Supreme Court Confirmations

Today, the president announced the appointment of US Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the court. Now the process moves to the Senate. And that is where it can either work or not.

Let me first say that I do not know enough about this nominee to venture an opinion. I suspect nobody does. We have a lot to learn about her before anyone can actually have an opinion.

Oh, the pundits on both sides will yammer and clamor. Most of them are reading from index cards provided from the rapidly failing Republican and Democratic parties. The good news - Limbaugh, Olbermann and the rest of the clown squad don't matter here. They are background noise that needs to be ignored. I don't care what Matthews or Hannity think on this. Not at all.

Who does matter is the US Senate. In an earlier post, I pointed out that the Republicans in the Senate were handling the vacancy with appropriate dignity and fairness. I also pointed out that Democrats have historically been far less civilized about Supreme Court nominees.

For the Senate, this is one of their most important and significant functions. Whoever ascends to the court will be there for life and will hold sway over many key issues during their tenure. A Supreme Court nomination should always be handled with the dignity and respect due the position.

This means that no Senator should fall on party line nonsense. This is more of a hazard to Democrats than Republicans, but all should be aware that they need to take this Constitutional duty seriously and not in the context of the next election cycle.

Thus far, Republicans have said, (and I think it is fair for them to say) that their support for Ms. Kagan as Solicitor General should not be assumed for her court nomination. Congratulations to them for honesty and careful speech. They are making it clear that they see the difference between lead litigator for the administration and final decider on the court. They are correct in their statements and cautious to not predecide this.

And Democrats...well, they are trying to be cautious while supportive. This is not the action of a person that takes it seriously. Until she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, any promise of support (or promise of opposition) is wrong and inappropriate. Some Democrats have already promised support without the benefit of any testimony. They are wrong.

Both sides need to respect that she is not going to give issue based opinions. Nor should she. If she offered an opinion on any matter that might come before her on the court, than she is wrong and should be turned away. Again, historically, Republicans understand that while Democrats do not.

What she deserves and we the people are due is a fair hearing and review of her experience and writings. An examination of her temperament and how she sees the role of the courts on our government. This is not a matter of false diversity or leanings. Nor is it about politics and such. It is about deciding if Kagan is qualified to join what is arguably the most powerful branch of government.

All we can ask is that the Senate turn off the pundits, hang up on the party apparatchiks, ignore the pollsters and disregard the lobbyists. This process - the vetting and confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice - is their chance to prove they are actual adults with respect for the system and the people. Possibly their last chance.

Those that choose to follow the ongoing partisan lunacy do so at their own peril. Everything else may be fair fodder for this, but a Supreme Court nominee is not. Reid and McConnell should take heed here. This is not the time for their endless vote counting games. Allow the hearings to proceed and then bring the nomination to the Senate floor. Without head counts and the rest of the tired games those 2 play. As leaders, Reid and McConnell are offensive on a good day. This would be a great time for Reid and McConnell to take a long vacation. Or at least stop talking.

The coming weeks will tell the tale of the Senate. Are they serious about their duties or just playing for the next election? We will know soon enough.

An Independent Candidate...Oh My!

(In the interest of full disclosure, let me say right off the top that I am a Florida native. Born, raised and still live here. I love this state and can remember when you could still see the ocean from Collins Avenue. And I have seen governors, Senators and all manner of politician come and go. This IS Florida, after all. Oh, I am registered No Party Affiliation. I vote my conscience. Party affiliation is not a factor to me.)

So Charlie Crist is going to break the shackles of the almost incestuous 2-party system in Florida and run as an independent. On his own record, without the big hitters coming in for him. Without the giant money people and without the largess of this state's remarkably corrupt and self-centered 2 political parties. About time someone stepped out.

