Yeah, and his "real" Kenyan (or maybe Martian) birth certificate, too, I suppose. So much more productive than actually governing the country.
Sounds plausible to me.
So what's in next?
- Thread starter atlas23
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Rikter8
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None of this has to do with Obama. People hate Obama because hes Black, and Because he's a Democrat. That's it. It's simply a Crooked Republican tactic to place blame on others and take the focus off of their faults and shortcomings.
If it makes you feel better, Michigan is totally FUCKED now that it's controlled by Republicans.
We now have a govenor with a Bachelors in General Education and a backbone on Corporation Greed (See Gateway). I wonder if he will host the next Kilpatrick whore party at the house in Deeeetroit, since he was at the last one.
Our Attorney General is yet another republican, so all the hate speech and hate crimes will continue to happen here.
Oh...And gas jumped to $3.15 a gallon, big suprise now that the repubs are coming back. I bet to see $5.00 gas with our new govenor, big business strangling the workforce for every penny they can get, and Hundreds of Thousands of families WALKING THE STREETS because the Unemployment benefits will be cut off soon.
Housing will tank too.
Thank you - you stupid ass Michigan Voters for casting a Straight Republican ticket and totally fucking the working class over.
When the shit hits the fan everybody will sit back and say "Duh....what just happened".
Dumb asses.
If it makes you feel better, Michigan is totally FUCKED now that it's controlled by Republicans.
We now have a govenor with a Bachelors in General Education and a backbone on Corporation Greed (See Gateway). I wonder if he will host the next Kilpatrick whore party at the house in Deeeetroit, since he was at the last one.
Our Attorney General is yet another republican, so all the hate speech and hate crimes will continue to happen here.
Oh...And gas jumped to $3.15 a gallon, big suprise now that the repubs are coming back. I bet to see $5.00 gas with our new govenor, big business strangling the workforce for every penny they can get, and Hundreds of Thousands of families WALKING THE STREETS because the Unemployment benefits will be cut off soon.
Housing will tank too.
Thank you - you stupid ass Michigan Voters for casting a Straight Republican ticket and totally fucking the working class over.
When the shit hits the fan everybody will sit back and say "Duh....what just happened".
Dumb asses.
B_Nick4444
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"...Tea Party backers hope that their congressional ranks will grow even larger in 2012. The activists are planning primary challenges to some Senate Republicans they deem not conservative enough, said former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, a Texas Republican who now heads FreedomWorks, a group that helped elect Tea Party-backed candidates.
Frequently cited targets include Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas.
Activists are talking about what we are going to be doing two years from now, and even four years from now, Armey said...."
Tea Party Wins House for Republicans, Wants Rewards in Congress - Bloomberg
we will be watching
opcorn:
Frequently cited targets include Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas.
Activists are talking about what we are going to be doing two years from now, and even four years from now, Armey said...."
Tea Party Wins House for Republicans, Wants Rewards in Congress - Bloomberg
we will be watching
opcorn:
midlifebear
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I foresee Boehner playing golf for at least another 144 days rather than sitting in meetings in Congress. I think he currently holds some sort of record for being on the golf course when he should have been at work.
B_VinylBoy
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It'll get voted down in the Senate. Or did you forget that Republicans don't have control of it, nor are there many Blue-Dog Democrats in the way to side with the opposition anymore? Of course you have because you can't think that far ahead!
Seriously, let the GOP try. It'll prove once again to everyone that the GOP had no plans to help the nation recover from the economic crisis since day one. Advantage - Obama.
B_Nick4444
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you mean Boehner, of course
man. I just thought of another three-way -- this time with Rick Perry! :biggrin1:
"Advantage Obama" WTF are you smoking?!?! he has no advantage. He is fucked Homey! had the other 2/3 of the senate been up for re-election the republicans would have a filibuster proof majority in the senate. And that in fact would be an advantage for Obama because he would be able to blaim the legislative branch for gridlock and run against it in 2012. Now, because the dems hold the WH and the Senate, the counrty still perceives the Dems for holding the majority of the power. And once the Senate and Obama fight the House on tax cuts, balancing the budget, reducing the deficit, and repealing the shitty ass HC bill (all of these things are why they got voted in tuesday night), then Obama and many more house and senate members will be cleaning out their offices come January 2013. Unless the Senate dems and Obama work with the House on the above issues and reach reasonable compromises, he CANNOT win re-election in 2012. In other words, his agenda is dead and so is his presidency if he doesnt move to the center/right.
