gloomy portend

And watch Driehaus say he won’t run for re-election in … 3 .. 2 . 1 …

snark aside … don’t people(meaning those blaming FDL for Snyder realize that Reps probably have access to lots more polling data? .. and that FDL wishes it had the power certain people are ascribing to it?

Save the democrats from themselves and help defeat Coakley in Mass .The party needs a wake up call before november !

There are plenty of ways to wake the party up that don’t require helping to defeat Democrats. We hope this is one of them.

Dems are toast. By Obama’s doing so little during this HCR process, the Dems have nothing… still. Coakley is horrible too.

Maybe one of the best ways to wake up the Party is to seriuosly exit poll the Coakley race with questions similar to those seen here in this diary: especially asking those that voted for Brown – who did you vote for in ’08 for President…..if they answer Obama wouldn’t a Party want to know why such a significant shift in such a short period of time?

Maybe Driehaus should have Commander Oblahblah come campaign for him too.

Then again, maybe not.

Coakley’s probably thinking she’s a goner now with Barry’s help in Massachusetts. Let’s see … Olympics, Climate Summit … etc.

+Why not make is truly obvious jane , it would put the differences between the party corporatist and the progressives in the spot light !

I semi-disagree, Jane. Just as our corrupt fed gov has allowed the bank sector immunity from accountability, we risk sliding down the same slope with dems and their cynical game. I’m done with it.

In the spirit of bipartisanship, Obama will be urging the voters to cast their ballots for the Republican. Hell, he works better with them anyway.

I’m not convinced that’s a good idea. The Senate is such a pain already, and six years’ worth of Republican votes from the Centerfold are a heavy price to pay for a “wake-up call”. On the other hand, it’s hard to get motivated to support the Democrat.

http://airamerica.com/politics/01-16-2010/analysis-senate-race-underscores-voter-anger/

What’s the problem? Why don’t they just take those big Wall Street and AHIP-PhRMA “campaign contributions” (which were so much more important than the support of the little people) and go buy that election? Wasn’t that the plan? They thought they wouldn’t need those pesky “liberals” as long as they had the backing of big-money industry tycoons, right? That seemed to me to be the trade-off Obama-Rahm have been making at every opportunity…

Co opting Coakleys impending loss would propel the status ( no press is bad press) of FDL and perhaps save the democrats in November from total defeat .
It takes away Obama’. health reform ,barring a truly obvious 51 vote passage of corporate care when the option was never taken seriously to pass the public option .

Throws Kennedy’s highly symbolic seat ( were they going to name this very bill after him) to the opposition through the flexing of power of the very people who put Obama in office .

And takes back the majority we worked so hard to give him and that 60th vote .

Pretty heavy symbolism !

I admit it’s radical but you must use the tools that providence provides . Hell the Spanish would still rule the world if the weather hadn’t sunk their navy .This situation is a god send , the power elite in the democratic party have never been so vulnerable and we will never get this chance again .

with all the voters bailing out of the corrupt, useless Democratic Party, even with nowhere to go, imagine how many will leave when they have a compelling 3rd Party or (I) candidate to support!

time to manifest that possibility for 2012, and beyond! choice is good, accountability is good.

Obama has shit on everyone except Wall Street and Big Business, so who the hell is left to be his constituency? Sure, he’ll have an assload of money to run with courtesy of his corporate friends, but he’ll still need some votes unless he can buy off Diebold.
What kind of Democrat is Driehaus? Is he a progessive Democrat or a Republicrat? If he’s the latter, big damn deal if he loses.
Whatever brings on the revolution post haste.

Besides they will be losing a lot more than that in November , if polls are any indication, all on their own .Not only in the house but perhaps with senators like Murray and Feingold .

A little pain now or a lot of pain later . It hurts to lance an infection but the alternative is gangrene .

Congrats FDL you have become another propaganda site for the RNC. I look forward to your demise in 2010 the way you have looked forward to the demise of the progressive agenda that you think you lead! The sheeple that give you the money to do these polls are as bad as the teabaggers you now support. Utterly despicable.

You say take back the majority as if it were so easy. It took us a long time to get it in the first place. We need to be careful and not knock of good Dems. There’s a balance we have to reach or we’ll just be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. There are plenty of Dems who need to go – let’s work on them.

It’s going nuclear for no reason. We could kill HCR by convincing a couple of House Dems to vote against it. A lot less “expensive” and addresses particular policies which need to be addressed.

So that’s a no ? How much effect have you had on the reform package do you think using that strategy ?

You have a majority !!! Where is that getting you ?

The constitutional abuses and domestic spying are rampant , the military budget continues to grow , wall street grows fat on taxpayer money as Americans loose their homes and the “good guys force the citizenry” to purchase the flawed product of private insurers .

Who takes us seriously ? Why so meek ?

It is starting to look as though Team Obama will be even more effective than Team Clinton was at eliminating Democratic incumbents. In the long run, if history means anything, the next election will turn on the economy and whether the current majority has shown that they have an approach that feels like leadership that helps voters. They might be able to manufacture the impression the economy is on the cusp of recovering via the continued use of back door mechanisms to pump up mortgage purchases, equities, commodities and stocks. All these Wall Street gimmicks, though, have not ever translated into jobs or economic security. At least where I live in upstate NY, a lot of long-time Democrats that I have talked with are significantly more disappointed with Obama than they ever were with Clinton on every major issue and health insurance is not quite a top tier issue. The push for the mandate and the excise tax are seen as symptoms of larger problems. Minor things that don’t improve voters lives, including the efforts in Haiti are not ever going to be reasons to vote for or against.

