Rabid Liberal Rants

As the election season heats up I think we, as ordinary citizens, watching the convention coverage and the morning talk shows, listening to the left leaning or right leaning commentators, the pundits, the gurus, the historians, the know-it-alls, the O’Reillys, Limbaughs, Matthews and Olbermanns, need to remember that [IMHO] it’s all about one thing:

$$ MONEY $$

Democrats and Republicans alike need to give outlandish, roaring speeches, make fun of the other team, so that they can rally their base and bring in more money through donations and contributions to their respective parties and elections.

Pundits and commentators need to make bold predictions and make outlandish statements so that their value increases. They need to be loud, hard, and controversial. They need to be a part of the news and make news. They feed off of one another by bashing each other. And if they’re popular enough, they get invited to participate on the news/talk show circuit such as MSNBC, FOX News, or CNN. The more popular they are, the more they make, the more books they can sell, and the more viewers the programs get. The more viewers they get, the more the networks can charge for advertising. The more they charge for advertising, the more money the networks make. Also, the more viewers they have the more consumers big companies get to see products  they advertise through commercials, and the more money they make selling their products. The more money companies make, the more their stock value goes up, the more they can spend on lobbying Washington, the more they can contribute to politicians and political parties.

And around and around we go. Obviously, this is a simplified analysis, but you can get the essence of it. We just need to take everything we hear with a grain of salt. Understand where it’s coming from, and why.

What does that mean for us ordinary citizens? Maybe just more of the same no matter who gets elected.

Ok. This is getting to be ridiculous. We have a war going on. China is killing protestors, clamping down on freedom of speech, while getting ready to host the Olympic games. We have failing economy, gas prices at all time high. We have a food shortage crisis, resulting in riots in parts of the world. Innocent women and children are being killed on both sides of the Middle East conflict. And yet we have a President that has time to appear on Deal Or No Deal. And we have all three presidential candidates appearing on Wrestling’s RAW. WTF?!? This is why I think all three choices suck. I don’t want a president that appears on wrestling shows, pretending to be The Rock or Hulk Hogan. I don’t want a president that appears on late night comedy shows, making themselves look like idiot. I don’t want them appearing on game shows, or pretending to bowl or drinks shots at a bar. I want a president or a presidential candidate that will be presidential. One that evokes respect. One that evokes confidence. One that evokes a sense of leadership. One that is worthy of being called the Commander In Chief. I don’t think our current President is worthy. And I don’t think any of the candidates are worthy.

At a meeting with California superdelegates, apparently Bill turned red-faced and began a diatribe when asked what he thought about Gov. Bill Richardson endorsing Obama instead of Clinton. Richardson was Energy Secretary, under President Bill Clinton, and supposedly confided in the President that he would support Hillary. As some of the Clinton donors who wrote to Pelosi had said:

Superdelegates, like all delegates, have an obligation to make an informed, individual decision about whom to support and who would be the party’s strongest nominee…

Looks like Gov. Bill Richardson did just that.

From Yahoo/AP:

Clinton was expected to propose the elimination of tax breaks for companies that move jobs to other countries and use the savings to provide $7 billion a year in tax incentives to persuade companies to “insource” jobs in the United States

I’m confused. So we take away tax “breaks” to give tax “incentives”?  If it’s cheaper to move jobs overseas, no amount of tax “incentives” is going to persuade companies to “insource” jobs in the US. During an economic downturn, when companies are trying to cut costs, while the cost of doing business in the US remains high, companies will look even harder in trying to outsource jobs to countries where the cost of doing business is far cheaper. Who’s to say other countries won’t give tax breaks? In this global economy, companies can pick up and go where ever they want.

In addition, she’s proposing:

• Creating a $60 billion National Infrastructure Bank
• Increasing federal funding for public transit by $1.5 billion per year
• Devoting an additional $1 billion to intercity passenger rail systems
• Investing in cutting-edge technological solutions to the growing problem of traffic congestion
• Promoting the “greening” of our highways and transit systems

Where is all this money coming from? And all this while, Bernanke is warning of a possible recession. Hey, I’m all for creating new jobs, renegotiating NAFTA, keeping existing jobs here in the US. Just do it without raising my taxes.

Clinton donors are at it again, pushing veiled threats against anyone who doesn’t implicitly back Clinton. This is similar to the threats made in trying to get the Florida delegates to count. Enough is enough. Like Pelosi said, superdelegates should “back whoever emerges from the nomination contests with the most pledged delegates”. Obama clearly is winning the popular vote. If I’m a superdelegate, and a majority of my constituents voted for Obama, and I end up throwing my hat to Clinton, I’d be worried about looking like a traitor to my support/base. Where will the Clinton donors be then?

Christian Science Monitor has an opinion page on the Universal Health Care proposals being bandied about by both Dem candidates, saying it may not even be Constitutionally legal. Personally, I think the whole idea is crazy. Do we really want another large bureaucracy? Has our government managed anything properly lately? Social Security and Medicare are both nearing bankruptcy. Our war veterans can’t even get proper care at the Army’s “Top” medical facility, Walter Reed. How about the EPA telling us the air was safe to breathe in downtown NYC, right after 9/11? Or 9/11 First Responders who are dying because they can’t get the proper care, after breathing in the toxic dust? We’re providing nice subsidies to farmers who will use their farm land to produce corn for biofuels, driving up the cost of everyday household staples like wheat and milk. And we’re giving HUGE tax breaks to oil companies that make billions of dollars every quarter. How about getting rid of the tax breaks, and sending that money over to people who can’t afford health care? I won’t even go into the management of our economy or the Iraq/Afghanistan war. And I don’t want the government involved in what type of care I can get. What we do need is more insurance choices, tort reform, a limit to frivolous lawsuits, lower insurance costs for doctors. I bet there are more people that have either cell phones or cable/satellite TV than have insurance.

And to just get an idea of how our government works for big business rather than you and me, check out these stats for 2007 (courtesy of opensecrets.org):

• The Health sector ranked #1 in total lobbying spending with $425,832,461
• Of the $425+ million, $219,685,061 came from Pharmaceuticals/Health Products such as Amgen, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline.
• $48,218,712 came from Health Services/HMOs such as United HealthCare, Aetna, Wellpoint, and HealthSouth.
• In addition, for 2008 Election Year cycle, the Health Services/HMOs contributed over $5 million to Federal Candidates and Parties, with the top spender being United Health Group.

Clinton fundraisers threatening the DNC to get Michigan and Florida delegates seated. Look, Michigan and Florida broke DNC rules, knowing well what the consequences would be. There should be NO DO OVERS!! PERIOD. No second chances, just because Hillary is not the leading candidate.

It’s getting to be laughable, and ridiculous. The Clinton camp keeps bringing race into the picture, albeit, indirectly. What would happen if the Obama camp kept bringing up the fact that Clinton is a woman? And as Keith Olbermann puts it, the Dems basically have the presidency in the bag, but are working really hard to give it away to the Republicans, with their divisiveness:

When our elections are openly influenced by forces outside of our country. In order to lead, we need to become independent again, and grow an extra set of brass balls. Of course, there are some nations that have bigger cojones than us.

A good writeup in Politico, as to why Hillary Clinton should be worried.

This is besides the fact she had to lend her campaign money ($5 million), and that some staffers are apparently working without pay (a la Rudy)