GOP Denial

My View
The Republicans seemed to be oblivious to reality and are being as obstructive as they can possibly be.
They act as though it was a huge fluke that they were totally rejected because of their dismal record.
Their propaganda army is working overtime to demonize every effort at recovery. After years of building a huge deficit they are suddenly aghast at how much money is being spent --even when that money is going into programs to solve Republican created problems. Apparently Republicans are so ashamed of their own failures they are bent on seeing Obama fail. That is not the role of a loyal opposition.

With the Obama Administration attempting to prevent an out right depression and shepherd through Congress the most ambitious legislative program in decades, it is mired in two unwanted wars and the financial meltdown.

For over eight year’s now we have seen a rather extraordinary scenario played out. First of course was the tragedy of 9/11 . Second was the collapse of the world’s most vibrant economy. And even more improbable was the election in America of a black president.

Eight years previously the Republicans gained the White House under a cloud of controversy that was eventually resolved by the Supreme Court. That was unprecedented in our country’s history.

The government’s budget was running a sizable surplus and we were not at war. The 9/11 attack threw the country into a panic and conservatives capitalized on this event to further an ambitious, but ill conceived, agenda. Very quickly we counterattacked and overcame the Taliban regime that had harbored AlQueda.

While the matter was still in doubt the decision was made to attack Iraq. It is most likely that that decision was based on faulty information and fabrication of unfounded accusations of weapons of mass destruction.
Attacking Iraq was a fatally flawed attempt to transform the Middle East

Quickly the budget surplus vanished in a rush of war related expenditures . Were taxes raised to cover these extraordinary costs ?. Of course not. That would be too rational for a Neo-con administration. Instead there was a massive tax reduction which benefited the top 1% very handsomely.

Also during the eight Republican years other measures were issued that inordinately benefited large corporations. Much of the country’s protective acts such as Clean Water, Clean Air, and environmental protection were modified or eviscerated by executive orders at the urging of corporate lobbyists..

At the same time those regulations were being dismantled financial regulations were drastically lessened . To look good Bush’s administration pushed forcefully for increased home ownership as a proof of the economy’s vitality. This in turn led to FannyMay and FreddieMac being over extended and still suffering.

The wizards of Wall Street, especially the mortgage brokers, concocted “creative” schemes to facilitate easy mortgage acquisitions. People who under normal banking regulations couldn’t qualify for a mortgage were conned into signing up for homes they had no business buying.

The perpetrators of these fraudulent schemes either didn’t know or didn’t care that those mortgages were ultra high risk . They simply bundled them and sold them as securities or bonds around the world. The bond rating agencies namely Standard and Poor, Moodys, and Fitch gave these bonds AAA ratings. Those bonds were really the lowest order of junk bonds, if even ratable at all. This is pure malfeasance that should eventually be prosecuted.

Obama has made numerous overtures at getting a bipartisan atmosphere established. He has been rebuffed by the obdurate Republicans at every turn. Stupid issues have been raised such as Obama’s birthplace. He’s accused of being both a Marxist and a Fascist. Two diametrically opposed ideologies. His hidden agenda is Muslim world domination. In America fortunately a person can say what ever he cares to . Equally fortunate is the fact that people can tell stupid from the truth .

Americans can face facts and deal with them in a rational manner. Ideology appeals to some but in the final analysis it is the rational and practical that carry the day.

The facts are that we’re in a serious financial crisis that can be overcome. It will take time and many of us will suffer for a while. We must make the best of it and do what we can to hasten the recovery. Negativity is counterproductive and needs to be shunned. Republicans created the problems, they are certainly not the answer.

Obama has at least three more years to bring things around. Let us be good citizens and do our part to aid the cause.