Partisan politics or spite at the cost of the USA economy?

I'm an Independent.  More accurately, I'm a fiscal conservative and a social progressive.  I am definitely more fiscally conservative than the previous 3 Republican Presidents and more socially progressive than the previous 3 Democratic Presidents.  So that puts me squarely in the Independent realm.  But to be completely clear, I chose to register as a Democrat some years ago as it became clear that the Republican party started to stick their nose into the personal business of the common American.  In other words, the Republicans moved so far right that the center now is squarely Democrat.

Don't believe it?  If you look carefully at his record of work as President, Clinton was probably the most successful Republican (policy) President of the last 30 years.  And in many ways, Obama has done more for the wealthy than he has for the poor.  These "liberal" Presidents are more right leaning than even Reagan.  In fact, Reagan would not even fit into the current mold as a conservative!

So in this crazy world of partisan politics, it may not come as a shock that the extreme right, that has taken over the Republican party, has decided that it is more important to defeat President Obama than it is to help the American people.  And they haven't even tried to keep quiet about it.  I guess that they figure that with all the rhetoric and spouting of doom and gloom, their agenda to kill the US economy and a chance of an Obama reelection might go unnoticed.

 

Yep, that was Mitch McConnell saying that the Republican Party "top priority" for the next two years would be  denying President Obama a second term.  As their "top priority", this would include a priority over working to put the American public back to work, ending the wars in the middle east, working to come up with a fair and balanced budget or any of the other bills they have blocked that would help move the American economy forward.  

But maybe Mitch, the Republican leader of the United States Senate,  didn't really mean what he said.  Maybe he just didn't like President Obama and thought saying something so nasty only a year or so into the Presidents term in office was just a light hearted quip.

So, he really did mean it; his actions and the actions of his Republican brethren prove it out.  What is truly sad, is that in spite of the fact that this congress has blocked more bills and positive economic work than any 3 previous Presidencies and still the economy is beginning to turn the corner to the better.  Imagine what might have happened if the congressional Republicans had not set beating President Obama nearly 3 years ago as their "top priority" and  instead set the needs of the American people as their top priority.

Now, we are in the midst of a Presidential election.  Should I vote for Mitt Romney with the idea that the Democrats in congress will not be as petty and self destructive as the current Republicans and will allow the American economy to grow as their top priority?  Or should I vote for President Obama and hope that the self loathing congress folk who seem to care nothing for the American people will be voted out of office?

It is a difficult decision.  On the one hand, I prefer the budget cut and rescind the Bush tax reduction on the wealthiest Americans that Obama favors over the cut all social programs except the military that Romney favors.  On the other hand, I fear that the extreme right will continue to block any good that the government can do to help the American people because they have publicly decided to make their "top priority" making President Obama look bad; which includes ruining any chances for Obama administration policies to pass through congress.

And don't come back at me with the response, "Both parties are just the same and both do the same things".  That is absolutely bullshit!  In my 54 years of life, I have never seen Independent, Democrats, Libertarians or any other political party work so hard at ruining the American economy as the congressional Republicans have over the last 4 years.  Many of the things Obama has been blamed for were Bush administration leftovers (e.g. three wars, stock market crash, housing crash, huge tax break for the uber-wealthy, bank payoffs, the biggest depression since the "Great Depression"...etc.).  Digging the US out of that hole was not going to be fast or easy.  And with a extreme Right wing congress determined to take down the President by blocking any and all positive economic policies, it has been a very slow recovery.  

Sure, the Democrats do not walk lock-stepped like the Republican party and as a result, they tend to vote what they believe is best for their local constituents.  So the Democratic majority did not push through all Obama policy during the beginning of his term.  However, that proves my point that both parties are not the same.  And during G.W. Bush terms as President, the Democrats allowed all sorts of non-Democratic Bush policy including war, spying on Americans, tax breaks for the uber-wealthy...etc.  

But now I have hit the point of ranting and I will stop here.  I am angry at the conservatives in this country.  They have allowed them selves to be co-opted by folks who are not particularly conservative, but instead are moral police, and tattle tails.  These folks are sure that the real reason for the poor economy is because of their perceived degradation of moral fiber in the US.  Yet they forget Matthew 7:1, "Judge not that ye be not judged."  

And to those folks I would say, only God can judge, and you are not God.  So get off your high horse and do like Jesus, mingle with the poor, the down trodden and the sinners.  And stop trying to govern morality.  Instead, allow the government, with all it's resources, to help rebuild the American economy, and make that your "top priority".