Seriously folks, get your act together.Here is the deal as I see it (me being a conservative voter)- In 2008, Barack Obama, a man with no experience to warrant a position like the President of the United States of America, was elected as the President of the United States of America.
Why?
Voters turned against Republicans, pure and simple. They were the tipping point.
In 2010, after a far left extreme liberal agenda was jammed down America's throat, debt rising at unimaginable speed, government spending reaching monumental levels, bailouts mania, stimulus that stimulated nothing but higher unemployment and Obamacare, voters turned, yet again, and handed a victory to the GOP on the largest scale in over 70 years.
They did with the promise from the GOP that they would get serious on spending cuts, work on job creation and get the ball rolling to lower our debt.
From the 2008 election to the 2010 midterms, many of us, myself included, watched and wrote about the far left liberal so-called progressive extremists tearing the Democratic party apart, piece by piece, insisting that for the "good" of all, the far left liberal agenda should be shoved down American's throats and Americans would understand afterward what a wonderful thing Democrats had done.
How'd that work out? Huh? Huh?
Hint: 2010 Midterm elections.
So here we are, April 2011. A budget deal was negotiated, one that should have been passed last year while Democrats held the House, the Senate and White House, but the hard choices that needed to be made were too much of a "political hot potato," so they kicked the can down the road and the deal had to be made between a Republican controlled House of Representatives, a Democratically controlled Senate and a Democratically controlled White House.
The deal was made. Government didn't shut down, the GOP set the tone of discussion to surround spending, deficits and job creation by the end, and even had Obama and Harry Reid touting spending cuts as historic and the largest ever seen.
The GOP did so in a manner which kept voters (you know the people that will determine what direction and what message to send in 2012)engaged, informed and took into account that voters would rather see the major battle fought over trillions and not just billions. Those same voters, the majority, (which again for those that are slow, determine the outcome of elections) did not want to see a government shutdown over billions when the real fight is to come to cut spending by trillions.
Now I see hardcore conservatives, who admittedly are taking a principled stand, criticizing the size and scope of the deal that was made. I see them willing to tear into anyone that dares look at the good the GOP has done with the first initial battle.
Whether they admit it or not, there was plenty of good done. Starting with setting the public debate stage with the proper theme of debt, spending and jobs.
Lets take a quick look at what the GOP has accomplished, being in control of only the House of Representatives: (Via The Politico)
***The $40 billion in cuts was not only historically high, it was more than Boehner himself wanted to push for a few short months ago.
***Earmarks, which many thought would never go away, are now taboo - even to earmark addicts like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who reluctantly gave them up after the 2010 election.
***Deficits are all the rage on Capitol Hill, and will be until Congress wends its way through the debt limit fight and the next budget. The word “deficit” appeared in 470 documents in the Congressional Record between the beginning of January and the end of March, more than in any session’s opening since 1995, according to a review by POLITICO. And Americans listened: Asked by Gallup to identify the most important problem facing the nation, 13 percent said “federal debt” in March of this year, up from 8 percent a year ago.
***The broader budget debate is now fought on the tea party’s terms: It’s not whether to reduce government, it’s by how much. This helps explain why serious centrist commentators and even some liberals PRAISED a $6 trillion budget cut plan proposed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). Remember how a similar plan was received two years ago?
***Thanks to a pickup of 675 legislative seats in 2010 - many because of these budget principles
***The most sweeping work is getting done in states. Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana are now working, real-time labs for discovering how much the party can cut government - without cutting off the support of independents. A GOP senator told us the party studies what happens in these state showdowns to test the limits of what will work here. One early finding: Many think Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) went too far, too fast by gutting union power without first educating the public.
***The real fight over spending erupted in late spring of 2009, and consider the results: The GOP won the governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey in 2009; the Scott Brown Senate race in Massachusetts in early 2010; then won back the House, picked up Senate seats and captured the most state legislative seats in a single year since Watergate — all in November of last year.
Most Republicans and moderate conservatives are looking at the big picture, seeing the messaging war won, the stage for the future battle set to fight the bigger fight over trillions and time being bought to inform the public each step of the way so that the majority of the public is behind them.
All that in a few short months.
I took a political leanings test once, assumed I would come out as a moderate conservative, and was extremely surprised to see the test tell me I was in the top 10 percent of "ulta-conservative".... wow, really? I thought I was mellow.
The reason I tell you about that test is because I happen to agree with the hardcore far right extreme conservatives on quite a few of their political beliefs.
I believe the budget deal should have been fought over trillions (as the 2012 budget battle will be with Paul Ryan's GOP's Path to Prosperity). I believe a government that spends more than it takes in will go bankrupt, it is unsustainable. I believe saving billions in the face of a $14 trillion debt is ridiculous.
So far I agree with almost everything the far right wants and believes we need as a country.
So, why am I telling the far right to CUT. IT. OUT?
I disagree with how they want those goals achieved and how they are prepared to tear the Republican party into pieces as the far left progressives did with the Democratic party.
Back to the top everyone:
From the 2008 election to the 2010 midterms, many of us, myself included, watched and wrote about the far left liberal so-called progressive extremists tearing the Democratic party apart, piece by piece, insisting that for the "good" of all, the far left liberal agenda should be shoved down American's throats and Americans would understand afterward what a wonderful thing Democrats had done.
I am watching the far right head down the same path as the far left extreme portion of the Democratic party did from 2008 to 2010. I am watching the far right encourage Republican politicians to make the same mistakes the far left liberals forced their politicians to make from 2008 to 2010.
The principles, to which I agree with them on most issues, of the far right and their own thoughts on how our Representatives should achieve those principles, seem to be more important to them than the majority of the public and the voters in the upcoming elections.
Voters, the majority of them, must be behind everything that is done. They must have time to research the available information. They must be given time and the respect shown to them to decide issues for themselves without being told "you have to pass it to learn what is in it" (Nancy Pelosi, Obamacare quote)
Inevitably we see the argument how politicians shouldn't make their decisions based on "polls" and for the most part that is true but politicians are elected to represent their constituents and if the majority of voters turn against a party as they did Republicans in 2008 and Democrats in 2010, those voters can and will replace those politicians they feel did not represent them.
Most Tea Party supporters seem to have found a good balance here. They are arguing that more needs to be done at the same time acknowledging the limitations the politicians have to work with.
Ever heard the expression "pick your battles"?
The war is the 2012 budget, the one just passed was simply a skirmish to set the stage.
Politicians- Please do not make the same mistake Obama/Reid/Pelosi made. Do not allow the extreme portion of the GOP party to cause you to lose the majority of voters.
Far right- Please do not make the same mistakes the far left liberal so-called progressives made. Don't rip the Republican party to shreds when we will need them to unite and fight the biggest war to come.
We are all on the same side here. Can we start acting like it?
I am begging you... CUT. IT. OUT. Pretty please.
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