"Worst of the Worst"

Now that the Tea Party National Convention (TPNC) has concluded (thankfully), let us turn our attention to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte North Carolina. I just witnessed the "worst" political convention in modern history; a convention that was deceptive, angry, combative and oozing with cartoon characters so bad that I longed for my Saturday morning line-up of "Muppet Babies" and "Thundar the Barbarian.”

During the pointless and vague diatribes during the convention, someone forgot to tell “wanna-be-Tony Soprano,” Gov. Christie that this was the 2012 presidential convention. During the remainder of his fifteen minutes of political fame he spent 1800 words out of 2600 words giving his acceptance speech for the 2016 presidential nomination. Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney's speeches were baseless, fact-less, tasteless and of all things, they lacked any logical intelligence. Marco Rubio looked as if someone had an invisible firearm pointed in his back as he searched for the words to present Mr. Romney as a legitimate contender. But, of all the flat, cheap, dish watery rhetoric spewed for four days, the most perplexing was given by Clint Eastwood. I was speechless (and that's saying a lot) at Mr. Eastwood's Charles Manson like behavior. This was the same man that gave the "Lincoln-esque" speech about why the auto bailout was the right thing to do during half-time of this year’s Super Bowl. Now, he is reduced to giving threatening gestures--at a chair, mind you, like a school bully threatening to beat up a kid @ 3:00pm.

Moving forward, we will now turn our attention to the Democratic National Convention where President Obama and those who will speak about taking the Republic in a new direction of economic prosperity will undoubtedly do a better job than the cast and crew of a poor man's version of "Animal House," right? Right!

 

 

 

Anthony P. Johnson

 

“From Whence You Came”

You simply don’t get it. You are a vociferous liar and even though you’ve been caught in your constant lies you continue them with no shame whatsoever. You cannot be serious that we take your seriously, but unfortunately you are. You don’t really think you’ll win do you? How could you win when you are allergic to honesty and integrity?

Like so many others that are infecting our government, you too have no right to sit at that table and dictate policy for the nation. You are a fraud, a deceiver and a snake oil salesman. You betray your own ideas and compromise your morals with perfect regularity. You stand for nothing and yet, you stand for anything that will satisfy the populace. You are hollow, arrogant and misguided. Go home from whence you came and never again darken the steps of the Republic.

Anthony P. Johnson

"Calling You Out."

Let me be clear to Mitt the "Spineless" Romney and the rest of the Tea Party and its supporters: Calling African Americans lazy and welfare degenerates to win elections will not aid you.
 
The fact of the matter is just as many other ethnicities in the Republic receive public assistance. But what YOU, the citizens are allowing to come into your homes are these racists, bigots and fear mongers calling themselves journalists and manipulating you into thinking that African Americans are destroying America.
 
Do not be misguided and DO NOT BELIEVE IT!

Anthony P. Johnson

“Keep Asking…Why‏?”

Many will say the penalty was too severe. They will say Joe Paterno didn't know that assistant coach and family friend, Jerry Sandusky was molesting children. They'll say this was bigger than Joe Paterno.

For me, Joe Paterno was to Penn State what George Washington was to the young Republic. Of course we know that Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton and Franklin, just to name a few, were equally instrumental to Washington in the formation of the United States. And so, the same must be said of Coach Paterno's bosses who also actively participated in the vile cover-up. They too must be held accountable for the unspeakable acts of child abuse.

To think Joe Paterno didn't know about Sandusky's perverted dark side would be like saying Mitt Romney simply misplaced his tax returns. Although Sandusky is in prison for the rest of his life, and the NCAA handed Penn State a severe and well deserved punishment that would have made Ivan the Terrible say, "damn,” the question that still remains is, “Why was the perpetration of mental and sexual abuse on all of these children able to be carried out for more than a decade?”

Removing a statue, taking away past victories, stripping scholarships, bowl games and imprisoning a life-long pedophilia should not be the end of this heinous chapter. There are still too many questions unanswered. We must continue to ask "why" and until we obtain the truth, keep asking—“Why?"

 Anthony P. Johnson

“Obamacare Now Belongs to the Ages”

Not Bill Clinton, not LBJ and not even Theodore Roosevelt, the man that got the conversation started about ensuring healthcare for every American; none of these former leaders could get it done. President Obama achieved a great milestone in his presidency that will secure his place as one of the "greatest" presidents in U.S. history when the United States Supreme Court upheld his landmark healthcare legislation on June 28, 2012. Whatever criticisms one may have about President Obama, many of those criticisms are unjustified; he achieved what many believed to be the unthinkable and did it during a time in the Republic that many of our elected officials made the very word healthcare a diseased manifestation.

