Okay, so in case most of you don't already know, the President is scheduled to give a huge speech this Thursday regarding the jobless rate and job creation in the country. It's to a joint session of congress, which is typically reserved for an emergency situation like going to war, a terrorist attack, etc.
Before I get any critics starting to scream at me, let me set the record straight. I absolutely think the joint session of Congress forum is absolutely appropriate to have such a speech. We ARE in an emergency situation that needed to be addressed two years ago, and most definitely needed to be addressed all this year. So for all you critics out there going "he should have just submitted it in writing to the Congress," I completely and wholeheartedly disagree with you. This is a dire situation we are in, and it's time that President Obama actually used his bully pulpit to push some stuff through.
Now, with that said, a lot of controversy is in the political punditry about what he should or should not say and do. This blog is basically to sum up my feelings on the entire situation, and what Mr. Obama needs to do to win my vote next year. Yes, it's that serious. I'm fed up.
Mr. Obama needs to quit being such a spineless pushover to the Speaker of the House and the House of Republicans. I'm serious! I voted for a man with such a vision of how America could be, and was hoping to see that man throughout the last three years. He appears every once in a while - usually when answering questions off the cuff at town hall meetings or local events. But I NEVER see that man at a prepared speech to the nation, or to lawmakers. It's very frustrating.
Mr. Obama needs to ditch the teleprompter, use old fashion note cards, and not be afraid to ad-lib if necessary. He needs to respond to the room, the feeling, the temperature, the responses and not place applause lines in expecting the members of Congress to agree or not agree simply because he wants them to. He needs to speak like Michael Douglas does in "The American President," with heart, with conviction, and finally, like a true democrat.
For those of you who know me, you know that I advocate working in the middle, avoiding bi-partisan bickering in order to compromise. The problem, however, is that the rules of the game were switched on Mr. Obama from the moment he took office, and everybody but Mr. Obama himself has realized it. There is no compromising with this republican party, because this republican party has made it THEIR PRIORITY to ensure that Mr. Obama is a one-term president. Even Senator Mitch McConnel has said in not so many words that it is his mission to see the President fail.
So I ask you Mr. President, if the rules of the game have been changed, and there is no compromise with the republican party, why do you keep talking in rhetoric like you're going to see a compromise form John Boehner and his house republicans? What in the world makes you think that you're going to see him move even an inch closer to the center where you currently stand and wait? No Mr. President, he has slowly and surely pulled your politics to the right and has titled you so far away from where you once stood, it's not even funny.
Do you want to know why your approval rating is so low Mr. President? It's not because you passed health care, or because you want to raise taxes on corporations. No, it's because you have bowed to the republicans every step of the way. Most Americans want to see a universal health care system, and MOST Americans wanted to see a public option. But when that option was no longer a possibility you pissed off the liberals. And now, after the Debt Ceiling debate finally passed, we find that yet again, you gave up a little bit more yardage and unfortunately you sit on the republicans side of the field as we move into one of the worst jobless situations we've seen in decades. Your approval rating isn't low because people don't agree with your original policies. Your approval rating is low because you've given too much back to the republicans and your base is PISSED. I am, and many of the people who voted for you in 2008 are as well.
You need to walk into the House on Thursday night with an agenda. You need to walk in with a "my way or the highway mentality." Yes, you do. More partisanship is exactly what the country DOES need FROM YOU. It's not counter-intuitive, it's the fact that the country needs to see a man take charge of his convictions and not sway with the wind. Because, it's there, whether you like it or not. The republicans know your game and they will continue to take and take and take from you and will never give anything up to you. So why in the world would you walk into the House Thursday and start in the middle with things you THINK the republicans would be willing to compromise on? Whether or not they are anything the republicans agreed about before or not, their #1 priority is to get rid of you. The easiest way to do that is to block anything you have to propose. So if you start in the middle with things you THINK the republicans would agree to, and they end up saying no to even those then you lose anyway. You look like a coward to the left, and still are hated on the right.
You need to walk into that House on Thursday and you need to go big with leftist ideas. RAISE taxes on corporations, and those Americans making $250,000 or more a year, even more so on those Americans making $1 million or more a year, and even more on those Americans making $10 million or more a year. You know the facts just as I do - we pay less and taxes than we have in the last fifty years. Make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. Next, FUND another stimulus. You have to spend more money. The deficit is NOT the problem right now and unfortunately the debt ceiling fight was merely a distraction to the problem in front of us - we need to spend our way out first, and then deal with the deficit. Construction projects, high-speed railways, green-project initiatives, more fuel efficient cars, more government jobs all need to be proposed WITH SPECIFICS AND DEADLINES. Don't just get up there and spew the same old rhetoric out there. Tell me where and when you want to see these done - get those local communities excited. Oh yeah, make it fair for us to send products overseas at a fair tariff and tax overseas companies that ship products over here the same they tax us. Tax companies that ship American jobs overseas more than you tax companies that don't. These are all things that will grow our economy.
Once you've proposed them - force the Republicans into a deadline. Say it right on stage, "Mr. Boehner, I expect a vote on this by October 1st; Mr. Boehner I expect to see a bill on my desk by November 30th." Make them be the bad guys, make them make the choice. If they go along with you GREAT! Then we get jobs back in America. If they don't go along with you, then the American people will see that you did your part but the Republican party didn't do theirs. Don't pass it as some omnibus legislation; each bill should be its own, and each bill should be voted on. If the republicans are truly obstructionists and want America to fail, put them on the record, because in 2012 the American people can see when a republican has voted not to lower taxes, or to put America back to work, and in 2012, they will choose the true party of the people - the democrats. And then you can finally have your way, the American way and get us moving again.
YOU NEED TO PLAY HARDBALL MR. PRESIDENT and quit being spineless. You need to quit being the adult in the room. The American People are the adults in the room and you need to take what is rightfully yours. If you don't start acting like the liberal democratic president that I elected, you will not get re-elected Mr. President. I am upset, I'm pissed that I have a president that won't act like a president. Quit getting pushed around by Boehner the bully! Please!
The old phrase of "if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything," seems to be applying to you and it's truly disturbing. You haven't stood up for anything that you want to pass and because of that, you're falling for everything the republicans SAY they'll compromise on, only to yank it away and pull you even more right. America will stand behind you if you stand up for the true progressive agenda, because, at heart, most Americans are progressive. Mr. President, it's time to start acting like the President.
Sincerely,
Casey Wooley
COMMENTS WELCOMED.
