Policy Revolve Around Gerry Manchin “The New Republic,”
There’s been a lot of talk about Joe Mature over the past couple of weeks. He’s been in the news a lot, both in the online world and in the real world, for his criticism of President Bush’s energy deregulation policies. He’s not a stranger to controversial comments either, having said things like calling President Obama a “liar” and telling Ralph Nader that Ralph Nader doesn’t have any qualifications to run for president. Is Joe Mature right about his policy prescriptions, or do the other candidates have something to hide? Let’s take a look at where he stands on the important issues facing our country, and who else is standing up for the little guy.
The Policy: In the September 2021 edition of “The New Republic,” Joe Mature wrote an interesting piece called “The Policy Revolves Around Joe Manchin.” The policy was in response to a comment Democratic candidate John Edwards made about drilling for oil in the Middle East. According to Edwards, the United States should “crack the oil wells onshore, drill through the seas, and drop to the sand to attack the oil supplies from Iran at the source.” What does Joe Mature think about the idea? Well, first off, he supports the idea, and he describes the need for a strategy that would get us onto that path quickly and efficiently.
He also says the Democrats need to get their arms off the table in this debate over Iran, which he sees as the key issue there. But he doesn’t really come down in either direction. He says it’s a good idea to attack Iran economically, but he doesn’t really say how or why. So he’s all in favor of a good strategy, but he’s not sure how it should go.
The Issues: In discussing the need for a military strategy in Afghanistan, Joe Mature said that he wasn’t sure what to do about Pakistan, and he didn’t want to see the US involved in another quagmire in the Middle East. He also said he thought the Democrats had been too soft on Iran, because they had supported the Iranian opposition, and he thought it was a big mistake. He said it was important to get our allies to go along with the US on this policy. It would help ensure that Iran does not become a nuclear power, he said. But he didn’t want to get the United States involved in another Middle Eastern war.
The War: When discussing the Iran-Contra Affair, Mature said it was important not to forget the Iraq War. He said he thought the US was still too much of an easy target, and he wanted the Democrats to focus more on the Iraq War, and less on the Iran Contra Affair. According to him, the Democrats should forget about criticizing Bush on the media, and focus more on the war. He also said he didn’t want to see the Democrats tie Bush’s hands; however, he didn’t say he wanted to see the Democrats go into war with Bush, either.
He didn’t say how he felt about the way the media has portrayed the Bush Administration, he just said; “Well, you know what they say,” referring to the way the press has reported things. Mature was asked if he thought the media was trying to put lipstick on the Bush Administration’s pig face, as some call it. He answered, “You bet.” He then went on to say; “I think it is unfortunate the way the media is willing to put anybody on a bad side, no matter who they are.”
The Purity of Politics: Jerry Mancini was asked if he thought the media was trying to make it seem like the Democrats were too extreme on international affairs; he said; “I don’t think so. I think if anything, Democrats have been more moderate on national security issues than Republicans have been.” He went on to say; “I think if anything, John McCain and Democrats have been too isolationist on the world stage.” He also said; “I think that when it comes to our troops, the Obama administration has done a good job. In fact everybody is very pleased with the job they’ve done in Iraq, they are leaving far too soon.”
On the other hand; Policy Revolt seemed to agree with Joe the Plummer; “I think overall the Democrats have been too isolationist on the world stage and I don’t find that to be a good attribute. It seems to me, if anything, the Democrats have been too slow to respond when there has been an act of aggression by a country. So, I would have to say, I would have to agree with that, in fact, my policy revolve around strength and deterrence, not appeasement.”