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Do YOU Want The Republicans To Win?

  

by: buhdydharma

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 13:03:37 PDT


Simulposted at Daily Kos

Then follow the current Dem "strategy."

Republicans are vicious thugs who will do literally anything to get and keep power.

Power that they then use to screw Americans and enrich the elite.

They will kill the economy for the rest of us, for the rest of the world, so that they can grow richer. They will kill every safety net the American People have. They will start wars of aggression and kill hundreds of thousands of innocents to get what they want. They will torture to get what they want. They will subvert the Department of Justice to get what they want. They will pursue political prosecutions to get what they want, and they will steal elections to get what they want. They will impeach Presidents to get what they want.
buhdydharma :: Do YOU Want The Republicans To Win?
There is literally nothing that they will not do to get what they want.

They will even kill the entire planet by refusing to address Climate Change, by questioning that science itself is legitimate.

And the Democrats, including Obama last night, praise them for it. And call them patriots. They reach out their hands in bipartisanship and beg them for their votes. Even as the Republicans lie about Death Panels and refuse to state that Obama is an American and is not a Muslim.

Even as The Republicans consciously foment Right Wing violence, Democrats reach out their hand to them. Even as The Republicans effectively shut down government in the Senate through the filibuster and promise to do even more nothing if they take the House and promise to try to impeach Obama....

The Dems act as if they are merely discussing some abstract political ideology......and go about their business as if this was ok, normal, and pretending that The Republicans are acting in good faith.

The Republicans want to change the Constitution. The Republicans want to round up 12 million people and deport them. The Republicans want to create an aristocracy through the tax laws. The Republicans want a war on all Muslims. The Republicans want to establish America as a Christian Theocratic Empire.

And The Democrats treat these radical extremists as if they were sane.

As if they were legitimate political actors.

As if they have the best interests of the country and average Americans as their goal.


The Republicans have openly stated that they will do everything in their power to make sure Obama fails.

The Republicans have openly stated that they will try to impeach Obama.

And The Democrats .....do nothing.

No sign of fight, no sign of resistance, no sign that they even understand that something is seriously wrong here.

The Republicans, even as they prove again and again how destructive they are, are allowed to frame every issue, allowed to establish every narrative, allowed to outright lie to the American People.

And the Democrats.....do nothing... to fight these extremists.

They do not resist the framing, they do not correct the narrative, they barely contest the lies.

They do not attack, they do not take the offensive, they do not even effectively defend themselves.

They do not fight back.

The Republicans under George Bush absolutely ruined this country. And instead of actually DOING something about it the Democrats want to look forward and turn the page.

The Republicans established that they can start illegal wars with no recriminations, that they can torture without ramification, that they can corrupt entire segments of the Government from the DOJ to the MMS, that they can crash the economy with no consequences.

That they can literally get away with murder, and that the Democrats will do absolutely nothing about it.

Wall St, The Ruling Class, mostly made up of Republicans, stole or destroyed billions of dollars of ordinary Americans life savings. They "stole" millions of American jobs and shipped them overseas. They "stole" millions of Americans homes. They stole elections, they stole 4000 American lives and at least a trillion dollars.

And the Democrats.....do nothing.

The American People are in shock, standing on a street corner with no home, no jobs, no savings....and the Democrats are, certainly in the eyes of the millions who have been affected......doing nothing.

No one has gone to jail for any of this, there are no high profile investigations, and even as the ideologues who are either directly or indirectly responsible for all of this openly announce that they will try to impeach yet another Democratic President....

This matters.

This is serious.

But The Democrats act as if this is all just business and politics as normal.

Act as if this is NOT a turning point in history where we either defeat the most corrupt, lying, unscrupulous political party in America's history, or return to the years of 2000-2008 on steroids, fueled by the Tea Party narrative and the hatred of racist, war mongering, torture approving, corrupt and hypocritical Theocrats.

The small resistance they do offer to this prospect is wholly, and literally unbelievably, ineffective and weak. Their complete lack of principle or spine is plain to see, in the face of complete Republican dominance of the narrative. What DO Democrats stand for? What ARE they trying to do to save the American People from the Republican destruction looming on the horizon? What WILL it take for them to abandon collegiality and the insane quest for cooperation with people who have openly sworn to destroy them?

The Republicans absolutely ruined America, and The Democrats are not only doing nothing about it, they are praising President Bush.

.

50% of Americans don't vote.

That number went down last election as the jaded and disaffected and young people came out to vote in 2008, lured by the prospect that something, anything, would change. Someone promised to fight for them, and they hoped and believed that, and they came out and voted.

They hoped that The System that was so patently unfair, that was so obviously destructive, that had sapped their will to fight back and bludgeoned them into apathy would be at least be challenged. Not policy differences, not ideological squabbles, not that kind of change, but change to the glaringky unfair SYSTEM.

That some form of justice, that some form of accountability, that some new and exciting energy....represented by The Democrats, would come into being and change their lives, change our corrupt and rotten government.

In spite of all the promises, that has not happened. It is business as usual in America.

No wonder Americans have lost faith in their government.

You can publish all the lists of accomplishments over and over and over, and it won't change a damn thing.

Until The Democrats actively fight back, actively stand up and point out who is responsible, actively show that they are doing something to STOP those who are responsible, actively make the case that they are somehow different from The Republicans....

Until someone somewhere actually shows the American People that they care enough about them to fight for what is right...to be at least perceived to be fighting for them.....

The American people will continue to LOSE hope. To give up on their corrupt government and stay home.

Yes, Obama and the Democrats have an impressive list of legislative accomplishments. But somehow that does not seem to be swaying the voters. Why is that?

Because the American people KNOW that their government is corrupt, dishonest, and works for The Rich, and not for them. And they DO NOT see that changing.

We all cheer the Ledbetter act, and hope for the best from Health Insurance Reform, etc....that was NOT the Change they were looking for.  

The American People want someone to fight for them, to take on the bullies, thieves and warmongers, to make a REAL difference in how America is run....since it is now glaringly obvious that it is NOT run for them.

Until The Democrats stand up and fight for that, what possible reason do The People have for supporting them?

Lists of accomplishments won't help, threatening people with Republican Rule won't help. Calling the voters stupid won't help.

Doing something will help. Fighting back, loud and mean, against The Republicans who are preventing anything from getting done, will help.

The American People are beaten down, broke, and exhausted. They tried. They elected a guy who said he would change things, not "small" things, but BIG things. The big things that so desperately need to be changed. The System that is screwing Americans needs to be changed. Dramatically. THAT is what the voters came out for in 2008.

And the Democrats just plain haven't delivered.

Because they haven't even fought The System.

Go ahead and argue with me, with Markos, with the pollsters and the pundits all you want. Blame whoever you want, shake your fist and rail at whoever you want.

It will not change the fact that in the mind of the public, the mind of the voter, nothing has Changed.

