Tag Archives: House

Hate D.C. Politics? YOU THE VOTER are to blame

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Terry| 1 Comment

Unbelievable…

I’m finding it increasingly difficult to blame politicians themselves for much of the ridiculous happenings in D.C.  After all, they can’t get to D.C. unless they win an election.

As tonight’s special election results in South Carolina so CLEARLY indicate…Americans are the most hypocritical, ignorant voters on the planet.  Disgraced South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford won a special election for a House seat tonight.  The man went through an incredibly scandalous affair, he used public funds to fly to Argentina to meet his mistress, he lied about his activities, and since leaving office in disgrace, he has had his wife accuse him of stalking.

And of course…he WON the election tonight!  Interviews have shown South Carolina voters who didn’t like Sanford’s behavior voted for him because of his party and what it stood for.  Hey, after all, it’s REPUBLICANS who try to claim the moral high ground!  It’s REPUBLICANS who have somehow garnered majority support from the bible-thumpin’ crowd!

But yet when push comes to shove, the same Republicans re-elect a lying, cheating, disgraced former politician, because of his PARTY and what that party supposedly stands for!?!?  Unbelievable.

Yes, Washington D.C. IS a complete mess.  But it’s also abundantly evident that the idiots in Washington are PERFECTLY representative of the idiocy of Americans in general.

We have nobody to blame but OURSELVES for what goes on in Washington…

Posted in Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tiny Penis Men Renew Fight to Compensate with Guns

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Terry| 2 Comments

Just a few months after the Newtown tragedy, America is getting back to normal.  With our incredibly short attention spans, the deaths of a few dozen children seems like a distant memory for most folks.  With the incredibly pathetic, half-hearted efforts by the Obama administration and state governments to strengthen gun legislation, we’re returning to the status quo.  Tiny-penis men across America are ramping up the fight to compensate for their shortcomings by ensuring their right to carry the largest, most destructive weapon possible.

The fight has been spearheaded by tiny-penis men in my very own state of South Dakota.  Yesterday, tiny-penis governor Dennis Daugaard signed a bill that makes South Dakota the first state that allows teachers to carry guns in class.  The bill was sponsored by tiny-penis state legislator Scott Craig, a freshmen Republican (duh), who states that now “dominoes will start to fall, people will see it’s reasonable.”  Of course it’s “reasonable”!  Do you have kids?  Picture your kid’s teacher, carrying a gun in class, trying to fight off a nut with an assault rifle.  What?  A little difficult to picture that in your mind?  Hard to see that as more “reasonable” than simply disallowing access to assault rifles?  This is the 2nd bold effort by tiny-penis South Dakota men to ensure gun rights.  Last week, they voted down a bill that would have limited gun access to mentally ill people who have been deemed “dangerous” to others.  Just like tiny-penis men, crazy people have gun rights too!!!

The tiny-penis men of South Dakota are hardly the only tiny-penis men fighting for their right to compensate.  Kansas, a state that along with South Dakota is known for having a large population of weak, tiny-penis men, is considering a bill to greatly expand concealed gun carrying on college campuses. 

Compensation efforts by tiny-penis men extend all the way to the Federal level.  At Congressional hearings this week, miniscule-penis Senator Lindsey Graham stated he owned an AR-15, arguing for folks to imagine a scenario in a post-disaster world where government breaks down and roaming gangs are a danger!  EXACTLY!  WELL thought out, tiny-penis Senator Graham!!  This is EXACTLY the kind of realistic scenario that screams for the right of tiny-penis men to carry large weapons!  In a “Mad Max” post-apocalyptic world that is sure to come, tiny-penis men NEED automatic weapons to fend off gangs of evil-doers!!

FEAR NOT, TINY-PENIS MEN!!!   In America, there are SO many of you weak, tiny-member men fighting for your compensatory gun-carrying rights, that I truly doubt you’ll never have to worry about your right to carry gigantic weapons that you’ll never have use for any practical purpose other than trying to overcome your own insecurity.  With tiny-penis men like Lindsey Graham, Scott Craig, and Dennis Daugaard fighting for you, your right to access massive weapons will forever be secure.

Posted in Culture Wars, Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Republican Strategy – Only pay SOME Of our bills

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment

Can this be true?  Can Republicans seriously be considering this “strategy” for dealing with the “difficult problem” of the debt ceiling?

Washington Post – House Republicans New Strategy

The component of the story I’m referring to isn’t the part about passing a very short-term extension to the debt ceiling, delay the inevitable until March instead of February.  The part of the story I’m referring to is this:

But he (Paul Ryan) seemed open to an idea advanced by a number of conservatives in case there is no agreement to raise the limit — he said he believes the White House would have the authority to prioritize spending in case the borrowing limit is not raised.

The “thinking” (I’m being generous) behind the brilliant GOP idea is that they DO force us past the debt ceiling date without an agreement.  Their “thinking” is that the enough tax revenue could flow in to meet SOME of our spending obligations, and that Obama and the Treasury Department could decide what priorities to pay for, and which ones to not pay for. 

Brilliant.  THAT will calm the markets.  THAT will calm Fitch and others who are threatening to downgrade the US credit rating.  Instead of defaulting on ALL our bills, Paul Ryan and other GOP Congressmen (yes, Congress “men”, because I doubt anyone other than lilly-white, GOP men are behind this) are advocating a strategy that allows Obama and the Treasury department to pay for SOME of our bills. 

Paul Ryan, you are a dangerous, dangerous man.  I for one am damned glad Romney chose you as a running mate and your team spectacularly crashed and burned on election day.  It’s not easy for a presidential election loser to come back in subsequent elections, and I can’t imagine what a disaster it would be for the U.S. if a Paul Ryan presidency ever occurred.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe ALL THE ECONOMISTS IN THE WORLD are wrong.  I do take some issue with the writer of the Post article too, in their choice of terminology, calling the debt ceiling a “difficult issue”.  It’s an artificial issue, something that used to be a formality, now being used as an incredibly dangerous political ploy. 

Ideology over country.  Gotta love the GOP.  Shrink the government, even if we have to sink the whole damned economy to do it.

Posted in Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Following Congress’ example: Sorry Ford, Not Paying my Car Loan

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment
Ford Edge

Sorry Ford, I've decided to follow Congress' example. Just as they're refusing to authorize an increase in the debt ceiling, just as they're refusing to pay for things they've already authorized, I will no longer pay my car loan until I get major concessions!

I’ve decided that precedent has been set by the best and brightest that America has to offer…our GOP-led House of Representatives.  I’ve decided to follow the shining example set by the GOP.  Ford…I’m no longer going to pay the loan bills for the car I bought last February.

Yes, Ford, I did take ownership of a shiny new Ford Edge last February.  Yes, I signed all the paperwork, agreeing to make my monthly payments on the car.  But despite receiving the car, despite agreeing to pay for it, I’m going to follow the GOP example and not pay for it unless you, Ford, agree to make concessions to me.  I didn’t spring for the integrated DVD/entertainment system in the car when I bought it.  Just for the heck of it, I’d also like to upgrade my wheel/hubcaps to an even shinier more intricate style.  In exchange for these concessions, Ford, I will make my car payments for a period of one year.  Then we’ll have to renegotiate and you’ll have to offer more concessions before I agree to pay further bills.

OK…sounds ridiculous, right?  But this is the new “logic” from the GOP-led House.  Yes, I know “logic” and “GOP House” are two phrases that are rarely ever uttered in the same sentence, but the same principle applied.  Congress sets spending and approves it. As a result of what Congress has already approved and what the president has signed, we have bills to pay.  We have a deficit.  But the GOP has decided to hold hostage our ability to actually PAY for the spending they’ve already approved.  As with the last fiasco of a debt-ceiling “negotiation”, the GOP intends to not authorize an increase in our debt ceiling without significant concessions and spending cuts in return.  In other words…they don’t want to pay the bills for what they’ve already purchased.

Given my cynical nature, it’s probably not a surprise when I say the majority of the American electorate are dumb as my (very sweet but stupid) Cocker Spaniel Cooper.  In a poll, a strong majority of Americans were against raising the debt limit.  In other words, a strong majority of Americans are stupid and unreasonable, much like our GOP-led House of Representatives.  The debt ceiling is a formality, a mechanism to allow for our bills to be paid.  Congress sets all spending levels, so it’s incredibly ballsy of them to use the debt-ceiling as a political ploy to highlight deficit spending in Washington.

