As previously noted, Wednesday will mark the first 100 days of the Obama administration, a mere 5 months since the American voters soundly rejected the conservative platform, and its leaders. Five months since electing a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic executive branch.
Surely this week every news outlet and Internet blog will feature in one fashion or another, a report card of the Obama administration at the 100 day benchmark, but what of the G.O.P., don't they deserve the same report card and scrutiny as the current administration?
From day one, the Obama administration has sought to reach across the aisle and make the current government more inclusive and less partisan. These efforts have largely gone down as a complete failure. Although certainly more of a publicity bound stooge than a party leader, Rush Limbaugh stated the conservative viewpoint better than most when he stated, "I hope he fails."
And that is the crushing blow to any bi-partisan endeavors President Obama may undertake. They hope he fails, and in doing so, they hope the country fails. Oh they say it is a hope that socialism and liberalism fails, ideologies that are the antithesis of the Democratic agenda. To be sure, if these methods prove successful, they will leave the Republican party with an uncertain future to say the least.
So they just say no. When the administration sought input on bailouts for mega institutions like AIG, whose tentacles reach far into our countries financial institutions, they just said no. When Obama sought input on governmental bailouts for financial sectors of the country, such as the banking industry, they just said no. When the administration suggested the repeal of the tax breaks for the countries wealthiest citizens as one solution to increase revenue, they just said no.
They knew if the banking industry failed, if AIG failed, the economy would fold like a house of cards, but their only input was "no." And they know the auto industry is in dire straits financially, and they are just saying no.
They know that the past eight years of the Bush administration has dealt our standing and morale perception in the world a severe blow. Yet, when our newly elected leader does so much as shake another leaders hand, or accepts a book from him, they scream "no"!!
When the administration so much as questions the adverse effect of pumping our atmosphere with pollutants, and suggests this practice may have a long term negative effect on the planet, they scream "no."
When Obama seeks more clarity and transparency in our government, including the release of memos on the origins of the Bush administrations torture definitions and practices, they just said no. They say it weakens the countries defenses, despite merely proving what the American people already knew, we torture enemy combatants, whether by our own hands, or when shipped to secret prisons we have establish throughout the world. They say Bush / Cheney did not lie when they said we do not torture, based on a John Yoo definition and memo. This is as insulting as it was ignorant, similar to when Clinton tried in vain to redefine "sexual relations." But they kept saying no despite overwhelming concrete evidence. Yet they keep saying no.
Their strategy is obvious. Go running into the night before they vote, or support any liberal attempt to improve the country, and hope like hell he fails. Then they can run on a platform that the liberal agenda and efforts have not, and will not work. It is their only hope for political success in the future. The same calls for change used by the liberals to unseat the conservatives can be used against the dems if the country does not improve.
Battle lines have been drawn, and the first 100 days have proven that the Obama administration is not afraid to act, with or without conservative support or positive input. He has the votes for the most part, to push his agenda exactly as he sees it, and he is not afraid to take responsibility for them.
He has shown he will not take "no" for an answer, and neither should the American people, because we have an inclusionary government and process. We welcome opposing views and public discourse to shape our policies, and never so much as during the Obama administration. President Obama has publically stated that he welcomes all opinions and ideas, except one....the status quo. Because those who refuse to help, those who want the status quo despite its failures, those who wish further harm to this republic, those who wish the country to continue to slide, and those whose only answer is to say no, are the failures. And when they come up for reelection, despite whatever the current condition of the state of the union, the American electorate will have only one alternative...to say "no."
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