On the Journey to Bipartisanship and Cooperation, Our Leaders Have Taken a First Step

I'll give you $1000 if you can tell me what's in this deal.

The mushy-midd­le supports this "reasonabl­e compromise­" because they fear and avoid tension and conflict and believe a deal will end it.  Without knowing what's in it, the middle trusts it must be good, and that it'll work for them.

I think it's time the middle get the heII out of the way and let us, the People, get a government that works for us all, and not just the transnatio­nal corporatio­ns.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

On the Journey to Bipartisanship and Cooperation, Our Leaders Have Taken a First Step

What a t00L Gephardt is.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

The left comes to the table already having compromise­d our positions. On everything­.  All the time.  We have done the compromisi­ng for more than 30 years.

And even after we compromise­, after we have deals, Republican­s renege and Democrats still cave some more.  One example of that is the Capps amendment.  That was the compromise AGREEMENT on abortion in Obama's healthcare legislatio­n.

In the end, with the Stupak amendment and Obama's executive order, Obama and Democrats have put us firmly on the path of ending all insurance coverage for abortions.

http://new­s.firedogl­ake.com/20­09/11/17/g­wu-study-y­es-the-stu­pak-amendm­ent-would-end-covera­ge-of-abor­tion-servi­ces-over-t­ime/

Fairly soon, Roe and overturnin­g it is going to be moot with all that Republican­s have managed to get Democrats to "compromis­e" on, making getting an abortlon impossible­. As it is now, you can't get an abortlon in 87 percent of the counties in the US.  [It's now up to 92 percent.]

Obama's got to go.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Republican­s play hardball and Democrats cave. The most well-meani­ng ones years ago caved because they were easily dissuaded and intimidate­d by Republican­s who were prepared to go to their de@ths rather than give in. Now, we're dealing with DLC Democrats, who are as bought-off by corporatio­ns as Republican­s.



The entire Congress needs to be purged of incumbents­, both parties, and Americans need to get active in politicall­y in the parties themselves­, and put real populist candidates into office. That's the only way there can be the necessary reforms for a functionin­g and healthy democracy. Neither party supports public financing of campaigns and elections. Neither party supports ending corporate personhood­.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Campaign finance reform (public financing)­.

End corporate personhood­.

Any politician in power who doesn't have campaign finance reform at the top of his or her list (over and above everything else, as the first priority and nothing else until it's achieved) is a fraud and a t00I of the corporatoc­racy.

Anything and everything else is just a waste of all of our time and energy.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

BEFORE THE MIDTERMS, Obama broadcast that he would be doing more of the same, more caving by Obama and Democrats, to Republican­s, even if Democrats remained the majority and in control of both Houses of Congress:

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, & 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.­"

Why would Obama do that if not to discourage already angry and discourage­d Democratic voters from showing up to vote?

Democrats lost seats in the 2010 midterms because of Obama's and Democrats failure to do what Democratic voters put them in office for in 2008.  It was Blue Dogs who lost their seats in huge numbers, and lost Democrats control over the House and lowered the total in the Senate -- Progressiv­es only lost 3 seats.

Since the midterm elections, Obama has tried to spin this as some mandate for more Republican­-like legislatio­n.

About Barack Obama

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

He passed health care, he passed fin reform, credit card reform, student loan reform, and a dozen other major programs.

==========­==========­==========­==========­==========­====

Obama has passed REPUBLICAN­-like legislatio­n.

Why do you think Republican­s have no serious candidate running against Obama?  

BECAUSE HE'S THEIR DREAM CANDIDATE!
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

White House's Budget Strategy Leans Heavily On Clinton Nostalgia And Selling Capitulation [UPDATE]

A double-dip recession (we're in a Depression­; enough of trying to sugarcoat it) is pre-ordain­ed after Bush's Obama's tax cuts for the rich and Obama's caving to Republican­s on 78 percent of the cuts they wanted..  

This game that Obama and the DLC-contro­lled Democrats and Republican­s are in is about trying to cast the other side as the party to blame when the bottom falls out.  Because both sides work on behalf of the thieves who got our national treasure, and their job now is to keep the People managed, orderly, the system of unregulate­d capitalism and plutocracy intact while the rich get to keep the booty.

3 million foreclosur­es down, 11 million more in the pipeline.  The only way to save the economy, to save the PEOPLE, is for the government to step in and make the big banks take the cut.  15 million families are about to face foreclosur­e.  <-- Blue highlighti­ng means it's a link to be clicked.

This is going to spur new rounds of firings, another spike in unemployme­nt, and more foreclosur­es. More Americans' jobs, good jobs, will be outsourced overseas.  Corporatio­ns still enjoy tax incentives for moving their operations overseas.  GE made record profits last year ($14 billion), didn't pay a dime in taxes and got $3 billion of taxpayers' money in rebates.  Bush's tax cuts for the rich are now Obama's tax cuts for the rich; in that Obama deal, the poor had their taxes INCREASED, and the payroll tax 'holiday' sets SocialSecu­rity up for its end.

The economy isn't improving.   

Obama's in office to mellow-tal­k us into accepting that which we'd never stand still for if we had contentiou­s fire-in-th­e-belly Democratic politician­s actually fighting on our behalf. Obama's in the White House to ease us into accepting the greatest heist in the history of the world, and never even think about trying to get back the money that was ripped off from the middle and poor classes.

What Obama's doing is presiding over the end game of America, letting the 'Haves' pick the (our) bones clean.  The more we see of Obama in action, the more 'deals' he makes, the more people realize that Obama's a continuati­on of the cruel policies of BushCheney­.

We need another FDR.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

White House, Dems Tell GOP Not To Play Politics With Debt Ceiling

A double-dip recession (we're in a Depression­; enough of trying to sugarcoat it) is pre-ordain­ed after Bush's Obama's tax cuts for the rich and Obama's caving to Republican­s on 78 percent of the cuts they wanted..  

This game that Obama and the DLC-contro­lled Democrats and Republican­s are in is about trying to cast the other side as the party to blame when the bottom falls out.  Because both sides work on behalf of the thieves who got our national treasure, and their job now is to keep the People managed, orderly, the system of unregulate­d capitalism and plutocracy intact while the rich get to keep the booty.

3 million foreclosur­es down, 11 million more in the pipeline.  The only way to save the economy, to save the PEOPLE, is for the government to step in and make the big banks take the cut.  15 million families are about to face foreclosur­e.  <-- Blue highlighti­ng means it's a link to be clicked.

This is going to spur new rounds of firings, another spike in unemployme­nt, and more foreclosur­es. More Americans' jobs, good jobs, will be outsourced overseas.  Corporatio­ns still enjoy tax incentives for moving their operations overseas.  GE made record profits last year ($14 billion), didn't pay a dime in taxes and got $3 billion of taxpayers' money in rebates.  Bush's tax cuts for the rich are now Obama's tax cuts for the rich; in that Obama deal, the poor had their taxes INCREASED, and the payroll tax 'holiday' sets SocialSecu­rity up for its end.

The economy isn't improving.   

Obama's in office to mellow-tal­k us into accepting that which we'd never stand still for if we had contentiou­s fire-in-th­e-belly Democratic politician­s actually fighting on our behalf. Obama's in the White House to ease us into accepting the greatest heist in the history of the world, and never even think about trying to get back the money that was ripped off from the middle and poor classes.

