Chart of the Day - 11.12.2008
| Tue Nov. 11, 2008 10:27 PM PST
CHART OF THE DAY....According to a new CNN poll, 59% of the public thinks one-party rule by the Democrats is a dandy idea. Furthermore, 62% have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, vs. 38% for the Republican Party. "When has the Republican Party image ever been that bad?" asks CNN political analyst Bill Schneider. "Answer: when the Republican Congress impeached President Clinton at the end of 1998."
Continues Below
Continued From Above
Comments
I want us (USA) to protect our auto industry. It can be part of the "Green Bubble" discussed by Friedman and Colbert.
Regulation, always fought by the Republicans, could have forced a larger percentage of small cars to be already tooled up. The "Free Market" cannot solve the big problems; there's no foresight. (No one plans around a light rail system until it's built.)
It's hard to find a balance between a global free market and what seems to be a needed protectionism. Republicans have one measure their freedom being their ability to buy big cars. I've heard it over and over.
Think of this : We loan/give/whatever $75B to the Auto Industry - that's $250 per person. If one guy buys a $50K Lexus, he's sending around $40K offshore. No way does that upscale person take part in any trickle down.
If everyone would define "Freedom" correctly, a Lexus wouldn't sell here. And, ... we would be injecting into OUR economy. That's some of the Patriotism we need now.
Americans are probably calling for 'change'. Everyone seems to know that after a few years in power, any party gets really cozy with the K Street lobbyists who start running the show to the detriment of average people.
A wolf pack of lawyers could probably whittle K Street down to a manageable level.
The Dems in the Congress and the Senate need to work aggressively with Obama to not only staunch the blood flow of the economy for the present, but actually carry through on assurances of green technology and infrastructural investment. In short, they will need to live up to the faith this chart suggests people are putting in them. Otherwise, when the Republicans stop licking their wounds and come back in their typically rabid fashion, they will find it all too easy to turn the houses again. We don't need a repeat of the 90's, this time with Obama constantly up against a hostile Republican majority.
Submitted by D-Ny (not verified) on Wed Nov. 12, 2008 7:16 AM PST.
So can we please not worry about including Republicans in the Obama Administration or being any more bipartisan than is necessary to get our stuff passed?
How is the media ignoring 9/11 and how does that matter to this discussion? I think people agree that our getting out of Iraq and focusing on al Qaeda puts us in a better position against the terrorists.
Except for the wingnuts, that is.
Submitted by Eric Ferguson (not verified) on Wed Nov. 12, 2008 9:33 AM PST.
Just a note of caution: remember that the Republicans recovered just fine after the impeachment in 1998 and took power in 2000. Those of us who advocated impeachment of Bush tried hard to make Democrats understand that any public disapproval would be short-lived. We couldn't get this across, but I guarantee Republicans understand it. They may not understand that the last two elections weren't flukes, but they know it's possible to recover by 2010.
I have an acquaintance/friend who argued a few years ago that the federal courts were too Liberal. I told him all the circuits but one were dominated by Republicans. He told me I didn't know what I was saying. So, I gave up and told him to Google it since I didn't have time to educate him.
Some people hold beliefs they don't feel need to be reviewed or validated against the facts.
So, when Obama starts appointing federal judges don't be surprised at screeching you'll hear from the Right. They still think Bush is a centrist.
Eric Ferguson at 12:33 has it right. Don't forget that McCain's 46% is still almost half of those voting. If people don't at least see light at the end of the economic tunnel by 2010, the pendulum will start its swing back to the right. It was the mostly constant 44% center that gave Obama his victory, just as they did for Bush, twice. (I guess some people are slow to learn.)
To Richard Crews ; A large chunk of a new Cadillac or Lincoln is also made overseas, so there is not a whole lot of difference. Plus the Lexus is a much better quality car. Until GM starts making batter quality automobiles, they will always be on the edge of bankruptcy no matter how much money the taxpayers throw at them.
They (along with Ford & Chrysler) also pay the highest unskilled labor wage in the world, which only makes matters worse. Toyota, et al workers also make good wages, but the UAW will have to cut the US brands some slack if they ever hope to let them be competitive.
