According to a Reuter's news report President Obama yesterday met in a face-to-face showdown with the Republican House leaders in Baltimore, Maryland. The event was the annual retreat of Republican members of the House of Representatives. Giving the lower poll numbers in regards to the American publics' view of what kind of job Obama is doing as president as well as the surprise election of Republican State Senator Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat in Massachusetts, Obama felt it was necessary to engage in some-sort of "dialogue" with the Republicans to give voters the impression that he understands the "pain" many Americans are feeling. It was a very testy meeting. President Obama criticized Republicans and accused them of trying to block his policies while urging them to "join with me" in creating jobs. The session lasted for 82-minutes; 12 minutes longer than Obama's State of the Union speech on Wednesday. President Obama not only agreed to address his opponents but take their questions live on cable television was a sign he is trying to dig out of his deepest political rut since he became president a year ago. I had the privilege to see part of that session on the Fox News Channel.
President Obama sought to counter his rivals attempt to paint him as a big-spending liberal who only desires to expand the government. He accused the Republicans of portraying his now-stalled healthcare reform effort as a "Bolshevik plot." The truth is that the healthcare bill would raise our taxes around 13% and it would give the government control over one-sixth of our nation's economy. Also, there were many closed-door deals involved in persuading the more moderate Democratic House and senate members to vote for the healthcare bill. President Obama then went on to say that "I am not an ideologue." When one takes a view of the company he keeps as well as the fact he follows after Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, it's apparent that he's an idelogue. Take a view of the policies he's tried to promote such as this healthcare bill, cap and trade bill, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy which would lift the restrictions on homosexuals not being allowed to be open about their sexuality.
Assailing Republicans from trying to obstruct him on everything from economic stimulus to healthcare reform, Obama suggested their motive was to score points with voters during the November Congressional elections. One of the questions that Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling asked was, "Will the new budget, like your old budget, triple the national debt and continue to take us down the path of increasing the cost of government to almost 25% of our economy? That's the question, Mr. President." Obama complained the whole question was structured as a talking point for running a campaign. Georgia Rep. Tom Price charged Obama had repeatedly accused Republicans of offering "no ideas and solutions." Obama exclaimed, "I don't think I said that."
In nine months there will be the November Congressional elections. The Republican Party must outline some type of draft on what principles they uphold as well as what they would attempt to accomplish if they win the November elections. They need to offer a clear vision just as the Republicans under Newt Gingrich in 1994 offered their "Contract With America" before the Congressional elections that fall. The Republicans in Congress today have a much larger problem than the Republicans did in 1994. The Republicans that won power in 1994 didn't have much history for being in charge of Congress for a number of years. The Republicans that won the House in 1994 won it for the first time in 40 years. The Republicans captured the Senate for the first time since 1986. Therefore, the voters were willing to give them a chance. Unlike the Republicans that captured the House in 1994, most of the Republicans that are in the House and Senate today were in charge for approximately twelve years in both Houses until 2007. (In the U.S. Senate the Republicans were in charge for 10.5 years) Most Americans still remember how pathetic the Republicans were before voting them out. The Republicans that were voted out in 2006 were drunk on power just like the Democrats are today as well as they violated their principles. They ruled the opposite on what they claimed their principles were.
The problem with the Republican party is hypocrisy. They're crooked just like the Democrats are crooked. I was very critical of how the Republicans, including President Bush were running the country given the fact that I'm a registered Republican and a conservative. Even though I'm opposed to the Democratic Party, I can predict how they're going to vote on issues. With the Republicans, you don't know. Many Republicans campaigned as conservatives but wound up going contrary to the principles they claimed they espouse. I believe that's why there was a voter backlash two years ago. This year there could possibly be a voter backlash against the Democrats. However, if the Republicans in both the House and Senate continue the same old policies when they were in charge a few years ago if they're re-elected again, then I predict another huge voter backlash and it probably won't take long. Last year the current Tea Party started holding rallies in Washington, D.C. and different cities across America. Many of them are disgruntled and are very disappointed at the performance of the Republican party when they were in charge for 12 years. The voters wanted some leaders that are genuine patriots that love this counry and will push for "true change" that rebuilds and strengthens America. The Tea Party members along with other Americans desire statesmen that will return this nation back to the roots that our Founding Fathers had envisioned.
The Republicans should stand against the left-wing agenda of President Obama and the socialist Democrats. However, the Republicans need to recall their hypocrisy when they had charge of both Houses of Congress. There needs to be some genuine repentance on the part of Republicans and they need to vow to not allow themselves to be bought off by special interest groups and their party bosses like the Democrats do. They need to make serious attempts to keep their campaign promises once they're elected. It's very serious. The former President Bush and the Republicans in charge for 12 years violated the principles the Republicans stated they believed. They ran up the deficit to unprecedent levels during that time, they voted for a prescription drug coverage in the Medicare bill, they voted for all kinds of wasteful pork barrel spending, they supported CAFTA, which is a trade agreement which will cause numerous manufacturing jobs to be shipped overseas, and some Republicans along with President Bush supported amnesty for illegal aliens. The distinctions between the Democrats and the Republicans has become narrower and narrower. If the Republicans don't take a trip back to memory lane and learn the lessons from where they failed, then they'll repeat the same disaster if they capture the majority in both the House and Senate this November.
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