US midterms: Republicans win

[MPwannabe]

Well, it appears as if the Republicans have won the US House.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/02/us-midterm-elections.html

The American people are pretty short sighted in my opinion. It took eight years to bring the US down, and it can't be fixed overnight. I think Obama has done pretty well in trying to piece together in two years what was a ruined country, but apparently the masses disagree.

Maybe this is part of a bigger picture that I don't understand....They could be voting the Republicans back in to clean up the mess they made in the first place?

 

[a_majoor]

The Dems won the House and Senate in 2006, so I am unclear about the "eight years" you are talking about.

If you really want to look for the root causes of the US malaise, you might consider LBJ and the "Great Society" programs which are now consuming a vast portion of the US government spending, or nonsensical laws like the Carter Era "Community Reinvestment Act" (CRA) which is the root cause of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, or the never ending flow of political pork from BOTH parties over the last half century or so, or the growth of an unelected bureaucracy which has the power to create regulations which have the force of law, usurping the legislature and the electorate, and on and on.

Read "America Alone", or "The Clash of Civilizations" to see some of the deeper cultural factors as well.

The political class in the United States has been given notice, and don't think this can't happen here either (the election of Rob Ford as Mayor of Toronto is a pretty good opening shot). Politics as usual no longer works, and the new alignment(s) will take many years to sort out.

 

[aesop081]

I think Obama has done pretty well in trying to piece together in two years what was a ruined country

Realy ? What has he done in those 2 years ?

Your response shouldnt take too long........hes managed squat.

 

[DirtyDog]

Maybe this is part of a bigger picture that I don't understand....

I think there is a lot you don't understand.....

Feel free to carry on with your Republican/Bush bashing.

 

[Stukov]

Realy ? What has he done in those 2 years ?

Your response shouldnt take too long........hes managed squat.

I'll just leave this here....

http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/

 

[MPwannabe]

^ I love that website.


I'm reserving this spot for a reply to those four who just posted. I'm at work so it'll have to wait until break.

Edit:

I'm not trying to bash the previous president. He was put in an extraordinary situation, and I believe he may have been fed some false information leading to deployment of many U.S. troops into places they shouldn't have been. After his two terms however, the country had gone to crap and the US army stretched thin.

I don't believe in a permanent choice in politics, because opinions are flexible and there is no way a single political party can hold your values high your entire life. Because of this, I try to view all parties with an open mind and impartial eyes. However this has nothing to do with anything. I posted a vague topic in order to encourage a healthy discussion on updated political news, I didn't mean to start a fight-match.

In response to CDN Aviator: Obama is no saint, and I'm not trying to paint that picture. Here are some of what I perceive are his negative and positive accomplishments:

Obama Cons: Stimulus package added tremendously to debt and has created almost no jobs across the country, a huge amount of troops sent to Afghanistan, economy is still in the dumps, etc.

Obama Pros: Health Care reform, Credit Card Reform Act, Stimulus package to help the economy recover - with up to 10% in tax refunds because of it, increased student loans , FDA regulating tobacco, etc.

Check this out - http://obamaachievements.org/list - it has a list of achievements, with links to articles explaining each and every one.

In response to Thucydides: I will check that out, I've heard of "The Clash of Civilizations" before. I have extremely vague knowledge of the CRA and the 'Great Society' programs. I'll take you up on that though, and research it. I'm not pretending to be some kind of political guru, I'm just a guy who is interested in our southern neighbours.

 

[Nauticus]

Realy ? What has he done in those 2 years ?

Your response shouldnt take too long........hes managed squat.

... You don't follow American politics, do you?

You might be right-wing, but don't use that as an excuse to remain ignorant.

 

[Nemo888]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/210904?RS_show_page=0

 

[MPwannabe]

Nice post, that is a great article.

 

[DirtyDog]

... You don't follow American politics, do you?

You might be right-wing, but don't use that as an excuse to remain ignorant.

Well I suppose there was that much deserved Nobel Peace Prize...

In response to MPwannnabe, you sound open minded enough in your subesequent posts, but the topic start came off as "How could the American people be so foolish as to fall back in the clutches of the evil Repubs... The saint Obama hasn't had time for his miracles" kind of thing.

You list the troop surge into Afghanistan as a negative?  Some of us on the ground might feel otherwise.  But then, you do seem to advocate US Health Care reform....

