Election Reconciliation

(en) results of the U.S. presidential election...

U.S. presidential election 2000

Well…at the time of this posting we’re a little over 1 day from an election some have called the most important election in our time; some have called the most important ever. Based on what we know and what we guess the election race between Republican Mitt Romney and Democratic President Barack Obama is a virtual tie.

Who ultimately wins comes down to who wins a majority of Electoral Votes in 11 states that polls and/or history say are the only ones of the 50 where any doubt exists over who will win. They are (in alphabetical order):

Colorado- 9 electoral votes

Florida- 29

Iowa- 6

Michigan- 16

Nevada- 6

New Hampshire- 4

North Carolina- 15

Ohio- 18

Pennsylvania- 20

Virginia- 13

Wisconsin- 10

Some pundits have said Minnesota, and Oregon are up for grabs. But barring Romney sweeping the Eastern Time zone swing states (and he might) and getting a lot of voter momentum that doesn’t seem likely.

President Obama and Mitt Romney Different Word...

President Obama and Mitt Romney Different Words, Different Visions

Based on polls, history, common sense, 6th sense, and admittedly some wishful thinking this is where I currently see things going among the swing states:

Romney definitely wins: North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, and Colorado.

Obama definitely wins: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Iowa.

Romney PROBABLY and HOPEFULLY wins: New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

Obama PROBABLY wins: Ohio

The result: Romney wins 271 to Obama 267.

I won’t call the popular vote. It could go either way.

If I’m wrong I’m wrong on either Wisconsin or Ohio or possibly Pennsylvania.

What I’ve learned in this year-long election contest is that Democrats think Republicans are crazy to vote for Romney. They also think Republicans are mean, heartless, lacking in compassion, greedy and longing for the 1950s. They really believe this, and all my efforts to convince my friends otherwise has not changed their thinking.

Republicans think Democrats are absolutely loony for voting for Obama. They also think Democrats are stupid, and lazy, and greedy and stupid and lazy…and oh ya…hypocritical. And most importantly tyrannical. I don’t think most of the Republican claims about Democrats are true. But I do think some of those thoughts are true of some Democrats.

Sadly, the conclusion I come to is that regardless of who wins this country is and will remain seriously divided. These days even natural disasters cause political blame and argument. Hurricane Sandy brought debate from both sides about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s gracious and patriotic commentary and treatment of President Obama. Conservatives felt he went way over the top in his praise. Democrats accused him of hypocrisy and based his civility strictly on Christie’s selfish desire for Federal Funds to be  “gifted” to New Jersey. All I can say to both sides is PUUUUHHHHLEEEEZZZZ! Get over yourselves.

And before anyone thinks this is a one time or recent thing just think back to the most recent national emergencies of such size and scope. Hurricane Katrina was political from the moment it hit the shore in August 2005. Democrats…many of them not only accused President George W. Bush of incompetence but of actual racism. REALLY? REALLY? And the financial meltdown of 2008 was purely political and remains so much so to this day that it prevents real and fair decisions from being made. Four years later has the Obama Administration prosecuted any of Wall Street’s big mega-bankers for their complicity in the theft of billions of dollars? Uh…that would be NO. Is that Bush’s fault too? Uh…that would be NO. See…it goes on and on.

Though I didn’t vote for him and I didn’t have confidence in him I wrote several complimentary and encouraging blogs about President Obama following his election win in 2008. I was heartened by the election of America’s first black President and naively felt that our nation’s never-ending battle over race might finally be drawing to a close. I was wrong.

What has happened since George W. Bush was elected in the closest election in U.S. history in 2000 is that Red state‘s have become redder and blue states have become bluer. This election was fought in the narrowest geographic scope in history. Aside from the occasional fund-raiser neither candidate campaigned outside the eleven states mentioned.

The togetherness and American patriotism we ALL felt following the evil vicious attacks of 9-11  is now a distant memory. Efforts of civility on my part and the part of others have been bitch-slapped by the opposition. Faux offense over every little and possible conceived slight is displayed by both sides, such that too many of us stop listening to each other.

What is saddest of all is who is to blame for all this division. It’s our elected leaders and only our elected leaders. Sure we can lower our heads in shame for pulling the lever and putting them in office. But ultimately our leaders are supposed to lead.