Even if the health insurance company revitalization scheme was almost acceptable, it would almost certainly not be a winning issue unless it clearly made the lives of voters better in immediate and obvious ways.

Clinton and the Democrats in the 90s did a much better job of creating the impression that they were there to help. My cynical view is that Ds will get routed in the next election after first determining that having Team Obama help them run is a losing strategy. In the following election cycle Team Obama starts looking around for a “Don’t change horses on mid-stream” event to protect them.

Oh how powerful FDL is! You have singlehandedly destroyed the Democratic Party!

Just a couple of questions, please. How did you trick Obama into continuing those two wars? And how did you get Obama to bail out all those banks and not do any true stimulus for all the working class people who are getting it in the neck? And how did you convince Dems that they could get reelected in a jobless recovery? And most of all, how did all of you guys at FDL manage to trick the Dems into making the health care mess in America even worse than it was?

I’m not meek and I’m mad as hell, but I don’t want to lose progressive Dems – there are some, you know. I want to get people like Shuler and Ms. Lincoln. There are some truly bad Dems and they need to go. But we do have to be careful. If we turn the country against the Party, most people won’t be able to tell a good Dem from a bad and will just throw the whole bunch out.

You’ve been harping about a third party for how long now? The only one I see making any headway is the Tea Party and they make the internal riffs of the Greens look laughable. How many local third party candidates have you helped to elect? Talk is cheap.

Smoke & mirrors…

I suggested on other threads here issuing an ultimatum to the progressive caucus in the house first before going nuclear , to honor their promise on this bill , immediately or face real tangible consequences .

The polar ice caps are meling and the corporations stand in the way .

The money spent annually on our “defemce ” could end hunger and deprivation around the world but the corporatopns stand in the way .

We may have already brought on a mass extinction event and you are looking for incremental changes to the status quo ?

How is the fundraising going for both candidates?

So Coakley is a progressive Dem ?

Progressive have a chance to tip this race in either direction .Come November we are going to be clobbered and for good reason , we don’ stand up for our principles !

I didn’t even mention Coakley. I don’t know anything about her except that she is running for Kennedy’s seat and just may lose.

A supposed super-majority in the Senate is an important lever we must retain if possible. It’s about the ability to pass ANY legislation regardless of whether the policy it represents is sweeping or incremental. Look at the California legislature which requires a 2/3 majority to do anything which could actually help them. They NEVER get 2/3, so they are doomed. We are approximately one vote from that situation in the US Senate.

…depending on how Joe or Ben are feeling that day…

Without the possibility of a high profile spokes person or connection to mass mailing list from groups like move on .. that ultimatum can not be truly offered . This is looking to be a democratic defeat anyway and if progressives threw their weight in the next few days behind the candidate that could well save Coakley .
Also it would go along way to actually empowering the movement which has been severely deflated .

Good we can save the 60th vote for Obama’s corporate agenda , he’s done nothing for the people who put him in office , and lose several senators and the house in the next election .

You call that a strategy ?

The DLC Democrats are doomed to rotate out of power as soon as they acquire it. They cannot be Republican Lite and serve their Wall Street/K Street masters and stay in office.

What we need to have happen is for Minister Pat Robertson to reveal, a true story, that the Democratic Leadership Council made a pact with the Wall Street and K Street Devils, and have been in a living hell ever since.

I hope you’re out there physically bustin’ your ass for progressive candidates wherever you live, and I mean away from a keyboard.

My senators are Murray and Cantwell , of the two Murray is far more progressive in my opinion. I visited her senate office , delivered mail to her from the superintendent of schools and the local peace group and talked about constitutional issues with her legal aide for an hour .

She is up for re election and as far as I can tell based on the incredible discontent of democratic voters after a year of Obama will have her hands full .

Her aide said near the end of our conversation that perhaps their greatest fear in the next election is that if the supremes vote for citizens united and against the federal elections commission and kill campaign finance reform corporate money will flood the race and into her opponents purse .

Doc Hastings is my Rep and very little needs to be said in that regard . He didn’t even bother campaigning in the last election and won easily anyway .

Many, most, progressives share your angst.

However your solutions are I think a bit simplistic. Sort of a “burn the village to save it.” We have had enough of that with the previous maniacs.

Among other things already suggested here, I think the polling is an excellent tool to acquire the more accurate information as to what voters are feeling and th inking. The next step is to get the information out. The media and Democrats in power from the President on down to many of the county level suffer tunnel vision that heavily biases them to interpret virtually all unrest as being due to a rejection of progressivism and a desire to move further toward the right. That makes framing and disseminating the message a challenge.

I also am paranoid enough to believe this current status is largely the result of Corporate propaganda, especially through their corporate media mouthpieces. It in my view has to also be considered.

Joe and Ben provide wonderful cover for the democrats who are too busy representing their constituents , the large corporations, to worry about the little people , don’t kid yourself .

Oh and wasn’t Joe the democratic candidate Vice president a few cycles back ?

So does all that verbiage mean you’ll be taking an active part in her campaign? Knockin’ on doors. Workin’ the crowd at campaign events. Tabling with campaign lit. Phone banking. Having campaign materials with you at all times to hand out. Organizing volunteers.

