still claims to stand for those things, but i'm still waiting for the delivery.
When it comes to the Obama Adminstration I get equally as frustrated. I campaigned for Obama. I have met the man and I believe in his ability to lead and make change. But i'm still waiting for the Change We Can Believe In. The battle over healthcare and become a series of town hall shouting matches with no leader at the helm to guide us on this issue. The economy remains a mystery that Obama and his best advisers still can't find solutions to. Tim Giethner is a lap dog for Wall Street that has provided little change from Henry Paulson and the Bush Administration. And Obama like Bush seems to think escalating a land war within borders (Afghanistan) will create stability in the Middle East. Iremember the good old day of 2004 when us Democrats were arguing Bush's strategy by contending that the War on Terror is a different kind of war and can not be fought with the old tactics of the 20th century. I guess that idea has gone out the door.
To be fair I decided that I will give the Obama Adminstration and the Congress the first two years of the new preisdency to show what they can accomplish. Most great presidents learn hard lessons their first year in office and then come back to do great things. Let's hope this is the case. So I will support the president and our leadership to see what they are made of. However, right now things are not looking good and it's making me think very hard about where I stand. I pray that my country will prosper and that our leadership will provide us with the proper guidance we need to achieve that prosperity and become the country that so many of us want to be at this moment in history.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Reflection
Although the sun was out, it was 25 degrees in Washington D.C. on the morning of January 20, 2009. I walked through the streets of D.C. with my fellow Americans and descended upon the Washington Mall to bear witness to one of America's most historical events.
The vibe that day in D.C. was of a feeling I can not describe in words. You sort of had to be there. But it was amazing. It was unity at its best as we all celebrated being Americans and rallying behind our new leader. And it didn't take violence to bring us together. What a day.
Security was tight, people were dancing, and random cheers came from the crowd when certain politicians arrived and found their seat on the stage.
When President Bush arrived the crowd was surprisingly somewhat respectful which I had been hoping for. I don't support President Bush any more than any other liberal, but this day was about Obama and change, not about Bush. And I didn't want to see a big scene made over his arrival and departure. Let's save the attention for our new dynamic leader, President Obama. And we did.
As President Obama took the oath I watched in amazement not believing what I was seeing. I wept because I was so proud to see my country get to this place. It restored my confidence in America's ability to grow and mature. And it made me believe that once again we could lead by example and help the world become a better place. President Obama's inaugural address was a great speech ending with a quote by President Washington reaffirming our strength in these times of crisis.
I will never forget that day for as long as I live. I was with some close friends and was lucky to spend it with them. I saw a major event in my country's history that we all take pride in. Two months in to his Preisdency it's hard to judge the job he is doing but it appears that Obama is on the right track. He is making the right decisions and is truly trying to exercise that he represents all of the American people on a level we have not seen since the Kennedy presidency. That's almost 50 years.
With a Democratic legislature and executive which this country has not had together since LBJ (with an exception of the first 2 years of the Clinton presidency; 2 years is not enough time to establish a preogressive era) Obama has the opportunity to move mountains maybe like FDR did decades ago.
There are things that are a little unsettling to me right now. Geithner may turn out to have been a bad choice. Sending troops to Afghanistan may not turn out to be the best way to continue to fight terrorism. But the one thing that puts my worries to rest here is knowing that we have a president with humility and a learning curve. Like Lincoln, both Roosevelt's, and Kennedy those types have historically ended up becoming great leaders. I believe that Obama will learn from his mistakes and improve his performance as president.
But we must remember, it is only with our prayers, support, and participation that this preisdency will succeed. As President Obama has always said, "Yes We Can!" and not "Yes I Can!"
The vibe that day in D.C. was of a feeling I can not describe in words. You sort of had to be there. But it was amazing. It was unity at its best as we all celebrated being Americans and rallying behind our new leader. And it didn't take violence to bring us together. What a day.
Security was tight, people were dancing, and random cheers came from the crowd when certain politicians arrived and found their seat on the stage.
When President Bush arrived the crowd was surprisingly somewhat respectful which I had been hoping for. I don't support President Bush any more than any other liberal, but this day was about Obama and change, not about Bush. And I didn't want to see a big scene made over his arrival and departure. Let's save the attention for our new dynamic leader, President Obama. And we did.
