Lots of familiar names. Pretty much the same people who signed a pledge that they wouldn’t pass HCR without a firm public option. I even sent Grijalva a few bucks for his heroic stand.

Then he and all the rest folded. But I’m full of “hope” (registered trademark) that won’t happen this time.

Yeah, send me the public option pledges and I can use them with kindling for my fireplace.

All Obama needs for this to pass is all of the Republicans and some Blue Dogs. If Pelosi allows it to come to the floor, it will pass.

More bullshit kabuki. Why does FDL even bother to report it?

Where is the effort to organize mass public demonstrations, which is the only way this is going to be stopped?

I just want to wave my flip-flops around. Name one amongst this list who hasn’t caved or flip-flopped??

Didn’t think so: not one.

Thanks for the post. I’m sure not holding my breath on this one, but let’s get the info out there fwiw.

I think I understand where you’re coming from, and mostly agree. But I do think keeping the info out there is worthwhile, just so we know.

But yes: demos would be a good thing. For sure it’s the thin edge of wedge to rip us all off.

what makes you think mass demonstrations by liberals will help? You don’t remember March 2003?

Typo in the first sentence, should be “-10-year bond yields,” currently reads “bold.”

[Mod Note: Fixed. Thank you]

Mike Allen self-consciously tries to drive the Village narrative. He is a political operative, not a journalist.

Or the one million who protested against the first Bush inauguration and weren’t shown or reported on? Like it never happened. 100 teabaggers will get more corporate mainstream attention than 2 million DFH’s.

Meanwhile Robin Carnahan, the Democratic Senate candidate in Missouri, announced on Thursday that she supports extending the Bush tax cuts for all recipients, including the wealthy. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, the Democratic Senate nominee for retiring Republican Jim Bunning’s seat,has said that he favors keeping the current rates for “five, eight, maybe ten” additional years. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.), who is running for Sen. Evan Bayh’s soon to be vacated seat, also has said he would support extending the entire package of Bush tax cuts.

Seems the Democratic Party is a really big tent – where some are more owned by the rich and corporate than are others (the result of a 10 year delay in ending the Bush tax cuts for the rich is a national debt that is larger than our total GDP – but then these same folks are deficit hawks so I am sure they will find something to cut). And the Democratic Party finds staying home if you are a progressive an illogical idea? Seems the 800000 vote drop in Dem votes in the Scott Brown election (Brown would have lost by 700,000 if all had gone to the polls) was a message not received by Obama – and more messages are needed.

he redefines ‘obsequious git’ doesn’t he ?

That’s giving Steno Mike too much credit: he simply writes what he’s told and lo! it drives the day. He types what his Very Secret Sources tell him over his Princess Phone, lying on his pretty satin sheets at 3am, twirling what hair he’s got left, or the hair on the Troll Pen he writes in his Lindsay Lohan TrapperKeeper.

He’s a silly Versailles gossip; Marie Antoinette wouldn’t give him the time of day at Petit Trianon, but our massively Serious opinion makers/consumers think he’s the Center of It All: Win the Day!

When the people are ready, the demonstration appears. And it includes members of the military and the police forces. It has march marshals and no anarchists. And it is huge. And persistent.

The reason it is not yet happening is that everyone thinks it is a great idea but no one wants to do the hard logistics work of getting permits, promoting it, enlisting support from large organizations like the AARP and AFL-CIO, organizing group bus transportation from nearby, financing the porta-potties, the sound system, developing and printing some standard signs, recruiting and training marshals, coordinating with the police, figuring out how to transport large numbers of people to the demonstration and where they will stay if they are from out of town, where they will eat, what the program will be, making sure that there is enough of a media hook for the media to cover it, and so on. Those anti-war marches in the 1960s did not just happen; there were lots of dedicated folks who worked on the planning and logistics. And the economy was such that the cost of transportation was not as much an issue.

And a threat to Social Security is enough to turn people out. Old people lots of them; more than ever participated in Tea Party events.

LOL

There was a NYT? profile of him that described a party at some Villager’s house where he was kissing up to Greenspan and Mitchell.

And, “shitty reporter” is what he’s paid to be, so it’s not really an insult or even a surprising statement of fact: it’s why he gets a paycheck.

Do you find it just a little disconcerting that only three Democratic Senators and 17 house members are all that will readily sign such a pledge? No wonder the Democrats have lost this issue. Do you know how it would make a comeback? If the Dems lost the congress this November. Then, it would become a winning political stance for them again. They are only useful for progressive purposes when they are in the minority. So let’s give it to them.

