USA: A GREAT NATION ON ROAD TO DECLINE – THIRD RATE POLITICIANS AND ASCENDANCY OF MEDIOCRITY PRIMARY CAUSES (PART-II)

Mediocrity in general amongst America’s two main parities – Democrats and Republicans – is also turning out to be a major undoing of the stature United States had. The Republicans want to wrest the White House in 2016 and the Senate in Nov 2014. There are number of Republicans who can be seen in the news jostling for prominence and, therefore, trying to be front runners for 2016 elections.

However, two types of Republicans seem to be trying to court their mass base:

-      One by trying to be ultra-conservative (the ‘tea party’ brand)

-      Others just by way of opposing Democrats – the level of vehemence in their opposition differentiating one from the other (within this bunch)

If one looks at the prominent Republicans and their public pronouncements, sadly, one does not find anyone who is really outstanding. On foreign policy, they are being presented on a platter host of issues to criticize Obama, but no one seems to be coming out on those issues in real statesmanlike manner. Most of them do not seem to have thought through the lines of action they are proposing – their strategies, lines of action sound so over-simplified, brash, jingoistic, gung-ho type.

On domestic topics, again, the public stand of these Republican politicians seem amateurish, some of them even childish, and, in general, lacking deep thought and depth. The pronouncements are just anti of anything Obama is trying to do, for example, on the immigration reform (and dealing with the illegal immigrant children issue/crisis).

To be honest, Obama has created such situations at the moment that if there was any one top class Republican politician at the present time, that person would very likely hit the ball out of the political park, could become a towering figure under whose leadership the Republicans could hand the Democrats a decisive defeat in 2014 congressional elections and set the scene for a repeat performance in 2016.

Sadly for the US, all this is due to debilitating mediocrity in the top political layer that is currently seen to people at large.

Over to the Democrats’, the situation is no better. Hillary Clinton is approaching the 2016 presidential bid very cautiously. She has the advantage of advice and guidance of a very wily political figure, namely, her husband, Bill. Hillary is maintaining a carefully calibrated distance from the 2014 congressional elections – only her husband is pitching in 2014 campaign, wherever he thinks expedient.

Other than Hillary, the rest of the Democrats’ field is also full of mediocre political practitioners – same old names, nothing noteworthy or outstanding about them.

With so much mediocrity pervading American politics, it is not surprising that the leadership, the dynamism, the vision, the statesmanship – the necessary ingredients for a nation’s all round development – are all missing and United States is finding itself floundering miserably on various fronts. Others are exploiting it – whether it is Putin in Ukraine, or, the radical Islamic insurgents in Middle East, or, the Chinese in the South China Sea, or, the illegals surging to enter US and so on. 

The industrial base also does not seem fired up. The corporates seem concentrating far more on how to avoid taxation. The technological edge that US at one time possessed so uniquely is all but gone – there does not seem any burning desire within the spectrum of industrial polity to come up with cutting edge discoveries. If at all there is anything discernible, it is all in the notional world of software related products, services.

If today, UK appears to be taking lead on ISIS (though Cameron’s timing is suspiciously close to Scotland’s independence referendum), Germany is taking the lead in arming the Kurds in Iraq, the Canadians are willing to provide troops for a stronger NATO deterrent force, it is all because there is vacuum at the international stage caused by apoplectic dithering on the part of the United States – and the genesis of all of this is mediocrity (and incompetence).

On the domestic front, the virtual paralysis at the Capitol Hill, the canine-like fighting between the two parties on almost all issues and inability to come to consensus is costing US directly and indirectly both. These continual recriminations can be said to be a major reason for creation/prevalence of an atmosphere which is not at all conducive for harmony, hope, optimism, development and prosperity.

It is sad to see that a super-power which could bring about higher levels of prosperity, strength, technological and military superiority domestically and at the same time ‘lead’ the world toward a safer and better place to be in, is potentially slipping in to a vortex of decline – sadly, due to overwhelming mediocrity pervading amongst the current political practitioners straddling the political scene of the United States.

KEYSTONE XL DELAY – A LESSON LEARNED FOR CANADA TO OVERHAUL ITS THINKING, POLICIES AND TO BE SELF-DEPENDENT

On 18 April the US Administration displayed yet again how pusillanimous and spineless it is on Keystone XL pipeline approval issue by punting it further down the road – any final decision is not expected before the congressional elections this year in November.

The media reports suggest following commentary from both Democrats and Republicans:

New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp blasted the delay, calling it "absolutely ridiculous," while Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., called the delay "irresponsible, unnecessary and unacceptable".

From the other side of the aisle, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said “this delay is shameful"; Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called the delay "a stunning act of political cowardice".

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed frustration over the snail like pace of the administration’s decision-making. Harper's office was "disappointed that politics continue to delay a decision," his spokesman said. Canadian ambassador Gary Doer reportedly said the State Department should focus on the international crossing between Alberta and Montana and leave it to the state of Nebraska to figure out the precise route there. Incidentally, the U.S. State Department said Friday it needs to assess the impact of a court battle in Nebraska that could force a change in the pipeline’s route.

Notwithstanding whichever way the political circus pans out on Keystone, there is one most important lesson for Canada – it’s federal and provincial politicians, the top corporate executives, the First Nations and the general public: Canada and the Canadians got to diversify, and also be self-dependent. Canada’s policy of putting all eggs in one basket (i.e. depending on US) is past its expiration date. So, what actions should follow from this lessons learned?