They tried. They voted for the guy. It didn't work. So why bother to vote for Democrats again?

If YOU don't want The Republicans to win, stop defending the Democrats who will not fight for the American people. Put aside your petty differences and join together to raise your voices and tell The Democrats to FIGHT BACK against the lies and corruption of The Republicans.

It is after all, the only thing they have never tried.

Can we not all agree on that? Is there anyone here who doesn't want to see the Dems fight back against The Republicans and their lies and their lying narratives? Anyone who thinks the Dems should just slink off into the night and let The Republicans impeach the President?

As we once again slouch towards Republicanism and the impeachment of another Democratic President, take a moment away from your partisan ideology and your carefully constructed defenses and attacks and ask yourself WHY.

Why would any sane person allow The Republicans who destroyed this country to reclaim power. Why? There is one overriding reason....

They just don't care anymore. Things suck, they are getting worse and NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

No one is fighting for them, so why should they fight for Democrats?

Yes it is irrational, people are not rational, they are human.

And there is only so much bullshit they can take. And right now, whether it is coming from Democrats or Republicans, all they are getting is bullshit. They know it, they feel it in their bones and in their hearts.

The Democrats don't care about THEM, so they don't care about the Democrats.

It is too late for policy to win the midterms, that ship has sailed and sunk in the maelstrom of attempted bi-partisanship with the corrupt crooks of the Republican Party.....it is not too late for "rhetoric" to do so. As long as that rhetoric is not just more bullshit.

The formula for electoral success is as clear as a bell, as clear as
"it's the economy, stupid."

The formula for electoral success...and by the way for repairing the America that The Republicans destroyed....is simple.

We Will Fight For You.

We are on YOUR side.

And yes....

I welcome their hate.

Because they already hate you, so what do you have to lose??? Besides the election.

Stand up, Democrats. Stand up and fight loud and mean against the REAL villains. Call them out, call them villains, and tell the TRUTH about them and about what they have done and about what they want to do.

What are you afraid of? What are you waiting for? What have you got to lose? Besides the election you are already losing.

Stand up and fight, stand up and tell the American people just exactly who is to blame and just exactly what they will do.

And when the media inevitably gasps in shock and has a hissy fit about it.....stand up and fight THAT too.

Or do you want the Republicans to win?

You can pretend The Republicans and the media are sane and just surrender the House...or you can fight back. And in the process of fighting back you can destroy The Republicans credibility and start us down the road to healing and restoring the country they destroyed.

Now THAT would be change.

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Do YOU Want The Republicans To Win? | 86 comments
For my good friend (4.00 / 19)
.

Edger

Photobucket

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

why don't they fight back? (4.00 / 6)
that, it seems, is the question.

why? they know how the game is played. so why?

simplify... writing in the rAw

[ Parent ]
Why? (4.00 / 12)
The analogy I find that works well is this:

When you're being interrogated in the station house, there's a very real difference in what happens with the "good cop" and what happens with "the bad cop".  But just because there's that difference in manners and behaviors, doesn't mean that they aren't working for the same team, to the same end, coordinating their actions to produce the same result.  Just because you don't see that part, doesn't mean "the good cop" and "the bad cop" aren't working together.

"We who have been nothing shall be all.  This is the final struggle."  ~E. Pottier

[ Parent ]
The sad part of this (4.00 / 6)
Is that it is really, really, really obvious this is what they are doing. I don't understand the continued support Obama receives from progressives. They are either deluded or part of the "Stasi" left.
[ Parent ]
In the words of Armando (4.00 / 4)
they are delusional.
[ Parent ]
or they're smarter than they look (4.00 / 2)
it has been my idea for a while now that the hapless ones are the rethugs. the dems know how to play the repubs and position them to look like theire the only  bad guys.

so you got a warning from dKos? incredible, no?

simplify... writing in the rAw

[ Parent ]
actually three warnings (4.00 / 4)
all for uprating 'my friends', even if I agreed with the comments. Pretty obvious to me that missliberties is a nut case that shouldn't be listened too.lol. The last one was my third strike and I lost my rating privileges for a month. I think it was for uprating a comment in one of your diaries.

Sorry not to have been more of a participant in your last great diary but I really am not ready to get banned. When I am I will go out in a blaze. Meanwhile I've always been tenacious and stubborn so I will not STFU and go away. Pretty weird when I start thinking bob johnson is a liberal sane guy. I am taking it less seriously now that I can not play the rec, troll game.  It's more fun if you use absurdity and words kind of like the Monty Python confuse a cat skit.          

[ Parent ]
i got a warning (4.00 / 2)
and i'm pretty sure that i rec'd the comment before it was HR'd. more importantly, there was nothing about the comment that made offensive, at least in my opinion.

also got a warning about asking why we can't talk about 9/11.

can you imagine, worrying about getting banned at dKos because of your POV? i thought MB was a great guy, but holy fucking moly, i can not believe the uptick in policing and warnings and it is so anti- everything i believe in.

i thought i would leave there. and lurk. but not now. i'm going post and let them HR me off the site.

...especially after reading your comment. third strike? WTF? and now they've tamped you down because you don't want to get banned.

fucking ridiculous. think about it. shutting people up... they've got the tools to shut us up.

and this is a left-leaning site. i apparently don't know for what the left stands.

anybody?

simplify... writing in the rAw

[ Parent ]
Not left leaning anymore (4.00 / 2)
whether by design or just by pandering to the 'moderates' I don't know, or actually care. I think my pathological addiction to the place is because it's where I started from. I had the misguided notion that if the left via the Democrat's could form a coalition we could bring some sanity back and counter act the lunatics. Doesn't seem feasible as it turns out were all lunatics. I tilt at the only left, I think has a chance at this point of bringing the country back to some semblance of democracy and decency, the Democrat's. It's an existential no exit situation.  

Hey we brought bush down with a coalition that was pretty polarized as far as false directions go. I can't rap my head around the fact that the left and Dems  have gone two legs better and will support the agents of their destruction. Perhaps dkos is just an exercise in futility but the splits and cowardice I read there is translated into real life where fear rules and people cannot envision a world, country, or people who actually have the power to stop this shit. We have bought their bamboozle, the one that both sides perpetuate.

I'm also open to any alternative to the one party state but it seems to me the people are still not ready to face the reality that they are truly screwed and can and should do something other then think this is reality and all they can get.        

[ Parent ]
Fishing for my first hiderate on DKos (4.00 / 2)
In solidarity I posted this comment. It comes up as an early comment, #three or #four. But it might be too late for them to notice. It is a response to the question: Why don't they fight back?

They are too beholden to their Wall Street contributors. To help the Democrats in this cycle they would have to focus the massive public anger on the looting by the bankers via the control over Washington. The current administration is a prime example of that control. So they would not only be alienating their financiers, they would be indicting themselves.

You might find this thread over at ET amusing. I did not soon enough take seriously a question: "What do you expect to accomplish by criticizing Obama?" But some good things emerged in the course of 90+ comments.