How is saying he “self-consciously tries to drive” giving him too much credit? His ego is inversely proportional to his intelligence.

But your characterization of his style of operation is priceless.

That’s waiting too long. What gives this issue a comeback is when seniors figure out what they are doing and start raising hell. And that is likely to happen in September or October.

Then we will see a lot of backpandering-pedaling.

I’m sure they’ll take care of the seniors. Remember the guy that said the GOP HC plan was to let them die quickly, something like that.

She said that lifting the payroll tax cap would be the “fair” way to fix the long-term actuarial balance.

Well duh.

Well, you know what Tar, its not the seniors that are going to take it in the shorts. They’re safe. Its people under 55 who will feel this swift sword, and they’re too busy trying to find a job and paying their mortgage to raise much of a stink. That’s the way they do it you know.

You’re organizing protests in your city, right?

OT Dragon: Kuroneko is back to her old self it seems. :)

Turns out that’s the Democratic plan, too.

So, I guess the people of America bailing out the financial world wasn’t enough to “create credibility with the markets”?

things are heating up.
the only question is “how many people will be starving for the IMF this time next year?” or not.

Good. Keep an eye on her, though, just to make sure everything’s okay.

Definitely!

He’s just much less than he is credited with — by friends, frenemies, and those who laugh at him. There’s no there there. I didn’t mean you had it wrong; it’s simply that anything with his name in an active-voice sentence probably is too much credit.

Although “tries to drive” has some wonderful training wheel connotations: Mike at the wheel of papa Pool-Boy VanDeHei’s car, on a phone book, trying to reach the pedals in his big-boy pants.

Unfortunately, after having had the chance to observe their behavior while in the majority, that may be a tougher sell this time. Even though I realize that part of the problem is that real progressives are a minority among DC Democrats, it’s still hard to believe they’d suddenly get religion if they were turned out this November.

And I say this as someone who is just fine with them being turned out this November.

I agree that the MSM has a habit of not reporting on demonstrations favoring or opposing certain topics. However, the 2000 anti-Bush demonstrations and the 2003 anti-war demonstrations occurred in an era that preceded the mass internet YouTube/Hula phenomenon. I think that mass rallies — if they go on long enough/include sit-ins/provoke draconian police response, etc. — will get to the public’s attention this time, and scare the politicians into backing off.

The question is: will MoveOn or DFA or FDL or some combination thereof organize these protests? ‘Cuz they ain’t a-gonna happen spontaneously.

*g*

Would gladly if I had to expertise, contacts, etc. But to be effective these need to be massive demonstrations. That means you must have access to email lists running into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of names. You also need an operating base and some capital for insurance, porta-potties, first-aid personnel, etc.

But I’ll be glad to help out.

Ever since Regan raised the payroll tax 27 years ago, the extra funds collected have been used to subsidize the general budget and enable tax cuts for the very wealthy. These people want to extend the party (for themselves), by cutting benefits while still collecting excess funds from workers paychecks. It’s time to end this theft by eliminating the “unified budget” accounting that groups payroll tax revenues in with income tax revenues. Raise income taxes to the level to support necessary government expenses WITHOUT raiding Social Security.

You’re not gonna find that kind of organizing skill or money at primarily online entities. Even though coalitions like A.N.S.W.E.R., World Can’t Wait and United for Peace and Justice have the capabilities folks we would consider moderates are, for the most part, not going to participate. While these are national issues I think local demonstrations focused on Senatorial and Rep offices may be more effective than millions on the deecee mall.

Seniors may be safe in theory, but they know that if the GOP gets away with this, they’re next.

What a cutie. :)

But, someone will break a window at a Starbucks and that will be all the majority of the public will hear/be told.

Teddy…you are on fire today…great comments…keep on keepin on!

Your comment #13 should be the quote of the day!

Let’s not lose sight of when all this Deficit madness went to critical mass!

It took US 200 years to pile-up a National Debt of $5T.

Bush doubled it to $10T in 8 years when he financed his Wars and Tax-Cuts for the Wealthy on Our backs, and the backs of generations of Americans to come.

Bush loaded-down every man woman and child in America with an extra $15,000 of National Debt.

The principal and interest on those off-books Wars and Tax Cuts is – $80B per year – the largest part, by far, of the Debt Service contained in the Budget Deficit.

How sad would it be if the final-cut from the Bush years is – We now have to raid Our Social Security to pay for his immoral actions?

