By now, we have all heard how Mr. Romney won the first presidential debate in Denver. If you are one of the lucky seven that have read my previous post (you know who you are, even if I don't), you also got my immediate impressions of the debate. Here is a more measured, contemplation of issues stemming from the events.
The debate itself was a strange event. One side (Obama) looked like they brought a knife to a gunfight. Their performance can best be described by the title (and lyrics) of a Mariah Carey song, Vanishing. The other side (Romney) seized the day by a performance worthy of a magician, or a shape shifter. All in all, I could not decide whether this debate was partly taken from a Monty Python skit, a Kafka novel, or a fantasy novel I have yet to read. So it was at least entertaining.
Which brings me to the point I wanted to ruminate about. Personally, I have nothing about people changing their views. Someone (John Lennon?) once said that if you hold the same opinions at 50 that you did at 20, you have wasted 30 years of your life. People acquire experience, change perspective, and move around the socio-political map. That's understandable.
When it comes to a political figure it can be confusing. I am not against flip-flopping and changing positions, but I'd like to know what I am buying with my vote (or at least what a rich guy is selecting for me with his money and purchased votes). And in the case of Romney, I have really no fucking idea which one of his cast of characters would show up. Pinning down Romney is like trying to seize a live fish (carpe carp, get the pun?) - slippery, squirmy, scaly and fishy.
Suppose Romney ended up POTUS. Would he be the ruthless corporate raider, dismembering businesses, shipping jobs abroad and raiding employee pensions, or the compassionate conservative that gave Massachusetts residents healthcare and just loves ordinary Americans, even teachers? Would he be Bush on Steroids, looking for WMD in Iran and putting his last penny into starting wars with China, Iran, Syria, etc. or will he cut the military and outsource world policing to the Indians and Chinese, who can still afford it?
Here are some things I am pretty sure we'll see from President Romney.
1. Health care - minor changes, if any. Why? First, because the insurance giants have been absent from the elections, and their stock has been free of gyrations, suggesting they are not concerned about any changes to the health laws, and neither are investors. Second, because this will reignite the healthcare debate and be a waste of energy. And third, because POTUS Romney knows that the only better alternative is government take over, aka single payer. After all, Obamacare plan is not that far Romneycare.
2. Financial regulations - status quo will prevail. Changes to any law are a risk and, especially when done by a Wall Street insider like Romney, open up accusations of corruption, conflict of interest, and blame for (future) economic failures. Romney is also well aware that without regulations, reckless and corrupt practices may bring down the banking system again, and in the present environment, he won't be able to save it.
3. Iran - with all the tough words, a war with Iran will be expensive, blow up the global oil supply system and result in world wide recession and political instability. Romney will be slow and careful. He may owe his election to right wing nuts like Sheldon Adelson, but he knows that his political future depends on the rest of the country as well.
4. Taxes - Romney will do what serves his personal interests, give breaks to the super-rich and try to push the burden to the average and poor citizens by raising taxes, cutting services and moving programs to the states. There will be such revulsion that public pressure will eventually moderate his positions, but it will be too little too late.
5. Education - little change. Push to let churches and businesses get public funding will be slowed down in the courts, and prove counter productive, wasteful and of lower quality. Some people near the trough will get money from Uncle Sam for their clergy and share holders, but they will be the minority.
Let's review in 2 years if Romney makes it to the highest office.
No comments:
Post a Comment