[ Parent ]
I'll check it out (0.00 / 0)
I do feel that with each betrayal by this administration more people who call themselves moderates, lol, are ceasing the cheer leading and support the man at all cost's mind set. Events unfolding are hard to deny, and the propaganda and fear cannot bury the reality.    
[ Parent ]
no it's not a "left" leaning site (4.00 / 3)
.....  it's a private business venture, and they can set the rules however they want to ensure conflict continues, because conflict creates more of a desire to participate.

The actual "left" that is allowed to participate there does so with the knowledge that that they comprehend and acquiesce to their minority status with in the Greater Democratic Party Election Process.

Please do not confuse the Democratic Party as a whole with one website which has a truly warped "moderation" system which consists of randomized spontaneous rules and the use of a posse of extremists to do the dirty work and then hide the evidence of collusion with certain forces.  Follow any of the old UGOG crowd, and you can see how often the modern ones still hide their tracks.

As a libertarian- authoritarian business owner, as soon as the Dems actually took majority status power the task became to prevent the stated Dem platform agenda from being implemented, and to keep the site on the OFA- DNC message, which is sort of "we pretend to care but don't look too closely at what we really did."

Of course this isn't going to get anyone re elected if the technique is multiplied by the thousands.

Please continue to be the best you can at whatever topics you can handle, and don't worry about what websites are letting you post-  make your own if you have to, or find another crowd to hang with, and "if you build it, they will come."   Always did like that movie.

Concern about protecting minorities or even majorities in our own nation who are the victims of injustice, defined as an unequal application of law re our Constitution,  are hollow unless that concern is extended to all the world's peoples.  Leading doesn't mean you are popular, it means you have to suck it up and do the right thing sometimes, and risk being unpopular.  By not repudiating how we let Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, and the PNAC crowd lie us into this sorry situation, and how many of the Dems were complicit, and now are even worse (see Robin Carnahan of a relatively poor south midwestern state saying the rich don't deserve the Bush tax cuts rescinded, she's not even in office yet and as corrupt as can be, just another Dixiecrat, why bother to vote for that ) we cannot emerge from it.

 

[ Parent ]
that is a good point. (4.00 / 2)
but i went there in 2006 looking for others like me. and that's what i wanted it to be.

it turned out differently.

that doesn't mean we can't show up there and try to keep connected to people like us who just don't see it yet.

and try to offer some alternatives.

simplify... writing in the rAw

[ Parent ]
I've been telling you all why for over a decade (4.00 / 3)
Don't people listen?

They are the Washington Generals.  That team that loses on purpose to the Harlem Globetrotters.  It's what they are paid to do.  What do you think all that lobbyist money goes towards?  Why do you think it is so hard to get rid of an incumbent Democrat?  Because the corporatist elites didn't put them in power to wield that power, but to stymie it.

[ Parent ]
I want the progressive movement to grow (4.00 / 8)
I won't be bound by the dictates of the either/or choices they try to present us with.

I think we need to start talking about Dumping Obama.  Primary him in 2012.  Run independent in 2012.  That's not the same as wanting the Republicans to win.

If denouncing Muslims would keep the Democrats in power, should we do it?

If invading Iran would secure Obama's re-election, should we do it?

I refuse to work within that framework.  We need to fight for what's right.  If we don't, then we get what's wrong FOREVER.

Calling on the Democrats to fight back without an OR ELSE is completely impotent.  We need to start talking about Dumping Obama NOW.  You've talked about waging the class war to the point of scaring them.  If we can't go this far, we're never going to even scare a mouse.

"I don't mind if you don't like my manners, I don't like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings." -- Marlowe

I'm going to wait til after the election (4.00 / 8)
to start talking about that. One way or another it is going to be a sea change, and perhaps that will bring forth the most important development in talks of a primary.

Someone to run against him.


Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Good enough (4.00 / 3)
I'm just starting to chat it up, realizing that there are umpteen variables.  Independent?  Dem primary?  As in 1967, when Dump Johnson drew in all sorts of opportunists, Dump Johnson was actually the moderate wing of the movement.  Today I think it would be the left wing.

I like it because it can create a simple rallying cry (Full Court Press, I fear, is too relatively complex) within which a broad array of forces can contend.  My perspective is movement, not particular organization.

I want a very simple line in the sand, but then not force the specifics too early on the left side of that line.

"I don't mind if you don't like my manners, I don't like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings." -- Marlowe

[ Parent ]
I think you are right on this one (0.00 / 0)
Let's see what happens.  
[ Parent ]
Look out! it's Tom Tomorrow Time! (4.00 / 2)
.     .

reid and bama

A few give much, a few give all, but most Americans give.....NOTHING!  Support our troops~~~~Bring them home.

[ Parent ]
Oooooh! here comes another one! (4.00 / 1)
.     .

Tom Tom woodchuck

A few give much, a few give all, but most Americans give.....NOTHING!  Support our troops~~~~Bring them home.

[ Parent ]
The next to last panel (0.00 / 0)
is darned near perfect.

"We who have been nothing shall be all.  This is the final struggle."  ~E. Pottier
[ Parent ]
Bad Move (4.00 / 1)
Americans pay more attention to politics during election seasons. (OK, I'm not as sure about that being the case for off Presidential election cycles.)

It then follows that the best time to drive the approval ratings of the Dem and Repub brands into the toilet are during election seasons, other things being equal.

"Dump Obama", understood as "Dump plutocracy, empire, and pathological lying by our government", would do well to be started now. I think, though, it's important to point to Obama as the epitome of those forces, and really both D's and R's need to be dumped from Congress, in large numbers.

Likewise, an "Operation Expose Obama" would be better started now, not 2 months from now. (Again, understood as targetting D's and R's.) See here for why I think this would be a better move than "Dump Obama". If you're going to skip the "Operation Expose Obama" step, though, there's nothing to be gained from waiting.

I still haven't gotten over the fact that it's really LATE to have begun an "Operation Expose Obama" campaign. I'd like to cross-examine every bozo who quoted FDR's "then make me do it", but then wouldn't raise their voice to do exactly that, in a manner that I can appreciate, when Tauzin blabbed about his backstabbing deal with Obama. If that wasn't an invitation to "make him do it", then I don't know what was.

Obama's so-called 'critics' who let him get away with that for partisan reasons deserve the election debacle coming their way in just 2 short months. They made their bed, but now we're all going to have to lie in it....

Well, at least some of them will be able to go back to whining more about Republicans, than Democrats! Whoppeee!

for a FULL COURT PRESS
DemocracyABC.org

[ Parent ]
Good comment (0.00 / 0)
There is no contradiction whatsoever between Expose Obama and Dump Obama.  Dump Obama merely adds the tactical point.

