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It’s been called an election without substance — all smoke and mirrors.

Actually, we think this election was pretty clear on the big issues. The exit polling questions/answers told us where the country stands on women’s rights, immigration reform, war, a balanced approach to deficit reduction, the basic civil right to vote, and at the same time the exit polls demonstrated huge passion among our young voters and the NEW majority demographic — non-whites!

And there has been a truly strong, and epic shift among the American people in our attitudes toward taxes. For over 30 years taxes have been demonized as baaaaaad! But, after 4 years of the GOP screaming, “deficits are bringing our country down” out of one side of their mouths, followed quickly by a shout of, “we need to cut taxes by 20%,” it appears that at least ONE of their conflicting positions has won the hearts of the voters.

It’s pretty logical, after all, and the American people seem to get it: if deficits are a danger to our long range economy, then lowering taxes — especially on the already-wealthy who don’t need them — would surely make the deficit worse. Kinda hard to argue with that!

The GOP mantra that “cutting taxes for the rich will grow the economy (jobs) in our country, and the wealth will trickle-down to the rest of us,” has been pretty much de-bunked.

The recent, non-partisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report concludes, “The results of the analysis suggest that changes over the past 65 years in the top marginal tax rate and the top capital gains tax rate do not appear correlated with economic growth. The reduction in the top tax rates appears to be uncorrelated with saving, investment, and productivity growth. The top tax rates appear to have little or no relation to the size of the economic pie.”

And the voters seem to be convinced that the GOP “trickle-down theory” has been a hoax. The exit poll answers made clear that raising taxes on the uber wealthy is favored as a way to help lower deficits, and that attacking our social safety-net while at the same time lowering taxes for the already-rich would NOT be acceptable to voters.

TWEET: Michael Linden@MichaelSLinden

“John King says the country is a center right country – on the same night Obama is reelected and Dems win seats in both chambers.”

I saw this tweet last night, and it reminded me that common wisdom DOES have it that America is a center right country, and that IS why we started this blog two years ago during the healthcare debate. We named our blog “Center Left Nation” because we just don’t agree that America is politically right-leaning. It’s just not.

And, last nights re-election of our black, reformer Democrat president confirms the initial instinct. Click HERE to read our Inaugural Post.

Daniel McCarthy at The American Conservative magazine wrote an interesting article this week that goes a long way in ringing the alarm bell for today’s GOP.

He asks the question, “Is the GOP Still a National Party?” And, pretty much answers, “No.” His take is that the GOP has become a regional party, beholden to their right-wing base and less and less able to run a national campaign that appeals to the country as a whole.

We were really excited to stumble across this article, as we’d already begun to talk among ourselves about the rightward turn of the GOP, and how that is making their message harder to sell in a national election.

The GOP civil war has begun. When the party took in the Tea Party in order to win elections in the short term, they took in the right-wingers who will destroy the party in the long run.

The Tea Party represents about 22% of the American voters — not a big enough group of voters to win elections on their own, but it is a sizable group that has helped the GOP to win elections — most recently in the 2010 congressional elections. That win was accomplished with a basic lie: Obamacare has “Death Panels” and it was won with right-wing populism that stirred anger over the bank bailouts. And, it was won because Obama voters didn’t show up at the polls.

But, the GOP took the wrong lesson from that election. They thought that their big win meant that the country had turned to their right-wing policies. They went too far and over-reached with their agenda.

Right now so many Republicans are blaming Mitt Romney for where this presidential election currently stands. We think that in addition to Romney being an awkward, unlikable person, he is also saddled with the voter’s dislike of today’s GOP and the belief that it no longer shares values with the American people since it adopted Tea Party rhetoric.

The GOP brand of Ronald Reagan was sunny and forward looking … that’s the American people! Today’s GOP, with its Tea Party values, has become negative; hateful; mean; backward looking; blame-placers, disrespectful of women and gays; racially bigoted; and even seen as threatening when they show up at political rallies packin’ heat!

And, their bigotry appears to be a badge of honor to many in the GOP! It is stunning to watch Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown’s staff laughing and smiling — in a boastful and self-congratulatory manner — as they mock Brown’s opponent, Elizabeth Warren, for her Native American heritage. They are caught on video yelling Native American war-whoops, all the while executing tomahawk chops.

This is no longer the pary of Ronald Reagan. We believe Reagan would call these people out for their behavior. Today’s GOP leaders need to take a stand against the extremists that are now taking control of the party.

