Republican | Catherine Crier

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ICYMI: PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton

November 20, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

When you take anti-choice policies such as Ohio’s heartbeat legislation to their logical extremes, the rhetoric goes way beyond pro-choice or pro-life positions—it endangers the health and welfare of women. We’re not talking about saying “stupid things” (as Bobby Jindal so aptly phrased it), we’re talking about doctors literally allowing women to bleed to death due to fear of prosecution.

On Monday night’s PoliticsNation, I joined Reverend Al Sharpton and Irin Carmon of Salon.com to discuss this and other issues. What are your thoughts on anti-abortion legislation currently being discussed in numerous state legislatures? Watch the following clip from last night and share your thoughts.

From PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton

Category: catherine crier, msnbc, Patriot Acts, women / Tags: abortion, al sharpton, gop, heartbeat bill, msnbc, ohio, politics nation, republican, salon.com

Modern Conservatism and ‘The House That Reagan Built’

October 23, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

During the Reagan years, a dramatic shift took place within the Republican party. While President Reagan maintained his welcoming persona, conservative attitudes and policies became increasingly hard and authoritarian, exploiting cultural differences and financial inequities to serve powerful special interests. Today’s modern conservatives would likely find themselves at odds with many of the policies he touted in the ’80s.

We must stop voting on the rhetoric without examining the record. Remember Reagan’s “Trust, but verify.” Forget what you’ve been conditioned to believe is the liberal or conservative approach — both sides push a modern narrative that ignore real democratic values. Read Rick Perlstein’s latest op-ed on modern GOP ties to Reagan and share your thoughts.

Republicans love Ronald Reagan. First in 2008, and again in 2012, they had nomination debates at the Reagan Presidential Library, each candidate jockeying to establish their bona fides as the most dedicated Che Guevera in something they call the "Reagan Revolution". | Rick Perlstein, Al Jazeera

From Al Jazeera English

Category: Mitt Romney, political parties, politics / Tags: conservatism, conservative values, democratic values, gop, liberalism, modern conservatism, reagan, republican, republican party, ronald reagan

Modern “Conservatives” Are Quick to Impede Progress Without Offering a Different Course

October 3, 2012 / Catherine Crier / One comment

The Republican Party I knew growing up was brimming with “progressive” visionaries who valued national investment in science technology and infrastructure—building, innovating, and investing, publicly and privately, in America’s future. Now, modern “conservatives” are quick to put the brakes on progress without offering a different course.

If they wish to revitalize the Republican Party, conservatives must be willing to strike a balance between free-market ideologies and traditional conservative principles. Balancing these interests does not mean confiscating and redistributing wealth or subsidizing people’s lives, but inequalities must be addressed. Your thoughts?

From The New York Times

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, journalism, national budget, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics / Tags: conservative, conservative ideologies, gop, ideology, progressivism, republican, republican party, traditional conservatism

96 Percent of Americans Have Relied on Social Welfare Programs

October 2, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

In a 2008 national survey conducted at Cornell, 96 percent of Americans reported needing the assistance of federal social welfare programs at some point in their life. However, many government officials, especially Republican leaders, regularly insist upon deep cuts to services for most citizens while simultaneously defending tax breaks, subsidies, and overt political power for transnational corporations.

In its preamble, the Founders stated explicitly that our Constitution was established to promote the general welfare. Americans recognize the difference between ideological rhetoric and realistic solutions, and what they’re seeking is honest leadership that puts the welfare of citizens and our system of government above all else. Would you agree?

From The New York Times

Category: capitalism, catherine crier, congress, cronyism, economics, journalism, national budget, Patriot Acts, politics / Tags: budget cuts, constitution, cornell, republican, social programs, social safety net, social security, social welfare

Polling Suggest 66% of Americans Want Increased Spending on Public Transportation

September 16, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

Major investment in our national infrastructure is essential for economic growth at home and abroad. Polling conducted by the NRDC suggests that 66% of Americans want increased government spending on transportation and are willing to pay for it by way of increased sales tax or tolls.

Despite incontrovertible evidence that trickle-down economics is a sham, Republican legislators insist on tax cut extensions (or even more cuts) for the wealthiest Americans but refuse to invest in 21st-century transportation/infrastructure. Why is this? Your thoughts!

From The Hill

Category: congress, economics, national budget, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics / Tags: americans, economics, highway tolls, infrastructure, national budget, nrdc, public transportation, republican, sales tax, trickle-down

Conservative scholars disown attempts to rewrite our nation’s religious history.

August 16, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

Our founders knew religion provided invaluable moral and ethical instruction, but they established a secular, not religious, government. Their writings or public remarks that allegedly “prove” America was founded as a Christian nation are, instead, comments on the valuable role religion plays in a civilized society.

David Barton and WallBusters have been promoting anti-secular pseudo-scholarship for over two decades in an attempt to rewrite our nation’s religious history. Now, even conservative Christian scholars have had enough. The following article details the fallout over Barton’s most recent book, The Jefferson Lies. What are your thoughts on American historical revisionism taking place today?

From The Daily Beast

Category: catherine crier, education, hypocrisy, Patriot Acts, political parties, politics, religion / Tags: anti-secularism, conservatism, david barton, evangelical, founders, framers, jefferson lies, republican, secularism, separation of church and state, the jefferson lies

Divisive rhetoric continues to distract voters this election season.

August 13, 2012 / Catherine Crier / No comments

Americans are being sidelined this election season by conflicting rhetoric on concepts of individual liberty, the nature and size of government, and the influence of special interests. Voters can’t let themselves be distracted by class and cultural divisions, worried that the other guy’s beliefs and freedoms are somehow a threat to the country.

What we desperately need is tough, independent-minded Americans demanding an honest assessment of our problems. If either the idealists or the “aristocrats” take control, the game is surely over.

From The Economist

Category: campaign finance reform, catherine crier, congress, hypocrisy, Mitt Romney, political parties, politics / Tags: 2012 election, Big Government, independent politics, individual liberty, morality, republican, republicans, social class, special interests, State rights, state's rights