ChaoSpirals
"I give you this one rule of conduct. Do what you will, but speak out always. Be shunned, be hated, be ridiculed, be scared, be in doubt, but don't be gagged. The time of trial is always. Now is the appointed time."

--John J. Chapman, Commencement Address to the Graduating Class of Hobart College, 1900
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

What Obama's Done - The Good
I'm no huge fan of Barack Obama. I don't hate the guy, but when I see him, and listen to him, I'm disappointed more often than not. He's smooth. He's eloquent. He's someone I want to believe in.

But to me, he's a sell-out. He's a fence-straddler. He's TOO middle of the road. He's TOO right of where I'd like to see the country go. Isn't that ironic? He's not "socialist" enough for me. He's right of Clinton & Carter. He's as centrist as Gore2000 (which is right of Gore2010) and maybe even a little more to the right, actually. Which, from my perspective, if we rewind the clock about 15 years, almost makes him a moderate Republican.

The new healthcare plan is the evidence of that sell-out. It's hardly as revolutionary as, say, Social Security or Medicare. It's pretty similar to what Romney did in Massachussetts (psst- he's a Republican). It's even based in some ways on the counter-plans offered by Republicans in the mid-1990's as alternatives to Clinton's health care reform plan. Obama even acknowledges that it's "middle-of-the-road," and he's stuck to his campaign promise to "reach across the aisle." Kudos for that, but booooo for the result.

I think the healthcare plan is one step in the right direction, but then again - it basically gives the insurance companies GUARANTEED CUSTOMERS. It's like a subsidy for them, almost, to compensate for regulation. Sheesh.

But let's remember some of the GOOD things Obama's done in his year and a quarter in office.
  • The health care bill has a section (insanely - hello modern American politics) that will push $36 billion into the Pell Grant program, but beyond that bill, there was also the following:
  • $5 billion for home weatherization, targeting energy efficiency and jobs to low-income communities
  • $250 million for Choice Neighborhoods, so people can live in a community connected to true opportunity
  • $400 million to open new supermarkets and farmers markets in underserved communities
  • $600 million for summer youth jobs
  • 210 million for Promise Neighborhoods, to spread the powerful message of the Harlem Children's Zone
  • $8.1 billion for nutrition support programs--a $400 million boost from last year
  • $9.4 billion to help preserve more than 1 million rental units nationwide
  • $4 billion for Race to the Top education grants
  • $10.2 billion for early childhood education
  • $144 million for prisoner re-entry programs
  • $4 billion for Community Development Block Grants--plus another $150 million in competitive grants to spark economic development innovation
  • $4 billion in job-training programs for youth, displaced workers and the unemployed
  • An 11 percent funding increase in the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division
  • Three major health bills (SCHIP, tobacco regulation, and stimulus funds for Medicaid, COBRA subsidies, health information technology and the National Institutes of Health) enacted even before comprehensive reform
  • Stimulus contained myriad other individual policy victories, not only preventing a far worse depression but also:
    • Delivered key new funds for education
    • Expanded state energy conservation programs and new transit programs
    • Added new smart grid investments
    • Funded high-speed Internet broadband programs
    • Extended unemployment insurance for up to 99 weeks for the unemployed and modernizing state UI programs to cover more of the unemployed
  • Made large new investments in the safety net, from food stamps (SNAP) to affordable housing to child care
  • Clean cars victory to take gas mileage requirements to 35mpg
  • Protection of 2 million acres of land against oil and gas drilling and other development
  • Executive orders protecting labor rights, from project labor agreements to protecting rights of contractor employees on federal jobs
  • Stopping pay discrimination through Lilly Ledbetter and Equal Pay laws
  • Making it easier for airline and railway workers to unionize, while appointing NLRB and other labor officials who will strengthen freedom to form unions
  • Reversing Bush ban on funding overseas family planning clinics
  • Passing hate crimes protections for gays and lesbians
  • Protecting stem cell research
  • Strengthening state authority and restricting federal preemption to protect state consumer, environmental and labor laws
  • Financial reforms to protect homeowners and credit card holders
  • Bailing out the auto industry and protecting unionized retirees and workers
sources: http://bit.ly/cICiEi
http://bit.ly/7jsBDL

I can get behind just about all of that, if it's implemented properly.

Let's see what the next 2 years and change can bring.

so sez Matt Duncan at 10:13 PM [edit]
What I'm Listening To:
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