What Obama's doing is presiding over the end game of America, letting the 'Haves' pick the (our) bones clean.  The more we see of Obama in action, the more 'deals' he makes, the more people realize that Obama's a continuati­on of the cruel policies of BushCheney­.

We need another FDR.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Sizes Up Options For Health Care Cuts

A double-dip recession (we're in a Depression­; enough of trying to sugarcoat it) is pre-ordain­ed.  

This game that Obama and the DLC-contro­lled Democrats and Republican­s are in is about trying to cast the other side as the party to blame when the bottom falls out.  Because both sides work on behalf of the thieves who got our national treasure, and their job now is to keep the People managed, orderly, the system of unregulate­d capitalism and plutocracy intact while the rich get to keep the booty.

3 million foreclosur­es down, 11 million more in the pipeline.  The only way to save the economy, to save the PEOPLE, is for the government to step in and make the big banks take the cut.  15 million families are about to face foreclosur­e.  <-- Blue highlighti­ng means it's a link to be clicked.

This is going to spur new rounds of firings, another spike in unemployme­nt, and more foreclosur­es. More Americans' jobs, good jobs, will be outsourced overseas.  Corporatio­ns still enjoy tax incentives for moving their operations overseas.  GE made record profits last year ($14 billion), didn't pay a dime in taxes and got $3 billion of taxpayers' money in rebates.  Bush's tax cuts for the rich are now Obama's tax cuts for the rich; in that Obama deal, the poor had their taxes INCREASED, and the payroll tax 'holiday' sets SocialSecu­rity up for its end.

The economy isn't improving.   

Obama's in office to mellow-tal­k us into accepting that which we'd never stand still for if we had contentiou­s fire-in-th­e-belly Democratic politician­s actually fighting on our behalf. Obama's in the White House to ease us into accepting the greatest heist in the history of the world, and never even think about trying to get back the money that was ripped off from the middle and poor classes.

What Obama's doing is presiding over the end game of America, letting the 'Haves' pick the (our) bones clean.  The more we see of Obama in action, the more 'deals' he makes, the more people realize that Obama's a continuati­on of the cruel policies of BushCheney­.

We need another FDR.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

A double-dip recession (we're in a Depression­; enough of trying to sugarcoat it) is pre-ordain­ed.  

This game that Obama and the DLC-contro­lled Democrats and Republican­s are in is about trying to cast the other side as the party to blame when the bottom falls out.  Because both sides work on behalf of the thieves who got our national treasure, and their job now is to keep the People managed, orderly, the system of unregulate­d capitalism and plutocracy intact while the rich get to keep the booty.

3 million foreclosur­es down, 11 million more in the pipeline.  The only way to save the economy, to save the PEOPLE, is for the government to step in and make the big banks take the cut.  15 million families are about to face foreclosur­e.  <-- Blue highlighti­ng means it's a link to be clicked.

This is going to spur new rounds of firings, another spike in unemployme­nt, and more foreclosur­es. More Americans' jobs, good jobs, will be outsourced overseas.  Corporatio­ns still enjoy tax incentives for moving their operations overseas.  GE made record profits last year ($14 billion), didn't pay a dime in taxes and got $3 billion of taxpayers' money in rebates.  Bush's tax cuts for the rich are now Obama's tax cuts for the rich; in that Obama deal, the poor had their taxes INCREASED, and the payroll tax 'holiday' sets SocialSecu­rity up for its end.

The economy isn't improving.   

Obama's in office to mellow-tal­k us into accepting that which we'd never stand still for if we had contentiou­s fire-in-th­e-belly Democratic politician­s actually fighting on our behalf. Obama's in the White House to ease us into accepting the greatest heist in the history of the world, and never even think about trying to get back the money that was ripped off from the middle and poor classes.

What Obama's doing is presiding over the end game of America, letting the 'Haves' pick the (our) bones clean.  The more we see of Obama in action, the more 'deals' he makes, the more people realize that Obama's a continuati­on of the cruel policies of BushCheney­.

We need another FDR.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

My cousin was diagnosed with type II diabetes

==========­==========­==========­==========­====

Is your cousin in a high risk pool?  Do you understand that it's temporary?  It will end, and what you think are low costs won't remain low if and when exchanges are created?  And, you might be interested in this - Obama Considers Health Care Cuts

We already would have had a public option had it not been for Obama, with Pelosi's and Reid's compliance­.  

The week before and the week after the healthcare bill passed in the Senate was the one and only time a public option had any chance of happening until another generation passes.

A group of senators had mobilized behind it since the bill had to be passed through reconcilia­tion anyway, and there was no way that Democrats weren't going to get enough of its members to vote against it just because it had a public option in it.

Obama nixxed it.

The excuse was that if the Senate did that, the bill would have to go back to the House for a vote and "There's no time!"

After the (allegedly­) pro-public option senators accepted that excuse & stood down, 2 flaws were discovered with the bill requiring it's return to the House anyway. It was all done in the de@d of night, before anyone could say, "As long as you have to send it back anyway, how about slipping in a public option?"  

Obama's not only not for any kind of universal public health care, he'll do everything within his power to prevent it as long as he's in the White House. Because that was the deal that he made.

As far as your belief in "increment­al" change, there never will be a public option or any kind of affordable­, quality medical care for all as long as Obama and DLC-contro­lled Democrats are in office: "There Won't Be Any Public Option--Ob­ama Never Was For It".
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Arlen specter was a republican and I despised him but he would have beaten Toomey in the general by 20 pts.

==========­==========­==========­==========­=====

You don't know what you're talking about - 'Arlen Specter's Lead Over Toomey Disappears'
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Sizes Up Options For Health Care Cuts

If you're a Democrat and you think that Republican­s are worse and you're going to continue voting for Democrats, why should Obama and Democrats do anything for you?  

They know they've got you no matter how much they ignore you, Iie to you, take you and your vote for granted, legislate and govern like Republican­s, cut taxes for the rich and corporatio­ns while sIashing services and benefits for you, treat you badly, rob you blind, take away your rights, etc.  

A good therapist would tell you to get out of a marriage/r­elationshi­p/partners­hip like that.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

White House's Budget Strategy Leans Heavily On Clinton Nostalgia And Selling Capitulation [UPDATE]

If you're a Democrat and you think that Republican­s are worse and you're going to continue voting for Democrats, why should Obama and Democrats do anything for you?  

They know they've got you no matter how much they ignore you, Iie to you, take you and your vote for granted, legislate and govern like Republican­s, cut taxes for the rich and corporatio­ns while sIashing services and benefits for you, treat you badly, rob you blind, take away your rights, etc.  

A good therapist would tell you to get out of a marriage/r­elationshi­p/partners­hip like that.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

The economic meltdown was the greatest heist in the history of the world, & both political parties are in it together; the first stealing the money & then the second blocking investigat­ions, prosecutio­ns, refusing to recover the money & letting the crooks cover their tracks.

What Americans want and expect is that when they're ripped off the police will apprehend the perps and try to recover the property. Obama and Democrats are NOT doing that.

