Do you work for Grover Norquist?

The target for progressives must be defeating McConnell, Cantor, and most of all Boehner and Bachmann.

Stop blaming Democrats for trying to prevent the conditions where most of the public depends on government workers volunteering to work for free to protect the public from chaos and harm, as FAA safety workers are doing.

FAA safety workers are not being paid, but they are continuing to do safety inspections so aircraft can continue to fly, and do so safely, protecting passengers from either flight cancellations or increased risk of death.

If a deal isn’t done, USDA inspectors won’t get paid, and either they work voluntarily without pay, or food rots because it can’t be shipped, or those most willing to break the rules will ship as much as possible without inspection.

Members of Congress who oppose this and other deals in favor of grid lock are advocates of lawlessness. Clearly the Republicans are the most in favor of lawlessness, so the blame for the economy of the past decade is clearly the majority of the Republicans in Congress, it is the Republicans who must be targeted for defeat, and successfully defeated.

The more important question is whether you believe that THIS generation of Congressional leadership will work outside the lines of this agreement.

I love reverse rhetorical questions.

Okay, mulp you target the Republicans and we’ll target the Dimocrats …

Together, we shall make history … and perhaps, even change the world.

What say you?

DW

I wanna be on the side targeting the dimwits,er crats.

Will these Democrats muster the gumption to break the spending caps, to allow all the Bush tax cuts to expire, etc., etc. I just don’t see it. I don’t see these Democrats, who have been parroting the language of austerity so much they have to believe at least some of it, will ever go beyond this agreement.

I don’t see these Dems in Congress in the future I only see Tea Baggers. I don’t see Dems voting for sellouts. I don’t see moderate voters having any reason to vote for the lesser of two evils.
I the only choice is fear and greater fear they will ally themselves to the Greater fear.
I see more SS and Medicare cutbacks as the rich get tax breaks and the wars go on until we suffer defeat since we cannot win.

No, mulp, the target for progressives is to get leaders who are progressive. There is no doubt in my mind that this crisis was completely faked up. Obama could have simply invoked the 14th and that would have been that. He had every intention of cutting safety net programs because he is of an age, and of a mind set that this is all very burdensome. And he’d rather not. There is also the fact that my representative ignored me, ignored the polls, and went his merry way by voting yes. So be it. Tomorrow I will know what my senators do, but I can assure you there is no power on earth that will make me vote for Obama, or Schrader. We will know about Merkley and Wyden tomorrow. The Republicans could not and did not do this to us. It was a cooked up deal from Obama on down. I don’t really want to hear their nonsense now. We got it. Now let’s definitely get decent leaders in there that can speak candidly, act straightforwardly and hopefully care more about people than the GD financial industry.

What happens when people feel voiceless, powerless and un-represented is they ‘de-subscribe’ from the system that treats them as invisible – they stop caring.

The way out of this box is to find different people than the ones currently in office. I don’t see any other way around that. This can start at the state level, actually. One of the worst aspects of this deal is the timing – in just a week, there are elections in Wisconsin that represents a true mass popular movement aligned with the Democratic Party, that happens to be fighting for workers’ rights.

Obama just made all those races much closer now. The question is is this Obama’s Katerina or will there be other mistakes of this size.
The Question is will Obama have tainted every Lefty idea out their for a generation. The Stimulus was to small by half and now the GOP will discredit it.
SS and Medicare are now cut so why trust any Dem when he says he wants to help?

The destruction unleashed by Obama and his gang of sold out lunatics is nearly incalculable.

Labeling Obama the worst President in history doesn’t even scratch the surface. He is a political Hitler, albeit with a more passive aggressive style of shoving the poor and middle class into the chamber.

please read below

You can learn a lot from the tea party? the tea party has 87 new members.

We dems need some new blood in congress.
94 dems voted for this bill, and some of them will be punished.

mulp? picture this, you NFL team get beat a 100 to 0
the next day, the coach will fired = OBAMA
assistant coaches will be fired = David Plouffe
and asome players will be traded = Dems in congress

mulp? you may think OBAMA won? we progressives can not imagine what OBAMA calls a loss? can you?

And one more thing, I don’t think the world starts and ends with DeFazio but when he says that he learned in the negotiations that Obama was prepared to invoke the 14th if it really looked like the bond holders would be hurt, then I believe him. Obama is a disgrace. I want nothing to do with him or anyone who can manipulate like him and all to our detriment.

great post!

the MSM thinks this shit is just going to blow over, NOT!

Mulp sometimes it is better to risk dying than to live on your knees.

Rubbish.

the party of FDR, the real Dem party is located in Wisconsin

this shit in DC is a disgrace to FDR, JFK, LBJ

Perfect!

The way out of this box is to find different people than the ones currently in office…

Exactly, interestingly, my ‘Progressive Caucus’ critter had just voted ‘yes’…! She’s currently pondering a Senatorial bid…! Not if I can help it…! 8-(

I have a lot more sympathy for the Congressional Democrats because of the situation President Obama put them in. Personally I have no idea with all my principles in hand just how I would have voted. I tend to agree with stopping venting on them and work to defeat the Republicans in the Senate and House.– and also in our states.

I see no reason to focus much on Obama as he is a dysfunctional DINO. So we get a GOPer for pres. Take a page from their book. We have seen how a working majority in the House and Senate can pretty well hog tie a president.

