(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . NOT THE SAME, PART 2 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-05-27 Bashing on Republicans is not the same as believing Democrats are flawless. They aren't. I spent most of the 80s through early 2000s wondering when Dems would grow a spine and stand up to the bad behavior of Republicans. Their overarching need to be seen as bi-partisan and ignore the anti-American behavior of the right has led us to the point where we have people who call themselves "patriots" as they attack the Capital building. I call them traitors. But despite the blunders by Democrats, when they attain power they use it to help the average American citizen and even those who are not citizens. They believe "all men are created equal" and support "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." While Republican administrations ran up huge deficits, Democrats brought them down. Now who's the party of fiscal responsibility? Under Clinton Huge economic expansion, explosion of the tech sector Highest home ownership Banned automatic weapons Lowest crime rate at that time Family and Medical Leave Act guaranteeing people could take 12 weeks of unpaid leave without losing their jobs Lowest poverty rate at that time (because it's amazing when you provide jobs for people they can afford things) Paid down Regan's deficit and left office with a SURPLUS of cash - meaning our deficit was zero, nada, nothing NOTE: George W Bush gave away that surplus instead of saving it against his future debt, which included an endless war during his administration. Under Obama Inheirited the 2008 Great Recession which was worse than the Crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression. Wall Street had begged (literally, there are pictures) Bush II to bail them out with taxpayer money and he did. Large businesses were on the brink of collapse and Obama had to wade into this mess and straighten it out. Obama cut deals with the big automakers to pay back, with interest, any taxpayer money they were given. Passed the Frank-Dodd Act which tried to hold the financial sector accountable for their actions, but unfortunately Republicans made it pretty toothless and reversed some of the stronger protections. (And Wall Street is back to gambling with other people's money like they did before) Passed the Affordable Care Act which worked with states to expand MediCare and ensure that people could get health insurance. Many red states still refuse to implement it. Got us out of the war in Iraq and killed Osama bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9-11 attack in 2001; something Bush II was never able to accomplish. Passed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (remember when we used to get tax refunds?) Signed on to the Paris Agreement with other world leaders to slow climate change Fought for and succeeded to legalize same-sex marriage Nominated Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Marrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Mitch McConnel, leader of the Senate at that time, would not hold a hearing for Garland and postponed it for most of 2016 because it was an election year. However he flipped in 2020 and got Amy Coney Barrett seated while the election was taking place. Massive hypocrite. Under Biden Passed the CHIPS Science Act which is bringing manufacturing back to our shores, building national supply chains so that we are not reliant on foreign manufacturing. This also brings thousands of jobs. Legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmacutical companies Funded the Infrastructure Act to finally fix our aging roads and bridges in this country. Republicans voted against it but are now crowing to their constituents about "their" accomplishement. Passed the Inflation Reduction Act which HAS lowered inflation and invested in clean-energy jobs. Lowest unemployment since the 1950s (that's 70 years ago) Created over 15 MILLION JOBS since becoming President (Trump LOST 2.7 million during his term) Most of these accomplishments were achieved due to having a Democratic-controlled Senate and House. When the House went to Republican majority after the 2022 mid-term elections, it has been a total shit show of right-wing arguments and threatening to shut down the government (just like Trump did). This is why it's important to make sure we have a Congress that works WITH the President, not against him. Just think what Biden could accomplish with another term, which is why his campaign slogan is "Finish the Job." And don't say he's too old because a lot of young people supported Bernie Saunders in 2016 and 2020. You're not getting a unicorn candidate this election but if you stay away then Trump wins and we may never have elections again. Get out and VOTE. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/5/27/2243060/-NOT-THE-SAME-PART-2?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/