Obama has said he will not negotiate over the debt ceiling increase.  Good…I hope he sticks to that, because the debt ceiling shouldn’t be something that ever needs to be negotiated.  It shouldn’t even need authorization by Congress, it should simply be required that the U.S. Treasury have the capability to always pay the bills that Congress has already authorized.  The “trillion-dollar platinum coin” issue has been making the rounds as an option for Obama to bypass Congress if the GOP continues to play with economic disaster by making the debt-ceiling a political football.  Frankly, I hope Obama does it.  I hope he bypasses Congress and shows the world how incredibly ridiculous the House GOP is.

I’m also glad to see Obama’s Cabinet picks.  I’m glad to see Joe Biden say that Obama is willing to go it alone on gun control and sign executive orders to address gun violence.  Enough is enough.  Obama is a 2nd-term president, winning in an election where Democrats also made gains in the Senate despite having many more Democratic Senators up for reelection than Republicans, and winning in an election where Democrats HAD MORE THAN A MILLION more national votes for the House than did Republicans.  The American people have spoken, and they chose Democratic leadership.  Obama should be willing to stock his Cabinet with whomever he pleases without GOP whining or threats of filibuster, especially since confirmation of cabinet posts has been a formality in the past.  If a GOP is more concerned about campaign contributions and politics than about the safety of our children, a reasonably popular 2nd-term president should be able to do what he can to make sure gun violence is addressed.

Let the madness stop.  End the political gridlock.  It looks like Obama has gotten the message and is standing his ground (finally).  In the meantime, I’ll keep paying my car loan…

Posted in Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

House Repubs Shoot Down Violence Against Women Act

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Terry| 1 Comment

The Violence Against Women Act has been in effect since 1994.  It provides government funding for programs to combat domestic violence, including support for domestic violence victims.  The Senate passed a reauthorization of the VAWA back in April.  The House?  They first tried watering the Senate bill down so much that Senate balked and Obama said he’d veto the House version.  Since the House version didn’t pan out the House has chosen to simply ignore it, and not address the issue again in 2012.  As a result, for the first time in 18 years, the VAWA hasn’t been reauthorized.  Government funding for domestic violence programs is now set to sharply decline.

Unbelievable.  The fiscal cliff debacle was just the tip of the iceberg for the House GOP.  Over 2 months after Hurricane Sandy, and the House GOP was still refusing to bring up disaster relief…until Chris Christie and others blasted the incompetence of the GOP today.  JUST prior to the fiscal cliff vote, the GOP brought up a bill to freeze Government salaries for another year (this would be 3 years now with a pay freeze)…an incredibly transparent play to cover their asses for their embarrassing handling of the fiscal cliff.  Agricultural interests and many responsible politicians (are there any left?) are up in arms over the handling (or lack thereof) of the farm bill by the House GOP.

So…any confidence that the House GOP will be sensible in 2 months, when it’s time to address the sequestration delay, the debt limit, and funding government for the rest of the year?  Unbelievable…

Posted in Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Republican Meltdown – Politics First, Country Last

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment

If their actions weren’t so harmful, it would be very easy to take delight in the Republican Party’s meltdown right now.  Ideology now rules the GOP, to the extent that the Tea Party wing of the GOP would rather sink the nation than give in on tax issues. 

This was it.  This was the best chance to seriously address budget deficits.  After the Simpson-Bowles recommendations, after serious efforts by Obama and Boehner to craft a “grand bargain” last year, and again earlier in the fiscal cliff debate, there was  real chance to tackle deficits through a balanced approach that cut spending and raised taxes.  Obama was even giving in on entitlements, offering concessions that many Democrats abhorred. 

But alas, the GOP has become a one-trick pony, a one-issue party.  The only issue the GOP seems capable of addressing is shrinking government.  That’s not necessarily bad, if the GOP held a pragmatic, rational view of how to shrink government.  Hell, I’m as liberal as they come, but I agree we need to cut spending (how about starting with the Defense budget???)  The GOP’s stance isn’t necessarily bad, if the GOP also accepted modest revenue increases as a way to help balance budgets.  It’s not necessarily bad, if the GOP had a rational PLAN to shrink the government in an intelligent manner, using a scalpel to trim the fat, instead of using a meat cleaver to decapitate the patient.

