Stealing is legal, just ask those that got shoved off the cliff.

What can I say, I’m flabbergasted. Are these crooks in Washington really going to assume the American public is that dumbed down to see through this guise? Uh… never mind.

Let’s call it what it is. This idea that Republicans failed in the “fiscal cliff standoff” is pure poppy-cock. This notion that the Democrats somehow “won” is equally a failure if we value logic and reason. For what we seen these last two days has been what the American people have wanted for years now… compromise.

The federal government finally compromised. Republicans and Democrats finally crossed the isle. With its legislative and executive branches all on board, despite all its fury, anger and alleged partisan indignation, the deal was struck. Just like the bailouts before it, along with every other hot potato-political topic involving money; the sides "somehow" came to an “agreement”. On the outside this looks like a victory for the people, and it would be if it wasn’t such an absolute charade.

This was nothing more then a WWE broadcast, the winners and losers were already predetermined. When push came to shove everyone got what they want: more for them and their sugar daddy's and you footing the bill. The fiscal cliff was likening to a pay per view event, where afterwards, backstage the heel and the face toasted champagne and laughed all the way to the bank in their stretch limos and learjet's. Meanwhile the poor bastards who bought tickets returned home in their minivans and via subways, still in awe and totally oblivious of exactly how the farce that was just performed before their very eyes. 

Here’s the impact:

Almost all of the Bush Tax Cuts are permanent, while this helps everyone who pay tax; it helps the wealthiest substantially more.

Wheres the cuts on defense spending?

The Payroll tax cut that saved everyone who works in our nation an average of anywhere between $500-$2,000 has ended (which is good for Social Security in the long run) thus acting as a tax increase from last year for everyone earning a paycheck. This will essentially raise the taxes for anyone making fewer than 100k by 2%.

Wheres the entitlement restructuring? 

We have also seen the definition of "rich" get a facelift, as “rich” is anyone making over 400k per year. They will see their taxes rise from 35% to 39.6%. This is hardly the 250k cap that Obama sought re-election on.

And last but not certainly least... the dreaded “Death Tax”.

From the Republican perspective, one of the biggest hold-ups in this “fiscal cliff deal” was the death tax or estate tax. It was 35% as of 2012 on Estates valued at five- million or more. The President wanted 45%. They reached a deal at 40%, splitting the difference. Now, in case you are wondering why you don’t know what this is or why you’ve never heard the particulars, its because it doesn’t affect you. That is unless you have an estate valued at $5 million or more.

As of 2010, courtesy of the Federal Reserve board, only 4.4% of American households had financial assets exceeding $1 million, much less $5 million. According to the IRS, the estate tax will only affect about 3k families. With the additional five percent of taxation of those that are required to pay, the liability may rise slightly, but with the exemptions staying the same, there will be no new cap, thus the limits stay the same.

What does it all mean? I’m not telling you anything you already don’t know. It is what it is. This idea that there is a real tangible difference between these two parties …is make believe. The only real differences are on the margins and that is by design. From abortion, death-taxes, tax-break for billionaires, tax-breaks for multinational conglomerates, gay-rights, funding public television, praying in schools, you name it. Basically, anything that doesn’t benefit the bulk of the populous & affects less then 10% of the population is a heated, highly-contested debate.

I don’t despise anyone for their success nor do I feel they should be punished because of it. As being of  Libertarian mindset, how could I?  However, the middle class has been exploited by the wealthy elite who then help run elite corporations that are gaming the system, all the way from General Electric to G.M and everyone in between. Meanwhile the small businesses, who make up the bulk of US employment, continue to be stifled with red tape, over regulation and are continuously outmaneuvered by big business lobbying efforts. And not to be outdone, it cuts both ways.

There are a growing number of people on the bottom of the pyramid, who are out to hustle every organization and opportunity they can. Look no further then - Supplemental Security Income (Social Security Retirement Survivors and Disabilities Income is for those who have paid into it) because they are “too depressed to work” or have kids that are born one day early (purposely) so they qualify for 18 years as a premature baby. I got story's for days on that topic.

Before you utter the words “class warfare”, read the writing on the wall. This fiscal cliff deal did nothing to hurt those at the top or the bottom, just everyone in between. The rich were not hit hard nor was those too poor to pay taxes, with their 6-10k tax refunds on $13,000 in income.

One of the paramount reasons Obama was elected in the first place was his promise of transparency. You can at least say that’s one campaign promise he lived up to. The middle & working class, the backbone of this country, is under siege and its right out in plain sight. So if you are looking for politics for an ally on either “side” you might need to look again because the only thing these two parties have compromised on is you. They say jump, you say how high.

(sigh) And the song remains the same...

