Left of Center

Unless we are talking about the Little Rascals, I think that in general "gangs" are not such a hot idea.

Recently, 15 so-called "moderate" Democrats (including my state's own Kay Hagan) have formed a gang to try and dial back President Obama's agenda a bit. One of the group's main goals appears to be to restrain the new administration's spending. Evan Byah is the ringleader and wants the group to be known as the Practical Caucus. Alrighty then.

You know, I certainly am not going to sit back and say that Obama's plan to get our country out of its economic troubles is absolutely going to work. But I do know that the previous administration's financial policies sure did help to get us into this fix and to continue in that vein just isn't the answer. (More on the GOP's fiscal ideas in a moment.) 

But back to my Democratic buddies. I get that some of these people come from more moderate states. And as I mentioned above, I get that Obama's plan may not be THE answer, but it is a start or at the very least an attempt. And at this point, I would dare to venture that the majority of Americans want to see some action taken, even if it may be ineffectual or wrong. The waiting game won't accomplish anything. I don't want to be the one caught twiddling my thumbs while more of my friends lose their jobs, or even more go without insurance (either because of losing said job or because they can't afford insurance and oh, say, their house payment).

Here's a who's who of the group:

Mark Begich of Alaska
Michael Bennet of Colorado
Kay Hagan of North Carolina
Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
Mark Udall of Colorado
Mark Warner of Virginia
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin
Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Ben Nelson of Nebraska
Bill Nelson of Florida
Evan Bayh of Indiana
Blanche Lambert Lincoln of Arkansas
Thomas R. Carper of Delaware
Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut (An Independent)

The first six are all newbie Senators. Hope this works for them. I guess if you are a Democrat and not happy that your Senator is taking this stance, you need to let them know. Send them an email and voice your opinion. After all, they were voted to represent you.

While I appreciate that the Republicans FINALLY submitted their own budget plan, it appears to be a rather slim document without any real numbers. Therefore, I don't really think there is much cause for rejoicing just yet. Nineteen pages with no hard figures? Boys and girls, can't we do better than this? I mean either come up with your own REAL solution or just accept that you don't have the answer. And then let's everyone move on.