Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Metacomet who wrote (135835)	8/15/2013 6:10:35 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 149317

I believe its more than political will. I think its has to do with money. Rs don't want to spend money on people with whom they have a hard time identifying. ..what's missing is political will...specifically the unanimous nay-saying of all Republicans.. "There is debate about the effectiveness of certain early education programs such as Head Start. It may be that providing help to “at-risk families” — treating drug-addicted mothers for example — has a bigger impact on children than a specific enrichment program. Though, clearly, most of us believe that these enrichment programs work. Corak points out that the well-off in the United States spend nearly $9,000 a year on books, computers, child care and summer camps — nearly seven times what families in the bottom fifth of earners spend. In fact, this is part of what makes mobility low.

To: Metacomet who wrote (135835)	8/15/2013 6:22:24 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

Tea Partiers: U.S. 'can no longer afford compromise and bipartisanship' By Steve Benen - Thu Aug 15, 2013 1:34 PM EDT A few incumbent Republican senators have primary opponents to worry about -- most notably Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- but Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) doesn't appear to be one of them. The two-term senator and former governor remains fairly popular in the Volunteer State and is generally expected to win re-election easily. But yesterday, a group of Tea Party organizations wrote Alexander a letter, urging him to quit and make room for a more right-wing candidate. Their letter included a classic line, that speaks volumes about Tea Partiers' ideology. "During your tenure in the Senate we have no doubt that you voted in a way which you felt was appropriate. Unfortunately, our great nation can no longer afford compromise and bipartisanship, two traits for which you have become famous." Got that? After more than a decade on Capitol Hill, Alexander has developed a reputation as a senator capable of working with people he disagrees with -- and the Tea Party groups consider this outrageous. "Compromise and bipartisanship" have been repackaged as insulting words senators would be wise to avoid. Indeed, the letter added, "Quite honestly, your voting record shows that you do not represent the conservative values that we hold dear and the votes you have cast as Senator are intolerable to us." Reading the letter, one might get the impression that Alexander has a voting record slightly to the left of Olympia Snowe, infuriating the GOP's far-right base. But reality belies the caricature. The Tennessee Republican has voted against every major priority pushed by President Obama; he has a 77% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union; he recently argued the minimum wage shouldn't exist at all; and in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, Alexander told a national television audience, "I think video games is [sic] a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people." Lamar Alexander, in other words, *is a conservative Republican.* To say he's too moderate to represent the right's interest is like saying Dick Lugar should be defeated in a primary. Oh wait. For what it's worth, Alexander has no announced primary opponent, though it now appears likely that Tea Partiers are looking for one.