Republicans - memory impaired politicians

It's obvious the Republican party has supported a systematic "dumbing down" of the voter. Rather than build up America with inspired visionary ideas, the party has succedded to construct their reputation as an anti-tax, anti-immigration, anti- second amendment reforms, anti-science, anti-women's reproductive health, anti-poor minority people and anti- history. Unfortunately, Republicans who contribute to this stunted philosophy of regressive thinking must be suffering with memory impariment.  

Here's why:

1.  Anti-tax forgetfuleness: By constantly cutting taxes, the Republicans are putting our nation's already crumbling infrastructure into a state off delayed maintenance disrepair. In other words, by saving tax payers money, the Republcians will, in reality, cost us more in the long run because fixing "delayed maintenance" will be more expensive over time, than keeping repairs current. Republicans forget the value of "opportunity costs". It's an accounting 101 principle, where the cost of investing today will support competitive initiatives for the future. By delaying the payment for infrastructure using today's tax dollars, the Republicans will cost us more when repairs expenses grow with inflation. 

2.  Anti-immigration- Republicans have acute "short term memory loss" regarding their anti-immigration reforms.  Simply stated, every single one of the Republicans who oppose immigration reforms are descended from immigrants. They have forgotten this basic genealogical fact.

3.  Anti-second amendment regulatory reforms - Rather than protect Americans from gun violence, Republicans deliberately forget their "pro-life" zeal. They forget to be pro-life for the purpose of allowing everybody to own guns. In fact, Republicans forget to be "pro-life" when they're asked to support regulatory changes to improve gun safety and prevent thousands of preventable deaths by keeping assault weapons out of the hands of people intent taking life away from other human beings. Indeed, the Second Amendment is hardly "pro-life".

4.  Anti-science- Republicans have actue short term memory loss when they are confronted with the science about the damage climate change is doing to our environment. They forget about the melting polar ice caps, the growing intensity of ocean storms and the sinking of the Polynesian Islands. Pretty soon, if the ice caps continue to melt, if ocean storms wipe out the population infrastructures on both American coastlines and Polynesia becomes a sub-Pacific mountain chain, then Republicans won't have to remember how people, the nature in their enviornments and the places where they lived ever existed.  

5.  Anti-women's health- Republicans forget about physiological facts when confronted about how to protect women's reproductive health.  Rather than remember how rape is a violent crime, some of them believe the woman has a physiological ability to prevent pregnancy during an assault. Republicans choose to forget how supporting women's health is essential to population growth. We must remember to respect the reproductive health of all women.

6.  Anti- minority poor - Republicans forget how the American dream made each of them prosperous. Instead, they seem to deny others the opportunities they have enjoyed as a result of being given access to equal rights. Most Republicans weren't born into wealth. In fact, many were raised in minority ethnic communities.Nevertheless, for some unexplainable reason, those who share in America's wealth do not remember  how to give the same chance to others.

Republicans are leading voters into the terminall illness caused by memory impairment

7.  Anti-history - Republicans forget to remember how Black slaves were trapped and forced from their families and homes in Africa to be bought and sold like property, stripped of all human rights.  Instead, Texas history books are now calling slaves "migrant workers". Republicans have short term history memories.

Memory impaired Republicans are infecting our nation with their impairments.

Democrats must strenuously rally behind progressive candidates who provide urgently needed antedotes to stop the political poison and the dumbing down of the American voter. We must remind everyone how short term memory losses eventually risks becoming terminal diseases.

High Speed Rail and Republican Obstrutionism - More Backwards Momentum

It makes no sense for Republcian to oppose all progressive initiatives, like high speed rail.  

I'm wondering if the GOP's consistent obstructionism is a ploy to create overwheleming negative energy, like a tsunami of polotical acrimony, for the purpose of building a new world order of their making. In the regressive environment they've created, Republcians could egotistically claim credit for buidling a brave new world. This is delusional and perhaps paranoid thinking, but how else can rational thinking people understand the motivation behind Republcian obstructionism?  

What other reason is there for Republicans to oppose everything?
Rather than call themselves the Grand Old Party, Republicans are a grumpy old party of obstructionists.

