Okay...
I know this isn't going to be a very popular post with some of you fine individuals, but I have to do it because I want everyone to keep their eyes open.
Everyone is all hot and heavy over our new President and believe me when I say that I very much want things to get better too.... but I am already starting to see quite a bit of MAJOR back-peddling by the President on some major campaign issues and also a bit of "smugness" on his part that isn't the way our President should be projecting himself. I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, I am an American and I have always voted for who I thought would best serve the entire nation - not whites, blacks, women, men, or any other group of folks with a common interest, gender, or ethnicity - I vote for the one I feel best has a chance to advance American interests and causes.
I personally believe that most all politicians, Democrat or Republican, are self-serving by nature and I am worried about the way this is starting out because eventhough I am inclined to give our country's top politician the benefit of the doubt some of his comments and actions go against the way he portrayed himself during the campaign and are most assuredly not in line with some of the policies or policy changes he promised during the campaign and some just don't seem like responsible ways to spend the money we all give the government every year, especially with the economy in the tank right now anyway.
I am posting an article I found from a site that is not affiliated with either party, that I am aware of - and I've been reading this site for a while now and have known it to be fair and equitable in it's attempts to offer honest coverage of whomever is "under the gun". Some of the items in this article are very concerning to me, not all of them but enough that it caught my attention, and I just wanted to share it with you all. Three days in to his presidency I am not passing judgement, just really worried about how things appear to be starting out.
I will ask that anyone compelled to comment on this post please understand that I am not doing this as an attack on him or any of you for your beliefs. Some will agree that this is concerning and some will whole-heartedly disagree, so jab at me if you must but keep in mind that just because we put him in office doesn't mean the work is over - we need to make sure he does what he promised. This is our government, our nation, and it's all of our responsibility to hold those we elect to the principles for which we elected them.
The following is the article I found:
Title:
Obama to GOP: 'I won'
President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.
The exchange arose as top House and Senate Republicans expressed concern to the president about the amount of spending in the package. They also raised red flags about a refundable tax credit that returns money to those who dont pay income taxes, the sources said.
The Republicans stressed that they want to include more middle class tax cuts in the package, citing their proposal to cut the two lowest tax rates 15 percent and 10 percent to ten percent and five percent, rather than issue the refundable credit Obama wants.
At another point in the meeting, sources said Obama told the group: This is a grave situation facing the country. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama would hold another economic meeting in the White House Saturday for a "broader group."
After Friday's meeting, Democratic and Republican leaders publicly wrangled over the developing stimulus plan.
But perhaps taking a cue from Obamas I won line when Democrats were asked if they were concerned about Republicans blocking the package, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had a swift one-word answer: No.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill was on track for passage by February 16, while Republicans continued to voice their opposition.
We expressed our concerns about some of the spending thats being proposed in the House bill, House Minority Leader John Boehner said after meeting with Obama.
How can you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives? Boehner asked. How does that stimulate the economy?
Boehner said congressional Republicans are also concerned about the size of the package.
Government cant solve this problem, he said.
Reid said a Congressional Budget Office report that says the stimulus funds wont be pumped into the economy until 2010 doesnt provide an accurate picture.
Republicans have used the report to back up their argument against a near $1 trillion package. But Reid said Obama Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag told them CBO only analyzed 40 percent of the bill.
He also said Orszag guaranteed that at least 75 percent of the bill would go directly into the economy within the first 18 months.
Pelosi suggested that the package, currently at $825 billion, could become even larger.
It has grown, Pelosi said, and were still in the process.
At the meeting, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, passed out copies of the Republicans five-point stimulus plan. At first blush, Obama said, Nothing on here looks outlandish or crazy to me, Obama said, according to a source familiar with the conversation. He seemed particularly receptive to some Republican ideas about increasing benefits to small businesses.
But when the conversation got down to other specifics, it was clear that some of the Republican ideas were clearly non-starters with the new president including calls to put off tax hikes during the recession. He rejected that out of hand and said we couldnt have any hard and fast rules like that, Cantor said.
That's it... I hope that it is at least informative.
I know this isn't going to be a very popular post with some of you fine individuals, but I have to do it because I want everyone to keep their eyes open.
