Dear DNC: Get a grip on reality

“There’s going to be a fight of progressives versus the moderates, which, to be honest, is what got us into this place in the first place,” predicted former senior DNC official Mo Elleithee, now the executive director of the Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University.

Really? Do you think that just maybe Ms Clinton as a candidate might have something to do with how we got here? Perhaps it might have had something to do with ignoring working middle class voters. Or do you think that continuing the politics of the past in the face of Trump and Sanders might be involved. Really, get a grip on reality.

Trump and Sanders are two sides of a common coin, the rejection of politics that ignores real people and real needs. One tapped anger, the other offered real solutions to real problems. If you continue to insist that it's about progressives v. moderates v. conservatives you remain mired in a system that hasn't worked and that lead to a President-Elect Trump. 

Perhaps it's time to get over your labels and try actually offering real solutions to real problems. After all the anger vote went to the other guy. Just a thought.

Health savings accounts - a good idea that doesn't fix the problem.

I just listened to a conversation about repealing Obamacare and replacing it with something better. One suggestion was health savings accounts as though somehow having a saving account would actually do something about the cost of health care. Of course it will not have ANY EFFECT on medical cost. NONE.

Health care savings accounts have been around for some time as a way of allowing people who are able to save to set aside money in a tax advantaged account to deal with uninsured health care cost. If you have money you can save and are disciplined at saving such accounts allow you to reduce your health care cost by your marginal tax rate at the time the money is deposited and at the time it is used for a medical expense. That's all they do. Period.

As it happens, we have a health savings account and my wife needs some dental work done that is not fully insured. Of course we will use the health savings account to help pay for the work. But here's the thing, how we pay for the dental work has no impact whatever on the cost of the work. None whatsoever.  Health savings accounts have absolutely no impact on the cost of medical care.

The skyrocketing cost of health care and insurance is a real problem. Health savings accounts are simply not a solution. Perhaps as a country we might want to consider approaches that actually address the cost of medical care and insurance. Just a thought.

Paul Ryan: Donald Trump 'just earned a mandate' - Really?

It had to happen. Someone was going to declare a 'mandate'. Never mind that Ms Clinton actually won the popular vote. After all we are now officially in Trumplandia and reality or facts just do not matter.

There was a brief period during the last two days when I thought that perhaps there were enough adults in Congress that actually believe in American values that there might be some hope for government. Of course, it was an entirely vain hope not supported by recent history.

Here's a thought, how about during the 2018 elections we think about doing what we failed to do this time and actually elect a Congress that can govern based on some sense of reality and rational thought.

The Unchange Election

We elected Mr Trump. That election is largely viewed as a rejection of the existing political order, as a vote for change.

Personally, I completely agree that it is time for real change in government. But here's the thing,

WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY CHANGE THE PART THAT MATTERED!

We left in place the part of government that is actually responsible for the laws under which government operates. 

Pick an issue. Any issue. Now ask yourself the simple obvious question, "What has CONGRESS done to address that issue?" If your answer is nothing or the wrong thing they next time you get to vote for Congress try voting for someone else to represent you.

Just a thought.

Media Fail

I was listening this mourning to PBS News Hour as it discussed the 2016 election. Part of that discussion addressed media failings. The consensus was that the media didn't do a good job of examining the disaffection that lead to Mr Trump's election. In that regard I offer the following observations.

1. First, it's true. The main stream media did not understand or cover just how disaffected much of the country is with politics. For some time I have believed that Mr Sanders and Mr Trump are two sides of the common disaffection that the majority of citizens feel with government. Mr Trump harvested that disaffection with telling us who to blame. Mr Sanders addressed it with real proposals for what to do. It seems that it is far easier for most of us to decide who to blame than to actually engage real problems with real solutions. While entirely understandable, even predictable, it is a sad commentary of the state of America.
   
2. Second, while true, that failure is entirely irrelevant. The real important failures are entirely elsewhere. The media, political parties, and common thinking continue to promote the absurd notion that the President some how runs the country. That notion is not simply untrue in that it distracts us from the way government really works! Congress, not the President, is responsible for making laws! It's just that simple. If you want good government, if you want a real problem addressed, then it is Congress and law that matters far more than the President. Want to get big money out of politics? That requires Congress to act. Want to do something about skyrocketing medical cost? That requires Congress to act. Want to do something about global warming? It's Congress! Most of us do not understand this simple civics truth. To paraphrase that old saw, IT'S CONGRESS STUPID! The media has failed because it treated an election where all of the House and much of the Senate was up for reelection as though it was a contest between two people representing a red team and a blue team. It simply wasn't! 

One might argue that is is not the media's responsibility to educate us on how government works. While there is certainly some truth in that argument it fails to recognize that in a free society the media is not just responsible for reporting what happens, it is also responsible for helping us understand why it matters.

 So here's a thought; take a minute and read a bit about how Congress actually works. Here are some useful references:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress 
• https://www.votetocracy.com/blog/how-does-congress-work

Why Electronic Voting is a BAD Idea - Computerphile

Trumpmouth Time Constant

Mr Trump has been in the news lately for using a teleprompter for some of his speeches. For the moment lets put aside the fact that it is newsworthy when a presidential candidate uses a teleprompter to deliver a coherent, though factually incorrect, speech.

Having delivered one teleprompter speech, the next day 'trumpmouth' strikes and Mr Trump manages to make another outrageous statement.  Various RNC pundits bemoan this state of affairs and encourage Mr Trump to get and stay on message.  OK, lets put aside that fact that staying on message is not the same as what a would be president actually believes, how he actually acts, or how he might actually govern.  Staying on message is better than not.

A couple of days later Mr Trump actually manages to give a couple of back to back teleprompter speeches before once again getting a case of 'trumpmouth'.  The cycle repeats.  A few days later Mr Trump manages three consecutive teleprompter speeches before once again 'trumpmouth' strikes.

In what alternate reality is apparently incurable 'trumpmouth' a good thing in a president?