16 July 2012 By Saeed Qureshi The Republican Party is hell-bent
to oust the incumbent U. S. president Barack Obama
from the White House. The Republican Party has thus
far outflanked the rival Democratic Party in raising
funds and revenue without which no party or individual
can imagine of contesting elections in America, even
for lower positions; not to speak of the presidential
office. The Democratic Party and for that matter
president is hamstrung in matching the Republicans'
ability and resourcefulness to generate funds from
donations. The Republican Party's most
pressing and overriding goal in the forthcoming
November elections is, not to pull out a watershed
agenda or a dazzling far reaching reform package. It
is, as the the minority leader of the United States
senate Mitch McConnell categorically spelt out, to
stop Barak Obama for being elected for the second
term. The cost of the 2008 elections
was over a billion dollars that would spike by huge
margin this year. The Republicans collect money from
the donors and contributors without much hassle or
even without resorting to appeals through ads, emails
or other channels. That party has such wealthy
corporations and individuals donors that offer
millions on their own initiatives. Such one big hefty
donation was 25 million dollars from Karl Rove's Super
PAC. On the contrary, the Obama camp
in frantically struggling to raise funds for the
election campaign through emails and ads with appeals
for donating as paltry an amount as 3 dollars. The
Democratic Party is far behind the Republican nominee
Mitt Romney in matter of having vital funds to keep
fighting the political war on all fronts, the most
outstanding being to put up ads on the premier
television channels. The Republicans have collected
around 106 million dollars recently while Democrats
have raised some 70 million dollars. So much so that in one of the
latest emails, the Obama site has expressed
apprehensions by warning that because of the paucity
of funds, president Obama could lose this time. It was
a very moving and passionate appeal that may motivate
the pro-Obama Americans to cough up more donations to
keep their president in the saddle for four more
years. The Republican Party's central
theme or philosophy is American conservatism that also
caters for a typical genre of liberalism mostly
defined as classical liberalism. The Democratic Party
believes and stands for Modern liberalism. In
narrowing down the perceptions and visions of both the
parties, as a matter of fact, both propel and promote
progress and liberalism, albeit in different contexts.
The Republican roots their liberalism in the past with
a tinge of the present. The democrats imbibe and
exhort a liberalism that does not carry many of the
shackles of the past. In a nutshell the Republican
Party is conservative while the Democratic Party is
progressive. But in the run off for the 2012
presidential elections, the tussle is not between the
values, concepts and political vision and outlook the
parties hold or epitomize. The Republican campaigning
is centered on president Obama's ejection from the
White House. President Obama despite his sterling and
outstanding accomplishments is being opposed by the
Republican because his skin is not white.
Unfortunately despite American society's homogeneous
profile and constitutional caveat against ethnic or
racial discrimination or bias, the simmering color
slant exists. The ascension of an
African-American or in simple jargon a black person to
the most exalted and powerful office of the American
president on the whole does not seem to be sitting
well with the conservative white or Caucasian races.
However, on the lower echelons, on people's level and
in social sectors, the equality of opportunities and
fairness in social safety nets and benefits is
strictly observed. Obama is not a favorite American
president for Israel for his professed even-handed
policy in the Middle East and his efforts to settle
the historic dispute of statehood for the
Palestinians. And since Republican Party's bulk
membership is defiantly opposed to the Palestinians
and not in favor of an independent state for them,
they share a common outlook with Israel on this thorny
issue. Pro-Israeli lobbies enjoy a powerful clout in
influencing the foreign policy decisions of the United
States. As such Obama's second coming in the
presidency is patently distasteful to both these
allies. In 2008 presidential elections,
of the total 538 electoral votes, Obama received 365
in comparison to his rival John McCain who bagged only
173. That was a stunning victory for president Obama.
There is a possibility even this time that the
Republicans may not be able to dislodge him for a
variety of compelling indicators. Mitt Romney is not as strong a
candidate as was John McCain. President Obama stands
much taller in intellectual caliber and for his rich
background and insight in economy and legal domains.
He is a much convincing and eloquent speaker than
Romney whose only strategy is to oppose and discard of
what Obama says about his past achievements and future
goals. In the backdrop of his successful
business empire, Mitt Romney is trying to argue that
with his experience and acumen in conducting business,
he could as well improve the battered American economy
and produce jobs. But for a president the business or
trade is not the only portfolio to deal with. It's a
sensitive office with diverse and unforeseen hurdles
and daunting challenges at every step and moment to
counter. As such the independent observers and
objective analysts do not give much weight to Romney's
claims because running a family business enterprise is
colossally different from a running a country's
economy, all the more of the United States. In managing a country's affairs,
a president is sitting in a glass house and has to
face and brace incessant political rebuff, callous
opprobrium and merciless fault-finding. Already Romney
is being castigated in media and by his political
opponents for his opulent lving style, his taxation
defaults, his laying off workers and similar actions
that speak for his hardnosed attitude in business. His
offshore bank accounts as in Bermuda and Switzerland
cast ominous shadows on his integrity to be the chief
executive of that mighty nation. The religious right and ultra
religious orthodox factions may not be in favor of a
Mormon taking control of the highest office in the
United States. Although his assuming of presidency may
not affect the religious liberty and a culture of
pluralism, yet belonging to a faction that is
considered heretic in mainstream Christianity, could
negatively impinge upon Romney's chances to win
elections. A semi-black Christian president
with a basket full of laurels and Nobel Prize could
still be a better choice for most of the Americans.
