Robust Ramblings from an Idaho Democrat

America loses while Republicans play games

2010-02-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

It's a simple game with easy to follow rules. Just vote no on every piece of legislation President Obama recommends. Do so, even if it comes straight from the Republican handbook of good ideas.

It's no surprise that Massachusetts sent Scott Brown to Washington D.C. One local editorial board called this a wake-up call to end the "rampant spending spree, over-haul of health care at taxpayers' expense, and putting the nation trillions of dollars in debt ("Mass. vote sends wake-up call." Editorial. Idaho Press-Tribune 24 Jan. 2010.)

Could it be a wake-up call for legislators to end partisan politics, and to stop bickering among themselves during a time when we need more than ever to pull together?

Obama is strong. Like the "Energizer Bunny", he won't stop. This is clear in his State of the Union address. He made it clear in Florida, and he made it clear when he met with the Republican House during the Question/Answer session in Baltimore.

Republicans squirmed during their futile attempt to put President Obama down. Watch the video in the above link to get the full picture. It is unlike the FOX News coverage that broke away to their own commentators during the good parts.

What's going to happen now? President has his work cut out just like he did when he inherited this mess. As he promised then, and promises now,"We don't quit."

It requires bipartisan effort to legislate necessary measures. President Obama calls for a robust jobs Bill that gives small business tax credit, investments in infrastructure, and climate legislation to create a clean energy economy.

Republicans are lined up ready to play the game. "Make Obama Fail."

Obama isn't geared for failure, and that's good news. Additional good news will be unproductive legislators losing elections. I grow tired watching stoic, frozen faces of Republicans every time Presidient Obama delivers a speech.

And to be honest, I'm tired of Democrats who waste time bickering instead of rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done.

Forget the HINI vaccine, Governor: You need a big shot of optimism

2010-01-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Monday at 1:00 pm MT, Governor Otter presents his State of the State address. If you are hoping for a ray of sunshine, better catch a matinee showing of The Blind Side, instead.

A press release gives a preview of the upcoming address. I watched it on television and believe the purpose of the preview was to ready us for glum, doomesday faces to match Governor Otter's.

Monday we can expect more detail on the requests for a cut in fiscal 2010 state spending; another budget holdback for 2010; and, no growth in the fiscal (July 1st) 2011 budget.

Does anyone see the irony in this? Doesn't no growth in the state translate to no growth in the economy?

C'mon Governor, crawl out of the box. Problems are solved by thinking outside the box, not focusing on the problem itself.

Even though it may not be robust, analysts say the economy will improve in 2010 (Politics AP). We are out of the recession, and we are getting a boost from stimulus money, businesses replacing inventory, and companies that survived the recession are seeing profit.

You let the cat out of the bag, Governor, when you acknowledged there were signs indicating the economy was turning around.

Everyone knows that you know.

Governor Otter, you shared the platform with Boise mayor Dave Bieter welcoming the BSU Broncos back from their great Fiesta Bowl win. Mayor Bieter used the BSU Broncos underdog status(according to pundits) as inspiration for all of us during this time of economic challenge.

We can win.

Roll your sleeve up. Take that shot of optimism. Give us inspiration, hope, and positive solutions.

Republicans Hell-Bent for Obama Failure

2009-11-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

Republicans' mission to make President Obama's campaign promises fail at any cost may prove to be high when it comes to health care reform. They see passage of meaningful health care reform as a victory for President Obama rather than a victory for America.

Voters responded wholeheartedly when Obama campaigned to change health care. Votes came from Republicans, Independents and Democrats. Even in my state where a shocking number of sane appearing people challenge Obama's citizenry and motivation, health care reform continues to be a priority.

Forget what's good for America. Politics come first.

Republicans, blue dog Democrats, and moderate Democrats or Independents from conservative districts must convince constituents that Democrat sponsored legislation is not good for the country.

Let's play the game.

The plan is too costly. It's a government takeover. You'll lose your choice of doctor, you'll never get in to see a doctor. You'll lose the good insurance you now have. Medicare costs will rise, and you'll receive fewer benefits. We have to repair the economy and unemployment first, and we have to pay off the national debt.

Closer to the truth, is it fear of Obama claiming victory, and setting the stage for another term? Or, is it personal fear of not being elected in 2010? Or, is it fear of losing out on some Big Insurance monetary reward?

Let's review what's in the senate health care bill that the above politicians are saving us from:

All Americans carry health insurance
Government help to make premiums more affordable
Ban denying coverage or charging more for those with health problems
New insurance markets for self-employed and small businesses
New consumer protection to those insured through big employee plans
Better prescription coverage for Seniors

Yes, it's about the politics, and my guess is people who voted for the campaign promise of health care reform, and the 31 million people without health insurance will remember who voted against the bill come election time.

