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Obama Sets Stage for 2012
Re-Election
Politicians are back at each others’ throats; pointing
fingers and spewing skewed political rhetoric. It is looking as if the debates
and public butt & baby kissing have begun. President Obama calmly ranted
about the stall tactics of the GOP and Speaker Boehner, making it clear to the
public that the Republicans are not willing to work toward a solution and
Boehner is the problem. However, John Boehner called his own press conference
to tell the American public that the problem was again within the White House;
moreover, Boehner suggests that the communication issue and stall tactics are
the President’s doing –not his. Are these Democrats and Republicans fighting
for their plight and people –or to keep their seat in office? This writer tends
to think the latter.
“I thought it would be useful for me to just give you
some insight into where we were and why I think we should have moved forward
with this big deal” (MSNBC, 2011), says President Obama in a news conference on
July 22, 2011. Obama goes on to make it clear that he is doing everything in
his power to get this Debt Reduction and Deficit Reduction package signed –even
if it meant going against some of his constituents. It is definitely looking a
lot like election time in Washington; the self-serving speeches have already
started. Of course John Boehner could not let such allegations go unanswered,
therefore, he called for his own press conference to rebut. Speaker Boehner
accuses the President of “moving the goal posts”, emphatically stating, “It’s
time to get serious…if the White House won’t get serious, we will” (MSNBC,
2011). From the grand- stand it looks like the Iowa primaries!
Eleven days before the deadline of default, a practical
solution to this stale-mate is still not visible; one party is fighting for the
rich and the other for the poor (big companies vs. entitlements). Republicans
are accusing Democrats of robbing the ‘rich’ to support the poor, where, the
Democrats are accusing the Republicans of trying to ‘push grandma off a cliff’
by cutting Medicare and Medicaid. Obama accuses Boehner of not controlling his caucus
of “ideological freshmen” who are steadfast in their stand against any tax
hike, claiming he has been “left at the altar a couple of times already” –insinuating
if not for that fact the debt problem would be fixed by now. And, of course no
banter would be complete without Nancy Pelosi putting in her two cents worth,
suggesting, “Speaker Boehner’s adult moment is long overdue” (MSNBC, 2011); as
if she has room to speak.
Boehner however, takes the high road when asked if his
relationship with Obama was damaged beyond repair by simply saying, “The disconnect
in the talks with the White House was “not because of different personalities,
but because of different visions for our country” (MSNBC, 2011). Additionally,
he reassured the public and media that this disagreement and Obama’s public reprimand
and blame placing did not affect their relationship whatsoever. Boehner went on
to assure the American people that he was “confident that Congress can act next
week” (MSNBC, 2011). For some reason these words of confidence do not comfort
the underpaid, over-worked, uninsured, taxpaying Americans that can barely feed
their families. Similarly, it does not give comfort to the disabled and
elderly, who sometimes go without food or electric so they can pay for
medication.
The President ordered Speaker Boehner, Nancy Pelosi,
Harry Reid, and Mitch McConnell to be at the White House at 11:00am on Saturday
July 23, 2011 for a Congressional meeting to discuss raising the debt ceiling through
to 2013 (this sets the stage for re-election plans). If these House members and
politicians would work as hard on getting things done as they do blaming
another for it not being done, a lot more would get done. Two hours of potential
Congressional talks time were wasted tonight in this political self-serving
media frenzy; moreover, this political stunt unfortunately shows the American
people and the world that our Government officials do not have the ethics or
capacity to effectively run this country or pay our debts –let alone act like
adults. They are all right in one aspect; the American people want the economy
back on track and are tired of the unscrupulous government spending, in
addition too, the ‘passing the buck’ and political rhetoric. Election 2012 is
just around the corner, now is not the time to be committing tyranny or defaulting
on loans, instead it is time to keep the promises made in the last election and
listen to ‘The People’.
References
MSNBC. (2011, July 22). Boehner pulls out of White House debt talks. Msnbc.com.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/cleanprint/CleanPrintProxy.aspx?unique=1311379004302