"I don't mind if you don't like my manners, I don't like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings." -- Marlowe
[ Parent ]
I can live with that (0.00 / 0)
Sometimes cooks tenderize a piece of meat before cooking it, by pounding it with a hammer.

And sometimes they don't.

The main thing is, they must cook the meat, and not just talk about how they woulda/shoulda/coulda cooked it. Raw meat likely has parasites....

:-)

for a FULL COURT PRESS
DemocracyABC.org

[ Parent ]
Warren/Clark 2012 (4.00 / 2)


Chaotic Neutral, Drinker of Milkshakes

Pinche Tejano

[ Parent ]
Nobody/Nadie 2012 n/t (4.00 / 3)


Visit The Dream Antilles, a Lit Blog.
[ Parent ]
The system is broken (4.00 / 5)
when you pour time, effort, energy, money and other resources into a broken bucket, what do you get back?  An empty bucket.  Rather than trying to fit ourselves into the existing cogs and relubricating the jammed up gears with our bodily fluids, it's time to start building a new machinery, the way new machinery is always built, with simple parts from the ground up.

I hate seeing so many people putting so much effort into something that won't work because the premise it is based on, a functional democratic republican system, is obsolete, gone.  The looting of our gutted America by rampaging mobs in the suites has stayed unchanged despite changes of the guard in the White House and on the Hill.  There is no )Oz the Great and Terrible in DC, just a humbug of a little man behind the screen.  The real power is the Money Power.  It is well past time to begin reorienting where and how we build, organize, struggle to move the battle to the field where the fights aren't staged, a Potemkin and Kabuki-Free Zone.

"We who have been nothing shall be all.  This is the final struggle."  ~E. Pottier

[ Parent ]
I believe this is the right direction (4.00 / 2)
But how/where do they generate Money Power? And, how do they use money to exercise their power?

IMO they are using oil profits and profits generated from the MIC (which includes CIA drug monies) for their major sources of Money Power. They then take this money and use it to fund a goon squad, influence elections, etc.

In order to tip the scales, we will need leverage and a plan.

Moreover, the issue of energy and oil addiction goes much deeper then just global warming. The phenomenon of peak oil was known in government and corporate circles since 1956, yet the facts were largely kept a secret from the public. The basic gist of peak oil is that around the year 2000, give or take a few years, world oil production will reach it's apex. After the point when half of the available oil reserves are produced, production rates will forever decline. This quickly becomes a supply and demand problem.

Therefore, is it any coincidence that oil man GWB was selected to the presidency by the Supreme Court in a stolen election in the year 2000, the very same year of Hubbert's original predicted world peak production year? Is it any coincidence that we detoured from Al Qaeda and into Iraq and the Middle East? Is it any coincidence that we are controlling the supply and distribution of oil? Is it any coincidence that Exxon profits are unprecedented? And is it any coincidence that Iran appears to be our next target?

The US and oilmen are using this phenomenon by controlling the supply and distribution of energy to tyrannical and selfish ends. A monopoly on the most precious and needed commodity, oil, translates to power: Oil translates to Money which in turn translates to Profits which then in turn translates to Power. One of the pillars in this fight against fascism in America needs to be the breaking our addiction to oil and dismantling the big oil monopoly. By converting to alternative energy sources, not only will we begin solving the looming specter of global warming, we will start to undermine Bush and Cheney's base of power: Oil. It only makes sense that the quicker we stop debating about how we should do it, and start acting upon what we already know; the quicker we will start to erode their base of power. We need to move with a sense of urgency in this because the clock is running and time is running out.



Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions against danger, real or pretended from abroad. ~J. Madison
[ Parent ]
You know something buhdy? (4.00 / 9)
It would be a hell of a lot easier to answer the question, and to get behind the Dems, if it weren't for one little fact: that at this frightening, terrifying moment, with Know Nothing mobs baying in the streets of New York, the only person in the Senate to unequivocally defend the first amendment is Orrin Hatch.

pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will
Hey old buddy! (4.00 / 7)
We are really through the looking glass aren't we?

It's as if the universe has given up on us and decided just to go completely Dada, huh?

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
I am delighted to note too (4.00 / 10)
that Obama has been utterly worthless on the environment - as foreshawed in the horrendous choice of Salazar - and on gay rights he is now to the right of Dick Cheney and Glenn Beck. Targeted assassinations, Wall Street giveaways, Alan "Tits" Simpson in the drivers seat cutting Social Security, just yesterday praising BushCo to the hilt, torture and all.

Yeah what's not to love?

My votes and my money are local only.

pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will

[ Parent ]
He will only operate within the existing narrative (4.00 / 5)
even though it will lead to his impeachment.


Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Yes, because he is, basically and unfortunately,... (4.00 / 3)
...a coward.  His cowardice will lead to his defeat, the return of fundie regressive rule, and the destruction of this country.

But he doesn't get it.  I wish we could convince him to just go home with his family--his wife, daughters and Bo the black water dog.

Breathe in emptiness and luminosity.  Breathe out compassion.

[ Parent ]
no, gently disagreeing with your assessment (4.00 / 1)
.... no cowards run for President, but there really are a lot of seemingly intelligent, clever at some tasks, and fooking clueless people out there.

Like certain life experiences had to happen to me to get to be a bit more savvy to the way they (as in bubbaland neocon drunk at 5pm southern Patriotland ) literally will try to kill you-  he's always operated in the one step higher up bubble, of when you call the authorities they take you seriously and they are on your side-  sort of.

Like on a hot 110ºF afternoon when I accidentally drained the well on a dry year and had to re boot it, and I was kneeling there in the afternoon sun when the first water finally came out of the faucet on the well assembly, and I cupped that cool water in my hands and kept splashing it on my face and neck and gasping and thinking this is how an Iraqi feels right now, so thirsty,  only I am slightly more likely to have my electricity not go off and I can drink this if I want.  And I can call the well repair guy if I can't get the tank to hold, but this was damn stupid of me because I might have to draw water for the animals again and it is too life threateningly hot for them to run out.  So I'll be more careful the next time to not leave something on.

Their Beltway Bubble mentality: have an assistant call somebody and it gets done.  Complain about the cost, and see what can be done about the wage laws.   Take another report from Joint Chiefs of Staff about the insurgents. Give Panetta the green light for more drones.

President Obama seems to have done little to repudiate what was done, during the last administration,  so it may be assumed that it was how it was done that he thought needed to be "changed."   His Senate mentors taught him well.

 

[ Parent ]
I'm entitled to my opinion... (4.00 / 4)
...and I say Obama is a coward.  He's afraid he won't be acceptable to the white ruling elites he wishes to emulate; therefore he is a afraid to challenge them--- ergo...a coward.

Breathe in emptiness and luminosity.  Breathe out compassion.
[ Parent ]
we'll find out by the end of the first term or at the first major real crisis, (4.00 / 1)
.... I guess.

