Obama: Moderate Republican?

The orchestrated infomercials that are the Republican and Democratic conventions are getting set to saturate the news channels while most Americans would rather watch football or "reality" shows. When I saw the endorsement of President Obama by Florida's former GOP governor Charlie Crist, it struck me how fitting this was. Tea Party first-termers ruling the US House and many statehouses since the 2010 sweep don't know the meaning of the word "compromise." Now "moderate" has become as much of a dirty word as "liberal" to many right wingers. Has this intractable stance advanced the agenda of the traditional Republican Party? 

 

While Mitt Romney pledges North American energy independence by 2020, the Obama administration already has us on that course with an all-of-the-above approach that includes more oil drilling and natural gas exploration. Obamacare is Romneycare, and many Republicans were originally out front on individual mandates. The GOP can trace health care reform efforts back to Nixon. With the ultra-rich Romney paying 13% in taxes are we really stifling job creation taxes are lower than they've been in decades? By recent past GOP standards, I’d say no. Are "Obama's EPA" and other government agencies really strangling us with regulation compared to previous administrations? No again. In Afghanistan, the troop surge could have been a page out of the Bush/Cheney playbook. Obama constantly gets pelted with the "socialist" label, yet evidence of that is scant. If we were on such a sharply left-leaning trend, why are some hardline liberals less enthusiastic about him now than in 2008? On social issues, President Obama did not exactly lead the charge to accept gay marriage any more than Abe Lincoln started out as a fiery abolitionist, but both knew when the time had come. It took the absolutely outrageous claims of the extreme right and a shift in public attitudes for Obama to "evolve" in favor of it. The radical right wing agenda is driving younger generations, minorities and more women away from the mainstream. Now with pre-election movies slamming his role as commander-in-chief and conspiracy theorists claiming the government is buying up all the bullets to put down its own citizens, President Obama has an even greater opportunity to be the adult in the room.     

Quebec: La Belle Provence

Opposite the Quebec Parliament, Quebec City

Some folks go to the same vacation spots year after year.   I'd rather spend my limited vacation time exploring a different spot each trip, but I made an exception by returning to this beautiful city I last visited back in 1995.  For all its old world European charm, the Quebec City area appeared to have grown considerably.  The heavy traffic and ever present highway construction provided the best evidence of that.   I'm not sure whether or not my attempts at French past "bon jour" made for more confusion than just starting off in English.   In this nerve center of French Canadian culture where Quebec fleur-du-lis flags seem to outnumber Canadian maple leaf ones, it seemed appropriate to at least make the initial attempt.   I never got far in the Francophone world, as they'd hand us English language menus after I said two words.   Most locals will oblige in English.   There's something so high-class about being surrounded by French speakers in even the more moderately priced Quebec chain restaurants like St-Hubert (great chicken and mini desserts!) and Normandin (nice hotels too).   The big attraction is downtown Old (Vieux) Quebec itself, full of cafes, shoppes, live music and historic treasures.   Nightlife in Old Quebec has to be experienced.

Olympic Highs, Political Lows

London Olympic Closing

The games of the 30th Olympiad closed with the same level of well-orchestrated spectacle that ushered them in a couple of weeks earlier. The British hosts were more than capable of seeing it through to success and proving the naysayers wrong. American athletes led the U.S. to the top of the medal count. Coming off a high like that, we now find ourselves in the thick of a very nasty political season on this side of the pond. Governor Romney is hoping his selection of Congressman Paul Ryan will bring him something he has been lacking: credibility among Tea Party conservatives. With the GOP VP selection, the slugfest will only intensify. The negativity spewed by big-bucks Super PACs brought on by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision has already generated many inaccuracies and even outrageous, bold-faced lies in a barrage of political ads. While Republicans have led the way with bending the facts about taxes and jobs, it only took the distasteful claim of one Obama Super PAC ad to even the score. Equating Bain Capital with a laid-off worker's wife losing health coverage, getting cancer and dying was a disgusting and far flung charcter assassination. Although the ad never aired the Democratic National Committee doesn't control it, the President should have at least condemned it. That would have differentiated President Obama from GOP candidates afraid to anger a very radicalized right wing. I don't see many gold medals being given out for political courage between now and November

Hitting The Trails

At Bluff Point, Groton

This summer of record breaking heat has undoubtedly deterred many would-be hikers from exploring every corner of eastern Connecticut. That may explain why Linda, Oreo and I had an entire park to ourselves this weekend when we decided to check out the Falls River Nature Preserve in the Ivoryton section of Essex. This very walkable and well shaded system of trails must be one of the best kept secrets in the region. As much as I appreciate quiet, it was just a tad creepy being the only humans there. Summer heat aside, this has been an exceptional year for walking the trails, beginning with a long hike around Devil's Hopyard State Park on an unusually mild New Year's Day. Rocky Neck beach also made for an ideal January dog walk as temperatures soared. I head to the state parks more in spring and fall, when fees are practically nonexistent. Groton's Bluff Point trails take some time, but the views along the way are fantastic. Closer to my home, the old railroad trails connecting Colchester and Hebron are straight, level and not so narrow. I'm always struck by how friendly people you see along the way can be when you have an easygoing dog at your side. These walks are welcome breaks from the constant point to point driving I do during the week. The destination is not the big deal.