I saw a sign today hanging on someone's tree that read: "No Hope; No Change; No Democrats" and couldn't help but ponder that statement. After some critical thinking (something few people seem to have the ability to do these days), I decided that the sign was just wrong and whoever it was that hung it for all to see is probably as ignorant as those babbling lunatics on Faux News.
Think about it, the whole "Hope and Change" thing came around when Obama was running for prez two years ago. So have we seen "Hope and Change" in these two years? I say yes. Here's why:
1. We're out of Iraq (for the most part anyway; we're at least done fighting there). Two years ago, we didn't even have an exit strategy. As far as everyone was concerned at the time, we were just going to be there forever. That has since CHANGED. And we have a plan for the war in Afghanistan - a welcome CHANGE from two years that makes me HOPEful we'll actually see an end to that waste of time and lives.
2. Despite constant antagonization from the other party, we've managed to pass health care reform. That makes me HOPEful that we'll actually see some good things in the years to come. If nothing, the CHANGEs it has already brought with it have forced the insurance companies to play nicer and quit denying people with "preexisting conditions." Some twenty-plus million people now have access to coverage who didn't have that option a couple years ago.
3. Our financial system has been smacked with some seriously beneficial regulations. Have you looked at your credit card statement lately? It's easier to understand now, thanks to the new regulations which also just so happen to force creditors to play nicer such as by granting a mandatory grace period and applying payments over the minimum to the highest interest-bearing balances first. Now that's CHANGE I can believe in.
4. Despite the fears many NRA-membership-boasting conservatives had a couple years ago, gun control has actually gone their way via multiple rulings by the supreme court and by the assault weapons ban expiring. In fact, to my knowledge, not a single piece of gun control legislation has been passed by this administration. And at the local level, Iowa, under a democratic administration, has actually made it EASIER to obtain a concealed carry permit. I'd say the archaic view of Democrats being gun-melting, NRA haters is behind us. Give it up, Sarah Palin.
5. Here in Iowa, our governor is a Democrat. Terry Branstad, one of our previous governors, is running against him largely on the topic of state finances. Branstad claims the state budget is in disrepair and it's high time for a change. Not sure where his information is coming from because a recent report revealed that Iowa's finances are run better than 47 other states, and the state's unemployment, though still at 6.8%, is still better than 42 other states'. We closed this fiscal year with $335 million left (even better than the $100 million we were projected to finish with) and another $419 million in reserves. And next year looks even better. I don't know where Governor Branstad thinks the $1 billion deficit is coming from, but it's not from this budget.
So the "No Hope, No Change" claim, I'm afraid, is bullshit. We've had plenty of change lately, most of it for the better. Yeah, maybe things are still tough, but that's life. We're heading in the right direction and a little patience will go a long way. The most negative change I've seen is from the Republican side with all their efforts to incite anger, hatred, intolerance (think NYC mosque, Don't ask/don't tell policy), divisiveness and partisanship (think every day in congress), dishonesty, and ignorance (think every political ad on TV).
Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that Democrats are in real trouble this election because nobody has any fucking patience and the Repubs have done a great job of scaring everyone shitless.