Jay Leno Scoop on Health Care Poop

2009-11-10T22:02:00.000-08:00

Actually, to win passage for this health care bill, President Obama went up to Capitol Hill and personally lobbied some of the wavering congressmen. And of course, the health insurance industry, they were very upset. You know, they said they bought and paid for these congressmen, he has no right to go up to them and talk to them.—Jay Leno

Talented comedian, Jay Leno, is popular for his humor that mocks truth, and this joke is no exception. Funny, yes, but . . .

For too many Americans, affordable health care is out of reach. More and more employers are unable to offer quality health care packages to their employees. Tens of millions of people have no health care coverage. The number grows each day. Insurance companies deny coverage to those who are no longer insurable (Translation: no longer healthy). Insurance companies deny life-saving procedures (Translation: loss of profit).

On top of all this, the conservative media machine uses scare tactics spreading lies of government take-over, fascism, Nazis death panels, and more.

Without public health care choice option, there is no real health care reform.

The government gets a bum rap. The government is painted as being wasteful, and threatening. Yet, the government has orchestrated some darn good programs. Let's not count the federal highway system or the Centers for Disease Control. And don't get me started on FDR's programs. What about government-run Medicare, and Social Security?

The health care public option will reform insurance. And that needs to happen. Americans need universal coverage with more choice and lower costs. Otherwise insurance companies will continue to increase premiums, determine who gets covered, and who gets dropped.

Can you tell us Jay, how many congressmen have been bought and paid for by big money insurance? Never mind, I think we're getting it.

Big Insurance Dollars Overload Demo Backbones

2009-09-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

Whoa! Let's get the right message. It's not going to take a bloodhound to sniff this one out even though a blue dog tries to bury the evidence.

Sen. Max Baucus (MT) throws out the public option in order to get Republican support? Or, Senator Baucus throws out the public option to ensure Big Insurance financial support?

Even though Republicans run a well-organized auto-pilot scare tactics plan, a recent August study shows 77% support choice of public option. And why not? This adds one more choice to what many consider to be a monopoly of two. Floridians recently complained of out of control insurance costs due to only two providers to choose from. Health insurance is a near-monopoly in all states.

Health care reform is the choice of public option. Without public option, there is no reform. The middle of the road health care measure proposed by Senator Baucus is a slap in the face.

Unlike fifteen years ago, the time is now. So what is the hold up?

Republicans who give no support (and don't intend to under this administration) to any health care reform endorsed by Democrats, and Democrats without backbone.

Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Blanche Lincoln and Thomas Carper received big money from Big Insurance. Was their vote bought and paid? Voters from their respective states will have to decide.

One thing for certain, people of all colors and political persuasions elected President Obama for the promise of major insurance reform. Some in this group lost everything they owned due to catastrophic illness, others lost their insurance when they lost their job. Many were turned down or dropped by insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions. Or treatment was denied. Many of these people live each day in fear that one of their family members will get sick and there is no money for doctor or medicine.

I would not want to be in the shoes of the Democrat who turns back on President Obama's promise, and therefore the people who put him in office.

Idaho Liberal Demos Ready to Drop-Kick Blue Dogs

2009-08-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

President Obama ran on health care reform. Change, change, change. And the people voted. Many people who had never voted before did so for the promise of health care reform. Their stories were heard. We listened, and many of us identified with them. Those who couldn't afford insurance. People who lost their insurance, jobs, homes, and all of their savings due to catastrophic illnesses. People labeled uninsurable.

The media proclaimed that everybody wanted health care reform. Translation: health care reform providing every man, woman, and child with affordable, accessable health care. Obama said it could be done, and we believed that it would be done. Turns out we have a couple of problems.

Problem One: Everybody knows exactly how to do it best.

The man on the street, the barber, and patrons of the local coffee shop know the health care reform solution and share it freely. Magazines and newspapers are filled with articles presenting what should be and could be done. Our small town local doctor presented his plan in our weekly newspaper (Foutz, Michael. "Solution in health care debate." Kuna Melba News 12 Aug. 2009: 6)

Problem Two: Politics at its best.

Forget the 50 million uninsured. Forget about non-partisan efforts doing what is best for the nation.

The uninsured weren't included in the reform plan. How many of the first time voters were uninsured and cast their first ballots based on hope and promise of that weight being lifted from their shoulders? Will they vote a second time?

Non-partisan reaching out to solve the nation's health care dilemma apparently meant reaching out for votes. Republicans are quick to scare and incite fear of the existing health reform proposal. One of the biggest targets is the end-of-life paid counselling sessions, a beneficial and helpful service, that would be made available for families. Sarah Palin called them "death panels," and they were unfairly criticised by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), among others. Kathleen Sebelius (Sec. Health and Human Services), hopes the end-of-life sessions will remain intact.