As President Obama took the oath I watched in amazement not believing what I was seeing. I wept because I was so proud to see my country get to this place. It restored my confidence in America's ability to grow and mature. And it made me believe that once again we could lead by example and help the world become a better place. President Obama's inaugural address was a great speech ending with a quote by President Washington reaffirming our strength in these times of crisis.
I will never forget that day for as long as I live. I was with some close friends and was lucky to spend it with them. I saw a major event in my country's history that we all take pride in. Two months in to his Preisdency it's hard to judge the job he is doing but it appears that Obama is on the right track. He is making the right decisions and is truly trying to exercise that he represents all of the American people on a level we have not seen since the Kennedy presidency. That's almost 50 years.
With a Democratic legislature and executive which this country has not had together since LBJ (with an exception of the first 2 years of the Clinton presidency; 2 years is not enough time to establish a preogressive era) Obama has the opportunity to move mountains maybe like FDR did decades ago.
There are things that are a little unsettling to me right now. Geithner may turn out to have been a bad choice. Sending troops to Afghanistan may not turn out to be the best way to continue to fight terrorism. But the one thing that puts my worries to rest here is knowing that we have a president with humility and a learning curve. Like Lincoln, both Roosevelt's, and Kennedy those types have historically ended up becoming great leaders. I believe that Obama will learn from his mistakes and improve his performance as president.
But we must remember, it is only with our prayers, support, and participation that this preisdency will succeed. As President Obama has always said, "Yes We Can!" and not "Yes I Can!"
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
When I Met the President of the United States
It was the second night of the Democratic National Convention in 2004 and I was serving as a Delegate for John Kerry. The keynote speakers that night were Ted Kennedy and this new guy from Chicago named Barack Obama. Of course I was very exited to see Kennedy speak being that his brothers are the whole reason I got in to this stuff and he is a great Senator.
When Obama finished speaking that night he became a national figure in politics. As I sat there and witnessed this my fellow Delegates and I looked at each other in awe and said "Who is this guy?!" We knew this guy was going places.
The following evening after the convention when John Edwards had accepted the nomination for VP I was standing with my best friend outside the Fleet Center in Boston (where the convention was held) and out came Barack Obama walking in our direction. I told my friend to wait a minute because I had to go meet this guy and shake his hand. As I approached Obama he extended his hand to shake and said "Hi, it's nice to meet you." I was trying to think of something intelligent to say when what ended coming out was "Nice to meet you Mr. Obama. I think you are going to be the future of the Democratic Party." At the time, I didn't know I was right. Looks like I was.
He then gave me the secret handshake, raised his other fist, looked me in the eye, and said "Right on, man!" Then he walked off.
As I write this I am preparing to leave my hotel room to go watch Barack Obama be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.
I am so lucky and I realize it. I about to go witness a major historical event for my country.
I have always been proud to be an American but today I am more proud than I have ever been.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Global Government
It has been inevitable since the industrial revolution and then WWII that at some point in time there will be a world government. Whether or not this will be a good thing will depend on the good will of the people laying out the plans for this system of government. And when it will actually happen is beyond my knowledge. Ever since the industrial revolution and WWII technology and social evolution have been guiding us towards global governance.
Teddy Roosevelt was the first imperialist
After WWII we saw the emergence of the New World Order. When people like the Bush's, the Dulles', Averall Harriman, and Dean Acheson were laying the groundwork for what we now know as "the free world" we saw global government come even more in to focus. It was clear to the Roosevelt Administration after being attacked at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese and then watching how the Nazi's were destroying countries we consider allies that the
I believe that the New World Order that emerged out of WWII is very flawed and has created maybe as much bad as it has good in the world, but I don't dismiss it. If postwar plans had been laid out in the interests of the welfare of mankind I think the world would be a better place. But it seems that greed won the argument and suffering has ensued.
As the human race evolves, the idea of global government becomes inevitable at some point. We just have to keep praying that the interests of mankind win the battle for global government, and not the interests of the greedy.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
What Ralph Nader is Not Telling You!
Ralph Nader just keeps on running for president and as a student of politics I would like to know just what is going to happen if a 'President Nader' was to actually be elected. Nader gathers a lot of support from people who have given up on the Democrats and the Republicans and would like to see a third party integrated in to the political process. Mr. Nader is a very intelligent man and understands how our government functions yet does not see the great danger of having a third party president with a legislature made up of Democrats and Republicans who are not of his party.
