Good News on a Friday (An Ascent From Pundit Purgatory)

It's been sneaking in again. That crushing feeling of helplessness that accompanies spending several hours a day on news blogs and political commentary sites. If you listen to the Right, we're going to hell in a handbasket. If you listen to the Left, Obama is a do-nothing, accomplish-nothing corporate puppet.

Needless to say, when no one's happy and it's sometimes difficult to disagree with the enthusiastic logic of some of those on the left, reality becomes a bit nebulous. For example, I've found myself wondering why Obama hasn't already fixed illegal immigration, gay marriage, special interest influence in politics, and solved world hunger in his first two years as president. I've wondered how the man I voted for could so quickly bow to Republicans in order to shoe-horn a half-complete health insurance reform bill through. I've wondered why he hasn't railroaded climate legislation through with his Congressional super-majority.

I'll stop there. You can see where this is headed.

The Ascent

I've been frustrated that none of the pragmatic policies I once believed in have resonated with the public and therefore compromises have been made and progress has been slow. According to those news blogs I mentioned, America hates Obama, all demographics have gone off their rocker into one fringe corner of the political spectrum or the other, crippling progressive legislation in the process.

Then I spent some time on the Huffington Post.

If one take's the country's political temperature there, then one finds many people still support the Obama administration, regularly recognizing the mountain of achievements he's already piled up. What resonated with me most of all though was the temperate, intelligent expectations these same people have regarding the slow progress of progressive legislation and the necessarily slow undoing of the political culture in Washington.

And The Good News

Shortly after rediscovering this message (which I recognized as my own more rational stance before it was blown about by the wild winds of internet political blogging), and consequently rediscovering my optimism, I also happened upon this information:

Deficits and Economic Recovery

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It's a study by a group called the Campaign for America's Future and it possesses some rather telling facts about the state of the midterm electorate. Some highlights include:

"68 percent said they would oppose making major spending cuts in Social Security and Medicare to reduce the deficit, while 28 percent said they would favor cutting those programs. That included 61 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of independents.

"Strong majorities also oppose common conservative proposals for addressing the budget deficit: 65 percent oppose raising the Social Security retirement age to 70; 65 percent oppose replacing Medicare with a private sector voucher; 62 percent oppose a 3 percent federal sales tax; 60 percent oppose raising the Medicare age from 65 to 67.

"60 percent of those surveyed responded positively to an economic message that said that “we have a budget deficit, but … we also have a massive public investment deficit” that requires us to “rebuild the infrastructure that is vital to our economy” and to the economic growth that will “generate revenues to help pay down the budget deficit.” This message tests better than any other progressive message on investment as well as more conservative messages focused on spending cuts."

In summary, this study too finds that the American public is not as irrational as the media and GOP would have us believe. A resounding majority understands that cuts to social programs in order to trim the deficit are undesirable and that public investment should be a priority before deficit reduction, therefore heading off the "strangle the beast" tactic of the Right before it finds a foothold. In other words, the Democratic message of public investment, continued support of social services, and a long-term strategy of economic development bolstered by short-term deficits is quite popular with likely voters.


Going Forward


The truth remains that Democrats will likely lose seats in the coming midterms, but I personally find peace with this now. After discovering that not only is the American public not as crazy as advertised but that the Democratic message is still a popular one, I can confidently remove my hands from my eyes knowing that progress isn't as unlikely as perceived. 


The moral of this story, if any, is that you should form your opinions for yourself. Use facts, but be sure to identify what information from what sources qualify as facts. Obama approval ratings by Rasmussen are not facts, CBO estimates are. Huffington Post editorials are not facts, and neither is anything Fox News puts on the air.


Finally, shut off the computer and walk away for a while. Perspective is a powerful thing and so is optimism. If one begets the other, then it's easy to see how a trip down the political rabbit hole can stifle both simultaneously.


Have a good Friday folks. I certainly will.

Globalization and the GOP's "Response"

Glenn Beck, John Boehnert, Mitch McConnell, Bill O'Reilly, Texas, Tennessee, and the Teabaggers are arguably some of the most influential entities in the Republican party as they gear up for the coming midterm elections. They tout the same message: limited government, less taxes, privatized social services, and a decreased deficit. However, one message rises above all the others in terms of its repetitive, frequently out of context, boiler plate usage: “states’ rights”.

But why this message now?

Conservatives, by definition, are champions of the status quo, yet one can hardly argue that states have had reign over political decisions in the past few years. The largest expansion of the Federal government in history came under George W. Bush after all.