As predicted, the Blue Dog Democrats join the ranks of the dissident Republicans. This creates a sore spot for many Idaho Democrats. It raises the question, Are you looking out for health care needs of Idahoans and the country, or are you looking for votes? As initial health reform promises are being dropped, members of the democratic party may drop-kick a blue dog or two out of office.

Health Care: A Crisis Mandating Reform

2009-07-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

The state of the economy predicts more loss of jobs and home foreclosures. The number of uninsured is close to 50 million and growing. It is estimated that current health care's cost to our economy is sixteen per cent or more. Health care costs are out of control, and reform can't wait.

Big name reform advocates include not only AARP, but - hold onto your hat! - phRma and the AMA as well. According to the July Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, the public still supports health care reform.

Why the legislative delay?

What should be a Red White Blue effort to save our country's health care crisis falls into the political quagmire of Red vs Blue. As though this isn't enough, the Blue presents obstacles from within.

Blue dog Democrats insist the proposed legislation is too expensive.

Representative Walt Minnick states that he is "working for a more balanced bill supported by the majority of my constituents." Would the majority of Rep. Minnick's district 1 constituents be Republican?

Do any of the following requirements for a health care bill that a blue dog can support resound of GOP agenda?

Fully funded

Available to all

No "socialized medicine"

Reduced cost

If all of the above can't be met at this time, do we follow the precedent established by the last administration and ignore it? Or, do we follow Clinton's lead, make an attempt, then drop it when the going gets tough?

Not on President Obama's watch. He says, "I'm the president . . . this has to get done." The majority of Americans agree.

2009-07-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

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Republocrats for All

2009-06-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

Accusations that Colin Powell acts like a Democrat is no surprise. Recently, Tom Ridge made the same news. Newt Gingrich is another moderate Republican that raises the hackles of the Republican conservative base.

Idaho Governor Butch Otter was accused of behaving like a Democrat during his fight for Idaho transportation funding during the recent 2009 legislative session. His argument for preventative measures to ward off drastic outcomes and expenses down the road (pun intended) came off like an Al Gore sound bite.

Idaho Representatives Walt Minnick(D) and Mike Simpson(R) cast votes like fraternity brothers who meet up afterwards for a cold one.

Maybe there is something to this Republocrat business. As members of both parties slide to the middle, the conservative base and the liberal base grow smaller and smaller. The teeter-totter becomes balanced. The pull of gravity might as well take a yoga break-Nobody slammed, nobody hurt.

Isn't this exactly what President Obama wants? The two major parties pulling together putting partisan biases and prejudices aside, to work for the good of our country during these troubled times? The economy gets fixed, a chicken and a job in every pot, a health care system that works, global warming stopped in its tracks . . .

Nice, but who will we cuss, blame, rant and rave when things go wrong if everyone is responsible and in agreement?

No need to worry. There will always be radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Ed Schutz, and outspoken politicians like Dick Cheney and Dennis Kucinich. Those who can place blame, take blame, and keep the political dust stirring. I suppose in the long run that's good.

Even so, it would be nice if the dust settled long enough for the Republocrats to put together a good health care system.

Don't Mess with my Guns

2009-05-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

A vote for Obama is a vote against guns. This cry grew louder after the election. Today, emailed messages of the "Ten ways Obama is Destroying our Country," places loss of Second Amendment rights high on the list.

Local buzz indicates tightening of gun control is feared more than economy based concerns.

I remember when we used guns for hunting. Gun safety and hunting skill were part of a child's upbringing. From the age of twelve, I learned how to walk a corn field for pheasant with four or five other hunters without fear of getting pelted by buckshot. Hunting was a way of life in our Idaho farming community near the Snake River.

To my knowledge, a thief never came to our house. If so, the trouble maker would have met Dad's 12 gauge shotgun. However, his love for the doubled-barrel shotgun centered on bagging plump pheasants, not Second Amendment rights.

Rep. Walt Minnick and Sen. Mike Crapo assure us that gun control is not on the menu this session. There are too many pressing problems to take care of before Obama can meddle with our Second Amendment rights. The message is that legislators from either party are against letting that new president, dead set on destroying our country, mess with our guns.

What's behind this fear of losing guns? Why is there a rush of people across America stockpiling ammunition? During his campaign, President Obama took a stand against gun crime by calling for the Tiahrt (Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-KS) restrictions to be removed. He continues this stand today. Some call this a common sense stand.

Tihrt stands in the way of law enforcement by restricting access of important trace data making it impossible to stop the flow of illegal guns to criminals.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constituion reads: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

A key phrase seemingly overlooked is "a well-regulated militia." Those crying for A gun in every pot rather than A chicken in every pot, tend to overlook the well-regulated part.