Instead, we have a GOP that has decided ideology is more important than deficit reduction.  A small number of simple-minded, ideologically rigid, inflexible SOBs in the GOP House have made compromise impossible.  They have made effective governance impossible.  By sticking to ideology, they have scuttled a deal that could have gone a long way to solving our budget issues.  Instead, we’re stuck with a very small deal that does very little to solve our long-term budget problems.  And even this incredibly minor deal was unpalatable to the Tea Party wing of the GOP, with House Republicans voting against it by a 2-to-1 margin, despite the devastating consequences to our economy if nothing were passed.

The GOP is in free fall.  They’ve become so irrational, so full of hate for Obama and Democrats, that all hope is lost for pragmatic compromises or rational governance.  We’re at a stage where the most powerful of GOP kingpins has become so “small”, literally (in terms of power) and figuratively (in terms of respectability), that John Boehner is walking the halls of the Capitol yelling loudly at Democratic leadership to “Go fuck off”. 

So here we sit, with a minor increase in taxes that does little to address our deficit issues.  Here we sit, with another manufactured crisis looming, as a 2-month delay in “sequestration”, the debt-limit increase, and funding for the government for the rest of the fiscal year all come into play at the same time.  Round 2 – a resounding, yet hollow “win” for Obama and the Democrats.  With the coming Round 3, we may just have  knockout blow where the victim/loser isn’t Obama/Democrats or the Republicans, but instead, it’s the American economy and political system.

Posted in Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Folly indeed – Our Non-representative House of Representatives

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
GOP Cliff Diving

The House of Representatives is anything but representative. Democratic House candidates received more votes than Republicans in this past election, yet thanks to gerrymandered districts, Republicans somehow maintain House control. The non-representative House of Representatives is about to drive the economy to ruin, defying what Americans want from these negotiations.

And over the cliff we go…

Early on Monday, it appeared that a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff was within sight.  President Obama agreed to spending cuts, including cuts in entitlement spending.  Many Democrats weren’t happy that Obama evidently agreed to a change in the way inflation is calculated for adjusting federal benefits.  Obama also moved on his prior insistence that tax rates go up for all earners over $250,000, raising that number to $400,000.  John Boehner finally gave in and agreed that tax rates would have to rise for high earners.  With the moves from Obama and Boehner, on Monday, a deal appeared imminent.

Then, within the course of a few hours, John Boehner caved to the conservative nutjobs that control the Republican Party.  Suddenly Boehner’s “Plan B” appeared, where Republicans would unilaterally pass legislation in the House that extended tax cuts for everyone making less than $1 million a year.  It was purely a political ploy, as passage of such a bill in the House would only serve as a political tool Republicans could wield in trying to convince the public they were being reasonable on fiscal cliff negotiations.

Yesterday, Boehner pulled “Plan B” in the House and adjourned for the holidays.  They couldn’t even get enough votes within their own party to pass the legislation.  One and a half months after a disaster of an election for Republicans, and they still haven’t seemed to have gotten the message that the political winds have changed.  Republicans are still allowing the radical conservative wing of the party to dictate the party’s direction.

Why are we in this mess?  Why, with months to find a solution to this mess, are we about to merrily tumble over the fiscal cliff, even when politicians know the severe harm it will cause to our economy?  Look no further than our non-representative House of Representatives.

Conservatives constantly point to the Constitution and our founding fathers on issues such as gun rights and other issues.  I wonder what the founding fathers would think of today’s political system that allows for a House of Representatives to be composed of a NON-representative suite of politicians.  Even with the political and economic headwinds against him, Obama decisively beat Romney. Even with Democrats defending many more seats than Republicans, Democrats managed to GAIN seats in the Senate.  In the House?  DEMOCRATIC HOUSE CANDIDATES RECEIVED MORE VOTES IN THE HOUSE THAN DID REPUBLICAN HOUSE CANDIDATES!!! Yet thanks to a system that allows state legislatures to gerrymander House districts, Republican-controlled states managed to game the system and send more Republican House members to Washington than the vote of the American people would imply.

In short, our House of Representatives is anything BUT representative.  The American people are strongly siding with Obama’s positions in the fiscal cliff negotiations.  But thanks to gerrymandered House districts that allowed Republicans to control the House, despite receiving a minority of the votes, fiscal cliff negotiations are going nowhere.  Gun control legislation will go nowhere, despite the tragedy in Newtown.  ANY significant legislation is likely to go nowhere over the next 2 years, thanks to a Republican-controlled House who continues to insist on defying the voice of the American people, and instead focus on the path set forward by the hyper-radical conservative wing of their party.

