Conventional Wisdom

Fox News and other right wing media outlets have coopted the message for this election cycle, and their mantras have become commonplace even in the so called liberal mainstream media. Let's take a look at some of the more or less accepted truths of the current election cycle.

THE STIMULUS FAILED
Consider cash for clunkers, and the first time home buyers credit. These programs worked so well that when they ended everyone could see the difference in a reduction in sales of cars and homes. The only real question was whether these programs should have been extended. Also, one of the biggest problems has been the serious difficulties that states were having balancing their budgets. The stimulus saved the jobs of thousands of state employees and helped states survive the fiscal crisis. We saw so many politicians publicly attack the money sent to their states but then privately make use of every federal dollar they could get their hands on.

GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER CREATED A JOB
Consider policemen, firemen, teachers, and the military just to start. Think about how many people you know who receive government payroll checks. Consider that government is one of the largest if not the largest employer in the country. Its hard to even understand what that statement is supposed to mean, yet you hear it from Wall Street folks constantly.

THE DEFICIT MUST BE TACKLED IMMEDIATELY
Roosevelt listened to the deficit hawks and watched as the country began to fall back into depresion early in his second term. Are the deficit cutters seeking that kind of result today? Have we learned nothing from history? The deficit is a serious concern but it can be tackled once the economy is on more sure footing. Who better to tackle the deficit at that time than Democrats? Historically it is Republicans who have increased the deficit and Democrats who have cut it. Remember the one trillion dollar surplus not that long ago under President Bill Clinton? Have we forgotten what happened to that surplus and who was in power at the time?

THE HEALTH CARE BILL THAT PASSED IS A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AND IS ALSO SOCIALIST
The health care bill that passed is almost the same as that proposed by Republicans when the health care bill failed in the early 90's. The bill is filled with Republican ideas and it includes no government run health plans - the public option was not passed. All health plans in the health care reform bill are run by private insurance companies, not the government

THE HEALTH CARE PLAN WILL HARM MEDICARE
First of all we need to remind everyone who loves their medicare that medicare, unlike the new health care reform program, is a government run program. Yet, no one I know is calling the Medicare program a dangerous socialist program that needs to be dismantled. Also, the health reform bill actually extends the solvency of the medicare prgram for several years. No medicare recipient will lose benefits because of the new health care reform package.

ALL POLITICIANS ARE THE SAME - CORRUPT, NOT TRUTHFUL, ETC.
While this is not necessarily a right wing notion it is one that pervades the average American's view of politics. In the 50's and early 60's we had much more positive feelings toward government and politicians. Many events have conspired over the intervening years to severely weaken our faith in government. We are not naive nor should we be. Yet we still need good people in politics, and we need to work harder at distinguishing the demagogue and charlatan from someone who is actually trying to make things better for all of us. Politicians are not perfect people any more than the rest of us, and often devolve into unhelpful partisan rhetoric and actions. Yet, good politicians care most about their country. They will come together for the common good rather than try to gain partisan advantage even when it may cause harm to the country. We see this happen when politicians come together as they did a number of years ago to solve the social security crisis. We saw it when President George H. W. Bush raised taxes when it was necessary even though it cost him at the polls. We saw it when George W. Bush with treasury secretary Henry Paulson did what was necessary to keep the economy from complete collapse, even though the demagogues raised their voices against it.

We need to look for true leaders today. We need leaders who are willing to reach across the aisles to get things done. We have many challenges in our country that require that everyone work together for the common good. Instead we find hostility and divisiveness, and politicians who encourage that troublesome climate. Come November, those who only want to rail against government should not get our vote. It is easy to tell us what is wrong in our country today, but we need to search for candidates who approach issues seriously. We need people who are not interested in sound bites or jumping on a bandwagon. We need folks who have thoughtful solutions to contemporary issues and are not driven by ideology or the flavor of the month. We can do better. We must.