Our political system would work a whole lot better if our two "opposing" parties were on the same page at the same time. For instance, Republicans opposed the filibuster when they had the White House, and now, with a Democratic president, it's considered an essential tool of government. (I know, I know, the GOP are "tools" of government)
As another example, in 2006 and 2008, the Democratic Party rode into power on a wave of anti-war sentiment. But now, with antiwar sentiment momentarily distracted by the continuing ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the Democratically controlled House has voted for more funding for the Afghanistan quagmire, President Obama has formally disavowed the July 2011 draw down date. Meanwhile, the Democratically controlled US Congress and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed new US sanctions against Iran, a prelude to war with that country.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, most Republicans now think the Iraq War was a mistake. Some have even gone as far as to call it "Illegal and immoral". I wonder, though, is this true regret, or is this an excuse, in that great game of Risk that has become US foreign policy in the Middle East, an excuse to move our troops in Iraq to it's immediate neighbor to the east. Or, maybe the change of heart within his own party and the fact that as an architect of a policy they are calling illegal he could now be prosecuted for war crimes has led Dick Cheney to the hospital. Don't worry, Dick. All this posturing is, I'm sure, just that, as Americans look closely at what we haven't accomplished after many years, many lives, and many, many more dollars wasted in a region of the world far removed from our back yards.
The problem is the learned helplessness of the two party system. Unable to think outside of the box, they are trapped in the Republican/Democrat box. Both parties have been in power on and off, for at least the last century, both parties have brought the country to the state it's in, and yet, people keep hoping that maybe this election cycle, or the next will bring real change if their party gets the control it needs.
Good luck with that. Evil 'A' vs. Evil 'B' is still evil.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
War is very profitable, and the people who make the profits write the biggest campaign checks.
"That great game of Risk that has become US foreign policy." I think that's America's dilemma in a nutshell. Most of our legislators are so sheltered and pampered and comfortable inside their little bubble, they think of the rest of the world as just little plastic armies on a Risk board. "Ha ha, I've got more armies than you and I just conquered your country. Hee hee, this is fun."
libhom,
The military-industrial complex is like a vicious circle. They profit from tax payer money, then take some of that profit to elect politicians who will give them more funding, so they can make more profit, so they can elect more politicians. It's no wonder our "defense" budget is equal to the next ten nations in the world.
Tom,
They don't seem to realize that those are real people they're dropping bombs on, that's for sure.
Post a Comment