Good to be back. Here's a short TMDR for Columbus Day.
From the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
"The National Committee's new online video is part of the first wave of actions in the newly launched multi-million dollar "Hands Off -No Cuts" campaign -- a coast-to-coast effort combining grassroots mobilization, advertising and social media to stop the Congressional Super Committee from proposing cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, programs which are vital to millions of middle-class Americans. The ad highlights a new bipartisan poll that shows 82% of Democrats, 73% of Independents and 58% of Republicans are united in opposition to benefit cuts to reduce the deficit."
Of course, Medicare and Social Security are our most effective pre-paid public benefits. If either were a failure, it would have been altered (as they have been from time to time) or scrapped long ago. Each is extremely successful and popular -- with good reason.
New Deal Under Attack
"The New Deal has been targeted by conservative politicians for decades. But no one in recent memory has placed an attack on the New Deal at the forefront of a political campaign as assiduously as Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Perry has famously labeled Social Security a 'monstrous lie.' Perhaps less well known is that a much broader attack on the New Deal lies at the core of his book/political manifesto 'Fed Up!'" Read more of this Washington Post editorial.
No matter that every major, reputable poll ranks President Franklin D. Roosevelt as among the top three US Presidents: Historical rankings of Presidents of the United States. (It's hard to beat George Washington, but FDR sometimes does.) Overall, considering all the rankings, only Abraham Lincoln ranks better than FDR. Mr. Perry apparently thinks he's a better judge of these matters than academic historians and political scientists. Certainly, he has his own strong opinion.
For Your Information
Special Edition: The Republican Reality-Free Zone
[I just have to quote you a little of this one.] "Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich just completed one of the most radical speeches ever delivered by a presidential candidate on the judiciary. Gingrich’s speech calls for a radical reshaping of our constitutional democracy, eliminating the judiciary’s power to make binding constitutional decisions. He promises to openly defy Supreme Court decisions he disagrees with, and pledges to intimidate judges who dare to part ways with the Constitution According To Newt."
So much for the Oath of Office of the President of the United States: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." (Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight) Kind of makes you think. Kind of makes you wonder. What in the world is going on here?
FYI: From the same source: ”The Vice President also has an oath of office, but it is not mandated by the Constitution and is prescribed by statute. Currently, the Vice Presidential oath is the same as that for Members of Congress [emphasis added]. I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."
More: The Republican Reality-Free Zone
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