B_Nick4444
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Well, if the Republicans do nothing but stall and stall some more while more jobs go away or more people loose their asses at a comparable or greater rate, that could change how the independents out there see things............again
B_VinylBoy
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It was only a matter of time before you were silly enough to come at me. Oh well, let me put the person who called me a "diseased dicksucking f*****" back in his place once more.
But it wasn't. So speculating as to what would have happened is for fools. Right now, Democrats control the Senate and Republicans control the House. You need both branches to agree on a bill before Obama even sees it. And you know what is going to happen. If Republicans try to pass a bill through the House (or try to do something stupid like repeal HCR), most likely it will eventually be voted down in the Senate. You did remember that most of the Blue-Dog Democrats that sometimes side with Republicans are practically gone in the Senate, right? Oh, silly me... they're Democrats and you'd NEVER pay attention to them. Silly rabbit!
I'm sure someone would be to "blame", but that's not important right now.
Only the dumb people think that way, and I'm sure your entire political strategy banks on the practice of keeping people stupid.
And here is where you're stupidity sparkles.
The GOP's stance on tax cuts is to continue the Bush Tax cuts for everyone including the top 2%. That would add Trillions of dollars to the national debt and everyone (except for the stupid people you want to pander to with rhetoric) knows this. That automatically makes the GOP's argument for reducing the deficit null and void. And while we're on the subject of the economy, don't forget that financial caps on the deficit have to be discussed too since it's obvious that tax cuts has the high potential to backfire in the GOPs face. Because of that, now the GOP has to worry about the Teahadists who make up critical votes in the Senate. If they blindly vote by their ideology and not with the party, that will also be shot down in flames. Clearly, if you look at the facts the GOP doesn't have a leg to stand on when it comes to the economy. Alas, you're only pandering to stupid people who don't pay attention to details so you're not worried one bit about this.
As for Health Care or the prospect of impeachment? Any attempts to do either will illustrate what people have been saying all along about the GOP since Obama took office... that the GOP has no intention with coming up with any solutions to the nation's problems. That will backfire on them because their approval rating, despite winning back the house, is LOWER than the Democrat's or Obama's.
On top of all of this... there's not a soul in the current GOP who has the political gusto to defeat Obama right now. The only ones that come close are Palin (which everyone agrees would get slaughtered), Gingrich (who's past scandals would prevent him from progressing faster than Hillary's sniper fire snafu), Huckabee (who is about as charismatic as John Kerry on Autism) and Romney (who is a Mormon and the Christian bible belt will never let that happen). Before you talk about anyone losing seats in 2013, find a damn face for your party first.
They don't have to work with anyone. If this was just a dirty issue of politics, there are several things Democrats can bring up as issues just for the GOP to deny them. Pile up enough of them, after all of the bigoted, racial and socially dividing stuff they pandered to just to win the House and it would be a sure win for Democrats. America isn't ready to go through two more years of that bullshit, and any party that plays with that knife will cut themselves.
And just because the more I say it the funnier it gets, the GOP (even with all of its corporate financing and smear campaigning) couldn't defeat HARRY REID... a man with an approval rate under 30% in a state with the highest unemployment rate in the country! If your GOP minions can't win under those circumstances, they don't stand a fuckin' chance in 2012. That is, unless you can find more stupid people to entice with your rhetoric and even they are starting to figure it out.
But it wasn't. So speculating as to what would have happened is for fools. Right now, Democrats control the Senate and Republicans control the House. You need both branches to agree on a bill before Obama even sees it. And you know what is going to happen. If Republicans try to pass a bill through the House (or try to do something stupid like repeal HCR), most likely it will eventually be voted down in the Senate. You did remember that most of the Blue-Dog Democrats that sometimes side with Republicans are practically gone in the Senate, right? Oh, silly me... they're Democrats and you'd NEVER pay attention to them. Silly rabbit!