Lets see how smart the Tea Baggers are when their guys go home from Congress we will hold our own accountable but will the Tea Baggers let their SS and Medicare be stolen from them or will they blame scapegoats?
Are they the willing slaves or natural slaves as Aristotle theorized? Are they proof positive that all Men are not created equal and that rulers should lie to the uneducated masses because they just don’t get it?
We will destroy the Dems and purge our traitors lets see if there are any Men among the Tea Baggers or are they just Punks who let people steal and lie to them???

Of the 94 Dems who voted for this shitty Bill?
which one is the easiest to get rid of.

We need put up Blog of some of these Dems, and invite them to read out comments about them

our members want an attack list.
we need to design a strategy to attack Dems that are easy to get rid of

The dysfunctional rot transcends both parties…! 8-(

Typical drive-by troll, won’t bother to defend the straw men you erect.

The cause has been lost when we begin eating our own. We need to find ways to get them to eat their young and heal ours.

Yup.

we have got to put some new Dems in Congress

there is no other way

we have dems who have been in DC way to long.Charlie Rangle? why is he in congress? why?

this entire KABUKI game was developed a long time a go.

“really, let us bring out Mrs. Gifford? really, this was by design, some sick fuck, wanted to hold back the tide of the LEFT rage”

remember they roll out Mrs. Kennedy when the pass the Bob dole health care bill.

the problem you are confronting is not one of individual candidates, votes in Congress, and the right person in the Presidency. Some new Dems in Congress will be the same as the Old Dems. You have to start building a populist movement as a social-democratic alternative to the prevailing corporatism. Without that populist movement you’ll still be counting votes and griping about it.

I hear what you trying to say

I remember a time when Dems
control the house
control the senate
control the white house
and
the GOP got the following
Bush Tax Cuts
Bob Dole Health Care Bill
More War
and now the get to gut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicade

the gifford spectacle was nauseating, imho.

We need to throw out the Blue Dogs. Our Georgia Dems, excluding John Lewis vote with the GOP.

yes!

we need to spread Wisconsin all over the USA

and keep the DC Dems out of it

For what it’s (not) worth — here is Rep. Rick Larsen’s (D-WA) bullshit explanation for his AYE vote today. The BS spin machine is spinning away….

“Today I voted to avert a default crisis. The impact of default on the low-income, middle class, and seniors would have been far worse than any of the cuts that are found in this bill.

“The people I represent asked me to protect Social Security and assistance programs for the poor, and this bill does that. This package totally protects Social Security, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, food stamps and other critical programs from the draconian cuts some members of Congress wanted to see.

“The package largely takes changes to Medicare off the table. It protects Medicare from becoming a voucher system – a serious threat that would have ended the guaranteed benefit and program as we know it. But providers could take an overall two percent cut in reimbursement.

“Compromise is never perfect.

“I am disappointed that revenue is not a part of the final package. A truly balanced approach to balancing the budget over the next ten years requires revenue.

“On the other hand, the package does not exclude revenue in the future, and the President still retains veto authority over extension of the Bush-era tax cut for the top income earners.

“This bill forms a bi-partisan congressional committee to identify a minimum of $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years. The committee must provide recommendations to both chambers of Congress for a clean, up-or-down vote.

“If the committee fails in its task, a trigger that is more like a hammer, will result in $1.2 trillion in across the board cuts. Half of these cuts will come from domestic programs and half from defense and security spending. That is a clear incentive for the committee to reach a compromise.

“Now we need to start creating jobs. We must protect investments like college loans, research and development and other efforts that will help America maintain a cutting edge economy. These investments will help America stay ahead of the competition and set the foundation for future economic growth.”

The timing may not be accidental.

I’d like to propose that we liberals form a new party, the “None of the Above” (NOTA) party. I think just the name alone would garner many votes as voters are disgusted with both parties.

the Blue Dog are a distraction,

we need to get rid of some of our so call liberal dems.

Sun Tzu:
when he wanted to get the troops in line, he did not kill the blue dogs, he kill the kings favorite troops, and all the other troops got in line quickly

We also had a DINO president just freshly elected, when those things happened.

Only vote for Dems who did not vote for this Primary the other Dems from now on the only Dems getting my vote are those that promise to get me my SS and Medicare back.
I can’t afford to hope for change without a promise. I can’t afford to vote for liars anymore.

If a deal isn’t done, USDA inspectors won’t get paid

But I guess it was okay with you that thousands of FAA people are without jobs because of con hostage taking once again. They left town for more than a month without doing their jobs. The dems allow this circus to go on and on. All the dems had to do was filibuster the bill and make barry use the 14th. I am sick of people who make excuses for those who consistently sell us down the river. You can continue to vote against your own best interests and those of your family, but I will never again vote for the lesser of two. I am done. Barry got everything he wanted today and he has demonstrated that to the american people time and again.
By the way, not one tea partier voted for this crap ass bill.

Interesting why?

It will be a year or better before the average citizen notices any damage to their personal bottom line. In that time, the GOP can reek havoc with impunity, and the Democrates will look like spendthrifts if they oppose GOP demands for budget cuts and for cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and SS. I can invision cuts to these three programs without any damage to the GOP’s election hopes, including to the presidency, because Obama (and the democratic congress) allowed themselves to be set up to take the fall if the budget isn’t cut. I do wonder what the GOP will do once they gain the WH: will they continue to cut the budget, or will they start increasing spending so they can dole out favors needed to retain the “highest office” and congress. (Yes, I think Obama is toast.)

Meet OBAMA’s Jobs CZAR as the GOP would say!