Needless to say, the recriminations flew in from both parties almost immediately. And on a vileness scale of 1 to 10, most were 12's. The Democrats accused Charlie of trying to steal their voters. Their voters? They own them? Some kind of blood pact perhaps? More on that in a bit. They said he was pretending to be one of them just to win. The Dems also tried to pretend that Charlie never once agreed with them, which is ironic since Crist's GOP primary opponent - Marco Rubio - has successfully overtaken him by saying just that. Democrats quickly made it clear that nobody could help or show support for Charlie and any that did would be fired - or in the case of elected Democrats, given the old Lieberman Treatment.

By the way, this is one where the Democrats are the innovators. Tossing good candidates and office holders under the bus to satisfy the extreme left. Like little children with matches, they never seem to learn that they get burned every time.

The GOP prohibited anyone working for them or volunteering for them to help Crist. Phrases like, "...well, it is obvious his first loyalty is not to the party," were very common along with the too tired "Republican in Name Only." OK, I can see the don't help the opponent thing. Makes some sense. But the loyalty thing? His first loyalty is supposed to be the the state and the people - not the dumb party. And the RINO line. Seriously, is there some kind of entry qualification to be an actual Republican? Does the "big tent" have an entry minimum?

The GOP has now taken to catering to the extreme right. They obviously do not remember that every time the Dems did this, it cost them. I am guessing knowledge of political history is not on the GOP entry qualification form.

My favorite is both sides declaring Charlie to be an unpopular governor. Funny, because almost every Floridian I know likes the guy. Thinks he has done a good job. Most folks think he has come down on the side of the people regardless of the party's position repeatedly. He supported the stimulus because Florida needed the money.

This is the Republican governor of Florida that called the FBI in to investigate spending irregularities at the Florida GOP - which was being run by his longtime friend, Jim Greer. Now that is actual governance. Impressive, too.

Some said he called them in to embarrass Rubio, whose name came up in the whole credit card thing. Probably not. First off, Rubio still has some explaining to do on those charges and he should also have to explain why, on expenses that were paid by the party and the state due to "accidental filing," he chose to reimburse the party and not the state, which needs every dime. I guess his first loyalty is pretty obvious.

Crist also negotiated a deal with the with the Seminoles to get a cut of their gaming profits even though the GOP led legislature and GOP Attorney General were opposed. Why. Well, the state needed the money and the Seminoles, who already had the gaming licenses were offering hundreds of millions of dollars. He fought the legislature and Attorney General (who wants to be governor by the way) and eventually got everyone to the negotiating table and got a deal. Signed it just this week. More money for the state without raising taxes. Republican enough? Apparently not.

Charlie also told the self-proclaimed fiscally responsible (they aren't) GOP led Florida legislature that they could not dip into dedicated trust funds to balance the budget. That money has a purpose and he would not let them reroute it to hide their bad judgement. He also routinely vetoes their little unnecessary pet projects.

Now, to be fair, I think Jeb Bush was an outstanding governor for this state. Except for a couple of issues, he did us right. Saw this state through 9 hurricanes in 2 years and never once did we whimper for help. He often stood against his party, and more than once, his brother George. With few exceptions, he acted in the best interest of Florida.

In the interest of balance, let's spend a minute on the Democratic candidates. Won't need much more. There are actually 2. Kendrick Meek, who poorly represented me in Congress is the Florida Democratic Party's choice. He has an opponent, but in true Florida Dem fashion, he is being squeezed out. That would be former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre. It is a shame the Dems are so short sighter. Ferre was a good mayor and a good guy. He would be a very good Senator.

But the lords of the Florida Democratic machine have spoked and Kendrick gets the nod. Meek announced he would vote for Health care before there was even a first draft of the first bill. He voted for TARP. He is a pure party line guy and therefore useless to me, and most likely the rest of the nation. We don't need another blind, deaf voting robot in Congress. Meek needs to go home to his mother - a great woman and one of the great leaders this state has ever had - and learn about governance and not party loyalty. he needs to learn that people and not platforms come first.

