Which Party Wins?

“For the second time in two weeks, every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again,” said President Obama after the American Jobs Bill was rejected by congress.  The bill was last rejected on October 11, 2011.  According to opencongress.org, the bill, needing sixty percent approval, only reached fifty percent approval.  The most interesting part of that is that every single Republican (46) voted against it and 48 out of 51 Democrats voted for it.  It makes you wonder if the Republicans were really against the bill or if they were just against the Democrats.

It is no secret that for ages Democrats and Republicans in Congress have disagreed about the way things should be handled, especially when it comes to money. But don’t you think that the time has come to look at the bigger picture?  Can’t the parties come to an agreement and not see themselves as Democrats v.s Republicans?

Politico reporter, Manu Raju, wrote, “In the run-up to the Thursday votes, both sides angrily traded charges that the other was engaged in pure political gamesmanship. Democrats said Republicans were ‘rooting’ for the economy to fail to hurt Obama’s reelection chances, while the GOP said the White House and Democratic leaders were advancing policies with poison pills with no chance of clearing Congress in an attempt to pass on the blame for a bad economy.”

I’m sorry, but if we are going to do the “political gamesmanship” fight then it is more likely to believe that Republicans want Democrats to fail than to believe that Democrats are purposely taking the time to make bills that they know won’t pass. 

The bill states that the proposals would be paid with a new tax on households earning more than one million dollars a year.  Republicans don’t think this would create jobs and don’t think those receiving income of greater than one million dollars should pay for it.  Therefore, the Republicans have proposed an alternative jobs bill.  This bill would cut taxes but helps the ones that are already well off and would not save the jobs of thousands of teachers.  Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat) stated, “This is a political fig leaf that would likely add to the deficit while doing nothing to create jobs".  Wasn’t the job bill intended to create “jobs”?  The Republicans alternative jobs bill also makes adjustments to budgeting which was already taken care of in the summer; another avenue that does not create jobs.  Sounds to me that we are far from reaching a consensus and no one is winning.

A Third Party Canidate?

“The case for a third party candidate”, a commentary by Douglas Shoen is a short but well written article about the frustration of Americans' with both the Republican and Democratic party and the possibility of having a third party candidate that my very well stand a chance.  His audience is every American citizen as we are all in the same boat and are likely to be interested in a third party candidate.   Shoen provides statistics to back up his argument; for example, “Gallup’s annual governance survey, updated Sept. 8-11, showed a record-high 81 percent of Americans dissatisfied with the way the country is being run.”  Shoen also states, “I recently polled for Americans Elect, a nonprofit political organization that is now planning an Internet convention to select a third presidential ticket for the 2012 election. They are in the process of securing ballot access in all 50 states.”  The fact that he himself has polled and presents the name of the organization allows the reader the opportunity to investigate his evidence.  The evidence of an internet convention and selecting a third party presidential ticket portrays the realism of a third party candidate.  Shoen’s argument that Americans are not happy with either of the 2 major parties and are looking for an alternative motive to solve America’s problems, possibly a third party candidate, is definitely logical.  I for one would be thrilled to see what a third party candidate has to bring to the table.