If they don’t, then the predictions of Daniel McCarthy, in his article in The American Conservative, will be proven right.

Check out Maddow Blog this morning for a great message. We reformatted parts of it here.

THIS IS A PRESIDENT WHO PASSED:
• A health-care reform breakthrough 100 years in the making

• He also imposed the most sweeping Wall Street reforms since the Great Depression

• Obama also rescued the economy from collapse

• Rescued the American auto industry

• Ended the war in Iraq

• Decimated al Qaeda and killed bin Laden

• Reformed the student loan system

• Ended “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

• Vastly improved fuel efficiency standards

• Helped topple the Gaddafi regime

• Negotiated the New START treaty

• Improved food safety protections

• Cracked down on credit card company abuses

• Expanded stem-cell research

• Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

FOR STARTERS!

I think we all know bullies when we see them … and, the only way to deal with bullies is to NOT give in to their demands!

It’s pretty clear to me that the GOP has held our country hostage for three years — hostage to their demands that they get their own way on everything. And it’s clear that they announced, with their actions, that they will not help govern unless they can be in charge, and call ALL the shots.

Nope, no way … my way or the highway.

I, for one, would never consider a vote to give in to the bullies’ demands!

If we stand together against the obstructionists … maybe, just maybe, they’ll get some manners and start behaving like grown-ups. It could be the opportunity … a beginning … for them to save their Republican Party.

STAND UP AND SAY “NO” TO THE PARTY OF NO!

You know the idea that private enterprise will do a MORE efficient job of running Social Security and Medicare?

Well, if you really-really like the idea of putting your Social Security money in the hands of the Big Banks (witness the older Americans who have lost their retirement money on Wall Street); and you really-really like the idea of having your Medicare just handed over to the Big Insurance Companies who you think are so totally trustworthy with their customers — then the GOP is YOUR party … and good luck to you if they win Washington, D.C.

By the way: The GOP tested out their free-enterprise “efficiency” theory under Bush by giving Medicare money, in the form of subsidies to Insurance Companies, (under the misleading name of “Medicare Advance”) and guess what?: Medicare Advance cost the taxpayers MORE money than regular Medicare!

Government has been demonized for decades by the GOP who has ALWAYS hated effective government, and fought with all their might to kill Social Security and Medicare. It’s past time to call them on their misleading policies. AND on their lies to deceive America about their policies.

Capitalism does many, many things very well. But not everything.

So, can we talk about gun safety, now? We keep hearing that it isn’t the right time to talk about gun legislation in the middle of a gun tragedy. But, then, of course … the news moves on and the short attention span of the American people leads our nation to just keep kicking the can down the road. So, I propose that we start to talk about gun safety legislation NOW, following two back-to-back mass gun murders within two weeks.

To begin with, the Supreme Court has decided that the 2nd Amendment guarantees that the individual citizen has the right to bear arms. While I don’t agree with their interpretation, I do accept it. So let’s move on. Let’s start with the regulations that we actually agree on.

1) We pretty much agree that the Constitution does not guarantee citizens the right to own nuclear bombs, bazookas, machine guns, missiles, mustard gas, and other weapons of mass destruction. We agree that the government has the right to prevent anyone from acquiring any of those weapons.

2) We agree that crazy people should not have the right to bear arms.

3) While the National Rifle Association doesn’t agree, most Americans do not want people on the terrorist watch list to be able to buy arms.

4) The majority of Americans do want the Assault Weapons Ban reinstated.

So there is agreement that there are limitations to “the right to bear arms.” As reasonable people, we should talk about these issues, and decide on reasonable gun-safety legislation. We all have the right to bear arms, but does that include shoulder fired missles that can bring down airplanes?

How can we decide these life and death decisions if we can’t even talk about the issue?

There have been many studies comparing gun deaths in America with 22 other high income countries. In 2002, there were 30,136 firearm-related deaths in the United States. While our neighbor to the north, Canada, reports that 816 people died of firearms-related injuries in Canada that year. Of all the firearm deaths in these 23 high-income countries in 2002, 80% occurred in the US.

What accounts for the unbelievably high number of gun deaths in our country? To what do we attribute the high number of mass killings in America? To listen to the right-wingers the cause of these violent mass murders is attributable only to crazy people — “because guns don’t kill people, people do!”

So, do we assume that America just has more nut-cases than Canada? More crazies than 22 other high income countries — COMBINED? Why would that be? That’s a patently ridiculous assertion.

