SO BE IT!

What you hear, what you know, and what you’re TOLD you know. There’s a definite distinction. Politicians want you to believe that what they have to say makes sense, and they have determined that the more they repeat the same thing over and over, the truer it becomes.
Note - I’m no longer making a distinction between Democratic, Republican or Tea Party politicians. Once they attain office and have to start fundraising, the party lines blur and often vanish entirely. This is the reason we need to revamp our campaign finance laws, but that’s fodder for a future blog – one which I’ll need a lot more time (and paper towels to clean the splatter from my exploding head) to write.
Here’s an approach we all should use when evaluating political news – pay close attention, and start your research based on the first comments to emerge. Anything after that includes an ever-increasing amount of spin.
Take for example, our present political environment surrounding the economic crunch we’re presently in. The initial report was that Democrats lost the house due to the fact that America needs jobs, and the Dems haven’t done enough to create them over the past 2 years. Ok, that’s a good starting point. So, once the House gets settled and the representatives start their work for the American people, what’s the first thing on their agenda? REPEAL THE HEALTHCARE BILL. Oh, wait…jobs is the priority, right? Ok, repeal the JOB-KILLING healthcare bill. This now ties the GOP’s priority to the PEOPLE’s priority, right? Of course. Now, if they keep pounding away with JOB-KILLING healthcare bill, JOB-KILLING healthcare bill, JOB-KILLING healthcare bill, the healthcare bill, which the GAO and CBO said should create jobs, becomes linked with removing jobs. Common sense tells me that increased healthcare will demand more healthcare providers and all the help that goes with them – nurses, physician assistants, bookkeepers, pharmaceutical workers, etc.
Now, lets take the economic situation/2011/2012 budgets. Now, the GOP has always been about tax cuts, more money in your pocket, protect the private sector, less regulation on business and free trade. As far as I can see, NONE of this has any bearing on fixing the situation with our economy or the budgets in question. These situations are only fixable one way – an influx of cash. Putting money in the right places (small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-up businesses) increases the cash flow, creates jobs & puts more money into the system.
Again, the original point was about JOBS, right? Lets face it, jobs is about the people. That’s the reason the Republicans were voted into office. Well, lately, since 2008 to be more precise, the Republicans have been fixated on FIXING THE DEFICIT. Why 2008? Well, before 2008 (since 2000 for that matter), the GOP has been like a shop-a-holic let loose in a shopping mall with a pocketful of unlimited credit charge cards. Since 2008, they want to fix the deficit because a) it seems like the responsible thing to do and b) it totally restricts the Democrats from being able to spend money on ANYTHING! Programs that benefit poor people, the ecology, wellness & health in general, any programs that don’t yield an immediate return on investment. How can they get away with doing this during an economic downturn?
Simple - equate FIXING THE DEFICIT with creating JOBS. They’ve been pounding away for weeks talking about FIXING THE DEFICIT, FIXING THE DEFICIT, FIXING THE DEFICIT. Cut, cut, cut. Unfortunately, everywhere you cut, you eliminate jobs. Nobody’s looking at this, though. John Boehner said the magic words the other day when a reporter asked him about what happens to the jobs with all these cuts and he said if jobs are lost, “so be it.” That’s it, in a nutshell. That’s how much the GOP cares about the public, the little guy. SO BE IT. That’s telling you that if the price WE have to pay for correcting their mess is selling us all down the shitter, SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!! SO BE IT!!