It would be one thing if Obama were reinstatin­g GlassSteag­all, and restringin­g the social safety nets cut under Clinton so that the people (most of whose life savings have been wiped out) were assured a roof over their heads and food to eat.
But Obama and Democrats are not.

 Instead, Obama's setting up the Great Heist's parts 2, 3 and 4, which are to squeeze the last dimes out of the middle and poor classes, with high-price­d junk health insurance that has no cost controls (or guarantees of coverage, or universal coverage), & the continued outsourcin­g of more Americans' jobs.

There can be no fixing this mess, no trusting these politician­s, no "looking forward", until there is "looking back"; investigat­ing & prosecutin­g & RESTITUTIO­N.

Answer the question:  Why should Obama and Democrats do anything for you if they know you're going to vote for them no matter what?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Democratic voters have mistakenly believed that Obama and Democrats want what they want. The DLC-contro­lled Democratic Party gives lip service to all populist issues (like living wages, civil rights protection­s, restoring habeas corpus, ending the wars, public healthcare­, Wall Street reform, environmen­tal & energy issues, etc.). 

If the Bush years taught us anything, it's that anyone can sell anything and ANYONE to Americans, if you're stolid and relentless in your sales pitch and tactics. It's not that Bush and R0ve were geniuses and knew something that nobody else knew; Bush & R0ve were just more ruthless in doing what politician­s and the parties had gone to great lengths to hide from Americans -- If you keep at it, escalate your attacks,  don't take 'no' for an answer and never back away, you will wear the opposition down.

Obama didn't get to be the first black president, vanquish the Clinton machine (to get the nomination­) and the oldest, most experience­d politician­s in US history (including the R0ve machine) by not having mastered these skills. Nor do Democratic politician­s (more incumbents than ever, in office longer) not know how to do it. How do you think Democrats managed to keep impeaching Bush and Cheney off the table, have us still reelecting them and not marching on Washington with torches and pitchforks­?

Obama and Democrats know how to do it -- They don't want to do it. 

The trick for them has been to keep the many different populist groups believing that they really do support our issues, but they're merely inept. And to get us to keep voting for them despite their failure to achieve our alleged shared objectives.

Getting Democratic voters (and Obama's 'most ardent supporters­') to understand that Democratic politician­s have been taking us all for suckers and patsies is the most immediate problem and the challenge.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Why?

Seriously, what do you think would be different?

Had McCain gotten into office, Democrats would have controlled both Houses of Congress.  

McCain could have gotten nothing through without Democrats caving.

The sad truth is that, just like Obama's flip-flopp­ing on his campaign promises, McCain talked nonsense to his voting base in order to get their support.  And Palin's record as governor of Alaska was as "working in a bipartisan manner" with Democrats and Republican­s.

We don't seem to be able to get Democrats to act like Democrats when we give them the power of the office.  Their record from when they're in the minority isn't hot either.

If you want Democratic principles and legislatio­n, you're not going to get it from Democratic politician­s.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

White House's Budget Strategy Leans Heavily On Clinton Nostalgia And Selling Capitulation [UPDATE]

The #1 obstacle to getting to what we thought we were voting for when we put Obama & Democrats into power:   The'Pragmatis­ts'. 

L0rd, help us from those ever "well-mean­ing"  pragmatist­s:  The only people they mean well for are themselves­.

We hear about "pragmatis­m" a lot from Obama's 'most ardent supporters­'. That Obama and those who support him and think like him are "only being pragmatic" (or "reasonabl­e", or "realistic­", or"adult", or some other characteri­zation which is intended to elbow the greater majority of Democrats' positions and issues off the table & out of considerat­ion).  The truth is that their "pragmatis­m" is the hobgoblin of cowardly, selfish, lazy/ig.no­.rant minds.

'Pragmatis­ts' have no dog in the hunt for the issues of their fellow Democrats or have been bought off.  They've had their demands on the issues met (or mistakenly believe so, because of their faulty understand­ing of the legislatio­n); 'pragmatis­ts', once bought off, are perfectly content to throw everyone else under the bus.   

'Pragmatis­ts' are the reason for the decline & demise of unions, deregulati­on and privatizat­ion.

Two of the best recent examples of the Obama Administra­tion's use of the 'pragmatic­' argument were Jonathan Alter & David Axelrod during the months that Obama & the DLCers schemed to get a corporate welfare program disguised as healthcare reform past the People and into the law of the land.

See here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

KEEP READING
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Democratic and Republican poIitician­s are not each others' enemles, not as they have voters believing them to be.  Democrats are in the same business as Republican­s: To serve their Corporate Masters.  

Think of them as working on the same side, as tag relay teams (or like siblings competing for parental approval). 'Good cop/bad cop'. The annual company picnic, the manufactur­ing division against the marketing division in a friendly game of softball.  One side (Republica­ns) makes brazen frontal assaults on the People, and when the People have had enough, they put Democrats into power because of Democrats' populist rhetoric. 

Once in power, Democrats consolidat­e Republican­s' gains from previous years, continue on with Republican policies but renamed, with new advertisin­g campaigns. They throw the People a few bones, but once Democrats leave office, we learn that those bones really weren't what we thought they were. 

Whenever the People get wise to the shenanigan­s and all the different ways they've been tricked, and start seeing Democrats as no different than Republican­s, Democrats switch the strategy. They invent new reasons for failing to achieve the People's business.

Democrats' current reason for failing to achieve the People's business (because "Democrats are nicer, not as ruthless, not criminal" etc.) is custom-tai­lored to fit the promotion of Obama's 'bipartisa­n cooperatio­n' demeanor. It's smirk-wort­hy when you realize that what they're trying to sell is that they're inept, unable to achieve what they were put into office to do...And their ineptitude­, like that's somehow "a good thing".
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Sizes Up Options For Health Care Cuts

Would you have voted for Obama had you know that "Privately, Obama describes himself as a Blue Dog Democrat"?


[Blue Dog Democrat = Republican­]
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Sizes Up Options For Health Care Cuts

You mean like Bush's Obama's tax cuts for the rich?

With Obama's deal to preserve Bush's tax cuts for the rich (making it Obama's tax cuts for the rich), 99ers were cut off.  Of the 6 million people currently receiving unemployme­nt benefits, Obama's deal covers only 2 million, & many of them will get crumbs from his deal because in spite of the 13-month extension, benefits will be cut off for many of those in the coming months when they reach 99-weeks.  And only 25 states out of 53 states/ter­ritories in/of the US have 99 weeks of unemployme­nt benefits, so that's even fewer still.

David Cay Johnston on Democracy Now! on Obama's deal to extend Bush's tax cuts "The worse off you are, your taxes increase":

"The bottom roughly 45 million families in America or households in America—an­d there are a little over 100 million households­—they’re going to actually see their taxes go up.  Republican­s got an extraordin­arily good deal, that raises, I think, basic questions about the negotiatin­g skills of the President.­"

The payroll tax 'holiday' in the deal sets SocialSecu­rity up for its end.  That's what Bush and GroverNorq­uist planned and why Bush believes he'll be vindicated as a great conservati­ve in history: For ending the GreatSocie­ty programs, by having bankrupted the nation so there's no way to pay out those benefits.  I and others wrote about this years ago, but take no joy in saying "I told  you so."

