Getting Bumped

Somehow, the title of today's cartoon and commentary make perfect sense. Originally, we'd thought of talking about school being back in session, which led to thoughts of how testing is bumping actual teaching of the curriculum of schools across the country.

That subject got bumped when we were floored - almost literally - by the actions of Nebraska's Gov. Dave Heineman. Heineman shocked many of his fellow Republicans across the country when he came out AGAINST the Keystone XL pipeline on Wednesday. Heineman wrote a letter, calling on President Obama and Sec. Clinton to deny TransCanada the federal permit needed to drive the company's tar sands pipeline through the Nebraska Sandhills, over the fragile resource of the Ogallala aquifer.

Anyone who understands the process knows the filthy pipeline is likely a done deal -which makes Heineman's actions at this late date little more than political window dressing. He'll pass the blame on to the Legislature for not acting sooner to block the pipeline. Then Heineman will to try and cover his heinie with this last-minute opposition. Later, when the pipeline has a "leak" and destroys the water supply for all of Nebraska, at least his political behind will be covered - or so he appears to think.

As sad and disgusting as that story is, it still got bumped for the real story of the day - a story we have very passionate feelings about.

We can't even begin to say how annoyed and angry we are, primarily at the Speaker of the House, but also a little at the President's staff, after the events of Wednesday afternoon.

In case you'd been away from the media for the last few weeks - like Congress, who STILL are on their five-and-a-half week vacation - President Obama announced in August that NEXT week, the first FULL week of September, he was going to make a speech to the nation about jobs and the economy.

Since one of the primary problems in job creation in America right now is a do-nothing Congress that has the power to do much more than it has, the President decided he needed to address Congress AND the American people with his jobs message on Wednesday evening. The first day back to work for our representatives in Washington, after their five-plus week vacation is Wednesday, September 7 - NEXT Wednesday.

The President's staff knew that the next GOP Presidential Primary debate was also scheduled for that day. From all appearances, the White House had received proper assurances from the television networks that THIS President, like all Presidents before him, would be given preferential treatment as befits the office, and the GOP debate would be delayed slightly to allow the President to speak first.

The way the President's staff presented that knowledge to the country, however, left them open for the political disrespect they should have expected from the Republicans and John Boehner.

Sadly, like clockwork, the arrogance of the Republicans exploded as expected, with Speaker Boehner - for the first time in the history of the nation - declining the President's "request" to speak to Congress.

Agreeing to the request of the President is supposed to be a mere formality. When a President requests something of you - especially something as simple as showing up to perform the duties you were elected to do, after MORE THAN A MONTH OF VACATION, it is not, in our minds, a request.

The amount of disrespect shown by Republicans for the office of the President - let alone the disrespect they show the man who currently commands that position - by unilaterally rebuffing the man WHO IS ALSO THEIR PRESIDENT, is a disgrace. Their actions dishonor both the Congress and the country they betray when they claim to work for its benefit.

The President should have simply TOLD Congress that he WILL be addressing the nation from the floor of Congress next Wednesday night at 8 PM, Eastern time. Period. If the insolent, arrogant, ignorant, disrespectful, worthless Republicans in Congress didn't want to show up at that time to do the work they were elected to do, that would be their problem to live down to voters hungry for results in 2012.

Instead, once again, President Obama caved, an action we have seen far too much from him. Even if he's now moved his speech to Thursday, at least he's ready to get back to work.

America needs to get back to work. If Congress isn't, they can be replaced. After all, it's happened to millions of American workers over the past few years. Unlike the Republicans in Congress, THEY were ready and willing to perform their jobs, given the opportunity.

Handicapping The Right

In the midst of a relatively quiet August, politically speaking, certain bored members of the American media have been chomping at the bit for the 2012 political season to get into gear.

While we understand the urge of some of our fellow news gatherers - especially those in political media - to push up the starting line on the 2012 Presidential race, we don't necessarily share their desire for a longer campaign season. So far, the contest looks like it'll be less than a photo finish. In fact, Allan Lichtman - the American University professor whose election formula has correctly projected the winner of every U.S. Presidential race since 1984 - said on Tuesday about his 2012 prediction, “Even if I am being conservative, I don’t see how Obama can lose."

