Response to Classmate's Blog

In response to Erich's "Obama on Employment and Energy" In Erich's article he says that it's"great news" that Obama plans to create 2 million highway jobs and in a very sad way I agree with him and Pres. Elect Obama's plan. Is it the whole solution to our financial woes? No, but anything that will stop the trend of unemployed Americans is a good start. Even if it means spending more money on the Highway programs to get started; so what? Unemployed Americans just become a drain on the system whereas employed citizens not only pay taxes to help repay the debt, but feel a sense of pride. I know how Erich feels when he says he is excited to be able to get a job when he graduates.Is it going to be in the field that he studied in college. Hopefully, but maybe not. This reminds me of a similar plan in the early 70's when there was also a recession. I was 19, married with a child and one on the way. There were not many jobs but there was a govt. program started through the US Dept.of Agriculture to create jobs in warehousing and delivering food products to lower income families who qualified. It was not what I had envisioned my life's work to be, but I was very happy to be gainfully employed. I never did get to go to college then but I am making up for it now. I'm glad your excited Erich and I hope when you graduate that soon to be Pres.Obama will come through on these and many other jobs. Faith lives on. Peace.TM

"Return to Higher ground"

When we last left the Republican Party they were still trying to figure out a way to pull off a major upset. The GOP was in disarray, the rats were starting to jump ship, and the blame game had begun in earnest. Gov. Palin turned out in the long run to be more of a liability than an asset. She did succeed in certain areas of energizing the Christian Right and the hardcore conservatives, but in the end she and the GOP in general failed to deliver a clear and concise message. Were they mavericks, or just more of the same? Sen. McCain did have a record, small as it was, of working with folks on the other side of the aisle. Gov.Palin compared herself to Sen. McCain in that respect, and would have us believe that she also was slightly right of center which she obviously was not. I could go on and on about how her campaign rhetoric did more harm than good; but to what end? No sense in beating a dead horse. Question still remains fellow citizens. What went wrong, and where do they go from here?
The Myth of ‘the Southern Strategy’ by Clay Risen reminds us of certain demographic changes that have occurred over the past several decades. Once known as solidly Democratic, the south has become in recent years more a home to the wealthier suburbanites whom have become a part of the growth that is the “New South.” These southerners have voted over the last several elections mainly Republican. This year the GOP held most of the South, with the exception of Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. What does that say to the GOP and the “Southern Strategy?” What does it say to the GOP that the Democrats not only managed to steal away enough of the undecided middle age suburban white voters, but also managed to re-energize the African American and Hispanic blocs, and create a whole new generation of young, energetic first time voters and campaign donors mainly through the use of internet technology? If there is to be hope in 2012 for a run at the White House the GOP will first need to adapt to today’s media and technology, and regain their hold on the South.
The Republican Party is hurting right now much like the Democrats were at the beginning of the current decade. They had to lick their wounds and learn how to make concessions, and so will the Republicans. Many GOP faithful are wondering what happened to their message. I believe that it is not so much a matter of message, but of image. The people have seen enough under Pres. Bush and have spoken. Tell someone you voted Republican now and not only do you have to live with the humiliation but with the shame as well. History remembers not only the event but how we react to the event. Unfortunately the GOP right now is suffering from the fallout of those very reactions. Stay the course GOP faithful. Veer not too far either to the left nor right, and you will perhaps find your way back to the path that leads to the “Higher Ground.” Remember the Gipper. Peace.

3 Successful Republicans Caution Against a Move to the Right - NYTimes.com