"Place Your Bets"

"Place your Bets"
 
As much as I love Vegas I'm not much of a gambler, but members of the Republican Party must love to gamble. Lately, it seems that the Republican Party is betting all their chips on black (see first African American President) to lose.

When President Bush (43) launched the Iraq war after 9/11 there were rumblings from the left that the war was a mistake and ill conceived (which by the way they were right). But President Bush had the will of the people behind him. I recall President Bush having 70% approval ratings on the Iraq war and because of that not many Democrats spoke out too harshly or even voted against the war (see Hillary Clinton). This ground swell of support was largely due to the fact that our country had been attacked; (also see WMD's) the people and the people's Representatives in Washington came together to fight one common cause.

Now by all accounts this financial meltdown is President Obama's 9/11 and the Republicans are not coming together for the common cause.  They are ignoring this President's 70%, and in some polls 80%, approval ratings.
 
In fact they are saying "to hell with it all. Bartender send me another round of Jack (see Congressman Clyburn) and put everything I got on black to lose!"  Because Republicans know if the President loses, they win; but at what cost (see the country)?

But what can Democrats learn from these short-sighted Republicans. Get a fat egomaniac to speak for the party (see Rush Limbaugh)? No! What Democrats should learn is that when you find yourself in the minority (which they will find themselves in a lot sooner than they think) they need to stick to what they truly believe and not focus on national polls.  But rather, focus on what their constituents are saying.
 
Imagine if all the Democrats in the House and all but three in the Senate opposed the Iraq war...... That would have been something! Do you think President Bush would have taken this country to war on a party line vote? We will never know, but just like President Bush was trying to save this country by spending over a trillion dollars in Iraq, President Obama is trying to save the country by spending a trillion dollars at home. We can only "HOPE" that his plan has a better exit strategy.

Sidebar - Isn't it funny when the two political parties talk about spending and budgets given the actual dollar amount rarely decreases.  Rather, it's just shifted to the projects and initiatives their political party favors. It's just a little something to keep your eye on.

Clearly Republicans in the House and some in the Senate are in hard core conservative districts that completely disagree with the President and in those cases I applaud them for being a true voice for their voters. That being said, they were sent to Washington to be rational thinkers who took an oath to put this country - not their political party first.
So it is up to those hard core Republicans to oppose the President, but offer solutions and alternatives to his proposals with the understanding that they are not in the majority. It's called compromise with the hope that America wins, not a political party.

One thing the Republicans are forgetting about this gamble.....it doesn't have to be a 100% success. If the President is able to slow down job lose, create new job growth, slow down the mortgage crisis, shore up liquidity for banks to lend and restore some consumer confidence (and keep us safe); he wins! And that's about a 50% success rate. Somebody needs to tell the Republicans to get a new bookie, because those are not good odds; especially when the real loser will be America.

Both parties have to understand that if we don't come together, build consensus, stop thinking that our way is the only way, when this crisis is over this country may not have two pennies to rub together.

Who are you betting on? Remember that ending partisanship starts with you.

"Everybody has a penny, from Bill Gates to the bum on your corner. If you have a penny you have a place in politics. That's why I call it PennyPolitics."
 
Brian E. Taylor

The Vision

"The Vision"
 
 
Now that the dust has settled from the inauguration the challenges of governing the country have begun.  We have seen many things over the past 30 days:  we have seen the Ledbetter bill for women, we have seen SCHIP's for children, and we have even seen the largest spending bill in the county's history for men women and children.  But is it all for not?   
 
The Democratic Party won a convincing election last November.  In doing so they increased their majorities in both the House and the Senate, along with recapturing the White House.  These victories answered the question of whether the people were pleased with the current direction of the country; obviously they were not.   But the question remains, is this direction any better than the last?  Only time will tell if the Democrats have the vision to lead this country out of these dark times.
 
This reminds me of a story based in a galaxy far far away.....
 
In Star Wars, the Republic thrived and they lived in their Golden Era of prosperity (see the 1990's).  In this era businesses grew, welfare was reformed, housing regulations were relaxed, the country had a surplus, and partisanship grew; and there was peace.   Some would say this era lasted for eight years, but as this era came to an end the country decided to move in a different direction.  A direction of compassion and conservatism now reigned; during this new era deregulation continued, excessive tax cuts were handed out, citizens became irresponsible, and the partisanship grew.  During these so called "good times" there was an evil lurking in the midst of us all.  That evil had two heads and it attacked us in two ways.  The first attack was in the form of a terrorist attack on 9/11 and the second was our economy.   Unfortunately these attacks were almost eight years apart and neither political party was able to protect the citizens from the pending destruction.   
 
The era's leaders had an opportunity to be flexible in their philosophy, be sensitive to America's needs, and create a broad vision for America's long term prosperity.  They failed.  They pushed uncontrolled tax cuts and a stringent conservative philosophy that only displayed signs of flexibility in areas that directly benefited their initiatives.   While these leaders prevented any more terrorist attacks during their reign of power they were unable to prevent the dark times from spreading throughout the galaxy that is America. 

