Obama v. Republicans and the Conservative Right

When people at Fox News keep talking about what a poor job Obama has done on the recovery, then praise the Republicans who have held stimulus package after stimulus package back (after the first one succeeded), I wonder - where do they get their numbers?  The conservative right complains more that he violates rights (laws unanimously passed by Republicans - NDAA and USA PATRIOT), uses drones to target enemy combatants (Americans considered terrorists who are considered as such because of a law Republicans passed under the Bush administration legally allowing the president to do so - regardless of party), wants to take away people's guns (he's supported ONE gun regulation bill that was soundly defeated after the NRA went haywire when the nation decided it was time to reconsider gun rights), and is trying to make us look like balls (because pussies are much more durable than balls) across the world by NOT acting unilaterally against Russia, Libya, the people who hit us in Benghazi, Egypt, Syria and Iran.

Meanwhile, Republicans have - at home - attempted to slash funding to education, snap assistance, DCFS, veterans' relief, unemployment, and held the government hostage to eliminate a law that has helped millions of people acquire healthcare at an affordable rate (and even quit jobs they hated because of insurance's new affordability).  They've also seen to efforts to help increase the amount of pull the very wealthy have within our political system via the Citizens' United decision as well as the more recent McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision ending the limit on total campaign contributions, while also supporting the end to voters' rights laws without first going through the federal government's Justice Department.

This paints a very serious picture, in my mind.  It shows a continued trend towards the conservative right's alignment to very wealthy individuals while also promoting the trend Republicans have shown to restrict voting through voter ID laws aimed at minorities and poverty to low-income individuals, as well as the rights of individuals.  What is being shown here is the increase in the rights of the wealthy few with a decrease in the rights of the low-income majority now present in the United States.  What does this say?

To me, this says that the more valuable voice in the United States is the one with money to donate to some representative's or senator's campaign.  This means that our elected officials are no longer answerable to the many they represent, but rather the few who donate massive amounts of money to their campaign, promoting the notion that elected officials now play a larger role in the government as fundraisers for the party, rather than representatives of the people's will.

My personal politics have been considered left-leaning or centrist views.  I do not believe in a complete government nanny state any more than I believe in a completely free market.  I like regulations- I like everyone on the playing field to have to follow the same rules.  I don't like the fact that rules have been swayed towards the very wealthy while the poor masses are left to fend for themselves.  What if this were to happen in sports?  What if we said to athletes - "Rules are different if you make X amount of dollars.  You can only play in the play-offs if you make X dollars per game" - or - "We won't call your fouls if you make sure you pay the referees a little more from your pocket so they look the other way when you commit them"?  The people watching and paying those players' salaries through tickets, jerseys, and memorabilia would be in an uproar.  So why don't we get enraged when one political party does that for people making millions or more per year?

You may ask - well, how have they changed the playing field?  Besides the voting rights act, the Citizens'United decision, and the McCutcheon decision, how has the conservative right made it harder for the average American to get ahead?  Well, outside of fighting for tax breaks on wealthy individuals and profitable corporations during a time of severe recession, while arguing for tax hikes on the middle class and low-income people, they have continually blocked stimulus packages proposed by Obama to aid the working class by creating jobs, continuing unemployment benefits and supporting the poor and wealthy alike by allowing those who have little to spare to afford necessities - like food.  Yet, while Republicans do this in the legislative branch of the federal government, they blame the executive branch for not doing more to ensure that jobs continue their growth.  In essence, Republicans and the conservative right have created an unfair scenario, and have blamed Democrats for allowing them to do so.

However, even while this struggle has been going on, the economy has risen.  How?  Why?  Well, in my opinion, as people continue to see manufacturing and labor jobs decrease due to job exporting and robotic development, they have begun to go into business for themselves.  Thanks to SNAP assistance - which Republicans lash out against - and federal and state programs giving funds to unemployed people - which Republicans claim make people lazy - we have seen a growth in self-employed individuals finding ways to make money with their own talents.  Whether making money through pyramid schemes - like independent power companies, Pampered Chef-esque companies, Am-Way-esque companies, Mary Kay-esque companies - or by making money through talent - like self-publication, artistic endeavors, or service related fields - the average American is making it work on the little they have.  With more people embracing the notion of multi-generational homes, costs of living have in turn gone down, while new home purchasing has dropped.

So, despite the political problems Obama has with Republicans, the American people continue on.  What does this mean, and how are politics responsible for any of it?  Well, while Republicans and the conservative right have blasted Obama for a slow recovery, in spite of blocking all attempts at a speedy one, and Obama has blasted Republicans for blocking attempts to ensure the progress of American jobs, enough legislation has gone through to allow people a floor from which they can start building.  In essence, the American people have become tired of the arguments, and have started taking it upon themselves to recover.  Does this benefit the Republican idea of personal responsibility, or the Democratic notion that we are all part of the same American mosaic?  I think it has shown us both - that we are all part of the same tapestry, and that only by doing for ourselves can we really start doing for others.  It has emboldened the American people to not only stop relying on the federal government for hand-outs, but has also allowed us to create a more stable economy from which we can begin building the new century.  It has shown us that the previous century's tactics will not work, and that we need to create a new, more stable infrastructure from which to begin.

In general, had it not been for Obama's measures that DID in fact pass, our country would not be where we are today. Conservatives want to downplay it, or remove the proverbial rug from underneath us, so they can achieve electoral victories and stick it to the centrist/left-leaning group arguing for more government support in the middle class and less corporate welfare.  If it were not for Obama's positions on student loan debt, educational funding, SNAP assistance, unemployment benefits, healthcare coverage or job creation, most of our social advances would not be taking place.  However, the conservatives continue to lash out against Obama for not doing enough, while hand-cuffing him when he tries to do more.

I will not say ALL conservatives have been against Obama, but the loudest speaking conservatives have argued against him despite the numbers saying he has done a pretty decent job.  Even though he has fought hard against a party trying, in any way they can, to unseat him from office, or corrupt his two-term presidency with made-up scandals or conservative-policy-created problems, he has helped us recover in a way no one expected.

In this way, the art of this struggle lies in the little guy, who in spite of the people trying to remove his boots, found the boot straps by which to pick himself up, and used the government's support to do so.  Whether by using disability, unemployment, the ACA, SNAP assistance, or student loans to aid educational development, the people of the United States have grown and become more independent in the terms Obama has been in office than in Reagan's, regardless of Obama's tax policies - which have been lower than Reagan's trickle down policy.  Obama has been quite centrist in his dealings, even though he has supported gay rights, women's rights, and equal rights in the face of republican opposition.

While I am not saying it's all because of Obama, I am saying that Obama's had a pretty good run of things even though he's been opposed since 2010.  Does that mean he's been our best president ever?  Far from it.  I would actually say the arguments have done more to disinterest people in politics than interest them.  More and more people want solutions, not excuses.  Until our government can start cooperating, we will not have solutions outside of the ones we make locally and on our own.  But, Obama has given us the means to which we CAN make those decisions, and the optimism to think we can go beyond our humble beginnings to reach heights we didn't expect.

I'm not calling Obama a miracle worker, or the answer to all of our problems.  I'm just saying, as a figurehead of a country run by the corporate elite, he gives the little guy hope that he can be something more than he is.