After watching the Republican presidential debate this morning, I am reminded yet again why I vote Democrat no matter my disenchantment. Ron Paul of Texas merits respect even though I disagree with some of his far out libertarian views. The rest are a scary group of fear mongers who shamelessly equate the struggle against militant Islam with 1938 during the Nazi Era or the conflict with Soviet communism.They're a cabal of one note insipid careerists who have no sense of proportion, history or perspective. And the record shows conservative doctrine about combating terrorism weakens America's geopolitical position. In particular, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani is a joke. This trite figure of testosterone banality actually put his emergency communication center in the World Trade Center following the first bombing in 1993. Why the hell should we trust his judgment?
With fiscal and tax policies this group offers standard conservative boilerplate to justify rewarding wealth over work. Once again we hear the same supply side nonsense that an economy can be "grown" and not nurtured. How do we deal with crumbling infrastructure problems such as the collapsing bridge in Minnesota? Why cut taxes of course. Cutting taxes is the magical elixir that will enhance revenue without pain as as our blood and treasure continues to be spilled in Iraq and Afghanistan. What planet are these people living on?
The Republican presidential candidates also boasted this morning that they support replacing the income tax with the so called "fair tax." What's fair about a sales tax that sanctions working people with a 23% fee? What this is really about of course is the Republicans coddling wealth at the expense of the middle class. They don't want to tax capital gains or people earning high incomes. But they're more than happy to levy a 23% tax on single moms for purchasing groceries. And they're opposed to expanding health coverage for that single mom's kids. If anyone raises an objection to those policies they're attacked for waging class warfare.
So I remain with the donkey party. Putting all that aside however, much work remains to be done in transforming my party. It's wonderful that Democratic presidential candidates are attending Yearly Kos and ignoring the Democratic Leadership Council. But we still have a long way to go.
Forty-one pathetic Democrats in the House of Representatives supported the Bush Administration's grab at more power for the executive branch and voted in favor of the recent domestic surveillance bill. How can Democrats support giving a proven congenital liar such as Attorney General Alberto Gonzales even more power with this bill?
Obviously, the Democratic Party continues to suffer from battered wife syndrome. Below is a list of the forty-one House Democrats who supported this bill. If any of them represent your district, please click here to express your objections.
Jason Altmire (4th Pennsylvania)
John Barrow (12th Georgia)
Melissa Bean (8th Illinois)
Dan Boren (2nd Oklahoma)
Leonard Boswell (3rd Iowa)
Allen Boyd (2nd Florida)
Christopher Carney (10th Pennsylvania)
Ben Chandler (6th Kentucky)
Rep. Jim Cooper (5th Tennessee)
Jim Costa (20th California)
Bud Cramer (5th Alabama)
Henry Cuellar (28th Texas)
Artur Davis (7th Alabama)
Lincoln Davis (4th Tennessee)
Joe Donnelly (2nd Indiana)
Chet Edwards (17th Texas)
Brad Ellsworth (8th Indiana)
Bob Etheridge (North Carolina)
Bart Gordon (6th Tennessee)
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (South Dakota)
Brian Higgins (27th New York)
Baron Hill (9th Indiana)
Nick Lampson (23rd Texas)
Daniel Lipinski (3rd Illinois)
Jim Marshall (8th Georgia)
Jim Matheson (2nd Utah)
Mike McIntyre (7th North Carolina)
Charlie Melancon (3rd Louisiana)
Harry Mitchell (5th Arizona)
Colin Peterson (7th Minnesota)
Earl Pomeroy (North Dakota)
Ciro Rodriguez (23rd Texas)
Mike Ross (4th Arkansas)
John Salazar (3rd Colorado)
Heath Shuler (11th North Carolina)
Vic Snyder (2nd Arkansas)
Zachary Space (18th Ohio)
John Tanner (8th Tennessee)
Gene Taylor (4th Mississippi)
Timothy Walz (1st Minnesota)
Charles A. Wilson (6th Ohio)
4 comments:
When you look closely at the single mom buying groceries, actually the tax is shared. Even so, you make a good point. It is not a good thing.
It says mow the lawn yourself instead of hiring the kid saving money for college.
It makes business owner, even the kid throwing newspapers, a tax collector.
The best thing is to get rid of the income tax and NOT replace it.
Votes like the FISA vote recently remind me why I reserve the right to be an independent and vote how I choose. However, you couldn't be more correct in that I can't vote for anyone on the Republican side this time around.
Maybe there should just be a WEALTH TAX, a tax on assets above a certain amount, or interest or shares in such assets.
I was thinking about posting the list of cowards too. I share your sentiments completely.
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