WHY IS OBAMA IN THE SHADOWS

I had the equivalent of a political epiphany in the middle of the night. The Republican strategic approach to the mid-terms elections has directed their candidates to take an “anti everything Obama” approach; thus, they focus on the Affordable Care Act or what they disparagingly refer to as Obamacare. Of course, they do this as Republicans do everything, they do it with big money, which means Koch Bothers type money,—thus those who would benefit from a plutocracy control the campaign, a corporate controlled government.  President Obama campaigned in 2008 and 2012 on widening the middle class, expansion of government programs, shifting the pentagon budget money to social programs, and standing for unionization; in other words, he stood for a progressive platform, which put him solidly behind the working class. He won handily in both campaigns. Why can’t we do that again however, this time we would have Democratic senate candidates across the nation as his surrogate.

Political history hyperbole, coupled with a “do nothing” House of Representatives controlled by Republicans, has hidden the great success of his entire presidency. To list all his successes would be to create a list a long, long litany of economic, social, and foreign policy advances. Our political history says that a mid term election classically goes to the opposite party from that of the president. In addition, failures in domestic and world events have proved time after time that corporate led Republican cuts, bribing Congressional representatives to vote for tax cuts, tax loopholes, etc, with an eye on the vote getting position of cutting taxes, has taken government out of our life. An example  of current note is that congress cut the Communicable disease Center (CDC) budget by 50% in the face of an EBOLA epidemic, cut funding of public service workers (teachers, police, firefighters) drastically in the face of racially motivated policing incidents as Ferguson, Mo. and evidence of a worldwide falling education standing of drastic proportions, etc. The environment is going to hell, all for the sake of profits. Look at what Republican Rod Portman said will happen if Republicans take over the congress; Keystone pipe line will be approve immediately; to hell with climate change, to hell with coal ash and carbon cap, to hell with government regulations. In the Republican mind, it is simply that profit wins over environment.

Worst of all, while the government should be in our economic life, it is conspicuously absent. The evidence is there; we all know workers wages are stagnant while their productivity is increasing and know that corporate profits are skyrocketing. The Federal Reserve is obviously corporate friendly as evidenced by corporate profits; just look at the record breaking increasing stock market and our 3% National Productivity and Growth Rate, which should mean both workers and corporations should be living the good life but they are not; workers suffer while corporations flourish. Look at the simple example of student loan; average workers cannot send their children to college because they cannot afford to borrow the sky rocking tuition; nor can they afford to borrow the money at an inflated interest rate—evidence of corporate greed in the raw.   

Thus, we have the stage set for the mid-term elections. The president is doing a great job even though an ultraconservative congress has tied his hands. Corporations are doing great because of their “bought and paid” for congress. A conservative congress has crippled the middle class (workers), the strength of the progressives but also conservative courts are killing us: suppression of voting right, desegregation by increasing states rights, redistricting of even the smallest districts, control of state election commissions and boards, etc.  

The epiphany; Obama won decisively in two presidential elections so Democrats should turn the mid-term elections of 2014 into a presidential election campaign conducted in support of Obama; a replay of 2008 and 2012. We should campaign across the nation on the obvious success of Obama and the obvious failure of the conservative program to help the working-class in any way we can but campaign in the particular states only on local issues. In other words, Democrats should conduct a massive presidential like campaign nation wide. We should mount an unprecedented “anti” Republican campaign against their general policies and tactics that are obviously hurting the working-class, which is the power base of the Democrats. We should put nation-wide pressure on all the political organization in states like Kentucky to elect a Democrat to congress in spite of the economic pressure to support dirty coal; the support of the environment is so much more important to this country than support for a few local jobs that are on the way out regardless. Quality of life for everyone is so much more important than short-term profits. Isn’t this what greedy Republicans verses altruistic Democrats is all about? Isn’t this real politics?  

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