Category: Political Ideology

GOP Turns on Insurance Mandate at Its Own Peril

In January 2009, Mitt Romney penned some advice to incoming President Barack Obama regarding health care reform in a USA Today op-ed piece. Romney suggested Obama look to “the lessons we learned in Massachusetts,” in contemplating federal-level reform, noting specifically: First, we established incentives for those who were uninsured to buy insurance. Using tax penalties,… Continue reading GOP Turns on Insurance Mandate at Its Own Peril

Republicans are Closet Socialists

Over the last several debates, GOP contenders use the word socialist to describe their warped view of what the Democratic Party stands for.  They have leveled such attacks on “socialist” president Barack Obama, and have regularly used “socialist” in a derogatory tone against anything Democratic.  Redistribution of wealth is also married to the socialist label,… Continue reading Republicans are Closet Socialists

Newt is no Reagan, and Reagan was no Reagan

Throughout the GOP primaries Newt Gingrich has mentioned the name of Reagan 3.2 times per debate. He continues to invoke his name trying to piggyback on his popularity and drive association with The Gipper. The other candidates have not exhausted this approach to the level of the previous Speaker, which is ironic given Mr. Gingrich… Continue reading Newt is no Reagan, and Reagan was no Reagan

Why Democrats Have Trouble With Messaging

There is a fundamental problem with being a Democrat.  The problem is quite simple, yet complex in an ironic sort of way.  The issue is Democrats’ inability to discuss positions in short, mind-numbing, explanations.  There are two main reasons why Democrats struggle with delivering a clear, concise message: Democratic ideas are more complex and difficult to deliver in… Continue reading Why Democrats Have Trouble With Messaging

Why I am a Democrat

(Written responding to a friend asking about the party I support) The fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats is one: the role that government plays. All the social wedge issues? Just talk. I believe the government has the ability to solve many of our problems, and I also believe that Democrats over the last 100 years have… Continue reading Why I am a Democrat

The Church Needs a Two Party System

“I also support what has been said by the Brethren–that it is in the interest of the Church to have a two-party system and not to have one party that is exclusively LDS and the other party exclusively non-LDS. Both locally and nationally, the interests of the Church and its members are served when we… Continue reading The Church Needs a Two Party System

Sage Election-Year Counsel from the First Presidency

Each election year, the Church predictably issues statements affirming its political neutrality, which I find both refreshing and reassuring amid all of the mingling of scripture with the philosophies of men that we see in many churches. A few decades ago, during a presidential election season, President Hugh B. Brown of the First Presidency stated… Continue reading Sage Election-Year Counsel from the First Presidency

A Pivotal Moment for President Obama and America

President Barack Obama visited Osawatomie, Kansas last week to speak about the danger of the growing economic inequality in America and the threat this currently poses to the middle class and our country as a whole. I thought this was the most important speech of his Presidency thus far because it clearly illustrated the monumental… Continue reading A Pivotal Moment for President Obama and America

Values Voters for Newt

As former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has recently become the latest fad in the never-ending search for an ‘un-Romney’ in the GOP Presidential Primary race, I think it is important to reflect on a matter of character. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles noted in an interview a few years… Continue reading Values Voters for Newt

Mitt Flips on Climate Change (Is Anyone Surprised?)

Less than two weeks after I wrote a post praising Mitt Romney (and Jon Huntsman) for their admirable stances supporting science’s position on climate change, Romney changed his position! In June, Romney stated the following to an audience in New Hampshire, affirming the existence of global warming: I don’t speak for the scientific community, of… Continue reading Mitt Flips on Climate Change (Is Anyone Surprised?)

WhichMitt.com Part 2

I recently posted two video clips of Mitt Romney contradicting himself on economic stimulus and President Obama’s health care reform bill. While most politicians’ views on various issues change a little over time, Romney’s shift on these issues was a complete 180 degree shift and only occurred since Obama has been in office. The Republican… Continue reading WhichMitt.com Part 2

WhichMitt.com

WhichMitt.com is a hilarious website put out by the DNC. Take the quiz! Mitt Romney’s constantly changing opinions make him a really easy target. This highlights his contradictions on abortion, the need for an economic stimulus plan during the current recession, health care, and more. Romney’s penchant for flip-flopping makes John Kerry look like an… Continue reading WhichMitt.com

Taxes and Used Car Dealers

To support their argument against President Obama’s calls additional revenue to solve the budget deficit, Republicans have argued that the U.S. has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. Democrats, on the other hand, have pointed out that companies and wealthy Americans are paying historically low levels of taxes. Paradoxically, both parties… Continue reading Taxes and Used Car Dealers

Let’s Tone it Down Several Notches

So far, it appears that the person who targeted Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona for assassination, in Saturday’s shooting rampage that left 6 people dead and many others seriously wounded, was not directly inspired by the virulent and violent political rhetoric that has been dominating the public discourse over the past 2 years and… Continue reading Let’s Tone it Down Several Notches

They Were For It Before They Were Against It

During the early 1990s, when President Bill Clinton tasked First Lady Hillary Clinton to lead the effort to overhaul the nation’s health care system, Republicans proposed an alternate idea to Hillary’s proposal, which envisioned a larger role for government in health care than what President Obama signed into law last March. That Republican proposal was… Continue reading They Were For It Before They Were Against It

Seven Percent of Republicans Are Not Completely Out of Their Minds

A recent nationwide survey found that a majority of Republicans believe that Obama “sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world.” According to the poll, 14 percent of Republicans said that from what they knew of Obama, they thought such allegations were “definitely true”; 38 percent thought… Continue reading Seven Percent of Republicans Are Not Completely Out of Their Minds

Pregnant Rape Victims Should Turn Lemons into Lemonade- Sharron Angle

Tea Party extraordinaire and Nevada Republican candidate for US Senate Sharron Angle recently told a reporter that she thinks teenage rape victims should make “a lemon situation into lemonade” by carrying their pregnancies to term. This radical does not think that there should be a legal abortion exception for rape or incest. Instead, she thinks… Continue reading Pregnant Rape Victims Should Turn Lemons into Lemonade- Sharron Angle

“No Matter What Happens to Obama…There’s the Perfect Bush Screw Up for the Occasion”

Over the past 16 months, I have thoroughly enjoyed conservatives’ attempts to pin every one of our country’s problems on President Barack Obama. Of late, they’ve been calling the BP gulf oil spill “Obama’s Katrina.” This is such a non-sequitur that I can’t help letting out a little laugh each time I hear it. Oh… Continue reading “No Matter What Happens to Obama…There’s the Perfect Bush Screw Up for the Occasion”

A Renewed Call for Civility from LDS Church Leadership

During the most recent LDS General Conference, we heard yet another call for civility in our public dialogue. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, “many in this world are afraid and angry with one another. While we understand these feelings, we need to be civil in our discourse and… Continue reading A Renewed Call for Civility from LDS Church Leadership