Republicans
Since the election of President Barack Obama, it seems that every republican elected official has done everything in their power to stop the president’s agenda. The republican house minority leader John Boehner and republican house minority whip Eric Cantor have stood firm ground on opposing almost all of President Obama’s proposed policies. While it is clear that the republicans are against the democratic party, it is unclear what they themselves believe in or stand for. Since the new administration took office, the republican party has been incredibly hypocritical. When the republican party is not controlling the white house, they demand small government and as little government spending as possible. However, the last republican president George W. Bush grew government in unprecedented ways and spent ridiculous amounts of money on controversial programs and wars. If the republican party wants to win back The White House in 2012, they should make it clear what they stand for. Many would argue that just saying “no” to everything is not the best route to achieve progress.
• To say that republicans have been hypocritical since President Obama took office is an understatement. Most of President Obama’s policies and actions they are against, are very similar to those of President Bush. Many republicans claim that President Obama is a socialist, claiming that he is for big government. However, those same critics were rather silent when the recent Bush administration saw the biggest expansion of government certainly since President Johnson, but possibly in our nation’s history. Republicans complain that President Obama spends too much and doesn’t care about the deficit. These same people did not speak out about President Bush’s spending. It has been said that the Bush administration spent the same amount as all of the preceding presidents combined by the end of his first term. Many of President Bush’s programs were passed without a plan to pay for them. This is one of the reasons why the current deficit is as bad as it is. Many Americans claim that the war in Iraq did not have a cohesive payment plan as well as Medicair part D and the infamous Bush tax cuts, which were created during the Bush administration. If republicans are against President Obama growing government and mass government spending, those are valid claims. However, it is hard to believe them when their elected officials including presidents do the same thing and sometimes on a much larger scale.
• Many republicans claim that the recent Massachusetts Senate race was a sign of where the country is heading. The republican candidate Scott Brown won the election ending the democrats filibuster proof super majority. Some saw Brown’s victory as a message to elected officials that citizens are not in favor of the democratic agenda. However, these critics are forgetting that instead of the democrats having the largest majority in our nation’s history, they now have the second largest majority in history. What the republican party is not realizing is that by pushing people away from their party, they are making it harder for themselves to receive the majority of the vote. Many conservatives are against gay marriages and the appeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military. Some conservatives have also been on record suggesting that there should be a literacy test in order to vote in America. This would affect the vote for many minorities. The party of no needs a positive and productive game plan if they want to win back The White House in 2012.
For democrats, this might be a good thing. If the other party keeps distancing themselves from certain groups of voters, then the democrats will gain those votes. However, if all republicans vote no any every piece of democratic legislation, that means that every democrat would have to vote yes in order for anything to pass. If that does not happen, it will paint a picture that democrats cannot get anything done and this will make them look weak. Just because democrats have the majority, does not mean that they are the only ones responsible for running the country. Let’s just hope that American voters see this and that they do not buy into the conservative’s politics.