I'm sure someone would be to "blame", but that's not important right now.
Only the dumb people think that way, and I'm sure your entire political strategy banks on the practice of keeping people stupid.
And here is where you're stupidity sparkles.
The GOP's stance on tax cuts is to continue the Bush Tax cuts for everyone including the top 2%. That would add Trillions of dollars to the national debt and everyone (except for the stupid people you want to pander to with rhetoric) knows this. That automatically makes the GOP's argument for reducing the deficit null and void. And while we're on the subject of the economy, don't forget that financial caps on the deficit have to be discussed too since it's obvious that tax cuts has the high potential to backfire in the GOPs face. Because of that, now the GOP has to worry about the Teahadists who make up critical votes in the Senate. If they blindly vote by their ideology and not with the party, that will also be shot down in flames. Clearly, if you look at the facts the GOP doesn't have a leg to stand on when it comes to the economy. Alas, you're only pandering to stupid people who don't pay attention to details so you're not worried one bit about this.
As for Health Care or the prospect of impeachment? Any attempts to do either will illustrate what people have been saying all along about the GOP since Obama took office... that the GOP has no intention with coming up with any solutions to the nation's problems. That will backfire on them because their approval rating, despite winning back the house, is LOWER than the Democrat's or Obama's.
On top of all of this... there's not a soul in the current GOP who has the political gusto to defeat Obama right now. The only ones that come close are Palin (which everyone agrees would get slaughtered), Gingrich (who's past scandals would prevent him from progressing faster than Hillary's sniper fire snafu), Huckabee (who is about as charismatic as John Kerry on Autism) and Romney (who is a Mormon and the Christian bible belt will never let that happen). Before you talk about anyone losing seats in 2013, find a damn face for your party first.
They don't have to work with anyone. If this was just a dirty issue of politics, there are several things Democrats can bring up as issues just for the GOP to deny them. Pile up enough of them, after all of the bigoted, racial and socially dividing stuff they pandered to just to win the House and it would be a sure win for Democrats. America isn't ready to go through two more years of that bullshit, and any party that plays with that knife will cut themselves.
And just because the more I say it the funnier it gets, the GOP (even with all of its corporate financing and smear campaigning) couldn't defeat HARRY REID... a man with an approval rate under 30% in a state with the highest unemployment rate in the country! If your GOP minions can't win under those circumstances, they don't stand a fuckin' chance in 2012. That is, unless you can find more stupid people to entice with your rhetoric and even they are starting to figure it out.
Last edited:
HazelGod
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Amen.
Actually, such idiocy would never even make it onto the Senate agenda to be voted on. Dead on arrival.
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+110
Yes, because wasting time on snipe hunts and wild goose chases instead of actually governing while the economy and the entire future of this country teeter on the brink of catastrophe is exactly what the people want right now. :rolleyes2: Pray tell, what precisely do you think warrants congressional investigation?
On what grounds, pray tell?
Are you writing your own insane talking points now, or does being drunk on Republican/Teahad/Corporatist Kool Aid and cheap gin just cause you to automatically babble in Orwellian Newspeak?
I think he holds the record for brush cutting too.
Do you have anything passably intelligent to contribute?
Last edited:
Re: So what's in next?
Here's what's going to happen:
John Boehner, the new Weeper of the House, is going to have one hell of a time managing his new crop of anti-government frosh Repugnants and Teabaggers while trying to get them to march lockstep with the old guard. Regardless, the party leadership will lie, bribe, promise, and compromise wherever necessary to keep the baggers and bible bangers on the reservation and inside the big Republican circus tent. Meanwhile, many of the presumed committee chairmen are so diametrically opposed to the interests of the people in the context of the committees they will chair, they make my skin crawl.
The House Repugnants will propose a raft of symbolic bills to mollify their right-wing base (and improve their chances of reelection) aimed at reducing taxes and achieving "smaller government" (read cutting taxes for the corporations and the wealthy, deregulation of corporations and large financial institutions, reducing government oversight, and cutting or eliminating social programs). In addition, there will be the usual, empty "flag waving" measures designed to fire up the base and embarass the Democrats into either opposing them or following their lead. Most of their agenda, other than maybe extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and some tinkering with education, will be DOA in the Senate. If anything objectionable passes through both houses, it will be subject to presidential veto, or sent back for some "post-partisan" revision and compromise.