Still - we've said before that we don't believe in calling events finished before they've even begun and we stand by that. That said, the GOP's latest so-called front runner, Texas Governor Rick Perry - a man given the nickname "Gov. Goodhair" by legendary columnist Molly Ivins - doesn't give us much hope for a competitive contest for the presidency next year.

We aware of the fact that in more than one poll, Perry has suddenly jumped to the front of the GOP field, over the head of the man presumed for some time to be the GOP's likely 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney.

That doesn't make him the nominee yet.

Perry has been called an idiot. He's also been labeled as dumb. He's been called clueless on how the office of the President really works. He's displayed a stunning ignorance of how key federal government programs - like Social Security - really work. His opposition to science in general, and climate change in particular, is offensive at least and dangerous at worst. Quite a few people have also noticed striking similarities between Rick Perry and George W. Bush, the man who brought him to prominence in Texas politics.

Perry isn't a clean candidate, either. He's got a history - both with other powerful Republicans like Karl Rove, and with the other GOP front-runner, Mitt Romney. Like Romney, Perry has flip-flopped on some important issues to conservatives - like health care. Furthermore, Romney has been campaigning in one form or another for the Presidency for at least four years - and Romney's only beginning to retaliate against Perry.

Some of our colleagues in the media have already added all that up, and made their final call - that Perry is nothing more than a headless horseman, a distraction for the far right who will never really win the nomination.

We don't agree.

We tend to side with several of our colleagues from across the political spectrum, that Perry should NOT be underestimated.

It's not that we think he's the most qualified candidate the Republicans have put forward so far in this early 2012 presidential race. He's not even close to the most qualified. Not by a long shot.

Then again, neither was George W. Bush.

That's what concerns us more than anything.

Praise Where It's Due

As we looked back through our recent editions while we were on vacation break, we noticed that we'd missed covering a few stories recently - including some potentially well-earned praise that we missed handing out.

Since the President is back to work - apparently he's the only major part of our government back from vacation - but the rest of Washington, DC is still on vacation, we thought we should cover at least one of those items we'd bypassed earlier this month.

After all, what else would we talk about? The insanity of Rick Perry, the second-coming of George W. Bush, who is currently leading the 2012 GOP field? Not today. Maybe we'll look at that tomorrow.

The news item we're focusing on today - one we'd missed covering in early August - is a simple one. Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, someone we haven't always had the kindest words for, did something amazing earlier this month at a town hall gathering in Lincoln. His action was amazing because, sadly, we've yet to hear almost any Republican at almost any level these days state what he did.

Fortenberry, in not so many words, told right-wing extremist Grover Norquist and his Tea Party minions to go to hell.

In case you're unfamiliar with the background, we'll give you the Cliff's Notes version. Grover Norquist, an anti-tax, pro-corporate lobbyist, has gained a political stranglehold over much of the Republican Party over the last twenty-five years. His most recent tactic is to demand that our elected officials bend to his whims, and not necessarily to the whims of the people who elected them. To accomplish that end, Norquist extracts a pledge from Republicans running for office that says they won't raise taxes for ANY reason... Period.

Admittedly, Rep. Foretenberry signed just such a pledge when he was trying to win his seat in the house of Representatives in 2004.

What Fortenberry did earlier this month, in that town hall in Lincoln, was to pointedly reject the pledge he'd previously signed with Norquist's anti-tax organization.

As a Republican, in a political atmosphere thick with extremist rhetoric, flush with massive amounts of outside cash from hard-to-track sources, Fortenberry finally took a stand for the moderate GOP members that truly make up the majority of Nebraska Republicans (and we believe, Republicans across the country).

We're not sure if Rep. Fortenberry will back up his comments - comments he's since repeated - with actions that make sense, like those that Warren Buffett has suggested this past summer.

What we will say is this: to our moderate Republican friends and readers who complain to us that they are tired of being tarred and feathered with the same political muck attached to the likes of Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry - adjectives like racist, ignorant, classist, uneducated, intolerant, and bigoted ...

If Fortenberry doesn't at least receive a word of praise from you for being to willing to stand up for the sane, moderate, sensible position we know that you truly support, then you'll have no one else to blame but yourself for the kinds of extremist nutball candidates you'll have to pick from in your primary elections in 2012.

We sincerely hope, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, that you follow through with your words, and find some revenue enhancements - meaning taxes on those who can afford them - that you can support.

If you do that, sir, we can honestly say you'll have earned the praise we're willing to afford you now.