In light of some recent blog posts about the Tennessee legislature’s recent “Ministers of the Day” violating the informal agreement they may have had with non-Christian representatives to show “a little restraint in their prayers” and make “at least a token attempt to recognize the diversity of beliefs in Tennessee,” I thought I’d dig up a sound clip of Dave Thomas, president of the Nashville Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, on Liberadio(!) answering the question that seems to be on everyone’s lips: “Are we a Christian nation?”
You will no doubt be surprised at his answer.
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(0:02:26)
By the way, membership to Nashville-AU is only $25 per year. Join today!
And one more thing: let’s not pretend Republicans care about deficits. Reagan spent like a drunken sailor, and W. outspent Reagan. So when Republicans say we need to keep something deficit-neutral, it needs to be remembered that those words are lip service and nothing more. Social programs? Let’s try and save money. Optional wars? Tax cuts? Have at it.
Republicans are quick to point out that Obama is in office, not W. (thankfully). But for six years, they had control of the White House and both houses of Congress. In that time, they couldn’t keep us safe from either terrorists or hurricanes; they couldn’t keep the country’s financial house in order; and they couldn’t prosecute a war without debasing the country’s values. That’s a helluva record. So when Republicans bash Obama, it’s worth pointing out that Republicans have proven they shouldn’t be afforded any credibility.
They can do all the repackaging they want, but Republicans need to understand there are consequences for every action. You can’t drive the car into the ditch and then blame everything on the tow truck.
That’s Dean, FTW.
He’s doing pretty well, actually. The greatest feat was stopping the economy from going completely in the toliet. Had he followed the Republicans’ advice to constrict the dollar, we would be in a depression right now, not recovering from a recession. The Republicans’ decisions to fight two wars and not pay for them, and their decisions to deregulate everything in sight, have been costly. Fortunately, the economy is slowly turning, and we don’t have to live with previous mistakes any longer.
And unlike the first year of the Bush Administration, the first year of the Obama Administration hasn’t seen any successful terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. The system broke down on Christmas Eve — as it did many times after 9-11 — but instead of reacting with emotion and naivete, this President chose analysis and reason to try and fix the problem. Previous management chose emotion and lawlessness.
He has tried to fix our health-care system, which everyone agrees is broken. He has engaged the Muslim world, which is vital to our national security. He has made green technology a priority, which is vital for so many reasons. And he has taken a thoughtful, intelligent approach that is appreciated by our allies.
Obama isn’t perfect and to compare him to Bush sets the bar extremely low. I wish he would’ve made more of a public-option push, and had a little more of W’s certitude and Dick Cheney’s school of “GFY”. He does come off as a little too professorial. But given the garbage he inherited, he’s doing OK. And getting better all time.
(I still think if Palin gets the nomination, Obama might win every state. Even Alaska.)
So how do you think Obama is doing now? He hasn’t really done anything he has promised…
I’m not sure it was Scott’s win as much as Martha’s ineptitude. When you run for Senate from Massachusetts, you’ve got to know who Curt Schilling is. It would be like running for governor of Tennessee and talking about that famous UT quarterback Tim Tebow and the Vols’ coach, Nick Saban.
I’m not too worried about it, actually. Democrats have a 59-41 edge in the Senate, and once they change the filibuster rules (perhaps 55 should be the filibuster-proof margin), they can do anything they need to do.
Oh Mary, did Scott’s win take your breath away?
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