State of The Union

I have been very quiet, politically, since the inauguration of the President.   Not a single blog, post or tweet about politics or policy or the like except for congratulating my children and grandchildren for participating in the Women’s March.

During these 3 weeks, I have paid attention and listened to The President, the Republicans and other Trump supporters denigrate anyone that doesn’t agree with Mr. Trump’s views and edicts, slam President Obama and any claim that the Country is better off today then it was 8 years ago and generally spew hate and venom to opposing views.  That is not an America to be proud of.

No, I am not one of those that says that Trump is not MY President.  He IS the President, and no matter how much I dislike his demeanor, his views and his actions, the fact remains that he is THE President of The United States.

Regular readers of my blogs and other friends know that I am a progressive liberal in my political views.  Given that, I am not blind to the shortcomings of those that I support.  Nor do I discount everything that those with opposing views have.  There were many things that President Obama or President Clinton did that I didn’t agree with and there are some things that President Bush did that I could find common ground.  What I don’t understand is the continuing bashing of the prior administration…is there nothing that happened under President Obama that was right?  Let’s examine the last 8 years with REAL FACTS…not “alternative facts.”

• The Republicans and other opponents of Obama predicted that Sharia law would be imposed, your guns would be taken away, death panels would be created, the economy would be destroyed and Socialism/Communism would be imposed.  Sorry, but I can’t find any evidence that any of this happened.
• Eight years ago, the Dow was at 6626.  It recently hit 20,000.  The deficit as a percentage of the GDP has gone from 9.8% to 3.2%.   The deficit was cut by $800 billion.  We were headed for a depression or, at the very least, a deep recession – and we pulled out of it.  Economic ruin?  I don’t think so.
• Unemployment went from 10% down to 4.7%.  We had 82 straight months of private sector job growth.  11.3 million new jobs were created.  Corporate profits are up 144%.  The US Auto Industry was saved and American cars sold went from 10.4 million cars to 17.5 million cars.  Consumer confidence has risen from 37.7 to 98.1.  Middle class tax cuts were preserved.  Is this bad for America?
• The Affordable Care Act was created and while it certainly has its flaws, uninsured adults has decreased to below 10%.  90% of adults are insured– an increase of over 20 million people.  People with pre-existing conditions are now covered, children can remain on their parent’s policies and you can’t lose your insurance because you get sick.  Doesn’t sound like death panels to me.
• While health insurance rates have increased, these increases are significantly lower than the 58% increase that occurred from 2002-2008.  But a side benefit of the ACA is that it extended the life of the Medicare Insurance Trust Fund and it will be solvent until 2030 as long as Congress stops stealing from it.
• Homelessness among Veterans has dropped by half.  Billions was added to mental health care for Veterans.  While we still have a long way to go in taking care of our Veterans, these are positive steps.
• There were a number of Social Issues that were advanced over the last 8 years.  Gays and Lesbians can now marry and enjoy the benefits they had been deprived of for so long.  The Mathew Shepard Hate Crime Prevention Act was passed.  The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed.  Solitary confinement for juveniles was banned in federal prisons.  “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed.  The ban on stem cell research was repealed.  If you believe that All Men (and Women) Are Created Equal, then how can any of that be bad?
• Secret prisons overseas were shut down.  The Nuclear Summit convinced 16 countries to give up and destroy all of their loose nuclear material.  Syria was convinced to destroy their chemical weapons.  Relations with Cuba were normalized.  The number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have been greatly reduced.  Osama Bin Laden was killed and we retrieved all of the documents in his compound.  While, I agree that more can be done, was any of this bad?
• We landed a rover on Mars.  Solar and wind power are at an all time high.  Our reliance on foreign oil is significantly reduced and now at a 40 year low.  US exports are up 28%.  I am having a hard time finding fault in any of this.
• High School graduation rates hit 83%.  Pell Grants were doubled.  Is having a better educated public bad for our country?
• Obama had the most diverse Cabinet in the history of our country.  Women, Blacks, Latinos, and other minorities all had a voice in this administration.  Why is that so terrible?

So, where does that take us today?  Make America Great Again?  No!  Let’s continue to make progress in Keeping America Great.  Things certainly are not perfect.  They never have been in the history of our country.  It is all about incrementally improving the lives of our citizens and improving our Country. 

This is not about disagreeing with The President’s political views – no matter how narrow-minded I believe them to be and how much I disagree with most everything he has proposed so far.  This is not about the misogynistic, racist, anti-Semitic, narrow minded qualities that I believe he constantly displays.

This is about these requirements:

• We need a steady hand on the throttle. 
• We deserve someone who is interested in improving the Country and the people in it more than he is interested in enriching himself and his cohorts. 
• We need someone who will surround himself with intelligent, diverse opinions and has the ability to listen, analyze and direct the country to move in the right direction.  
• We desperately require someone with a thick skin who eschews all of the peripheral noise and bullshit that doesn’t matter and can focus on the problems at hand.  
• We have to have an adult at the helm, not someone who acts like a 6^th grade school yard bully. 
• We want someone without ethical malfeasance and who doesn’t believe that he is above the law. 
• We require a Leader that understands basic Civics and how the government works…that respects the separation of powers and checks and balances the Constitution provides. 
• We demand to have someone who can be a shining example of trustworthiness, thoughtfullness and class, to our own citizens, our children and to the world.  There is no substitute for class and the constant denigration of anyone or any institution (including the media) that has opposing views shows a colossal lack of class. 
• We desperately seek a Leader who unifies the Country and doesn’t constantly seek to divide.

And finally….

• We expect a Leader who is dedicated to Facts and Truth…not alternative facts, made-up stories and the propensity to repeat those lies over and over again so that a percentage of the population will begin to believe the bullshit.

I could list all of the specific missteps, all of the lies and all of the small-minded actions that have occurred in a short period of time…but, frankly, I am tired of all of the bashing going on…it is what it is.

To those of you that say, “Give him a chance!”  We have no choice.  After all, he IS the President.  Of course, we have no choice but to give him a chance…however, nothing in his first few weeks tells me that we will get any of the things we need, that we require, that we seek and that we should demand! My only hope is that if the President can’t give us what we need then the American public will wake up and demand a change….

And The Journey continues…………