My Take: America is at the Crossroads

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January 7, 2010

By ROBERT MOORE<br>Record Columnist The McCreary County Record Thu Jan 07, 2010, 05:13 PM EST

I must admit to being disconcerted. Much is made of the recent polling that shows support for health care reform eroding which is exactly what the opposition knew would happen if they could keep the contentious process in motion. As usual, the people are sick of looking at a Congress that can do nothing but quibble over who should hold the reins of power.

The numbers are all over the map. While the polls shows decreasing support for specific projects the President’s personal approval numbers are still pretty high. It is no secret that the liberal bloc is unhappy with having to give away the public option to get only a few more votes.

While support for the military buildup in Afghanistan is popular among the more moderate and right wing voters it is not popular with the liberal wing of the President’s party. The remainder of the polling loss is among the independents who probably gave the President too much credit for being able to single-handedly change things. Everybody has a beef.

This has not translated directly into votes for the opposition party whose numbers remain low. While some of the districts that narrowly voted for the President’s party may return to the Republican camp there is no evidence that the move will be widespread. It is unlikely that the Republicans will return to the majority in the Senate but, hey, who cares. Obviously being in the majority does not guarantee success. Of course, it seems that the Republican Party is more willing to move in lock step than the Democratic Party whose members have been more willing to espouse different views.

I am led to question the filibuster rule and to be concerned over the willingness of the minority to use this tactic to thwart the will of the people. The ever-present eye of the 24 hours news cycle leaves no room for slips much less reasoned conversation and compromise. If you can’t say it in 15 seconds you don’t get the airtime. What is really going to matter by next November is whether or not the President’s party can point to passage of this huge health insurance reform package. It is no longer health care reform. The jobs picture is beginning to show some signs of turning. If the public can perceive that the nation is finally beginning to improve the economy then the Democratic Party is going to have something to crow about.

However, I am somewhat apprehensive about the nation’s ability to make the hard choices that will come later in this administration. With health care we have shoved the hard choices down the road. Global warming is arguably the greatest threat to our way of life since mankind stood on two legs and we are worried about having to pay a little more for electricity. The issue of energy and its relationship to national security is one that could force our nation into an oil war (oh, wait! That has already happened.) and we can’t seem to have a conversation about alternate forms of producing energy even though it would result in millions of new jobs in new technologies.

I lay the blame for this squarely at the feet of a contentious political system that feeds on gargantuan amounts of corporate dollars and I don’t see a majority of our legislators that are willing to return power to the people. For every action we must take to insure our future we must step on some industry, corporation or special interest and they control the money for re-election. Until we gain the courage to demand that private and corporate donations to political campaigns are illegal our government will not change but will, instead, become more dysfunctional. Our legislators know this but continue the charade, either by being complicit or disingenuous. I am not sure which is the worst. To be sure, the blame falls heaviest on the American people who allow themselves to be swayed by inflammatory rhetoric and red herring issues.

Make no mistake about it. These are issues of our time that are not going to go away. If they are not dealt with rationally they will be dealt with irrationally and with great suffering.

And that is my take on this point in time.

•••

rmoore@somerset-kentucky.com

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