I know it's been awhile since I've posted but something has really been grinding my gears (thanks Peter!).
Recent comments made by Republicans about their desire that President Obama fail are tragically telling of the individuals making the statements, their party (my party, too by the way), and the country as a whole. A few of the offenders (they are indeed offensive to any rational person) include: radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, LA Gov. Bobby Jindal, Rep. Party Chairman Micheal Steele, and most recently fmr Sen. (and actor) Fred Thompson. That list includes very crazy persons.. and seemingly quite sane people and they all repeat the same thing they either "hope he (Obama) will fail" or they support those statements in a wholehearted way.
These people who are joining this chorus are losers. Plain and simple. I know at least a few of you who are reading this are already looking for the comment button to blast me for blindly supporting the President's policies and probably are ready to use a liberal sprinkling of the words : koolaid, messiah, sheep, brain dead, and biased media. If you really are that simple-minded go ahead.. but I'll just respond by letting you know you should have read past the first two paragraphs....
Like I said, these people are losers. They are failing themselves, their ideology, and the American people. First, they fail themselves. How petty do you have to be to lose a popularity contest and then hope the other side trips on their way to the podium? Pretty dang petty. These politicians and critics are doing just the opposite of what a responsible person who disagrees should do, find alternate solutions and try to convince others their way is better. Simply saying that you hope the ones with the coherent plan don't do so hot basically says "I hope the front-runner falls so I'll come in first!" Folks, that's just the voice of pettiness, anger, and desperation at work.
Second, these people are taking the Republican Party's elephant 'round back, replacing it with a giant elephant balloon than going out and publicly poking holes in it... all for the cause of advancing the party (with the notable exception of Rush, who does it for the money and power). Of all the public figures who have spewed these sentiments Rush is the only one who hasn't done harm to the party.. which is remarkable. He is one man, a man who can be (very easily) discredited at very little true political cost. I know he has tens of millions of listeners but most of these folks would be equally swayed by the next nutcase (liberal, conservative, crazy, sane, or possibly dead) who takes over the time slot. Before you go off firing the cannon on me ponder this, his listeners call themselves 'ditto heads'! They reference the fact that they are COPYING someone else, not thinking for themselves! 'Ditto head' ought to be used as a derogatory term for the blind followers of anyone (especially in a democracy that is based on the fact that people will think then vote).. not as a self-imposed label. What's wrong with us?
Enough about Rush.. back to my point, the Republican party is being hurt. By only "hoping" that the President's policies fail you basically shoot yourself in the foot and demonstrate pretty clearly that you have no idea what you actually support. Solving the economic crisis is not a two solution game where you can simply say "that is wrong" and logically that means you are right, it is the economy for goodness sake, a million solutions exist. The right way of criticizing the Obama policies should be to tie all democrats to it then say that it WILL fail, give evidence (this is important!), then inform the public of your better solution. Simply saying 'i think that's bad just cuz...' then saying tax-cuts a few times before shrugging your shoulders and going home is not going to cut it. Don't believe me.. watch for the 2010 election results.
Lastly, this approach is terrible for the American electorate and the nation as a whole. When policy debates keep gravitating to personal and distracting issues faster and faster the American people find themselves uniting less and dividing more. That is isn't good for us as a nation. I'm not saying one side should lay down and surrender, what I am saying is that if we both just agreed that we both want the same thing then debated how to get there we would have some progress. Simply pointing fingers and name-calling doesn't produce solutions it produces doubts, political demons, and more problems.
Remember that fear, smears, and lies only go so far before we, the American people, get fed up and vote in your replacements. Be careful.
