It seems like Joe Biden's run for President is in trouble.
He hasn't provided the necessary charisma or enthusiasm so far and its doubtful that he will.
Except for his age, I believe he would have been the candidate we needed, He was progressive but not extreme and had appeal to working men and minorities.
If you are looking for radical change after the next election, he wouldn't be your guy.
The fact is that he is perceived as and in fact is what I would call a regular guy, not some elitist.
I don't want to exclude women from that category, Amy Klobuchar certainly would qualify. Maybe a better term would be regular people.
They have a quality that makes you feel like you could run into them at a fast food restaurant one day.
Harvard College professors, socialists and others give a different impression.
Realistically, progressives and others on the left should have learned their lesson from the last election. Whatever they thought about Hillary, she would have listened to their concerns and helped as opposed to what they get now. If they fail to support the nominee again they might as well go back in time to the 50s.
What we really need in a candidate is someone who can win over those regular people who would like a good job, drug free children, and what some would consider a boring life.
The whole political correct thing is of little interest to them. They don't really care if some people feel unsupported about their gender choices, as we used to say in the Army, it sounds like a personnel issue.
They aren't trying to offend anyone, they just don't want to be nagged.
Showing posts with label issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label issues. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Boring Politics
If you follow the news you sometimes think that politics is something really important to Americans.
Well many Americans can't tell you who their elected representatives are. Most are aware of who is President, hard not to notice, but not so much everyone else.
I'm sure there are plenty of surveys out there about this, but I simply check with young people I now and discover that they are much more interested in other things.
Life is what happens on a daily basis. Certain things are related to politics but most things don't seem to be.
If you can't get a good paying job or if you can you probably don't think politics is the reason, although it might be.
I do think that most young people are concerned about climate change, how could they not be, but they tend to blame all politicians and older people without thinking about the politics involved.
One of the problems is how boring politics are. Both the Impeachment hearings and the Democratic debates are hard to watch unless you are already committed. Trump rallies on the other hand are much more entertaining.
Hopefully between now and the election we will find a way to energize Americans about the issues.
Arguing the finer points of how to achieve universal health care or other issues that are hard to follow won't do it.
Well many Americans can't tell you who their elected representatives are. Most are aware of who is President, hard not to notice, but not so much everyone else.
I'm sure there are plenty of surveys out there about this, but I simply check with young people I now and discover that they are much more interested in other things.
Life is what happens on a daily basis. Certain things are related to politics but most things don't seem to be.
If you can't get a good paying job or if you can you probably don't think politics is the reason, although it might be.
I do think that most young people are concerned about climate change, how could they not be, but they tend to blame all politicians and older people without thinking about the politics involved.
One of the problems is how boring politics are. Both the Impeachment hearings and the Democratic debates are hard to watch unless you are already committed. Trump rallies on the other hand are much more entertaining.
Hopefully between now and the election we will find a way to energize Americans about the issues.
Arguing the finer points of how to achieve universal health care or other issues that are hard to follow won't do it.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Issues
Elections are often treated like popularity contests when they should be about issues.
If you consider the issues important to voters you get a mix of economic and social ones.
I believe most Americans are pretty close on how they feel about most issues, however because of the spin applied they feel far apart.
For example almost all Americans would like an immigration policy that protects our borders while still allowing legal immigration.
However it is generally presented by at least some media outlets as an all or nothing scenario.
For many years Governments didn't really enforce border security for many reason. One reason was simply that we needed many of the undocumented workers to take certain seasonal jobs.
When did this rise to a major issue? It seems like it was escalated by certain media outlets that created some catchy slogans. The one about us not being a country if we don't enforce our borders is catchy.
The border issues are more significant the closer you are to them, although even then it doesn't seem to be a major problem except for an unfortunate few.
Yet somehow it has grown into a divisive issue, simply because it serves a political purpose.
We should set logical and reasonable goals and implement policies to achieve them.
Instead we fight.
I believe most Americans are pretty close on how they feel about most issues, however because of the spin applied they feel far apart.
For example almost all Americans would like an immigration policy that protects our borders while still allowing legal immigration.
However it is generally presented by at least some media outlets as an all or nothing scenario.
For many years Governments didn't really enforce border security for many reason. One reason was simply that we needed many of the undocumented workers to take certain seasonal jobs.
When did this rise to a major issue? It seems like it was escalated by certain media outlets that created some catchy slogans. The one about us not being a country if we don't enforce our borders is catchy.
The border issues are more significant the closer you are to them, although even then it doesn't seem to be a major problem except for an unfortunate few.
Yet somehow it has grown into a divisive issue, simply because it serves a political purpose.
We should set logical and reasonable goals and implement policies to achieve them.
Instead we fight.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Shebate, Hebate they all Debate
And the winner is.....
Probably Joe Biden since he basically wins by not losing at this point. Otherwise everyone seemed to do OK with the possible exception of Julian Castro who took a cheap shot or two at Biden.
