As of yesterday, President Obama was forced to concede to the Republican Senators on the issue of extending the Bush era tax cuts. If you read the post from the 5th (or are paying attention to the news), you would know that Obama planned on extending the tax cuts for any family making less than $250,000 a year. Seems reasonable enough. The more money you have, the more amount of taxes you are able to pay without worsening your living situation. Not only does it make sense domestically, but it also makes sense when it comes to the giant deficit this country has. By not cutting taxes for the wealthy, we would actually make money! NO WAY!
Unfortunately, the wealthy make up less than 1% of this country1, and Obama can't sacrifice letting the cuts expire to prove his point when there are hundreds of millions of other less-financially sound people out there that rely on the cuts. He had to agree with the Republicans or risk cutting the cord on everyone. A lot of liberals are giving him flak for conceding, but I can't because I understand why he did it. Those same liberals, and add into that the conservatives, would criticize him if the cuts expired. He can't win.
I have to wonder what the motives are behind the Republicans actions on this topic. I mean, I'm always wondering what those corrupt scum-bags are up to, but this is just mind-boggling. But this isn't just about the Republicans.
Democrats, this is getting re-goddamn-diculous, you know that? You had the House and the Senate majority for two years, plus the Presidency, and the Republicans still managed to out hissy-fit you at every turn. Sure, you got things done, but at what cost? Obama was right to try bi-partisanship, and yet I can't seem to shake the feeling that he cut the Republicans too much slack. No matter what compromises were made, the Reps always demanded more, and never let the Democrats have everything. It was almost as if they were so used to being in power for eight years, they thought they would never lose it. If I were Obama, the bi-partisanship would've stopped after no more than six months of their filibustering, whining, gossip-starting fear mongering. These are the exact words I would have used when addressing the House and the Senate:
"Representatives. Senators. Welcome. Ever since I became President of the United States, I have attempted to reach out across the party lines and work together for the benefit of this country. The squabbling between our parties needed to end for the sake of the American people, who were losing jobs, money, and shelter every day. But you pricks didn't care. Even though the Democrats tried to include your ideas, you never stopped thinking of yourselves, and your rich constituents. And no, you Democratic Senators and Representatives aren't off the hook either. Your unwillingness to listen to me when I asked you to be open to negotiation with the Republicans went off about as well as a teacher telling a first grader boy and girl to hold hands. One of you were afraid of cooties, and the other was afraid of being picked on. So guess what? Fuck you all. Democrats, we have the majority here, and we are pushing this shit through whether they like it or not. And don't start whining either, Republicans- you did it to us during the Bush years. Speaking of that illiterate bastard, are you guys ever going to tell us what happened to that giant surplus we left you with in 2000? Probably not. I'm sure you have it all rolled up into toilet paper back home. And Democrats? Reach around to your back and touch the area between your shoulder blades. You should feel some semblance of a fucking backbone there. Most of these Republicans are old, racist, stuck in their ways assholes so trust me, you have nothing to fear from them. Look at McCain. McCain, you old fuck! The day I beat you, I thought you were going to drop dead. But the doctors tell me you has a few more centuries left in you, huh? ... How unfortunate. At any rate, Democrats, grab your sacks and start signing all of this shit into law. Peace out, bitches."
That about sums that up.
Do we as Americans have country-wide ADD? Have we all forgotten the horrendous eight years of Bush that we just got through? I'm still recovering. The Republicans haven't changed, and they won't. Electing them back into office and letting them pull shit like this isn't the right way to go about it. Obama isn't superman, and he has a ton of things he has on his plate. It doesn't help that the wrinkly right is bitching at every opportunity that comes their way- he doesn't need us to do it too.
Want proof that Republicans aren't even listening to the rich people they got tax cuts for? A group of millionaires2 were pushing to get Obama to tax them. They actually want to pour their money back into the economy and get this shit moving. Ugh, you have to hate people like that. Get on the Republican bandwagon, hippies. No one likes your charity, and you're making the people that love excess money look bad.
There is hope, however. In a speech of sorts given yesterday, Obama had this to say:
My "number one priority is to do what's right for the American people," he said at a hastily scheduled news conference at the White House. "Because of this agreement, middle class Americans won't see their taxes go up on January 1."
Obama blasted the Republicans for clinging to a rigid ideology that, in his opinion, has blinded the GOP to the needs and concerns of average Americans.
"I've said before that I felt that the middle class tax cuts were being held hostage to the high-end tax cuts," he said. "I think it's tempting not to negotiate with hostage takers, unless the hostage gets harmed. ... In this case, the hostage was the American people. And I was not willing to see them get harmed."
"If there was not collateral damage, if this was just a matter of my politics or being able to persuade the American people to my side, then I would just stick to my guns," he insisted. But "the issue is how do I persuade the Republicans in the Senate. ... I have not been able to budge them."
Extending tax cuts for the wealthy is the "holy grail" for Republicans, he said. It "seems to be their central economic doctrine," and, he noted, one they can defend by using the Senate filibuster.
Democrats need to "make sure we understand this is a long game, not a short one," he concluded, promising to take the fight to the GOP on the campaign trail in 2012.
In a speech given today, I have this to say: Good. At least Obama is on the right train of thought. I trust the guy, and he does seem to know what he's doing, but he's outnumbered by Senators with their own personal agenda. Hopefully before his first term is up, he can do something about filibustering (which is the art of giving a six hour long speech about nothing in order to delay a vote) and how mysterious our Senators are. Maybe he should look at making their shit transparent, hm?
One final note. I am, as I've said before, absolutely terrible with economics and I assume that most people are. Any statistic involving money I got from CNN articles on the subject. If you are monetarily inclined and know what to look for, see if you can make more sense of what is going on here, and leave a comment about it.
Here are the sources, as promised.
1.) Who Rules America: Wealth, Income, and Power. http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
2.) Millionaires To Obama: Tax Us!- Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20101119/ts_yblog_theticket/millionaires-to-obama-tax-us;_ylt=AkoZ1S6vFXAg7_MT2KXlf3Cs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM2a2lxaGhqBGFzc2V0A3libG9nX3RoZX%E2%80%8BRpY2tldC8yMDEwMTExOS9taWxsaW9uYWlyZXMtdG8tb2JhbWEtdGF4LXVzBHBvcwM0BHNlYwN5bl9tb3%E2%80%8BN
3.) Obama Slams GOP, Calls Tax Deal Politically Realistic- CNN Article
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/07/tax.deal/index.html?hpt=T2
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