Politics and government policies affecting communities at multiple scales

American Government and Politics

The Impact of Politics on People, Communities, and the World

I have not personally been affected by American politics in ways that I can think of, possibly because I am not an American citizen. However, I understand that, in principle, political decisions can have extremely important affects on individuals. For example, if the Republicans win the presidential election and win back control of the Senate and retain control of the House of Representatives, they could actually succeed in outlawing abortion and even many common forms of birth control. Politics also affects local and national communities because the decisions made in Washington determine what federal money is available to states for crucial functions such as education and health care programs. Because the United States is the most influential nation in the world, political decisions in this country can affect all of the other nations in the world in terms of business, foreign aid, and, of course, warfare.

Impressions of the American Political System

I have been very surprised to learn about all of the obvious dysfunction that plays such an important role in contemporary American politics. My understanding from textbooks was that all legislators take a solemn oath to govern in good faith and to carry out their constitutional duties. To read about the fact that all of the Republican members of Congress agreed in 2008 to prevent the newly elected president from accomplishing anything was shocking. I am having a very hard time understanding how it is that the elected members of Congress can admit that their only goal is to prevent their president from accomplishing anything for the nation and how it is that this is permissible within such an advanced system of government.

Thoughts on President Obama

I do not understand why President Obama allowed the Republicans to frustrate his efforts, especially before they won back the House of Representatives in 2010. It should have been extremely clear to him that the Republicans were not negotiating in good faith and that there was no point to bending over backwards for the sake of bipartisanship when the Senate Minority Leader stated his intentions so as clearly and publicly to refuse to allow the President to accomplish anything. The approach that the President has announced now about refusing to sign any legislation that extends the Bush tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires is exactly what he should have done last year when the Republicans held the debt ceiling hostage to those same tax cuts. It is also what he should have done when he negotiated healthcare reform and never even tried to push the idea of a public option that he had campaigned on.

Thoughts on the 2012 Presidential Election

I am amazed that a person who is obviously as much of a hypocrite and who is so comfortable lying could possibly be a candidate for the highest office in the U.S. Mitt Romney seems to lack even an ounce of integrity and it is more than obvious that he will say anything to win an election. In my opinion, if Mitt Romney should win the election, his presidency will be even more of a disaster than that of George W. Bush.