Most Of The Big Deals Are Done But The Battles Will Continue In Perpetuity

I was really angry with President Obama about the TPP and so I was very happy when Senator Elizabeth Warren, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Bernie Sanders stepped up and expressed the trepidation that many Americans hold regarding this agreement.  It is hard not to be concerned when such extreme incongruity is involved in the makeshift team that evolved to support passing it.  Although the TPP has been signed into law, it still has hurdles to scale if it is to be effective as the president anticipates that it will.

Although the previously mentioned politicians have backed off and are not applying as much pressure on the president as they were initially, they have signaled that they are in strong support of the everyday American and will stand with them against giving big business free reign and allowing it to run amok.  The president continues to insist that to allow big business to run amok was never his intention, that he has always stood for the people and that what he is attempting to do is in our overall best interest and will increase the size of America’s world trade footprint.

I’m not always sure how to label myself as a Democrat with all of the labels like Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Progressive, Blue Dog and any of the other new labels that might be available but what I am sure of is that I was real mad at my president for teaming up with the folks that he teamed up with in an effort to pass this deal.  I, for one, think that it would be mighty hard to trust someone who has hated me with a passion for my entire life then all of a sudden they want me to believe that they are madly in love with me.  I would not be able to trust them.  That’s the way that I feel about people like Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker John Boehner and Representative Paul Ryan.  And with big business in the mix, we all know that they are always about the money; first, last and in between.

Anyway, President Obama has done a lot of good things for all Americans since he was elected and, although I was upset with him about the TPP – I still am, a little bit – he is still my president.  And whenever it comes to circling the wagons and hunkering down against an all-out assault by the adversary and ultimately entering the trenches, I will be in the trenches with him; we can argue about the stuff that we disagree on at another time.  That is the position that I believe that Senator Warren, Minority Leader Pelosi, Senator Brown and Senator Sanders have now taken.  To state the obvious, I support that.

Besides, not only do I believe that he has already done great things for the average American and will continue to make every effort to continue to do so, you have to admit that he has a charming and disarming personality: you can’t stay mad at him for very long.  I will bet that even when the FLOTUS gets mad with him; and I have no doubt that she does, she probably can’t stay mad very long either.

There are still battles going on that the president is faithfully fighting that he needs us to support him on even if at this point it can only be moral support.  I read recently where the Texas Attorney General told county clerks that they can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court’s ruling on this issue.  I also watched media coverage where a number of Republicans, including some who intend to run for President in 2016, are encouraging Americans to break the law by ignoring the ruling.

It is somewhat disconcerting when elected officials even allow it to appear that they are instigating citizens to break the law because they themselves are so defiant and angry because of the decision that was rendered.  Ironically, many of those who are suggesting that people ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling are the same Washington lawmakers who have incessantly and with fervent indignation called President Obama a lawless president.  Of course – under the circumstances, they feel that they are neither lawless nor are they breaking the law but instead they are defending it; because now it is the Supreme Court that is lawless.

There are some decisions that have recently been decided by the Supreme Court that went against the administration, there are still decisions that remain to be decided and there are some cases that the Court has agreed to accept that could have a profound impact on civil and human rights.  All of us must remain vigilant and be prepared to continue to fight for those things that are just and right.  We must continue to monitor all of our politicians, especially those who have become so focused on playing politics that they have lost their way.  And anytime that it is necessary we must spring into action so that our elected officials will know that we have not fallen asleep at the controls.

I have said it before but it is worth repeating here, this is the way that a democracy should be.  We should always allow for discourse on issues and laws that the American people disagree with.  These things should be debated and resolved whenever the need arises.

The important thing is that no matter our political affiliation or which side of these issues that we come down on we should always participate in the democratic process.  We should always work to make our voices heard and always vote.  Remember, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis