Third Party & Independents: Archives

Lisa,

Politics is politics. The Republicans are ahead in playing the game for this cycle.

Focus on where we’re heading as a result of agenda and strategy. Do you like where Bush is going? Where the Democrats would like us to go? The Greens? The Libertarians?

Forget the tactics, it’s just noise.

‘Bush is not a uniter’, according to democrats who name a person they know Bush will not appoint. They claim he is not playing fair.
They claim Bush doesn’t tell them enough about who he may nominate. That he tries to keep secrets from them on his ‘vision’ of what the court should look like.
Bush won’t nominate ‘our people’ so it is he who is causing the divide.
Bush won’t listen to us when we tell him what to do and that is what causes problems.
All of this can be reversed.
Yes.
‘politics is politics’
Makes me sick.

This is more than tactics, this is about the Supreme Court. If the Democrats do not actively participate in the process of naming realistic candidates then it causes several reactions. The Republicans are far from perfect however at least thanks to Hatch the concept of Advise and Consent was followed. The Democrats are handing Bush a reason to not work with them, Republicans can say “See we tried but look who they came up with”. Each side blaming the other one when in reality? Both could have worked together.

Merely sitting back and suggesting candidates that they know will never be agreed to then complaining about being left out of the process should not be ignored.

To answer your question Dave, last election I voted Libertarian. I have voted Independent as well in the past. I feel we need more independent/third party candidates to balance the power both Republicans and Democrats have on our government on all levels.

Lisa,

I’ve been a member of several parties, currently, to paraphrase another poster, they all make me sick. (My question was actually rhetorical)

Anyway, all the parties play politics to get their agenda moving forward. How well they do it is what’s being critiqued here and has import only because how the masses will follow the politicing. E.g. “Advise and Consent” is a rally cry. To me it’s irrelevent.
What matters is who we, as a nation, want/accept for the Supreme Court. The rest is just politics. Personally, I think Roberts is the wolf in sheeps clothing and I fear what will come. But, since it’s almost a done deal, maybe we’ll get lucky.

The main problem I have with the Advise and Consent actions are that they are typically neither. Usually the advice that is given the president on judicial appointments is neither desired or seriously considered. Relative to consent, in most cases the party with the majority wins. The use of Senate procedure or filibuster to block nominees has more to do with political leverage than fundamental disagreement on judicial philosphy.

Until there are sufficient numbers of independents in the Senate to sway a vote on cloture or on stopping a filibuster, this gamesmanship will continue. The key to getting sense back into the process is the introduction of a third entity (not necessarily a party) that will prove disruptive to the current process. Perhaps if we have 10 Senators that are politically independent, this would help things. It would also make sense to poke a hole in the power base the parties have on committee leadership. Independent chairmanship of the committees and a balance of repubicans and democrats might foster more bi-partisanships.

In the case you describe here Lisa, I agree. The democrats have themselves to blame. A pox on both their houses.

I have some concerns about John Roberts as well Dave, especially his age since he will have a very long impact on the Supreme Court. I tend to believe he is a better candidate than some of the names suggested publicly. I do believe he will not bring politics or a personal agenda with him, so I am hoping I’m not wrong.

(Sorry I missed the rhetoric)

Dennis, exactly my thoughts as well. Thank you.

ALL:
I know I said I was taking a vacation from Blogging, But I hope we have learned something from Katrina. I do hope that everyone who knows anyone in the path of this storm, URGES them to evacuate.
Be Safe,
Wayne

Dave:

I’m not sure what Roberts is, besides being an exceptionally bright, intelligent and skilled jurist. If I were insanely liberal, I’d fear him. If I were insanely conservative, I’d fear him, but probably a little less so.

Thing is, we can’t look at the USSC in a vacuum. The Constitution allows the President to nominate candidates to the USSC. In that way, Presidential elections impact on the Court. The last two elections were ones that knowledgable voters knew would likely impact the Court. It so happened that the 2000 election did not impact the Court, but 2004 election is impacting it.

It is not right, fair, nor Constitutional sound for people to now claim that the process has flaws in it, simply because a candidate might not fit their personal ideology. Had Kerry won, Democrats would not be concerned that the nominees would have a more liberal bent to them.

Intelligent voters knew what was at stake in the last Presidential election, in regards to the Court. For those not informed enough to know this, I’d suggest getting informed.

It will be interesting to see what Roberts truly is, and what he becomes. Many USSC jurists have become much different during their tenure on the Court than what was expected. With Roberts, we shall see.

Lisa,
Like you, I too have some serious unanswered questions that I would like to ask Judge Roberts. However, I also have some serious reservations of why the some of the Democrats are opposing him. Having watched most of the hearing I was shamed at both sides questions and lack of respect to the oath that the Judge must live by. A total lack of imagination on asking abstract questions which would of allowed Judge Roberts certain issues.

