MA Chooses Brown
Whither the Democrats now?
This is an open thread
Submitted by Purpleface on Tue, 2010-01-19 21:39
-->
- Purpleface's diary
- Login or register to post comments
Tags:
Comments :
Not disappointed
the dems have pretty much lost me after their abyssmal weakness despite having huge congressional majorities in both houses and the presidency. Obama has fulfilled a number of my fears about him- he's exactly the DLC style triangulator his campaign told us Hillary would have been. He's protected the banks and wall street and screwed the left hard. So &^%$ him.
At this point I'm actively supporting gridlock in which neither party has a chance to accomplish anything because they both completely suck. Amazingly an 18 seat majority in the senate for the dems is actually few enough seats that that's what we'll get so hurrah for Mass!
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
Yep
Couldn't have put it better myself, with the single exception of the idea that "triangulation" and, by many, "bipartisanship" being his biggest failing. I think that's a psychological blankie, a way to frame the reality of the Democratic electeds' actions as not so much as a product of their own decisions, but to say "ah, man, we'd be so able to enact our grand vision if those other people didn't exist." Unfortunately for the Democratic man-on-the-street, this loss to Brown just gives their party more excuses for not acting in accordance with their stated ideology and campaign pledges. "We'd love to actually, you know, BE Democrats, but those Republicans have 41 votes so we're helpless . . . . "
Heh. One step closer to the libertarian epiphany: The only real way to keep the suckiness out of it is to quit giving them so much money to play with.
BTW, do you play Travian?
"The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." --R. Heinlein
Hey PF
Taken care of- the SCOTUS just removed pretty much any restraints on corporations giving money to politicians. You and I officially do not matter to the process of plutocracy.
Don't know what that is.
I came. I saw. I posted.
Veni, Vidi, Bitchy.
It goes further
All the campaign contributions in the world would have little affect if the amount of taxpayer money and marketplace power those corporations could buy with their contributions was negligible.
I grant you, the ruling is awful. A nail in the coffin of democracy. The only effective counter to what politics will shortly become is the intelligence of the individual voter. Where does this mindset come from, that it's OK for people to be gullible, passive imbibers of propaganda? That it's perfectly acceptable that we're helpless and stupid in the face of slick marketing campaigns?
Scanning the media on this, I hear a lot of "my vote doesn't count anymore." To me, that's a naive POV. One's vote is the ONLY power a citizen has ever had. We're in this position because we've allowed the political and corporative machines to pound in our heads that we must not vote outside our tribe else the world will end, nor should we second guess "the smart guys" in office and in the media (Oh, yes, of course the world will end if we don't "rescue" the banks; all those smart guys in Washington and that Nobel guy at the NYT told us so.)
They've neutered the only power a voter ever had.
"The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." --R. Heinlein
Warms my heart.
I couldn't have said it better myself. And I have said that many times.
You can't have it both ways. Throw the Ring in Mt. Doom and let's all go back to the Shire.
BTW, PF
If most people were libertarians like me, none of this would have ever happened...and I am going back to the 19th century. If plutocracy feared revolts everytime they tried to expand government and people in general were never seduced by the glamor of grand ideas and populist activist government...brought about by who else but certain segments of the plutocracy itself..., the cumulative snowballing of the last 200 years government expansion would never have happened.
well done.
You're learning.
Absolutely, Tlaloc!
You're spot-on! Well said!
This: the dems have
This:
echoes my feelings exactly, Tlaloc. I couldn't have put it more articulately myself.
I'm not happy with Obama but the republican refusal to do
anything but say no to everything will make governing difficult to say the least. It's funny, today in an interview Senator Elect Brown said there were a lot of things Obama was doing that he liked. he said there were many aspects of the bill before Congress that he approved of and voted for with the Mass Health Care bill. I thought to myself, I wonder how long that independence will last once he's seated. I mean, in all the votes that have been taken in the Senate all year (Democratic bills) more often than not zero Republicans voted for the bills. The one I think the most Republicans ended up voting for was Al Frankens 'Corporations who contract with the United States can't block their employees from prosecuting fellow employees who rape them'. And only 10 Repubs voted for that one. 3/4 of the Republican Senate, 30 of 'em voted for the rapist and against the victim.
Having said that I think Rahm has his head up his ass. I think Harry Reid has to start kicking ass by pulling Senators committee assignments & especially chairmanships (Lieberman). I really don't think Health Care Reform has a whole lot of chance to go right now. What I find troubling is all the 'liberal' sites that are blaming liberals for not letting it all pass. Go figure. Circular firing squads. For the record, I hope the Senate plan doesn't pass. it's an abomination.
That's a cop out, don't you think?
It's not the Republicans fault the Democrats can't get things done.
She said it well,
so I'm being lazy and copying her words.
"The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." --R. Heinlein
Oh I think many Democrats fought just as hard to have it fail,
Democrats are not blameless here. Nelson, Landau, Lincoln, Conrad all wanted no part of anything that didn't increase the power of the Insurance industry wrt Health Care reform. And on a broader note Democratic party Senators are like hearding cats. I'm saddened that taking that into account, they haven't elected themselves a better wrangler than Harry Reid.
