Contrasting the "bipartisanship" between the Bush and Obama presidencies.

One of the platforms Barack Hussein Obama ran on during his 2008 presidential campaign was "change", more specifically, a different kind of Washington politics. Less than a month after his inauguration, Obama has spearheaded an economic stimulus plan that will allow the government to unleash a fury of spending that the United States has never before seen.

As if the spending that will take place under this bill is not bad enough, the bill will go down as one of the most partisan in history as a mere 3 Republicans out of the 217 (1.38%) in the House and the Senate voted for this bill.

Many Democrats will defend the partisan way in which this bill went down as Republicans not willing to work across the aisle, but I think it is more likely an example of an inflexible Democrat party taking advantage of their new found power while showing an unwillingness to compromise on anything. As we all know, shit tends to run downhill, therefore, I place a large percentage of this blame on BHO and the Democratic leadership of Pelosi and Reid.

I thought it would be interesting to go back in time to one of the biggest pieces of legislation passed during the Bush administration, whether or not to proceed with the invasion of Iraq, to see what kind of bipartisan support this bill received. As you remember, this legislation was very controversial and the vote came at a time when Republicans did not need a single vote by the Democratic party in order for the legislation to succeed, just as the Stimulus bill did not technically need one Republican to achieve the necessary votes.

As you can see from the pie graph below, despite the need for any Democratic vote to support the invasion of Iraq, Democrats in the house voted for it in wide numbers. In my opinion, this vote showed that their was a sense of bipartisanship going on during this period in DC, a period that was governed by the Republicans. It also shows me that concessions for a bill that would allow an invasion, as well as evidence supporting its necessity, were made in a way that convinced many Democrats that it was necessary in order to secure America's safety.



The same thing was also evident in the Senate.



To insinuate the the only reason Republicans did not vote for the stimulus bill is because of partisanship is insane, imo. It is fairly obvious at this point that the Democrats that have hijacked control of our government and are on a spending spree that will not be ended until 2010.

Who are the Democrats that voted against the revised stimulus bill on March 13th?

The only bi-partisanship showed by the House of Representatives in the voting of this bill was in opposition to it! That is a fact. Obama should be absolutely embarrassed by the fact that every single Republican in the House voted NAY to this bill.

This is supposed to be a change from politics of usual? The largest spending bill in the history of the United States that does not have the support of one Republican?

Anyways, this being said, I would like to thank the 7 DEMOCRATS who stood up to their party and it's leadership of Reid and Pelosi. Below, you will find a picture of each of these courageous men accompanied by their name and which state they represent.

Additionally, here is a link to the roll call vote that took place in the house today, March 13, 2009. Republicans are italicized, Democrats are in roman and Independents are underlined.



Walt Minnick - Idaho





Bobby Bright - Alabama





Parker Griffith - Alabama





Pete Defazio - Oregon





Collin Peterson - Minnesota





Heath Shuler - North Carolina





Gene Taylor - Mississippi

Finding a Cure for the Socialist Virus

Here’s how I see the US’ economic plight: Right now, the world has the flu. The US had a serious cold and then the world caught the bug. You might ask: well, what is behind the virus causing this condition? Is it really subprime mortgage debts? Is it really a drop in demand? Is it really over spending by Americans?

The answer to all of this is “not really”. Sure, some of these factors are at play and have had a domino effect in different sectors. But there’s actually a better place to point your currently unemployed finger.

You see, the real reason for our country’s instability, uncertainty, and volatility is fear – and the reason for all this fear is the prospect of socialist leadership at the helm for 4 to 8 more years. Socialist leadership is not conducive to business – or economic growth – and until business leaders, employees, and other professionals have their fears assuaged, the economy is going to continue to sputter along like a car that’s out of gas.

Everyone wants to speculate: how quickly can consumer confidence come back? When will stability return to the markets? How quickly can we pass a socialist bailout to make things return to “normal”?

Well guess what: things aren’t going to return to normal until the lingering fears of socialism are absolved.

Seeing as you have the flu, your body is in a very fragile state – you aren’t sure whether the flu is going to get better in a matter of hours (24 hour socialist flu), whether you’re going to be under the weather for months (mono), or whether this could even be the end of an era (black plague). There’s a lot of uncertainty in your health and your future.

When you’re under the weather, you are sort of afraid of ‘what’s coming next’. You know the feeling - you’re afraid to eat anything because you don’t want to throw up again, and you would rather just “wait it out” on the couch for a few hours/days until you can better assess your physical health. At the moment, your life is a waiting game. You won’t go back into the kitchen until you feel like your body is ready to eat. You won’t try to exercise until you think your body can handle the strenuous activity. You won’t even move until your fever has peaked and the virus is on its way out. Instead you’ll simply spend a few quality hours on the couch with Dr. Phil and wait out the virus’ attacks. You’ll only begin to feel better after the virus has thoroughly ravaged your body and your immune system has dragged out every weapon of mass destruction in its power to combat the invaders.

Well this is exactly how the country is feeling.

No one wants to take in any food because they’re all afraid of what’s next.

Who wants to ingest [or invest] if they’re just going to throw up soon [markets drop again by half]?

Who wants to buy a car or house if prices are going to continue to fall and it will be even cheaper in a few weeks?

Who wants to take on a mortgage when they’re afraid of their job’s stability?

Who wants to spend money if they’re going to be slammed with giant tax bill(s) for the next 75 years?

Who wants to hire more employees if the socialist dictators mandate significant changes in employer-sponsored healthcare?

Who wants to invest in their business if the socialist dictators are going to impose stringent environmental regulations that will bankrupt their industry?

Who wants to keep working to pay for the free healthcare, housing, and education of those who are not?


According to webMD, the socialist virus has the following symptoms:

• Excessive whining about the notion of fairness.
• Undue idealism and belief in the “common good”
• Failure to understand basic biology (money does not grow on trees), basic math (you can’t take out more $$ than you put in), and basic engineering (you can’t put more stress on the top of the [class] structure than you put on the bottom).
• Childlike ideals that everyone is the same.
• Interest in making sure everyone is treated as an “equal” –unless you’re a minority because then you should be treated “differently” with extra special treatment
  
  The only way to cure this virus is to shut your mouth, pick up a hammer, shovel, calculator or other man-made tool and get to work. Stop expecting anyone to do anything for you. Everything that’s worth anything in this life comes from hard work – that is, your own hard work – no one else’s. Don’t ask your neighbor for a free lunch. Don’t give your other neighbor a free lunch. Stop being a whiny idealist and start thinking realistically. Bottom line: grow up. The virus breeds in the body of anyone who has the mindset of a five year old. Only after you experience some mental and philosophical maturity can the socialist virus can leave your idealism-ravaged body.
  
  *Disclaimer: The author is not a medical professional. If you believe you or a loved one is currently experiencing the socialist virus you should seek help immediately from the most conservative news outlet in your immediate reach.
  
  
  ...All of this might just make you think:
  
  What’s the point of getting off the couch until the virus has peaked?
  
  Maybe one of the few conservative news outlets out there could try and organize a “Race for the Cure” marathon whose goal is to cure the country of socialism – an epidemic that is so deepset and widespread by our Washington traitors that it stands to suffocate every ounce of economic potential this nation has left.
  
  Now THAT’s a cause for which I’d run a marathon!!!