Hail Mary Pass

8 years of tax cut for the wealthy, deregulation of financial markets, and bailouts for Wall Street.

Barack Obama was elected because Americans wanted a president to address the middle class. A month into his term, Obama has received nothing but criticism from the right for attempting to do just that.

In one month, Obama has pushed through legislation to attempt to jump start the economy, create the jobs of the future, and help struggling homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. He has been called a socialist and any attempt he has made at bi-partisanship has been futile.

Republicans are screaming that Obama is simply helping those who made poor decisions (homeowners in houses they can't afford) at the expense of people who made the right decisions (tax paying citizens that did not splurge on a huge mortgage).

Hang on a second, these are the same Republicans who proclaimed that we absolutely must bail out Wall Street. Since then we have spent over $1 trillion to help those who made bad decisions (Wall Street Banks) at the expenses of Main Street Americans (taxpayers).

The last 8 years have proved one thing time and time again. Republicans are looking out for the rich in this country and pitch their policies as standing up for what is right. They demand tax cuts to business and the top 1%, while living standards for the majority of Americans decrease at an alarming rate. They demand bailouts for Wall Street and cringe at the thought of helping struggling homeowners.

What the majority of people are missing in Obama's housing plan is that by helping those on the brink of foreclosures it actually helps everyone in the neighborhood. By stopping the precipitous price decline of all houses when foreclosures overrun a neighborhood it is not just the one homeowner who benefits. Obama's plan even helps the banks who now will receive a monthly mortgage payment rather then repossessing a worthless house.

Republicans have blocked or ridiculed Obama on so many levels, that they are now staking their claim in 2010 and 2012 as the party that opposed Obama's financial plan from the start.

In essence, they are betting that he will fail, and they will be reborn as the new "party of change".

Any economist would tell them that with how economic cycles work it is very unlikely that it will be worse in 2010 then it is today. The amount of monetary stimulus and the fact that this is already a long recession by historical standards, make it very likely that recovery will have begun by 2010.

The party of tax cuts and free markets has been ripped to shreds by an economic crisis caused by their failed policies. This is their Hail Mary pass, and it will fall short.

The Republicans have played partisan politics at a moment in history only rivaled by the Great Depression. I truly believe that come 2010 the Republicans will be the party of change, but our country will want more of the same.