The Republicants in the Senate will filibuster anything and everything they can, whether they agree with it in principle or not, including continuing to hold up hundreds of long delayed considerations on judicial nominees as well as appointments to departments and commissions within the government, refusing to approve funding for bills already passed, e.g. healthcare and the new consumer protection agency, etc. In a word, gridlock. There's a 50/50 chance of another government shutdown, a la Gingrich, to prove once again that "government is the problem" (read "liberal" government is the problem). Notorious "socialists" Lindsay Graham and Olympia Snow will cease whatever bipartisan overtures they've made in the past, being the next Republican senatorial candidates up for reelection in 2012 and already on the Teabag hit list.
The Party of "No" will be the Party of "Hell No". They will hamstring the Democrats and the administration at every opportunity, making the government as ineffective as possible, backing the economy deeper in the ditch, while they blame any negative consequences that result on the president and his fellow "liberals, socialists, and communists". They will take credit for preventing Obama's "radical agenda" and portray themselves as the saviours of "real" Americans. If only the voters will hand them the keys to the kingdom, give them unlimited power in both houses of congress, the judiciary, and the presidency, they will "take back America" and lead us all to the promised land.
Aside from giving the Teabag wing obligatory lip service and occasionally having to cover for the ones who go 'off message', the Republicants will religiously stick to their script of talking points delivered each morning from somewhere on high. The right-wing media loudmouths will continue screaming their propaganda campaign in ever more shrill and hyperbolic tones, however disconnected from reality it is. The mainstream media will for the most part look to their corporate bottom lines and refrain from countering the narrative. Ideological idiots in the electorate, exemplified here by Nick6's, Facequeen, Lurker, Conntom, KTF40, BF2K, et al, will get angrier and angrier while they mindlessly regurgitate the stinking load of propaganda spoonfed to them on a daily basis.
Some congressional Democrats will continue trying to pursue a responsible progressive agenda. In the House the Dems will be as focused and organized as a basketful of kittens unravelling a ball of string. The Senate Dems with their majority intact under the leadership of a resurrected and revitalized Harry Reid will fare better. However, led (or not led as 'twere) by the president, the Dems will be incapable of crafting a simple, coherent, proactive message to communicate their agenda, which the majority of Americans support when it is simply and clearly explained, instead allowing themselves to be defined (wildly and inaccurately) by the opposition.
Based on the just completed 2010 census, the new majority of Republican governors and hordes of new Republican representatives now in control of state legistatures across the country will get busy redrawing voting districts to favor their own kind in the next round of congressional races coming up two years from now. To my mind this is a bigger story than the outcome of these congressional races just past, and so far it's being largely overlooked. As 2012 approaches, the Republicant/Teabag/Corporatist coalition will pull out all the stops to secure their lock on power once and for all and forever, picking and promoting candidates who will bend to their will and advance their agenda, the corporatist agenda, essentially buying elections with unprecedented, unregulated, unaccounted for mountains of cash.
The general public will become increasingly fearful, cynical, confused and disgusted with the whole shebang, being preoccupied with their own struggle for survival and distracting themselves with mindless entertainments, phoney "reality" shows and anti-anxiety pills, self-medicating and tuning out any way they can. Meanwhile, high rollers and bottom feeders on Wall Street will thrive, the big banks will make out like bandits, the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer, gas prices will go up, '100 year' weather events will occur with increasing frequency, the Middle East will be a powderkeg, terrorists will ply their bombmaking trade, houses will be foreclosed on in record numbers, the legions of homeless will rise, and people will suffer and die for want of life's necessities and basic healthcare. Meanwhile, the world economy could still come crashing down like a house of cards whenever the next shoes drop or people start poking around under that "tarp". Not only are our representatives too busy fighting for political advantage to deal with the current crises, they are wholly unprepared for the next one that could come around the corner at any moment without warning.
