League of Democratic Voters

According to Rep. Allen West of Florida, between 78 and 81 Democratic members of Congress are members of the Communist party.

I like Rep. West, he’s great for the Democratic party.  He is the kind of politician who lights a fire under progressives and inspires us to greater and more effective exertions in the name of our political beliefs.

Through his statements have made it clear that he understands what Communist means by stating that these members of Congress are opposed to free markets and capitalism. The man had a thought and expressed it. I’m happy about that.  

Let’s look at the “against free markets and capitalism” accusation.

I find it hard to believe that the ranking member and former head of the house Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, could possibly be a Communist. Do you think anyone in Congress would let a Communist be ranking member of the committee that oversees the Treasury and the Federal Reserve? No party, no American would be dumb enough to do that.

None.

You can call Barney Frank a great many things, but Communist is NOT one of them. A man who would stand side by side against fed policy with Ron Paul could not, should not and cannot be thought of as Communist, not without extensive use of recreational pharmaceuticals.  But Rep. West still called him a Communist.

I also find it hard to believe that anyone could call the ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, which controls amongst other things, oversight and authority over the SBA, which controls the lifeblood of this country, small business loans that stimulate job growth in a capitalist society, a Communist. 

Nydia Velazquez, as that committee’s ranking member, makes sure that small businesses get a fair shake from government and get the loans they need to get a start in the business world and become the successes that America needs to move into the future.

So when Rep. West calls people who are demonstrably both pro-capitalism and pro-business Communists, I have to laugh. Both of these people and all the other good people Rep. West besmirched do their best to not only represent their constituents but make sure that capitalism stays healthy and free markets stay free.

If you are interested in finding out how wrong Rep. West is about any of the other representatives he called Communist, leave a comment and I’d be glad to tell their tales as well. 

Once upon a time women had a voice on the right.  That was back when there was such a thing as a moderate wing of the 

Republican party, back before the culture wars began.  But those days are long since gone.  Now that there are culture warriors on the right who seem to be hell bent on telling women how to use their uteruses, and placing government control on reproduction, they are losing the independent women that helped them gain power and influence in Congress.

Women have generally voted for Democrats.  Over a 16 year period from 1992 to 2008, a majority of women voted Democratic.  During 2010’s midterm election women shifted right, helping the tea party Neocons ascend to power in the House of Representatives, and gain.

But the pendulum seems to be swinging back to the left now with the 2012 Presidential election on the horizon.  In a recent New York Times/CBS news poll, the president now holds an impressive 20 point lead over Mitt Romney among women voters, with a similar lead over Rick Santorum.

Most voters want to hear about jobs and the economy, and are being increasingly turned off by talk of abortion, reproductive rights, and overturning Roe V. Wade.  Most voters simply want to make enough money to make ends meet and buy the things they want and need.  The right has essentially silenced women who want their voices heard, silenced them by pushing the conversation away from where they want it, and towards unwanted control over their bodies and lives.

America’s right wing seems oblivious to this, and the culture war and its adherents are running the right wings media wing, and are pushing people who are just trying to live their lives, further and further away from the place where people actually are.

They are pushing more and more voters, especially female voters, away from the right, and towards the center, towards the Democratic party.

Not everyone wanted the payroll tax cut.  Not everyone wants to keep the temporary decrease of monies given to the  government for social security by employees, and the argument is a persuasive one.

When we decrease payroll taxes and also pay for unemployment benefits in this day and age because of the not inaccurately perceived fragility of our economy, it is always asked that these things be paid for.

Fair enough, pay for what you buy, it is something we should all do, government, business and the people alike.  But is it right when those who are at the very top of the pyramid pay less into the system that is meant to govern us all?

No.

And there are those who voted against this bill, like Virginia’s Democratic Representative Jim Moran, who had the best interests of all American in mind when he voted no.

Rep. Moran voted against the bill for a number of reasons.  This bill doesn’t address the yawning tax gap in this nation, where the richest pay the least of any group of Americans, and the middle class pays almost twice as much as the fat cats. It also has to do with scapegoating Federal employees who will pay a heavy price in this bill to help pay for the tax breaks that all Americans will receive.

Federal employees are being unfairly targeted in the bill, says Rep. Moran, as they are asked to increase pension payments by 400%, without any increase in benefit. Targeting the federal workforce, will, in his mind, decrease the quality of people who will come to work in it and will decrease the quality of the work the workforce can produce as a consequence. 

The image of government services as inefficient and less able to respond would become less a point made by political partisans and more a self fulfilling prophesy, created by weakening the workforce with cuts of this nature.

We are all Americans.  We all have burdens to bear, but when a small group is unfairly targeted to pay for a benefit that we all partake of, perhaps we should rethink our positions. Federal employees are asked for too much, and the rich too little. 

We can do better, at some point we will. 

But not today. 

The bill has been signed. 

Another scapegoat hung out to dry.

Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal (R) is under fire for forwarding an email about President Obama that contained Psalm 109, a prayer for the death  of a leader which says, among other things, to let his wife be a widow and his children fatherless beggers that no one extends kindness to.  It’s pretty harsh. The verse became popular after President Obama’s election but conservatives defending it insist it’s tongue in cheek.

Not surprisingly, O’Neal’s email caused quite an uproar along with demands he resign. He has refused, saying the passage was used only to refer to his days in office and insisting he was not calling for the president’s death. Most people aren’t buying it and neither am I. After what happened to Gabrielle Giffords, it’s beyond irresponsible to toss around dangerous speech like that, and let’s not forget that the president’s daughters are more than old enough to be able to hear and read what’s being said about their father. I don’t know if Speaker O’Neal has a family but if he does I am sure he would not appreciate having such prayers said about him!

Seriously folks, if you don’t like the man’s politics, personality, or skin color, that’s your prerogative. You’re entitled to your opinions, even if many would be disgusted by them. However you are not entitled to publicly wish death on him or pain and hardship on his family. You are not entitled to indirectly incite violence. That’s when free speech goes to far. Stop wasting so much time spreading hate and instead use that time to do something truly productive like finding compromises and working together to improve the economy, create jobs, fix the health care system, and make this country better than ever.