Given what happened in the November election, given that the American people are behind him on the fiscal cliff issue, and given all the political clout Obama SHOULD have on the fiscal cliff issue, Obama has gone much further to meet Republicans in these negotiations than many think he needed to go.  But here we are 10 days away from tumbling over the cliff, and our non-representative House of Representatives have walked out on the Obama/Boehner negotiations, and have adjourned for the holidays.  Boehner even had the gall to say that it’s “now up to Obama and Harry Reid” to pass legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff.  WHAT THE HELL??  Republicans close up shop and leave Washington, and then have the guts to say it’s up to Obama and Harry Reid to solve this?

I hope the American people are paying attention.  In general, in mid-term elections, the president’s party losing seats in Congress.  I hope the American people say enough is enough in 2014, and, despite the gerrymandered districts, move us towards a more representative House of Representatives.  As it stands now, a handful of right-wing nutjobs are about to send the entire American economy over the cliff.

Posted in Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The “New” Face of the GOP

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
White Male House GOP Committee Chairs

From the DailyKos story, the 19 House Committee chairs named by Republicans this week. Hmmm...what do these 19 folks all have in common? Is the face of the "new" Republican Party, the one that supposedly learned a lesson from the 2012 elections?

Three weeks after the election, and it’s quite obvious that Republicans have already forgotten the lessons learned about the electorate, about diversity, and about moderating stances.  As these stories from Slate and the DailyKos note, EVERY House GOP Committee chair that’s been named so far is a white male.  Shocking!!!  As my wife would state, the “Hairy Old White Men” still rule the roost in the GOP house. 

After two straight presidential elections that have proven Republicans can’t rely on the “White Vote” strategy any longer, there were immediate calls from many on the right to become more inclusive.  Boehner and the GOP leadership in the House missed that memo.  As I’ve stated before, I GLADLY support the status quo in the Republican Party leadership.  As long as the status quo holds, as long as Republicans cling to policies and behavior from the past, they’re destined to lose many more elections.

There were also many after the election who claimed it was the death knell of the Tea Party, that Tea Party conservatism was too extreme for the American public.  There’s little doubt that the Tea Party backed candidates performed miserably in Congressional races, and helped contribute to the stunning Democratic gains in the Senate, when by every historical standard, Republicans should have gained Senate seats this cycle.  So have Republicans begun to move towards more moderate candidates?

Virginia Republicans certainly haven’t learned their lesson.  In a state Romney was sure he’d win, in a traditionally “safe” Republican state that’s now shifted to blue the last 2 elections, Virginia Republicans have rallied around conservative lightning rod Ken Cuccinelli for governor in 2013. Among Cuccinelli’s MANY claims to fame?  Trying to sue a Virginia climate-change scientist to release his emails…opposing ObamaCare…opposing limits on carrying guns…opposing rights or assistance for illegal immigrants…and the hits keep on a comin’. 

Bravo, Repubs.  Don’t give in!  Don’t go against what you believe in!!  Don’t deviate from your current single-minded focus on turning the U.S. into a conservative Nirvana!! 

As long as you continue to act as if the 2012 election never happened…Democrats like myself will be fat and happy for a VERY long time.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Boehner’s “Generous” Offer for Compromise

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment

Yesterday, John Boehner tried to set the tone for “compromise” on debt negotiations.  It sounded good.  After a very tumultuous, brutal election, it sounded good for the Republican House to come out and say they were willing to deal with Obama on the debt.

It remains to be seen what Boehner means by “compromise”.  Note the language of his statement. He specifically says they’re willing to raise ‘revenue’.   From his comments yesterday, Boehner still says Republicans are unwilling to raise tax rates on the rich.  HUH!?!?!  How is that compromise?  After the election, even some hard-core conservatives admitted that tax increases had to be part of any realistic deal to cut the debt.  Yet despite Boehner’s “magnanimous” offer yesterday to compromise, Republicans are still unwilling to raise tax rates on the rich.

