The much reviled by the Tea Party crowd, Harry S. Truman, who in truth was hated by the opposition during his term of office for his outspokenness and honesty said, “Any politician who gets rich is a crook.” The household terminology during the Truman Administration was, “Give them hell, Harry!”
Like it or not, Harry S. Truman, was one of our greatest Presidents because his down home approach and humbleness and ability to place the common man above himself and his ego, spoke of his character. Most people who take the high road are not necessarily liked by many but they are respected by all, and that is what matters. Shutting down government earns the respect of no one but the dysfunctional. Without respect none of us can ever own character and without character in our leadership, as a Nation we will fail.
The bling on a person’s hand or around their neck or the kind of car they drive or how ritzy the neighborhood they live in may be, is not what gains respect for a person. It is how he or she treats others on the barometer of choosing right over wrong, even when it is difficult and means swallowing our own pride at times, is what builds both the back bone and character of a person; Being able to speak out for the downtrodden and sometimes those held in hostage by others, is the character of a human being.
It is also the job of the office of a politician, but there is a real disconnect in today’s conservative right and tea party paid Republican Party who have a misguided impression that if they say the right things when they campaign to their benefactors and they tell the public who votes for them what they want to hear although they have no intentions of following through on it, then it is the winning that matters. Unfortunately they become so convinced when they do get to Washington the voters will acknowledge their character and hold them in high esteem or forget their bad behavior they fail to understand first of all they have to earn our respect.
There was a lot done about the sexual behavior of Bill Clinton that enraged the far-right, but what the people knew was that Bill Clinton gave a damn about us,’ and was working for us. When the right-wing conservatives tried to impeach him on his personal life they failed and never learned, they did not find the people who were not on the right, agreeing with them. Just because the far right religious community maybe praising men like Ted Cruz and the cruzers, the majority of us see him as nothing more than a mouth playing the fall guy for the tea party and right-wing. There is no character or real concern for the people in the movement. Without that there is also a real void of character or respect for the movement in the majority of us. “fool us once shame on you, fool us twice, shame on us.”
The problem with the dug in obstructionists in the Republican Party led by John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan is they have yet to learn that doing the right thing for the majority, and not just those who brought them there, is what their job entails. Shutting down government because they don’t get their way entirely when the Democrats have already conceded to them everything they wanted except defunding Obama care is not working for the people but instead the behavior of what is often referred to as, “spoiled brats in childhood.” Governing is not about them and their egos but about keeping their own selfish aims out of governing.
Character is not something that perhaps the younger crowd always demands of the people they hang out with or for that matter neither do many older adults but it is what most of us expect of our politicians. We know that in many ways that analogy, itself, is a pipe dream but we do expect to see some proof of character in the fact that they give a damn about us. at most. Without character through proof of action, we have nothing more than robots in our elected politicians in Washington taking their orders from men like Grover Norquist or from oil companies, real estate companies, and insurance companies lobbyist paying them for their votes in The Senate and Congress even when that means filibustering, stalling and obstructing.
Since those of us who follow politics closely have seen nothing else from this Conservative and tea party leadership with Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and John Boehner bowing to the freshmen of the tea party demands, why wouldn’t we want to replace them all in the elections?
They’re hoping by election time we will forget they are holding the people’s government hostage while they demand ransom, because there are a small amount of them to be replaced in 2014, but 2016 is what matters, and they are certain we will all forget by then, as if their behavior has been normal up to this time:) This has been the pattern and behavior of all of them who have remained there and the new ones who have joined them in the right-wing of the Republican Party for 12 years. They are the ones who created the mess that President Obama inherited.
These Republicans really think what they are doing now will just be a minor blimp on the screen of politics, just because the media says this is normal behavior? Give us all a break!
When our infrastructure is collapsing and endangering lives and could put thousands of our people to work, our children are going hungry and the only action they take is to cut food stamps, while our people are working part time and haven’t seen an increase in minimum wage since 1989, and they block any efforts to adjust for the tax rates of the wealthy, while they continue to ignore immigration and passing abuse laws against the vulnerable just because the Democrats in the Senate included Native Americans and the gay population and this Republican Party ,unlike every Republican party before them refuses to pass it, because they refuse to accept the gay population, and they think we do not care that they do their job and pay the bills that drive up our debt higher, while they sit there and do nothing but obstruct, stall and delay for 12 years and we won’t remember that?
We know this is not normal behavior nor has it ever been in the history of these United States, for an elected party to behave as poorly as this one has and for such an extended time, as has those in the right-wing of the Party are doing now and have been doing for too long.
We applauded Bill Clinton for standing up to the bullies in the conservative movement and for letting them shut down government before he capitulated to their demands because we knew he just like President Obama was fighting for us, and we knew our economy could withstand it for a day or two then. That’s not the same economy we have today and we want something done for us instead of all this pathetic behavior of rewarding the wealthy and the lobbyists, that has taken place for too long. We have ran out of patience with this Republican Party.This is totally different because we the people have already over-extended our patience with this Republican Party. At one time even conservatives gave a damn about the people. This is no Bob Dole Republican Party.
This right-wing Republican Party is all about them and their egos and we sense a total absence of character, in the people holding our government hostage. It is that lack of character that is going to follow this Republican Party long after they decide when government can start-up again.
The media can report all they want that Republicans are blaming Democrats and Democrats are blaming Republicans but just how it is sitting out here with us common folks, in these Red States, the barometer is not showing that to be entirely accurate.
The Press, just like the Republicans. read too much of their own press these days instead of bothering to research the facts. This Conservative controlled Republican Party, quite frankly, has blown it with the American people because they proved through their own actions: When they campaigned it was just a shell filled full of hot air making promises they had no intention of keeping, and lacking the character to be honest enough to admit it. For those who didn’t know, that is my analogy of “what is character.” I know many do agree with it as well. I’m sorry we have to continue seeing the lack of it in Washington, but we all have the power to change it at the election polls.
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