Following their ’06 and ’08 electoral victories, the Democrats should have achieved breathtaking legislative victories in ’09. They didn’t because the Democratic Party’s leaders chose not to. In fact, they chose to pursue a decidedly corporatist agenda instead.

The Democratic Party had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver real change and receive nothing but praise for it, but Obama and the leadership decided to throw it all away.

Not sure what they thought they would gain politically by selling out the American people…

I live in what’s been, for many years, a reasonably safe democratic district. That doesn’t mean we’ve been well represented. Tom Allen was a spineless empty suit. When he opted to run for senate, I was elated because I believed Chellie Pingree would be such an enormous improvement.

But, she recently sent out an email on health care reform that, if you’re cynical enough to read between the lines, would lead you to believe she’s going to robotically do what Pelosi, Reid and Obama want her to do.

Below is the text of an email I just sent her; I honestly wonder why more people aren’t pointing out that members of Congress have splendid insurance but want to deny that same kind of coverage to the rest of us.

Rep. Pingree

Reading between the lines, I can only infer that you have no plans to stand up to Pelosi, Reid and Obama, and will obediently vote for whatever pile of dreck they put in front of you.

You apparently view this as politically smart and in the best interests of your constituents. I disagree in the strongest possible terms, and I must come to view you as (and I never thought this would be possible) even worse than Tom Allen. With Allen, it was understood that he was weak and useless. I actually had hope for you, based on your record up till now.

You and I both know that this legislation:

* is a giant boondoggle giveaway to big insurance and big Pharma
* has zero chance of controlling costs
* will do nothing to prevent medical bankruptcies
* mandates people buy insurance that won’t in any way provide actual coverage (ridiculously high co-pays and deductibles are not addressed)
* does nothing to prevent insurance companies from denying doctor-prescribed treatments they deem too expensive
* aims to penalize people who have some of the few insurance polices that might actually provide meaningful coverage (if you’re not a union member, Rich Trumka’s deal does pretty much nothing for you)
* is riddled with loopholes that make protection against recision a cruel joke (all insurance companies have to do is say, “fraud and abuse”
* creates a giant rube goldberg-contraption that confuses and angers everyone and actually protects almost no one; good luck defending that in a campaign

Apparently, I was mistaken in believing that the problem with health care in America was that too few people currently have meaningful access to it. The basis for that thinking was that a) more than 30 million citizens including children have no insurance and b) that the people who do have insurance discover too late (i.e., when they actually need it) that it really doesn’t cover very much; after they’ve spent years paying thousands of dollars annually to protect themselves and their families, they discover that when they really need the coverage, some faceless paper pusher has life or death power over them, and that faceless paper pusher has a bonus riding on profitability, not good health outcomes. So, either treatment is denied or people in the moments of direst need are kicked off the insurance plan for posing too grea a risk to profitability.

As I said, apparently I was incorrect in believing all that (even though it’s all demonstrably true). What you and your sorry ilk want me to believe is this: the problem all along has been that not enough people have had access to the kind of useless insurance described above. It’s not about access to care, it’s about insurance companies’ access to our hard earned money. There hasn’t beenn enough of it. So, you want to mandate that your constituents, whom you took an oath to represent, purchase this spectacularly awful product and, if they can’t afford to do so, they’ll either be subsidized (albeit inadequately) by the taxpayers, or punished with the IRS playing the role of enforcer. Nice. As an end result, billions will be added to the bottom lines of ruthlessly corrupt companies whose profits are already obscenely high based on inhumane practices that would shame Pol Pot and Idi Amin.

One question – since you seem so enthusiastic about this bill, you must be willing to drop your own government-run health insurance plan to enroll in it yourself, right? Or, the very least, will you offer an amendment that will include your own luxurious health plan in the taxable “cadillac” category?

I suspect the answer to both those questions is a resounding no. So, thank you for your extremely disappointing but utterly predictable cave-in on this issue. Enjoy the peace of mind your health plan gives you; don’t worry about us poor suckers in the real world. We’ll just have to follow the wishes of you and your fellow elected officials (Alan Grayson was wrong when he said it was ONLY republicans) and just die, painfully and broke. Your lack of courage and integrity are hereby noted, and my vote is lost to you forever.

P.S. This is not about perfect being the enemy of the good. This is about unspeakable cynicism, cowardice and corruption being the enemy of the American people.

We haven’t been given a chance to threaten burning the village that I ever remember before today and I hardly think Coakley defeat amount to that .

Maniacs stand still and attempt incremental changes on the radio as their car drives off a cliff . Politically and environmentally .

Besides not living in a war zone or dealing with a lack of food or clean water , which is the situation facing millions globally , tends to make one a bit cavalier.

Not sure what they thought they would gain politically by selling out the American people…

Money & power, and they’ve been successful.

What it means right now is advocating an approach that has a far greater chance of getting the attention of our corporate masters than putting a sign in your yard .

If the democrats don’t change direstion in a hurry she will be having a very difficult time getting eleced how ever many volunteers she has .

How did Alexander untie the Gordian knot . Sometime simple is more effective .

Yeah, she is progressively adding up contributions from her AHIP and PHARMA friends from her DC fundraiser while making fun of the centerfold for standing out in the cold at Fenway. “Let them eat cake,” ms. Coakley is rumored to have thought.

if Southern Dragon says you have to be doing something, you have to do it!