Logically, freeing law enforcement to trace guns back to the criminals who obtained them and inventory checks for loss and theft are not going to stop all of the criminal based activity involving gun trafficking. But, it will stop some of it. Don't we want to enable rather than hinder law enforcement to stop the flow of illegal guns? Sounds like common sense to me.

Illegal arsenals are found containing grenades with launchers and bazookas. If someone breaks into my place armed with one of those, my daddy's shotgun is going to look like a Dollar Store toy.

New Deal, Old deal, Big deal

2009-04-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Everyone is trashing FDR and the New Deal. In case of doubt, everyone refers to members of the GOP.

Made possible by President Obama and the state of our country, the GOP has raised the smouldering Old Deal (anti-FDR) into a roaring blaze.

Old deal, old talk:

FDR was responsible for the economy and the Great Depression.

World War II solved the Depression, and FDR's New Deal had nothing to do with it.

FDR's Big Spending programs like the CCC, WPA, and TVA put more people out of work and worsened the economy.

"Black Tuesday" and thus the Great Depression can be placed on the Hoover administration. Of course WWII ended the Depression, but that doesn't diminish FDR's New Deal. Big spending? Perhaps that was the thinking of the time. Realistically, his emergency measures were too narrow, too conservative. His proposed budgets were not large enough to provide the impact needed to stop the Great Depression.

Idaho is blessed with WPA buildings and roads. The CCC had a positive effect on Idaho, too. President Roosevelt said the CCC enhanced the value of both natural and human resources. Try telling the people who worked on these projects that they were worse off. Try telling their present day family members.

The anti-FDR and anti-Obama group makes comparisons between the two. They compare FDR's Fireside chats to Obama's Internet chats. Lately, they compare FDR's wheelchair to Obama's cigarets.

Big deal.

Is there a parallel here?

President Hoover (Republican) and his poor economic policies caused the Great Depression and the people call on President Roosevelt (Democrat) to fix it. President Bush (Republican) and his poor economic policies create disaster and the people choose President Obama (Democrat) to fix it.

Red white or blue:What's this dog business?

2009-04-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

I admit, although I am a life-long Democrat, this blue dog business is new to me. I was unaware of it until Walt Minnick announced his candidacy opposing incumbant State Representative Bill Sali in Idaho's District One race.

I have been enlightened. I know that the term "Blue Dog Democrat" designates an ultra-conservative democrat when it comes to government's role in financing programs.

Representative Minnick's reluctance to support President Obama's plans to clean up the economic mess proves that he fits the term Blue Dog Democrat. This varifies his authentic blue dog status. However, it raises other questions.

What is the difference between a blue dog Democrat and a member of the Republican party?

Is the term blue dog devised to obtain votes in a heavily Republican dominated region?

Perhaps we should take Nebraska's unicameral legislation to the national level.

Unicameral legislation could expand this business of political identification by dog color. A color for every persuassion could be used. We have the blue dog, why not a red dog for a Republican who votes with the Democrats? Yellow dog marks the legislator in fear of constituent reprisal and escapes casting a vote. A white dog exercises the right to be independent in lieu of an Independent party.

It could be just like our local Doggieworks shop where you can purchase a tint for your dog at a whim. Pink, lavender, mint . . . wow! Unlimited potential. Al Gore could be the leading Green dog.

Politicians like Joe Lieberman and Walt Minnick could just be dogs on the loose following one party or another as their running instinct directs.

"I Like IKE"

2009-04-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Just to clear the air, let me say that I have never voted for a Republican during my entire voting history. In that voting booth, I feel my dad's breath as he looks over my shoulder. That's the way it's been when he lived and for the last 40 years after he died.

I can tell you magnificent stories about FDR and Truman. I can tell you as many stories about everything wrong with Eisenhower and Nixon.

A son-in-law was overheard summing up Dad's political views saying that he would vote for a horse thief before he'd vote for a Republican. Dad cornered him and set the story right. He said it depended on the horse thief's political affiliation. Then he advised his son-in-law to get his facts right before talking about other's political views.

Growing up, my friends and I never discussed politics. We identified ourselves by gender and sports preference.

Politics becamc a factor when I was in fifth grade. Almost every kid in the class sported an "I like Ike" button. Those that didn't yelled all day, "I like Ike!"

The day before the election the teacher had us stand. All those who were for Eisenhower formed a line to the right, and all those who were for Stevenson, to the left.

I stood by my desk. All eyes were on me. The looks that bothered me most came from my best friend, George and my girl friend, Harriet.

I wanted to move to that right side. I tried. I tried so hard to take that first step toward my friends. Finally, I shuffled to the left and joined Ernest.

I stood by him and felt my life sink into the heavily oiled oak floor.

This is how I grew up as a Democrat in Idaho.