Republican obstructiom is regressive and negatively impacting our nation's competitivve position in the world. Now, high speed rail is among the GOP obstrucitonist positions.  They don't want it.

Obviously, Republcians don't care about train travel because ordinary people, like the middle class, would benefit from this highly efficient form of transporatation. Otherwise, if Republicans rode trains, they'd want to take credit for supporting high speed rail.  High speed rail would mean important investing in our nation's crumbling infrastructure(bridges and roads), creating important private sector jobs in industries supporting the trains and providing Americans with more affordable alternatives to expensive airline travel. High speed rail would allow workers to be more flexible about where to live and work and expand business access to interstate commerce.

But Republicans simply won't support high speed rail. Frankly, Republicans don't seem to support any progressive policies. 

Instead, Republicans stand strong in opposition to all social safety net, progressive policies and economic stimulus where middle class people benefit from income sharing, ie "taxes" invested for the purpose of improving the human condition.

High speed rail supporters blame Republcians for America's inability to advance this important transporation system, enjoyed by many other nations like Japan and much of Europe.

Did Republicans kill America’s high speed rail plan?

Written by  William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief

I could answer this question in one word: Yes.

"..call me a 'railroad guy'. Freight rail? That’s a no-brainer. Anything that can be hauled on a train instead of a truck should be on a train—period. Passenger rail? 'Build it and they will ride.' That’s why the all-too-common political shenanigans or posturing that prevent the expansion of passenger rail in this country always gets me going.

Unfortunately, in the case of high speed rail, the perpetrators with the political sledgehammers and baseball bats are Republicans. Why? I haven’t a clue. It’s just the way too many of them think.

Projects get planned; projects get partially funded; projects get killed. It’s happened before and probably will happen again. Meanwhile, the United States falls farther and farther behind the rest of the developed world in passenger rail, despite bright spots like the Northeast Corridor and Chicago-St. Louis and the Pacific Northwest, which aren’t really “true” high speed but higher-speed systems. California—if it ever gets under way—will become our first high speed system...".

Americans must obstruct the obstructionist Republicans by voting them all out of office. Our nation can't become a regressive nation where trains are children's "choo-choos", while China builds a high speed rail to extend from Bejing to Burma! (Although, honestly, I'm not sure China's extremely ambitious high speed rail plan will work, the fact is, their nation is willing to invest in trying to make it happen.They're not obstructing its progress.)

Republicans should embrace the vision of their own President Eisenhower, who acted on building our nation's highway system. Where would our nation be without President Eisenhower's leadership and vision regarding improving national transporation? We'd be living in the 1930's, that's where.

Let's stop this backward national momentum regarding all things progressive. We must support high speed rail and President Obama's initiatives to create jobs by passing the American Jobs Act.

President Obama must be our 21st century's President Eisenhower by pushing his vision into a legacy. Americans deserve high speed rail. Meanwhile, we the voters must remove all obstructionist Republicans from office who continue to obstruct progress, but who are mysteriously quick to support backwards momentum.

Matthew 19:25: A Challenge to Senator Mitch McConnell

Forgiveness is requested in advance for taking editorial liberty with Matthew's 19:25 Biblical quote. Although it's often interpreted concretely, Matthew probably intended it as metaphor:

And again I say to you: It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Douay-Rheims interpretation

Now, fast forward 2000 years to Kentucky politics and hear how it might be easier for Republican Senator Mitch McConnell to "pass a kidney stone" than it is for him to pass legislation congruent with President Obama's progressive agenda.

McConnell's Democratic opponent for the Kentucky Senate seat, Alison Lundergan Grimes, said it's easier for Senator McConnell to "pass a kidney stone" than to pass anything in the Senate.  Grimes's conjurs up an image of McConnell's ureter being obstructed and likens this to the obstruction he leads in the Senate.

These two  seemingly unrelated metaphors each describes how painful it is for Republicans to pass anything progressive.  Matthew's metaphor even suggests that Republican could be at risk for loosing access to their eternal reward if their obstructionist policies continue to interfere with their salvation.  

