The Political Climate
I hate Barack Obama.
Not because he's a Democrat, not because of any particular policy, but because it seems like he's always out there doing stuff. Or perhaps more correctly, he's always out there letting the world know that he's doing stuff. Case-in-point, tonight he addresses the nation with yet another prime time news conference. I don't know how many that will make this so far, but I know that it's at least a couple too many. I don't hate Obama because of all this political garbage, I hate him because he's been insistent in messing with our prime time television viewing. I hate him because I don't know if Lost will be starting at it's normal time tonight or whether it could be pushed back if this stupid press conference goes wrong.
I mean, what's so important that it demands television be interrupted? Forget swine flu, I'm more interested in the events leading up to "the Incident."
In all seriousness (or perhaps I should say, "in regards to more serious subjects" seeing as my enjoyment of Lost is very important to me), plenty of folks on the right want to blame the problem of ever-encroaching government on the Democrats and on Obama, but the biggest failure of the recent news-making tea parties were the events utter failure to recognize the social and cultural shifts that led us from so-called Republican revolution of the 90's to the two-party big government we have today. Some on the left have poked fun at these "grassroots" tea party protests for emerging only now, after the election and rightfully so. After all, where were all these protesters as the seeds for bigger government were first planted and grown throughout the Bush administration?
As much as I've found the tea partyers aims of lower taxes to be positive, I can't help but wondering whether these protesters were the right's version of the left's anti-war protesters and if "Just say no to socialism" was sort of like "No war for oil." Arguing that the upper income tax bracket should remain at 35% rather than be increased back to 39% or more may be a good policy argument, but it hardly seems "take-it-to-the-streets" worthy. And in a similar vein, I don't understand why the time to take to the streets is when the government threatens to help keep people in their foreclosed upon homes and not during any of the many Bush administration eviscerations of the free market.
This may sound like one unconnected, illogical rant, but I have a point and it's the reason I haven't been blogging of late. I just can't remember a time where politics and current events have bored me so much and have been so downright disheartening. It's not just the political climate, but the general trend of political attitudes, which seem to be drifting as far away from libertarian ideals as ever. (Case-in-point, the Republican plan on health care which is based on the Massachusetts program mandating private health insurance coverage. It doesn't help that such government intrusions into people's private lives are labeled "market-friendly.") It's been tough to blog because everyday I see a different big story that's all about big government.
The truth is that high taxes won't ruin this country, nor will any of the massive expenditures we've been seeing and discussing. What will ruin this country is the continued government monkeying in the financial sector and any massive and mandatory comprehensive government health care plan. And that's why I'm scared and that's why I'd rather be watching Lost.
Not because he's a Democrat, not because of any particular policy, but because it seems like he's always out there doing stuff. Or perhaps more correctly, he's always out there letting the world know that he's doing stuff. Case-in-point, tonight he addresses the nation with yet another prime time news conference. I don't know how many that will make this so far, but I know that it's at least a couple too many. I don't hate Obama because of all this political garbage, I hate him because he's been insistent in messing with our prime time television viewing. I hate him because I don't know if Lost will be starting at it's normal time tonight or whether it could be pushed back if this stupid press conference goes wrong.
I mean, what's so important that it demands television be interrupted? Forget swine flu, I'm more interested in the events leading up to "the Incident."
In all seriousness (or perhaps I should say, "in regards to more serious subjects" seeing as my enjoyment of Lost is very important to me), plenty of folks on the right want to blame the problem of ever-encroaching government on the Democrats and on Obama, but the biggest failure of the recent news-making tea parties were the events utter failure to recognize the social and cultural shifts that led us from so-called Republican revolution of the 90's to the two-party big government we have today. Some on the left have poked fun at these "grassroots" tea party protests for emerging only now, after the election and rightfully so. After all, where were all these protesters as the seeds for bigger government were first planted and grown throughout the Bush administration?
As much as I've found the tea partyers aims of lower taxes to be positive, I can't help but wondering whether these protesters were the right's version of the left's anti-war protesters and if "Just say no to socialism" was sort of like "No war for oil." Arguing that the upper income tax bracket should remain at 35% rather than be increased back to 39% or more may be a good policy argument, but it hardly seems "take-it-to-the-streets" worthy. And in a similar vein, I don't understand why the time to take to the streets is when the government threatens to help keep people in their foreclosed upon homes and not during any of the many Bush administration eviscerations of the free market.
This may sound like one unconnected, illogical rant, but I have a point and it's the reason I haven't been blogging of late. I just can't remember a time where politics and current events have bored me so much and have been so downright disheartening. It's not just the political climate, but the general trend of political attitudes, which seem to be drifting as far away from libertarian ideals as ever. (Case-in-point, the Republican plan on health care which is based on the Massachusetts program mandating private health insurance coverage. It doesn't help that such government intrusions into people's private lives are labeled "market-friendly.") It's been tough to blog because everyday I see a different big story that's all about big government.
The truth is that high taxes won't ruin this country, nor will any of the massive expenditures we've been seeing and discussing. What will ruin this country is the continued government monkeying in the financial sector and any massive and mandatory comprehensive government health care plan. And that's why I'm scared and that's why I'd rather be watching Lost.
posted by lonely libertarian at 3:04 PM
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