Left, Right, or Wrong?

Posts Tagged ‘bush’

After much wrangling and some tense moments between Democratic lawmakers, the House of Representatives passed an historic health care reform bill. This marks a significant milestone for both Democrats and the country as a whole. I was personally pleased that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Representative Patrick Kennedy to tell him of the news. Now the long road to reconciling this bill with a version from the Senate begins. Democrats in the Senate have been disappointing in how they have not taken a strong stand on the public option for much of the process. Part of this is due to the politics of getting a bill out of committee to the general Senate for a vote. Part of this, however, is a larger issue between conservative or ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats and their brethren, the more progressive Senators.

In the end, if this bill fails to pass the Senate, it is not the Republicans the American people will solely blame. To a smaller, but significant measure, the American people will also blame the Democrats who voted against supporting and pushing this bill – including a strong and needed public option.

We can only hope that Democrats, unlike their Republican counterparts, realize before all is said and done, that this bill must pass to end the symbolic divide between the  favoritism that business interests have had under the Bush Administration vs. the needs of the American people – especially the shrinking middle class.

I can understand a Bush 41 tribute, but a Reagan tribute? When was he President again? It seems like the Republicans are grasping at straws here. Honestly, how many times can you invoke the memory of President Reagan? Regardless, Republicans are back to their old tricks: mention Reagan as much as possible, link McCain to Reagan in a personal way (Fred Thompson’s speech), and don’t forget to mention 9/11!

Now, the tribute to Bush 41 was fitting for the 41st President. However, with the dark cloud that hangs over the White House today, is it wise to honor the father of the 43rd President? No doubt, the 84-year old elder Bush has performed admirably since becoming a private citizen. His record of charity work both with President Clinton and on his own is impressive. However, one has to question the timing here. 

Again, it seems that the Republican party is not exercising the best judgement.