It is a sad, disgusting state of affairs. The people know this, they just don't know why, and they can't seem to figure it out on their own. They're fickle too, and where they look for solutions can change with the wind. The Republicans know all this too. They are prepared and committed to filling the confusion vacuum and capitalizing on the anxiety with their own deceptive, jingoistic narrative. They have a simple plan, they are miles ahead of the Democrats and looking far down the road right now. So far, their plan is succeeding. Really, with all the power and money behind them, and all the dirty tricks in their arsenal, and being somewhat lacking in integrity, what's to stop them? Where the fuck are the Democrats? Where the fuck is Obama?
Where is the Obama from the campaign who fought his way into the Oval Office? Where is the "hope and change" he promised? The "change you can believe in"? The people want change. They want something to believe in. The people have been begging for deliverance from this long national nightmare for years. Instead they got a misprioritized, compromised legislative agenda, that while stabilizing "the economy, stupid" (for now, because it's all just been pushed under that "tarp"), overlooked the obvious - jobs, jobs, jobs! The people are begging for a strong, passionate, principled leader. Instead they got a smooth, thoughtful, emotionally detached, long winded, erudite professor - one who completely underestimated the ferocity of the backlash against him and his agenda and the power behind it. One who has failed to defend himself, much less go on the offensive, and worse, failed to defend members of his own party who stuck their necks out for him and for the cause. Instead of a great communicator, the people got a great conciliator, one who believed if he was reasonable and accomodating, stayed out of the trenches and did the right thing, the people would notice. They didn't. They don't. The people are sadly uninformed, misinformed, distracted and stupid. You have to explain things to them in simple, yet memorable terms they can understand and do it over and over. (See FDR. See "Bring it on!") What we have here is a failure to communicate, Mr. Obama.
From day one, the Republicans have expolited the president's reasonableness and attempts at compromise as a weakness, a weakness which they have now transferred to the mind of the electorate. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and getting the same bad result, or something like that. I think Obama has said that about the Republicans on more than one occasion. He would do well to heed his own adage. The only way I see the above scenario changing is if Obama stops being Mr. Nice guy, stops this conciliatory "post-partisan" bullshit, and stops taking it up the ass at every opportunity - i.e. he suddenly gets religion, gets pissed off, finds his balls again, and decides to stand up strong, fight back, and lead his party. Above all, he needs to figure out how to connect again - to sell himself and his agenda to the people. It's a tall order, I know, but one can "hope". If he doesn't, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he faces a formidable challenge from within his own party for the nomination. I'm looking ahead to what, if anything, he pushes in the upcoming lame duck session of congress and in his State of the Union address come January. Then we shall see . . . .
It's all in now, Mr. President. No more pussyfootin. Time to man up and show us what you're made of.
Give us some of that hope. Give us something to believe in.
p.s. It's noteworthy that with a few high profile exceptions, most of the more liberal Democrats managed to retain their seats. The ones who were eliminated were the centrists and blue dogs who drifted right and avoided the tough votes thinking it would sink their reelection chances. Ironic, ain't it?
Here's what's going to happen:
John Boehner, the new Weeper of the House, is going to have one hell of a time managing his new crop of anti-government frosh Repugnants and Teabaggers while trying to get them to march lockstep with the old guard. Regardless, the party leadership will lie, bribe, promise, and compromise wherever necessary to keep the baggers and bible bangers on the reservation and inside the big Republican circus tent. Meanwhile, many of the presumed committee chairmen are so diametrically opposed to the interests of the people in the context of the committees they will chair, they make my skin crawl.
The House Repugnants will propose a raft of symbolic bills to mollify their right-wing base (and improve their chances of reelection) aimed at reducing taxes and achieving "smaller government" (read cutting taxes for the corporations and the wealthy, deregulation of corporations and large financial institutions, reducing government oversight, and cutting or eliminating social programs). In addition, there will be the usual, empty "flag waving" measures designed to fire up the base and embarass the Democrats into either opposing them or following their lead. Most of their agenda, other than maybe extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and some tinkering with education, will be DOA in the Senate. If anything objectionable passes through both houses, it will be subject to presidential veto, or sent back for some "post-partisan" revision and compromise.