“jeffrey Immelt hates the USA, he is sending USA jobs to CHina at a record pace read below”

Who is Jeffrey Immelt? He is the Head of Barack Obama highly touted “Jobs Council”

“Immelt took over in 2001, GE has shed 34,000 jobs in the U.S., according to its most recent annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But it’s added 25,000 jobs overseas.”

Link Below

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/ge-ceo-jeffrey-immelt-the-head-of-obamas-jobs-council-is-moving-jobs-and-economic-infrastructure-to-china-at-a-blistering-pace

Jeffrey Immelt company pays no USA taxes

Jeffrey Immelt loves Chinese workers more than USA workers

Jeffrey Immelt company also owns part of that so call Liberal news network MSNBC

Ed needs to tell his boss Jeffrey to stop sending USA jobs to China

“Is old ED a comedian, Ed Boss must laugh Ed’s new commercial, about how we need to keep USA Jobs”

Yes! Jeffrey Immelt will probably be at OBAMA birthday party!

Grand Ma use to say, people can tell a lot about you by looking at your friends.

Does anyone still think OBAMA has 1 good bone in his body? Anyone?

In that story the Emperor’s favorite wife defied the commander in this case they all defy us we who voted them there so burn them all but yes Obama when we get the chance is our prime target.

None of the baggers voted for this shit, they can’t be blamed.

I respect your take but wonder if you live in the south? If not it may be that you are missing something about the Blue Dogs. They really comprise a caucus almost as obdurate as the Tea Party. They are southern with many of the old south cultural flaws and are economically indistinguishable from the Tea Party.

Any talk of a primary challenge to Obama is blah! blah! But Obama should pay a price for screwing progressives and at the same time preparation should be made for the next democratic candidate for president. As a condition of support of Obama, progressives should demand that Biden (as I recall, he was one of the first to say that the public option was not on the table) be dumped and replaced by a progressive. It seems like every time Obama wants some dirty back room deal done he turns it over to Biden. Let’s face it, Biden will not be an electable presidential candidate in 2016. Progressives should put forth their own vice-presidential candidate during the nominating convention.

The GOP will run on Obama taking away their SS and Medicare all of this could have been avoided if Obama did not waste money on the Stimulus will be the GOP’s talking point in November.
And now that SS and Medicare have been cut we of course can’t afford Obama care.

Then stop electing them and expecting them to be on “our” side. At least when a tealibangelical or a con is elected we know what we are getting. There is no point in electing a dem who acts like a con.

We can learn a lot from OBAMA, when it comes to electing Blue Dogs

Obama acted like progressive to get elected in 2008, and turned into Bush once elected.

We need Blue Dogs who can speak tea party, and turn into Bernie Sanders once they get to DC.

We progressives have got to start thinking out side of the BOX.

Does the GOP have a liberal caucus? that would be NO

That is excellent…. I need to bring that up at our Central Committee Meeting on Thursday.

Most of us thought OBAMA was a progressive.

We need to find a real progressive for 2016, not another Bill Clinton, OBAMA,

it has been 40 years since a real Dem Prez was in the WH

Read the Ryan budget this was their idea culled from GOP think tanks we could have taxed the rich more, we could have ended both wars etc etc none of the Left’s ideas ever got a hearing but they polled better than SS and Medicare cuts did.
Obama surrendered to the only deal the GOP would allow and like an Amateur let the Dems take all the blame while the baggers got away with clean hands.
You failed the intelligence test.

I agree with you, but I’m not sure the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq, Somalia, . . . . . would agree with you. They have been the target of our drones and night raids.

It is time we join together and elect caring people for Congress. I am in California, does anyone want to help start a Citizen Candidate here?

please take this idea and run with it.

Progressive need to think way outside of the box

No the time to hope the Blue Dogs would do the right thing when elected is past the Dems lost Ted Kennedy’s seat to a Blue Dog arguably the Bluest seat we had the voters were less than inspired then now it will be worse.
You need accomplishments to sell to voters once your in power when your out of power hope is all you need our hope is ashes now.
There will be more emergency war spending or another financial crisis so expect more SS and Medicare cuts.

That is a false choice, Obama could have invoked the 14th. I’m not saying the cons don’t have any blame. The dems get the blame because none of them are willing to stand up for us. Do you see them doing that the cons do when they dont like a bill? Nope. It’s not me who failed the intelligence test.

I have no evidence other than the timing of the vote itself. But in the minds of the Obama Democrats, the Wisconsin recalls are a much greater threat than anything coming from Republicans. Obama’s chief of staff Bill Daley nixed plans of the national party to support the Wisconsin protests.

We need Blue Dogs who can speak tea party, and turn into Bernie Sanders once they get to DC.

I actually disagree with that strategy. I think we have lost some potentially good liberal Democratic candidates because they could not get Party Leadership and the money people to support them — on the notion you have to look and talk Tea Party to get elected. I have held for some years we need to run liberals, if for no other reason, to begin to get the message out. Few people in my area have even read or heard liberal principles. Down here IMO we have to start with the roots.

I have been working in the Dem party for about 10 yer now. Some of it at one time leadership. I promise you Blue Dogs from my state act like the Tea Party. In fact the only changes I have seen is some of them officially switching to Republicans.

Your inside the Box even on Koz you would be inside the box today.

I don’t like Blue Dogs

You mis-read my comment

I said we need to develop Dems who can speak tea party, and once elected turn into Bernie Sanders.

Obama done this to progressives, he acted like a liberal and transform into BUSH once elected.

As I said up thread we will hold our own accountable but will the baggers do the same or will they fall for the we did not vote for this deal we proposed and made damm well sure was the only deal that would pass.
My test I grade yes you failed.