Knocking on doors, eating oatmeal, phone banking with a headset while emailing with your hands!

otherwise, your statements about Democrats “representing their [real] constituents , the large corporations” simply cannot be heard, whether they are true or not!

convenient isn’t it, to get to dictate terms like that.

but wouldn’t it be simpler, rather than making the messenger of bad news jump through a bunch of hoops, to refute the message if it is false?

but it is not, because, as Matt Taibbi mentioned on FDL awhile back:

Yes, there is a difference. Wall Street has MORE influence under Democratic administrations.
GS (Goldman Sachs) was Obama’s #1 private contributor. It gave 4 dollars to Democratic congressional candidates for every 1 to Republicans last year. This has been their history long-term. The Democrats very clearly bank their financial strategy on raising money from the financial services industry, and it’s been that way going back to at least 96, with the Rubin era.

You got nothin’.

I dont think Obama understands that democrats who live outside of DC were expecting him to live up to his campaign promises.It wld have been better for him to fight the good fight and lose than to turn his back on the people who elected him. Now the dems are in a position where they are hoping and praying that the people they have been pissing on all year come out and rescue them. The sad thing is that if the base comes out to rescue them the dems will go right back to pissing on them the next day. As a progressive I am hoping that the dems lose on tuesday and that our sitting at home is a big part of the reason why the dems lose. Letting dems lose elections is the ONLY way the progressives are going to get respect, I for one think it is insane for us to beg people we put in office to do what we elected them to do. A loss in Massachusetts may be the wake up call that the dems and Obama need to avoid big losses in November.

Shu jo mu hen se gan jo

Yes, but I wrote “not sure what they thought they would gain politically by selling out the American people…”

Politically, they’re facing serious electoral losses come Nov.

I would be happier had they served the American people and were now facing sweeping victories in Nov.

I’ve got numerous polls to back up my perspective that with out a major change of direction NOW, Murray will be having a much harder time in November . Do you dispute that ?

It’s only two years of either Coakley or the Centerfold, actually. Whoever wins has to run again in 2012 for a full term. It seems to me the Coakley’s problems are a combination of her own personal qualities as a candidate and a national party organization that is both overestimating Obama’s coattails and tacitly realizes with the Senate HCR bill, they don’t have an issue for Coakley to run for because the voters hate it, so she has to run against the GOP. However, even more important is that in MA you have a state Dem party organization that is out of practice at running a competitive senate race (Ted sold himself while the GOP went through the motions of running someone).
So MA voters, vote your conscience, but not so loudly. If she loses, let the DNC blame her, because they will never blame themselves or the state party.

They want to end up like Billy Tauzin and Tom Daschle as politicians-turned-lobbyists.

Here’s what the future looks like except it’s actually the present and the future looks likely to be alot worse as a result of our inability to stop the corporate machine from preventing an urgent solution because it owns our government .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LcQ4FWpLgQ

I would agree that defending Obama’s agenda and performance is difficult. whose fault do you think that may be? The DLC thinks it’s all those weak-kneed former supporters like me, while I think it may be them. You decide. Remember, there cannot be that many fdl-like liberals in the country to turn these elections away from DEMS, it is the result of not coming through with the agenda promised during the election and the consequent loss of moderate independents. Polling by progressives should be tracking the sources of their lost support right now so they can demonstrate this fact to whatever is left of the Democratic Party. That is, if you can draw their attention away from their corporate fund-raising schedule.

Wow how did I miss that !!! Thanks for strengthening my argument

They do seem to have ears of clay.

I am concerned that if Coakley loses, it might put pressure on house Democrats to accept the crap Senate bill whole so it wouldn’t have to go back to the Senate, or to at least cave in negotiations so they can get a conference bill back to the Senate before the Republicans get their 41 votes. I wouldn’t be so sure that the votes wouldn’t be there in the house- still plenty of liars there as well.

Also, there will be a bounce in the polls for Democrats if a bill gets signed, thanks to the the corporate media cheer leading, although I would bet it fades rapidly as more and more people come to understand what is in the bill. Scared house Democrats might try to grab that lifeline out of desperation.

I am glad to hear you say this.

When I come to this blog and read responses that come right out of the right-wing play book, I’m disillusioned about what FDL is trying to accomplish.

Many here apparently think your job is to re-seat republicans. I have written in the past, ALL republicans are destroying this country; some Democrats are not. Yet people here want to unseat all Democrats.

Infiltrating the Democratic party and forcing progressive change is the most effective way of getting what we want.

Replacing all Democrats with republicans is the laziest but most effective way of destroying what little we’ve gained.

Getting back to Ohio.
We are probably going to lose at least one congressional district. It’s important who holds power, because after the census they get to redo the districts. If the GOP does it…shit.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100102/NEWS0108/1030305/2010-should-be-a-titanic-election-year

Huh, reading this comment section is a downer, but nothing less than I expected.

I figured once the rubber met the road, nothing much would change. It’s easy to SAY we’ll teach them corporatist D’s a lesson, but when the actual mean ole R is staring you in the face, well, not so much I guess.

So Coakley wins a squeaker, the D’s lose some in November but retain signficant majorities in both, well, then the next two years will be carbon copies of this last one. Cause they will have just relearned that they fuck the country like no Democrat EVER has in the past and still count on most of our support.

SD, before you ask, you bet your ass I’ll be DOING whatever I can do. To BOTH defeat BOTH D Senators in my state (EVEN if that means they lose to an R) AND to work for real progressives in the D primaries. And to look for ways I can help local progressives get elected and into the machine.

