Don’t Be a Chicken
That’s the message that The New Republic conveys to President-Elect Obama, urging him to be aggressive in pushing ahead with the health care reform and other policies that defined his campaign.
Totally agree. All this talk of Obama needing to be bipartsan, not do something rash like change this awful health care system we have, or restore habeas corpus, or close Gitmo, is just ridiculous nonsense from politicians who care more about their cushy jobs than the American public, and from pundits who don’t know any better.
While he’s at it, Obama should strip Joe Lieberman of his status as Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security Committee for a variety of reasons, the LEAST of which being Lieberman going out on the campaign trail with McCain and trashing Obama at every opportunity. Seriously, click that link. Leaving Lieberman where he is could have far-reaching effects beyond political squabbling. Here’s a sample:
Since its inception, the Department of Homeland Security has been one of the most corruption-riddled arms of the government, able to hide its affairs from the prying eyes of the public under the guise of “national security.”…
The Department of Homeland Security is requesting a 2009 budget of $50.5 billion dollars. To put that in perspective, the military budget for Iraq and Afghanistan for 2009 is $200 billion.
The budget for Barack Obama’s healthcare plan, when fully implemented, is estimated to be between $50-65 billion annually…
Not only is Joe Lieberman not doing that job, as Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security Committee he’s keeping anyone else from doing it.
Is his continued happiness worth the cost of healthcare? Of the environment? Of putting Americans back to work? Of reducing our dependence on oil and getting the economy back on its feet?
A solid majority of voters supported you, Barack. Don’t let them down by throwing all your promises out the window, or by governing through mealy-mouthed consensus building. Implement the practical solutions this country needs. Don’t be a chicken.
Agree with you on this, especially about Lieberman being a rat…but Obama is nothing if not cautious..and if he picks L. Sumners as Treasury head…well, that will really be a sign that it’s business as usual…