Posted by
Arik on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 10:36:04 PM
It seems Patriotism is becoming an issue in this election, more than I can recall in any other. I used to think that the Patriotism of the candidates was not in question, that the candidates involved wanted to do what was right and best for the country, however misguided their idea of what, exactly, that was might have been. I guess I was naive.
I'm not going to question Obama's patriotism. It's my impression that he wants to do what he thinks is right for the country. I have many, MANY questions about the propriety (not to mention the workability) of his plans, and the character of those he chooses to associate himself with, but I don't question that HE, at least, thinks he is doing the right thing.
Biden, on the other hand, gives the appearance of wanting to do whatever is best for Joe Biden, or for the DemocRats, regardless of what it does to the nation. So, paying more taxes is the Patriotic thing to do? I'm not rich, by any means, and I am not even in the tax bracket that Biden calls rich, nor do I have much prospect of getting there. But, I do know that raising taxes to fund entitlement programs punishes the 'haves,' and traps the 'have nots' in a cycle of dependency that is difficult, if not impossible for most to break. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, and he'll have no more reason to vote DemocRat.
And, Joe, I'm a little curious: How can Obama go from being not experienced enough to be President when you are running against him, to the greatest thing since
Toast when you are his running mate?
Now, on to the Wicked Witch of the West Coast. Pelosi berates her opponents for their lack of Patriotism, then expects them to fall in line with her and the DemocRats. Then, just before what just might be the defining vote of her tenure as Speaker, she launches into a tirade about the Bush Administration, whose bailout plan, by the way, she is championing. Has she not noticed that the only thing lower than Bush's approval rating is the approval rating of the Congress, which, oh, by the way, she is one of the two leaders of the DemocRatic majority? She puts party politics above what is best for the country, and therefore I question her patriotism as well.
The funny thing is, while I am sure there were Republicans who voted against the plan due to her tirade, my hunch is that when they saw so many DemocRats voting against the plan that THEIR OWN LEADER championed, they suspected something was not right, and wisely declined to take the bait. If she can't rally her own troops to her cause, how can she expect the Republicans follow her? She is a poor excuse for a Speaker, and an embarassment to the U.S House of Representatives.