Things the Most Liberal Democrats Don't Want Us to Remember

(Disclaimer: This writer isn't a straight-ticket Republican voter, but instead votes according to candidates' stance on issues. This is an opinion editorial backed up with reliable resources.)

For the record: Many moderate Democrats do not believe in ultra-left ideology, and not all Republicans are Christian conservatives. Yes, believe it or not, I've gone to church with many a Christian Democrat! But people on all sides may be taken in by these circulating myths:

Myth #1. This Democratic-controlled Congress has been good for the American people - FALSE.

As of early 2006, before the Democrats took control of Congress, consumer confidence stood at a 2-1/2 year high;

The average gas price before the 2006 election was $1.50-2.00;

The unemployment rate had consistently fallen since 2003 until it reached a 5-year low at 4.7% in Feb., 2006.

The Dow Jones hit a record high and American's were buying cars and houses.

But we didn't like what Bush had done in Iraq, and Americans wanted change! So in 2006, we voted for a Democratic Congress to take control. Since then:

Consumer confidence has plummeted;

Gasoline surged over $4.00 a gallon;

According to the Dept. of Labor, last month (Sept. 08) Unemployment was a whopping 6.1%.

Americans' home equity dropped by $trillions. The many properties in foreclosure from greedy investors have lowered the value of other homes as well.

The Dow Jones has dropped its most drastically in decades;

Countless greedy Wall Street embezzlers and corrupt CEO's have surfaced more than ever and been allowed to flourish.

The current trouble with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began escalating under the previous Democratic administration, not President Bush as Democrats in Congress want us to believe (see a prominent 1999 New York Times article, "Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending" by Stephen A. Holmes.The New York Times usually favors Democrats, and recently refused McCain equal time to Obama's statement this past July. Yet, this article is on their website).

Since 2006, lobbying has run rampant. According to calculations researched by actor Chuck Norris, who appeared on Mike Huckabee's new Fox TV show this past week, there is now an average of 500 lobbyists to every one Congress person! It's bad on both sides.

America has lost credibility around the world because our own bickering, self-serving, camera-loving Congress people bash their Executive Chief every chance they get. Yes, we have free speech to do so - but must we?

Congress makes fun of President Bush's low approval rating, but according to a May, 2008 Gallup poll, Bush's rating was at 20% and Congress' only at 18%. A Zogby 2007 poll showed Congress' approval rating at only 11% to Bush's 24%.

Myth #2. Only the Democratic party cares about the poor, the minorities, the elderly. The Republican party caters to rich, white conservatives - FALSE.

A Democratic President, Lyndon Johnson, with a Democratic-controlled Congress switched Social Security money from an independent fund to a general fund so Congress could spend it.

Although Social Security was created by a Democratic President (Roosevelt, 1935), it was also taxed for the first time under a Democratic administration (1937). The tax was most recently increased on Social Security under Clinton in 1993 with Al Gore, a Democrat, casting the deciding vote to do so. Granted, this was done to help a budget deficit. But taxing Social Security placed a burden on the elderly already receiving it.

It was a Democratic Governor (George Wallace) who stood on Alabama school steps in 1962 and said "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." (By 1982, he did admit being wrong and won a 4^th term backed by a multi-racial coalition).

A Republican President, Ronald Reagan, made Martin Luther King Day a National Holiday.

A Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, signed the Emancipation Proclamation, ending legal slavery. Some people say that's negligible, because slavery went on for a while after that - so what? That's not Lincoln's fault - he was assassinated shortly thereafter!

A Republican President, George H.W. Bush, put the 2nd black Supreme Court Justice into position (Clarence Thomas. Thurgood Marshall was the first under Lyndon Johnson). A Republican President, George W. Bush, has appointed a black man and woman to one of the highest posts in the country (Colin Powell and then Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State), and also asked Colin Powell to run for Vice President. No matter what we think of these people or how bad a job we think they've done, we must realize that up until Barack Obama became a candidate, the Democrats have never previously given a position as high as Secretary of State to anyone who was not white.

As of 2003, when the famous mantra "Republicans are the party of the rich" really took off, 8 of the Top 11 Richest Senators were Democrats. Only 3 were Republicans. They ranked as follows from the richest down: John Kerry (D-MA), John Corzine (D-NJ), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.VA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Mark Dayton (D-MN) and John Edwards (D-NC). The Republicans were: Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), and Bill Frist (R-TN).

Of the 5 richest U.S. Presidents to date, only one was a Republican (Herbert Hoover).

The liberals like to talk about John McCain's 7 houses, and wife Cindy McCain's $100 million as heiress to a beer distributor.

Well, when running for President in 2004, Democratic candidate John Kerry had at least 5 homes, each valued in the millions. Kerry's wife, Theresa Heinz, heiress to Heinz ketchup, was worth $500 million. His first wife was also worth $300 million. Gee. Democrats care so much more than Republicans about poor people. It doesn't appear that Kerry ever went looking for a poor wife - someone he could raise up out of the muck and mire.

Most of Hollywood's wealthiest celebrities are liberals supporting the Democratic party. These actors make an average of $15 million a movie for just a couple months' work. And I don't see Democratic candidates turning away their support! Oh - and aren't these celebrities also living in mansions while owning 2 or 3 residences in other locations as well?

I know people who voted for President Clinton in 1992 while they lived on welfare in trailers or government housing. When Clinton's two terms were over, they were still living on welfare in trailers or government housing.

Was everything Clinton's fault? No. Is everything Bush's fault? No. Most Presidents discover when they get into office that the power over many issues is all in Congress and the Supreme Court. And there could not be a bunch of people more cut off from how the majority of America lives than some of those in Congress and the Supreme Court.

Myth #3. Only Republicans like George and Jeb Bush ride in on their father's coattails. REALLY?

Al Gore's father, Al Gore Sr., was also a U.S. Democratic Senator.

Democratic President John F. Kennedy made his brother Robert F. Kennedy the Attorney General. Joseph Patrick Kennedy II, Bobby's son, was a Democratic U.S. Representative for Massachusetts from 1987-99.

Ted Kennedy Jr. & JFK Jr. were each solicited by the Democratic party to run. The party had high hopes for JFK Jr. to run for President. He was already being called the "Prince of America" before his untimely death!

Want to comment back? Rude or dirty remarks from anonymous people will immediately be deleted. Is that obstructing your free speech? No more than you obstruct a writer's when you give them no way to contact you back with rebuttal.

Sources:

Gas prices: http://zfacts.com/p/35.html.

Unemployment: http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/03/news/economy/jobs_january/index.htm.

Consumer confidence: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/CreativeConsumer/story?id=2603149&page=1.

Dow Jones http://www.nyse.tv/dow-jones-industrial-average-history-djia.htm.

Gallup Poll, Congress approval rating: http://www.gallup.com/poll/107242/congress-approval-rating-ties-lowest-gallup-records.aspx.

Zogby Poll, Congress approval rating: http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1359.

Social Security: http://www.ssa.gov/history/hfaq.html.

George Wallace quote: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/politics/daily/sept98/wallace.htm

Senators and Presidents wealth info: "For God and Country, John Edwards and the regular people." by Jeremy Moore, January 11, 2003: http://www.geocities.com/jmoore1350/Column0143.html, and http://www.americanspark.com/2008/08-25-08_mccain-obama-wealth.html; and http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/homes.asp.

N.Y. Times Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac article: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260.