 

[JB 11 11]

Not sure what you mean by the "US health care reform topic"? (such is the internet... you never get the intended tone of comments made).

But the push against a health care system in the States makes no sense to me. Granted, it could be considered growing pains of a sort as they have been operating the way they have for so long, but private health is not the way to go. And before I get smashed over the head with examples of how OUR system is crap, I currently live in Country that has BOTH.

But let me tell you, having Private health care that you have an insurance policy for, like our buddies down south did, the public system can and will suffer.... unless a certain public hospital or clinic has a wealthy benefactor.

It is a very complicated topic. You can not arbitrarily say "that is no good it should be this way", unless you have experienced it both ways. There are a lot of factors involved. What will doctors do if they can make more money going private? What will Hospitals do?
Do you know how much I've dropped on Med bills this year? over 2 grand Euro. And I am healthy... those are just the odd visits and a bit of physio for my shoulder. We get it back from Insurance but you are out of pocket until the check comes in.

Ever have the insurance company balk at your med bills? Sucks if they do and you need knee surgery because you've been humpin' a ruck for 12 years or your kid gets sick and needs meds or an operation that they don't consider necessary. (just examples)

I find when Canadians comment on Health Care funny, because most do not have any idea what it is really like to live in a privately-dominated system. That said, a strictly public system has its flaws too. Namely, its citizens not wanting to pay taxes for it and/or the Govt. running the program into the ground.

My :2c: Let the smashing begin :argument:

 

[Kirkhill]

Oh to heck with it ....

What will doctors do if they can (NOT)make more  money going private? What will Hospitals do?

And if you don't like me encouraging the tangent moderators.....Blame the Anglo-French Concorde and the sudden shortage of whiskey in the house..

 

[MPwannabe]

You're right JB, as a Canadian I am totally ignorant to what privatized health care is really like. I've always considered health care a necessity, and it criminal that it not be accessible to all people. I'm glad that the US has finally taken the first steps towards a more equal health system. That's just my opinion.

DirtyDog: I criticized the surge of troops into Afghanistan because they were pulled directly from Iraq to be sent right back into another desert, and it contradicted a lot of what Obama talked about in the beginning of his term. Such is politics.
I understand though that from a troop serving overseas, the large influx of US soldiers is welcomed assistance in a dismal area. Take my opinions with a grain of salt, as I'm currently trying to get into the CF and I have no experience with regards to what it is like over there, and I have to guess at things that are common knowledge to all other members on these boards.

 

[Nostix]

The Republicans successfully implemented the well-documented political strategy of "Sit around and blow raspberries at the opposition when they want to do something."

Americans responded favorably.

 

[aesop081]

... You don't follow American politics, do you?

I most certainly do as i find US politics more interesting thatn ours by several orders of magnitude. I even have a very good understanding of how their system works. Damned all that education i took.......

You might be right-wing, but don't use that as an excuse to remain ignorant.

I am far from right-wing" and far from ignorant.

Obama Cons: Stimulus package added tremendously to debt and has created almost no jobs across the country, a huge amount of troops sent to Afghanistan, economy is still in the dumps, etc.

Obama Pros: Health Care reform, Credit Card Reform Act, Stimulus package to help the economy recover - with up to 10% in tax refunds because of it, increased student loans , FDA regulating tobacco, etc.

You list the same things as "pro" and "con".........regardless of how friged up that is :

Healthcare reform ? What health care reform ? He talked alot, there were some good soundbites after a vote..........

Credit card reform act..........more government intervention into the market............great

Stimulus package ? The economy down here is still in the dumps and not getting better..........the only growth is the national debt

Guantanamo Bay is still open......

 

[Oh No a Canadian]

Credit card reform act..........more government intervention into the market............great

Yes, because their economy was going swimmingly before.

 

[aesop081]

Yes, because their economy was going swimmingly before.

And new rules for credit cards is going to fix that ?

 

[Nostix]

See, this is the problem with American politics.

Both sides talk about what the problem is, and how the other party didn't solve it.

I'd love to see an election won on the basis of an actual idea for a change.

 

[DirtyDog]

See, this is the problem with American politics.

That's hardly exclusive to the US...

 

[Nostix]

That's hardly exclusive to the US...

But that's for another topic.