How do you raise “revenue” without raising taxes?  According to Boehner, Republicans plans for raising revenue comes from a “byproduct of a growing economy, energized by a simpler, cleaner, fairer tax code, with fewer loopholes, and lower rates for all.”  WTF!?!?!   This is EXACTLY what Romney had been campaigning on!!!  It’s the same old trickle-down economics “solution”!!!  Cut taxes!! Then we will magically generate new revenue simply because the economy is growing!!!

Nice political play, Boehner.  You certainly fooled the press into getting a big headline.  Right after an election, you made it LOOK like Republicans were being magnanimous.  It sets Boehner and the Republicans up more favorably when negotiations start, and I’m sure you’ll hear today’s proclamation referenced to, when Republicans refuse to raise taxes and blame Obama.

Posted in Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Environmental Protection Agency – South Dakota’s “Boogeyman”

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment

I swear I live in a place where stupidity and greed are viewed as virtues…

In South Dakota, we haven’t been totally swamped by political ads.  Presidential candidates certainly aren’t going to waste any money here.  Hell will freeze over before a Democratic presidential candidate wins South Dakota.  However, South Dakota is getting to be known for corny, ridiculous political ads for in-state battles.  Jeff Barth, a Democrat who was running for South Dakota’s lone House seat, had an ad go viral on YouTube this spring.  In the ad, Barth walks along while a series of corny props show up in his path, including a gun that Barth picks up and fires.  Barth did end up losing.

The House race is between Kristi Noem, the Republican (of course) incumbent, and Matt Varilek, Democrat. Noem had her own ad go viral this week, a ridiculous ad that makes all of South Dakota look like a bunch of dumb hicks.  In the ad, Noem compares her experiences in South Dakota, winning awards from the state soybean council and working on a farm, to Varilek, who is apparently wasting his time traveling the world, getting graduate degrees, and working for the United Nations.  Her point?  To supposedly make Varilek look like he’s out of touch, I guess…for you see, here in South Dakota, if you travel the world, get a graduate degree, and work for the U.N., it evidently makes you uppity and out of touch with “real” South Dakotans.

Don’t ask what I think of the “real” South Dakotan.  I’m sitting here watching football tonight, and there have been a number of political ads, including more for Kristi Noem.  The talking point for Repub political candidates in the state?  Stopping “Obama and EPA regulations” that evidently are killing the state.  It’s not just Noem that has used the supposed evils of the EPA in attack ads against a Democratic opponent.  I just saw an ad for Kristi Fiegen, an incumbent with the Public Utilities Commission, that also used the evil EPA as a reason why South Dakotans should vote for her.  After all, EVERYONE knows that when you control the mighty South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, you control the EPA, and the world.  Vote for Fiegen!!  Otherwise the evil EPA and their regulations will ruin South Dakota!!

Everyone needs a boogeyman, I guess, and for Republicans of all flavors in South Dakota, it seems like the EPA is somehow the boogeyman de jour.  After all, it’s more important for farmers and industry in South Dakota to make an extra buck, than it is to protect the air, water, and land that our children will depend upon.  I’m young enough that I guess I don’t understand when the terms “environment” or “conservation” became dirty words to Republicans.  For god’s sake, it was Nixon who established the EPA. It was Nixon who established the Endangered Species Act.  It was Nixon who signed the Clean Air Act.  Yes, public pressures at the time were important in moving Nixon to establish a number of environmental programs, but Republicans as a whole USED to believe in environmental and conservation issues.

Why have Republicans become so averse to supporting environmental issues?  When did things start to turn?  The naive side of me can’t understand why environmental and conservation issues ARE political issues.  The naive side of me can’t understand how ANY party, how any human being, can be so unconcerned about the world our children will live in.

However, the naive side of me is dwarfed by my cynical side.  The cynical side knows the reason.  People are inherently selfish SOBs, so much so, that their short-term pursuit of the almighty dollar is more important to them than what kind of world they leave their children.  As with every other issue in America, it’s been branded as a black-or-white issue…it’s either economic growth, or environmental conservation.

I do find it rather pathetic to sit here tonight and watch commercials, where South Dakota politicians feel that opposing the EPA, an agency charged with PROTECTING the health of our citizens, is a winning play for getting votes.  Are South Dakotans really that gullible?  Are they really that stupid?  Given how South Dakotans typically vote, it’s pretty obvious what the answer is.

Posted in Environmental Awareness, Politics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,