My point was that in the past, when Democrats were in the minority, they still worked to have a functioning government and worked with the Republicans. The current Rovian model of a Republican electoral recovery is one of a scortched earth government. It's Sherman's March on Atlanta wrought on the nation. Seriously, they want the government to absolutely fail so they can get elected. That's reprehensible. I see it works to a degree but at what cost to the nation? And look at the ramifications, if it were to work & put Republicans into a majority position what would be the effect of the Democrats then turning around an doing the very same thing? If we end up with a couple of decades of non-government, there will be an armed revolution. I really don't want to see that.
tit for tat
What people are sick of is this tit for tat power play between Republicans and Democrats. 59 votes means the Republicans will now have to own their votes, and can't hide behind the fillabuster.
The osbstruction and squabbling on health reform has overshadowed the hard cold fact that this Health Reform bill will salvage medicare from running out of money in a few shorts years, while at the same time set stronger priorities for insurance companies to focus on health and affordability. It is somewhat corporate friendly and the hard left has gone nuts about that, which in my opinion was utterly stupid.
Instead the debate has devolved with the end goal of the opposition being to break Obama. Obama's popularity with the masses scared the bejesus out of conservatives who resented FDR's popularity and have never recovered from the populist liberal rebellion of the 60's.
Howard Dean who worked so hard to elect Democrats, when he went on TV and claimed the bill should be killed did the democrats and the progressive movement a huge disservice by starting a populist stampede on the left to kill health reform by trying to get too much too soon.
The Progressives for Instant Gratification Caucus has had temper fits and tirades that are right up there with the teabaggers, in my view. They are willing to make the perfect the enemy of the good, and don't mind squandering common sense to satisfy the need for purity, which is exactly what they complain about with religious conservatives.
“It’s classic inside Washington to think that people who can’t afford insurance want to keep score between the Democrats and the Republicans. They want to go to bed with a sense of security.” ~Andy Stern
Interestingly Scott Brown campaigned as an Independent, claiming the mantle of JFK. Since he voted for Romney care and has claimed that health reform is important....... we shall see if Mr. Brown really represents change or will just tow the line on obstructionism.
I say "Bring it On Scott Brown". Let's see that change. I am hopeful that he will be reasonable, instead of just a block vote with the GOP.
RedStaters are already shaken by some of his RiNO non conservative positions. Most interestingly he has already distanced himself from the teabaggers, claiming that many D's and Independents voted for him, and he doesn't want to turn his back on the people that voted for him. It all sounds good, but we shall see.
___
That's right folks. I still support the President.
I'm only half stupid
So you still support President Obama. Big deal.
Bully bully for you, missliberties.
Sorry, kindness, but the Democrats have such a long history
of self-destructing at every turn that the credibility of the Democratic Party at large has been totally shot, in the eyes of many, many people. A number of people I know personally who used to vote Democrat are now either voting Republican or have gravitated over to the Independent camp, or even the Green Party. Sorry, but the Democrats were bound to get their butts kicked, they did, and they had it coming. That's how I see it.
As for Rahm's having his head up his ass, it's Obama's own fault for appointing him and other such people to his cabinet. Moreover, for anybody who's hoping he'll change, I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Obama and his Administration have totally screwed the American people in more ways than one, by voting for the FISA Bill, the war votes, cutting Medicare, the new Healthcare "Reform" Bill, and many other things, including the refusal to rescind the Patriot Act, NAFTA and CAFTA.
Moreover, Obama not only didn't put enough pressure on Israel to pul their settlers and troopsl out of West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem and allow the Palestinians residing in those territories to create their own independent, sovereign Palestinian nation-state alongside Israel, but Obama hasn't even so much as opened his mouth about and against what the Israelis are doing in Gaza, which is beyond disgusting.
I have to disagree with you, kindness.
I think that Obama got himself into the mess that he's in by appointing people to his Administration that helped get the country into the mess that it's in right now. Anybody who plays with fire is bound to get burned, but the rest of us get burned, too.
On a thread over at balloon juice today
BTD was talking about his 'failed experiment' Swords Crossed. What I like most about his appearences over there, no one kisses his ass. They treat him like any other blog poster. Sometimes with respect, sometimes with derision.
BTD
He was a bit before my time, I think. I don't remember him posting much.
"The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." --R. Heinlein
Originally the blog was started by Armondo & Josh Trevino.
The idea was to get different perspectives together in one place so as to have wide open discussions about politics, policy & what not. It was less cerebral & more flame wars than they thought it would be. In the end, Josh & Armondo wouldn't even talk to each other. Then they both left & Ender took it from there.
FYI re: The Bozo Diaries
I began deleting them this morning but ran into a strange error message. I've notified Ender. I'll finish the clearing up after I hear back from him, unless of course he automagically deletes them, which would be way cool because there's a ton of them.
"The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire." --R. Heinlein
Sarah Palin's talking to the Tea Party Corporation today.
I don't know. The for profit aspect & the co-opting of the Tea Party to further the Republican Party belittle the good Libertarian & small govt. notions. Really. The very same big government repubs still run the party. They'll give lip service to the Tea Party to siphon off their anger, bile & anti-establismentism. Get the press off it all, hopefully make the Democrats look bad & then get the votes. Except they don't govern like Tea Party people. Look, right now it's the Republican Party which is fighting to let Goldman Sachs, AIG & the Banks that we saved all give thier top players billions of dollars of bonuses. BILLIONS. The Republican Party does not represent these people. They say they will but they won't.
It'll be curious to read what Sarah says.