Yes. It is proven in this heavily red state every election. . The people would rather vote for a real Republican than a Democrat talking like one.

We don’t have the blackmail, cash for bribes etc the big guys do to make sure our double agents will stay honest. If we back Blue Dogs even fake Blue Dogs we tie our fortunes to people we have less reason to be sure of than the Baggers do of their own because they have detectives for blackmail, cash for bribes, etc plus we lose the public argument over ideas.
Once we start compromising our ideas we are lost

The way out of this box is for progressives to not sit out elections in protest. I’ve come to realize something about FDL-style progressives. They don’t actually believe in government. They believe the government should be providing all these kinds of services, but they fundamentally do not believe in government itself.

There is no great push by progressives. 50,000 people could sign an internet pledge, but how many will work towards electing progressives? And how many will act strategically in a system that requires strategic action? In 2010, there was all this boasting about having a supermajority, and then all this hatred when progressive ideas weren’t championed. What progressives still don’t realize is that while there was a Democratic supermajority, there was not a progressive supermajority.

These past few weeks, I have seen posts on this blog throwing progressive heroes overboard. How is that productive? How does that further your goals? Suddenly, the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus is not ideologically pure enough. It’s things like that that relegate the progressives to a super-minority status.

Progressives don’t have power because they don’t know how to get it. If the United States Congress was a parliamentary system, then maybe progressives would have power. But it isn’t. It’s a two-party system, and two-party systems inherently trend towards the center. Progressives just don’t get that. For some reason, it doesn’t sink in.

What progressives need to do — well, first of all, ideological purity isn’t going to get you anywhere. But what progressives really need to do is change where the center is. It’s never going to be totally left, but it can be moved from center-right to center-left. However, progressives don’t want to do that, because it means getting rid of the exclusive clubhouse and shifting towards a big tent. So, they’re never going to be in power. They’re never going to get out the box, no matter how many online articles and petitions they write.

You got the Truman quote I couldn’t remember great minds think alike, and yours was the greater mind today:)

this is war

Sun Tzu says it best

“ALL WAR IS BASE ON DECEPTION”
Obama got elected with Deception, Obama deceived half of the USA in 2008.

The Tea Party won, we Dems loss

Why did we lose?
Reason number 1? we have a lot of phony or weak dems in congress

I suggest we send some DEM warriors to Congress.

In the real world! us Dems are getting our asses KICK

grid lock threat is a bully’s terrorist threat -

and bullies do not respond well to caving in to their demands, or to speeches by proven allies (or wimps – your choice of characterization for Obama).

So yes there will be “collateral damage”, but we must accept grid lock, folks not being paid, so we can say F U to the Tea Party Terrorists(and F U to Obama).

It would really only take one victory by a single third-party progressive candidate to completely change the game…we should make it a project to run somebody – we’d learn a lot in the process, too.

LOL love it. We are certainly on the same page. I have been fighting Blue Dogs for 10 years. Whether I have gained knowledge or simply a hunch back from rolling the stone up hill is debatable.

Like we are going to have any effect on how the cons and baggers vote, give me a break. And yes it was the only deal that would pass because our side who has the majority in the Senate and the executive allowed it, understand. The tealibangelicals could NEVER have done it without them. So I don’t give a fuck what the cons are doing, I’m worried about the assholes I vote. Take your test and…..

http://symbalitics.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-entrant-for-worst-president-ever.html

There was one victory by a single democratic socialist in 2007. The game didn’t completely change…

“Progressives don’t have power because they don’t know how to get it. If the United States Congress was a parliamentary system, then maybe progressives would have power. But it isn’t. It’s a two-party system, and two-party systems inherently trend towards the center. Progressives just don’t get that. For some reason, it doesn’t sink in.”

Really
80% of the USA loves Social Security, but the so call Center hates it

90% of the USA thinks the Economy is the only issue in the USA, but the so call Center thinks it is the Debt Ceiling

Willie Nelson says most people are worried about keep a ceiling over their heads in the USA

80% of the USA wanted a Public Option, but the Center did not?

In 2008, the LEFT gave Dems
the house
the senate
and the White House

Do you think OBAMA is Democrat? yes or no
Obama is the problem with fucking Center

I agree with most of what you say. I join you in your passion. We are just quibbling over the tactics. Keep the faith.

So, what would have happened if Democratic Party leaders last year (Obama, Reid and Pelosi, being the key ones) had refused to extend the Bush era tax cuts, letting these decade-long budget-busting deficit-exploding revenue-draining toxic tax cuts expire as scheduled at midnight on Dec. 31, 2010? Were Reid and Pelosi required last year to pass Bush-tax-cut-extension legislation, sending said bill onto Obama’s desk to be signed? No. To make certain that these toxic Bush tax cuts expired as scheduled, all Obama, Reid and Pelosi had to do was do absolutely nothing to extend them, vetoing, in their own way, any suggestion by anyone advocating to extend the toxic Bush tax cuts. Instead of doing nothing, Obama, Reid and Pelosi acted to extend them, setting the stage for what just happened up in Washington D.C., a devastating loss for all Americans, except the rich.

Now, what would have been the positive results of NOT extending the toxic Bush tax cuts, positive results beneficial for Democrats and all Americans (including Republicans), not just the rich?