On the GOP side, we have Rubio. The former Florida House Speaker who rammed through massive tax cuts without matching spending cuts. The Speaker who oversaw the conversion of state run Citizen's Property Insurance from the insurer of last resort the the state run insurer of first choice. Yep. A lot of Floridians now have RubioPlan Homeowner's policies. One really big hurricane and Florida is financially toast.

To overtake Crist, Rubio just kept using a photo of Charlie embracing Obama. Used all of the tired talking points about working with the enemy and so on. And it worked. Of course it worked. Why? Because he catered to the extreme right of the party - those with the biggest anger. Great campaign strategy, but bad governance policy.

I will take one Rubio issue away from the Dems. They have a problem with Marco getting a plum job at Florida International University after steering millions to the school. I don't because the school is in his former district as are a lot of the students and any university would want a former high ranking elected official on staff. It is actually good for the school, which serves a lot of South Florida kids with a quality education.

Back to the core issue here. The decrepit, corrupt, failing 2 party system. At the core of America's problems lies the 2 parties. They are so caught up in winning the next election that they have totally abandoned the people. All either party gives a hoot about is winning at any - and I mean any - cost. Both parties cater to the extremes, or as they euphemistically call it, the base. And the primary system, at least here in Florida, is designed to offer up the most electable and not the most capable. Often the best choice is not available come the general election.

The parties regard registered voters as property. Both the Florida Dems and GOP refer to "their voters," as if there is some kind of contractual agreement when you register to vote. Actually, the national parties do the same. But they tend to tilt heavily to the extremes of their crowd and just assume everyone else is along for the ride. They openly despise folks that vote for the other party in general elections. Phrases like, "traitor to the party," and "RINO," are too commonly used and too casually used. See, if you are a registered Republican or a registered Democrat, they just assume you will vote for their ticket. Because they think they own you. Because to the party leaders, your loyalty is to them first and not America first. Because their loyalty is to the party first and America second. Listen to them. Party this, party that. Other party always bad. Blah, blah, blah.

Like in this Senate race. The better choices would be Crist or Ferre. Both have excellent records in elective office and both have reputations for true bipartisanship - something neither Meek or Rubio even pretends to know. And until today, we were going to be stuck with that. Until Charlie, acting on what he thinks best serves Florida, took the chance and walked away from the parties. Personally, I intend to vote for him unless one of the others can prove himself the better candidate for Florida, and not the national party agenda.

While working on this, I noticed an interesting ballot item coming up in California. I know, California. But sometimes, they do have good ideas. California Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado is pushing proposition 14. Open primaries. And the top 2 vote getters advance to the general election.

I like this. It eliminates the primaries being all about the extreme right or left (depending on the party) wings and serving up the least desirable. It opens up the field to all evenly. I am sure that both Republicans and Democrats will disagree with me here, but you would expect them to fear the demise of their control over the ballot. At the very least, it deserves a serious look. It has to be better than what we have now. Because what we have now would force me to choose between Meek and Rubio - 2 seriously unqualified candidates with nothing of their own and no concern for their would be constituents.

Come 11/2/2010, vote the lot of them out. All of them. Let's really send a message to the parties that they will not forget. Let's make them take notice of us, the actual people. The governed. The ignored.

And the game resumes unimpeded

So the Health Care thing passed and was signed. Did that slow the endless flinging of insults back and forth? Nope. Did it even mildly lessen the exaggerated claims by both sides? Nope. In fact, it intensified them. Let's look and laugh before proceeding:

Democrats maintain that spending what will likely be trillions will somehow save us money. Right. And overdrawing my checking account will somehow pay off my mortgage. Seriously Nancy, we are not that stupid. They also continue to soft pedal the individual mandate as somehow a good thing, even though individual mandates are almost always a bad thing. Think poll tax, except bigger and badder.

Republicans continue to bray about a government takeover of the health care system. Yeah. Except for the obvious fact that the law actually props up the private health insurance industry by establishing exchanges where these private companies can sell their policies. The only difference between the New York Stock Exchange and these insurance exchanges is what is being traded. Remember NYSE determines what can be traded there.

