I got into an ill-advised political "discussion" last weekend with a couple of acquaintances. I say "ill-advised" for a couple of reasons. One is that I'd had a snootful of gin & tonics at the time - and probably was not at my peak ability to coherently state my positions. And two - I'd violated one of my own cardinal rules of avoiding political discussions with people who are incapable of looking past the ends of their Obama hating noses to see the forest for the trees.
Both of the individuals I'm speaking of are small business owners. Both seem to be of the view that the evil Obama is out to destroy their small businesses. I'm not going to get into and outline the efforts the Obama administration has made to assist small business owners since winning the White House, because the information is out there, publicly available, and if these individuals were truly interested in knowing the facts, all they have to do is make the effort to seek out that information for themselves.
But here's what really kills me. The GOP had control of Congress from 1994 thru 2006 and control of all 3 branches of government from 2000-2006. During the time that the GOP had unbridled control of all 3 branches of government for the first 6 years of Bush's regime, they pretty much steamrolled the hapless Democrats with every right-wing, big corporation/wealthy elitist loving, wet dream piece of legislation they could gleefully shove down the Democrat's throats.
The Democrats wrested control of Congress away from Republicans in 2006 due mostly to Americans pretty much coming to the long overdue conclusion that the GOP was incompetent at governing and their governing policies were doing more harm to the country than good. So what does one of my acquaintances say when informed of this? I'll paraphrase --
"aha!" "you see - the Democrats get control and the country goes belly up!" Sigh . . . I mean - how do you deal with folks who create their own alternate universe of reality like that? They conveniently omit any role the GOP may have played in setting the stage for economic catastrophe, ignore the fact that even after the Dems won Congress in 2006, the GOP stymied most of their efforts to legislate anything, and finally when it was too late and the economic train was plunging off the blown up bridge, they put all of the blame on the guy who's only "crime" was winning the Presidency of the United States and having a full blown national crisis plopped in his lap.
I know my acquaintances don't give a shit about my views on this subject, and I have no problem with that. Besides - I'm just some lowly blogger with a big mouth who happens to get his news and information from sources other than Fox News and hate radio (in other words - the evil librul media). But maybe they'll listen to former Ronald Reagan (their hero) budget director David Stockman who unequivocally states that indeed - it was the GOP who destroyed the U.S. economy:
By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- "How my G.O.P. destroyed the U.S. economy." Yes, that is exactly what David Stockman, President Ronald Reagan's director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed piece, "Four Deformations of the Apocalypse."
Get it? Not "destroying." The GOP has already "destroyed" the U.S. economy, setting up an "American Apocalypse."
Now, we all know what happens these days when sane Republicans dare to truthfully speak their mind. They are instantly set upon by the flying monkey brigades (Limbaugh, Hannity, Liz Cheney, etc.) and labeled "traitors" and "sell outs" - their reputations are trashed and slandered and the right wing character assassination squads perform their duty with precision and thoroughness. Just ask former Bush Treasury Secretary
Paul O'Neill or former Bush Press Secretary
Scott McClellan what happens to you when you attempt to do the right thing and speak honestly about your fellow conservatives.
Anyhow, my point is -
David Stockman was one of they key architects of Reaganomics. If he himself is now publicly stating that Reagan's policies and subsequent GOP economic policies have been the primary cause of economic ruin to America -- who else do my acquaintances and the rest of the Republicans have to turn to now? Or is it just too goddamn easy to blame it all on the evil, liberal, terrorist loving, socialist nazi, Kenyan Muslim named Obama?
Ball is in your court.
BTW -- Stockman better be prepared for the organized character smears that are surely headed his way.
----k