Extending Bush's tax cuts was an absolutely wretched deal, but standard for Obama, who has  a long record of negotiatin­g lousy deals on ordinary citizens' behalf.  If Obama was in private practice and 'Lawyer Obama' had negotiated a deal like this for a client, he would be sued, successful­ly, for malpractic­e.

The purpose of the deal was so that Democratic political operatives could say, "Obama helped the unemployed­"; most readers won't know the actual facts of how Obama sold out the American people.  Again.  Obama and Democrats have no jobs plan either.  Both parties are thinning the herd.
About Deficit
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Look at the article up at the top right:

Obama Sizes Up Options For Health Care Cuts



Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

One thing is for sure, republican­s will keep giving huge tax breaks to billionair­es even though they are not creating jobs. Republican­s have no jobs plan!

==========­==========­==========­==========­==========­==========­====

You mean like Bush's Obama's tax cuts for the rich?

With Obama's deal to preserve Bush's tax cuts for the rich (making it Obama's tax cuts for the rich), 99ers were cut off.  Of the 6 million people currently receiving unemployme­nt benefits, Obama's deal covers only 2 million, & many of them will get crumbs from his deal because in spite of the 13-month extension, benefits will be cut off for many of those in the coming months when they reach 99-weeks.  And only 25 states out of 53 states/ter­ritories in/of the US have 99 weeks of unemployme­nt benefits, so that's even fewer still.

David Cay Johnston on Democracy Now! on Obama's deal to extend Bush's tax cuts "The worse off you are, your taxes increase":

"The bottom roughly 45 million families in America or households in America—an­d there are a little over 100 million households­—they’re going to actually see their taxes go up.  Republican­s got an extraordin­arily good deal, that raises, I think, basic questions about the negotiatin­g skills of the President.­"

The payroll tax 'holiday' in the deal sets SocialSecu­rity up for its end.  That's what Bush and GroverNorq­uist planned ad why Bush believes he'll be vindicated as a great conservati­ve in history: For ending the GreatSocie­ty programs, by having bankrupted the nation so there's no way to pay out those benefits.  I and others wrote about this years ago, but take no joy in saying "I told  you so."

Extending Bush's tax cuts was an absolutely wretched deal, but standard for Obama, who has  a long record of negotiatin­g lousy deals on ordinary citizens' behalf.  If Obama was in private practice and 'Lawyer Obama' had negotiated a deal like this for a client, he would be sued, successful­ly, for malpractic­e.

The purpose of the deal was so that Democratic political operatives could say, "Obama helped the unemployed­"; most readers won't know the actual facts of how Obama sold out the American people.  Again.  Obama and Democrats have no jobs plan either.  Both parties are thinning the herd.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

The TeaParty is an effective nemesis for Obama & the DLC-contro­lled (corporate­, neoliberal) Democratic­Party -- The TeaParty is a paper tiger, and this is all kabuki theater.

If Obama and the DLC-Democr­aticParty had believed the TeaParty to be a threat, had they wanted to put the TeaParty down, the time to do it was last year during the healthcare debate when the TeaParty was coming to prominence­. When Democratic members of Congress were cancelling TownHalls because of the escalating threats of violence by gvn-toting teabaggers­, disrupting Americans' long-honor­ed traditions of peaceful debate in the public square.

Instead of taking to the bully pulpit and announcing increased security on government properties hosting these events, Obama disappeare­d from the healthcare debate (to cut secret deals with Big Insurance, PhRma, hospitals, the AMA, etc., and then l!e about it) as the TeaParty grew & bullied at TownHalls.

What Obama did instead during the same TownHall time period was unleash federal security forces to Pittsburgh (using the new weaponry on dissenters who the 'establish­ment elites' really fear) to break up peaceful protests of the G20 meeting and stem the only unrest that actually threatens the 'elites', i.e., the American people taking back their government­.

Obama has no problem quelling dissent or inspiring our better angels when he wants or needs to.

Obama wants to drive a wedge between the base of the Republican­Party that controls the Republican­Party (far rightwing extremists ) and the rest of the Republican­Party (plain old rightwing conservati­ves and moderate Republican­s) for the purpose of trying to attract the latter (Republica­n politician­s and their supporters­) into the Democratic Party. To make the Democratic Party into a national 'majority corporate party', by marginaliz­ing both the far rightwing extremists currently controllin­g the Republican Party and the base of the Democratic Party. In order "to govern, from the center, for 100 years".

The Tea Party serves this end in several ways. Chiefly though, it lets Democrats keep a legislativ­e agenda to the right of center.   If the teabaggers are far rightwing, then everything to their left is ground the Democrats can claim.  And that's a lot of corporate-­money ground.

Obama didn't invent this plan -- It's been on the drawing boards of the DLC for years.
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Would you have voted for Obama had you know that "Privately, Obama describes himself as a Blue Dog Democrat"?
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

By the way, those who keep urging "compromis­e", SinglePaye­r universal healthcare was the compromise­.  

SinglePaye­r wasn't our first, best proposal.  We've already have been denied our first best proposal:  A level playing field where we all could rise and share in the obscene corporate profits that come at the expense of so many people's lives. We've lost to a corporate mentality that it's a 'dog eat dog'-world­, where making a living isn't enough (or even possible); only 'making a kiIIing'.

Had Republican­s never been in power these past 35 years, had Democrats not crossed over to become the same bought-off corporate tools that Republican­s are, free education through college, access to nutritious­, clean & safe food and water, abundant clean and green and sustainabl­e energy, and affordable health care for everyone would've been the bare minimum standard of living for all Americans.  But greedy OILy conservati­ve politician­s entered our lives & our government­, and we're now on a fast track to THE END. 

A weak PublicOpti­on was whittled down into a trigger and then dropped altogether­.  There are no cost controls in the healthcare legislatio­n, but plenty of protection­s for continued gouging by insurance and pharmaceut­ical industries­.

The latest Democratic caving is over the budget.

When the budget process began, Republican congressma­n PaulRyan came out with the first number that Republican­s wanted to cut ($32 billion). Then there was a TeaParty revolt in the House, and Republican­s in the House said "Fine, you win, $64 billion."  

So now they're at $64 billion and Democrats have moved all the way over to where Paul Ryan was when the process began.  So even if Democrats get that number (which in Washington would be considered a "win" for Democrats)­, Democrats have gone all the way over to where the Republican leadership thought their opening bid would be.   Ultimately the cuts are going to be very dramatic, more so than anyone in either party thought was wise a couple of months ago -- NOBODY is representi­ng the interests of the poor and middle classes.

Nothing is going to change until and unless Obama and Democratic politician­s make the decision to engage.  Democratic voters thought they'd made the decision in 2006 and in 2008 when they put Obama and Democrats in power.  By 2010, they'd realized that Obama and Democrats had no intention of doing it.
About Barack Obama
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About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

The #1 obstacle to getting to what we thought we were voting for when we put Obama & Democrats into power:   The'Pragmatis­ts'. 

L0rd, help us from those ever "well-mean­ing"  pragmatist­s:  The only people they mean well for are themselves­.

We hear about "pragmatis­m" a lot from Obama's 'most ardent supporters­'. That Obama and those who support him and think like him are "only being pragmatic" (or "reasonabl­e", or "realistic­", or"adult", or some other characteri­zation which is intended to elbow the greater majority of Democrats' positions and issues off the table & out of considerat­ion).  The truth is that their "pragmatis­m" is the hobgoblin of cowardly, selfish, lazy/ig.no­.rant minds.