Everyone is all hot and heavy over our new President and believe me when I say that I very much want things to get better too.... but I am already starting to see quite a bit of MAJOR back-peddling by the President on some major campaign issues and also a bit of "smugness" on his part that isn't the way our President should be projecting himself. I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, I am an American and I have always voted for who I thought would best serve the entire nation - not whites, blacks, women, men, or any other group of folks with a common interest, gender, or ethnicity - I vote for the one I feel best has a chance to advance American interests and causes.
I personally believe that most all politicians, Democrat or Republican, are self-serving by nature and I am worried about the way this is starting out because eventhough I am inclined to give our country's top politician the benefit of the doubt some of his comments and actions go against the way he portrayed himself during the campaign and are most assuredly not in line with some of the policies or policy changes he promised during the campaign and some just don't seem like responsible ways to spend the money we all give the government every year, especially with the economy in the tank right now anyway.
I am posting an article I found from a site that is not affiliated with either party, that I am aware of - and I've been reading this site for a while now and have known it to be fair and equitable in it's attempts to offer honest coverage of whomever is "under the gun". Some of the items in this article are very concerning to me, not all of them but enough that it caught my attention, and I just wanted to share it with you all. Three days in to his presidency I am not passing judgement, just really worried about how things appear to be starting out.
I will ask that anyone compelled to comment on this post please understand that I am not doing this as an attack on him or any of you for your beliefs. Some will agree that this is concerning and some will whole-heartedly disagree, so jab at me if you must but keep in mind that just because we put him in office doesn't mean the work is over - we need to make sure he does what he promised. This is our government, our nation, and it's all of our responsibility to hold those we elect to the principles for which we elected them.
The following is the article I found:
Title:
Obama to GOP: 'I won'
President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.
The exchange arose as top House and Senate Republicans expressed concern to the president about the amount of spending in the package. They also raised red flags about a refundable tax credit that returns money to those who dont pay income taxes, the sources said.
The Republicans stressed that they want to include more middle class tax cuts in the package, citing their proposal to cut the two lowest tax rates 15 percent and 10 percent to ten percent and five percent, rather than issue the refundable credit Obama wants.
At another point in the meeting, sources said Obama told the group: This is a grave situation facing the country. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama would hold another economic meeting in the White House Saturday for a "broader group."
After Friday's meeting, Democratic and Republican leaders publicly wrangled over the developing stimulus plan.
But perhaps taking a cue from Obamas I won line when Democrats were asked if they were concerned about Republicans blocking the package, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had a swift one-word answer: No.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill was on track for passage by February 16, while Republicans continued to voice their opposition.
We expressed our concerns about some of the spending thats being proposed in the House bill, House Minority Leader John Boehner said after meeting with Obama.
How can you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives? Boehner asked. How does that stimulate the economy?
Boehner said congressional Republicans are also concerned about the size of the package.
Government cant solve this problem, he said.
Reid said a Congressional Budget Office report that says the stimulus funds wont be pumped into the economy until 2010 doesnt provide an accurate picture.
Republicans have used the report to back up their argument against a near $1 trillion package. But Reid said Obama Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag told them CBO only analyzed 40 percent of the bill.
He also said Orszag guaranteed that at least 75 percent of the bill would go directly into the economy within the first 18 months.
Pelosi suggested that the package, currently at $825 billion, could become even larger.
It has grown, Pelosi said, and were still in the process.
At the meeting, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, passed out copies of the Republicans five-point stimulus plan. At first blush, Obama said, Nothing on here looks outlandish or crazy to me, Obama said, according to a source familiar with the conversation. He seemed particularly receptive to some Republican ideas about increasing benefits to small businesses.
But when the conversation got down to other specifics, it was clear that some of the Republican ideas were clearly non-starters with the new president including calls to put off tax hikes during the recession. He rejected that out of hand and said we couldnt have any hard and fast rules like that, Cantor said.
That's it... I hope that it is at least informative.
iggy:
I dunno if I agree. He already reversed some of Bush's anti abortion legislation and ordered gitmo to close within the year. I know those were two platforms he ran on and so far is staying true to his word.