Comments Posted By Ed Heath
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Well, I will just say to your first point, about liberals fears that George W Bush would proclaim himself President for Life, there was a fair amount of talk, prior to 2006, of a "permanent Republican majority". Liberals weren’t sure what that meant, but it sounded like one party rule for the foreseeable future. But the Republicans (who only had a majority in Congress as well as the White House for four years, from 2003-2007) squandered the opportunity by behaving like politicians, and recklessly spending, cutting taxes, borrowing and not doing any regulating with regard to non-bank mortgage providers and the housing bubble. I know there were some warnings (from both sides) and at least one piece of legislation, but it all appeared to be cosmetic, to me. Certainly nothing in this regard was accomplished.
Which brings us to dissent. If the Republicans can do more than threaten filibusters in the Senate, if they can offer real, market driven (but not relying solely on the market) solutions, they may gain some popularity back. If the Republicans admit that health care is a real issue, and find real criticisms of Obama’s proposed health care plan, such as that it doesn’t do enough to keep price increases in check or something, and the Republicans offer some counter plans that do keep price increases in check, then they will remain relevant. But if the Republicans just want to be obstructionist, and maybe encourage some KKK, neo-Nazi and cross burning activities, then the American people will continue to be disenchanted with politics, and Ralph Nader might finally be our President in 2012.
Comment Posted By Ed Heath On 14.11.2008 @ 09:56