Abortion is a function of the female reproductive system and will probably be brought before the courts in the future; thus answering any question that calls into question the right of a female over her reproductive system is considered “Vodoo” for the Judge to answer. Yet, a smart Senator could of asked Judge Roberts what he thought about a law that would restrict a male’s control over his reproductive system and if the Judge would think that the Law would be constitutional. Since the likelyhood of the question coming before the courts anytime soon, the Judge would be able to answer the question.

Individual Rights is another question that both sides failed to ask a properly. Although Human Rights are different than Animal Rights, they could of asked the Judge what he would do if a State passed a law that allowed Dogs to have Rights over Cats. Again since the likelyhood of this type of question coming before the courts is slim to none; thus Judge Roberts could of answered it.

I could go on and on with every issue, yet I’ll not bore you. However, I do see Judge Roberts as a person who is willing to put The Law of the Land above his personal beleifs and that is a good thing. True, he may hold personal feelings on certain issues and that is only Human. Yet, I noticed a Self-Disconnect in some of his answer, both Pro & Con for both the Democrats and Republicans, that should make even the most conservative Senator question his nominee.

However, I do agree with you and Dennis about getting more Independent Senators in Congress. The only problem I see in that is none of the current third parties have a decent platform to get behind. Nevertheless, there is HOPE given both the Left and Right’s response to the Natural Course of Human Events caused by Katrina and Rita. Because if these events would of took place last year we all would of been saying President Nader.

So Lisa and Dennis what is your political top ten issues? How do we form a third party that can do what the Republicans did to the Whigs some 145 years ago? What kind of Judges would be the best to serve on The Supreme Court? Serious Questions that need serious answer if Americans really want to change the face of politics in America.

Lisa, maybe I missed it, but how is Sotomayor any less qualified than Roberts?

“So Lisa and Dennis what is your political top ten issues? How do we form a third party that can do what the Republicans did to the Whigs some 145 years ago? What kind of Judges would be the best to serve on The Supreme Court? Serious Questions that need serious answer if Americans really want to change the face of politics in America.”

Posted by Henry Schlatman at September 22, 2005 04:39 PM

__________________________

Henry my top ten:

1. Education - continual slide on math and science scores are indicative of a brain drain in the hard sciences. The country is not the manufacturing base it used to be, so will have to be the innovator that develops and patents the ideas. This requires intensive education in the hard sciences. We’ve got to find a way to increase the level of energy in our education system around science.

2. Health Care - The current system is not working. We have to get some type of comprehensive health coverage in the country. I’m not an expert, but the single payer model that Canada has is attractive. There are approximately 40 million or so without health insurance in the country and need it. The cost of dealing with preventative health care is significantly lower that diagnostic care and treatment after an illness or disease has been discovered. People with insurance/health care typically are more healthy because of the preventative care measures they take.

3. Tax reform - We have got to get the Gordian Knot of the US tax code resolved. We are dealing with an archaic system that is too complex and hard to manage. Cost for management and compliance to the tax code as it exist today is extremely wasteful.

4. Deficit Reduction - Our economic growth rate right now is good. We are running at 3-5% growth year over year. What’s not good is that we should be paying down deficits in the growth years so we can afford to cover ourselves in the lean years and they are coming.

5. Election Reform - The elections of 2000 and 2004 have brought to light serious issues with regard to the election process. Corporatism, cronyism, intimidation of voters has been reported over and over again. Couple this with the outrageous spending on campaigns and we have the situation that Stalin put so well. “It’s the the voter who counts, it’s who counts the votes”.

6. Homeland Security - Serious reform needs to take place with Homeland security. There is little accountability for the actions of the organization. An evaluation by the GAO or some other non-partison group needs to look at the activities within the Department of HS to see what changes need to be made. We are still weak with regard to port security. Efforts need to be made to insure Homeland Security expenditures are “pork free”. The other area of Homeland Security that needs attention is Emergency Preparedness. The recent events of Katrina and Rita have high-lighted that we aren’t that coordinated and well prepared for disasters. We need to be. I’m very concerned about the possiblity of flu pandemics in this country. Will we be prepared for the infection of millions of people? What will our response scenarios be?