It was all so ‘painless’ when Bush told US about the WMDs…

Seems the 800000 vote drop in Dem votes in the Scott Brown election (Brown would have lost by 700,000 if all had gone to the polls) was a message not received by Obama – and more messages are needed.

Why point to Obama? He didn’t tell those candidates what to say. Maybe if the Libs trusted Obama more and had gotten Coakley elected we’d have the public option and some other things.

and to pay back the borrowed dough!

But, we’ve got to do it without killing the current economy. Tricky that.

The information is important enough to be spread around.
I firmly believe in massive demonstrations, in all cities (the MSM won’t cover them but the local media might). But not just once – weekly/monthly/daily if it takes that to frighten the pols into doing what’s right/the elite into backing off of their agenda. Our strength is in our numbers and our numbers don’t mean much unless they are seen again and again and again.

This is not about the war, and it is not global. This is social security, which affects everyone not in that top 1% (just because they are too wealthy to need it). These are not going to be demonstrations by liberals but by the baby boomers in general, and perhaps younger people as well.

You do realize that Coakley was leading in MA up to the point where she had to defend the Stupak and Bad Nelson anti-abortion amendments to the Health Insurance debacle don’t you?

And if Obama was really in favor of the public option, why didn’t he actually fight for it? He is the president and as such is capable of actually using that power in ways to influence the votes.

He chose instead to cut a deals with BigPharma and BigInsurance.

Sound slike you must really like that kool-aid

Jeff Greene was on RadioActivity on WMNF this afternoon. Slick operator. Didn’t get a chance to ask him what he was gonna do about the 50 foot trench his humungous yacht’s captain plowed through a coral reef with an anchor off Belize or somewhere.

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Bush was America’s very own Pinochet

Some one explain to me. How does it take political courage for congress critters to come out in favor of Social Security? Seems to me, those who do will have overwhelming support. And those who support cuts are gonna have a whoe lot of creative lying to do.

Also MA really didn’t want to lose their single payer health care for the piece of crap Obama was selling.

Corporate $$$$$. Never forget Citizens United V FEC. things will NEVER be the same again.
Unless we get a president someday of enormous courage and a really GOOD bodyguard to give US back our Constitution and society…like FDR, you know.

The Wall Street Journal is even taking a whack at this issue:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439792287255372.html

It sure would be nice if people stated their sources. Otherwise this is just selling papers by rumor mongering.

Anybody that still believes anything 98% of Democrats says deserves the title “Pollyana.”

Politico is just a front for FOX and the White House should know this.
Either they do and don’t care or they’re clueless in which case they’re stupider than I thought.
It’s all part of the game. The oligarchs are in control and I’m ready to see this whole system disappear.

Why point to Obama? He didn’t tell those candidates what to say. Maybe if the Libs trusted Obama more and had gotten Coakley elected we’d have the public option and some other things.

You seem to be off on your recollection. Coakley had a 19 point lead, right up to the time she said she would support the Senate bill with mandates but no public option. (Essentially Romneycare dressed-up as Obamacare.) Since MA’s Romneycare program is going in the tank, cutting back coverage, having huge deficit problems, the people of MA knew exactly what was going on and gave Obama, Coakley, and the Dems a huge “fuck you”.

Speaking of MA: Anybody know anything about Selise? Haven’t seen her posting here in months and know she had some health problems. Kinda hoping she’s still with us.

Privatize Social Security? Get rid of it entirely?

When did the Republican Party become one big death panel?

The Wall Street Journal is even taking a whack at this issue:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476104575439792287255372.html

Thanks for the link, Tom–but I’d add a note for FDL readers who want to register their opinion with the WSJ.

There’s an online poll connected with the story Tom links to. I would heartily suggest that every one of us should go there and vote (preferably “for” tax increases :-) ). Then tell all your friends.

Let’s blow the lid off their poll!!!!!!!

If whining paid off in gold some of you would become millionaires, and Social Security would be little more than change in your pocket.

Get off your duffs and do something. Go to your unions, fraternal organizations, or Party central committee meetings. Get them to pass a motion calling on [your] members of Congress to sign the following PLEDGE:

“I PLEDGE: if elected or re-elected to serve in Congress in 2011 and beyond, I will not vote for legislation that cuts Social Security benefits — which means I will oppose reducing payments and/or raising the retirement age, and I will oppose any effort to privatize Social Security.”

Let’s flush out candidates who refuse to sign the PLEDGE, and then flush them in November.

Whining won’t get the job done.