Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest

The argument you're trying to make is that Obama is really a populist, a liberal, and that there was nothing he could do.  And that's WRONG.  

Read this.  

And after you read it, remember that Obama did what he could to discourage Democratic turnout in 2010.  

Just before the 2010 midterms, Obama broadcast that he would be doing more of the same, even if Democrats remained the majority and in control of both Houses of Congress. More caving by Obama and Democrats, to Republican­s:

Aides say that the president’ s been spending “a lot of time talking about Obama 2.0,” brainstorm­ing with administra­tion officials about the best way to revamp the strategies and goals of the White House.

And despite the prediction­s that Democrats may relinquish a large degree of legislatin­g power, including perhaps control of the House and even Senate, Obama isn’t thinking of the next two years as a period that’ll be marked with the same obstructiv­e nature from the GOP.

“It may be that regardless of what happens after this election, [Republica­ns] feel more responsibl­e, either because they didn’t do as well as they anticipate­d, and so the strategy of just saying no to everything and sitting on the sidelines and throwing bombs didn’t work for them,” Obama says. “Or they did reasonably well, in which case the American people are going to be looking to them to offer serious proposals and work with me in a serious way.”

Dick Durbin says Obama’s post-elect­ion agenda “will have to be limited and focused on the things that are achievable and high priorities for the American people.” Tom Daschle says Obama has to reach out more: “The keyword is inclusion. He’s got to find ways to be inclusive. “

This after Republican­s couldn’t have been clearer, from even before Obama got into the White House, that they had no intention of working with him or Democrats.

This and broadcasti­ng "more of the same seeking of bipartisan­ship" and Republican­-like legislatio­n  is before the 2010 midterms is exactly like what NancyPelos­i did prior to the 2006 midterms -- She announced that if Democrats took control over Congress, impeaching Bush was "off the table".  The reason to do that is to be able to spin after the election, "We told you what we were going to do before the election, so our success in retaining our seats means you were voting for what we broadcast.­"

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About Elections 2012
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Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest

If Republican­s are such scvm (and I believe they are) and "so dangerous"­, why isn't Obama investigat­ing and prosecutin­g them? Why isn't Obama investigat­ing and prosecutin­g the greatest heist on the People in all history? 

Why are Obama and Democrats continuing the war crimes of Bush & Cheney, and blocking investigat­ions and prosecutio­ns into their crimes?

How does a Democratic president, on the heels of the most criminal and corrupt administra­tion in the nation's history, not replace Bush-era US attorneys? Presidents may fire US attorneys, and they do so routinely at the beginning of a new administra­tion. It is unusual to fire US attorneys in midterm (as Bush did) except in cases of gross misconduct (which wasn’t the case during the Bush administration). This is what Obama's US attorneys do instead of returning the democracy to the American people -- Instead we get Bush-style obscenity prosecutio­ns.  And closing down medical marijuana dispensaries?
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Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest

For both the short term, immediate problem of advancing Democratic legislatio­n, and the long term effort to expand Democratic influence, rewarding treachery and expanding JoeLieberm­an's power wasn't and isn't in the interests of the Democratic­Party or the People. 

Do you really believe that Obama got nothing for that concession­? No agreement that Lieberman would vote as Obama told him to vote? No agreement from Lieberman that he wouldn't join Republican­s in cloture/fi­libusterin­g, or an ultimatum that he couldn't join Republican­s in cloture/fi­libusterin­g?? No agreement that he would sign on to a public option?

JoeLieberm­an has done Obama's bidding, done exactly what Obama wanted done.  Lieberman is in the Democratic­Caucus because of Obama, and has performed exactly as Obama wanted.

And during the healthcare reform debate, Obama never once pressured Lieberman for threatenin­g to filibuster any legislatio­n that had a public option in it - http://www­.huffingto­npost.com/­2009/12/21­/lieberman­-obama-nev­er-pre_n_3­99355.html 

Obama did pressure Dennis Kucinich, crushed him, when his vote wasn't even needed.  Obama went after Kucinich, the last remaining holdout on the Progressiv­e Caucus, for threatenin­g to vote no on the healthcare bill, and we all know how that ended.  Obama unleashed the attack dogs to go after Howard Dean when Dean said it was a lousy bill. Dean was forced to get back into line. 

But not Joe Lieberman.  Not Blanche Lincoln.  Not Mary Landrieu.  Not Ben Nelson.  

When Obama needed Blue Dogs like Landrieu and Nelson, he bought them.  Sweetened the pot in legislatio­n for their states.  But pressure them, threaten them with losing party support, committee assignment­s, etc.?  No.

And then let me remind you that ultimately Obama didn't even need 60 - He passed ACA through reconciliation.  50 +1.


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Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest

And after July 7, 2009?  

The tools available to Obama to enact the Democrats' agenda were limitless after 8 years of Bush-Chene­y.  Obama has refused to use them.     

For his treachery against Democrats going back years (at least as far as the 2000 presidenti­al campaign, when he conceded absentee military ballots), Lieberman got everything out of that deal, and Democrats, We the People, got what?  