Lots of cowards are just meaner than snakes.  He doesn't impress me as mean,  just clueless, in his own way.  Like he made the decision to deliberately hurt people from what he thought was an intellectual standpoint of analysis,  of things are so bad, so this is the best that could be expected of the situation.  

[ Parent ]
I'm not alone... (4.00 / 5)
...someone agrees:

President Barack Obama's nationally televised speech from the White House Oval Office Tuesday night was an exercise in cowardice and deceit. It was deceitful to the people of the United States and the entire world in its characterization of the criminal war against Iraq. And it was cowardly in its groveling before the American military.

The address could inspire only disgust and contempt among those who viewed it. Obama, who owed his presidency in large measure to the mass antiwar sentiment of the American people, used the speech to glorify the war that he had mistakenly been seen to oppose.

The most chilling passage came at the end of the 19-minute speech, when Obama declared, "Our troops are the steel in our ship of state," adding, "And though our nation may be traveling through rough waters, they give us confidence that our course is true."

It is for this statement, rather than all the double-talk about troop withdrawals, that Obama's miserable speech deserves to be remembered. It was rhetoric befitting a military-ruled banana republic or a fascist state. The military-not the Constitution, not the will of the people or the country's ostensibly democratic institutions-constitutes the "steel" in the "ship of state." Presumably, the democratic rights of the people are so much ballast to be cast overboard as needed.

From: "Obama's Iraq speech: An exercise in cowardice and deceit" at Global Research.
by Bill Van Auken

Breathe in emptiness and luminosity.  Breathe out compassion.

[ Parent ]
I think I'd characterize him as (4.00 / 4)
a dealmaker, a broker if you will. A cutter and trimmer, a haggler and a middleman. There are no principles involved, the deal itself is everything. He trumpets these deals that have accomplished in most cases less than nothing.

pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will
[ Parent ]
My POV (4.00 / 3)
is that it really doesn't matter whether he's personally cowardly or not.    His job, as POTUS, in the age of Sclerosis of the Empire, is to be the Lead Spokesmodel for the ruling class.  The whole point of the exercise about "electability" is that is when the oligarchy, acting through its omniscient media voice, serves as America's Guardian Council", who could be trusted to serve as spokesmodel for the bourgeoisie (the "electable" and those who can't (the "unelectables").

"Pragmatism" is the excuse given for practicing the politics of careerist convenience, of adhering to opportunism as an absolute principle.  The professional pols and their "pragmatic" Amen Corners are far more "purist" in their devotion to serving their career advancement by serving elite interests than I am or even could be in my loyalty to my anarcho-syndicalist ideals.  Given that I live in the 21st century USA I have to compromise my principles every day, but those who make principle of careerism and opportunism adhere unswervingly and without deviation, the very purest of the purists.

Such is life in the Hegemonic Corporate State.

"We who have been nothing shall be all.  This is the final struggle."  ~E. Pottier

[ Parent ]
he's gambling that it won't so this is going to be interesting to watch (4.00 / 2)
.... and boy howdy is there going to be some ferocious backlash on us middle- lefties who watched the limo careen hard right off into the ditch after the election.

I'm assuming that they've made some other deals we don't know about yet.

[ Parent ]
me too (4.00 / 2)
My votes and my money are local only.

i do not go to ANY national chain stores.
buy local!

come firefly-dreaming with me..&..do no harm

[ Parent ]
I'm lucky As Merekely is my Senator (4.00 / 2)
and Earl B is my congresscritter. Wyden is a toadie and I won't vote for him. OR is a strange state politically. We have some local ballot issues that are great, as they come from people not the legislators. Public campaign funding on a state level for one.    
[ Parent ]
I think it's clear ... (4.00 / 10)
... that not only will Obama NOT fight in this manner, but that he will actively oppose fighting Republicans in this manner.   His speech last night removed any doubt for me on that level.

This translates into OFA/DLC minions having to defend that strategery which translates into no unity within the Dem Party.

Yup (4.00 / 12)
That was a full throated Defense of Empire.

And as such, a real portent of doom, for the country and the planet.

As I try to get a handle on how to correctly respond to the absolute absurdity of it all, I am constantly fighting the urge to turn this into some kind of survivalist site, lol.

I don't see how more doom and gloom will help, but what else is there to write about?

My next essay may be on post apocalyptic gardening or something

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
I caught that... (4.00 / 5)
We tell the world we will strengthen our leadership and commitment as 21st century America with this historic re-deployment in the perpetual war on Al Qaeda.

But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment.  It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.
...
This new approach reflects our long-term partnership with Iraq-one based upon mutual interests, and mutual respect. Of course, violence will not end with our combat mission. Extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians and try to spark sectarian strife. But ultimately, these terrorists will fail to achieve their goals. Iraqis are a proud people. They have rejected sectarian war, and they have no interest in endless destruction. They understand that, in the end, only Iraqis can resolve their differences and police their streets. Only Iraqis can build a democracy within their borders. What America can do, and will do, is provide support for the Iraqi people as both a friend and a partner.

Ending this war is not only in Iraq's interest- it is in our own. The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people. We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home. We have persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people -a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.

As we double down on Perpetual War with our 're-deployment' of 'officially licensed' combat troops into Afghanistan with tax cuts and profits for all... in a depression.

I think there is little doubt in the rest of the world as to what America could very well become. A debt ridden, nearly bankrupt country with a tremendous appetite, a Victory/Victim schizophrenic social narrative and big giant guns is a scary combination.

Hearing that in the speech of an anti-war 'liberal' President was horrible for me.

Even if he can't win, the President should be taking out the trash of the last 10 years, not turning the page. He has simply normalized and codified this belligerent nationalism.  

[ Parent ]
Obama and the Democrats could maybe (4.00 / 11)
try bipartisanship with liberals and independents and the nearly 20 percent of the country now unemployed for a change, if they want to retain a congressional majority in November.

Or they could just throw in the towel and give up now.

Since if republicans are batsh*t crazy, what exactly does that make bipartisan overtures to them?  

gha! (4.00 / 4)
now there's an idea

try bipartisanship with liberals and independents and the nearly 20 percent of the country now unemployed for a change


come firefly-dreaming with me..&..do no harm
[ Parent ]
Oh buhdy! (4.00 / 6)
What a piece!  I'm going to read this at the next "open mike" where I live.  I'm going to Paul Revere this from the roof trops!  

But right now I've got to go to a meeting.  I'll be back!

Breathe in emptiness and luminosity.  Breathe out compassion.

Thanks Syd! (4.00 / 5)


Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Thanks (4.00 / 4)
for xposting this btw, buhdy. ;-)
[ Parent ]
They are not weak, many of them, and the (4.00 / 11)
Democratic Party itself, are complicit.  Or paid for, bought and sold (same thing).

Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door
damn, warn me next time, lol (4.00 / 5)
I gotta put away groceries.

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky" Buddha
Wait. You want Dems to do what? (4.00 / 5)
I'd love to see that too.  But you know what? That's not gonna happen until jelly fish fly and snakes hop.