1) On Jan. 1, 2011 at one minute past midnight, tax rates would have reverted back to Clinton era levels, meaning that there would have been an immediate increase in tax revenue surging into the U.S. Treasury (paying for Bush’s wars, paying for social services, paying for infrastructure repairs and upgrades, maybe even paying down our nation’s debt). IOW, Democratic Party leaders could have increased tax revenue this year simply by doing nothing last year, simply letting these toxic tax cuts expire. Contrarily (to sanity and common sense), they willfully chose not to “simply” let them expire.

2) With our nation on more firm financial footing after the scheduled expiration of the toxic Bush era tax cuts, would the raising of the debt ceiling have needed addressing anytime soon? I doubt it.

3) Would “desperate” Republicans have been able to hold our nation hostage, threatening to default on America’s full faith and credit, with the two main “negotiating” issues neutralized? I doubt it, at least not over taxes/revenue and the debt ceiling. “Disappointed” right-wingers, though, are dangerous critters, so they would have just found something else to blackmail America over, in servitude to their corporate fascist slave-masters.

So, what are the chances that the toxic Bush tax cuts will be allowed belatedly to expire, as scheduled, at the end of next year? Bwahahahahaha. Need you even ask? Haven’t you heard, “austerity” is only for losers, not for the rich, you know, the winners.

Yes, Obama is the problem.

Other reasons disqualifying Biden from the President’s Office:

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/biden-accused-of-plagiarism-in-law-school

thank you!!!

clapping for you!

thingcomeundone? thinks we won

John Boehner just told the world he beat the WH 98 to 2

Boehner says he got 98% of what he wanted

so it is time the “left” took away those things from the phonies now in office.

great post

Obama loves the bush tax cuts

Is there any Senator who would filibuster this in the Senate? Could it last past the deadline so Obummer would have to use the 14th?

insane is expecting the current dems in congress to act like real dems one day

so we may need to make some changes in congress

87 new tea party members of congress just kick every Dem in DC butt

so let not call the tea party a group of morons.

maybe the Dems are the morons, because they keep losing, and losing

It’s all false choices.

If you ask people if they want a balanced budget they say yes.
If you ask people if they want the gov to live within their means they say yes.
But, when you ask them if we should cut SS and medicare and social programs to get there they all say NO. The framing of the argument on teevee by the so called liberal media is part of the problem. The fact that the cons own 80% of the media is a whole other bag of worms but I am sick of the cons saying this is what the american people want. 86% of the american people want the social security. That includes overwhelming majorites of Cons, Dims, and Indies.

I’ve come to realize something about FDL-style progressives. They don’t actually believe in government. They believe the government should be providing all these kinds of services, but they fundamentally do not believe in government itself.

Where we are at now is the edge of revolution we did believe in government we changed people’s minds about ending both wars when the Media stopped talking about wars. When nobody talked about raising taxes on the rich instead of cutting SS and Medicare we talked we got the majority of voters to agree with these ideas Democracy Government for and by the people with no Government or Media help the Tea Baggers certainly can’t say the same about their ideas.
Fine Democracy isn’t working so we bitch and then plan our next move. Maybe we organize a mass lets all not file taxes this year until we get SS and Medicare back and scare the Tea Baggers by stealing their thunder:)
We have options don’t limit yourself to working within the system.
As far as government providing services we PAID for them already its the Government that keeps us in wars we don’t want we can’t afford its the Government stealing our cash!
We believe in Government for and by the people we do not believe in government for and by the rich so we will bring down the Dems, maybe if the tea baggers can pass the intelligence test of Social Darwinism and see the GOP and Obama stole their cash they will join us in revolution.
Its all up to our government Dem and GOP now if we revolt the die is cast already.

Same with Hanabusa. Jeez, Djou probably would’ve voted ‘No.’ We’ve got a lot of work to do!

I agree

the teevee protects the CONS daily

progressives are being deceived, this entrie debt ceiling kabuki production was produce months a go.

we progressives must start messing up the system, because the system is only working for the top 1%

I hear what you’re saying, but Democratic Socialism is not the same as Progressive. The Socialists have a lot longer row to hoe, imvho, than do the Progressives.

Have a Progressive take down a Blue Dog, and you lay the template for becoming as forceful in the national debate as the Tea Party.

After Lamont beat Lieberman in the ’06 Senate Primaries, snagging a Congressional Seat ought to be considered very doable by the activists and supporters of this blog…

Any Senators strongly against this?

no
kiss your Social Security, Medicare, and Medicade good bye

Like we are going to have any effect on how the cons and baggers vote,

Sure we will we will laugh at them for being fools if they don’t join us authoritarians hate being laughed at Laughter has brought down more tyrants than armies although the armies claim otherwise.
McCain lost when fear was drowned by laughter as a man followed a chimp’s game plan and everyone realized he was a chimp when the fear was gone.
Obama/GOP need a terror attack to pull off a shock doctrine and they forgot to bring one this time.

Take your test and…..

and what pray tell I’m a Mexican who can walk into a biker bar in a town where they fly the Confederate Flag on the 4 th of July and get the bartender to buy me a free drink without asking.
Sweating you is not a worry:)

Actually the Democrats in office are winning — for their cause, which is neoliberalism.

Norquist supports Keynesian economics?

I agree

because us non-neo-liberal dems are getting our asses kick, big time

Representative democracy under our constitution is not twelve rich old white men in a room secretly deciding how the rest of us are going to live and then demanding that we accept their decision without discussion or amendment with the threat of their pulling the trigger on a shotgun aimed at our head. No, this is a confession that our government has been taken over by a coup d’etat and is now being run by an oligarchy of wealthy interests for their own benefit.