So America responded by demanding new leadership and a new direction of Hope and Change.
 
Our new leaders have an opportunity to be flexible in their philosophy, be sensitive to America's needs, and create a broad vision for America's long term prosperity.   Will they succeed? Or will this era be filled with short-sighted vision, old partisan tactics, and a check list of old scores to settle (see Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Frank)?  Remember the power is in the Force. Now our story doesn't have any Jedi Knights, light sabers, or evil empires to concur (see North Korea, Iran, or Russia), but we do have "The Force".  This country has the force and it lives and breathes in all its citizens; it shapes us, molds us, and binds us together as the most powerful force in this world.  That is something that we cannot forget. We have to think it, believe it, and pass it on to our children.  Because if we don't, the dark days of greed, selfishness, partisanship and despair will replace hope and optimism. 
 
Let the force that lives in all Americans guide us to challenge our political parties and force them to think of what is best for this country and not what's best for their political allies as they seek to bring prosperity to all American.  For if they don't........we will use that Force to force their asses right out of power.  May the Force be with you.
 
 
Save your pennies.......
 

Stay tuned for more Penny Politics!

"The Hypocrisy"

The start of the Republican convention obviously did not start as planned, but it appeared to move forward to be a successful convention none-the-less.

Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain has a long prominent career on a host of issues, but it goes without saying foreign policy has been his strong suit. Because it's his strong suit he has attacked Senator Barack Obama for not being ready to lead and his lack of experience. Some may even say those attacks have closed the gap between the two candidates. Now we all know all is fair in love and politics, but it is nauseating to watch the Republican surrogates and conservative pundits try to manufacture experience for the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin.

Some of the surrogates seem so caught off guard by the selection that they are having a hard time defending her record and wondering if the unthinkable happens will she be ready to lead on day one.  This, by the way, was the standard bearer that Senator John McCain adopted from Senator Hilary Clinton during the Democratic primary.   If you want to say Senator Barack Obama is not qualified fine, but if he isn't Governor Sarah Palin damn sure isn't. And don't give me this Governor's Executive experience rhetoric, because if she has more experience than Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined because she is a Governor them she has more than Senator John McCain as well.

These past two weeks got me thinking about a bigger problem within our country......Hypocrisy!!

The citizens of this country sit back and listen to the pundits, politicians, and partisan media chastise the other party's actions when they know they have done the same thing in the past.  When one party is in the majority the minority is obstructionist and the minority views the majority as a do nothing majority. There are countless examples of the hypocrisy and of course in the end the American people lose.

All this leads me back to the Democratic and Republican conventions. I will admit both were very inspiring, but they both were also misleading.   Mitt Romney has the nerve to talk about stopping Al Gore from flying in a private plane!!! How many plans does Mitt have (not to mention houses)??  Chairman Howard Dean still proclaims Senator McCain wants to keep us fighting in Iraq for 100 years.  Mayor Giuliani, Senator Joe Lieberman, and Governor Palin outright lying when they say Senator Barack Obama hasn't had any major legislative accomplishment or that he has never reached across party lines.  And Senator Kerry and many other Democrats expressing that Senator McCain is a clone of President Bush.  He is a little different.   

I can hear my friends in DC saying that this is just the way it is. Well I find that way of thinking ignorant and antiquated.  If you subscribe to this policy you are part of the problem not the solution.   And clearly anybody who thinks this way does not have the best interest of the American people in mind.  We are all charged as citizens with the responsibility to make a more perfect union.
 
I ask the American people not to be seduced by the hypocrisy that is our American political system.
 
Now the real debate begins.
 
Please feel free to forward and visit my site to share your comments with me.

"If you give me a penny for your thoughts, I'll give you change"

"The Moment"

The 2008 Democratic convention has been an amazing display of so-called party unity. This past week of speeches, parties and receptions will only prove to be worth it if the party actually comes together to defeat Senator McCain in November. This so-called unity is critical, especially now that John McCain has announced his VP candidate.   This news may marginalize the proverbial bounce that usually comes after a party's convention.

The Democrats spent this week stressing the major similarities between John McCain and George Bush; whether America buys it is yet to be determined. This was expected, it is also expected that the Republicans will attempt to paint Senator Barack Obama as a lopsided liberal that will take away your guns and raise your taxes next week in Minneapolis. I personally hope the American people don't fall for the staged tricks, antics, and coordination of either party's conventions.

I hope they look at these two political parties and call them out for their vast waste of money (at the conventions and in government) and their attempts to dilute the real issues down to sound bites and rhetoric.

Don't get me wrong conventions are fun, exciting, and a great display of the party's strength and continuity, however they could stand to be a bit more substantive and less show.