Perhaps my personal favorite is the contention that members of congress and the president should be required to join the "ObamaCare plan." What plan? That obvious silliness aside, I happen to agree that members of Congress should have to shop the actual private health insurance market. Just like I had to.

The President of the United States is another matter. Regardless of who the president is, I want her/him to have the best of the best. As it is right now, the president has military physicians assigned. As it should be. And former presidents deserve whatever we can give them as thanks for a thankless and fairly brutal job.

OK. I am hoping this is my last piece on Health Care. We need to move on to other issues that are still pending. Other things that will affect us more directly and rapidly than the health care thing.

Like oil exploration. This one seems almost scripted just for me. A president who was opposed to offshore exploration and drilling in and near the US announces that he has looked at it again and changed his mind. Right. Obama announced that the Republicans were right about this. Not in those words, of course. Heaven forbid any politician credit the opposing party with anything. However, it seems to me that this is a lot more flexible and open to ideas than the GOP claims.

So what happens? Spitballs flung immediately and steadily. The GOP in the person of several (R) members of that disgusting body known as Congress immediately yelled "flip-flop." These are the same lame-brains that were yelling, "Listen to our ideas." Now that Obama has, they need to condemn their own ideas. Some called it a fake. Some said it didn't go far enough. And some even complained about lawsuits yet to be filed by private organizations as if Obama controlled them. Apparently, "Drill, Baby, Drill," only counts if a Republican says it.

Democrats? Oh, grow up Democrats. This is no longer the 1960's. Oil is not going away anytime soon. And like it or not, American needs oil. We can buy it from hostile Arab nations or try to use what we have here. Almost immediately after Obama's announcement, the condemnations were rolling. Seemingly adult Democrats reacting as if struck physically. And by what? by a president governing an entire nation and not just the Democrat part.

There is an old chunk of political wisdom that I learned from Hubert Humphrey - if both sides are angry, then it must be the right thing. Well, both sides are angry, which leads me to think this makes sense.

Let's look at Obama's energy stuff - nuclear power plants (long the Dems' most hated idea) and now offshore exploration. Both ideas called for by Republicans in the 2008 election and now condemned by the exact same Republicans when enacted by a Democrat president. And the Democrats? Well, they still want that magic energy solution. And nothing else. They condemned the nuclear and the oil decisions.

Democrats need to take a much firmer grasp on current reality and stop the dangerous pretense of creating a utopia by simply demanding one. The endless call for "clean, renewable energy" sounds great. Except for one thing. It does not yet exist in a form that is affordable for the average American. And Cap & Trade is just stupid right now. We can ill afford to further constrain energy companies in the fantasy name of "carbon emissions."

While research is vital and important, so is a continuing energy resource. Stopping further oil development in lieu of a not yet existing solution is crazy talk. So is condemning the idea of expanding oil exploration simply because of the party affiliation of the person who called for it.

Republicans, who have spent the last year crying that Obama didn't want to hear their ideas now complain when he does. Pick one, kids.

Both sides need to take a long time out in the corner until they learn to play well with others. That is exactly what the Congress is. 530 (as of today) kids who do not play well with others. I suggest we treat them as such.

The "Health Care" Bill

I just downloaded the final bill as it is intended to go to reconciliation. With no comment on procedure, this bill should fail. On its own lack of merit.

Just go to page 2098 and look what got added. Student loans. An entirely different piece of legislation shoehorned into one of the most controversial and important pieces of legislation. After the fact. As an add on. At the very end. In the hopes that we don't notice.

The content of the actual bill is bad enough. A 2.5 percent tax on individuals for not having health insurance (section 401). A commission that is explicitly shielded from the rules of federal employment (page 33). Tax after tax on businesses. Taxes on those earning over certain amounts.

What makes this even more pathetic is the simple and plain fact that a lot of it violates the Tenth Amendment. Health insurers are state regulated and typically not engaged in interstate commerce. This leaves the regulation to the states. This bill usurps that over and over.

