A Shift To The Peoples Agenda
Yesterday president Obama reconstituted his presidential campaign team to centralize control over Democratic party strategy and respond to the Republican win by Scott Brown in the Massachusetts special Senate election; growing public anger over unresponsive government and insufficient 'change', and Republican challenges in the coming midterm elections. This move by the president represents a response to the failure of his initial strategies for reform.
While the criticism being purported now by many conservatives that the president ignored the jobs issue is not supported by the facts, the presidents economic initiatives have not delivered as promised or met the expectations of many. The interests of citizens have always been in dire conflict with those of business and the wealthy elite, but what's new here is the appearance that the president is considering (or being forced to) shift the governments policy positions to directly side with citizens interests. "Instead of a government that works for the entitled and special interests, a government that looks out for Wall Street, they wanted a government that works better for them, a government that plays the role it should to help foster the security of the middle class.", said former Obama campaign chief David Plouffe in his recent Washington Post column where he characterizes the change voters demanded in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Amidst a sea of anger and rabid partisanship that has undermined every major initiative, it appears the president may now look to new courses to live up to that promise.
To date, the presidents strategies appear to have been based on an idea to grant those who broke things an opportunity to fix them. At least that would explain why the key strategists on his successful campaign team were not given key positions in the administration initially. A shift towards prioritization of citizen issues and initiatives that deliver them favorable policies and outcomes would be welcome and would appear to be necessary to balance rampant special interest influence. What's clear is that the campaign system can foster and actively engage citizen participation in our political processes. That has not been a tenant of American politics. Let's see what it can do.
- Edward Phelps's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Did You Know?
From 1996 - 2005, for households earning more than $130,000, the cost of health coverage increased from 2.6 percent of total income to 3.3 percent. While households earning below $27,300, already paying an incredible 14 percent of total income for health coverage, saw their costs rise to 20 percent.
Source: The McKinsey Quarterly
By The Way...
| 36 | have been accused of spousal abuse. | |
| 7 | have been arrested for fraud. | |
| 19 | have been accused of writing bad checks. | |
| 117 | have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses. | |
| 3 | have done time for assault. | |
| 71 | cannot get a credit card due to bad credit. | |
| 14 | have been arrested on drug-related charges. | |
| 8 | have been arrested for shoplifting. | |
| 21 | currently are defendants in lawsuits. | |
| 84 | have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year. | |
| NBA or NFL? | ||
| Neither. | ||
| It's the 535 members of the United States Congress! | ||
Barack Obama Accepts the Democratic Party Nomination
News
- Key senators balk at adding student loan overhaul to health-care legislation
- Compromise would shield payday lenders, pawnbrokers and car dealers from oversight
- It's Obama vs. the Supreme Court, Round 2, over campaign finance ruling
- Politics, shaky economy create no rush to restructure Fannie and Freddie
- Lawmakers put the 'dead' in health-care reform deadline
LINKS
A Quiet End for Boys Choir of Harlem
Michael Moore: America's Teacher
Top Obama Fundraisers Get Jobs
F.D.I.C. Chief Criticizes Reform Plan
Federal Researchers Find Lower Standards in Schools
The State of Financial Reform: Banks Have Too Much Leeway
Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care
Senate Global Warming Bill Is Seeking to Cushion the Impact on Industry
Big Lessons From a Little Bank You've Never Heard Of
Nationalizing The Banking System
Making The Public Into A Political Force
Quote:
Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot.
Say I'm working at the N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well.
But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people that I never met and that I never had no problem with get killed.
Now the politicians are sayin', "Send in the marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number was called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass.
And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And of course the oil companies used the skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon.
They're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and fuckin' play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's walking to the fuckin' job interviews, which sucks 'cause the schrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorroids. And meanwhile he's starvin' 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State.
So what did I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. I figure, fuck it, while I'm at it, why not just shoot my buddy, take his job and give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.
Matt Damon - Goodwill Hunting
It was pretty fascinating,
It was pretty fascinating, and there's not much we can tell you about it because Treasury wanted the entire meeting with Geithner, and most of the rest of our time at Treasury, on deep background. Meaning, we could use testking ccda everything we were told, but could never attribute it to anyone, anywhere. So, if I learned a fact at the meeting, I could mention it some day in passing, but couldn't say how or why I know it. The meeting was the second time, I'm told, that Treasury has invited a group of bloggers to meet with some of the senior staff and the Secretary (second time?) It took place in the Treasury building a+ testking next to the White House, and it included around 18 bloggers. I know I'm going to leave someone out, but those I could recognize (or read their name plates) included: Faiz and Amanda at ThinkProgress, John Amato at Crook & Liars, Duncan Black of Eschaton, Sam Stein, Shafein Nasiripour and Ryan Grim of Huff Post, David Kurtz of TPM, Felix Salmon of Reuters, Megan McArdle of the Atlantic, Matty Yglesias of ThinkProgress, Patrick Garofalo of the American Prospect, James Kwak, Joe Sudbay of AMERICAblog and me. From Treasury, among others, were Secretary Geithner, Deputy Secratary Neil Wolin, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr, Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Allen Kruger, and Counselor ccent to the Secretary Gene Sperling. Quite an impressive, high level group.
Hi evry body, I am charry new
Hi evry body, I am charry new one here, Black pollitics is really found to me as a best plate form. It is a nice effort where we can share our views. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- find empire carpet here.