I think we should turn the page on the 2010 and 2012 Rethuglican victories, and just move on.  Maybe we can save the 13th and 14th Amendments.  /snort


Visit The Dream Antilles, a Lit Blog.

The Republicans and Democrats are the same. (4.00 / 2)
Here's what some fool posted over there:

I don't want the Repukes to win (8+ / 0-)
I'll gladly vote for a Blue Dog to prevent it. But I'm not confident in the national party getting it's act together. When they want to abandon the 50 state strategy and surrender fights against Bachmann and the like it's hard to see like we're "winning". Seriously, how can Tim Kaine surrender MN-06 to Bachmann without a fight? Is that winning or just treading water? I suppose not losing everything is something but I'm not feeling the love, so to speak.

Now, I know you won't answer, Bhuddy, 'cause you never do, but, if you're going to claim that there's some difference between the two parties, then prove it.  

I dare you.

They do not fight back.

That implies there is some difference, that there's something that the Democrats would like to do, but are not.

Of course that's false.

Your very own words belie that elsewhere in this piece.

     Vote Third Party.

Or:

     Try Something Else.

Stop living to get one of these :

    +4

Oh you were waiting for me to insult you back? (4.00 / 5)
Or did you want me to make a point for you to ignore, as you rush to condemn me more?

Let me know which you prefer, and if I am in the mood, I will do that for you.

So lets say we grant that the Dems and repubs are the same...what then should we do? What at least semi-constructive thing can we use the internet for, then?

If as you SEEM to maintain all is lost, then why are we doing this? What is the point? Do you think we are going to destroy the American Empire from docudharma...or that if we slap the majority of Americans in the face with a ruth that they can't even begin to comprhend that they will then rise up

I like to think that I can inject a LITTLE of an alternative view into peoples think by NOT slapping them quite so hard.

I also know that there is a set of people who just want to hear a cleverly cynical take on how fucked we all are and then they can relax because their hopelessness has been vindicated and thus they have no responsibility to try anymore.

But really, tell me what YOU want me to be and we will see how that works out, ok? What should I write to make you happy with me?

Oh wait!

That would be living to get a +4 again, huh?

What a quandry!



Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
A +4. (4.00 / 3)
Just because I'm perverse and devious.  Not necessarily in that order.

Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door
[ Parent ]
By the way, a lot of that is going around. (4.00 / 3)
I like to think that I can inject a LITTLE of an alternative view into peoples think by NOT slapping them quite so hard.

Not you; what I mean, of course, is people thinking they can get people to vote for Democrats by slapping them around, heh.  You don't tend to do that, something I've always admired about you.

I can only seem to argue convincingly if it's from the heart.

I admire your perspicacity.  It is however interesting how riled Democratic partisans get when someone talks about not voting or only voting if he feels like it.

As if my one little vote would matter or change anything, while a single vote by Ben Nelson (Asshole-Neb) could have changed everything.

Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door

[ Parent ]
Look: (4.00 / 1)

I'm not about slapping anyone, I'm sorry if it seems that way, I'm about moving past the Republicrats to get actual things done.

Nothing will happen until the state of denial goes away.  

[ Parent ]
How can you move around (4.00 / 3)
the one big party that controls both the government and the side show of politics, even the storyline. As for the people I think everybody except the most delusional knows there is no difference. That's why voters are not enthusiastic, now there's an euphemism, except the batshit crazies from both ends of the spectrum and the cowards. Both parties like low voter turnout it keeps the tally close and then they can play to their fictional moderate center.lol. However once again they are not even bothering to offer anything at all to the people. The arrogance is breathtaking, and I wonder if the real center who could not take anymore from the bushies, will just roll over and let the pols and the owners take them down. A third party would be great but at this point all it does is take out candidates who are 'better then'. What a bamboozle, it's a no exit existential dead end. I hope the whole thing falls down of it's own weight. Maybe when the dust settles we will see a way out of this.  
 
[ Parent ]
And I think we need to figure out (4.00 / 3)
what to move on TO first.

And start moving there.

I have looked and looked, believe me, but I just cannot see ANY benefit to abandoning the system to give them free reign. As we stand helplessly on the sidelines with nothing to do.

I very much get your point, I very much get Tocque's point. But until we have a constructive alternative, not participating just feels like giving up to me.

I sure can't blame anyone else for doing it though.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Maybe a recognition and a commitment to the truth (4.00 / 4)
that we're just treading water here, at very best, even IF Democrats are reelected?

I believe eventually whatever happens both political parties will be so unpopular in this country that we won't have any effective government at all.

I have no obligation to save people from the Republicans.  They have absolutely no feeling of saving them from me.

And, if they get elected, do I care?  This does not mean I'm helpless, or that I feel helpless.  But I also recognize that this here particular political game the two parties play is not going to get better.

Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers, knocking at the door

[ Parent ]
We are a nation COMPLETELY adrift morally (4.00 / 4)
And 'truth' is the first casualty of that.

Of course that morality was consciously destroyed for just that reason. In an immoral world where no agreed upon truth exists.....we are left with Might makes Right.

Might these days being money and power.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
We've tried working within the Democratic (4.00 / 3)
party--it's been an abject failure.

Democrats won more and more seats the last three elections; they will never have more than they do right now, and yet things have never been worse, in the whole of US history.

That's a fact.

It's also a fact that many uninformed people voted for the Democrats hoping for something better.  Which is a good thing. And many will now vote for the Republicans for the same reason.

That's because the left is refusing to offer any alternative.

And there are many.

The other day, you quoted Emma Goldman.

She  also said this:

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
.

In a real way, it is illegal, on many different levels, it's simply not real voting.  

[ Parent ]
I agree completely (4.00 / 4)
So what is the alternative?

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
There are many.... (4.00 / 3)
I've mentioned several here before. This really needs an essay (actually a discussion, not so much an essay) of it's own.

Something to think about though--we need to look at times in US history when some positive changes were made, Emma's era being one, the 60's being another.  

[ Parent ]
Sometimes we disagree ... (4.00 / 2)
... on HOW to work within the system.  But I wholeheartedly believe that we cannot surrender the levers that remain.  In classical terms, capitalism works most effectively with the utmost freedom because that allows the free-est allocation of capital.  Any human ties that bind get in the way of this.

To use a crude example, capitalism was opposed to slavery not necessarily because of it was evil and immoral, but because the rigid plantation system made it difficult to move labor as needed.

Free public education was important, as was a degree of public healthcare, because an educated and healthy workforce was a more productive workforce.

FDR supported the right to unionize because it stabilized labor relations and was affordable due to prospects of expanding the American empire.

Unemployment benefits, in the days of the boom-bust cycle, maintain the skills of the workforce during bust, so they could be readily recalled during the next boom.

On the other hand, democracy and certain human rights could get in the way of the profits of individual capitalists.  Workers could ask for too much.  People could elect officials who were a little too generous.  This tension has always existed.