Pretty sure he did it because it seemed to work, at least for a time for Kamala Harris in the first debate.
They did articulate some differences but in general they agree on the main platform points that are emerging.
Universal Health Care.
Strong Action to Combat Climate Change
Improved Immigration Policy
Better International Trade Agreements
End to "Endless" Wars
Reduce Racism and Social Injustice
What I didn't hear addressed was how to reduce the deficit and pay down the National Debt.
There were some discussions about how to pay for new proposals, like Medicare for All, but assuming that is covered we still have a tremendous debt to pay down.
The other thing is that we now hear presidential candidates talk like they can do anything they want.
Joe Biden did point out that it has to be constitutional. No one really addressed how they could do these things if they had a hostile congress in one or both houses.
Even if swept into office with control of both houses, they will have to deal with a Supreme Court that is becoming more conservative.
They have to make promises, but keeping them might be difficult indeed. Still, you have t try.
Probably Joe Biden since he basically wins by not losing at this point. Otherwise everyone seemed to do OK with the possible exception of Julian Castro who took a cheap shot or two at Biden.
Pretty sure he did it because it seemed to work, at least for a time for Kamala Harris in the first debate.
They did articulate some differences but in general they agree on the main platform points that are emerging.
Universal Health Care.
Strong Action to Combat Climate Change
Improved Immigration Policy
Better International Trade Agreements
End to "Endless" Wars
Reduce Racism and Social Injustice
What I didn't hear addressed was how to reduce the deficit and pay down the National Debt.
There were some discussions about how to pay for new proposals, like Medicare for All, but assuming that is covered we still have a tremendous debt to pay down.
The other thing is that we now hear presidential candidates talk like they can do anything they want.
Joe Biden did point out that it has to be constitutional. No one really addressed how they could do these things if they had a hostile congress in one or both houses.
Even if swept into office with control of both houses, they will have to deal with a Supreme Court that is becoming more conservative.
They have to make promises, but keeping them might be difficult indeed. Still, you have t try.
Monday, April 15, 2019
Civil Discourse
In general the things we argue about represent very little of the actual Government. For example, things like defense, social security, homeland security are all things that are supported by nearly everybody. Whether a particular weapon system gets funded or what the social security cola should be might be arguments, but the broad topic is something agreed on.
It seems like the differences are greater than they are because we have a press that mostly focuses on the interesting arguments and a president who treats everything as a political issue.
Take immigration. Everybody, or at least almost everybody would want policies that weed our terrorists and known criminals while allowing asylum seekers and desirable immigrants access. Its not that hard but of course you need to understand that you are dealing with many individuals, each whom has their own issues.
They are not selected by their home countries to come here. They are not generally terrorists or drug smugglers. They are generally fleeing the gangs, not joining them. They don't become a long term drain on our resources, once they get settled.
To believe these things is the result of rhetoric with no basis in facts.
Yes, in any fairly large group of people you will have some who aren't going to obey the law and who might commit a crime, but these are the exceptions. It would be like saying all Americans are mass murderers because some have committed mass murder. Its just not logical or correct.
The idea of working together on the things that unite us while debating the things we disagree on isn't really that alien a concept. We used to do it all the time.
It seems like the differences are greater than they are because we have a press that mostly focuses on the interesting arguments and a president who treats everything as a political issue.
Take immigration. Everybody, or at least almost everybody would want policies that weed our terrorists and known criminals while allowing asylum seekers and desirable immigrants access. Its not that hard but of course you need to understand that you are dealing with many individuals, each whom has their own issues.
They are not selected by their home countries to come here. They are not generally terrorists or drug smugglers. They are generally fleeing the gangs, not joining them. They don't become a long term drain on our resources, once they get settled.
To believe these things is the result of rhetoric with no basis in facts.
Yes, in any fairly large group of people you will have some who aren't going to obey the law and who might commit a crime, but these are the exceptions. It would be like saying all Americans are mass murderers because some have committed mass murder. Its just not logical or correct.
The idea of working together on the things that unite us while debating the things we disagree on isn't really that alien a concept. We used to do it all the time.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Real Issues
Thee are real issues that need to be addressed in America and none of them are related to what percentage of Native American anyone is.
Improving health care and providing adequate affordable care to all is important.
Making sure our immigration policy is sound and effective is another, and the use of a wall is probably not the answer.
Having a sound foreign policy that supports our allies and promotes world peace is another.
Making sure everybody gets treated equally no matter what race, religion or nationality they are.
Find affordable education opportunities for all our young while assuring teachers get adequate pay.
Supporting and enhancing law enforcement while making sure they apply the law fairly to all.
Balancing our expenditures and income so we can have a sound financial future gong forward.
Finding ways to eliminate the horrible incidents of mass shootings while making sure our citizens are allowed to safely own guns.
Improving our economy and providing opportunities for all our residents to find gainful employment if they are able.
