Herman

Cain

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December 3, 2007

Will Democrats Ever Stop Whining?

Even before the November 2006 congressional elections, Democratic leaders were calling for a “new direction” on the war in Iraq, the economy, energy and anything else suitable for their pandering politics without offering any constructive suggestions. That’s called whining.

Now that the “new strategy” in Iraq is showing noticeable progress, and is being acknowledged by some of the most ardent critics of President Bush, the Democratic leaders in Congress are still sending war spending bills to the president contingent upon him agreeing to an announced withdrawal date. The president clearly stated on June 12, 2007:

“When we start drawing down our forces in Iraq, it will be because our military commanders on the ground say it’s right, not because pollsters say it will be good politics.”

What part of “no” don’t they understand? The president has been consistent on his position of not telling the enemy our plans for withdrawal or our plans for reductions in troop levels. The situation in Iraq is finally moving in the right direction. And although the situation is not perfect or nearly complete, the Democrats keep whining about a politically determined withdrawal date.

The economy has been moving in the right direction for over four years with consistently positive growth in Gross Domestic Product, record low unemployment and a vibrant stock market. But since the Democrats are in denial of the raw facts, they whine constantly about the economy not helping the “little guy”. Who is this little guy? Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards wants to close the income gap between what he calls “the two Americas” with more social programs and government mandates.

John Edwards and the other Democrats just don’t get it. You can’t legislate, regulate or mandate success, happiness or financial security. You earn it the old fashion way – work for it! Government’s role may be to provide assistance in leveling the playing field of opportunity, but it cannot guarantee entitlement by tampering with the dynamics of a free market economy.

Just ask the 58 percent of the families in a recent (November 13, 2007) Treasury Department study of nearly 97,000 tax filers over a 10-year period from 1996 through 2005. That 58 percent moved from the bottom 20 percent of income groups to a much higher income group. In fact, 5.3 percent of the families moved all the way to the top quintile! That’s not an income inequality problem, that’s an income mobility opportunity. To see it otherwise is political whining.

Every time gasoline prices spike upward due to the volatility of the world oil market and our dependence on foreign oil, the Democrats criticize the Bush Administration and big oil companies, while refusing to support legislation to allow safe drilling in Alaska and around our continental shores. They would rather have us continue to be vulnerable to pipsqueak potentates running countries like Venezuela and Iran.

Some of us see progress in Iraq, a vibrant economy and income mobility as a glass half-full. The Democrats see everything not as a glass half-empty, as the metaphor goes, but as a “glass on empty”. And for the sake of pure political power, they seem content on shattering America’s greatness into little pieces.

At that point, they will find no cheese to go with that whine.    

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