Back In The Catbird Seat – So Now What?

By James Donahue

(Nov. 3, 2010)

An angry mob of American voters struck back Tuesday at what has been an ineffective government. But what they did was build a new government framework that will likely be worse than what we had.

John Boehner, the anticipated new Speaker of the House, can shed all of the tears he wants, but we cannot expect compassion for an unemployed and struggling Middle Americans from him. We foresee another deadlocked Congress and Senate for two more years at a time when this nation and the world desperately needs leadership.

President Barack Obama and his elected Democratic power base wasted precious time and energy between 2001 and now, trying to bring about unity among the two parties. Once they realized that Senate Republicans were using the threat of filibuster and other rules of the Senate to stall and block progress, they should have changed course.

Instead they compromised on the Health Care Bill, compromised on the stimulus package, and spent most of the time they had doing it. In the meantime, the nation’s economic problems were intensifying, more and more people were losing their jobs, having their homes repossessed by the banks, and lining up at food pantries as federally funded back-up services like unemployment insurance and food stamp programs were stretched to the limit.

Now the Republicans are back in control of the Congress. Most of these candidates picked up on the call of the Tea Party for reduced federal spending but at the same time an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the rich. Why would the people want this? Because they were goaded into believing that these moves would be best for the nation and that everybody would benefit.

The United States is facing a multi-trillion dollar deficit because of the two wars and massive bank bail-outs initiated by the Bush Administration. Mr. Obama just happened to be in the White House when everything hit the fan and he is taking the blame.

There is a problem with this picture that most American’s can’t seem to see. We cannot expect to pay down such a large debt without raising taxes in one form or another.

We believe Obama had good intentions, but he appointed the wrong financial advisors, and trusted the military powers in the Pentagon too much. Instead of taking immediate steps to stop the wars, take alternative and necessary steps to battle renegade terrorists in more effective ways, and extend desperately needed financial help to the American Middle Class, the Obama Administration fumbled the ball. Now we are all going to pay the price.

Statisticians on one of the news networks reported that while most states had record turnout for the November mid-term elections, a high percentage of the voters were older Americans. The young people, the ones who helped sweep Mr. Obama into power in 2000, stayed home.

The irony in all of this is that the youth of America had the most to lose in the outcome of this election.