I can see why this happened behind closed doors. The raw stench coming from the room probably presented a bio-hazard.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am one of those with a "pre-existing" conditions ('broken,' as Kristen at the local Starbucks so adorably puts it). I looked forward to the health insurers having that taken away as a method to deny me coverage. But at this cost? With this many restrictions, taxes, fees and entanglements? No.

I obviously have to keep reading, but just on a first pass skimming, I am disappointed and angry. I cannot imagine how bad it will get as I continue to read.

This is a no-brainer, Congress. Reject this thing now. Strip out the student loans. Eliminate the personal mandate, enact tort reform, insure all children in the US Medicare style and end the pre-existing condition thing. That is all we needed. All we really wanted.

Sure, some wanted the public option. I was not one of them. I fear the public option. And not for the reasons most have stated. It is simple. The public option will eventually become the only option.

This happened in Florida with property insurance after Hurricane Andrew. The property insurers ran or raised rates blindingly. The legislature created Citizens Insurance as an insurer of last resort. You had to have been rejected by all the private companies and it cost more. Now, just 15 years later, the Florida Legislature in response to special interest after special interest, removed the rejection requirement and lowered the premiums to below market, making Citizens the first choice. And you know what? One solid storm and Florida is broke.

Imagine any Congress not extending the public option to favored groups - both Democrat and Republican. If you have trouble with that, well, so did I.

Here is what we really wanted and needed:

1) Cover every child in the US up to age 18. Period.
2) Tort reform. 2 words: "Loser Pays."
3) Pre-existing conditions - no longer a disqualifying factor for overall coverage.
4) Fairness in premiums and payments.
5) Repeal the anti-trust exemption.
6) Doctors making health decisions - not nameless insurance company employees.

That's it. Start there. With what we really want and need. Not some pipe dream of some frustrated Congressman like Waxman who sees his chance to push his long stagnant wealth sharing agenda. Not with a litany of tax cuts and promises to special interests like Cantor's one-sided proposal.

I am going to keep reading and reviewing. By the time I get through all of it, everyone will have chimed in and rightfully so. I look forward to the robust debate.

And, as I said last post - bring this turkey to the floor for a vote. No more counting, cajoling or arm twisting. Either vote it of shelve it. But enough with the grand theater.

Polls vs Voters

Of late, both sides in the increasingly dysfunctional Congress have taken to citing public opinion surveys as proof that their side is the right side. Needless to say, both sides have polling to support them. And, needless to say, both sides are either lying or pathetically naive. I am going with lying. Here is why.

Political polls are almost always written to support a predetermined conclusion. The question can usually draw the desired answer.

If the question is, "Do you want an Obama style national health care plan run by the government," the answer is almost always "No." Most Americans recognize government's inability to host a cocktail party, let alone run a health insurance plan.

If the question is, "Do you think the health insurance companies should have to accept pre-existing conditions and justify rate increases," the answer is almost always, "Yes." Most Americans actually dislike their health insurance carrier and have had at least one problem with them.

Most entertainingly, when told the actual content of the Senate bill (which has already passed by the way), most Americans surveyed like the plan. But when they are confronted with the dishonest statements from both sides about the bill, most of those polled disagree.

And that is the problem with this process. There is no truth, no reality, no honesty. Just posturing, lying (yes, lying) and fabrications. From death panels to covering the uninsured, nobody that reports to work in Congress is telling you the truth.

Those pushing the bill make it sound like a magic pill. Somehow spending almost a trillion dollars over 10 years will save us money. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see the fallacy there. Those opposed call it a government takeover of health care. Well, that is not in the Senate bill. In fact, the Senate bill leaves the existing insurance carriers in charge.

Those in favor tell us that mandating health insurance is needed and a good thing. Mandates are never a good thing and requiring Americans to have insurance is most likely unconstitutional. Those opposed talk about Medicare being cut by "half a trillion dollars right away." Not true. It is over 10 years and almost all by way of cost reductions and elimination of duplicated services.

