Editor’s Note: Daily Caller High is a group of young writers cutting their teeth in the world of political punditry. This week, two contributors continued on last week’s assignment to write on an issue from President Obama’s first year in office that they applaud or agree with. The rest of the pieces reflect on this past week’s Tea Party convention, the Republican Party, and the men and women serving our country overseas.
Obama’s handling of Haiti right for U.S.
By Adam Banker
Every so often an issue comes up that makes us look beyond party lines, and forces us to respond as human beings. When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake instantly demolished much of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and buried hundreds of thousands, it was definitely one of those times. Acknowledging this, President Obama, made a swift response to send in relief to the desperate Haitian citizens.
Now some may see this as even more of a feat, for a president who is not known to accomplish anything swiftly, most notably with a health care reform plan having been debated in congress for months. Yet on this occasion, Obama rightfully acknowledged the urgency of a quick response and went through with it. Thus by Jan. 14, the United States had become one of the largest relief contingents in the country sending in humanitarian workers, machinery, and multiple full-scale naval ships.
The type of response endorsed by President Obama was the exact type of response people should expect from the United States. Not only does it show that the U.S. will lend aid in the form of cash, but by sending in humanitarian workers, the Haitian people and the world, sees that the U.S. and the American people are there to help.
Looking to the positive in Obama’s first year
By Thomas McGrath
One aspect of the Obama presidency that has been positive is the change in the perception of politics in the United States. Fair or not, his presidency did a lot to help the perception of equity in this country. Being the first minority elected into presidency immediately made him a shining example of the “American dream.”
It is far too early to judge any of Obama’s policies due to their short time in existence and, in some cases, their inability to pass. That being said, Obama has failed to gain any bipartisan support and his lack of immediate success (which many feel he promised) is potentially harmful to his party. As evidenced by Scott Brown’s election in Massachusetts (a historically liberal state), the Republican Party is quickly bridging the gap that the democrats, headed by Obama, gained in 2008. This makes it hard to argue that any of his policies have been a success up to this point.
His election in itself, however, is a monumental success. Not only the ability to attain the highest position in the most powerful country in the world, but to do so while having to overcome so many obstacles. Obama did not grow up in an inner city black household, but he nonetheless came from a far different background than most presidents in this country’s history. In a time where many minority students (particularly in single parent households) struggle to find success, Obama emerged as a very poised and mature adult. In a post-9/11 world, he also had to enter politics with the name “Barack Hussein Obama,” which no doubt cost him support. His ability to overcome these issues, as well as his ability to get the American public to overcome these issues, has helped America shed much of its lingering label as racist.
Barack Obama may not have done much to prove that he deserved his position thus far, but his election is a great example of the strides this country in judging political candidates.
The worst idea ever conceived
By Ian Pringle
Bipartisanship. The word bears a certain, assumed, “wisdom” to it. It holds a place on a list of synonyms next to words like “open-mind” and “enlightened.” When we hear these words images of Aristotle, Socrates, Voltaire, and other great philosophers come to mind. However, bipartisanship, like the other words on that list, should really bring images of Marx, Engels, and Lenin to mind, because it is through bipartisanship that radical ideas can become a reality.
In America, we have a diverse spectrum of beliefs and ideas, because we respect and honor the individual above all else. Our government should reflect the broad spectrum of ideas and beliefs that exist within the population. Bipartisan resolutions limit the width of the spectrum severely, and laws, instead of being debated and amended, turn into compromised ideals.
The word “bipartisan” has been thrown around a lot lately. We have seen members of Congress and our president use this word as an attack against anyone who disagrees with their bills. So long as “bipartisanship” remains a progressive pipe dream it poses no real threat. But be wary, because when we collapse our spectrum of beliefs and values too much a one-party system will take effect.
I’d like to leave you with this thought; the idea of an “open” mind is concocted by those who doubt their validity.
A grim reminder
By Brandon Kiser
On Wednesday of last week I wrote with sadness that three U.S. soldiers had been killed by a bomb detonated outside a girls’ school in Pakistan that also killed three young girls and 70 Pakistanis. At first the event seemed like the heartbreaking news we hear everyday. However, the next day headed home I heard on the radio that one of the three U.S. soldiers was a certain Sgt. Matthew Sluss-Tiller of a neighboring county in my home state of Kentucky.
This entire occurrence sums up our current War on Terror pretty well. We are fighting not only men who wish harm to our soldiers, but men who wish to kill innocent men, women and even little girls trying to get an education. The news of Sgt. Sluss-Tiller’s death made the happening even harder to stomach. After the attack, the Taliban took responsibility saying, “We will continue such attacks on Americans.”
We cannot allow the death, but mostly the valor, of great men like Sgt. Sluss-Tiller to be in vain. We must continue to take the fight to the people (if you want call them that) who not only attacked us and killed 2,996 innocents on 9/11 but those who commit acts of terror on our soldiers and innocent children.
A movement, not a party
By Jackie Seal
This week the Tea Party movement held its first convention in Nashville. Because the Tea Party movement has held this convention and started its own PAC, questions of the Tea Party as a third party have risen. I saw this question posed on Twitter earlier this week and it got me thinking. My conclusion is simply this: a Tea Party third party is an awful idea. America is a two-party system. The result of an actual Tea Party Party would just create more infighting among Republicans.
In 1977, Ronald Reagan gave a speech at CPAC in which he addressed the idea of a possibly third party. He stated “But I believe that political success of the principles we believe in can best be achieved in the Republican Party. I believe the Republican Party can hold and should provide the political mechanism through which the goals of the majority of Americans can be achieved. For one thing, the biggest single grouping of conservatives is to be found in that party. It makes more sense to build on that grouping than to break it up and start over. Rather than a third party, we can have a new first party made up of people who share our principles. I have said before that if a formal change in name proves desirable, then so be it.”
Just about every conservative would agree that the Republican Party has strayed from its roots. The solution, however, is not a third party. The solution is to fill the GOP with true conservatives. The Tea Party movement is a great means of achieving that. What Republicans need to do is listen to these conservatives at Tea Parties and take to heart what they have to say. If conservatives really want to win in 2010 and 2012 they need to do it via the Republican Party, not a third party.
Adam Banker is a 15-year-old conservative. His views stem from the philosophies of Jefferson, Goldwater, and Reagan. He first got politically involved during the 2008 elections. Thomas McGrath is a high school senior in Washington, D.C., who has politically moderate views, with an emphasis on limited government, stemming primarily from the ideas of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and Ronald Reagan. Brandon Kiser is a Kentucky high school student. He writes as an assistant editor for 73wire.com, blogs at the American Kiser, and can be found on Twitter @BrandonKiser. Jackie Seal is a high school senior who blogs at Red, White and Conservative and can be found on Twitter at @JackieSeal. Ian Pringle is an 18-year-old conservative. He blogs at 17 Pages and can be found on Twitter as @Pard68.