Mark Sanford was becoming a lot of people’s dark horse candidate to run for the highest office in the land in 2012 and that was including myself (save Ron Paul of course). He was young; he was articulate, steadfast on his principals and just had the look of a president. He was the most fiscal conservative in any executive office in the country and he was also a guy with a proven track record and it was one that would be a good elixir for what not only plagues Washington, but government at every level in today’s world of easy credit and pay later (much later) climate. With all that said, last week’s revelation of his secret getaway has pretty much put the saber to the throat of his anticipated entrance into the 2012 election.

Now, if he was a Democrat, the result would be about the same, especially considering the unusual circumstances of his disappearing act. But it always stings a little more if you’re a Republican in this type of scandal, because they happen to be the party who wants to keep things as is, as opposed to how they are becoming. They are the ones who have a strict guideline on whom should and who should not be married.

It’s the Republicans that want to hold their ground on an issue that only pertains to less then 2% of the populous (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). The same can be said about abortion and may other medical and social issues that have no place in the debate at the federal level.

The real problem here lies in this incessant urge for bureaucrats and politicians on either side of the isle to be involved with social engineering at the federal level. It is this behavior, more so then any other is what is responsible for the division that exists in the country today. You have the PC crowd on the left who attempts to strip down the individual thus concentrating more on the unit as a whole, as opposed to the right with their fire and brimstone and close-mindedness on behaviors and issues they simply cannot win on nor stop. This is a key reason why the politics of today and yesterday have ultimately buried the ideas we will need to mine for tomorrow.

Isn’t it about time the Conservatives take a good look at themselves as a whole and become a party of ideas rather then a party of hypocrisy and pettiness? Because when you’re the party that is supposed to represent the “moral majority” and be the one party with a “focus on the family” you better also be walking a tight rope when it comes to the very moral issues you so vehemently speak out against. This is clearly not the case for not only Mark Sanford but for many other Republicans with egg on their face.

Recent history has shown that being one party affiliation or another doesn't shield you away form the enemy that lies in all of us… and that is: to err is human.

This is not the party of Barry Goldwater, therefore something evolved and in doing so something naturally devolved. What has evolved is the social conservatives with their self appointed monopoly on morality. Its no coincidence with the forming of the Focus on the Family (1977) and the Christian Coalition (1987) things began to rapidly change as far as what pillars were worth building and which were worth letting crumble. As these voter driven organizations grew they became heavily intertwined into Republican politics often graying what republicanism actually was.

What had devolved was the commitment to limit spending/ cut taxes and keeping the states off the federal tit and allowing them to govern themselves. Look at NCLB, the Prescription health care plan, and the overall massive increases in spending over the last 30 years. These are hardly ideas that will limit spending.

Oh sure, Republicans still cut taxes, but when you spend as they have, all your really doing is pushing those savings from tax cuts onto future generations who will be required to pay the bills. This is done with all the borrowing which in turn created debt (and subsequent interest) needed to close the gaps on all the budget deficits they ran (I should also mention inflation, which is also taxation). Not Reagan nor Bush 1 or W can claim to be a fiscal conservative and outside of the Congress of ’94, neither can Congress during this time span.

And that is why Republicans find themselves in the mess they are in today. Sure, we could cherry pick names of Republicans involved in scandal over the last twenty years and they might have more cases the Democrats, but that isn’t what really the problem is. The problem lies in the rhetoric.

The Democrats aren’t using the badge of morality as a vehicle to garner votes. They are socially more progressive then their counterparts, and with that stark contrast, they don’t garner the headlines like Republicans when they do have scandal, because after all, they are supposed to be immoral, they are supposed to be the reason for the social decay on the country. They are also not cutting taxes and thus they are expanding government. Thus they are who they say they are. The Republicans, have a serious case of personality disorder, and its no easy fix.

If Republicans are the party of ideas and are really interested in freedom then they must rebuild the pillars of a small government. That means limiting spending and not when it politically convenient to do so (ie when a democrat holds the White House). This also means that freedom also comes with its warts. People are going to make mistakes and people are also not going to want to live exactly how you do or how you expect them to do.

Thus gay marriage or abortion or school prayer can’t be the cornerstone of your voting preference or the platform for election. It does nobody any good for someone to tell them what the sanctity of marriage is and who is allowed to play when they cant follow nor understand sanctity themselves. It also does nobody any good to abort a marriage 2 or 3 times then tell someone else they cant abort a fetus from their own body. Its not only hypocritical it’s also unwinnable. You can’t win votes with these types of debates. It’s a losing battle everytime. Now, if the goal is to NOT win and become a dated relic ala the wigs… then keep the continue.