But I’m sorry pups, if anyone ever wanted the D party to be the good party, it was me. I grew up in a union ORGANIZER’s home. I attended Democratic fundraisers when I was a kid. But THIS D party is bought and paid for. And I’m sorry but continuing to support them just because they’re running against an R means you keep getting bought and paid for D’s.

Good luck to all of you pups. Your hearts and minds are in the right place, and your all damned good folks. Damned good. I’m afraid though that doing the HARD thing never does get any easier. You simply have to eventually be ready to do it. And retaking the D party from those that own is going to be a VERY HARD thing.

I know that if any folks are to be counted on to help in this struggle, it will be you folks. If you’re not ready today, you will be someday. Take care, and as SD always says, be nice to yourselves and all living things.

Namaste.

Yet people here want to unseat all Democrats.

False.

Nobody has proposed what you claim. Some of us have suggested Dems should not assume we (as individual voters) will support them, meaning we will not work for, contribute to, or vote for specific candidates solely because they have a D after their name.

I have cast lesser of evils votes for thirty years and I am done. I am not a yellow dog Democrat, I am not even a Democrat. I am a progressive leaning independent. I will not vote for Republicans but from now on any Democrat who wants my vote has to earn it.

And retaking the D party from those that own is going to be a VERY HARD thing.

And take time. If something is worth doing it’s worth doing right.

Stick around, we’ll get through this.

Never. Give. Up.

I don’t disagree with the idea that seating progressives and infiltrating the party is important . I have never seen anyone here say other wise

I apologise if the post I made above Jane’s was too simplistic but what I am advocating is a bit more nuanced than that and poorly expressed in that particular post.

I am advocating holding the 60 votes we gave the Dem’s , Obama’s flawed reform ( mandates and no PO )as well as the seat vacated by Kennedy who this bill is to be named after hostage as a means to inform the corporate leadership of our clout as a community .

We could put the democratic candidate over the top or destroy her because the margin is that thin. The democrats who promise in the house to reject any bill without a public option can honor their pledge and we could work overtime to put her over the top or throw ourselves against her candidacy if they do not hnor their promise .

It’s called hard ball .

What ratfood said.

I disagree Jane, because losing power, and who took it from them, is the only thing many of the Democratic Party’s “leaders” care about. If you can’t take power from them, you don’t matter. It’s as simple as that.

As pointed out above the seat were discussing is only for the rest of Kennedy’s term , two years. Murray and Feingold’s on the other hand are for six and look to be in jeopardy in November due to the bad behavior of the party leadership who blatantly ignore the wishes of the pubic in general and the progressives ,who put them in office through massive hard work ,in particular .

Ditto !

There is no need to help them lose.

This election is the best opportunity to send a message to the party leadership and all the rep’s up for re election with the least damge to the party overall . 2 years of a senate term !

It would be saying in effect , we put you there , gave you a majority in the senate and now were taking it back !

You don’t get that we don’t have competitive elections? We have soviet-style elections?

No. You do.

Maybe one of the best ways to wake up the Party is to seriuosly exit poll the Coakley race with questions similar to those seen here in this diary:

The most insightful question: “Are you sympathetic to Ron Paul?” That will answer whether the Dems killed themselves by spitting on the Ron Paul swing voter.

Coakley looks to be losing without any help and I believe largely because of Obama himself and we stand in a position to co opt that loss or quite possibly snatch it from the jaws of defeat if our demands are met in the house immediately!

oh shove it Jane, if this is how you think you’re going to “wake” the party leadership up, you’re a fucking joke.

Enjoy your marginalization.

Which Ron Paul?

The guy who wants us out of Iraq.
The guy who wants to weaken or reduce the Fed?
The guy who want to get rid of HHS and the Dept. of Education?
The guy who wants Christianity to be the basis for American Law?
The guy who want abortion made illegal?

Seems likely that turning on liking something about Ron Paul is a fairly uninformative question to me.

There was apparently some miscalculation by MA Dems that any D who ran for Ted’s seat would be a shoo-in. Now with the clock running out they find themselves playing catch up. The next four days should be interesting.

Because capitulation has always been a winning strategy when you disagree with someone.

@#50

President Obama goes after Wall Street over bailout in his weekly address

Source: The Hill

President Barack Obama vowed to recoup billions of dollars in bailout money paid out to prevent a major crisis among large financial firms in his radio address Saturday, declaring, “We’re not going to let Wall Street take the money and run.”

Obama announced his plan to levy a new fee on large banks and similar institutions earlier in the week, seeking to reclaim the rest of the nearly $1 trillion distributed to prevent a collapse of the financial system in 2008 and 2009. The federal government already has regained a substantial portion of the bailout money but Obama insisted the banks were obliged to offer up more.

Obama described the bailouts as “distasteful but necessary” and indicated that generous bonuses being offered to executives — which he previously described as “offensive” — were a sign that these companies are in good enough shape to contribute more to the economic recovery.

“We want the taxpayers’ money back, and we’re going to collect every dime,” Obama said. “If the big financial firms can afford massive bonuses, they can afford to pay back the American people.”

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/76497-obama-…

NOTE: WHY is Obama,a just NOW saying this?

Well,just maybe because Coakley’s opponent, Brown, is being backed by the big bail out boys- whom I thought WERE Obama’s BFF-while Coakley is being backed by tradmed and Big Pharma.

In the last election I spent 100′s of hours educating the local lawyers , judges , prosecutors , clergy and influential citizens in my region about the incredible abuses of the constitution under Bush and the erosion of our civil liberties .

