When I read Dan Balz article today my thoughts immediately turned to the US House of Representatives and their tactics of block, block, block ever since the Republican Party took control there two years ago. Through out the election campaign I was amazed and at times angered that the President never played that card - at least that I recall.Maybe building a new landscape is what President Obama had in mind - if so I applaud him for his foresight. I personally would have slapped them silly with the partisan efforts to impede/block/undermine almost every effort the President has made over the last two years.
If the Republican Party does not believe the Presidents policies are going to work its time to prove it. Move forward and support them, finding common ground where they can. If they don't work fine, they can call it and say they told us so. Better that than the grid lock we are now forced to suffer through and the constant attitude of stopping the Presidents policies no matter the cost or consequences.
I think it probable that had they supported the President over the last two years and allowed his polices to fail as they claimed they would, we would have had an entirely different outcome for the election. Unfortunately blocking policies before an election and then calling them failed polices in an attempt to get your candidate elected is an insult to all Americans. The American public is much to clever to fall for such a low-down-dirty tactic as that.
As for common ground there is much to work with.
Take taxes, just make them fair. I see no good reason why this country could not and should not adopt the same flat rate for everyone or why corporations earning huge profits in some circumstances not pay any at all. Earnings/income/profits/dividends what ever you call them, basically they are the same thing in the mind of the majority of Americans and need to be treated as such.
Then there is health care. The Affordable Care Act - its name alone drives me nuts. There were so many other things that needed to be done first, that would have made health care more affordable - this is something I can speak of from personal experience.
Not long after what we are now calling the Great Recession I ended up in an emergency room with no insurance. If I had not gone I would probably have lost my leg due to a very bad infection that I put off knowing I could not afford the bill. When the bill did come there was one itimized line that I will never ever be able to understand - a $250 charge for administering an injection. Now come on, really?!?
If the President wanted to make health care more affordable I just don't understand how obvious problems in the health care system like this were not first addressed before forcing everyone to carry insurance on themselves.
Last but not least there is the price tag of the on going war in Afghanistan - we cant afford it and forcing democracy down the throats of other cultures will never work. Just look at how much we still owe for Iraq and the state of things there now. We made our point about 911 - attack us and suffer the consequences, so lets be done with it!
Both sides of the isle have created this mess and its going to take both sides to fix it. As for myself I'm just not sure they are compassionate enough about the concerns of their counterparts to do much more than kick the problem down the road - I hope I'm wrong and that a new landscape for this country and its future are possible. One thing I know for sure is that putting it all on the shoulders of one man, even such a great one as President Obama is not going to make any difference. This is national issue and it will take the efforts of an entire nation to resolve.