Moving toward sustainable energy to limit the impact of climate change and reducing pollution.
Repairing or replacing our infrastructure to help commerce and industry.
Improving trade which generally is best done without tariffs.
Improving health care and providing adequate affordable care to all is important.
Making sure our immigration policy is sound and effective is another, and the use of a wall is probably not the answer.
Having a sound foreign policy that supports our allies and promotes world peace is another.
Making sure everybody gets treated equally no matter what race, religion or nationality they are.
Find affordable education opportunities for all our young while assuring teachers get adequate pay.
Supporting and enhancing law enforcement while making sure they apply the law fairly to all.
Balancing our expenditures and income so we can have a sound financial future gong forward.
Finding ways to eliminate the horrible incidents of mass shootings while making sure our citizens are allowed to safely own guns.
Improving our economy and providing opportunities for all our residents to find gainful employment if they are able.
Moving toward sustainable energy to limit the impact of climate change and reducing pollution.
Repairing or replacing our infrastructure to help commerce and industry.
Improving trade which generally is best done without tariffs.
Monday, February 12, 2018
America Manipulated
Many of the issues facing this country are pretty straightforward. Further most Americans are pretty much on the same side.
Improve infrastructure, good thing.
Strong defense, good thing.
Social fairness, good thing.
Affordable health care, good thing.
Better education, good thing.
Cleaner air and water, good thing.
Now a few social issues such as abortion and LGBT rights do break down into pretty contentious sides but the question is why are those even political issues?
To the extent these views are based on religious beliefs they really should be a matter of conscience not laws.
Still on the other issues we have certain special interests (wealthy individuals) who work hard to sway public opinion.
Generally they are opposed to paying taxes and possibly believe it will lead to a social welfare state.
They have poured billions of dollars into campaigns and to a fairly large extent have executed a sound strategy of controlling State government that can adjust congressional districts.
They have also been aided by the popularity of media owned by one of their fellow travelers.
Of course as I have said often, our system of primaries allows this to happen because candidates and ultimate winners can be determined with very small participation. Further they do everything they can to disenfranchise people who don't agree with them.
The system needs to be fixed, not just readjusted.
Improve infrastructure, good thing.
Strong defense, good thing.
Social fairness, good thing.
Affordable health care, good thing.
Better education, good thing.
Cleaner air and water, good thing.
Now a few social issues such as abortion and LGBT rights do break down into pretty contentious sides but the question is why are those even political issues?
To the extent these views are based on religious beliefs they really should be a matter of conscience not laws.
Still on the other issues we have certain special interests (wealthy individuals) who work hard to sway public opinion.
Generally they are opposed to paying taxes and possibly believe it will lead to a social welfare state.
They have poured billions of dollars into campaigns and to a fairly large extent have executed a sound strategy of controlling State government that can adjust congressional districts.
They have also been aided by the popularity of media owned by one of their fellow travelers.
Of course as I have said often, our system of primaries allows this to happen because candidates and ultimate winners can be determined with very small participation. Further they do everything they can to disenfranchise people who don't agree with them.
The system needs to be fixed, not just readjusted.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Divided America?
Like almost everything in today's day and age the media has proclaimed that America is hopelessly divided, broken into sides that can't agree on anything.
Oddly despite this most people manage to go through their days without actually having to get into a confrontation or altercation.
So how divided are we?
Well on some issues we do see a lot of disagreement.
However if you look at American opinions over the past 4 decades you don't see a lot of dramatic changes.
American public Opinions
So what is causing this sense of divisiveness?
Well its the accessibility to social media to a large extent.
Remember the old rule about counting to ten?
Well that's gone now so people post their instant and often unconsidered opinions.
Further we have organizations that are deliberately drumming up controversy for commercial or political gain.
This includes certain cable news which benefits by saying outrageous things to increase their audience.
Now this has led to the election of someone who traditionally would never have been a candidate.
Now he has taken advantage of this sense without having any way to fix anything.
The problem is that while you find that things haven't really changed very much, the country has become over reactive.
We turned into a country of drama queens.
Oddly despite this most people manage to go through their days without actually having to get into a confrontation or altercation.
So how divided are we?
Well on some issues we do see a lot of disagreement.
However if you look at American opinions over the past 4 decades you don't see a lot of dramatic changes.
American public Opinions
So what is causing this sense of divisiveness?
Well its the accessibility to social media to a large extent.
Remember the old rule about counting to ten?
Well that's gone now so people post their instant and often unconsidered opinions.
Further we have organizations that are deliberately drumming up controversy for commercial or political gain.
This includes certain cable news which benefits by saying outrageous things to increase their audience.
Now this has led to the election of someone who traditionally would never have been a candidate.
Now he has taken advantage of this sense without having any way to fix anything.
The problem is that while you find that things haven't really changed very much, the country has become over reactive.
We turned into a country of drama queens.
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