The Republicants in the Senate will filibuster anything and everything they can, whether they agree with it in principle or not, including continuing to hold up hundreds of long delayed considerations on judicial nominees as well as appointments to departments and commissions within the government, refusing to approve funding for bills already passed, e.g. healthcare and the new consumer protection agency, etc. In a word, gridlock. There's a 50/50 chance of another government shutdown, a la Gingrich, to prove once again that "government is the problem" (read "liberal" government is the problem). Notorious "socialists" Lindsay Graham and Olympia Snow will cease whatever bipartisan overtures they've made in the past, being the next Republican senatorial candidates up for reelection in 2012 and already on the Teabag hit list.
The Party of "No" will be the Party of "Hell No". They will hamstring the Democrats and the administration at every opportunity, making the government as ineffective as possible, backing the economy deeper in the ditch, while they blame any negative consequences that result on the president and his fellow "liberals, socialists, and communists". They will take credit for preventing Obama's "radical agenda" and portray themselves as the saviours of "real" Americans. If only the voters will hand them the keys to the kingdom, give them unlimited power in both houses of congress, the judiciary, and the presidency, they will "take back America" and lead us all to the promised land.
Aside from giving the Teabag wing obligatory lip service and occasionally having to cover for the ones who go 'off message', the Republicants will religiously stick to their script of talking points delivered each morning from somewhere on high. The right-wing media loudmouths will continue screaming their propaganda campaign in ever more shrill and hyperbolic tones, however disconnected from reality it is. The mainstream media will for the most part look to their corporate bottom lines and refrain from countering the narrative. Ideological idiots in the electorate, exemplified here by Nick6's, Facequeen, Lurker, Conntom, KTF40, BF2K, et al, will get angrier and angrier while they mindlessly regurgitate the stinking load of propaganda spoonfed to them on a daily basis.
Some congressional Democrats will continue trying to pursue a responsible progressive agenda. In the House the Dems will be as focused and organized as a basketful of kittens unravelling a ball of string. The Senate Dems with their majority intact under the leadership of a resurrected and revitalized Harry Reid will fare better. However, led (or not led as 'twere) by the president, the Dems will be incapable of crafting a simple, coherent, proactive message to communicate their agenda, which the majority of Americans support when it is simply and clearly explained, instead allowing themselves to be defined (wildly and inaccurately) by the opposition.
Based on the just completed 2010 census, the new majority of Republican governors and hordes of new Republican representatives now in control of state legistatures across the country will get busy redrawing voting districts to favor their own kind in the next round of congressional races coming up two years from now. To my mind this is a bigger story than the outcome of these congressional races just past, and so far it's being largely overlooked. As 2012 approaches, the Republicant/Teabag/Corporatist coalition will pull out all the stops to secure their lock on power once and for all and forever, picking and promoting candidates who will bend to their will and advance their agenda, the corporatist agenda, essentially buying elections with unprecedented, unregulated, unaccounted for mountains of cash.
The general public will become increasingly fearful, cynical, confused and disgusted with the whole shebang, being preoccupied with their own struggle for survival and distracting themselves with mindless entertainments, phoney "reality" shows and anti-anxiety pills, self-medicating and tuning out any way they can. Meanwhile, high rollers and bottom feeders on Wall Street will thrive, the big banks will make out like bandits, the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer, gas prices will go up, '100 year' weather events will occur with increasing frequency, the Middle East will be a powderkeg, terrorists will ply their bombmaking trade, houses will be foreclosed on in record numbers, the legions of homeless will rise, and people will suffer and die for want of life's necessities and basic healthcare. Meanwhile, the world economy could still come crashing down like a house of cards whenever the next shoes drop or people start poking around under that "tarp". Not only are our representatives too busy fighting for political advantage to deal with the current crises, they are wholly unprepared for the next one that could come around the corner at any moment without warning.
It is a sad, disgusting state of affairs. The people know this, they just don't know why, and they can't seem to figure it out on their own. They're fickle too, and where they look for solutions can change with the wind. The Republicans know all this too. They are prepared and committed to filling the confusion vacuum and capitalizing on the anxiety with their own deceptive, jingoistic narrative. They have a simple plan, they are miles ahead of the Democrats and looking far down the road right now. So far, their plan is succeeding. Really, with all the power and money behind them, and all the dirty tricks in their arsenal, and being somewhat lacking in integrity, what's to stop them? Where the fuck are the Democrats? Where the fuck is Obama?