As we know, our government has three branches. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Because we have a separation of powers the three branches of government provide oversight to the other two branches and all three work together in governing. When the president wants to get legislation passed or stop legislation from getting passed he will go to members of his party in the House and the Senate to gain support for the agenda. We all remember that Bush had to get approval from Congress before he could have our troops invade Iraq in 2003. With a third party president who has no allies from his own party in the House or the Senate how would he get anything done? This is the question Nader is realistically addressing. Most member of both houses of Congress believe that Nader is to the left of the Democratic Party and the only allies he may find in the legislature would be the Kucinich types or Maxine Waters types. Those considered the most liberal. I think these people are great politicians but they don't represent the American people. They represent a small fraction of the American people.
Nader's presidential runs are purely symbolic and are not working towards a clearly stated goal of what will happen when he would take power. Understanding that we are a democracy and not a monarchy should explain the situation very well. He needs allies in the legislature to help get his agenda through or else he becomes a lame duck stuck in 4 miserable years of political gridlock. The Democrats and Republicans would have no partisan allegiance to the president and that would put the president in a horrible position to be able to govern as a chief executive.
What third party organizers need to start thinking about is a bottom-up approach to getting candidates into elected office. They need to put their focus on getting candidates elected to the House and the Senate. If they devised a strategy to riddle both houses of Congress with Green Party candidates over the next 20 to 30 years then they could be in a position to realistically run a candidate for president from a third party. With allies in both houses of Congress a president can govern and push their agenda for the country.
I would like to see Ralph Nader wake up from this black sleep that has caused him to take great sums of campaign funds from Bush/Cheney supporting Republicans, throw an election (2000) that could have saved us from the horrible crisis the U.S. in now on so many fronts, and not learn from the 2000 election and then run in the following one (2004).
I want him to wake up and run for Congress. I believe in the ideals of democracy and I believe that having more than two parties would be more representative of the American people, although I myself am a Democrat. But the strategy Nader employs makes me suspicious of what he may really be up to. I don't know what that could be but his behavior and vision of what the country will be like when he is president causes me to have a moment of pause where I think that he can't really believe what he is saying.
If they begin from the bottom-up, third parties have a good shot at making their way in to elected offices across the country over time. Ralph Nader needs to be humbled and take his eyes off of the prize because he could be hurting this movement much more than he ever help it. So I say this:
Start the movement Ralph, don't end it!
As we know, our government has three branches. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Because we have a separation of powers the three branches of government provide oversight to the other two branches and all three work together in governing. When the president wants to get legislation passed or stop legislation from getting passed he will go to members of his party in the House and the Senate to gain support for the agenda. We all remember that Bush had to get approval from Congress before he could have our troops invade Iraq in 2003. With a third party president who has no allies from his own party in the House or the Senate how would he get anything done? This is the question Nader is realistically addressing. Most member of both houses of Congress believe that Nader is to the left of the Democratic Party and the only allies he may find in the legislature would be the Kucinich types or Maxine Waters types. Those considered the most liberal. I think these people are great politicians but they don't represent the American people. They represent a small fraction of the American people.
Nader's presidential runs are purely symbolic and are not working towards a clearly stated goal of what will happen when he would take power. Understanding that we are a democracy and not a monarchy should explain the situation very well. He needs allies in the legislature to help get his agenda through or else he becomes a lame duck stuck in 4 miserable years of political gridlock. The Democrats and Republicans would have no partisan allegiance to the president and that would put the president in a horrible position to be able to govern as a chief executive.
What third party organizers need to start thinking about is a bottom-up approach to getting candidates into elected office. They need to put their focus on getting candidates elected to the House and the Senate. If they devised a strategy to riddle both houses of Congress with Green Party candidates over the next 20 to 30 years then they could be in a position to realistically run a candidate for president from a third party. With allies in both houses of Congress a president can govern and push their agenda for the country.
I would like to see Ralph Nader wake up from this black sleep that has caused him to take great sums of campaign funds from Bush/Cheney supporting Republicans, throw an election (2000) that could have saved us from the horrible crisis the U.S. in now on so many fronts, and not learn from the 2000 election and then run in the following one (2004).