When all is said and done, both parties in Congress are flat out making stuff up to slam the other side around. And, to be honest, not one member of Congress cares about you...unless you happen to be handing them large wads of money.

As a historical note, the same debate was held over Medicare. The Republicans predicted the end of quality health care, called it a government takeover and socialism. The Democrats claimed it would not increase the deficit or raise taxes. As it is today, it was then. Both sides lied and both sides were wrong, yet Medicare does work and the private health care industry is alive and well.

This debate is not about health insurance. It is not about health care. It is not even really about regular folks. It is really about the next election. It is about their beloved and somewhat sad game.

Many regular people have recognized that Congress is least qualified to even talk about health insurance since they have the best plan anywhere. And a lot of voters have suggested that Congress be forced to accept whatever plan they pass. I have a better idea - let's vote them out in November and force them to deal with real insurance companies just like we do every day.

Down our throats.....

I find it highly amusing that Senate Minority Leader McConnell has the sheer audacity to complain about legislation being jammed down our throats. Of course, he is talking about health insurance reform. This is the same Mitch McConnell that ignored not only his party, but also "the American People," as he likes to say so often, in ramming TARP and AIG down our throats. Apparently, McConnell only jams things down our throats that benefits banks and Wall Street. The same McConnell that thought nothing of tossing a trillion dollars to the crooks that put us in this recession.

Hold the applause Democrats. Your leaders are no better. Harry Reid, the Majority leader that helped shove TARP down our throats is unwilling to use his authority to help regular people. And the illustrious Chris Dodd who actually circumvented the US Constitution in passing TARP (more on that next paragraph) is now instrumental in making sure that the same banks and Wall Street cheaters that put us here are not reined in.

In order to jam TARP down our throats, Dodd used a tiny little trick to get around Article 1 of the Constitution that requires tax and spending bills to originate in the House of Representatives. Back when TARP was pending, the House - in a rare moment of responsibility - rejected it. Twice. Not good enough for Dodd, McConnell, Reid and company. They picked up an old House bill that had died in the Senate, stripped out everything except the "HR" designation that made it a House bill and then amended the entire TARP package to it. The same TARP that the House had just rejected. It this legal? Sure. Is it Constitutional? Barely.

But is is wrong and against the will of the same people that McConnell and Reid purport to represent. Yet there they were, leading the charge to ignore the will of the people. And here they come again, skewering any level of financial regulation or reform, despite the will of the people.

Apparently the needs of Goldman Sachs is important enough to jam down our throats, but getting access to health care for the poorest among us is not. Ask yourself this next time you write a check to an insurance company or to pay for an overpriced prescription that your insurance has chosen not to cover: "Did TARP really help me?" Unless you work on Wall Street, the answer is going to be no. Then ask yourself: "I wonder how much McConnell, Dodd, Reid and the rest of those liars pay for their health care?" The answer will be "very little if anything."

So the same gang of Senators that decided to take over a trillion dollars from you and me for their pals on Wall Street have also decided that health care is too expensive and that any kind of financial reform would be bad for the banks.

In other words, to quote a long famous phrase - follow the money. We the people that seem so important to these charlatans on Capitol Hill apparently cannot afford the entry fee to the club that actually get taken care of.

For the record, both Obama and McCain endorsed Reid, McConnell and Dodd's shady actions by voting yes on TARP. Both disregarded the rules and the people and the Constitution. Sadly, the only time we see bipartisan action in the Senate is when it is time to reward the big contributors and ignore the people.

One important difference between us and Wall Street - we can fire the Senate come November. Even the mighty Goldman Sachs can't do that.

Missing the point

Senator Evan Bayh is leaving Congress. He is the rare politician in that he was honest about why. None of this "spending more time with the family" nonsense. Senators only work 3 or 4 days a week and only 40 or so weeks a year. Time with family is the convenient and untouchable excuse. Most leave because they are running from an ethics problem or will lose for reelection. Bayh had neither of those problems.

