Contrary to what you might think, I'm a Constitutionalist. Now to a liberal, that would be "right", and as a matter of fact, it is right. I might even be more "right" than hard core Republicans. The difference is, I don't care which party a candidate belongs to, if they aren't adhering to the Constitution, they don't get my support. Any publication that supports one party over the other, or thinks our problems can be solved by changing Presidents has their head where the sun doesn't shine. Think about, whats really changed in the last 30 years? Yes people are having to work longer hours to pay all the taxes. Have we changed Presidents? Many times. Have things improved? Not on bit. Government has no business delving into social programs. Social programs are State and local issues to be solved at that level. Now we have generation after generation convinced its the governments place to take care of them. With higher taxes. Hard to save anything when the government leaves precious little. People cry and moan about job loss. I'll admit, its a problem. Don't know about you but I saw it coming better than 10 yrs ago. What's the solution. Downsize your wants, exercise financial common sense and be flexible in employment.
About ART's article. I know you liberals love to hear the rich denounced, even as you long to see a guy married to an $800 million trust fund as President, but are you so intoxicated by the rhetoric that you don't pay any attention to what is being said? First of all, we know that the concept of the "rich" is somewhat bogus. Why? Becuase today's rich have a habit of dying off or losing or spending or giving away their money, and today's poor and middle class have a very good chance of becoming tomorrow's rich. Let's talk about that writer's priorities. He wants to end tax breaks for the rich and extend them to small business. Oops, turns out that most of the "rich" that the Dem's so despise ARE small business owners and operators. So which is it guys, are you going to raise their taxes or cut them? No doubt Kerry will want to be on both sides of that issue, as he is on some many others. By the way, did you know he served in Nam? But what about all those jobs that went overseas? OK, let's just forget for a moment about the onerous union contracts, make work rules and high wages that make US manufacturing uncompetitive. Ditto the environmental reg's, the taxes, the unemployment comp, the health care and other benefits, the endless discrimination complaints and the miles of redtape. Let's pretend that trial lawyers like John Edwards didn't drive entire industries into bankruptcy, and that they don't raise the cost of everything from health care to football helmets. Let's pretend that it is easy to get enough workers in the US to do all these jobs and that they are just as motivated, just as polite to customers, just as eager to please as the workers in Inida, the Phillipines or wherever. Let's forget that Kerry voted for NAFTA and trade normalization with China and Edwards for the latter, even as he claims he "would have" voted against NAFTA if he'd been in the Senate. Let's forget that they both voted against the 50,000 highpaying jobs that Alaska oil drilling would produce, even though the unions begged them not to. No, let's focus on the rich, the heads of these evil corporations that have sent American jobs overseas. Which Democrat has proposed a law banning this practice? Kerry and Edwards are both sitting Senators, why haven't they addressed it already? Of course, that would be Kerry's first piece of legislation in 15 years in the Senate, and Edwards has been AWOL almost since he bought his seat. At least their hearts are in the right place. Kerry's rich wife wrinkled her nose the other day at the thought of Walmart. "They destroy communities." she said. Later it was revealed that she bought $1 million of stock in the company a year or so ago. Whatever. Wage arbitrage is a serious issue. The appropriate response to it is not clear to me. There are manymore beneficiaries from free trade than losers, but there are losers for sure. No doubt German and Japanese auto unions are still angry about "their" jobs being exported to the US. Are the Dem's against that too? Maybe, since their US workers no doubt are Walmart shoppers.
The out-of-control right is much more of a danger to our democracy than the left. At least at this time. m
Well, who the hell are you? Did you serve in Viet Nam? Kerry earned the right to criticize the Viet Nam war. And except for the most radical revisionists, it was an incredibly stupid and wasteful conflict. Kerry and others who opposed the war may have saved thousands of US soldiers lives. m
What a crock. As if you know exactly what his motives were. How about Georgie? What were his noble motives for getting Daddy to help him into the Guard. Did a crappy C student like Dubya deserve that spot in the Air Guard? Hell no. Favoritism pure and simple. And now he glibly sends others to their death and thumps his chest and says 'bring 'em on'. What POS. m
What a silly dodge. Tell me what you said when Clinton was Pres? Bush's alignment with the wealthy and powerful has tilted the playing field ever more against the average American. It is hurting our democracy. m
Mackie, in case you aren't aware of it, this country was never suppose to be the Democracy as its practiced today. What we have is exactly what the Democrats have strived for for the last 30 years. What we have now is closer to socialism then the Republic the founding fathers envisioned for us. Socialist countries NEVER succeed. Why milk the cow if you can get it delivered. I'd like to see this Democracy threatened. I'd like to get back to personal opportunity and responsibility. People need to be rewarded for their ambition instead of having everything taken away and given to those unwilling to become the best they can. If you constantly punish those who are taking the risk, sacrificing now for a better future, work longer hours with less pay as self employed, where is the motivation to be anything but a slave to someone else. If you want a socialist country, move to Sweden or some place like that. If you want to live in a country that gives you the opportunity to excel, stop fighting against what the founding fathers intended.
Quite right. Women weren't supposed to vote and be part of our democracy, slaves weren't supposed to be free or part of the democracy, minorities and those who were not land owners weren't supposed to vote... Damnit, let's get back to those good old fashioned values that made this country great! America, love it the way it was over 200 years ago or leave it!!!
Who are you talking about? Aren't you getting carried away just a bit? Who had everything taken away from them - Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, George Soros? Just because they are in a slightly higher tax bracket is enough for you to claim that they had everything taken away from them? Let alone the fact that they have access to the best tax and legal loopholes, best lawyers and accountants money can buy. They have access to the best polititians money can buy, they lobby and virtually write laws beneficial for them, not necessarilly for the country. The loopholes are deliberately built into the laws to provide them with benefits not available for the rest of us. Do not worry about the rich. They do not seem to complain and on balance pay significantly less then an average Joe. They occasionally have nice little perks too. Look, we are having a war for the sake of Halliburton, courtesy of american taxpayers.