CNN’s Dana Bash says Democratic sources telling her that Democrats upset that Obama didn’t do anything to help House Democrats, save for one robocall on behalf of Tammy Duckworth.
Obama doesn't want a Democratic Congress, a super-majority in the Senate nor a majority in the House, because he and Democrats would have to deliver on populist legislation.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
I asked for months, "If Obama wins, what do you think he will say he has a mandate to do?", and got no responses.
At the Democratic Convention, Bill Clinton and Obama embraced Simpson-Bowles and not long ago Nancy Pelosi said she will support it. Obama echoed the sentiment in his speech before the convention (during the debates, both Obama and Romney agreed that they liked Simpson-Bowles). Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told Andrea Mitchell that Obama’s going to use Simpson-Bowles as the template for budget talks.
Simpson-Bowles (Catfood Commission) plan cuts Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security (Social Security wasn't even on their plate to be considered) and puts the burden on the poor and middle classes, and lets the rich keep their ill-gotten booty.
Today's Democrats are yesterday's Republicans.
There should be tax HIKES on corporations and the rich. There should be massive cuts to the military. Banks should be threatened with nationalization unless they begin lending to small businesses. There have been more than 3.5 million home foreclosures but there are 11 million more in the pipeline — There must be principal write-downs.
Democratic politicians should be beating this drum, loudly, constantly, and pushing the People’s Budget instead of working off of a set of corporate lobbyists’ plans.
Why aren’t Obama, Pelosi, Reid and Democrats talking about the Progressive Caucus’s budget and plan to balance the budget (reduces the deficit by $5.1 trillion)? It beats Obama’s AND Republicans’ plans.
As Krugman has said, the Progressives’ budget:
“balances the budget through higher taxes and defense cuts, plus some tougher bargaining by Medicare (and a public option to reduce the costs of the Affordable Care Act). The proposed tax hikes would fall on higher incomes, raising the cap on payroll taxes (takes care of Social Security’s solvency forever)... and unlike the Ryan plan, it actually makes sense.”But Obama already is broadcasting he's willing to put safety net and entitlement programs on the table for cuts. He takes solutions that work for the People, the vast majority of Americans, off the table. Obama kneecaps and handicaps the Democratic voters who put him and Democrats into power before negotiations even begin.
When you run on Obama and Democrats being "the lesser of two evils", you don't get to claim you have a mandate for your policies.
When you win the women's vote by 38%, I think it's fair to assume that Republicans' reproductive policies scared women. With Latinos and the youth vote, it has less to do with immigration policies and more to do with rich white people prospering off the sweat and labor of the People.
In the debates, Obama admitted he agreed with Romney on:
1. Social Security.
2. Corporate Taxes.
Both said they will cut corporate taxes further. As though corporations are suffering from high taxes and low profits, and there is plenty of money at the state and local levels.
3. Bowles-Simpson.
Obama said he is going to push for Bowles-Simpson. And Romney praised Bowles-Simpson a few times. Imagine, a Democrat is going to push for this plan to undermine the social safety net on those who can least afford it, while further reducing taxes for the top income earners, who are already sitting on piles (and growing piles) of money, whilenot creating jobs. A Democrat.
Obama has the same type of economic plan as the Republicans on the radical right; they just differ slightly in degrees. Both will strangle us, one slightly slower than the other.
Both are out to radically restructure the progressive state that has been developed since FDR: undermine and curtail the social safety net, while restructuring taxes further in favor of the top income earners (proposed by Bowles-Simpson, which Obama said he will push for). This is further redistributing income upwards, in favor of the top income earners. Reckless and irresponsible and unconscionable. But the only ones to call Obama out on it are those of us on the left, who refuse to go quietly into that good night.
Here are the Top 15 Things Romney and Obama Agree On.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
There should be tax HIKES on corporations and the rich. There should be massive cuts to the military. Banks should be threatened with nationalization unless they begin lending to small businesses. There have been more than 3.5 million home foreclosures but there are 11 million more in the pipeline — There must be principal write-downs.
Democratic politicians should be beating this drum and pushing the People’sBudget instead of working off of a set of corporate lobbyists’ plans. It reduces the deficit by $5.1 trillion and it beats Obama’s AND Republicans’ plans.
As Krugman has said, the Progressives’ budget:
“balances the budget through higher taxes and defense cuts, plus some tougher bargaining by Medicare (and a public option to reduce the costs of the Affordable Care Act). The proposed tax hikes would fall on higher incomes, raising the cap on payroll taxes (takes care of SocialSecurity’s solvency forever)... and unlike the Ryan plan, it actually makes sense.”But Obama telegraphs that he's "not wedded" to vetoing cuts to Medicare and Social Security, taking solutions that work for the People off the table. Obama kneecaps and handicaps the Democratic voters who put him and Democrats into power. By taking the People's position off the table before entering talks, he sets the stage for squeezing the rest of the dimes from the poor and middle classes. What began with part 2 of Bush’s MedicareReformAct of 2003 (high-priced junk health insurance that has no cost controls), continues with more *AFTA treaties (outsourcing more Americans’ jobs) and “payroll tax ‘holidays’” that lead to the end of SocialSecurity.
The five largest commercial and investor-owned health insurers — UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, Aetna, Cigna and Humana — posted a massive cumulative profit of $3.64 billion in the third quarter of the 2012 fiscal year.
This past quarter's results were up 18.6 percent compared with the third quarter of FY 2011 as four out of the "big five" insurers posted gains. UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the United States in both revenues and enrollment, led the pack with $1.56 billion in third-quarter profits — or roughly 43 percent of the total.
© Blogger templates Newspaper by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
Back to TOP