I want him to wake up and run for Congress. I believe in the ideals of democracy and I believe that having more than two parties would be more representative of the American people, although I myself am a Democrat. But the strategy Nader employs makes me suspicious of what he may really be up to. I don't know what that could be but his behavior and vision of what the country will be like when he is president causes me to have a moment of pause where I think that he can't really believe what he is saying.
If they begin from the bottom-up, third parties have a good shot at making their way in to elected offices across the country over time. Ralph Nader needs to be humbled and take his eyes off of the prize because he could be hurting this movement much more than he ever help it. So I say this:
Start the movement Ralph, don't end it!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Have Lincoln and Kennedy Set the Standard for Presidential Assassinations?
I'm sure all of you like myself have heard the concern of many of the possibility of Barack Obama getting assassinated as president. I often think about the psychology of this concern and why people point the finger at Obama getting shot that no one questioned when Kerry or Gore ran. Or when Clinton and Bush were President. The first obvious explanation is his skin color. Many are afraid that white supremacists will try to assassinate him because he is black.
Should this be a concern? Yes. Is it a likely scenario? I don't think so. When I think about a white supremacy group going up against the Secret Service and the FBI who will protect the President it doesn't seem likely to me that they will be able to pull off an assassination. To shoot a president would be no easy task, especially in the United States. It would take a high level of sophistication in the strategic planning and execution of the plan. Maybe you do, but I don't give white supremacy groups that much credit. I don't find them to be that bright. Mostly a bunch of uneducated thugs.
But Obama is a trans formative figure with great communication skills and an angle for governing that comes from outside the box. It's starting to smell like Lincoln and Kennedy. Lincoln was the first Republican ever elected to the presidency, Kennedy the first Irish Catholic, and Obama is the first African-American President. All three of these men have been very glamorous political figures with an eloquence in the way they speak that can woo the masses like no other can. The country has also chose to invest all of its hopes for the future in the persona's of these three men. But history taught us with the first two that the dream will always end abruptly with a gunshot forever changing history and stunting the progress that has been made.
More importantly though, all three of these men have/had great agenda's for change in America that can be extremely threatening to the power elite who have a vested interest in opposition of these agenda's. Did the Civil War and ending slavery play a role in why Lincoln was killed? I believe so. Was Kennedy's goal to end the Cold War with Russia and avoid combat operations in Vietnam involved in deciding to kill him? I believe so. Will Obama's agenda and attempts to make America a little better for everyone (like Lincoln and Kennedy) and not just the privileged few make him a candidate for assassination? I don't know and this is the level I can see an assassination attempt happening on.
However, there is a difference. Andrew Johnson was a different kind of politician, a Southerner in fact (although many in the South saw him as sympathetic to slaves). It would have been obvious that he would take the country in a different direction in Lincoln's absence. And he did, oh so miserably. Lyndon Johnson was a very different kind of politician than Kennedy was. Again, it would be obvious to see the country on a different path in Kennedy's absence. And after Kennedy, the country took a different path. But I find extreme safety in this regard in having Joe Biden as Vice President. Biden is a real stand up guy who is much more fit for the presidency than Andrew Johnson or LBJ was in my opinion. Although LBJ had been a star in the Senate he lacked the academic knowledge a president needs. And Andrew Johnson was a nothing Senator from Ga. Biden has been one of America's most respected Senator's for over 20 years and was elected to the Senate at 30 years old (the minimum age requirement for a Senator), And this guy cam from a very blue collar family. He did it all on his own.
But more than that, Biden shares Obama's vision for America. I find a lot of security in this. There is no other path for America waiting a heart beat away from the presidency. Assassination would accomplish very little for those who would want to see America on a different path. Plus, after the Kennedy assassinations Congress legislated standards for protection of the president and presidential candidates that were non-existent in the 1960's. This is in large part why the only assassination attempt we've seen since the 1960's has been on Reagan in 1981. That was almost 28 years ago.
So you can sleep now. When having a practical, objective look at the possibility of another presidential assassination in the coming years we see that the chances are quite low and that this cult of personality around Obama that reminds us of a Lincoln or Kennedy like figure drives our belief that past events will predict the future.
