U.S. Politics - Past, Present, & Future

U.S. Politics - Past, Present, and Future

Normally I do not post political thoughts on this blog, as it is devoted to my writing. However, I am making an exception here. These are my "beginning of the year" thoughts about U.S. politics, which have been in disarray since the last election. Recently we saw the Democratic party (cyber high five to all Democrats!) take the majority in congress. When all is said and done, Nancy Pelosi, a seasoned politician, will become Majority leader in Congress come January third. We also saw women being elected in ever increasing numbers to office all across our country. IMHO, this in itself will make a major difference.

We are currently in a partial goverment shutdown (one that was in no manner necessary, and was an example of the toddler temper tantrum that our current president throws whenever he wants to). We have had two deaths of immigrant children , with many more issues being reported in immigrant holding facilities. 

Here are my thoughts on our most recent past president (Barack Obama), our current president, Donald Trump (I am with the #notmypresident people here), and someone that could possibly represent our future, Beto O'Rourke (who lost by a very small margin in the Texas senate race to incumbent Ted Cruz).

I was incredibly happy to see Barack Obama win the presidency the first time, and ecstatic to see him take office the second time. He was the first African-American president ever elected, and had to fight the battle of whether or not he had been born in America. (This is a subject that current president Trump still weighs in on, refusing to believe that Barack Obama was actually born in America.)  

Overall, I am very happy with what he accomplished, and believe that his legacy is a good one. He represented the people well, and accomplished a great deal, in spite of Republican obstacles.

Below are some of the things that came out of his presidency:

• Obama Care (not perfect, but workable)
• Strong approval ratings 
• DACA (Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals) 
• Progress towards LGBTQ rights
• No scandals 
• Had a good working relationship with Vice President Biden 
• Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 
• Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 
• Ended military involvement with the Iraq war 
• Ordered the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden 
• Advocated for gun control 
• Promoted and signed the Paris Agreement on global climate change 
• Improved America's global reputation  

 

Along with many American's, I was in shock to see the election results of 2016. I was literally ill, and I was not alone in that. The backlash was immediate, with a woman's march that was larger than the audience for the presidential inaugeration. This was not only a national march, but one that spread world wide. It was the largest single day protest in U.S. history.

Many of you will think that I am rude/disrespectful  in using the baby Trump balloon (with his cell phone in his right hand) as an image here, but this to me epitomizes who he is and what he represents. 

Here are just some of the things that will be the legacy of Trump's presidency:

• Constant lying 
• Attacks on the media 
• Inability to connect with or respect other leaders 
• Withdrawing from the Paris Accord 
• The building of a wall between the US and Mexico 
• Trump's connection with Russia 
• Trump's appointments 
• Turnover in the White House
• Questionable ability to lead 
• Taking down anything related to Barack Obama 
• Attacked Social Security and Medicare 
• Trump's tariff policies 
• Scandals 
• Obstructing the Mueller investigation 
• Trump unpopular worldwide, American image suffers 
• Trump rule by Twitter 

  

Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke is a Texas businessman and former Congressman (he retired from Congress to run for Senate). He was the Democratic challanger to Republican incumbant Ted Cruz  for a Senate seat. He lost to Cruz by a narrow margin (200,000 votes). 

I am presenting Beto O'Rourke as a possibility for a run in 2020 for the presidency. (In a crunch, I might also vote for Michael Avenatti! LOL) Here are some things that we need to know about Beto O'Rourke, and why I think he is a viable candidate:

• There is already a smear campaign going on, allegedly by Bernie Sanders supporters.
• Thoughts on the border wall 
• Women's rights 
• Charismatic when dealing with people 
• Healthcare 
• Democratic support

The eight years that we had with President Barack Obama were peaceful years. I am not saying there were no issues, no wars, etc., but during this admnistrations there were no scandals, we had a gracious, well spoken president, who represented us well globally. There was positive movement with women's issues, and with LGBTQ issues. We addressed climate change, immigration, and other global issues in a sensible manner. We all miss his steady hand on the government.

The past two years with President Donald Trump have been an unmitigated disaster. The constant lies, attacks on the media, turnover in the White House, inability to relate to or get along with anyone, insulting foreign governments, refusal to make personal tax information public, money paid to his personal hotels when traveling, an inordinate amount of time spent at Mir-A-Lago, at taxpayer expense, and "rule by Twitter". No other president has fired anyone by Tweet!

Who do we want to see as a Democratic candidate in 2020? Someone with vision,  someone that relates to John Q. Public, someone that recognizes climate change as a viable issue, someone that will not pander to big business/big money, someone that has the ability to understand global issues, and forge alliances globally that are in the best interest of all parties.

To do this, we need to see major changes within the Democratic party. In this last election, we saw more women taking office, and a wider range of agenda's being addressed. The Democratic party needs to move away from domination by wealthy political insiders. It needs to encourage involvement by youth, who bring their own perspective to the table. Radical change is needed if the Democratic party intends to become strong and cohesive. One major change that I hope is made is taking away the vote of superdelegates in picking the parties nominee. 

My hope is that the Mueller investigation drains the current swamp, and that we can take our country back to the point where we can be proud of it, and proud of our place in the global worldview.

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.