Category Archives: Conservatives

The Reagan that Never Was

Republicans worship the legacy of Ronald Reagan. His name is mentioned frequently as the ideal conservative (sometimes by Democrats). Anti-tax advocate, Grover Norquist, has successfully promoted the Reagan legacy as something worthy of numerous big-city streets being named after the former president; and he has pushed for coins and Mount Rushmore engravings on top of […]

Understanding the Debt Ceiling

The debt ceiling is now being used as a tool to hold the economy hostage in exchange for minority rule of the government. This approach has created a Federal Government in unprecedented gridlock. But this approach to the debt ceiling is a recent trend, and should not be used as a way to rule from a minority position.

The Liberal Message of Les Miserables

The message of this film, at its core, is one of forgiveness, charity, and democracy. In a word, it can be called liberal. This makes me wonder why so many conservatives celebrate this musical. Yes, there is a spiritual theme that many on the religious right may find appealing. Yet I can’t understand how they miss the overwhelming liberal message in this story.

Why are Christmas villains always conservative?

Why are Christmas villains so often conservative businessmen? I suppose nothing could be a better contrast to the message that Christ preached than someone who thinks only of their own needs. For a person who not only fails to consider the needs of others, but whose greed causes them to harm others for their own benefit, this is the ultimate antagonist to the message of giving that we celebrate at Christmas.

Do Tax Breaks Create Jobs?

There is a reason that the rich don’t suffer in a recession; that middle-class wages have been stagnant for 30 year; that the majority of the nation’s wealth is in the hand of the top 1%. Conservative tax policy has dominated for 30 years. And in this Great Recession, with profits way up, there is not need to hire more people. And in this context, with a skyrocketing national debt, with millions out of work, the Republicans can still talk endlessly of how tax cuts are the answer to creating jobs. No. Tax cuts are the answer to enriching the already-wealthy.

Republicans are Bad for the Economy

The Dow Jones industrial average increased by 29.5% in the one-year period following Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009—the third best showing, going back 110 years, for the U.S. stock market in the 12 months following the inauguration of a new President. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first year, which began on March 4, 1933, tops the list with the Dow increasing by 96.5% over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter trails his peers with a loss of 19.6%. On average, Presidents in the Democrat party saw an average one-year gain of 24%, while Republicans averaged 1%.

Paul Ryan’s Road Map to Disaster

Representative Ryan’s proposal, if implemented, would be a disaster for the economy, for working families, and would essentially redistribute wealth upward. Ryan is really proposing the same destructive policies that have been pushed bu Republicans for the past thirty years, usually with painful result for low-income and middle class families. In 2012, voters will have a choice about whether they want to live in a society of massive inequality and increased vulnerability for the majority of hard working Americans, or the more-centrist approach that Obama and the Democrats are pushing for.