09/17/2012
I am not a registered Democrat or Republican but a dyed in the wool independent. Recently, in a blog I suggested the points Obama needed to make to win independent support. In this one, I am formulating the points about domestic policy Romney should make to get the backing of independents. Some subtle changes in his positions are necessary and demonizing Obama is not likely to help him with independent voters.
I’ll admit that President Obama was handed a bad economic situation when he came into office. Never-the-less, his policies have failed to turn the economy around. Unemployment is still way too high and middle class Americans are not spending money because they are afraid of what lies ahead for them. The president has been unable to work with Republicans in Congress to enact measures to lower our budget deficits, attack the national debt, and provide citizens with confidence in the nation’s future. Obama can blame Republicans for their unwillingness to compromise, but he has been president and it has been his responsibility to get the required legislation passed. On the other hand, I will be able to work with both parties in Congress the way I did when I was governor of Massachusetts. I can provide the required leadership to get the economy back on a solid footing by cutting taxes and eliminating loopholes in the tax laws so that revenue will not be reduced. Out of necessity, government spending will also be cut significantly and some programs will have to be sacrificed. In this day and age, government cannot afford to do everything for everyone.
With the economy in crisis, President Obama spent far too much time getting Obamacare passed, the health care plan that few Americans seem to like. However, I will grant that not all of it is bad. Though I intend to see Obamacare repealed as soon as possible after I’m elected, my new plan will still protect the ability of people with pre-existing conditions to get insurance and will allow children to remain on their parent’s policies until age twenty-six. We will also get some sort of insurance exchange program up and running for the states. This will permit insurance companies to compete against each other to provide uninsured people with coverage at reasonable prices.
My administration will also protect religious freedom by not forcing church-aligned organizations or individuals to dispense contraceptives against their beliefs. However, we will find ways to help women obtain contraception through their insurance companies if they are unable to afford it. I also happen to believe that abortion is wrong, except to protect the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. But I will uphold the law of the land in regard to this issue, whatever it may be.
As far as Medicare is concerned, we must find some way to make sure it will not bankrupt the country at some point down the line. If I am elected, while the current program will be kept in place for the next ten years, at that point we will provide funding for people to choose private insurance companies to give them coverage on a competitive basis. Or if they prefer, they can remain with Medicare. But our plan will protect the viability of Medicare far into the future.
I sympathize with all the people who were brought to America as children from Mexico or other countries and know no other home. However, their parents broke the law in coming here and we cannot allow all of these undocumented immigrants to remain here indefinitely. But my administration will find a way to help those young people who have lived exemplary lives, have gone to college or served in the military to obtain papers that permit them to stay in the United States under certain conditions.
The main thrust of my administration will be to make certain the economy grows, unemployment is curbed, and the national debt is reduced. My lengthy experience as a businessman and as governor of Massachusetts should be of great help in securing these objectives for our great nation.
Resurrecting Democracy
A VietNam vet and a Columbia history major who became a medical doctor, Bob Levine has watched the evolution of American politics over the past 40 years with increasing alarm. He knows he’s not alone. Partisan grid-lock, massive cash contributions and even more massive expenditures on lobbyists have undermined real democracy, and there is more than just a whiff of corruption emanating from Washington. If the nation is to overcome lockstep partisanship, restore growth to the economy and bring its debt under control, Levine argues that it will require a strong centrist third party to bring about the necessary reforms. Levine’s previous book, Shock Therapy For the American Health Care System took a realist approach to health care from a physician’s informed point of view; Resurrecting Democracy takes a similar pragmatic approach, putting aside ideology and taking a hard look at facts on the ground. In his latest book, Levine shines a light that cuts through the miasma of party propaganda and reactionary thinking, and reveals a new path for American politics. This post is cross posted from his blog.
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020