Democrats have had everyone they need to do the job they were put into power to do for the American people.
During the Bush years, Democrats said if the People wanted change, they had to put Democrats in the majority in Congress. So in 2006, we did.
Nothing changed.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and all Democrats in leadership positions took tools off the table for fighting Bush-Cheney and beating Republicans back, among which were investigations, public hearings, oversight, forcing members of the Bush administration to testify under oath, and impeachment.
They said, "You have to give us more Democrats -- 60 in the Senate".
In 2008, we did. We gave them 60 for the Democratic Caucus. And we gave them the White House.
Obama came into office with the wind at his back. More people voted for him, a black man in good old raclst America, than ever voted for any other presidential candidate in the history of the US. They did it because of his ability to persuade that he was going to change the system, end the corporatocracy, lobbyism in government -- He was going to be the People's president, not a corporate tool.
And no sooner did Obama get elected than he slammed the brakes on the momentum of his election and a filibuster-proof Senate (tentative yet, with 2 senators, Kennedy and Byrd, at death's door), Obama did a 180-degree turn on his promises and sloooooowed everything down. To "work in a bipartisan manner with Republicans", after Republicans had already announced they were going to block everything Democrats wanted to do, vote no on everything, in lockstep.
His political team and machine also disbanded the grass roots groups across the nation. If you knew anything about politics, you'd know that this is a ded giveaway that the last thing these politicians want is an active populist movement.
I'll cut to the chase:
Senate rule 22 gives the SenateMajorityLeader (HarryReid) the discretion to force Republicans to actually have to filibuster or merely threaten. Reid lets them merely threaten. Still. All that talk about changing filibuster rules, and nothing has come of it.
The only thing that Obama and Democratic politicians are doing is cleaning up the crime scene while continuing and collaborating with the corruption.
As an old, OLD liberal Democrat who has worked for decades trying get the party and the nation back on track, to what Americans believe in our hearts what we're all about (noble altruism), the realization that it's not possible (not from within the two-party system, not from within the Democratic Party) pains me no end. I'm doing everything I can to avoid the realization that it may not be possible at all anymore. It certainly won't happen by voting for Obama and Democrats.
About Barack Obama
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