95 Democrats, including my representative voted for it because the President insisted on it. Rep. Giffords got up out of a hospital bed to vote for it. I won’t forget. This isn’t politics any more; this is not another budget deal; this is the end of our constitutional government.

I know you said it has been 40 years since a real progressive has been in the White House, so what “pledges” would a candidate have to make to pass muster with this crowd?

Seeing as I read a post by Jane Hamsher the other night that said that Bernie Sanders, Dennis Kucinich, Raul Grijalva, et.al all fall short of the true progressive label because they don’t always walk the talk, I find it hard to believe die-hard progressives could ever find someone further to the left who they liked who would also have a reasonable chance of being elected. Example – Everyone applauded Mario Cuomo for his fight for SSM in New York, but then he was immediately damned by the left for ending a moratorium on fracking. He is then, I assume, off the list. On the other hand, George McGovern, who was considered pretty left at the time and who ran during one of the most progressive, activist-crazy eras in the last 50 years, may have met the criteria but also got clobbered in the 1972 presidential election. Do you see the dilemma?

I’ve yet to see evidence that an in-your-face, take-no-prisoners liberal can win a US Senate or Presidential seat, and would even be surprised if such a candidate could win more than a couple congressional seats, especially in the face of redistricting. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but America is what it is, and it ain’t liberal.

Might as well call it Neocolonialism

Neocolonialism is a term used by post-colonial critics of developed countries’ involvement in the developing world. Writings within the theoretical framework of neocolonialism argue that existing or past international economic arrangements created by former colonial powers were or are used to maintain control of their former colonies and dependencies after the colonial independence movements of the post–World War II period.

Critics adherent to neocolonialism contend that multinational corporations continue to exploit the resources of post-colonial states, and that this economic control inherent to neocolonialism is akin to the classical, European colonialism practiced from the 16th to the 20th centuries

They also point to recent statements made by United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Economic Adviser, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, who heatedly demanded that the entire African debt (approximately $200 billion) be forgiven outright and recommended that African nations simply stop paying if the World Bank and IMF do not reciprocate:
The time has come to end this charade. The debts are unaffordable. If they won’t cancel the debts I would suggest obstruction; you do it yourselves. Africa should say: ‘thank you very much but we need this money to meet the needs of children who are dying right now so we will put the debt servicing payments into urgent social investment in health, education, drinking water, control of AIDS and other needs.’ (Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Economic Advisor to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neocolonialism#Critical_theory

I’ve yet to see evidence that an in-your-face, take-no-prisoners liberal can win a US Senate or Presidential seat, and would even be surprised if such a candidate could win more than a couple congressional seats, especially in the face of redistricting. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but America is what it is, and it ain’t liberal.

So we revolt

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ……

The Democrats are effectively dead.

This will be painfully clear next year, when they attempt to tell their base why it is that we should vote for them.

They have nothing to point to except craven capitulation and pointless defeat.

Most of them probably shouldn’t even consider running for re-election. Not because they’ll lose; because they’re a disgrace.

How so?

Gotta go nice talk lots of emotion this is good when we realize Democracy can’t give us options we will revolt time is needed to get a consensus on this a tax revolt from the Left plus an economic boycott of righty companies is a good place to start.
We will know we are winning when the GOP demands the troops come home because of but not that they will ever admit to it civic unrest.
It takes time and effort to get consensus don’t expect riots in the streets over night start small build some wins.

There will be more emergency war spending

Actually there WONT be, because it would put the country over the debt ceiling. Part of the intelligent conversation is already asking this question. What happens if there is a terror attack, or some natural disaster that requires spending. It’s not going to happen because it would require another hike in the debt ceiling and that is NOT going to happen any time soon without more cutting.

Tax protest, next make a list of companies that support the worse of the GOP Hal, KBR, Target for their stance on Gays Coors beer for supporting right wingers, Wallmart for everything then boycott them. Buy clothes from good will, buy furniture electronics from pawn shops, don’t eat out don’t buy pre made food as much as you can stores get higher mark ups for tv dinners than a few bags of beans and fruits and veggies, but the new LED energy saving lights, grow a garden if we cause consumer spending to drop even a few points we terrify wallstreet.
They love money so lets take away what they love most.
Gotta go Bye:)
I am open to other ideas.

For North Carolina’s Congressional delegation, this was a very interesting vote. The only Democrat who voted Yes was Heath Shuler. The only Republican who voted No was Walter Jones. Even Larry Kissell and Mike McIntyre voted No. Jones (R-Camp Lejeune) might have been concerned about the military spending provisions.

So who are the folks that need to go and who are the folks who can stay? That’s the first issue to consider.

The second is the fact that the better Democrats are the oldest ones, the ones that were elected immediately post-Watergate and some of the post-2006 crowd. Who is going to replace Tom Harkin in Iowa, Frank Lautenberg in New Jersey, John Dingell of Michigan, and others who are in their 70s and 80s? Where are the young political campaigners? Dennis Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland at age 31. Others have gained office as young as 18.

Who is building the progressive farm team in the city councils, county commissions, and state legislatures? Who is training young people interested in politics in the practical skills of getting votes, winning without subsidizing Republican media, surviving media shitstorms, estimating election results, canvassing, the role of a candidate (i.e. what voters expect stylistically from a candidate), creating election fraud teams, information processing in campaigns, identifying potential supporters, and other practical political skills?