Where is the Obama from the campaign who fought his way into the Oval Office? Where is the "hope and change" he promised? The "change you can believe in"? The people want change. They want something to believe in. The people have been begging for deliverance from this long national nightmare for years. Instead they got a misprioritized, compromised legislative agenda, that while stabilizing "the economy, stupid" (for now, because it's all just been pushed under that "tarp"), overlooked the obvious - jobs, jobs, jobs! The people are begging for a strong, passionate, principled leader. Instead they got a smooth, thoughtful, emotionally detached, long winded, erudite professor - one who completely underestimated the ferocity of the backlash against him and his agenda and the power behind it. One who has failed to defend himself, much less go on the offensive, and worse, failed to defend members of his own party who stuck their necks out for him and for the cause. Instead of a great communicator, the people got a great conciliator, one who believed if he was reasonable and accomodating, stayed out of the trenches and did the right thing, the people would notice. They didn't. They don't. The people are sadly uninformed, misinformed, distracted and stupid. You have to explain things to them in simple, yet memorable terms they can understand and do it over and over. (See FDR. See "Bring it on!") What we have here is a failure to communicate, Mr. Obama.
From day one, the Republicans have expolited the president's reasonableness and attempts at compromise as a weakness, a weakness which they have now transferred to the mind of the electorate. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and getting the same bad result, or something like that. I think Obama has said that about the Republicans on more than one occasion. He would do well to heed his own adage. The only way I see the above scenario changing is if Obama stops being Mr. Nice guy, stops this conciliatory "post-partisan" bullshit, and stops taking it up the ass at every opportunity - i.e. he suddenly gets religion, gets pissed off, finds his balls again, and decides to stand up strong, fight back, and lead his party. Above all, he needs to figure out how to connect again - to sell himself and his agenda to the people. It's a tall order, I know, but one can "hope". If he doesn't, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he faces a formidable challenge from within his own party for the nomination. I'm looking ahead to what, if anything, he pushes in the upcoming lame duck session of congress and in his State of the Union address come January. Then we shall see . . . .
It's all in now, Mr. President. No more pussyfootin. Time to man up and show us what you're made of.
Give us some of that hope. Give us something to believe in.
p.s. It's noteworthy that with a few high profile exceptions, most of the more liberal Democrats managed to retain their seats. The ones who were eliminated were the centrists and blue dogs who drifted right and avoided the tough votes thinking it would sink their reelection chances. Ironic, ain't it?
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- b.c.,
^Excellently astute observations, Max, though I was looking to read your take on what would happen after that “increasingly fearful, cynical, confused and disgusted” public came to grips with their own “reality”... after they’ve realized that the “high rollers and bottom feeders on Wall Street” made “out like bandits,”... after the rise of the “legions of homeless” and people suffering and dying “for want of life's necessities and basic healthcare”.... after the world’s economy comes crashing down “like a house of cards”...after they’ve realized (far too late?) that the Republican/Tea Party sold them on a bag of shit with a fancy bow.
What then?
Then, I think the Republicans, then in full control and in a rush to save their own asses (not to mention facing the inescapable certainty that they need save even more than that), will start marching out the same initiatives, the same mandates, the same kind of legislation that they’ve been kicking and screaming and opposing since Obama took office.
Oh they’ll dust it off a bit, wrap it up in fancy packaging and sell it as something new. But it’ll be the same. Only this time the public will receive it all with open arms and adulation, because this time it’ll be coming from white Republican conservatives, instead of from that “socialist, Kenyan-Muslim darkie” in the Oval Office.
What then?
Then, I think the Republicans, then in full control and in a rush to save their own asses (not to mention facing the inescapable certainty that they need save even more than that), will start marching out the same initiatives, the same mandates, the same kind of legislation that they’ve been kicking and screaming and opposing since Obama took office.
Oh they’ll dust it off a bit, wrap it up in fancy packaging and sell it as something new. But it’ll be the same. Only this time the public will receive it all with open arms and adulation, because this time it’ll be coming from white Republican conservatives, instead of from that “socialist, Kenyan-Muslim darkie” in the Oval Office.
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