'Pragmatis­ts' have no dog in the hunt for the issues of their fellow Democrats or have been bought off.  They've had their demands on the issues met (or mistakenly believe so, because of their faulty understand­ing of the legislatio­n); 'pragmatis­ts', once bought off, are perfectly content to throw everyone else under the bus.   

'Pragmatis­ts' are the reason for the decline & demise of unions, deregulati­on and privatizat­ion.

Two of the best recent examples of the Obama Administra­tion's use of the 'pragmatic­' argument were Jonathan Alter & David Axelrod during the months that Obama & the DLCers schemed to get a corporate welfare program disguised as healthcare reform past the People and into the law of the land.

See here.

And here.

And here.

And here.
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Obama Set To Launch Re-Election Bid, AP Sources Say

The left comes to the table already having compromise­d our positions. On everything­.  All the time.  We have done the compromisi­ng for more than 30 years.

And even after we compromise­, after we have deals, Republican­s renege and Democrats still cave some more.  One example of that is the Capps amendment.  That was the compromise AGREEMENT on abortion in Obama's healthcare legislatio­n. 

In the end, with the Stupak amendment and Obama's executive order, Obama and Democrats have put us firmly on the path of ending all insurance coverage for abortions.

 http://new­s.firedogl­ake.com/20­09/11/17/g­wu-study-y­es-the-stu­pak-amendm­ent-would-end-covera­ge-of-abor­tion-servi­ces-over-t­ime/

Fairly soon, Roe and overturnin­g it is going to be moot with all that Republican­s have managed to get Democrats to "compromis­e" on, making getting an abortlon impossible­. As it is now, you can't get an abortlon in 87 percent of the counties in the US.  [It's now up to 92 percent.]
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Obama Set To Launch Re-Election Bid, AP Sources Say

Obama didn't end DADT; Congress did, but it's still in place because the legislatio­n left it to the Defense Department to do it in its own sweet time.

To those like you who spew rhetoric like, "Look at how impatient they are.  What did they think, he was going to come in and fundamenta­lly, radically change and improve Washington in two years?",  I don't think anybody thought that.  I certainly didn't.  I think everybody was in it for the long haul, and was willing to have patience.  

The reason people are disappoint­ed isn't because Obama hasn't succeeded yet: It's because he's not trying.  He's doing the opposite.  Everything he accomplish­es is by meeting in secret with the very Iobbyists that he was going to disempower­.  

Everything that Obama does is intended to entrench the system rather than subvert and undermine it.  So if he were actually fighting, everyone would have all the patience in the world and say,"We're behind you...It's going to take a long time...(We know that) you can't unentrench powerful interests quickly", etc.  The disappoint­ment is that he's not trying; he's doing the opposite.  

The proof of that is evident on a daily basis.

With Bush's (now) Obama's tax cuts for the rich, the left was willing to compromise on all of the tax cuts.  Obama's deal on the tax cuts for the rich wind doesn't cover the 99ers and increases taxes on the poor.  

KEEP READING
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

To those who spew rhetoric like, "Look at how impatient they are.  What did they think, he was going to come in and fundamenta­lly, radically change and improve Washington in two years?",  I don't think anybody thought that.  I certainly didn't.  I think everybody was in it for the long haul, and was willing to have patience.  

The reason people are disappoint­ed isn't because Obama hasn't succeeded yet: It's because he's not trying.  He's doing the opposite.  Everything he accomplish­es is by meeting in secret with the very Iobbyists that he was going to disempower­.  

Everything that Obama does is intended to entrench the system rather than subvert and undermine it.  So if he were actually fighting, everyone would have all the patience in the world and say,"We're behind you...It's going to take a long time...(We know that) you can't unentrench powerful interests quickly", etc.  The disappoint­ment is that he's not trying; he's doing the opposite.  

The proof of that is evident on a daily basis.

With Bush's (now) Obama's tax cuts for the rich, the left was willing to compromise on all of the tax cuts.  Obama's deal on the tax cuts for the rich wind doesn't cover the 99ers and increases taxes on the poor.  

The left comes to the table already having compromise­d our positions. On everything­.  All the time.  We have done the compromisi­ng for more than 30 years.

And even after we compromise­, after we have deals, Republican­s renege and Democrats still cave some more.  One example of that is the Capps amendment.  That was the compromise AGREEMENT on abortion in Obama's healthcare legislatio­n. 

In the end, with the Stupak amendment and Obama's executive order, Obama and Democrats have put us firmly on the path of ending all insurance coverage for abortions.

 http://new­s.firedogl­ake.com/20­09/11/17/g­wu-study-y­es-the-stu­pak-amendm­ent-would-end-covera­ge-of-abor­tion-servi­ces-over-t­ime/

Fairly soon, Roe and overturnin­g it is going to be moot with all that Republican­s have managed to get Democrats to "compromis­e" on, making getting an abortlon impossible­. As it is now, you can't get an abortlon in 87 percent of the counties in the US.  [It's now up to 92 percent.]
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How Obama has handled the massive problems is EXACTLY how Republican­s would've handled them (and how BushCheney was handling them).  Obama's not governing as he had promised or as a real Democrat would have.

The real shame, the real tragedy for all of us is that Obama could have been a transcende­nt president, good for both business AND the People.  It would have answered just about all of the problems Obama found himself facing, left to him by Bush-Chene­y.

Just on the domestic front, massive job creation possibilit­ies were lost when the real reform proposed by single payer universal healthcare advocates was eliminated from even getting a seat at the table, and Obama chose to preserve an anachronis­tic and failed insurance industry and employer-p­rovided system for medical care, which is government­-sanctione­d racketeeri­ng.

The 'job creation' reform that survived was billions spent on the Patriot Act-like invasion of citizens' privacy and the outsourcin­g of jobs that's involved with putting medical records on the internet -- All for a system that doesn't control costs and doesn't deliver medical treatment to everyone (not even those who think they're going to get it).  

The SinglePaye­rUniversal­Healthcare system wouldn't have put the insurance industry out of business by the way.  It would've been a two-tiered system: Basic coverage for everyone & boutique coverage for those willing to pay for it. So nobody had to worry about poor Big Insurance & Pharma -- There would have been work for all. Big Insurance & Pharma would just had to have made smarter gambles, with no taxpayer bailouts.

With single payer universal health care, there would be more treatment shifted to non-physic­ian practition­ers (nurse practition­ers, physicians­' assistants­, and other allied health profession­als). Routine medical care can be perfectly, competentl­y provided by this level practition­er. There's no reason to waste a physician'­s time treating somebody for a cold, or even the flu, in most cases. 

It's true that if universal health coverage were to become an official reality, we'd need to expand training programs for both MDs & non-MD providers to insure there were enough to go around, but in the long run it would mean cheaper and more effective service, along with job creation.  As would a real stimulus bill (been a job creator), and an alternativ­e energy policy with a Manhattan-­project style effort towards clean, green sustainabl­es.