Why not consider a two- or three- or four-party strategy where progressive candidates do not automatically seek office as Democrats, but might as Republicans (that would create some interesting legal battles), Greens, even Libertarians (where Greens and Libertarians have carved out a stronghold and can win). Imagine a Democrat being primaried by one candidate from the left, and then facing a Republican candidate who campaigns from the left. The Republican Party used to include relatively progressive politicians like Jacob Javits and John Lindsay. The origins of the Republican Party was as a progressive movement – free soil, free labor, free money — meaning homesteads, collective bargaining, and fiat currency.

For example, Diane Feinstein is seeking re-election in 2012. This is too late in the cycle to do be effective, but the principle is clear. A progressive runs against her to win in the Democratic primary. A progressive also runs to win in the Republican primary. And a progressive runs to win as a Green Party candidate. Or Socialist. Or whatever. All to the left of Feinstein. The announced candidates against Feinstein right now are Keith Holbrook (R), Michael Stollaire (R), and Don Grundman (AIP). What would it take to primary Holbrook and Stollaire and win the first round? We are talking in this case about shaping the debate. What would it take to win a runoff? Or fielding a Green candidate? If folks are talking about something in a Republican primary, a Democratic primary, and there is a Green Party candidate talking about the same issue, then that issue starts registering in the political environment. Note that if lightning strikes, these candidates all face each other in the general. Completely reverses the “lesser of two evils” mindset. Now I realize that this particular scenario is not going to happen but in well-chosen races it could work to move the center of voter sentiment. Note that there could not be coordination between the two or three campaigns; they really will be rivals if they succeed in facing each other in the general. And stirring up the Republican primary without being run out as a traitor would be a strategic challenge; it is possible for progressives to appeal to Republican voters; there are still a lot of values about good government that we share. That is, the grassroots share.

And having progressives in the Republican Party would eventually take the monomaniacal edge off the party. It will be possible to get attention without saying crazy things or eating goldfish or whatever the next iteration of rightwing political differentiation strategies are. And it would give competition to Democrats from a credible opposition. And by playing counter to type, it would attract media attention.

you were at the campaign rally where OBAMA said the following

I am OBAMA and I hate Social Security
I Obama plan on keeping the Bush Tax Cuts
I Obama do not plan to end the Bush Wars
I Obama love Reagan and will screw labor unions
I Obama will get the bob dole health care bill pass

you were there?

Obama acted like a progressive in 2008 and won the WH and guess what
Dems won the House and Senate

Kak1958, I hear you, the problem is progressives got CON in 2008, by the current Devil in the Wh

interesting idea?

…and millions of unemployed workers would not have unemployment checks for an additional half-year. If you were one of those workers (and there were a few who blogged, “forget about me, do the right thing”), you likely would not have had kind thoughts about the President and Democrats in Congress.

The hostages are not phony hostages. Failure to pass an increase in the debt ceiling would likely mean that there would be a delay in my Social Security check arriving while the administration frantically rearranged what would be paid now and what would be paid later. A government shutdown in October will cause my Social Security check to stop altogether until Congress passes at least a continuing resolution. If only because the IT contractors who process the checks must be paid. There is serious pain in misjudgment either way. Which puts the irresponsible negotiators at an advantage and the responsible negotiators at a disadvantage. Regardless of the negotiating strategy.

I hate to say this. But this line of repeated comments sounds like what I hear from one of my Republican neighbors. This is a guy that was consumed with hatred for Obama from the moment he announced for President. I don’t know where he heard the “con artist” meme but it revolved around Obama being a secret socialist out to destroy the American economy.

Saying it over and over neither convinces anyone nor contributes to his downfall even if it’s true.

I fully well understand where the feelings that drive anger come from. Life and Congress and government did not turn out to be as noncynical or simple or morally uncomplicated as we supposed. I understand where it comes from. Ask my wife what I was saying yesterday when it was clear what the deal was.

It just struck how we buy into the same political nonsense that others do, just substituting the conservative stereotypes with progressive stereotypes.

I think I have an idea how all of those now on SS and Medicare can avoid cuts. I heard during a couple of speechs today the word contract used. So I have been poking around contract sites and it could be true. This would require a huge class action suit against the government. Seems that in a contract if the contract has been fufilled, if one party has completed there part of the agreement, the other party is required to deliver as promised. This would also pertain to the raises in SS. At least now I know why Ryan wanted to leave those on SS alone. Any changes to SS for those already drawing opens up a massive lawsuit for Uncle Sam. Something to think about.

The elite have bought off both sides. The charade of democracy is nothing more. Most of the Dem seats are filled with people that have little to nothing to say. Good work if you can get it. Very good work if you consider the benefits.

Yes, there are a few Bernie Sanders out there. And Sanders is legit. But he is nothing more than the facade of the Democratic party that sold out years ago. Where are the others, Kucinich is that it?????

They say they can’t stand up to Repubs but they chose not to. Why because they will be the target of big money and it is as good as money in the bank to spend their days getting their hair done and lunching and not standing up for anything. Sending out a memo or two and basically mouthing some kind of agreement with the President who was bought off by the elite in spades.

Wall Street didn’t suddenly become Democrats. They knew that after Bush-the-Stupid the pendulum would swing. They knew people would be ready to follow a messiah , anyone promising to lead them in the other direction for the Bush Agenda would be a shoe in.

This candidate was provided. He was a straight up lie from the start. He has done the exact opposite of everything he has promised. He is the con man that marries the widow. He is a bought and paid for lie run and owned by the elite. They are openly killing off the elderly and the sick. Ridding themselves of useless eater slaves while making our lives hell to support the Oil Industry aka The Military Industrial Complex both connected to Wall Street that does the actual milking of the slaves…. none are American Institutions, all soaking the American taxpayer for everything they are worth and giving NOTHING BACK and straight up robbing us to boot..