I’m tired. Really really tired. I’ve done all I can to civilly and honestly pursued those who disagree that my point of view was correct. They’ve done likewise to me. In the end I wonder if any good came of it. If Romney wins and does much (he won’t do all) of what he says I suppose perhaps the answer is “yes”. I just hope another 9-11 or WWII or even Civil War doesn’t have to transpire in order to bring us together again as Americans. I think Mitt Romney can and will be transformative…but he won’t stand a chance if the opposition continues to not listen and instead paints him and his supporters as evil, greedy…etc. In Obama’s case…we already know THAT’S true.

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November 4, 2012
Categories: National Politics . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 2 Comments

So You Think Obama had it Tough, huh? What a Whiner!

U.S. Presidential flag, 1960-present (not usua...

As the 2012 election draws near a recurring theme from supporters of President Obama is things may be bad but they were made bad by President Bush four years ago and they were so bad that our current President hasn’t had time enough to fix all the problems. What a krok! What a load of BS! 

Never in my life have I heard such a whiner who is supposed to be a leader and I am utterly amazed Democrats don’t hang their head in shame every time their leader or his surrogates speaks on this subject.

If you think Obama had it tough, just think about the circumstances other Presidents inherited and how they responded.

Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan

President Ronald Reagan

The closest in terms of time and circumstances was President Ronald Reagan. Do you remember how bad things were in 1981? The U.S. was in the worst recession since the Great Depression, many aspects of which were much worse than the circumstances of the past four years. The unemployment rate was at 7.5% when Reagan came into office in January 1981 on its way to a post-war record high of 10.8% in December 1982. Average mortgage interest rates were over 13% and on their way to a high of 15.8% in November 1981. Rates were THAT high in order to combat the staggering inflation Jimmy Carter’s administration had failed to control: In 1980 it was 13.58%, 10.35% in 1981, and 6.16 in 1982. To put that in perspective only one year in the 30 years since has inflation crawled over 5%.

On top of the terrible economic news Reagan inherited a world where the threat of nuclear war was real.

English: President Reagan and General Secretar...

President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev signing the INF Treaty in the East Room of the White House. Français : Ronald Reagan et Mikhaïl Gorbatchev signant le Traité sur les forces nucléaires à portée intermédiaire dans la salle Est de la Maison Blanche.

The Soviet Union was occupying Afghanistan and still posing an ominous presence in Eastern Europe. OPEC was still only a few years old, we were only a few years from having lost the Vietnam War, and Iran had just emerged as a new and real enemy having only released the American hostages on the day Reagan took office.

So you think Obama had it tough?

Under Ronald Reagan by 1984 unemployment was down to 7.2% on its way to 5.3% at the end of Reagan’s term. Inflation was only 3.22% in 1983, 4.3% in 1984. The Soviet Union threat had been largely diminished and Reagan was soon to meet and begin peace negotiations with their leader Mikhail Gorbachev. And while those negotiations failed, so did the Soviet Union, driven into the ash heap of history thanks in large part to Reagan’s tough stance with them.

So you think Obama had it tough?

George W. Bush inherited the dot-com bust and recession and 9 months into office faced the tragedy of 9-11; a plot hatched and put into action long before he became President.

Richard Nixon inherited a war, the Vietnam War, and ended it. He also stepped into the most divided nation socially and politically than at any time since the Civil War.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, official portrait as Pre...

Dwight D. Eisenhower, official portrait as President.

Dwight D. Eisenhower inherited a war, the Korean War, and ended it. Also, 6 months into office Eisenhower had his own Recession to deal with. The Recession of 1953 lasted 10 months and saw the nations Gross-Domestic-Product fall to -2.6% at its worst.

There have been approximately 47 recessions in the United States since 1790. The most recent one may have been one of the worst. But so what. According to economists our current recovery is the slowest in U.S. history.

So you think Obama had it tough?

George Washington not only inherited a Presidency following a war, he inherited a presidency with no precedent. He was the first. He also ruled a country that as yet had no Bill of Rights, or Supreme Court.

Since Washington the United States has been in the following wars:

The War of 1812

The Mexican-American War

The Civil War

The Spanish-American War

World War I

World War II

The Korean War

The Vietnam War

The Persian Gulf War

and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

So you think Obama had it tough?

