The State of the Democracy Returned

The Obama presidency began on a musical interlude, an arrangement of the religious hymn, Tis A Gift To Be Simple, played on cello, violin, piano and clarinet. On a cold day, in mid-winter, democracy returned to the United States. Two million people came to see the moment.

Polling began on the approval of the occupant of the executive mansion in 1938. Final approval rating of the last occupant was 22 percent, and disapproval 73; no president had a lower yea, nor higher nay percentage. bush junior has been shown exceptionable.

As joyful and hopeful the crowds were for Mister Obama, they did show contempt and disdain for what he replaced. When gwbjr came out of the Capitol runway, audible booing was heard. When the heliocopter took him away, the crowd sang, “na na hey hey goodbye”.

A fortnight and more has passed. Some of the atmosphere is new and clear, and some of the smoky, sulfurous clouds linger on. Darth Cheney will not stop his unrepentant, propaganda campaign. The placement of busheviks burrowed, into the bureaucracy, lay in wait to sabotage.

John Cornyn delayed Holder’s nomination as attorney-general. That office of government is encharged to police the law. All members of the government are sworn to uphold the Constitution, but that department is to investigate and prosecute those who have transgressed. These last eight years the Constitution has been battered. The last administration used the Department of Justice as a compliance auxiliary to their party. Naturally, those involved do not want to be brought to justice, and part of the country does not want the sordidness viewed, nor remembered. Cornyn and his ilk approve of torture and other criminal government behavior, and they do not want to be held responsible, nor reminded, nor restrained.

Karl Rove and his political circle will not answer subpœnas. The Republicans want their political crimes buried. The Democrats have been obliging. A scrupulous and active attorney-general would not be.

Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis has been held from even committee discussion. Likewise, a scrupulous and active labor secretary is a great threat to their party, and economic masters.

Tom Daschle has been scratched from Health and Human Services. Doctor Howard Dean has been neglected for his ability, success and intensity. He would shake up things and get things accomplished. The Republicans hate him, and Obama’s circle have shunned him. Doctor Dean would be a good and worthy administrator. bushjunior got repulsive, dishonest and incompetent nominees to major jobs. Obama should push back, after all he won and was legally installed as the first president in the new century.

The junior senator of Minnesota, Al Franken, has not been seated. The 60th vote is being held back, because he is the 60th, and he has a quick wit and a sharp mind. The Republicans fear all of that. Coleman has criminal investigations pending about him, this gets very little notice, while he, and his team, contradict themselves in ridiculous ways in trying to first delay a count of votes, and now to overturn the count. Every day that Franken is not sworn in is an injustice to democracy, and a bonus to the Republican party.

Barack Obama has chosen Republicans for his cabinet: he has held over Robert Gates and the pentagon establishment; he has chosen a Republican congressman for transport, Ray LaHood; he has nominated a Republican senator for commerce, and has acquiesced to have a Democratic governor to replace Judd Gregg with another Republican.

Barack Obama has extended his hand, to the Republicans* again, and again. At this rate, he will have far less digits than Boris Yeltsin.
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* “Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban. And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person’s entire processes. And these Taliban ― I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban ― no, that’s not what we’re saying. I’m saying an example of how you go about is to change a person from their messaging to their operations to their frontline message. And we need to understand that insurgency may be required when the other side, the House leadership, does not follow the same commands, which we entered the game with.” ― chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Pete Sessions

The stimulus bill passed the House of Representatives easily, but with zero Republicans voting for it. Many Republicans were jubilant and boastful, yes I see that there is no normal segue between those two sentences.