No, Senator Bayh had the decency to be honest. He made it very clear - he does not like working in Congress anymore. It has become an unpleasant and dysfunctional workplace. The insane partisanship has made it in ineffective and fairly useless body. And Bayh said so. What makes this all the more significant is that he comes from a family of public servants.

Even though he was clear in his remarks on announcing he would not run, neither side chose to actually listen to him. Within hours, both sides were loading up the flaming spitballs of hate. The GOP celebrated, even though Bayh is a legitimate moderate who has repeatedly chosen the people over the party line. All they could see was another chance to launch broadsides at the Democrats.

Democrats, never missing an opportunity to join in the stupidity, immediately blamed Republicans for their obstructionist tactics. All they could see was another opportunity to blame their inaction on someone else.

Neither side reacted to or dealt with Bayh's blunt and honest indictment of a Congress gone very, very bad. Neither side even mentioned the flat out failure of the Congress to do anything about anything.

So one more good Senator leaves and tries to make a point about the problems and instead of listening, both sides retreat to their safe havens of partisan bickering. So much easier to blab away than actually do anything. After all, doing something might cause someone, somewhere to react poorly, and if nothing else, Congress is all about popularity and looking good while doing nothing.

On the other side of the Capitol, longtime Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart is also leaving. And he said why, too. Same reasons. And the same reactions.

If the Congress were employees of any company anywhere on earth, they would have been fired long ago for failing to do their jobs. Well, come November, we the employers can and should do just that. Fire the lot of them. They have failed and continue to fail.

Word Games and Empty Apologies

The use of an unfortunate term to describe the developmentally challenged by Rahm Emanuel has now become a full blown food fight. Palin (rightfully, I might add) calls out a 3 month old incident on her Facebook page and that becomes a cause celebre for the right. Emanuel apologizes. And then apologizes again. And again. Apologies not accepted. The storm rolls on, pushing actual issues to the wayside.

But wait, it seems many on the right also use the same unfortunate and inappropriate term. Are they called out? Nope. Except by the left, that feels compelled to engage in a schoolyard game of "My dad is bigger than your Dad."

And while this battle over words roils on, the issues that real, actual Americans without personal assistants and such continue to watch in growing disgust with the inability of their government to get anything meaningful done.

To make it worse, demanded apologies are now rejected as insincere. Somehow, the apology has become more important in Washington than actions, deeds or intentions. Apparently, "I'm sorry," now absolves everything from adultery to slurs to corruption to stealing. Those 2 abused and overused words outweigh the actual deeds of the people speaking them.

let's take a look at some of them. Bill Clinton is probably most to blame for the apology circus. Clinton, Sanford, Edwards, Ensign, Craig. All assumed "I'm sorry I hurt my family," would take care of the little matter of adultery. And, oddly, the same folks that would not countenance this most egregious of all misdeeds in their own lives, accept this falsehood as long as it is politically expedient.

Same for breaking the law. How many elected officials apologize for getting caught? Whether it is drunk driving, stealing, corruption, tax evasion, shooting someone (yes, I mean Cheney) or any other violation of the law, apparently, "I'm sorry," now counts more than actual penalty under law.

Well, in my opinion, it does not. Words are meaningless without deeds to match. Case in point is John Edwards vs Mark Sanford. Edwards has apologized over and over, assuming that would take care of it. Apparently not. The revelations continue as does the disgrace. Which is as it should be. Edwards is reprehensible man who apparently has no shame and no actual measurable ethics.

Yet, at the same time, Governor Sanford, who used public money to help his little tryst, and lied to his staff and constituents is granted a pass on all of that by means of a weak and insincere apology. How do I know it to be insincere? Because on the same day, he defended his actions, refused to step down and actually had the audacity to call the thing a partisan attack.