Now I will be going back out there to give them an update of these issues and guess what , they have either gotten worse under Obama or been actually expanded , despite his campaign slogans .

Not good .

Keep fluffing the party leaders. It won’t make them respect you but you may get a nice tip.

I just don’t understand Paul. His positions don’t match.

@#81

Don’t you mean appeasement instead of capitulation? *G*

I think we are wasting time by not oganizing around this event and getting some attention ,for once, from the people we put in office who have shown their disdain for us .
We should be making the next 4 days VERY interesting by being noisy !

The banks don’t have enough money to pay back all of the back-end deals they have been pumped up with and if they did that wouldn’t account for back-end derived profits. Being mean to the banksters and calling the “Fat Cats” is such a bland admonishment as to be useless when the Fed and Treasury have committed Trillions to protect the TBTF. Obama could not possibly account for the profits because the Fed and the Treasury have not interest in telling the truth or holding the crooks responsible. His posturing on this issue is less smoke and mirrors than just plain BS.

@#88

Smoke and mirrors?

Absolutely!

That is why I posted it. MORE posturing.

However,Ms. Coakley seems to be her OWN worst enemy-or is she merely suffering from foot in mouth disease?

Coakley’s abortion remarks spur flap‎ – 12 hours ago

By Dave Wedge Martha Coakley’s comments to a New Bedford radio host about religious taboos sparked a media flap over abortion as the race for US Sen. …
Boston Herald – 26 related articles »

I think we must be being noisy since we are getting the blame (possibly credit) for taking down Congress critters. We apparently are making some critters very nervous and that’s great. They may have a come-to-jeebus moment and think maybe they should pay attention to the base and to progressives.

@#90

But,but Twain, you mean a bunch of heretofore discounted folks in their pajamas actually have that much stroke?? /Snark

Sure we get the blame but as to having an effect , it seems pretty muted . And that come to jeebus moment will be on Nov. 8th when they realise they should have changed direction over the wishes of their corporate sponsors and we realize we allowed a once in a generation chance to slip through our fingers by supporting the status quo .

Remember the Punic wars and how Rome finally got out from under them ?

LOL. Frankly, I wouldn’t have thought so but am delighted to know that we are so powerful. Which critter would you like to take down next? “g”

From what’s that noise in the corner to…….. OH MY GOD !!!!!!!!! There is a difference .

You are ignoring the fact that the war is over. Liberals and Progressives have no power in any party.

We can just run around cutting and slashing until we are all gone or we can accept that it is going to require a long term strategy that gets our ideas back into the public arena and our people back into power in the Democratic or some other Party.

Hell. It could even be the GOP. They seem to have name recognition but a lot of empty slots in leadership. (g)

@#93

Or, conversely, whom shall we elevate to become the next “anointed” ?

Amazing work.

Congratulations on the new venue, Jon. It’s become the go-to place. I wonder if the DCCC is trying to anticipate what CD you will poll next?

Which is why I always roll my eyes when some blogger urges us to write or call our congress critters regarding some issue. We’re the very last people whose opinion they care about, because we’re not showing up with gigantic bags of cash.

Liberals have been bombarding their elected Democratic officials over health care, and look what we have to show for it.

The only way we have to punish these people is by not voting for them. The last thing I plan to do this November is stand in line to vote for people who hold me in disdain.

You don’t get that we don’t have competitive elections? We have soviet-style elections?

If you care to elaborate a little on the point you think you’re making here, I’d be happy to think about it and maybe respond.

You are ignoring the fact that the war is over. Liberals and Progressives have no power in any party.
Actually that’s exactly why I’m advocating something more radical !

We can just run around cutting and slashing until we are all gone or we can accept that it is going to require a long term strategy that gets our ideas back into the public arena and our people back into power in the Democratic or some other Party.

By opposing one not very progressive candidate who would serve for only two years instead of six ?

Yours is a modest proposal when the possibility of gaining the attention of both the electorate and the powerful is within our grasp .

I agree with the long term approach but think it unwise to reject a weapon providence has provided .

Maybe we don’t want to be taken seriously ?

And ofcourse, this:

” …First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win… ”

Mahatma Gandhi.

I think we’ve moved to the fighting part. They tried to ignore us, calling us names and saying we lived in our parent’s basemen and they certainly ridiculed us (silly upstarts), so here we are at the fighting. I’m ready but I don’t believe they are.

I would say that it is entirely appropriate to attempt to gauge the public’s view on issues relating to HCR as it has evolved through Congress and the WH. And it is not at all surprising that the public is in dismay and disgust at the extent of malfeasance of this administration in selling out to the private insurers and drug makers. And for good reason.

The public has had a first hand glance at the legislative process and has been revulsed by it. First they saw their preferences disregarded then followed by the placating of the insurance and Pharma interests at every turn. They saw the ineptness of Obama and his total absence of any principle other than the willingness to sacrifice the public’s welfare.

So now the left is supposed to be blamed for the public’s turning its back on Democrats? Well if that’s true then we should rejoice in our newfound power of persussion. And we should redouble our efforts to oust Democrats who are in favor of this health care initiative that is being shoved down our throats.

Hopefully once this bastardized health reform effort has been derailed, we can make use of our wonderful power of persuasion and have folks elect a truly progressive Congress and President in the coming election cycles.

shitting on them doesn’t make them respect you either, it makes them treat you like an enemy.