Never in my lifetime have I heard a supposed leader continually blame his predecessor to the degree President Obama and his supporters have blamed George Bush. And what saddens me is that they are teaching our country’s young people this is how it is supposed to be.

I reject that idea. America has been made by fine statesmen and leaders who didn’t whine about their circumstances, they worked to make them better. I pray this November Americans decide the whining has to stop and elect Mitt Romney to at least act like a leader.

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August 27, 2012
Categories: National Politics . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: Comments Off on So You Think Obama had it Tough, huh? What a Whiner!

The Democrat in Me.

 

GOP Florida Four - Caricatures

I’ll be voting in the Washington State Republican Caucus on Saturday. This will be only the second caucus I’ve participated in since I became eligible to vote before the 1984 Presidential election. If you’re wondering, “Why so few?”. You have to remember Washington State is so screwed up politically, and especially in the GOP party they can never seem to decide what they want to do. We’ve had lots of GOP Primaries, combined party primaries, and caucuses. Now its caucuses.

 

I can’t imagine what Democrats like about their party and about Barrack Obama.

 

English: Barack Obama Deutsch: Barack Obama

I really can’t. It eludes me. Why would anyone want to be part of a party whose soul mission in life seems to be to take down the successful, while defending the bad and sometimes morally corrupt behavior that leads to many being unsuccessful (and supported by the successful). I’ve heard Ann Coulter suggest Liberalism is a disease. I don’t think it’s that. I think it’s because they don’t like the Republicans and some of the stupid things Republicans do, not that they like Democrats so much. And I have to admit they’ve got a fair gripe.

 

The most annoying of their gripes is that Republicans are racist. It’s not true. And it’s counter to American History. It was Republicans in the Congress that passed

 

Portrait of President Lyndon B. Johnson Deutsc...

Lyndon Johnson‘s Civil Rights legislation over the objections of southern Democrats. It was The newly formed Republican party that opposed slavery and elected Abraham Lincoln who freed the slaves.

 

But in today’s world the few racists who are left in this country do tend to find their home in the Republican party versus the Democrats. It’s not reflective of the party as a whole, but it does taint the GOP and I believe prevent more well-intentioned Democrats from voting our way. Until we as a party go out of our way to recruit black votes and show black voters how the Democrats have failed them all these years, while simultaneously making racists uncomfortable within the confines of the GOP this false taint will continue to hover over the party.

 

Republicans greatest sin in the past twenty years was the persecution of Bill Clinton. And it was a persecution. I was no fan of Clinton; never voted for him. But the Kenneth Starr investigation

, United States Solicitor General from 1989 to...

Image via Wikipedia

took years and millions of tax payer dollars and all he came up with was Clinton engaging in marital infidelity and then lying about it at a time after the Special Prosecutor had already been impaneled. It was a waste, it was embarrassing and it was a mark Democrats have held against Republicans ever since.

 

Clinton became President having received ONLY 43% of the popular vote in 1992. And I don’t think Republicans ever forgave him for that. Just like Democrats never forgave George W. Bush for winning the Presidency in 2000 by a mere 243 votes in florida. The Clinton win spawned the irrational persecution of the man. The impeachment spurred Democrat’s resentment. And the Bush narrow win made Democrats completely irrational.

 

I vote Republicans because I believe in smaller more limited government. From this standpoint Republicans talk a good game. But as Democrats correctly point out Republicans had control of Congress and the White House from 2001-2007 and did a lousy job walking-the-walk. They spent like they accuse Democrats of spending. Still, I’d rather have a politician who at least talks about limited government versus a Democrat who has no intention of limiting government. The point is Republicans have been hypocrites and Democrats are right to say so.

 

Lastly, Democrats think Republicans are mean and don’t care about helping the poor. Of course they’re wrong. Numerous studies have indicated that those who identify themselves as being Conservative give a far higher percentage of their incomes to charity, to help the less fortunate, than do those who identify themselves as Liberals or Progressive. And this in spite of Liberals having higher incomes than Conservatives, in recent decades.

 

But Democrats are right in having the concern because Republicans have done an absolutely lousy job of explaining how our positions and strategies and morals are far superior in helping the poor raise themselves from dependency to success. We’ve done a lousy job as Republicans of conveying our belief in our fellow human beings abilities to rise up. We have not property demonstrated how government entitlement encourages individual dependency, and that which the government provides will only keep us ALL poor. No entitlement program will make anyone rich. And none will enable the individuals to grow into more success. Their subsistence programs only. But they’re given to too many people.

