Politics - 2010 Primaries - Good For Who

Looking over the information in the newspapers, the internet and television, the TEA Party Movement has got me wondering what is in store for this country. Most of the lower income voters do not really know what is going on. There just might be a shift of power in Congress when the primaries are over.

In Arkansas all eyes are on the senate race. Particularly, the race for the incumbent Democrat's job. The Republican candidates all seem to be clones of each other. One party, one idea. While the democratic candidates are "slinging mud" at each other to try to get an edge on the other. Back to the point.

Congress has been under democratic control for this administration thus far, but this election might just turn the tide. Our Democratic Senator heads some of the commissions in Washington, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and serving in the Finance Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy for the 111th Congress.

In these positions there is a lot she can accomplish to help her state and this nation. But if a Republican wins her seat there is no telling where we are headed. See, Arkansas is just one of the seats they have placed a high value on obtaining this primary. If they can win enough seats, Republicans will be the majority of Congress.

From the Last Partner's point of view, this is going to make things harder for our President than what it has been. I predicted that he would have a hard time, not because he was a Democrat, but because of his race and Congress has historically favored skin of the "lighter" persuasion since its inception. His winning scared a lot of people in this country, especially the rich. Which is why the race card was played. Everyone was so afraid that he was going to favor the blacks or afro-Americans. I think they still are, afraid, but are just hiding it in the issues at the fore-front of the American people. The war, healthcare, the bailout, his choices for Supreme Court Justices, and whatever else he favors.

These same issues are being used to decide the current primaries. Which incumbent candidate voted for or against which issue. Will this person go in working with the president or against. I am not here to persuade you one way or the other, but to tell you that there is more riding on these primaries than you are being led to believe.

Take this election as seriously as you do the Presidential election. Check into the candidates before you vote, and think about what kind of impact that will make in Congress. And get out there and vote.

Friday April 16, 2010 It's The Tea Party Again

The Tea Party was a headliner for our local paper. They held rallies across the nation to garner support for their "no taxes" campaign on a date should to get publicized - National Tax Day. They believe that President Obama is going to turn this nation into a Socialist country by placing the government mostly in charge of our lives. The things that determine if we can survive or not. I.e., health care reform.

There are many times when I do not agree with some of the federal policies, and I reflect this at the polls when I vote. I understand that there are years when we have to have a low tax increase, and then there are times for a higher tax increase. I have never seen any plan go as foreseen. Yeah, it might start out the way we want, but we have to be prepared to make adjustments as necessary. When these changes come about, it is not an outright lie, it is a necessity. There are variables that can not be controlled by prior planning.

I sit back, like many people, and observe what is going on in the political arena s to how it might affect me and my family.  Most often, I will change the channel or turn the page, but ever now and then the subject will have my full attention.

I am being drawn in now because of the words "Tea Party" which takes me to Boston harbor. Wasn't that over taxes too? Over political control f a new nation? Are we going back over issues that we have tackled before? Of course, being at a different place in time, the semblance stops there. The steps being taken are just as radical as it was then, but the steps that are being taken now are different.

I am trying to figure out why a state that has an abled security force like the National Guard would need a state-sanctioned militia, like the one being requested in Oklahoma. What would justify such a thing? They talk about standing up to the government over such laws or policies that govern, say, health care.

As I have said in another blog, I am not politically minded or a professional, just a citizen voicing the views of one man - the Last Partner. Can you enlighten me as to why I should support the ideals of the Tea Party?How would it benefit the country, or me as an individual?