We simply must face the fact that while there are certainly examples of crazies committing mass murder around the world — the recent Norwegian killer of young campers, for example — that it is very rare in other nations.

Is it possible that the reason that America has so many more gun deaths is because we have basically armed everyone in the country — with many people owning multiple guns and weapons of mass destruction?

In 22 other high income countries it is safe to walk down the street and to go to church. That is a freedom which must be defended.

CAN WE TALK NOW?

The time to get serious about rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure is NOW! It’s not just that bridges are falling down, roads are in disrepair, and updates for our railway systems are needed … it’s also that our water pipes delivering fresh water to our homes are disintegrating, and our electrical grid — it’s a disaster!

With changes in the climate definitely upon us, upgrading our nation’s electrical grid and burying the power lines underground would be a big boon to our nation and to our economy. We need to bury our power lines across the nation because when the latest big storms blow into a community, causing the above ground power lines go down, power is lost. When power is lost in the summer-heat, the resulting sweltering cities lead to suffering and even deaths. And when the electricity which powers computers and equipment is lost, when air-conditioning is lost in the summer and heat in the winter, lower economic productivity is the result.

Our schools are in terrible disrepair and the internet is not available to all in our nation. Schools should be repaired and rebuilt, and the internet needs to be expanded to the entire nation — as we previously expanded the availability of electricity with the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933.

The TVA is a federally owned corporation which was created by Congressional charter in order to establish an economic development agency to rapidly modernize the Tennessee Valley economy. The TVA dramatically expanded electricity to this region, which was particularly affected by the Great Depression — and it worked in stimulating the economy and making a brighter future for the region possible. We could do the same with making the internet available throughout the country, and probably without establishing a federally owned corporation!

Under Republican Dwight David Eisenhower the federal government built the interstate highway system, linking the contiguous 48 states. The role of the federal government in building the best infrastructure in the world in the 20th century was not questioned. And yet, while America fought two Middle East wars in the first decade of this new century — Europe and China were investing in top notch infrastructure. And we must face the fact that America simply cannot move our economy into the new century with this crumbling infrastructure.

And the really good news is: With interest rates at once-in-a-lifetime lows, the time to borrow money to rebuild the country could not be better than right now. The other really good news: Rebuilding our country will put Americans back to work and spark the economic recovery that we’re all looking for. And with Americans back to work, higher revenues to the government will accumulate and help to pay for the costs of the low-interest loans.

The bad news: The political environment is so toxic that our decision makers in congress are just plain opposed to spending any money what-so-ever, despite the fact that government spending is what brought our nation out of depression and recession in earlier times.

We are hopeful that there seems to be more and more effective grass-roots actions that are cropping up everywhere on the internet. The American people may be starting to rouse to demand democracy. Maybe we should start a petition online to get Congress to ACT NOW on rebuilding America’s infrastructure!

TIME FOR INFRASTRUCTURE NOW!

The formal name for Obamacare is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In order to form an opinion on this new healthcare law, it’s important to take a look at just what Obamacare DOES and DOES NOT do.

Basically, the PPACA made new health care rules, with the purpose of making health care more available and affordable for everyone. Despite the noises that critics of the PPACA are making that the new rules take away too many freedoms, the FACTS are still the facts.

And here they are in the order of when each one goes into effect:

Already in effect
• The FDA is now able to approve more generic drugs, which should produce more competition in the market to help drive down prices.

• Under the new law there are increased rebates on drugs that people get through Medicare — so drugs cost less.

• The PPACA has established a non-profit, non-government group that is to study the different kinds of treatments in order to determine what works best and is also the most cost effective.

• Chain restaurants (McDonalds, etc.) now must display calorie counts in all their foods, so we can make good choices.

• There is now a high-risk pool for people with pre-existing conditions.

• There is a new 10% tax on indoor tanning booths.

• Health insurance businesses can no longer throw people off of their coverage because they have hit a lifetime limit. If they’ve paid for health insurance, that company cannot then tell the customer that they won’t cover him anymore.

• Young people can continue to be covered on parent’s health insurance until age 26.

• There are no longer any pre-existing conditions for children under the4 age of 19.

• Health insurance companies now have less ability to change the amount that customers have to pay for their health care plans.

• There is a rebate for people in a Medicare Gap to make up for the extra money that they would otherwise have to spend.

• Companies can no longer drop their customers just because they get sick.

• Insurance companies must now tell customers specifically what they’re spending money on, not just claim “administrative fee.”

• Insurers have to have an appeals process for rejected claims.