The overall tone and tenor of Republican political
thrust is to indulge in smear and in petty blame game
which may backfire. Moreover, Mitt Romney's public
pledge to consult the Israeli prime minister BB before
taking policy decisions portrays him as a crony and a
second fiddle to that vassal state. Such a public
assertion is shameful. While the Republican leadership
has not unfurled any meaningful charter as to what
they intend to do if they win, they blow hot and cold
simultaneously only to browbeat Obama. They have not
offered any considerable blue print or road map for
jobs creation or any relief package for the poor as
well as to restrain the rising level of poverty in the
United States. All they want is to quash Obama's
healthcare plan, impose taxes on the poor only keeping
the wealthy classes unleashed from the taxation net. The scroll of achievements by
Democrats under president Obama is brimming with
numerous and varied laurels. It should be acknowledged
that against a backdrop of a host of allegations such
as being black, not a born American, and even being a
Muslim, he has achieved astounding milestones both
domestically and on the external front. Obama was seldom reactive. He
refrained from indulging in an exercise of rancor,
slander, or hitting below the belt, in vendetta or
pungent repartees. He was never provoked or unruffled
by scathing and noxious despising forays from his
opponents. He has remained calm and above board and
solely focused on his reform agenda to realize or
revive the watered down American dream. His personal
conduct and character has been unblemished and
sparklingly transparent. It should also be borne in mind
that he was the successor to a dysfunctional
government, a ravished economy and a messy state of
affairs spawned by his reckless predecessor honorable
G. W Bush. The United States is still
embroiled in futile and costly wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq entailing unspeakable miseries, horrific death
and destruction. These wars were set off by the
Republican hawkish president in cahoots with his
cohorts of the same ilk. Those deadly wars have ruined the
super duper vibrant economy of United States to the
extent of incurring a stupendous debt in trillions.
That devastated shape of economy was not of Obama's
making. But still in that bleakest economic scenario,
Obama took some bold and sagacious measures not only
halting the further erosion of economy but
refurbishing and recovering it. If some lobbies for
malicious reasons put all the blame for that ruinous
state of economic meltdown and inability to make it
robust in days, must be either idealist, highly
unrealistic and myopic. The monetary bailouts certainly
revitalized the debilitating economy, revived the
manufacturing and banking sectors, produced jobs and
set into motion a confident turn round in the sliding
trends of economy. These are facts and developments
that have unfurled before us and any denial of these
positive outcomes would be blocking the sun with
fingers. President Obama must be given the duly
deserving credit for winding up the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan replacing the warfare and military
juggernauts with rehabilitation and reconstruction of
a war battered country. It would be naïve to negate that
revival of that war-torn country and resettling its
traumatized people is a remarkable and spectacular
alternative for winning the hearts and minds of the
disgruntled and displaced Afghanis. Likewise the
termination of military presence in Iraq after a long
drawn destructive war with countless casualties and
colossal upheaval should be applauded than being
criticized. Now these are momentous steps and
manifest milestones that should convince the American
people of the potential, sincerity, competence and
statesmanship of president Obama to catch the bull by
horn and address the most intriguing issues with
phenomenally excellent results. His derisively
nicknamed Obamacare which is a monumental healthcare
program benefitting most ignored or poor American is
exceptionally revolutionary and commendable. Since
this plan would cut across the unimaginable incomes
and huge money making insurance companies of the top
wealthy Americans, they are using the Trojan horse of
the Republican Party to get it shelved, abandoned or
revoked. Nevertheless, the American voters
are prudent and conscientious citizens. They certainly
weigh the pros and cons and good and bad of a
candidate before casting their precious ballots. With
sizeable support from the middle classes and youth,
from the African American community and Latinos,
President Obama stands a better chance to win the
second term. The results in primaries and caucuses
show his upper edge and if this trend continues he
would return to the White House In dealing with the internal and
external gubernatorial problems, he has been
pragmatic, steady and upright. From where such a
dedicated, talented and patriotic leadership, the
American people would find? In Mitt Romney: not a
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