Certainly, Senator McConnell's perennial dour affect might indicate he could use a urology consultation. His demeanor presents like a man in too much chronic pain to pass anything, whether it's physiological, political or spiritual.

You don't need a medical degree to figure out how obstruction causes severe pain.  Likewise, it's painful to block every progressive concept coming to the US Senate. Eventually, pain becomes more intolerable than the surgery required to fix it.  McConnell is causing our nation to experience economic pain by holding up progress on Health Care Reform, for his reticence in protecting the stupid budget sequester and obstructing President Obama's Jobs Act.  

McConnell isn't paying attention to Matthew's warning if he prevents immigration reform from moving forward.  McConnell just isn't agreeable about anything.  Kentucky voters should remove him from office like a lower bowel obstruction.

Political surgery will require that Senator McConnell be removed from the US Senate and replaced with a fresh face, like Alison Lundergan Grimes.  Her victory to win McConnell's Senate seat will bring oxygen to the Capitol, like a stint improves blood flow to an ailing heart.  

Alison Lundergan Grimes is Kentucky's Secretary  of State and the Democratic candidate opposing Senator Mitch McConnell in the US Senate 2014 election.  She says Senator McConnell wouldn't pass a kidney stone, never mind support a progressive agenda.

Although Senator McConnell likely has thick political skin, he can't escape his fate as an obstructionist.  He must be removed from office.  Keeping him in the US Senate is too painful for Americans to endure.  

A progressive Alison Lundergan Grimes in the US Senate will give Senator McConnell a chance to meditate on Matthew's metaphor. 

Rather than obsess on obstructionism, McConnell should, instead, contemplate how he might pass through the eye of a needle.  

In fact, Matthew 19:25 is a challenge to all obstructionist Republicans who should take the time to read this passage carefully.

A Patriotic and Progressive Inauguration Address

"American opportunities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that the world without boundaries demands, the youth, the drive, diversity and openness, of endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention."  President Barack Obama, inauguration address January 21, 2013.

My favorite lines from today's 2nd inauguration address by President Obama focused on what it means to be a patriotic and inclusive society. 

What is Patriotism?  "...our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity..." President Obama

Although Republicans claim "God and Country" as a patriotic logo, their political party created an extremist agenda opposing immigration, universal coverage for health care, cuts to social programs like Medicare and Social Security (even though Americans contribute to these plans) and income re-distribution.

This is what President Obama said about "God and Country" Patriotism: 

"My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, (but) not party."

Moreover, Republican patriotism also includes support for national security supported by generous allocations for defense spending. 

On the other hand, Democrats claim patriotism as "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for All", creating a Progressive foundation for the politics of inclusion. Democrats see patriotism as being, pro-immigration, supporting universal health care including Medicare and Medicaid, and income re-distribution by taxing the rich and super rich at a rate higher than the middle class. Democrats are supportive of investments in national security, but not by providing back door subsidies to rich defense contractors at the expense of cuts to safety net social programs.  

President Obama said this about Progressive American Patriotism:  

"We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work, when the wages of honest labor will liberate families from the brink of hardship."

"We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal not just in the eyes of God but also in our own."
"A nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American, that is what this moment requires." 
"We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit."

"For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us at any time may face a job loss or a sudden illness or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative."

"We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations."

"Being true to our founding (patriotic) documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life. It does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way or follow the same precise path to happiness."

"Progress does not compel us to settle century’s long debates about the role of government for all time, but it does require us to act in our time."

"But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream.  My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride. They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope. You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time, not only with the votes we cast, but the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideas."

President Barack H. Obama gave a long awaited Progressive Patriotic inauguration speech today. 

For this blogger who watched on black and white TV while President John F. Kennedy spoke about "passing the torch" to a new generation, today's inauguration speech invoked this image as a progressive moment. President Kennedy's "torch" metaphor is now a beacon for those who believe in patriotism as meaning inclusiveness, compassion and support for citizens to live freely in our land of opportunity.

Congratulations to Progressive Patriots- President Barack H. Obama and Vice-President Joseph Biden.