I’M BAFFLED!

I’M BAFFLED!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

It never ceases to amaze me, the love affair that that we, as a species, seem to have with armed military conflict, it’s almost like our Achilles Heel. There never has been a time in recorded history when the drums of war did not beat. I’m not like most of my constituents (bloggers), I don’t particularly point a finger at one political party or another, in my opinion all political parties are to blame in varying degrees for the stinking mess that the countries in.

 

No matter what hot button issue might be dominating your thinking process, almost without exception, the war on terror and the possibility of an Ebola virus outbreak has to be right up there. All of the media outlets, print, radio, and television shoulder its way into our thoughts, crying about ISIS and the Ebola virus. There are however bigger issues going on in the world besides ISIS or Ebola.

 

Whether your candidate won or lost is of little consequence, like I said, “to me, both political parties are pretty much the same.” And here we are, three days after the close of the midterm election cycle and I guess the Republican Party can count the results a win. I’m not sure that one party or any other can ever count an election in a democratic society a win. I’m under the probably naïve thinking process that politicians are elected into an office to serve those people that put them there.

 

The pundits have gone wild with all sorts of allegations as to why the Republicans were so strongly supported in this midterm election cycle. I, of course, have my own opinion as to why things “went south” for the Democrats. I suppose my opinion will differ a lot from the mainstream thinking…..it usually does, but in this case, I feel strongly that my opinion is spot on.

 

MID-TERM

What exactly are the mid-term elections anyways, and how do they differ from the presidential elections, what demographics are at play in the mid-term elections that don’t seem to be around during the elections for the president? Interesting questions…..at least to me, and since this is my blog, I can ask them.

 

Let’s begin with the United States House of Representatives, the Democrats lost twelve seats, giving the Republicans a commanding 242 to 179 advantage. Over in the Senate, there will be a 52 to 43 advantage for the Republicans over the Dems with two independents.

 

So now the Republican Party controls everything with regards to how the U.S. will be governed for the next couple of years except the presidency. Exactly what does this mean to the American people and how will we deal with this political imbalance.

 

I have come to understand that every election is important, local, state and national, it’s how our system of government operates, a democracy (where all eligible citizens are meant to participate equally, either directly, or indirectly through elected representatives)…..in the proposal, development and establishment of the laws by which society is run.

 

There are three branches of government in the United States, and the constitution provides a separation of powers, the legislative or Congress which makes the laws. The membership of Congress is made up of 100 elected state Senators, and 435 Representatives. Both Senators and Representatives, besides their duties at the legislative branch of government also are responsible to the states that elected them.

 

Of course there’s the executive branch which carries out laws, and is made up of the president, vice president, and the cabinet which is nominated by the president, and must be approved by the senate. It is here that things in government become a bit sticky…..or gridlocked. Republicans and Democrats for the past several decades haven’t gotten along very well together.

 

The third branch of the federal government is the Judicial Branch, made up of the Supreme Court, nine members, and other federal courts. It is here where partisanship can really weld a long, sharp and deadly weapon. Supreme Court members are nominated by the sitting president, and must be approved by the Senate…..and these people, once confirmed, are done so…..for life.

 

WHAT ONE POLITICAL PARTY IN POWER MEANS

In probably the biggest understatement of the week, President Obama lamented “that he’ll need to work more closely with Republicans if he wants to achieve anything legislatively for the rest of his presidency.” “I’ll not be running for office again, I don’t have any further political aspirations, my number one goal is deliver as much as I can to the American people as I can during the last two years of my administration.”

 

However that said, what Republicans can do: is to pass legislation because they now have a majority in both chambers of Congress. The Senate also has more than just the ability to pass laws, unlike the House, it also holds power to approve or reject the judges, cabinet members, political staff, and diplomats that the White House appoints.

 

One glimmer of light is the fact that the Republican majority can’t pass bills without the President’s signature, because they didn’t get the two-thirds congressional majority they’d need to override a presidential veto, or even enough to avoid certain types of filibusters.

 

The political wrangling will continue the partisan atmosphere, gridlock, separatism or whatever you’d like to call how our elected officials act, and react to situations will be more graphic…..of that you can rest assured. This system that we use to govern has its flaws, voter turnout being probably the biggest breakdown. People want a strong minimum wage debate, and well over 50% favor the establishment of some sort of living wage. But even with those sentiments, voters voted Republicans into office that’ll fight screaming and kicking to avert any such action. People also want common sense gun control, and laws, but continue to elect proponents of the NRA and their agenda.

 

FOREIGN POLICY

Here is the part that really scares the hell outta me, I understand that the president and his advisors handle much of the country’s foreign policies, but with the Republican Party now firmly in control of so much, what will happen with the old war dogs that still hold their political seats?

 

Will neo-conservatism now hold sway, will the behind the scenes shenanigans of people like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton, Richard Perle, and William Kristol come home to roost? Will politicians like John McCain have their way and create another war on terror?

 

As a unit, it seems as if the Republican Party would rather fight than switch, and in the 21^st century that is just unacceptable to me. Cooler heads need to come into play before the country writes a check with our mouth that our collective butts simply can’t cash!

 

It is never a good thing to have one political party in power; our form of government has been designed to have a checks and balances type of system…..no matter whether it’s the Republicans, the Democrats, or the Green Party or whatever. It’s worked pretty much for the 238 year history of our country…..why change now?

HAVE A NICE DAY!