The Federalist: David Corbin & Matt Parks: What Should a ‘Do Something’ Congress Do?

The Federalist: Opinion: David Corbin & Matt Parks: What Should a ‘Do Something’ Congress Do?

In an era where the American people were actually crying out for something different and real that could bring the country together that was facing the most difficult economic and financial challenges since the Great Depression and I'm thinking of 2008/09, President Barack Obama gives us essentially a political slogan which is "Hope and Change". What is that other than what those two words mean even when you put them together, Hope and Change. What are we hoping for and what do we want to change from and what do we want to be instead.

Whatever you think of the New Deal from Franklin Roosevelt, or Fair Deal with Harry Truman, or Camelot with Jack Kennedy, or the Great Society with Lyndon Johnson, or the Reagan Revolution, these were all real agendas. With real policies, policy initiatives and policy goals designed to take the country in a certain direction for the good of the country. And a big problem that I've had with Barack Obama as President is that even though he's had real policy initiatives and goals and has wanted to move the country in a new direction, he's lacked the vision to move the country behind that agenda and support him.

You can make all the complaints about Congressional Republicans that you want especially in the Senate about blocking President Obama's agenda. But they haven't paid much of a political price for their obstructionism because except for President Obama's reelection as President he hasn't been able to bring Independents who may be politically more incline to vote for Democrats behind him. Because the President and other Democrats haven't communicated very effectively reasons to get behind President Obama and Congressional Democrats.

Where is and what is President Obama's agenda and policies when it comes to all the challenges that the country faces on a whole range of issues? I could probably give you a pretty good idea issue by issue, but I couldn't tell what that agenda is called because it doesn't have a name. Because even as political slogans might sound cheesy or like political gamesmanship today with how simplistic and even superficial American voters can be when it comes to choosing who to vote for and voting a lot of times for candidates and incumbents based on personality, political slogans can be very helpful in bringing voters behind you.

I don't believe even President Obama even knows what his political agenda is, or can at least tell you in a few words and make it clear for everyone. He instead goes issue by issue which I guess has its own effectiveness when he's successful. But he's gone from Hope and Change to at best Practical Progressivism (my words) which is not exactly and attention grabber for non-hard core political junkies and not something that expires Independents behind you.