• New ways to stop fraud are created.

• Medicare extends to smaller hospitals.

• Chronic illnesses for Medicare patients must be more closely monitored, which should reduce the costs for some companies that handle benefits for the elderly.

• There is a new website for insurance and health information: http://www.healthcare.gov/

• A credit program is made that will make it easier for business to invest in new ways to treat illness.

• Insurance companies now have limits on the percentage of money that they can make as profit, to minimize price-gouging.

• There’s now a limit on what kinds of insurance accounts can be used to pay for over-the-counter drugs without a prescription — basically, your insurer isn’t paying for the Aspirin you bought for that hangover.

• Employers need to list the benefits they provided to employees on their tax forms.

Beginning in 8/1/2012
• Any health plans sold after this date must provide preventative care (mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.) without requiring any sort of co-pay or charge. Preventative health care will hold down costs over the long run.

Beginning in 1/1/2013
• If you make over $200,000 a year, your taxes go up 0.9%. A change of less than one percent is miniscule, especially when we’re talking about people in the top 5% of earners.

Beginning in 1/1/2014 This is when a lot of the really big changes happen.
• No more pre-existing conditions — at all. People will be charged the same regardless of their medical history.

• No more free-riders — people who can afford health insurance, but do not get it. Free-riders are required to now purchase insurance, and if they do not they will pay a penalty under the IRS rules. Basically, it’s a trade-off for the pre-existing conditions requirement, saying that since insurers now have to cover you regardless of what you have, you can’t just wait to buy insurance until you get sick. Otherwise no one would buy insurance until they needed it. You can opt not to get insurance, but you’ll have to pay the fee instead.

• Insurers now can’t do annual spending caps. Their customers can get as much health care in a given year as they need.

• Make it so more poor people can get Medicaid by making the low-income cut-off higher.

• Small businesses get some tax credits for two years.

• Businesses with over 50 employees must offer health insurance to full-time employees, or pay a penalty.

• Limits how high of an annual deductible insurers can charge customers.

• Cuts some Medicare spending.

• Places a $2500 limit on tax-free spending on FSAs (accounts for medical spending). Basically, people using these accounts now have to pay taxes on any money over $2500 they put into them.

• Establishes health insurance exchanges and rebates for the lower and middle-class, basically making it so they have an easier time getting affordable medical coverage.

• Congress and Congressional staff will only be offered the same insurance offered to people in the insurance exchanges, rather than Federal Insurance. Basically, we won’t be footing their health care bills any more than any other American citizen.

• A new tax on pharmaceutical companies.

• A new tax on the purchase of medical devices.

• A new tax on insurance companies based on their market share. Basically, the more of the market they control, the more they’ll get taxed.

• The amount you can deduct from your taxes for medical expenses increases.

Beginning in 1/1/2015
• Doctors’ pay will be determined by the quality of their care, not how many people they treat.

Beginning in 1/1/2017
• If any state can come up with their own plan, one which gives citizens the same level of care at the same price as the PPACA, they can ask the Secretary of Health and Human Resources for permission to do their plan instead of the PPACA. So if they can get the same results without, say, the mandate, they can be allowed to do so. Vermont, for example, has expressed a desire to just go straight to single-payer (in simple terms, everyone is covered, and medical expenses are paid by taxpayers).

Beginning in 2018
• All health care plans must now cover preventative care (not just the new ones).
• A new tax on “Cadillac” health care plans (more expensive plans for rich people who want fancier coverage).

Beginning in 2020
• The elimination of the “Medicare gap.”

That’s it!
• No socialized health care, no death panels, no government take-over of the heath care system — just new rules for insurance companies and a requirement that everyone have insurance.

• All changes are designed to move America from having the most expensive health care system among western nations, with lower positive results, to a more fair and effective system.

Heard this explanation of the health care mandate yesterday and thought I’d share it. Consider the Gas Tax. Because we need decent roads to drive our cars on, we are all asked to pay a tax on the gas we consume, which is then used to maintain our national road system. The mandate to purchase health care insurance, and to pay a penalty to the IRS if you don’t, can be looked at in the same way. We ALL use health care services eventually, and we all will NOW be required to pay for that care. No more “free-riders” who show up at hospitals for health care and then do not pay — causing everyone else’s insurance premiums to go up. And now — as we all pay the gas tax for decent roads — we must either purchase insurance or pay the penalty to help defray the costs that are eventually incurred, in order to maintain a decent national health care system … as we have a decent national road system paid for by ALL.