And if you want to be the enemy, more power to and your 8%, enjoy it. You won’t see any of your agenda enacted, but at least you’ll have fun hurling shit

“NOTE: WHY is Obama,a just NOW saying this?”

Because it don’t mean jack shit compared to the trillions that the taxpayers are being hooked for behind the scenes.

A little populist posturing while the serious looting by the banks goes on unchecked.

I know we are on the same side and I honor that.

I don’t claim to be any super-expert or fortune teller but I have watched the years of dominance of the Democratic Party, more liberal than now, gradually melt away under the long term strategy of the conservatives. When the polemics of the McCarthy Birchers could not really change the minds of the electorate,,,,,,,,,actually until now.

Maybe we don’t want to be taken seriously ?

I can only speak for myself. I am deadly serious. I think the conservative Leviathan has us now on the verge of ending civil life in this nation, if not globally for hundreds of years. That is the root of the depth of my disappointment in Obama.

I do not see this as a simple squabble among friendly game players. I also believe we must win the minds of the politically talented. There are now more of them than there are of us and we can’t just disempower them.. We have to convert some.

No that is not all you can do.

There is the power of the recall of any elelcted official for malfeasance. That option should be available in every state and used extensively for cause. The threat of removal from office should dangle over every elected official at all times. Such provisions should be enacted by popular referenda in every state this or next election cycle.

Similarly we should enact state laws that allow for the establishing of single payer schemes for health insurance funded through state taxes and from part of the revenue that states pay into the federal budget.

We should basically declare the federal government inept and corrupt and take the responsibility of providing for people’s needs by devolving it to the states.

There is the power of the recall of any elelcted official for malfeasance.

Even in those states that have recall provisions, the recall does not apply for US House and Senate seats. Those are considered “Federal Offices.” Once a member has been seated at the start of a Congress, they are there until the next election, they die in office, or they are expelled after having been convicted of a crime. The last expulsion was James Traficant (OH) in ’02.

Since expulsion also means a loss of benefits and pension, most wind up resigning rather than facing expulsion.

While currently not allowed, the recall provision of federal office holders can be adopted if a sufficient number of states advocate for it. And in this climate where money decides elections and the enactment of laws it is entirely possible that the majority of people in 2/3 of the states will gladly vote for the establishment of the ablility to recall their bought off representatives for cause.

Such a provision would re-establish the balance of power to the people and allow for the swift removal of representatives bent on acting against the interests of the people. The establishment of such a provision is not only possible but crucial and lies within the power of the electorate to make it available.

To all you FDL apologist who think that FDL poll had nothing to do with Snyder pulling out:
http://twitter.com/johnboehner/status/7835583844

Yeah, that’s the Tanned One, John F.ing Boehner bragging about this poll because Steve Driehaus voted for the HC bill that Jane Hamsher and FDL lobbied Ohio bloggers to get Driehaus to support last fall.

Brilliant, guys.

Um, yeah, the Republicans are using FDL polls. Don’t believe me:
http://twitter.com/johnboehner/status/7835583844

That’s House Majority Leader John F.ing Boehner who somehow knew about this poll pretty quick. And is using it and its association to this site to call Driehaus dead meat.

Driehaus, who Jane and FDL lobbied us Ohio bloggers to get to vote for Health Care Reform in the House. Greatness.

Y’know, I come to FDL fairly often, but seldom comment, so seldom that I’d forgotten my login and had to get a new one.

I’m a conservative. I think progressives are nuts. So why would I come here?

For the absolutely howling comedy of the commenters, what else?

I mean, here’s mocasdad (#46, I think) howling at his congresscritter that Obama, Reid, Pelosi & Co. are doing exactly what conservatives predicted they would do during the campaign. Sporkobat (#50) quotes Taibi as saying the perfectly obvious — all Bigcorp fatcats vote progressive, because if the Government pays for it they don’t have to, which looks good on the “bottom line”, and because progressives are guaranteed to hamstring business with reams and reams of “oversight” paperwork that will sink their small competitors while they can just assign a couple bureaucrats to handle it. And yay Obama! for hurting the eeevul rapacious bankers, while what’s really going on is that the bankers who did it right, and the bankers who did it wrong and paid for it, get screwed — along with their depositors, whose money it actually is — where the guys who screwed the pooch (and their depositors and the American people) get a subsidy and a fat bonus. And every other comment is railing about “corporatists” hamstringing the “progressive” agenda!

It’s a laugh a minute, I tell ya, better than Rocky and Bullwinkle when I’m feeling down. I disagree with Jane in many fundamental ways, but she’s bright and pays attention, whereas I’d swear you guys’d talk about how brilliant a chimpanzee was if it learned enough AMESLAN to sign good Progg gobbledegook.

Regards,
Ric

It is irrelevant whether a given Democrat wins or loses, what is important is that they realize that they hold office at the pleasure of those that elect them. That message is much more important than their holding office.

The public at large and certainly not the left is not beholden to Democrats or anyone else who does not pursue the public’s well being. Instead they will vote for anyone who first is reliable and second keeps to the wishes of the majority of voters. It’s that simple.

By that standard Democrats that advocate for the current HCR being considered meet neither of these criteria and do not deserve our support. If Republicans happen to oppose the current version of HCR for their own reasons then that only increases the chances that this effort will fail as it should.

