Calabrio said:
The situation around the world is bleak. It's not something most people want to recognize.
The situations and issues are being so complicated, and the media does such a pitifully bad job informing the public, many people dismiss the complicated issues.
Ill agree the situation around the world is bad, but come on. GW isnt helping things, he's making them worse. He wont talk to anyone that is a problem. Im not saying we should bend over for these people, there is some merit in his positions, but after 6 years of Iran and North Korea and no positive movement, you have to consider a change in strategy.
Before you say it, yes, NOW north korea seems to be moving in a better direction. But they have the nuke now. That should have been avoided.
How long do we ignore Iran? Until they have a nuke?
Lets look at Iraq... Want to know GW's biggest mistake there? (besides going to war there in the first place) Not enough troops. Bush Sr. had half a million troops and never planned on going to Baghdad or occupying the country. GW has 150,000. There is your problem right there.
Truth is - Iraq shouldnt have been attacked. Iran would have been a much better choice. Saddam had Iraq under control. You may not have liked how he did it, but he had it under his control and could be negotiated with. Iran there is no talking to. Once more, a war with Iran might have been met with more international support, especially within the middle east. (Iran isnt Arab and is generally disliked and/or feared by much of the arab world)
I will admit, these are very complicated issues to which there are no easy answers. But this is why GW surrounding himself with hawks doesnt help. Once more, his loyalty to these people is killing him as well. Many many people think Rumsfield should have been cut loose already. GW refuses to listen to people, even other republicans.
Those reasons are a big part of why this happened.
Calabrio said:
The dow has been above 12000, unemployment is a 4.4%, but now we're going to have tax increases (Democrats will allow the tax cuts to expire) and raise the minimum wage?
First, let me say thank you Calabrio. You told the truth. Dems wont increase taxes, they'll let the tax cuts expire. Same effect, but its a more accurate representation.
The trouble isnt the tax cuts, its the $3+ a gallon gas we endured, its the fiscal irresponsibility. You forget something. DO you think the guy that lives across the street from me who just had his second baby and works as a mechanic gives a crap about the dow being over 12,000? Nope. He cares about HIS wages. His income. Reality is, his income hasnt increased much in the last 6 years. He doesnt see the trickle down effect that the tax cuts for the rich have.
Before you say it, he may be stupid, but he is a voter. And he isnt alone.
Reality is that regardless of if the economy is doing better, it wasnt for a good amount of time, and people remember. The fixes GW has placed are short term ones at that. What are we doing about Social Security? What are we doing about the national Debt
As you can see, the debt has just increased and increased. Clinton brought it down a bit. But since 1980 Reagan, Bush SR and GW have done nothing to reel it in. Sure the Democrats have to consider letting tax cuts expire, but thats because the debt is crushing us and long term will hurt more. You cant keep cutting taxes without either a. reducing spending, or b. increasing taxes later.
Lets get back to the stupid voter. A little story. I was sitting in a restaurant the other day, having coffee and listening to the discussion about the Roskam - Duckworth race in the 6th district in Illinois.
One woman said she just couldnt vote for the Democrat. I asked why.. She told me its because the Demorcrats support the Death Tax and she doesnt want her family to have to pay a tax when she dies.
Read that again. I wrote it right.
This woman didnt realize the "Death Tax" is the "Estate Tax" and it only applies when the deceased leaves more then $2 million. She thought you just had to pay a tax when a family member died.
Now, Im not arguing that she's not well informed. But she understood Estate Tax immediately. My point being, the repubs renamed the Estate Tax the Death Tax for a reason. And this is a perfect example of why they did.
I see it as taking advantage of the uninformed voter and distorting the truth. Just like saying that Democrats will Increase Taxes when they let the tax cuts expire. Oh, on that note, lets remember, GW said in the beginning that the tax cuts were only temporary.
Lets talk about illegal immagration. This tough talking President who is suppose to be strong when it comes to protecting us, seems to be draggin his feet on this one. Whos coming over the border? Just Mexicans coming to work? NO. We go to war with IRAQ because they are developing WMD, which are never found, but we can let all the terrorists in the back door to our country.
One of the first things I remember when I moved into this house. I hired a landscaping company to do some work and my new next door neighbor told me he was happy to see I hired Americans and not Mexicans. My old next door neighbor, a LEGAL immigrant from Mexico, often told me how we should stop the illegals.
SO before you think Im all about the Dems - let me tell you - Im not. My attitude on this issue is simple. Throw them out. No amnesty. Throw them out. How? Simple. You make a delclaration. If your not suppose to be here, you have 60 days to get out. If your caught, your deported. If your caught again after being deported, its a 2 year prison sentence at labor. The labor? Building the wall along the border.
Ah, what about the workers? They just want to work. Ok, fill out the paperwork from our Embassy in Mexico. Then we'll consider it.
Calabrio said:
Arguably, this election makes the likelihood of another Republican President greater in 2008.
Sure it does. Because it can be a no lose situation for the repubs. Anything bad they'll blame on congress. Anything good they'll take credit for.