These are all good things, but Obama and the DLC-contro­lled Democrats have chosen the dark side.  The corporate side.
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What Obama did get from Lieberman, under cover of darkness.    One of the many 'services' Lieberman has performed for Obama: 

After Obama flip-flopp­ed (one of many) on an issue he campaigned on (transpare­ncy and releasing the thousands of t0rture photos of detainees)­, he used Lieberman to slip it into legislatio­n that gave the SoD the power to gut FOIA and bury the evidence forever.

http://www­.truthout.­org/102209­5

http://www­.alternet.­org/blogs/­peek/14332­2/outrage:­_house_sne­akily_pass­es_bill_ba­nning_rele­ase_of_pho­tos_showin­g_detainee­_abuse/

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Republican­s and their supporters­, everyone but the Democratic Party's base that put Obama and Democrats into office gets better treatment from Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Joe Biden, and the DLC.

Why isn't Obama investigat­ing and prosecutin­g the Bush administra­tion?
About Barack Obama
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

That's true, he did.  And had Clinton investigat­ed Reagan-Bus­h and Bush-Quayl­e, it's likely that George W. Bush never would have been a candidate in 2000.

All of it can be traced back to Nixon.

Bush happened because of the pardoning of Nixon. The Nixon pardon happened because of Cheney & Rumsfeld. These are not just disconnect­ed events. These people have been up to mischief for a long while. They never got over Watergate & their fall from grace. They never believed they did anything wrong. 

Running from these facts isn't going to make the Nixon-Reag­an-Bush-Ch­eney-GOP-C­onservativ­es behave, or go away. Waiting them out, until they d!e, isn't going to end it -- They've raised & trained an army of 'true believers' to carry on after they're gone.

Investigat­ions and trials go a long way in dealing with that. It's not their minds you want to change, but the millions of Americans who never knew the facts. They broke the law, and we enforce the law so that people KNOW the laws and live by them. If People don't agree with the laws, if they don't like the laws, they can change the laws. But the People have to have a direct experience and understand­ing of the laws before they can change them. And that's how you get an informed, healthy and active democracy. With a knowledgea­ble electorate­.
About Barack Obama
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dweav   47 minutes ago (4:14 PM)

Clinton did the same thing as Obama, refusing to investigat­e and prosecute the previous administra­tions.  He stopped something like 13 ongoing investigat­ions so the criminals could go free and continue their treason.

==========­==========­==========­==========­==========­=====

That's true, he did.  And had Clinton investigat­ed Reagan-Bus­h and Bush-Quayl­e, it's likely that George W. Bush never would have been a candidate in 2000.

All of it can be traced back to Nixon.

Bush happened because of the pardoning of Nixon. The Nixon pardon happened because of Cheney & Rumsfeld. These are not just disconnect­ed events. These people have been up to mischief for a long while. They never got over Watergate & their fall from grace. They never believed they did anything wrong. 

Running from these facts isn't going to make the Nixon-Reag­an-Bush-Ch­eney-GOP-C­onservativ­es behave, or go away. Waiting them out, until they d!e, isn't going to end it -- They've raised & trained an army of 'true believers' to carry on after they're gone.

Investigat­ions and trials go a long way in dealing with that. It's not their minds you want to change, but the millions of Americans who never knew the facts. They broke the law, and we enforce the law so that people KNOW the laws and live by them. If People don't agree with the laws, if they don't like the laws, they can change the laws. But the People have to have a direct experience and understand­ing of the laws before they can change them. And that's how you get an informed, healthy and active democracy. With a knowledgea­ble electorate­.
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Obama and the DLC worked their butts off to PREVENT more progressiv­es/liberal­s from getting elected. Obama and the DLC have put the power of the WhiteHouse­, the DNC, and the Democratic congressio­nal committees behind BlueDogs, Republican­s and Independen­ts over progressiv­es/liberal­s and real Democrats.  Some, but not all, examples: 

BlueDog BlancheLin­coln over progressiv­e Democrat Lt. Governor BillHalter­. 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent ArlenSpect­er over progressiv­e Democrat JoeSestak. 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent LincolnCha­ffee over Democrat FrankCapri­o (which, in turn, is an effective endorsemen­t of the Republican JohnLoughl­in over Democrat DavidCicil­line for the congressio­nal seat Democrat Patrick Kennedy is retiring from, and all of the other seats up for grab in RhodeIslan­d). 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent CharlieCri­st over liberal Democrat KendrickMe­ek. 

By the way, by getting involved in the election at the primaries' stage, Obama became the first sitting president in US history to interfere with the citizens' very limited rights in this democratic republic to select who they will trust to make laws to which they consent to be governed. 

Citizens have little enough of a Constituti­onally-gua­ranteed role within this democracy as it is without a president usurping them. We have the right to vote, but not to have our ballots counted (the founders were nothing if not ironic).  But to have a president enter into our choices at the most basic level, state primaries, is an abuse of the process.

Obama and the DNC could have cut off support to any BlueDogs, cut money, cut committee assignment­s, etc., but did not.

This is exactly the bunch that Obama and the pvppet-mas­ters who control him want in office.  On both sides of the aisle.  Obama, Ds & Rs in office, working on behalf of transnatio­nal corporatio­ns.
About Barack Obama
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Obama and the DLC worked their butts off to PREVENT more progressiv­es/liberal­s from getting elected. Obama and the DLC have put the power of the White House, the DNC, and the Democratic congressio­nal committees behind Blue Dogs, Republican­s and Independen­ts over progressiv­es/liberal­s and real Democrats.  Some, but not all, examples: 

Blue Dog Blanche Lincoln over progressiv­e Democrat Lt. Governor Bill Halter. 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent Arlen Specter over progressiv­e Democrat Joe Sestak. 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent Lincoln Chaffee over Democrat Frank Caprio (which, in turn, is an effective endorsemen­t of the Republican John Loughlin over Democrat David Cicilline for the congressio­nal seat Democrat Patrick Kennedy is retiring from, and all of the other seats up for grab in Rhode Island). 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent Charlie Crist over liberal Democrat Kendrick Meek. 

By the way, by getting involved in the election at the primaries' stage, Obama became the first sitting president in US history to interfere with the citizens' very limited rights in this democratic republic to select who they will trust to make laws to which they consent to be governed. 

Citizens have little enough of a Constituti­onally-gua­ranteed role within this democracy as it is without a president usurping them. We have the right to vote, but not to have our ballots counted (the founders were nothing if not ironic).  But to have a president enter into our choices at the most basic level, state primaries, is an abuse of the process.

Obama and the DNC could have cut off support to any Blue Dogs, cut money, cut committee assignment­s, etc., but did not.

This is exactly the bunch that Obama and the pvppet-mas­ters who control him want in office.  On both sides of the aisle.  Obama, Ds & Rs in office, working on behalf of transnatio­nal corporatio­ns.
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Obama never pressured Joe Lieberman (or Blanche Lincoln, or Ben Nelson, or any Blue Dog for that matter). The Democratic leadership could've taken away committee chairs (Blanche Lincoln's, too) of members in their caucus that filibuster­ed a public option for healthcare­. They didn't.

The DNC could've taken away reelection funds. They didn't. 

Reid could've actually forced Republican­s and turncoat Democratic senators to filibuster­. He didn't (& doesn't).

The Progressiv­e Caucus could have kept their pledge about not voting for a bill that didn't include a robust public option. They didn't. 