 

Still I believe in Liberty. Look it up. I honestly believe most people don’t know its true meaning. If they did. They’d join me at the Republican caucuses Saturday.

 

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March 2, 2012
Categories: National Politics, Washington State . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 1 Comment

Where will it Stop? Obama has crossed the line.

“The growth of government occurs in direct opposite proportion to the decrease of individual liberty.” ~ Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States of America

Barack ObamaIt’s a simple concept Democrats never seem to grasp, and this week the line drawn in the sand representing “TOO DAMNED FAR” has been moved once again. It is becoming standard practice for this line to be moved every few years.

In a letter to churches around the country the Obama Administration informed them that not only does the new Obama care health care law require them to provide medical insurance coverage for all their employees in every church, and archdiocese around the country but that coverage MUST include contraception coverage. Not going far enough the dictum from our new overseer says that such contraception coverage must be free, with no co-pay charge to the recipient, and it must include the so-called “morning-after” pill, RU486, which abort any fetus up to five days after unprotected sex leads to conception.

English: a catholic cross Français : une croix...

It’s bad enough that our government led by Nanny-in-chief Barrack Obama feels we MUST buy healthcare coverage from private industry vendors and the only qualification for such a requirement is that you are breathing. Now his continued attack on Christians, and Catholics in particular, is abusive and nasty and seemingly hateful. Catholicism is the religion practiced by more Americans than any other religion. And it’s teachings are that contraception is wrong and that abortion is murder. And before all you Pro-Choice advocates get your panties in a bundle settle down. I’m not advocating for Pro-Life, contraception, Pro-Choice, or any other life decision. I’m telling Obama to get out of my face and more specifically my religion.

English: cross catholic Pontevedra Français : ...

The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads as follows:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
             The anti-religious zealots have had a remarkable time reveling in the very first phrase in the most important of all amendments. But they continuously overlook the second phrase which I have put in bold. In establishing Obamacare and in interpreting the law to require Catholics to provide contraception to their employees President Obama and his team of “I know better than you” is telling the Catholic Church, “we don’t care about your free exercise of your religion. We’re telling you what we believe and YOU will follow.” It’s clearly unConstitutional.
              Those many of you who blindly defend all things Obama realize this, if Obama can require Pro-Life, or Catholic employers to require that health insurance provide contraception, including RU486, what’s to stop a future Conservative Pro-Life President from prohibiting contraception from being offered? 
President Bush signing the Federal Funding Acc...

Bush signed Patriot Act, Obama renewed it.

Just like the Patriot Act violates our right to privacy and our right against illegal search this step by the Obama Administration goes way to far into violating our liberties and our right to self-determination. The Patriot Act was enacted by President George W. Bush as an over-reach following the horrible terrorist attacks of 9-11. But as I feared at the time it’s now become standard and practiced law in this country. Obama renewed the Patriot Act, leaving it increasingly likely it may become permanent.

               To all Democrats I beg you. Stand up to your chosen leader and lets help roll back these government intrusions into our liberties, our rights, our beliefs, and our ability to pursue happiness. For if you turn a blind eye towards another man or woman’s injustice, the next injustice, the next infringement might be against you. Move the damned line back!
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February 2, 2012
Categories: National Politics . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 3 Comments

Rick Santorum’s compassionate conservatism

speaking at CPAC in Washington D.C. on Februar...

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum

A well written column explaining the difference between Santorum’s responsible conservatism and Ron Paul’s irresponsible, selfish libertarianism.

Opinion | Rick Santorum’s compassionate conservatism | Seattle Times Newspaper.

One thing is for certain. Santorum is starting to get shellacked. He is starting to be scrutinized by the media and his opponents like all the temporary “front runners” that preceded him. What bothers me most is the Liberal attacks he is facing on his social views; calling them “extreme”. Well, they are only “extreme” if the history of the world and everyone in it were born in the past 10-15 years. Santorum’s views aren’t extreme. They’re Catholic; of which he is a devout practitioner. And the claims of his extremism are nothing more than good old fashioned Catholic bashing.

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January 7, 2012
Categories: National Politics . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: Michael Schuett . Comments: 1 Comment

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