·       The pipeline companies in Canada must find alternative pipeline route within Canada to get the bitumen to refineries within Canada and outside;

·       In regard to alternative pipeline routes, conclude negotiations with stakeholders, namely, First Nations, the Provincial Governments ASAP;

·       The Federal and the Provincial governments got to shove aside all politics and come together to make decisions based on win-win formula – a solution that ensures the stakeholders, like, the First Nations, the Province(s) get a reasonably fair deal out of the pipeline projects;

·       The companies in Canada must think about setting up an upgrader within Canada as a complimentary/ supplementary solution, to process the bitumen from Alberta (and potentially from Saskatchewan) and selling the synthetic crude oil (light crude) to US, refineries within Canada (if they have spare capacity to process) and refineries outside Canada;

·       The refinery companies in Canada should think about expanding and/or retro-fitting their refineries in Canada in alignment with production of additional amount of bitumen and/or synthetic crude oil;

·       Align increased gas production from gas fields in BC for use in oil sands production and the refineries and LNG production;

·       Think about putting up petrochemicals complex downstream of Canadian refineries; and

·       Put in place ASAP policy frameworks, tax regimes that are required for decision making on LNG projects and oil sands industry.

Canada may be justified in being utterly frustrated with US on Keystone, but it cannot absolve itself of the pathetically slow progress on pipeline projects within Canada, LNG project in BC and so on. It’s time Canada found solutions toward harnessing its massive natural resources within Canada itself rather than depending on US.

The political parties of Canada – Federal and Provincial both – must understand the basics of Canadian economy (GDP) – the components of the GDP – and must realize the importance of natural resources like oil sands and oil and gas in Canada’s GDP and the service sectors they support. Only then they would realize the futility of having divergent opinion on oil sands and LNG development and squabbling amongst themselves. Only then some political parties would not make irresponsible, ludicrous statements about environmental record of Canada and thereby cause damage to Canadian interests.

The political parties and their leaders must understand clearly that the first world like standard of living and wellbeing of Canada, which Canada is proud of, will be in absolutely serious jeopardy if Canada fails to appreciate the nature’s blessings and harness the nature’s bounty given to it. The delay in Keystone pipeline is nature’s way of warning and providing a wake up call to all Canadians to change its old ways of thinking, policies and working. Now, it is up to the Canadians whether they pay heed to nature’s warning!

HEALTHCARE REFORM IN USA – WHY DO THE DEMOCRATS FIND THEMSELVES FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE?

Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t! That is the kind of situation the Democrats are finding themselves in at the moment on the issue of health care reform in US.

First of all, what the heck is this so-called healthcare reform? Did the message not go out to masses in US as to what this reform is all about? Did the message not go out loud and CLEAR why this reform is needed by US economy?

Well, as expected the opposition, i.e., Republicans did their best in attacking the reform and along with it the Democrats. The Republicans succeeded in confusing the issue – they got the so-called tea parties organized, they used the stream of media, which supports them, to fullest advantage. And in their efforts, it is also alleged (and it seems this may be true) that they were strongly supported with all the resources by the vested interests, namely, Insurance lobby.

Result: The anti-Democrats are dead against the reform; and the Democrat vote base is hugely confused about efficacy of this reform, if any.

Things that helped the Republicans: Essentially poor dissemination of information about the urgency of this reform, and why the reform is important for US. There was hardly any coherent and sustained dissemination as to the need for reform in order to save the American economy in the long run.

If this reform is/was so darn important from the economic standpoint for the average American and US as a whole, then why was this friggin' message not spread by the dint of the loudest of the drums?

· There was hopelessly feeble rebuttal of dis-information/mis-information spread regarding ‘Death Panels’, applicability of the reform to illegal immigrants, public option and so on.
· There was no proactive planning to anticipate Republican negative campaign and counter it – the town hall meetings were hardly arranged in numbers by Democrats that could effectively dispel and rebut the dis-information/mis-information spread by the vested interests.
· Democrats (including President Obama) and the supportive media tended to use long winded professorial verbiage to explain the purported advantages of health care reform and/or rebut Republican sponsored dis-information/mis-information.

So, the net result is that the upcoming elections (and to be held in Nov 2010) are making Democrats jittery – the once safe Senate seat of Massachusetts is going to the wire now. If the Republicans win that seat, life for the Democrats in the Senate will become lot more difficult in terms of getting new legislative measures put in place.

Did Obama bite more than he could chew? Not if this was the only issue to be dealt with. Did he underestimate the bog-down potential of the various issues that were on his plate in the first year of his presidency? The turn of events seem to suggest so.

Can anything be done by the Democrats to salvage the situation? Yes! Arrange a nation-wide barn storming campaign to clarify the confusion/questions the average American has with regard to health reform; and to explain how s/he stands to benefit (individually immediately and as society as a whole in the long run), how USA stands to benefit, the perils to US economy if health care aspect is not handled properly NOW.

Also, the campaign needs to stress that health care is not a Democrat or Republican issue – it is a human being issue, a national issue for the future of USA. Is it a bit too late in the day? May be, but no harm in trying.

And, for God’s sakes simple short sentences have to be used to explain the various aspects of the reform. Long sentences with journalistic verbosity are never helpful in communication with masses– this simple cardinal rule of mass communication needs to be drilled in the heads of the Democrat speech writers and the so-called liberal media practitioners.

President Obama is said to have lots of tenacity – he needs to bring all of that now to get over this major hump in his current political journey. He seems to be sincere, working for and on behalf of the people of US for the greater good of the society. If this is true, the power that be from the Heavens above will turn the course in favour of the good-doer.