Churning

Okay. I’ve watched all the political debates, the ads, the stump speeches and about as many plaudits, pundits, and Spinmeisters I can take and I have come to this conclusion:
IF YOU ARE VOTING FOR BUSH, YOU ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION!
How’s that for a partisan slant?
Really, folks, take a look at what is going on today.
Healthcare. Nearly 20% of the American public is uninsured or seriously underinsured medically. This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Fourteen years ago I said that health insurance would be at crisis level as it was being ignored. My heart sank in 1993 when corporate greed-mongers and their lackeys, the Republican Party, quelled Clinton’s Universal insurance plan.
If you do not think this affects you, just wait. Your co-payments and premiums are about to jump big time…much bigger than you have experienced in the past. If you are retired, Medicare is going up 17% and the drug companies continue their upward spiral on the costs of drugs. That of course takes away any benefits (if there ever were any) from Bush’s so called Medicare fix that provided seniors with “help” on prescription drugs.
No need to worry? You have healthcare through your retirement package? Get that heart bypass while you can. Companies have been on a rampage dropping retiree benefits as fast as they can. Employee benefits are next.
Jobs. The jobless rate is hovering around 5.2%, but this is very misleading. It does not count those who have not been able to find a job and have dropped off the unemployment rolls as their benefits ran out. Nor does it count those who are underemployed, taking part-time, temporary or full-time employment at far less pay than they had been receiving before being laid off. Taking those factors into account it is estimated that the “un” or “under” employment rate is more like 7% and could be as high as 8.5%. A far less rosy picture than Smirky and friends would have you believe.
Foreign Policy. What foreign policy? Smirky and company have opted out of the rest of the world, other than those countries they have chosen to invade for no reason. The closest they get to international relations is handing out tax breaks to international corporations. The Bush foreign policy is, “We got missiles!” and “Don’t be Evil.” That is about it.
Terrorism. See foreign policy.
I’ve got to tell you, I have no idea why more than half the American public like the way Bush is handling the “WAR ON TERROR.” He abdicated the hunt for Al Queida and Osama bin Laden to invade Iraq (which is quickly descending into another Vietnam.) What the hell do they see that makes them feel safer? Orange Alerts? Sadaam in jail? What does that have to do with 9/11? It certainly can’t be the Patriot Act, which succeeded only in giving our esteemed Attorney General the power to ship you off Guantanamo (sp?) Bay, never to be heard from again. So what is it? His smirk? Dick Cheney’s ability to tell a US Senator to go _________ himself? No really, I would like to know!
Government Spending. The national debt is now at an all time high and rising fast. Why? Tax cuts for the wealthy contributors who keep Bush and his ilk in office. Most corporations pay NO TAXES. That’s right, none, zip, nada. That’s fine for Bush and friends, but it isn’t fine for you or your children. (If you’re thinking “Hey! I got a tax break, too!” Take a look at how much you got back; now subtract the cost of gas, food, healthcare etc. Now tell me about your tax cut.) The national debt has a direct affect on the economy, driving interest rates and inflation up and when all us baby Boomers start retiring soon, you can kiss Social Security goodbye… and that is exactly what the Republican Party has wanted to do since FDR. Every dime we have been paying toward Social Security for the last 20 years has been borrowed by the government to build such needed things as Star Wars Defense systems and to invade that threat of threats to the American Way, Iraq. Don’t think the Republicans don’t know it. They signed the IOUs.
Education. No Child Left Behind; the shining beacon of education reform that Bush shoved through congress with pipe dream promises has left behind about half a million children a year since Bush took office. Why? Bush’s tax cut took away education funding so what you have is a bill that says kids have to do better, but essentially no money to pay for it. Well, that isn’t exactly true. The money has actually been rerouted to such important issues as tax breaks for hog farmers and other pork spread around to Bush and Company. What we have here is a back door attempt to legitimize vouchers. “See, Public schools are not performing! We need vouchers for Right-wing Christian Schools!”
In his book, “What’s The Matter With Kansas?” Thomas Frank attempts to find answers to many questions such as why supposedly bright folk would vote against their own economic interests. For example, why would a blue-collar worker, laid off, no health insurance, and deeply in debt still vote for the corporate interests who put him there? Frank says it is because activist neocon Republicans and Corporate manipulators have fooled the nation into believing that their best interest is morals and down-home talk rather than stands on hard questions of policy. I think it is because they are NOT PAYING ATTENTION!

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