A guest blogBy: Brian McAfee
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President Barack Obama's first full month as president will be marked as historically significant for its shift away from the fraudulent "trickle down" economic model begun by Ronald Reagan almost 30 years ago. The first significant policy vote was to approve and increase the State Children's Health Insurance Program or SCHIP. This program provides health coverage for children of working parents who are not eligible for Medicaid and whose parent's employers do not provide health insurance. The shift in SCHIP eligibility provides health insurance for 4 million more children then the old system. The Republicans en masse voted agaist SCHIP with West Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra using the specter of children of "illegal immigrants" possibly being eligible as part of his opposition to the bill. Hoekstra's no vote was duplicated by most of the rest of the Republicans in the House the final vote being 289 yes 139 no.
Obama's Stimulus Package outcome has been almost a duplicate (vote wise) of the SCHIP vote. In the House the Stimulus Package passed with a straight party line vote. The Republicans again voting en masse against Obama's Stimulus Package. The Republican's no vote has become routine, a knee jerk reaction. What terrible things are in the Stimulus that the Republicans are opposed to? Tax cuts for 95% of Americans? $634 billion for health care? Taxing big oil? Reducing income inequality? Increasing taxes on people who make over $250 million a year? Probably a bingo of the last three. The suggestion, or insistence, by the Right that Obama is a socialist is completely ludicrous. Because he wants to remedy some tax and income and other inequalities does not in any way indicate that he is not a capitalist, just that he is less survival of the fittest and social Darwinist oriented then Republicans.
There are humanitarian qualities that seem evident in Obama's domestic endeavors that would increase the degree of civility in the country that has been absent since the time of FDR. A move back to that sort of decency would be a welcome shift.
Probably the most important and problematic area for Obama and the World is his apparent willingness to escalate a warfare setting in South Asia. We should be engaged in Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. encouraging and in some ways and cases enforcing the protection of women and girls in education and civil rights. Any militarism should be should primarily a tool to protect humanitarian endeavors. The all too frequent civilian losses and casualties in Afghanistan and most recently in drone missile attacks in Pakistan must be ended and humanitarian missions such as protecting girls schools, roads, water and agricultural projects should be our primary endeavor and concern.
We are entering a new era with Obama, hopefully a more representative Congress and an active populace. How will things evolve? Predictions?