Should this be a concern? Yes. Is it a likely scenario? I don't think so. When I think about a white supremacy group going up against the Secret Service and the FBI who will protect the President it doesn't seem likely to me that they will be able to pull off an assassination. To shoot a president would be no easy task, especially in the United States. It would take a high level of sophistication in the strategic planning and execution of the plan. Maybe you do, but I don't give white supremacy groups that much credit. I don't find them to be that bright. Mostly a bunch of uneducated thugs.
But Obama is a trans formative figure with great communication skills and an angle for governing that comes from outside the box. It's starting to smell like Lincoln and Kennedy. Lincoln was the first Republican ever elected to the presidency, Kennedy the first Irish Catholic, and Obama is the first African-American President. All three of these men have been very glamorous political figures with an eloquence in the way they speak that can woo the masses like no other can. The country has also chose to invest all of its hopes for the future in the persona's of these three men. But history taught us with the first two that the dream will always end abruptly with a gunshot forever changing history and stunting the progress that has been made.
More importantly though, all three of these men have/had great agenda's for change in America that can be extremely threatening to the power elite who have a vested interest in opposition of these agenda's. Did the Civil War and ending slavery play a role in why Lincoln was killed? I believe so. Was Kennedy's goal to end the Cold War with Russia and avoid combat operations in Vietnam involved in deciding to kill him? I believe so. Will Obama's agenda and attempts to make America a little better for everyone (like Lincoln and Kennedy) and not just the privileged few make him a candidate for assassination? I don't know and this is the level I can see an assassination attempt happening on.
However, there is a difference. Andrew Johnson was a different kind of politician, a Southerner in fact (although many in the South saw him as sympathetic to slaves). It would have been obvious that he would take the country in a different direction in Lincoln's absence. And he did, oh so miserably. Lyndon Johnson was a very different kind of politician than Kennedy was. Again, it would be obvious to see the country on a different path in Kennedy's absence. And after Kennedy, the country took a different path. But I find extreme safety in this regard in having Joe Biden as Vice President. Biden is a real stand up guy who is much more fit for the presidency than Andrew Johnson or LBJ was in my opinion. Although LBJ had been a star in the Senate he lacked the academic knowledge a president needs. And Andrew Johnson was a nothing Senator from Ga. Biden has been one of America's most respected Senator's for over 20 years and was elected to the Senate at 30 years old (the minimum age requirement for a Senator), And this guy cam from a very blue collar family. He did it all on his own.
But more than that, Biden shares Obama's vision for America. I find a lot of security in this. There is no other path for America waiting a heart beat away from the presidency. Assassination would accomplish very little for those who would want to see America on a different path. Plus, after the Kennedy assassinations Congress legislated standards for protection of the president and presidential candidates that were non-existent in the 1960's. This is in large part why the only assassination attempt we've seen since the 1960's has been on Reagan in 1981. That was almost 28 years ago.
So you can sleep now. When having a practical, objective look at the possibility of another presidential assassination in the coming years we see that the chances are quite low and that this cult of personality around Obama that reminds us of a Lincoln or Kennedy like figure drives our belief that past events will predict the future.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Are We Seeing the Beginning of a New Realignment?
In America, there there has been three major realignments of our political system since the founding of our country. The first alignment was in the 1770's-1780's when this country was first established, the British were defeated in the Revolutionary War at this country was born. About 70 to 80 years later there was a realignment of American government when the Civil War was fought and slavery was abolished. The country took another hard turn politically about 70 to 80 years after that when the great depression hit and WWII was fought causing another realignment where government was introduced as a friend of its public through the New Deal policies and the world was divided up between democracy and communism after the war.
Well, here we are 70 to 80 years after our last realignment and it hasn't happened again yet. Experts have been saying we are due for a realignment for the past decade. Are we starting to see the next realignment? Barack Obama is changing the political landscape in America. The election of the first African-American president is a huge milestone for American politics and has sent a message that has changed the status of minorities in politics. And with a huge victory for Democrats in the Executive and Legislative branches of government could we be heading in to another progressive era? The last one was in the 1960's under JFK and LBJ when the Democrats controlled both the presidency and both houses of Congress. That was over 40 years ago. Progressive era's like those of the 1930's and 1960's show us a kind of politics where the government extends a helping hand to the less fortunate in society by using government to create more opportunity so that every American has a fair shot at achieving the American dream that we all seek to live.
