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Blog Entry 219 of 219 The Subversive Liberal
"If by a "liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "liberal." – President John F. Kennedy...................... Some people find me and that sentiment subversive. I'm here to set the record straight and offer the real typical liberal point of view. Some call it subversive, I call it patriotic.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~BingVanGorden

The first 100 days
Contributed by: Bing Van Gorden   on 4/19/2009

President Obama's first 100 days went as I expected. As he did as Senator, he immediately implemented ethics reform. Of course there were caveats that he exploited for a handful of lobbyists he wanted on his team. Not everything we wanted but a step in the right direction. He began the process of closing G'itmo, revealed the official torture memos of the previous administration, but he's still adhering to some of the new power the previous administration granted itself and seems unwilling to vigorously prosecute the criminals of that administration. A lot of folks thought Obama would quickly usher in a new era of liberalism but he's proven to be rather moderate.

Despite the tea bag tossing critics, most of them should see a decrease in their federal income tax. The organizers of these events are the ones who will have to pay a little more. The President's budget is not nearly as bloated as the previous administration's and it's priorities have shifted towards helping America, this country, directly. Amazingly, spending money here has been spun into being socialism. Odd that a group claiming to be more patriotic than others is upset now when the government spending is aimed at helping them but defended the wasteful spending in the form of no bid, cost plus contracts to war profiteers that under delivered big time.

Our respect in the world has been helped immensely by the new administration. This is important. Most people know this, some view it as weakness. Ultimately we have two choices with foreign policy. Alienate or manipulate. Even Bush understood, you hold the hand of the Saudi Prince. You kiss their ring. If you must, you bow. Giving the impression of humility gives us an edge that arrogant stances can not. We need allies the previous administration turned away and we need to keep our enemies closer if we expect to have a positive impact on our nation.

Liberal groups have gotten some of what they wanted and conservative groups have found themselves in favor of some of the new administration's actions too. Of course the more extreme elements of both groups have been a little hysterical. Some on the left did indeed drink some kool aid and were under the impression Obama was a flaming lefty that would give them everything they wanted. They didn't pay attention during the race to his policy statements and his speeches, rather believed the hype. On the extreme conservative side, Obama is not an American citizen, is a closet Muslim at best and at worst a socialist. Most people recognize extremes when they see them and consider them accordingly.

I haven't been in love with every decision Obama has made or is making but I am not surprised by anything that has transpired so far. By and large he has remained true to his camping promises, but has obviously changed his mind on some things now that he is the chief executive. Tried to warn the cheer leaders of the Bush's power grabs back then that the next President would also have that power. We all have to keep challenging that. I'd prefer he focus more on helping Main St. than Wall St. I'd also prefer a different Treasury Secretary. But I knew he was just a less extreme advocate for trickle down economics than others. He's not all that different from Bush in that regard, or should I say not far away enough for my liking. (Which is why I roll my eyes when I hear him being called a socialist, communist or Marxist) I also don't like some of the decisions to defend Bush Administration legal opinions in the new Justice Department either. I'd prefer more populism than bail outs. Most people can agree, we can make better decisions with our money than the bankers who gamed and exploited the system. Cut me a check for my debt and let me give it to the banks. I am also still weary of his pledge to continue the government sponsorship of religious groups. So obviously there is still much to be desired for me. However...

Ethics reform, in trying to break the cycle of public to private service in the form of lobbying is a good thing. Critics were right to criticize some of the convenient exemptions Obama left in place too. At the very least it is a step in the right direction. So far the federal government has been made more transparent, as promised. The tax burden has been shifted towards the top 2% giving the rest of us a break, as promised. The tax burden isn't so great they can't handle it, as promised. There has been a shift towards re-establishing civil liberties, shutting down illegal wiretapping and data mining in The NSA for example, also as promised. Our foreign policy has shifted towards "manipulate" from "alienate." We have moved away from past evil deeds, torture and extraordinary rendition that were so effective in recruiting more terrorists against us. All this and he went to Europe, admitted mistakes we have made but also chided Europeans who blamed the US for everything. That's exactly what we need. Right wing critics left out the last part which is a shame. It was an important message to the rest of the world. A break from the "you're either with us or against us" mentality that was absolutely killing us. If we expect support in Afghanistan and other fronts including the economy we must regain respect. All in all, the country is moving in the right direction. We'll see what the next 100 days bring.


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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Submitted By: Linda Graves
posted on 7/3/2009 @ 8:44:47 AM
(Not Rated)
If you are happy having the federal government act as a guardian class with the ability to control every aspect of your life including making your healthcare decisions for you not to mention your menu choices, you just keep voting for those liberals. Have you looked into Barney Frank's and Chris Dodd's actions regarding the housing crisis that led to the recession we are now experiencing? Are those the liberal policies you're so pleased with? Liberals pride themselves on making up the rules as they go along believing that the end justifies the means. It never does and the price of uninteded consequences is always much worse when one actually counts the cost.
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Submitted By: Bill Prather
posted on 4/26/2009 @ 5:33:01 PM
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Bing. I thought you were better than this. Thank God the rest of the world now "likes us." I guess that will make it feel better when they try to kill us.
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Submitted By: David Brown
posted on 4/19/2009 @ 3:12:20 PM
Rated Blog Entry
PS. Thank you for using "tea bag tossing" instead of that other disgusting descriptive those on your team have been using. (Anderson Cooper among many others for example.)
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Submitted By: David Brown
posted on 4/19/2009 @ 3:08:51 PM
Rated Blog Entry
I appreciate your attempt to sound balanced but I'm troubled by a couple of things: 1. Just because we'll see a whopping $13 a week tax decrease, doesn't mean we're happy the stupid congress is spending $780 BILLION on mostly crap over the next 3 years, or the $480 BILLION omnibus budget bill. Some of us can't be bought like the leftists can. Some of us don't have a gimme, gimme attitude toward the federal government. And most of us would rather the leftist government didn't stick to those who create jobs and discourage them from doing so! 2. Telegraphing to the TERRORISTS that we're going to offer cake and ice cream if captured isn't a step in the right direction regarding the safety of US citizens. If we're attacked, Obama is pigeon holing himself into a no-win situation, mark my words.
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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Bing Van Gorden

Longmont , CO

Bing Van Gorden has posted 219 blog entries and 1045 comments since joining on 3/28/2007. Bing Van Gorden 's average blog rating is 3.14.
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