This was in the days of expanding empire.

In these days of dying empire, the game changes.  The old rules still have value.  But in a dying empire, segments of the workforce are PERMANENTLY disposable.  And some segments aren't.  This changes everything.

But it doesn't mean that capital can do anything it wants.  They can't liquidate their entire workforce.  Those who speak in absolutes are simply unscientific, either for old-fashioned Democratic Party incrementalism, or "they'll kill us all if we elect a revolutionary president!"

Here's where Dump Obama comes in.  We still have elections, and while corporate money has massive influence, it does not have TOTAL control.  Some corporations would like to, but that doesn't mean they can.

Obama, in a broad sense, embodies the entire system, is perceived as such.  He may serve as a figurehead in some ways, but he has some real power.  Thus it is unscientific to say that Obama and Palin are the same.  The question is, what difference does the difference make?

And where do the needs of the movement come in?

Dump Obama allows us to use the electoral levers we still have to go after the system as represented by Obama, if we choose to express it that way.  Its vulgar simplicity allows us to focus many different strands of discontent onto his head.  It is tempting to go for a sophisticated Marxist analysis, some high level of understanding.

But I think its vulgar simplicity allows us to organize broadly, while those who simply proclaim despair and capitalist omnipotence are left without a tactic other than thinking the mere act of exposure will generate uprising.

It won't.

"I don't mind if you don't like my manners, I don't like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings." -- Marlowe

[ Parent ]
I needed this piece, thanks (4.00 / 3)
In these days of dying empire, the game changes.  The old rules still have value.  But in a dying empire,

I need to add that to my thinking.

And you are right, we need A villain, an embodiment. I'm not sure Obama is the best choice but that might be a skewed perception, I will consider it.

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Senate (4.00 / 2)
... the group that keeps sabotaging the agenda by waffling along and then pulls the bait and switch at the last moment.

And the donors who purchased their services.

Sure was shocked to see the Koch bros making the MSM.   But there are lots more.  Many wrap themselves in a cocoon of you can't touch me because I am descended from "x" or blessed or chosen by "z."  Others own media empires.

I'm trying to wrap my brain around the thought that not hardly any in the Senate either party particularly gives a hoot that millions are jobless, dependent on charity or food stamps to eat, we have so many homeless or severely underhoused, that hcr bill didn't do nuttin' much,  and that we are expected to keep giving the richest big tax cuts.  Ya know, those OFA peeps really pride themselves on "message discipline" and I wonder if this is really the sort of message they want to be sending, the new acceptance of the Age of .... looking for a word.  Callousness is too mild.  

[ Parent ]
If villainy were the only criterion ... (4.00 / 1)
... the Senate would be way up there on my Dump list.

Since the Full Court Press is slated for 2012, all the returns aren't in.  But my experience was that it was a bit too complex, a bit too diffuse, in targeting 435 congressional primaries.  Several supporters read it, said they supported it, and then immediately turned to wanting to win a handful of races against the "worst."

If the Senate were the targeted villain, the end result would also likely be to target a few of the worst, since the Senate per se is not up for a vote.  (There is no lever in the voting booth called "Dump the Senate!")  This has been standard Democratic Party strategy for, well, forever.  The practical effect is to bring in just enough new blood to partially revive an essentially moribund institution.

Focusing on Obama simplifies things, and since I know you've been following the scene, you know that the American electorate prefers simplicity to complexity.

"I don't mind if you don't like my manners, I don't like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings." -- Marlowe

[ Parent ]
maybe I will try (4.00 / 4)
to engage in your discussions more, jeffroby..... if only to attempt to add my POV, for your pot that youre trying to stir.

I defnitly, well, (A) my brain is not wired the same as you, or most people for that matter, lol, and with my ADD, sometimes, I just get lost. But (B) I might .... hmmm, how can I say this? Im not a wonk, (understatement of the year), and I only jumped in to political junkie blog land during the 2008 Hope Movement. In many ways, I am your "Uninformed" or underinformed voter, even despite all the reading online Ive done in the last 2 years. And Im way more emo than brain anyway...lol. And Im lazy, in an ADD way.

I have often wondered what happened to other people like me, meaning, people who hate electoral politics (and dont follow or comprehend it) but who got energized and engaged during the 08 run up.  hmmmm. I think most just checked back out.

All that to say.... Full Court Press for example, its a good sound concept but the problem is.... how to sell it? package it? in ways that someone like me can "get it" and also make that decision to ... er ... sign up.

That said, I have a real problem with "Dump Obama".... it will never fly. Just my opinion.... with the masses.... people who are somewhat like me except they are busy, have jobs and other demands (that I do not) and way less time on their hands. We are impatient. We want to know ... will it work? what will "my" investment of time/energy GET me? iow, the classic: "whats in it for me...?" Self-interest.

.

Dump Obama allows us to use the electoral levers we still have to go after the system as represented by Obama, if we choose to express it that way.  Its vulgar simplicity allows us to focus many different strands of discontent onto his head.  It is tempting to go for a sophisticated Marxist analysis, some high level of understanding.

But I think its vulgar simplicity allows us to organize broadly, while those who simply proclaim despair and capitalist omnipotence are left without a tactic other than thinking the mere act of exposure will generate uprising.

It won't.

However factually accurate it may be, painting Obama as the face of the corporatocracy... to the masses ... I just dont see it working. More on that upon request. heh.

I mean, I can read and digest all this stuff, but honest to god, when it comes down to it and I am standing there in that voting booth in November and the choice is for TX Governor is at my fingertips: Rick Perry or Bill White....? Please.  No contest. Its essentially irrelevant to me, in that moment, if POTUS BHO is a hack, a tool, a sell-out, whatever.

...

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky" Buddha

[ Parent ]
I feel the same way. (4.00 / 2)
It's very difficult for me to picture Obama as the "face" of the enemy, regardless of my disappointment with him as President.
[ Parent ]
I've noticed lately ... (4.00 / 1)
The "Obama as right-wing" theme has just started to appear regularly.  Among the unemployed, there is little love.  The unpopularity of the Mandate in the healthcare bill.  The war.

It may well be that political lefties have a harder time with this than the general public.  They've bought in much deeper.  Look at his popularity and approval post-election and now.  That drop off represents millions of people.

Dump Obama may not have majority appeal, but it has enough appeal to work with.

"I don't mind if you don't like my manners, I don't like them myself. They are pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings." -- Marlowe

[ Parent ]
Hate to, yet dare to say it but yes. (4.00 / 1)
My position as globalist tin foil hatter Illuminatus Extremus backs up the notion that both establishment parties are mere focus groups promoting the most evil of non solutions to everything while promoting the globo-techno-corpo super fascist Mad Max/soylent green future dyatopia.
Now, granted that might be a tad pessimistic but with each passing day I struggle to point out that Nostradamus Armageddon date based upon chicken entrails and cloud patterns in the sky.