Matt Tabbi

must read

are the dems a progressive party no, they just play one on tv.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/debt-ceiling-deal-the-democrats-take-a-dive-20110801

Number 1 reason, no one wants to primary OBAMA?
He is black?
so Obama gets to shit on the party of FDR, because he is black?

Maybe these jackasses think that obligates us to vote for them…i think it should mean that we really must find some new congress creeps. i doubt they will actually go through with the out year ahnihilation…old people vote for republican even if they get all thier money from the capitalist syndicate…loyd blankfein can still only vote, maybe 4 or 5 dozen times..thats not enough..

i dont think thats the only or even the main reason…its the main reason of a couple of constituetcies but not most of us.. presidential elections are a collosal waste of time and money anyway, unless you own all the time and money.

thats a nice take. I recall the 2008 campaign a little better than some people seem to though. Obama ran on non stop liberal dream rhetoric. the soaring flying languange of “investment” and “change” and “working men and women:’ and ” middle class famillies”…he flat out lied, through his teeth, dozens if not hundreds of times..most of it is documented on video. his librul speechifyin was so constant and powerful that the crackers were convinced he was bringing a communist revolution….not figuratively, but for real…those people certainly decieved themselves but most people were decieved by B.O. and david axle grease.

Your Republican neighbors may be right about Obama even if their facts are likely skewed.

We each have a different role to play. Your ego must rise superior above others who know how to embrace their passion?

I appreciate jedimsnbcko19′s passion and often your insight but where do you get off telling jed – sounds too much like a Republican neighbor. That was pretty damn ugly, yeah, I hate saying this too. Did you have good intentions? Whatever, yawn.

Dream on folks. The Dems and Repugs are one party taking bribes the global corporate person-hood. The $ 16 trillion handed out to criminals created a monster that can not be corrected by fake election process.

Obama is a fraud.

The Democratic Party is a fraud.

BINGO!

Looking for new labor oriented candidates could be as close to home as the local schools. There are many teachers out of work and more to be fired. They are not money grubbers as shown by their choice of profession. They have organization, NEA etc. Lets get some honest, hard working (when allowed), union-loving teachers to challenge the snakes that sold out the middle class.

Lamont beat Lieberman in the primaries and then State law allowed Lieberman to create a bogus third party and run as an ‘Independent’. The GOP caught on in Connecticut and won the seat, keeping the moron Lieberman in control. He has given Connecticut the big FU ever since.

So while it’s laudable that Lamont won and might’ve changed some things in the Capital, the rules are stacked against new blood with the travesty that happened for that Senatorial seat.

My intentions were very simple. To ask. How does saying “Obama sucks” over and over in different ways, some of which are structurally the same as attacks from the right, get the country moved toward progressive policies?

I can’t see a path from that kind of rhetoric internally to anything that changes anything. Because of the Congress, Obama is irrelevant until January 2013 on everything but foreign policy and national security. And he is limited by Congress there as well. The difficult truth is that that is the way that the Constitution set it up. Congress was to have the power.

So at last Obama has restored at least fiscal control to Congress. So that makes Congress important in a way that it has not been since when? McKinley? Which is neither here nor there except for this. Progressives need to stop focusing on who is President and start focusing on taking the Congress. Until that is done, it doesn’t matter who Democrats elect as President. And I find too many progressives in denial about the need for this hard work to take Congress and the state legislatures, and even local government.

I’ve watched the wheels come off in this country for 48 years. Repeatedly progressives do not have an effective strategy. Repeatedly they get co-opted or engage in self-destructive tactics. And posturing about principle doesn’t change the fact that the failures of the progressive movement to follow through with building power every time they’ve had an opening had had the consequences of hurting millions of people nonetheless. But because they were pure, they get to walk away thinking it was not their fault. Progressives failed to get a friendly Congress in 2010 because they didn’t try to push the Congress to the left by electing progressives and defeating Republicans and Tea Party candidates.

What is needed now is not as much passion as being pragmatically relentless in gaining power in a way that allows the implementation of your principles.

f there aren’t any Progressive Dems to primary the sellouts vote for the Republican candidate to remove them from office. Dino or Repub makes no difference.

David Axelrod will love reading Margaret Bogenrief’s
“I know I’ll return to you and your heart-breaking ways”
(cite is at end of this comment.)

but the problem with that is the illogical result for
some:

the failures that come from never insisting on quid pro quos,
of always negotiating like a lobbyist’s favorite target,
and like a Republican who thinks cos like BP should be
coddled even more…

is they run to the Tea Party.

Oh. on BP (and Peter Fonda:)

You know, sometimes things just come out (especially as we speak
in frustration even more so than when simply having an
ordinary lapse of wit.) So I would hope some people
other than just myself would care to see Fonda cut a
break.

http://www.businessinsider.com/an-open-hate-letter-to-the-democratic-party-i-hate-you-2011-8

I used to believe that. The Democrats and the Republicans work for the same people, and they ain’t us. The Democrats collect money from Wall Street and other wealthy interests. Then they come to us and ask for our votes. How can they serve two masters? It leads to double dealing. If we continue to fool ourselves with arguments that excuse the Democrats we will never be able to get out of this tailspin.

Primary Obama and every other Democrat. Be respectful of them as individuals but expose their political duplicity. There is no reason Obama could not survive a primary challenge if he is doing his job. If he is not doing his job, why are we supporting him?