Death panels, socialized, fascist, communist, Nazi healthcare some of the terms that cable news personalities, elected officials and even “Skree Rock” from 30th Street used to attack President Obama’s healthcare bill. The Tea Party was confident that once “Obama Cares” reached the United States Supreme Court it would be struck down faster than you could say “Newt for President.” But it didn’t turn out that way. It turned out that Chief Justice Roberts sided with the minority and with his vote President Obama’s legislation won 5-4.

The healthcare legislation now belongs to the ages. The United States Supreme Court upheld the legislation and other than cry foul and chant “Repeal ObamaCare,” there is nothing more Mr. Romney and the Tea Party can do. For the record, the “Citizen’s United” decision upheld by the highest court in the land ranks with “Dred Scott” as two of the “worst “made by the SCOTUS. Although “ObamaCare” does not balance the scale of those two decisions, as my friend Germaine Kornegay said, “This decision benefits all Americans.” I completely agree.

 Anthony P. Johnson

"A Referendum On Our Resolve and Tenacity"

I am befuddled! After all that the citizens in the Republic know about Mitt Romney, there are many in the country that prefers him over President Obama. I'm amazed that the 2012 presidential election is going to be so close.

I am an educated individual and like so many other citizens, I have more than one job to supplement my income, but is President Obama to blame for this and will Mr. Romney somehow make it all better for me and the other 98%? 

The Republic experienced an economic depression in the 1930's and during that crisis, the citizens reelected Roosevelt three times because they believed he could and he did guide them through it. The voters at the time didn't choose panic over substance and despite a whopping 25% unemployment rate in the country; the citizenry remained steadfast and was later rewarded with a booming economy. President Obama is not Franklin Roosevelt, but he's definitely not Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush either. This didn't happen overnight. It took 8 years for the economy to erode faster than Donald Trump's toupees' and we expect President Obama to fix it in 4 years? The entire Justice League couldn't accomplish this task. We must stay the course. Did we not learn anything when President Jimmy Carter was tossed out for Reagan despite the fact that it was Reagan's pal, Gerald Ford and Nixon that kept the nation in an economic recession? Instead of asking "Are you better off than you were 4 years ago, you should ask, "will you be better with Mr. Romney?

Like all former presidents, President Obama has his flaws, but he has handled the affairs of the nation very well up to this point during his more than three years at the helm. And Romney? He failed at creating jobs as a governor and as a Bain executive, he has a Ph.D. in indecisiveness and he is completely out of step with the needs of the middle class, working poor and poor citizenry. And yet, if the 2012 presidential election was held today--Romney might win.

This presidential election is a referendum on our resolve and tenacity to be vigilant during this time of hardship. On one side is the incumbent who needs us to keep moving forward to weather this storm of economic turmoil and reach the valley of economic prosperity. While on the other end of the spectrum is the presumptive presidential candidate who wants us to panic and press the restart button.



"Progressives will bring balance to the Republic."

Anthony P. Johnson

The Religious Right Empire Strikes

Many on the left have written that the long life of the Religious Right has come to an end. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this, I’d be able to pay off the national debt--twice. The Religious Right in America is lavishly funded and politically well connected. While the men who lead the fundamentalist Christian political movement hold different opinions about theology, they share a deep and abiding hostility to the separation of church and state. They seek to inject religion into public schools, obtain taxpayer funding for religious schools and other ministries, roll back reproductive choice and deny civil rights to the gay and lesbian community.

Public opinion on the matter of equality for gays and lesbians is rapidly changing and that change is a huge part of Republican support for civil unions in the Republic than has ever existed before. There are those that believe, like GOP attorney Mario Nicholais of “Coloradans for Freedom“, that this is one of several issues on which the GOP must modernize its platform or risk permanently marginalizing itself as attitudes from generation to generation have evolved. But the Religious Right, a powerful force, doesn't agree, and are fighting moderation--regardless of the consequences.

Religious Right politicians cut programs for the poor, reduce scholarships for students, and protect tax breaks for the rich—even as they claim allegiance to a gospel of love. They are usually eager to meld church and state, but when it comes to economics, they deny this historical context: biblical culture treated religion and politics as one. The Bible does not make caring for the poor a purely voluntary, individual responsibility, as Republicans claim. In fact, priests were activist lawgivers; society, church and government were integral, and the Temple imposed taxes for the public good as a mandate, not as a voluntary option.

The Religious Right make up about 32% of the former Republican Party (the party was laid to rest by the Tea Party in 2010) and yet their influence is overwhelming because the one reason that drives the majority of elected officials to bow way below the equator to the wealthy minority is MONEY. From 2009-2011 the Religious Right raised more than three-quarters of a billion dollars and they achieve this annually, the bulk of it is tax-exempt.

With that type of influence and how easy it is for them to "pimp" a politician, you need not wonder why the Religious Right is here to stay.

“Progressives will bring balance to the Republic”

Anthony P. Johnson