Sirota: It's Also the Congress, Stupid
David Sirota discusses why the type of Congress we have matters as much as who the President is. Sirota also explores what an Obama or Clinton administration would be like working with Congress.
Here's the link.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3537/its_also_the_congress_stupid/
Here's the link.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3537/its_also_the_congress_stupid/
David Sirota evaluates the Democrat presidential candidates in terms of their interaction with Congress. He frames the debate as either progressive values or triangulation.
Promoting progressive values by having control of the legislative and executive branches is one way to get things done. The down side is that this is clearly partisan politices, leading almost inevitably to more polarization.
Triangulation has a more bipartisan feel. Triangulation would require cooperation and consensus all around, with less likelihood that some would feel things were forced on them. The down side for progressives is that it would be harder to achieve their goals.
This website advocates a search for balanced, moderate candidates, with a goal of reducing polarized politics. Considering that goal, it is clear to me that triangulation is far superior to the advocacy of brute force partisanship.
Of course, there is another option for president this year besides Obama and Clinton.
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We need about 100,000 Americans to go before a judge and publicly declare
that their middle names are their legal names for all public purposes.
And they should also declare themselves as supporters of the Hussein
for Imam--whoops I mean president coalition. Hussein will be the
first Muslim president. Free Burkhas for everybody! Hussein's first
act will be to replace the flag with the red crescent. Hussein has
always hated that other flag with every fiber of his being. Which is
why he won't pledge to it and won't wear a flag lapel pin. But Hussein
will proudly salute a flag representative of a non European religion!
When Hussein takes office every child will be required to attend a
Madras just as Hussein did when he was a child. It is so good to be
able to use a candidate's middle name and talk about his formative
years and his education. Because if you couldn't that would mean
that the candidate is ashamed of what he was and what he has become.
Welcome to a pork free world with no ham or pizza. You must not offer a pork chop
to Hussein. You must not put pork grease on your hands or your money
and certainly not hallowed ground. No pork anywhere!
Alice Jones, tinfoil hat wearing saucer nut recently came out of the closet and
revealed that she is a radical Muslim and a supporter of Hussein for
for president. Alice, who had prevously grown famous for taking Klan money
for bringing up black people exclusively in conjuction with disease, violence,
and/or poverty, surprised everyone by endorsing a black candidate for president.
---coming to you from under the straight talk express.
****Hussein '08 !!!*****
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Zed,
For you and others with this point of view, I suggest you re-read the United States Constitution. The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . "
Article Six, (3) says, "\3\The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and
the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all
executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and
of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation,
to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever
be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust
under the United States.
What that means is that we do not elect Kings, we elect Presidents to administer the Federal Government. No President can declare a state religion unless the Congress fails in its job as the legislative branch to check the powers of the executive branch.
What that also means is that any Presidential candidate's religion (or lack of one) is not a requirement for office.
In short, your implication that the electing of Barack Obama would mean the conversion of America to the Muslim faith is as false as if Mitt Romney had gained the Republican nomination and his election would have meant the conversion of America to the Mormon faith.
As to your other assertions about education, they are as false as the first ones given our status as a Republic under a Constitution and the states with their own constitutional government.
Zed, I wore a uniform for over 20 years where I had to pin on little badges and symbols. Now that I have a choice as a civilian, I prefer to pin nothing on my clothing. Does that make me any less patriotic? I don't think so.
When it comes to the patriotism of elected officials and the candidates for elected office, I prefer to judge their patriotism by what they do, not by what they say or wear. I advise others to do the same. I apply the same standard to their performance and I have the same advice for others.
That said, I think that if we want to teach respect for the flag, then we need a campaign to require announcements at public events describing what is the proper behavior during the playing of the National Anthem. I believe people want to do the right thing; they're just unsure what the right thing is since their instruction at kindergarton or the first grade was so long ago. What's more, you should do different things if you're indoors or out, so its easy to be confused. A quick announcement would resolve those issues.
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