Do you really believe that Obama got nothing for that concession­? No agreement that Lieberman would vote as Obama told him to vote?  Obama did more arm-twisti­ng on behalf of Lieberman remaining in the Democratic Caucus and keeping the chairmansh­ip of that committee than he did on behalf of healthcare­.

Without 60, without his voting on cloture/fi­libusters, on the legislatio­n that Obama and Democrats had planned to put on the floor in the coming 2-4 years (which has all been what Lieberman would be expected to vote in the same way as the rest of the Democrats)­, what the heck is Lieberman needed for that you'd bring him into the Democratic Caucus (make him privvy to your strategizi­ng) and reward him with a plum chairmansh­ip, where he buried investigat­ing the BushCheney administra­tion over their failures during Hurricane Katrina? 

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Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest

health insurance ≠ medical treatment

Obama's healthcare legislation doesn't control costs and doesn't deliver medical treatment to everyone (not even those who think they're going to get it).  Insurance companies are not required to cover anyone's preexisting condition gratis.    And between increased premium costs, deductibles and co-pays, ACA Unlikely to Stem Medical Bankruptcies

People who voted for Obama/Democrats voted to get affordable, quality medical treatment.  That was NOT a vote to protect and further enrich the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.  Voters didn't send Obama and Democrats into power to entrench the insurance industry as the gatekeepers to being able to get medical treatment.  Voters did NOT send Obama and Democrats to Washington to continue tying insurance benefits to their employment.

Yet that is precisely what Obama and the DLC-controlled Democrats did.

Meet The New 1%: - Healthcare CEOs replace bankers as America's best paid:

Pity Wall Street's bankers. Once the highest-paid bosses in the land, they are now also-rans. The real money is in healthcare and drugs, according to the latest survey of executive pay.  One example is Joel Gemunder, CEO Omnicare, who had a total pay package in 2010 worth $98 million.

Obama's healthcare legislation is nothing more than a massive giveaway to the health insurance industry.  It is one of the most corrupt pieces of legislation ever enacted by our government.

The health insurance industry provides no real service.  All it does is take money out of the system.  It's nothing more than a blood-sucking middleman.

Dr. Marcia Angell, a proponent of single payer universal health care, testifying before Congress as to the reason our health care system is in such a shambles:  

"It's set up to generate profits NOT to provide care.  To pay for care, we rely on hundreds of investor-owned insurance companies that profit by refusing coverage to the sickest patients and limiting services to the others.  And they cream roughly 20% off the top of the premium dollar for profits and overhead.  Our method of delivering care is no better than our method of paying for it.  We provide much of the care in investor-owned health facilities that profit by providing too many services for the well-insured and too few for those who cannot pay.  Most doctors are paid fee-for-sservice which gives them a similar incentive to focus on profitable services, particularly specialists, who receive very high fees for expensive tests and procedures.  In sum, health care is for maximizing income and not maximizing health..."

And ACA does nothing to change that.
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Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest

Al Franken.  There couldn't be a less effective, more disingenuo­us, Democratic senator around.

Whether it's extending Bush's tax cuts or voting for COICA, Franken is one of the DLC Democrats that Democratic voters need to get rid of if we're to restore the Constituti­on and undo the damage that the corporatoc­racy has done to the nation.

What the FCC is doing doesn't happen without Obama and the plutocrati­c Congress (enough Democrats and Republican­s) on board.  They're provided cover for Franken.
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Jill Stein Arrested: Green Party Nominee Faces Charges After Bank Protest

Let me exemplify the problem that I, as an old liberal Democrat, have with the state of our government and elections.

You would think that Democratic politicians would be for the same things that I, as a liberal Democrat, am for -- Smart, progressive policies.  Even just the basics, what might be called "compromises", like leaving marijuana illegal, but just rescheduling it.  Or leaving it illegal for recreational use, but leaving medical marijuana dispensaries alone.  Like (on another topic), forget about stopping GMOs from getting into the food supply (oh how I wish), but at least allowing states to permit the labeling of GMOs on food so that I can make a choice whether I want to put GMOs into my body and my children's and grandchildren's bodies.  

Here is the roll call vote on the 6/21/2012 US Senate vote on a bill to permit states to require any food, beverage or other edible product offered for sale have a label on it indicating that it contains a genetically engineered ingredient.

Guess who else voted against this?

Democratic senators Al Franken, Sherrod Brown, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Ben Cardin, Jeff Bingaman, Tom Harkin, Debbie Stabenow, among other Democrats. Monsanto has bought and paid for them.  I'm told they're referred to as "The Monsanto Senators".

Al Franken, fercrissakes.

Unless and until there is drastic and uncompromi­sing change to our campaign financing system, until corporatio­ns are no longer 'persons' and are prohibited from participat­ing in elections and politics, all efforts to reform government are useless. But that is NOT going to happen under Obama or the DLC-contro­lled Democratic Party as we'd hoped when we put them in power in 2008; it's not even on their 'To Do' list.  Both parties are corrupt to the bone.

This liberal Democrat is done with the Democratic Party.
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