All that being said there was a moment that really touched me. When the tribute to Martin Luther King's march on Washington and his historic "I have a Dream" speech began playing on the jumbo-tron of Mile High stadium (INVESCO Field) I felt the moment building. While watching the piece I began to think what God must be saying and thinking at this very moment. Is he disappointed at our inability to come together and compromise on the ways we can create better lives for his children or is he commanding his angels on high to summoned Martin Luther King to his side. Is God inviting Martin to sit and watch the fruits of his service and labor?  Maybe God is eager to use us to express the level of sacrifice it will take to move the mountains the plague our country and world.

When Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination, history was made and there was a moment. Just like there was a moment when John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural speech and when Ronald Reagan spoke to the Soviet Union in Germany. I know they were Presidents and Barack Obama isn't, but that does not minimize the magnitude of his moment.

I'm thankful I could share it with him, America, and the rest of the world. But when it was all over.......all I could say was....WOW!

Penny politics signing off from the Mile High state, on to the Twin Cities!

"Everybody has a penny, imagine if everybody gave a penny"
 

Penny Politics Back on BET

The historic Democratic Convention is finally upon us and Penny Politics is front and center to provide an unfiltered perspective.

On Wednesday, August 27th Brian E. Taylor, founder and CEO of The Penny Institute and PennyPAC will be featured on BET at 9:00 pm, EST. The show's titled "Obama's journey to the White House", which will count down the top ten moments in Obama's historic run to become our country's 44th President.

Please fill free to forward to others and visit the site to view previous postings.

"Enough pennies can change the world"

More Penny Politics coming soon!!

Patriotism

We live in a country with 300 million Americans and the majority of them are hard working honest people who love this country. The rest of them are criminals, cons, and home grown terrorists. Did I leave anybody out? Yes I did.  I left out the partisan political pundits (who are more concerned with the promotion of their next book than speaking the truth to the American people), partisan politicians, partisan bloggers, partisan columnists, and the pure capitalists that live and thrive among us and masquerade themselves as patriots.

But first, when did Republicans get a monopoly on patriotism? When networks hire these "so-called" experts and commentators to discuss important issues that affect so many lives you would think the "experts" would put the country first - not their partisan views that only represent half the country at best.

When are we going to wake up and demand that our leaders sit down and compromise on these issues? When are we going to look in the mirror and realize that our way isn't the only way? When are we going to understand that what is best for America is to put American interests first. Now that might mean we have to work a little harder or be inconvenienced a bit or that corporations will make 7 billion a quarter instead of 10 billion.
 
It will also mean Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, and Keith Olbermann would all be out of a job. Which may be good for America, because all of them spew half truths and incomplete facts about the other side to push their agenda.

Look at it like this, if we were overseas in a jam in a foreign country, I would be your best friend. Not because we look the same or have the same political ideology or not even because you like me, but because I am an American.

We are Americans! And until we understand that fact and stop putting money, power, and closed-minded principles ahead of that fact we will continue to wonder why we can't solve our problems. If Brazil can solve their energy crisis why the hell can't America.

A politician that can evolve on an issue after obtaining more facts or recognizing a shift in the urgency is not a flip flopper he\she is putting America first.

Feel free to forward and visit the site to post your comments.

A penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss, and a dime if someone can bring back liberty.
 

I'm Back!!

It's been a long time, I shouldn't left you, without a strong rhyme to step to....

Just a little shout to the Backspin channel on Sirus Satellite radio!!

Wow!! There has been so much that has occurred since the last time we talked.....where shall I begin.

First, I would like to congratulate Senators Obama and McCain on securing their parties nomination for President of the United States. Second, I would like to express to my readers who this is all about....the people. I have the honor through my non-profit (The Penny Institute) to teach classes on political education and civic engagement to teenage mothers in the District of Columbia at another non-profit called Healthy Babies. Through these classes I am able to teach them the tools necessary for them to understand their responsibility in creating the changes they want to see in their communities.

These women have little education and even less understanding of the political process, yet during each session their thirst for more grows stronger and stronger. While we sit and debate over talking points from the right and the left these women ponder how they will feed their kids this week and how not to become the next victim of DC's massive gentrification plan (see Mayor Fenty for more details). After just a few sessions these young women are starting to understand that the system will not listen unless you vote in large numbers and can write some checks.

In contrast, I teach a more advance level of political education to some college students in a joint effort with The Center for Progressive Leadership. These students are in DC for the summer working with different think-tanks and other non-profits. Their ambitions are high, but their understanding of political education isn't much higher than the teenage mothers. They are just formulating their political identity and thankfully they are not jaded yet, but they are getting a heavy dose of partisan politics. Unfortunately, they are suffering from the same hangover (see George Bush on YOUTube) that many other Americans outside the beltway are......"Why can't they get shit done"!

The thing that is fascinating and frustrating to me about these two groups is that this is America's future. These young adults have very little in common except their ignorance of their civic responsibility to this country. But, the thing that gives me hope is that both groups are so thirsty for the knowledge and as I give them the water they need for their own nourishment they grow and blossom right before my very eyes.

I ask you, who do you know that is thirsty? Who can you pour hope into?

Until the next time.....feel free to forward this and go to the Penny Blog and post your comments.

How many pennies does it take to change the world?