Which brings us back to Emanuel. Yes, he used an unfortunate word. Yes, he used it as an insult. But should he resign? Over that? Should this 3 month old incident be the political firestorm that it is? No. However, it does provide excellent cover for both sides to conceal their ongoing incompetence and unwillingness to do their jobs.

How totally convenient for the Congress to be able to pontificate on this ludicrous matter instead of explaining why they got a pay raise when most Americans lost pay and pension value. How absolutely wonderful for the spitballers on both sides to have this to yell about rather than being forced to deal with substance.

And that is the reality behind almost every side issue and apology demand. Distraction. Diversion. Better to hide behind the endless apology game than step up and take a stand on any real issue. that might actually take courage and courage is in amazingly short supply in DC these days.

Hello. Welcome to the middle.

I have been putting my comments on other blogs and boards for some time and finally decided to create my own blog so others could chime in.

The title - "It Is Not a Game!" - is my reply to every politician from every party at every level. These so-called leaders no longer represent us. They no longer care about us. They are all about winning points and scoring victories for the sake if scoring victories. It is no longer about actually governing, and has not been for a long time. At least GOP chairman Steele had the chutzpah to actually call it a game in his blog title on the Republican party web site.

Regardless, they are playing this like a game, the media reports it like a game, the pundocracy hypercharges the rhetoric and we the people - well, we just lose.

Look at the current political landscape. Both major parties - and their media pundit toadies - spend all day every day nitpicking each other over syntax, perceived slights, actual slights, poor word selection, personal issues and on and on. What is missing from this? Well, the issues are missing.

Pick any topic. Any one. Then examine the debate. Are we hearing real issues? Nope. Just highly charged rhetoric from both sides, accusing the other side of being the problem. No longer do these false leaders bother with actual governance. All they care about is winning the next cycle.

They spend all of their time flinging what I have come to call 'flaming spitballs of hate,' at each other with no purpose other than to cause damage.

And before the Democrats take any comfort that I am pointing to the current Republican tactic of obstruction, I remind them that they are just as bad. They were the obstructors until a few years ago. In fact, if you rewind the tape to 2005, Republicans were saying what Democrats are saying today and Democrats are saying what the GOP was saying. It is as if they simply swapped talking points while handing over the majority leadership posts.

Trivia rules the day now. Obama dissed Vegas. Ooh. The Republic may fail. Palin dissed Health Insurance reform. Ooh. The Republic may fail. Cantor says cut taxes to solve everything. Pelosi says spend money except on defense to solve everything. Maddow says "tea-baggers" more often than she says her name. Hannity just shouts "Socialist" every 2 minutes. Olbermann calls everyone within sight a racist. Beck uses Nazi imagery. And Blitzer....well he is still working with that giant iPad screen and his 922 member panels.

Pick any issue. Any one. Try to get facts out. It won't happen. Sure, it may start as a discussion of the issue, but it will end as yet another pointless spitball contest.

And therein lies the problem. Not the giant banks or the labor unions. The problem is that our government is failing us. And quickly. By their engagement in this nonsensical name calling contest, they marginalize their sworn duty to us and perpetuate problems that could be solved.

Just yesterday Senators Dodd and Shelby finally found the excuse they needed to kill any financial services reform. Until yesterday, they remained in their carefully choreographed illusion of disagreement on the issue. Then Paul Volcker suggested some fairly obvious and needed reforms which they seized on like dogs on a meat truck as an excuse to fulfill their lobbyist masters' demands that no rules be changed. Until yesterday, it was flaming spitballs as usual. Dodd wanting regulation, Shelby saying regulation is bad and so on.

Well here is something neither of those 2 will tell you. We have regulations and supposedly a regulator. What we did not have, do not have and will not have until the current Congress is replaced in total is the will to actually regulate.

This applies to every single issue currently being swatted around like a puck in the final game of the Stanley Cup.

Sadly, it is not a game. It is governance. A responsibility, a duty and a service. At least it is supposed to be.