Updated comments, 1/19/2017:
Comments about Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives, a new book by freelance writer and New York Times Magazine contributor Robert Draper:
I wrote the following article in April 2012. The 2012 elections were approaching, and the Republican/rightie press was all over Barack Obama for not doing enough about the economy. I was tired of reading about it. And then the book by Robert Draper, discussed below, was released, which made the Republican complaints about Obama even more hypocritical.
The Republicans didn't win in 2012, but they won in 2016, due to voter suppression, Russian tampering, fake news, and FBI intervention. But, as we approach the inauguration of a Republican President, it's a good idea to look back and recall where we were 8 years ago.... and we need to realize how far we've come.
Under President Barack Obama, we've had the longest string of job growth since WWII. 15 million jobs have been added since the trough of the recession, and that is a NET number, meaning new jobs added after we subtract jobs lost. Income inequality is starting to come down. Manufacturing jobs, which declined 26% under Bush II, are starting to increase again. Inflation-adjusted household average income has turned a corner and is again starting to increase. And inflation-adjusted wages for "regular" non-supervisory workers have started to increase, something they haven't done since the Clinton years. (If you don't believe this string of accomplishments, wait; I'll come back and add the links later today and tomorrow.) And yet the Republicans, Trumpers, and other right-wing hangers on consider Obama's presidency a "failure". But that is really just more fake news, isn't it? We'll watch and see if Trump and his merry band of Republicans can do any better. What do you think?
Comments about Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives, a new book by freelance writer and New York Times Magazine contributor Robert Draper:
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| As found on Amazon.com |
In January 2009, while Obama and the Democrats planned policies and laws to help beleaguered Americans, the Republicans plotted to throw us all under the bus.
We all knew that something like the meeting Draper discusses in his book happened... but let's put this into perspective:
Winter 2008-2009 Was Scary
Let's all remember how difficult things were in the fall of 2008 and the winter of 2009. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month when Obama took office, and weekly first time unemployment claims kept increasing to over 600,000 to 700,000 a week. We had lost a total of 4,400,000 jobs BEFORE Obama took the oath of office.
The stock market had tanked, the banks were virtually insolvent, the auto industry was bankrupt and on its last legs, and people were scared. I didn't know anybody in those months and weeks who wasn't terrified and unsure of what the future was going to bring.
Though anxious, most of us looked forward to the inauguration, to the stimulus and to new programs that would help to pull the country (and the world) out of the chaos and out of that economic ditch.
While we were afraid of what was happening, we were also full of hope for where we might go in the coming weeks and months.
Meanwhile, the Republicans were committing to spend their time and efforts to push the bus, along with the 300,000,000 frightened Americans on it, the rest of the way off of the cliff. They cared NOT ONE BIT about the frustrations and concerns of the American people who were embroiled in the worst economic crisis in the last 80 years; they cared only about destroying the man who was about to try his darnedest to do the best he could for the American people.
Meanwhile, the Republicans were committing to spend their time and efforts to push the bus, along with the 300,000,000 frightened Americans on it, the rest of the way off of the cliff. They cared NOT ONE BIT about the frustrations and concerns of the American people who were embroiled in the worst economic crisis in the last 80 years; they cared only about destroying the man who was about to try his darnedest to do the best he could for the American people.
These Republicans are traitors.
Information about the Draper book discussing this HERE.
More information about this whole event HERE at the Daily Kos.
The excerpt from the Al Sharpton show discussing this HERE.
Molly, please keep up your good work; your data is helping me in my research.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the average Republican or Democrat is a bad person (pending your definition of good versus bad people) but some in both parties are infected with the virus of psychopathy. Any attempt to heal what is wrong with humanity will fail until we all learn how to recognize the nature and impact of the psychopathic influence on civilization. From Lobaczewksi's book, "Political Ponerology":
“What does psychopathy have to do with personal or social evil?” you may ask.
Absolutely everything. Whether you know it or not, each and every day your life is touched by the effects of psychopathy on our world. You’re about to learn that even if there isn’t much we can do about geological and cosmological catastrophe, there is a lot we can do about social and macrosocial evil, and the very first thing to do is to learn about it. In the case of psychopathy and its effects on our world, what you don’t know definitely can and will hurt you. Andrew M. Lobaczewski, Political Ponerology
Psychopathy is a virus? Please cite your source of that information.
DeleteShirley, you may wish to contact mediatorguy with your question.
DeleteI don't think he means that psychopathy has any physical virus as its cause, but that it can be a set of beliefs and an outlook towards life that can be infectious. For instance, one person's lack of empathy and consciousness can reduce the social stigma of such selfishness and lack of empathy for others.
For info on my research, visit http://predatoryleaders.com Comments and critiques are welcome.
ReplyDelete