Politicians and journalists have freely used emotion filled labels to create a bias and stereotype attitudes toward political and economic philosophies as though one or the other is intended to work against the interests of the American People or even go as far as denouncing such a philosophical approach is outright Un-American. For years politicians seem that they are either Conservative or Liberal. Now such words as Ideologue or Neocon are becoming more common that are intended to paint a specific image and attitude in the public mind. During our last campaigning season we saw the reemergence of Socialist and Socialism as if it were synonymous with treason or an insurgency movement to overthrow the Republic as if that were probable or possible. That is a scenario for a completely new debate, but now we are faced with a financial crisis where recession could easily turn into depression. There are times when we need to rise above ideology and commit ourselves to a course of action, even if we cannot agree with it in its totality, for the common good of the entire nation. This discussion reminds me of an assignment that most of us were asked to master in a Middle School Civics Class. That assignment was to memorize the Preamble to the US Constitution of which we should often remind ourselves. “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The one part of this Preamble which I think each Republican member in the House of Representatives needs to revisit and seriously contemplate is one that is short, simple and underlies the responsibility that he or she has to their constituents. “To promote the general welfare” to ourselves and our posterity.” For far too long the Republicans have had one solution to the economic woes of our economy and that is to cut taxes and reduce the expenditures of the Federal Budget. However, this philosophy of “trickle-down economics” has never worked and I would go as far as saying it has proven to be a complete failure. Eugene Robinson expressed my feeling more succinctly and to the point in the conclusion of his Op-Ed Column in the Washington Post this morning. Blind Unanimity Congressional Republicans What I've been hearing from Republicans in both the House and Senate has been a kind of attenuated, distorted echo of the economic doctrine that the party has preached, if not always practiced, since the Reagan years. It's perfectly appropriate, of course, to ask whether a specific spending proposal would have the desired stimulative effect; indeed, some items were removed from the stimulus bill for that reason. But underlying the Republican criticism has been a familiar formula: more tax cuts, fewer spending initiatives. But Americans know that this philosophy has already taken us as far as it could. Americans know that taxes can be cut by only so much before the federal government's effectiveness inevitably suffers. Americans know that spending money doesn't necessarily mean wasting it. Americans know that the economic crisis means that taking the position that government is inherently oppressive, if not fundamentally evil, is now intellectually bankrupt, because government is the only instrument we have in the high-stakes attempt to induce financial and economic recovery. If Republicans hadn't broken the bank with drunken-sailorish spending during most of George W. Bush's time in the White House, their complaints about the cost of the stimulus package and its impact on future deficits would be more credible. As things stand, we have to let actions speak: absolute solidarity among House Republicans in voting no. It was a triumph of discipline over reason, of doctrine over observation. There is abundant evidence suggesting that we are in a new political era with new rules and a new lexicon. Those who ignore that evidence will have only themselves to blame if, like the air traffic controllers, they end up losing their jobs. Dissent is the Highest Form of Patriotism. ~ Thomas Jefferson Remember, Be Happy and Be Safe. Senex Magister | 