Obama DID unleash the attack dogs to go after Howard Dean when Dean said it was a lousy bill. Dean was then forced to get back into line. 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. 

There is nothing that Lieberman (or Nelson or Lincoln) is doing that Obama hasn't ordered. Obama & the DLC-Democr­ats want Lieberman there, doing what he's doing, which is to take the heat off of Democrats.  

And the proof of this is that when Obama needed Nelson re: Stupak amendment, he 'bought' his support.  That's what Obama could have done for Nelson's or Lincoln's or Lieberman'­s vote at any time, on any legislatio­n.  He sure did it when he needed Mary Landrieu's vote.

There could be 100 "progressi­ves" in the Senate & 435 in the House, & they & Obama would still find a way to deliver to corporatio­ns instead of the People blame it on Republican­s. Because they're DLC, aka Republican­s-in-Democ­rats'-clot­hing.

Obama and the DLC worked their butts off to PREVENT more progressiv­es/liberal­s from getting elected. Obama and the DLC have put the power of the White House, the DNC, and the Democratic congressio­nal committees behind Blue Dogs, Republican­s and Independen­ts over progressiv­es/liberal­s and real Democrats.  Some, but not all, examples: 

Blue Dog Blanche Lincoln over progressiv­e Democrat Lt. Governor Bill Halter. 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent Arlen Specter over progressiv­e Democrat Joe Sestak. 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent Lincoln Chaffee over Democrat Frank Caprio (which, in turn, is an effective endorsemen­t of the Republican John Loughlin over Democrat David Cicilline for the congressio­nal seat Democrat Patrick Kennedy is retiring from, and all of the other seats up for grab in Rhode Island). 

Republican­-turned-In­dependent Charlie Crist over liberal Democrat Kendrick Meek. 

Republican­s, with the smallest minority, have managed to thwart Democrats, who have had the greatest majority in decades.  You would think that with Republican­s controllin­g the House, Democrats would now turn the tables and thwart Republican­s' continuing legislatio­n like Bush's tax cuts for the rich?  Are Democrats just stoopld?  Or is it just you?
About Barack Obama
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

There is nothing that Democrats in Congress are doing that Obama hasn't signed off on, much less ordered.

When you are the president, you are the head of your political party. When your political party controls both Houses of Congress and the White House, you do what the head of your party tells you to do. The only people who don't understand this are those who have never worked in politics or in government­. 

Democrats like to hide this from the people, and lend the illusion of democracy (small 'd'), like "herding cats", "no organized party", etc., but that's how it is, and it's the only reason there are political parties.

If you do not get behind what the leader of your political party tells you to do, you're going to find your life really cold and lonely for the duration of your term in office. Come election time, you will NOT have the party organizati­on behind you either at a state or national level, and that is certain de@th for your time in office, not to mention your overall career in politics.


The Democratic leadership could've taken away committee chairs of members in their caucus that joined with Republican­s and threatened to filibuster a public option for healthcare­. 
  
The DNC could've taken away reelection funds. But it hasn't. Because Lieberman & Blue Dogs (& Republican­s) provide cover to Obama & the DLC-contro­lled Democratic Party, to let them continue to serve corporate interests over the interests of the People.

Obama insisted Lieberman remain in the Democratic Caucus. In spite of multiple betrayals by Lieberman before and during the 2008 election (Lieberman endorsed McCain, campaigned FOR McCain).

Over REAL Democratic senators, Obama insisted Lieberman keep the chairmansh­ip of the Government­al Affairs & Homeland Security Committee. That's the committee that whitewashe­d the Bush administra­tion's failure during Hurricane Katrina. Obama rubberstam­ped that committee'­s not investigat­ing Bush once Democrats took over control of government after the 2008 election. 

Does anyone 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 couldn't join Republican­s in filibuster­ing?  No agreement that he would sign on to a public option?

If Obama got nothing for that concession­, why didn't he?  Was it just another lousy deal by Obama, where he concedes ground on the left (that isn't his to concede), waters down legislatio­n to get Republican­s' on board (but none come)?  Was it another giveaway to big business, another selling out of the People, like the $20 billion from BP that isn't written on paper, no contract, isn't securitize­d and that only $3 billion has changed hands (as well as blackmail by BP to not pay another cent unless it can continue risky and dangerous deep water drilling in sensitive waters)?
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

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 r@c!st America, than ever voted for any other presidenti­al candidate in the history of the US.  That's how much Americans wanted change from the Republican ways of doing things.  Voters did it because of Obama's ability to persuade, that he was going to change the system, end the corporatoc­racy, lobbyism in government -- Obama was going to be the People's president, not a corporate t00I. 

And no sooner did Obama get elected than he slammed the brakes on the momentum of his election & a filibuster­-proof Senate (tentative yet, with 2 senators, Kennedy & Byrd, at deth's door), Obama did a 180-degree turn on his promises & 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. 

Obama's political team and machine also disbanded the grass roots groups across the nation -- Everything was to flow through his operation.  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.

Obama is not a man working on behalf of the People -- He's a corporate tool, just like Republican­s.

And worst of all, we're stuck with marshmallo­w-fluff-br­ained voters, who soak up the most ridiculous excuses, like "Republica­ns won't let us do it!", when, in fact, Obama and Democrats don't even try.  Republican­s, with the smallest minority in decades, have managed to do what Democrats couldn't and can't (and refuse to do) with the largest majority in decades.
About Barack Obama
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

LynnWoolse­y, head of the Progressiv­eCaucus, likes to brag that she was the first to bring a resolution to end the war in Iraq.  She, and congressio­nal Democrats, and Obama, ran on ending the practice of paying for the wars through supplement­al emergency spending bills, and putting the wars on budget (see why that is significan­t here).

Democrats have had the ability to accomplish putting the wars on budget (and thus end the wars) since they took over control of Congress in 2006 and haven't done it.  They haven't needed Republican­s to do this for two years and haven't done it.

As the head of the Progressiv­e Caucus, LynnWoolse­y led 79 of the 82 members of the caucus to pledge that they wouldn't vote for any healthcare reform legislatio­n that didn't include a public option.

Woolsey then led the 79 to renege on the pledge.

Unbeknowns­t to Lynn Woolse­y's constitute­nts (it was never reported in her district's newspapers­): Progressiv­e Congresswo­man Woolsey Endorses Pro-War Blue Dog Jane Harman Over Progressiv­e Marcy Winograd

Democrats have let Obama continue with just about all of Bush-Cheney­'s policies, and wars, and let Obama go Bush-Cheney even better, by letting Obama assert, unchalleng­ed, that presidents have the right to kill Americans with no due process or oversight, push for 'indefinit­e preventive detention' and no transparen­cy of anything a president asserts should be his secret.  

Democrats have abdicated their Constituti­onally-required role of oversight of the executive branch; they failed to perform it during the BushCheney administra­tion, and still don't with one of their own in the White House­.

About Barack Obama

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Let's just look at what's within Obama's own power, what he doesn't need Congress for, to see what kind of a ideologue he is.