7. “War on Terror” - We have to seriously re-think our efforts in this area. The war on terror is effectively a fight against terrorists and not terrorism. To fight terrorism, you have to do more than kill the bad guys. You have to eliminate the reason for the terrorism in the first place. We aren’t going to do that quickly. There are religious reaons, economical reasons, ethnic reasons, political reasons and others that will spawn “terrorism”. We can combat the environmental factors that foster terrorism, namely economics. If peoples “bellies are full” (in other words they have jobs, food, shelter), they are less apt to go blow something or someone up. Even so, there will always be reasons for some people to rebel and to utilize terrorism as a method of attack. Terrorism will be with us forever and come in many shapes and sizes (IRA, Red Brigade, Tim McVeigh, Osama, etc.) So, the war must be focused on rapid and immediate identification and elimination and capture of the terrorists while we work on the long view of combatting the reasons for terrorist action.

8. Civil Rights - enough already with the gay marriage bans. The social conservatives in the country are losing this battle and don’t even realize it. Please, let’s move past this. Gays will eventually get the right to marry and they should. As our society has evolved (quite rightly in my opinion), we have become more acceptant of the gay lifestyle. I don’t believe this is a sinister plot on the part of the gays to push forward an “agenda” that will turn all of us on to tasteful dressing and an appreciation of the arts. It’s a question of fairness. We are a country that appreciates fair play. If two guys or girls want to get married and spend their lives with each other why should I care? This issue is a major distraction and should be put to rest.

9. Legislative Reform - The two party control of the government must be changed. Independent candidates must gain seats in Congress and change the way the legistlature reviews and acts on law. The “Majority Rules” aspect of the committee leadership is upside down and tyrannical. Independent legislators are the only hope to implementing reform in the most important institution in the country.

10. Environmental Protection - Regardless what the Bush Administration says, we are seeing climate changes, increased pollution levels and a serious damaging of the air we breathe, water we drink and land we live upon. It’s time we moved the debate on the environment out from the Sierra Club versus the Corporate Interests. This is about people. No one wants higher rates of asthma or other respitory diseases, but they are here. Pumping billions of cubic feet of noxious exhausts into the air may not have caused global warming, but it is certainly not helping to stop it. We’ve got to get some sanity in this process.

Henry, I’ve got about 20 more, but you asked for 10…..

oops. I hit the post button too fast. The Stalin quote is: “It’s not the voter who counts, it’s who counts the votes”. Sorry about that.

DECEITFUL DEMOCRATS

Many U.S. Democrats are very judgmental about the actions of President Bush because they fail to take a close look at the lies and deceitful actions of those in their own Party. For example:

In the Presidential debate of Oct. 22, 1976 between President Ford and Jimmy Carter, Carter stated that he did not favor a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion, and he would only work within the confines of the Supreme Court ruling to minimize the NEED for abortions. That is like saying, “I’m against slavery, but I will not work to change an unjust law, lets just work to reduce the NUMBER of slaves.”

From a speech by President Johnson, Oct. 21, 1964, at Akron University, Ohio: “We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.” In 1968, Johnson’s last year as President, there were over 500,000 American soldiers in Vietnam. During Johnson’s Presidency, over 30,000 American soldiers died in the Vietnam War. In addition, by the end of 1968, millions of South Vietnamese civilians were left homeless, and over 180,000 North Vietnamese civilians had been killed.

January 26, 1998: In the presence of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, President Clinton stated: “But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time — never. These allegations are false.” We know that Clinton not only lied with this statement, but a number of times before he admitted his guilt.

What will be the typical response from Democrats to this letter? Attack the writer for bringing these facts to the public‘s attention, and/or change the subject.

Vincent Bemowski - Writer & Webmaster

Catholic Messages USA - Resources/News/Directory

http://www.CatholicMessagesUSA.CatholicWeb.com/

Menasha, Wisconsin

U.S. DEMOCRATS ARE NOT INNOCENT

Many of the comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam used by democrats are illogical. Our brave soldiers are volunteers, and not largely draftees as in the Vietnam War. In addition, the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq has now evolved into more of a “police action” than an actual war. In his decision to invade Iraq, President Bush’s only mistake was to trust incorrect intelligence reports. But many from the U.S. Democratic Party made the same type of mistake. For example:

“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.”
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.

“We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 (Vice-President under Clinton - ran for President in the year 2000)

“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is developing weapons of mass destruction.”
Senator Ted Kennedy (Massachusetts), Sept. 27, 2002.

“I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force — if necessary — to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.”
Senator John F. Kerry (Massachusetts), Oct. 9, 2002.

“He (Saddam Hussein) has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaida members….Left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.”
Senator Hillary Clinton (New York), Oct 10, 2002

As you can see from the above, many democrats in the USA have very short memories when it comes to the judgments of leaders in their own political party.

Vincent Bemowski - Writer & Webmaster

Catholic Messages USA - Resources/News/Directory

http://www.catholicmessagesusa.catholicweb.com/

Menasha, WI