Furthermore, simply making themselves the anti-Obama (and inherently anti-liberal government) party doesn’t seem like a marketable platform to me. Despite the obvious benefit of the message for conservatives, the “states’ rights” message still has to resonate with the Republican demographic in order to gain any traction (even in the face of a massive media manipulation).

Liberal/Progressive misgivings to their policies help clarify the picture. The most poignant complaints are that Republican policies ignore the little guy, take advantage of the defenseless, ignore the collective well-being of society for the betterment of a few privileged nobles, and impose niche "morality" and religion on all people without exception. What it boils down to is this: “states’ rights”, limited government, less taxes, and privatized social services all point in one obvious direction.

Leave me alone.

So the question is where does this come from? What external force evinces this fingers-in-ears reaction that so pervades the GOP these days? Furthermore, what is the basis of liberal/progressive concerns with conservative policies?

If we read between the lines, the answer becomes clear. The Internet has allowed ideas to cross borders, forums have allowed the masses to critique these ideas, pushing some to the fringe and others to the forefront, and 24 hour news networks and blogs have shed light on atrocities previously unseen and unnoticed by the public. In addition, the globalization of business has raised the question: what are the borders of esoteric, religiously defined morality? Where do religious mandates end and legal protections begin?

The shuffle is as prominent as it is pervasive. Old ideas, once hidden in the shadows, are being thrust onto the examination table: racism, working conditions, religion, environmentalism, welfare, and the boundaries of responsibility are no longer confined to geographic borders, but are instead being redefined as we analyze them as a global community. Old, hackneyed ideas are under duress as European multiculturalism and social responsibility rise above the fray.

In other words, the Right’s southern, racist fringe, aloof elite, religiously petulant, and overall ignorant carefree are falling, kicking and screaming, in the face of redefined global standards for humanity. In response, the Left's, more compassionate, more collective, and more human concept of the state gains traction with Liberal/Progressive voters.

So, in fact, nothing has changed about the Conservative movement. They’re still vehemently defending the status quo. The problem, for them at least, is that the status quo no longer defends them. States’ rights, as it turns out, is the only possible Conservative message.

So the obvious question then is what happens next? Can a party, fighting against the forces of globalization of business and culture possibly survive? How long before the Republican party is forced to morph into a Progressive party with alternative solutions to our country’s obvious issues? When will the old guard die enough to allow the greater majority of the Republican party to make their own decisions? come to their senses? Stop obstructing the inevitable?

I'll be in Germany when it does.

A Beautiful (If Fleeting) Decision

I would be remiss if I did not blog after last night's California court ruling on the infamous Proposition 8.

For those of you not aware of Prop 8, as it is more commonly called, here is a little history: Prop 8 was an amendment to the California constitution banning gay marriage. From what I understand, this measure was largely a reaction to a previous act that allowed gays the right to marry in the state. The lead up to the vote was marred by controversy and the measure ultimately won out, garnering 52% of the vote.

What this amounts to is that a majority of citizens were able to take rights away from a minority. If that sounds bad, that's because one of the pillars of this country is protection for the minority from persecution by the majority; an especially important consideration in a system where decisions are made by majority vote. Needless to say, this was seen as discriminatory and a handful of gay couples (who had been married under the previous act) took the measure to court.

The court case was heated and featured star lawyers, including Theodore Olson, a conservative and former US solicitor general, and David Boies, who represented Al Gore during the infamous 2000 election dispute. Both sides argued their cases and, yesterday evening, George H.W. Bush installed Chief Justice Vaughn R. Walker found Prop 8 unconstitutional on the grounds that it, "unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates and irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation." (source)


This is an important victory for LGBT marriage, especially in a state with a prominent LGBT community. Frankly I am floored that the decision came through the way it did. Congratulations brothers and sisters, may this add fuel to our fire as we strive for the equality you so justly deserve.


Additional insight and analysis below:

• truthout: Federal Judge Rules California Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
• MediaMatters: Right-wingers falsely portray judge in Prop 8 trial as out of mainstream
• AlterNet: Judge Rules Against Prop 8: Huge Win Against Bigotry, But the Fight Is Far From Over
• Salon.com: Proposition 8 ruling: Don't pick the caterer just yet
• Salon.com: The anti-gay right responds to the Prop 8 ruling

As with most political victories, this is more of a call-to-arms than a cathartic signal to lay them down, but there's nothing wrong with basking in the afterglow for a few beautiful moments.

Cheers!

P.S. I hope everyone likes the new layout! I felt that the old-new setup didn't exactly capture the spirit of the blog. I think the new layout is both easier to digest and more representative of the intellectual nature of our dialogue.