The Reagan revolution that was born in the election of 1980 put a halt to progressive politics and took the Democratic Party down a road that painted them as weak on defense and void of moral values. With Reagan's soaring popularity the Democrats were in a real fix to get anything done the way they wanted to. By electing Bill Clinton in 1992 the Democrats saw the hope of recovery for the party until the Clinton sex scandal took the party right back to where Reagan had put it in the 1980's. By the election of 2000, the Republicans were in control of all three branches of government for the first time in several decades. They held that power until 2006 when the politics of trickle down economics, expanding the power of corporate America, and cultural division saw its chickens coming home to roost. The long held argument by liberals that these kinds of politics do not work and could be detrimental to our political system came to fruition in the election of 2006 when the American people gave control of the House and the Senate back to the Democrats. Did our Republican President George W. Bush get the message and make changes? No. So things got even worse and here we are.
Obama is a trans formative figure. He has communication skills that give JFK and Ronald Reagan a run for their money. As history has taught us, great communicators make great changes in the way we think about politics and the way we practice politics. People are questioning whether Obama will be able to carry this country the way FDR, JFK, or Reagan did. If he cannot make great changes it would be the first time in history that a president with great communication skills has not been able to do so.
So what will Obama do with the presidency and a Democratically control legislature? Our country is in crisis economically, militarily, and morally. There is much work to be done and it is up to the new president and the new congress to steer us in a direction that will make us that shining city on a hill that we once were. This is still a wonderful country in which I am so proud to be a citizen of, but I remember better days and I want to move forward so we can have them once again.
If there is going to be another realignment now is the time! Hold on to your seats America because we're about to ride in to the future with a great leader at the helm and change is coming to America. Say your prayers and cross your fingers that this great leader of great moral character will be assisted by those who oppose him to do the right thing and put the welfare of our fellow countrymen before our own personal interests.
Well, here we are 70 to 80 years after our last realignment and it hasn't happened again yet. Experts have been saying we are due for a realignment for the past decade. Are we starting to see the next realignment? Barack Obama is changing the political landscape in America. The election of the first African-American president is a huge milestone for American politics and has sent a message that has changed the status of minorities in politics. And with a huge victory for Democrats in the Executive and Legislative branches of government could we be heading in to another progressive era? The last one was in the 1960's under JFK and LBJ when the Democrats controlled both the presidency and both houses of Congress. That was over 40 years ago. Progressive era's like those of the 1930's and 1960's show us a kind of politics where the government extends a helping hand to the less fortunate in society by using government to create more opportunity so that every American has a fair shot at achieving the American dream that we all seek to live.
The Reagan revolution that was born in the election of 1980 put a halt to progressive politics and took the Democratic Party down a road that painted them as weak on defense and void of moral values. With Reagan's soaring popularity the Democrats were in a real fix to get anything done the way they wanted to. By electing Bill Clinton in 1992 the Democrats saw the hope of recovery for the party until the Clinton sex scandal took the party right back to where Reagan had put it in the 1980's. By the election of 2000, the Republicans were in control of all three branches of government for the first time in several decades. They held that power until 2006 when the politics of trickle down economics, expanding the power of corporate America, and cultural division saw its chickens coming home to roost. The long held argument by liberals that these kinds of politics do not work and could be detrimental to our political system came to fruition in the election of 2006 when the American people gave control of the House and the Senate back to the Democrats. Did our Republican President George W. Bush get the message and make changes? No. So things got even worse and here we are.
Obama is a trans formative figure. He has communication skills that give JFK and Ronald Reagan a run for their money. As history has taught us, great communicators make great changes in the way we think about politics and the way we practice politics. People are questioning whether Obama will be able to carry this country the way FDR, JFK, or Reagan did. If he cannot make great changes it would be the first time in history that a president with great communication skills has not been able to do so.
So what will Obama do with the presidency and a Democratically control legislature? Our country is in crisis economically, militarily, and morally. There is much work to be done and it is up to the new president and the new congress to steer us in a direction that will make us that shining city on a hill that we once were. This is still a wonderful country in which I am so proud to be a citizen of, but I remember better days and I want to move forward so we can have them once again.
If there is going to be another realignment now is the time! Hold on to your seats America because we're about to ride in to the future with a great leader at the helm and change is coming to America. Say your prayers and cross your fingers that this great leader of great moral character will be assisted by those who oppose him to do the right thing and put the welfare of our fellow countrymen before our own personal interests.
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