Do I believe Islam should be the Russia replacement enemy for the military-industrial complex?  No.
Do I even remotely fall for that fake debate on "Islamo-fasicst/profiling/mosque building bullshit.  

If my son can't get college tuition aide then some illegal alien shouldn't get it either.
I see no benefit to the enviornment in establishing a global carbon Bernie Madoff trading bank.
I do not believe the island of Guam will capsize and fall into the ocean due to global warming.
I do believe "the left" could have silenced the Bush Patriot bravado during the fake wars by pointing out Bush's long term association with the SPP.gov North American Union non-scandal.  From WTC building seven to before they killed JFK all the shit I was sold in school was crap.  So perhaps you may see why I hold no allegance with political parties who are going to pander the lamestream/ obsolete belief systems.

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what your country can do to you.

I must have (4.00 / 5)
I voted for Obama. And Clinton.

Its all kabuki - There are no parties and the "wins" are only distractions... so that they can keep moving the conversation further right, with teams of extremists, and capitulators.

The better question may be "Do you really want the Neoliberal Corporate Elitists to continue to win?"

Because they are shock-doctrining us right to the place of serfs and masters, right into slavery.

In this same type of discussion at WWL, i made my new favorite analogy about how fighting within the partisan politic framing is now pointless:

You cannot get a Tigers fan EVER to like the Yankees.... but you can get a Baseball fan to get REALLY pissed at the Owners for locking out the League.

Its about changing the basis of the conversation.

We need to realize first there are Owners, and forget about the teams.... I think that the system itself is what needs fixing, and that the rest of us need to work to wake people up to that.

Visit me @ The Wild Wild Left! Crossposting is good for us all!

The system reflects real power (4.00 / 5)
Real power is achieved through the ability to help your friends and punish your enemies. To the extent you can do either one that is the power you have.

The left has chosen, for a variety of reasons, to not play the power game in earnest in this country. Therefore it will not be listened to or considered seriously but will be flim-flamed every election into voting for a handshake and a smile. You and I know this is lunacy but to do something else requires the will to fight and leftists in this country just don't have it and show no signs except on the fringes of wanting to have influence.

[ Parent ]
I am fully a fringer (4.00 / 4)
for I want a national socialist revolution in our time.

Visit me @ The Wild Wild Left! Crossposting is good for us all!
[ Parent ]
& banger? (4.00 / 4)
This was a great comment, I'm going to quote you, and build off it... it inspired my morning essay

(still working on it)

Visit me @ The Wild Wild Left! Crossposting is good for us all!

[ Parent ]
Thanks... (4.00 / 3)
It's really elemental.

Perhaps the main of the American left of recent years is the notion that if only people would listen to reason then the obviousness of the leftist position would lead the electorate and the power-elite to "do the right thing."

That's not how it works at all. Crying "shame, shame" to either politicians, bankers, militarists, or gang-bangers is going to get you only smiles of contempt. And the "people" are so confused by the stunning amount of information they must parse to find out anything they have given up on it and look to their tribal leaders who know how to fly the colors of those particular tribes.

I don't think the constituency that is "progressive" is that large maybe 15% of the American people which I think has been pretty constant over many decades. But look at the effect Jews and Cubans have on American foreign policy because they were able to be active and focused and where all willing to create strategic alliances with groups where they had some common ground (i.e., the Israel lobby's cultivation of fundamentalist Christian groups and so on).  

[ Parent ]
Here ya go (0.00 / 0)
http://www.docudharma.com/diar...

Visit me @ The Wild Wild Left! Crossposting is good for us all!
[ Parent ]
On the other hand (4.00 / 3)
political tribes like progressives (whatever that means at this time) liberals and even wingers form coalitions in order to achieve their ends. That was the beauty of Obama's bamboozle/campaign. The self identifying progressives who now seem to be in reality party royalists may only be 15% but in reality most people are liberal. The breakdowns of political directions right left center etc. are all tweeked. to the point where they are meaningless.

Everybody thinks there center or moderate, except those who have taken a stance on both sides. Even these people are using the measurements that the pols and pundits make up. It's like the economic measurements which are measuring the funny money and it's growth rather then a economy that people actually l live in. I think the only positive thing about Obama is the movement and coalitions he brought together. At OR campaign headquarters where I worked during the primary I doubt anyone even really knew what a progressive was. They were a mix of the political tribes but they all knew that our politics and government needed to change. They laid aside their variations on a theme and worked to take back their country.        

[ Parent ]
You make some good points (4.00 / 2)
In fact, most people don't seem to know what progressive is even progressives. And that is a major part of the problem. For me, the avoidance of talk of class is the single most negative part of "progressive" discourse. Unless we understand that there is a fairly rigid class structure in this country and that the interests of the ruling elites run directly contrary to the interests of the vast majority of Americans we can never have an effective left.

This myth of American Exceptionalism must go. Just because a torturer is an American doesn't mean that that person is going to "do the right thing" so it's alright to sanction torture. Just because a CEO of a large corporation is an American doesn't mean that that person will make decisions to benefit his/her countrymen. That may have been true to some limited degree a century ago but it is not even remotely true today--there's not a shred of evidence that would point to that. Yet, the assumption is that the American elite are all patriotic and because they put their hands on their hearts at ball games is such utter caca that I cannot fathom it. Even the elites that are somewhat sympathetic to the left like Soros, when push comes to shove, ally themselves with their class over the rest of us.  And that is as it should be. It's cool by me.

You should read Livy's History of Rome to understand the depth of class struggle that existed in early Rome which is almost comic but shows what great resourcefulness both sides used to get the advantage. Those people didn't fuck around--they really went at the class struggle thing and created the most dynamic Republic ever known.  

[ Parent ]
Its all class war (4.00 / 2)
every war every time...

It is imperative that people see that we are undergoing a GLOBAL class war right now....

You so get it :)

Visit me @ The Wild Wild Left! Crossposting is good for us all!

[ Parent ]
and imperative that the people (4.00 / 2)
not be weak and put the fear of god in them.

"The second teaching from the golden eternity is that there never was a first teaching from the golden eternity. So be sure."  Jack Kerouac


[ Parent ]
robodd (0.00 / 0)
Thats why I want to make them angry, not use the fear like the r's do.

Visit me @ The Wild Wild Left! Crossposting is good for us all!
[ Parent ]
You are right (4.00 / 3)
but, Buhdy--it's painfully clear--Obama's just not up to the task.

Given that fact, what do we do?

"The second teaching from the golden eternity is that there never was a first teaching from the golden eternity. So be sure."  Jack Kerouac


I honestly don't know (4.00 / 3)
But I'm working on it, lol

Reality is the result of war between two rival groups of programmers,

so....Roar Louder!!!

[ Parent ]
Do YOU Want The Republicans To Win? | 86 comments
 

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