Elected officials of any stripe must be responsive to the will of the voters not the other way around. We must begin the process of weeding out feckless Democrats and that will require losses by the current batch, that is unavoidable. Democrats in office should at no time feel that their seats are safe.

Thanks for reminding us all on the left again of why we loath people like you who for some reason are the base cowards that cause the very problems we face and then absolve yourselves of your putrid resposibility.

If we find fault in Obama and the Democrats we denounce it is for the very fact that they cow to your asinine ramblings exhalting business and for their willingness to bend over and give their ass to the parasites you seem enamored with.

You don’t need to take any comfort in seeing people here go after Obama and the rest because what they are being ostricized for is that they resemble you.

I live in this district, which includes Cincinnati, the same wildly conservative folks who brought 8 lovely years of Bush and race riots a number of years ago. It was surprising when Driehaus won. I don’t think there is anything he could have done while elected to keep the office actually.

As far as I can tell, Chabot and Boehner (the Perpetually Tanned One) combined together still wouldn’t give you a whole brain.

You seem to forget that Driehaus supported the HOUSE version of HCR… the one WITH the public option.

So that justifies Jane demanding we get him to support HCR with a public option so she could then help John Boehner push her poll to get him voted out with her poll? Sure. Makes perfect sense to me.

Ironically, Chellie Pingree fought for single payer in Maine before becoming ED of Common Cause and, apparently, becoming infatuated by the DC cocktail party circuit. She appears quite ready to sell all liberals out now so that Obama, Reid, and Pelosi can spike the ball in the endzone – not realizing that they’ve just scored a safety for the other team.

Not sure I understand your comment.

Let me be clear. This is not a district with progressive free-thinkers. It is a district of old white guys who have held sway for, well, as long as I can remember. Cincinnati is dying because of it. Democrats will not find purchase for any length of time in this district.

Glad you came out of hiding just to offer me your opinion, I’ll take that as a compliment Tex .

Hilarious, I tell ya. Have you ever considered taking it on the road? There are Vegas acts who’ve made careers out of worse material.

Your current biggest supporter is a caricature finance capitalist, a man who used financial shenanigans to screw the British out of thirty years’ worth of hard labor, and it never occurs to you to ask why such a person would send you money — do the words ulterior motive mean anything to you?. John Kerry, Man of the People, got over a third of his total financial support from twenty large donors, and you avert your eyes and avow firmer support for “progressivism”. Bush remarks that a checkout scanner is more advanced than what he’s used to, and you sneer in chorus that he must never have seen one; Kerry goes into a fast food restaurant (giving every indication that it’s for the first time in his life) and treats the staff like unsatisfactory slaves, and you swoon over his “common touch”.

Issue after issue, campaign after campaign, candidate after candidate, the lion’s share of your support comes from the megacorps, the megarich, and the silver-spoon “elite” — and you never question that, just bleat on about “power to the people”. Issue after issue, campaign after campaign, candidate after candidate, you march and shout for policies and procedures that put money and power in the hands of a privileged few, and pat yourselves on the back for your generosity and compassion — then bleat in startled offense when the privileged few play you for the suckers you are.

The failed policies of the Bush administration left poor Barry (cue: violins) with an horrific deficit that hamstrings his ability to achieve progress. The correct solution to that problem is…

wait for it…

Quadruple it at one go, and do so in such a way that nobody, not even the beneficiaries, has any idea where the money went or who got what.

It’s comedy gold, I tell ya. You just need to polish up your delivery to put Carlin and Williams not just in the shade, but in total eclipse. I’ll bet half the seismic activity in the whole Sandy Hook area is Jack Kennedy, Sr., rolling over guffawing in his coffin.

Regards,
Ric

There is plenty of time between now and November 2010. It is important for the Democrats pass health care reform with some real substance that will benefit the many. Obama needs to take the lead and the dems need to believe with passion that the people “want change they can believe in”. Obama was elected on that promise and the dems offered hope to the nation and the world. He has done a good job on the world, now is the time for him to take lead of the nation. The tea baggers, for all their miserable behavior want what many of us want. They want a country that is not run by plutocrats, corporatists and arrogant “long term” politicians who have forgotten their “mission” to serve the best interest of the common good. Let’s hope that the dems get the message and soon. Dr. Dean is needed to lead the democratic party. Tim Kaine is a good man, but he is not inspirationaland fired up to “save” the country from the “economic aristocracy” that has become so entrenched in DC.

This is because there are a lot of people who act like this in this district:

http://chriscommons.blogspot.com/2009/08/more-on-recent-health-care-forum-in.html

That’s a cop-out. We’ve been working for a decade to get this district because it’s winnable. Chabot had, until 2006, always won by the thinnest of margins. Demographically, the district has grown more and more Democratic over time.

Steve Driehaus COULD hold this seat, but not with FDL give out poll numbers that let John Boehner rub in our face and call him a lost cause for us.

What you say about this district is untrue. Steve Driehaus is just the kind of pro-public option Democrat who could have held this seat. But now, Jane’s poll gives nay sayers all the reason in the world to sit on the sidelines and watch Steve Chabot march back in Congress and make Boehner Speaker.

John Boehner is laughing at you.

So you see 2/3s of the Senators and Representatives passing a constitutional amendment to allow recalls at the federal level and then 3/4s of the states ratifying the amendment? Seriously?

Boils down to trust, and currently I don’t have it for the Democrat party as a whole. Individual Democrat candidates are going to have to work hard to get it back.

Thanks for this post Jon – appreciate your analysis.