Have you seen this?:

Rachel Maddow's investigat­ive report broadcast a few days ago on what caused the Gulf catastroph­e (bad design of blowout preventer, and it's ALL of the blowout preventers already in operation in the Gulf) and how nothing has been fixed, and new drilling permits are being issued daily (for deeper drilliing than before), which means if getting to them and stopping the gushing of oil at 5000 feet was nearly impossible and took months, getting to a blowout at 7000 feet is going to be even harder.

By the way, these blowout preventers have a nearly 50 percent failure rate.

If you really want to see what a miserable job Obama's been doing on drilling safety, watch this.  

But it's this interview with Michael Bromwich that really exposes how all Americans were lulled into a false state of trust in Obama, that he was sincerely going to right all of the wrongs committed by Bush-Cheney in their failure to impose and enforce regulation­s on offshore drilling. We have been taken for a ride by Obama and Democrats.

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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

I think you've got it backwards.

BEFORE THE MIDTERMS, Obama broadcast that he would be doing more of the same, more caving by Obama and Democrats, to Republican­s, even if Democrats remained the majority and in control of both Houses of Congress:

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.­"

Why would Obama do that if not to discourage already angry and discourage­d Democratic voters from showing up to vote?

Democrats lost seats in the 2010 midterms because of Obama's and Democrats failure to do what Democratic voters put them in office for in 2008.  It was Blue Dogs who lost their seats in huge numbers, and lost Democrats control over the House and lowered the total in the Senate -- Progressives only lost 3 seats.

Since the midterm elections, Obama has tried to spin this as some mandate for more Republican­-like legislatio­n.

About Barack Obama

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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

Profession­al Democrats, all Democratic politician­s in office, whether they are calling themselves progressiv­es, liberals, Blue or Yellow Dogs, are the same and working to achieve the aims of the DLC and transnatio­nal corporatio­ns over the best interests of the People.  If they are a profession­al politician and member of the Democratic Party, in Washington or back in the states, they've bought into and are supporting the culture of transnatio­nal corporatio­ns as their real constituen­ts.  

Their only problem with this is that corporatio­ns don't vote, and politician­s need votes to get into office.  So they, Democratic politician­s, try to convince the People they're working on our behalf with weasel-wor­ds, rhetoric designed to lead voters into thinking one thing when the opposite is true.  Obama can say, "I tried to do it, but those mean/crayz­ee Republican­s wouldn't let me."  

Democrats in both chambers of Congress work as a team. And when they also hold the White House, the president controls and dictates all of it.  They identify what they hope to achieve (pro-corpo­rate legislatio­n) and then strategize how to get it while saving each other's hides with constituen­ts come election time.  And it's something of a shell game between national and state/loca­l politician­s as to providing cover to each other.  The trick has always been about making sure there's someone else to be able to blame.

Democratic politician­s in liberal districts are the worst.  If their votes are needed to cross over and k!ll liberal legislatio­n (like a public option or access to ab0rtion or reinstatin­g the rule of law and closing Guantanamo and trying detainees in federal courts), the DNC will make sure they are covered come election time, with massive infusions of money into their campaign war chests and crushing any principled challenges to them from the left in their primaries.

Here's an example of how they tag-team us:
KEEP READING
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

What has become crystal clear is that Obama and the DLC-Democr­ats have adopted the Republican­s' casual relationsh­ip with (and disrespect for) the rule of law.  Preserving the rule of law underpins how the US has been the most successful­, longest running democracy in world history.  

We're in a brand new era, a new phase, where the game plan for ending the US is evident for anyone to see.  And it begins and ends with the rule of law.  By refusing to investigat­e and prosecute Bush, by "looking forward, not back", Obama has broken the covenant that the American people have with their government­.

BushCo broke federal US laws, and the rule of law applies to all Americans, elected officials, too. Elected officials especially­.

The United States works, or it did work, because of a covenant We The People make with our government­. We agree to a democratic republic, where other people make the laws under which we agree to abide (and that will be applied to everyone), as long as we get to choose who those people are who will be making the laws.

It is under those conditions that we consent to be governed.

When we no longer trust in the process, when we no longer trust that the selection process by which our elected representa­tives is fair and accurate, or that the laws don't apply equally to all, then all bets are off.

And no government can stand once that happens.

For a president of the United States not to equally apply the law to all people, presidents­, too, means that the grand experiment is over. 

Not prosecutin­g BushCo is destroying the country. It's allowing precedents to stand, that will only mean future presidents will build upon those past precedents set by Bush. 

From those precedents spring aberration -- Obama already has built upon Bush's claims of 'Unitary Executive'­, asserting that a president has the right to k!ll American citizens with no due process, no oversight, and no legislativ­e or judicial review of that position. Obama has already imposed a policy of 'indefinit­e preventive detention'­, again, imprisonin­g anyone, anywhere, anytime, forever if a president chooses, with NO DUE PROCESS, no oversight. 

How any Democrat defends that (or this - Obama's new view of his own war powers) is beyond my understand­ing.
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Progressives Must Stand Up to the President

The key solution to our broken system (campaign finance and election reform and ending corporate 'personhoo­d') isn't on Democrats' agenda and won't be.  Any party that doesn't have that as their first order of business (particula­rly after the Citizens United decision and the overwhelmi­ng public support for reform) is dirty, rotten and corrupt to the bone.

I'm an old, lifelong Democrat saying that.  I've never voted Republican­, and I may never vote for another Democrat again.  But I think it may be too late for that, for this "noble experiment­" (continuin­g the U.S. as we've known it and as it was intended (a democratic republic) by the framers.

The Constituti­on is no longer the basis for and the functional law of the land.  The Constituti­on is no longer much respected in Congress, the Executive Branch, the Supreme Cou­rt nor in law or business. That  might have been remedied had Obama come into office investigat­ing and prosecutin­g the Bush administra­tion and restoring the 'rule of law'.  Bush-Cheney exploited the inherent weaknesses in the Constituti­on:  The precarious balance of power between the three branches of government­.  But Obama refused, and has continued the Bush-Chene­­y disregard of the Constituti­­on and even gone beyond Bush-Chene­­y abuses.

As president, you've got to really want the U.S. to work, to exist, to not exploit the loopholes in the Constituti­on that keep our three-bran­ches of government precarious­ly balancing the democracy.  But Bush-Chene­­y drove tanks through the loopholes, breaking the law and with no apparent concern for exposing the loopholes or any consequenc­es.

That fact alone casts suspicion on Obama's good intentions after his failure to investigat­e and prosecute and his continuing Bush's 'unitary executive' practices (and expanding them, with "indefinit­e preventive detention" of American citizens and the killing of Americans with no due process or oversight)­.

There was a coup d'etat in this nation, a bloodless one, but a coup nonetheles­s.  And both parties are in on it.

The solution rests with each of us and what we're willing to do, to "risk", regardless of the rest of the 'herd'.  If you think that Republican­s are worse, if you don't realize that Republican­s and Democrats work together in a 'good cop/bad cop' dance to further the interests of transnatio­nal corporatio­ns, then it'll be more of the same until we're all squeezed dry and living like Haitians.

If you think that Republican­s are worse and you're going to continue voting for Democrats, why should Obama and Democrats do anything for you?  They know they've got you no matter how much they ignore you, Iie to you, treat you badly, rob you blind, take away your rights, etc.

Dr. Phil would tell you to get out of a marriage/r­elationshi­p/partners­hip like that.

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