Democrats

Certain things make me bang my head against the wall. Politically, one of those things is the complete lack of real concern over the employment deficit by our political betters, especially by Democrats. Here's the latest installment of stupidity (italics mine): To fight the worst recession since the Great Depression, Congress started giving the unemployed additional weeks of federally-funded unemployment benefits in July 2008 on top of the 26 weeks always provided by states. The benefits became more generous in 2009 to the point where in hardest-hit areas, the jobless are eligible for 73…
By way of John Aravosis, we read this statement by President Obama made during a 60 Minutes interview: Obama also expressed impatience with his liberal supporters for not understanding the deep divisions in the country - and that overcoming them was not simply a matter of a better message. "I will say that when it comes to some of-- my supporters-- part of it, I think, is-- the belief that if I just communicated things better, that I'd be able to persuade-- that half of the country that voted for John McCain that we were right and they were wrong. "One of the things that I think is important…
I received a email and got a link to this Daily Kos campaign to support Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's campaign to be House Minority Leader next term: As you read this, Pelosi is mulling over whether to run for House Minority Leader. The basic process involves counting her supporters. If she is going to run, she needs to hear from her supporters ASAP that they still in her corner. You can make her voice heard by signing this petition of support. I will do my best to deliver the petition to her personally before she makes her decision. She will hear your voice. The Blue Dogs want her out…
John Aravosis, in responding to Roger Simon's silly claim that liberals--all three of them--are unwilling to compromise, makes a very good point about the difference between negotiation and being steamrolled: No one, and I mean no one, is saying that compromise is unnecessary, evil, or unacceptable. What we are saying, what we have been saying all along, is that President Obama has this thing about giving away the shop as his opening move in a negotiation, and then when the Republicans don't budge, he gives away some more until his proposal is a shell of its former self, then the Republicans…
Paul Krugman, in a recent column, asks the following regarding the bogus claim by former Blue Dog Democrat and current corporate lobbyist (nice retirement plan) Evan Bayh that Democrats were too focused on healthcare: After all, are people who say that Mr. Obama should have focused on the economy saying that he should have pursued a bigger stimulus package? Are they saying that he should have taken a tougher line with the banks? If not, what are they saying? That he should have walked around with furrowed brow muttering, "I'm focused, I'm focused"? Regarding Bayh and the rest of the…
I realize most people probably don't care very much about science funding, but I'll go out on a limb and assume that many readers here do care about science funding (I think many, in the public as a whole, don't even realize how science is paid for). The Republican platform, Pledge to America, boldly declares that all non-military discretionary spending will be reduced to 2008 levels. Here's what this would mean for science funding: Under that plan, research and development at nonmilitary agencies -- including those that sponsor science and health research -- would fall 12.3 percent, to $57…
There will be a lot of discussion of what the Democrats could have done to forestall or mitigate the collapse in the House. Most of will focus on messaging or tactical considerations. But, ultimately, I think it stems from the Democrats have forgotten (or never cosnidering in the first place) the Mad Biologist's Cardinal Rule of Politics: people have to like this crap. The issue isn't that Democrats used the wrong electoral and political tactics, it's that the problem was far more fundamental than that: the policies were dreadful. Healthcare reform, while it is an improvement, wasn't…
Once again, Obama has decided to inflict post-partisan depression on us. Here's our latest installment in "Looking Forward, Not Back" (italics mine): "Where any homeowner has been defrauded or denied the basic protections or rights they have under law, we will take actions to make sure the banks make them whole, and their rights will be protected and defended," Donovan said at a Washington press briefing. "First and foremost, we are committed to accountability, so that everyone in the mortgage process -- banks, mortgage servicers and other institutions -- is following the law. If they have…
I've never been one for long-distance psychoanalysis, especially of political figures. I don't know them, and, besides, I'm not really competent to make a clinical judgment. Instead, I follow Paul Krugman's simple rule of punditry: Long ago -- basically when I started writing for the Times -- I decided that I would judge the character of politicians by what they say about policy, not how they come across in person. This led me to conclude that George W. Bush was dishonest and dangerous back when everyone was talking about how charming and reasonable he was. It led me to conclude that Colin…
Bob Herbert echoes the frustration many have felt with Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie's decision to scuttle the plan to build a much-needed tunnel connecting New Jersey to New York City: The United States is not just losing its capacity to do great things. It's losing its soul. It's speeding down an increasingly rubble-strewn path to a region where being second rate is good enough. The railroad tunnel was the kind of infrastructure project that used to get done in the United States almost as a matter of routine. It was a big and expensive project, but the payoff would have been…
So it turns out that Obama isn't completely tone deaf. To his credit, he has essentially* vetoed a bill that would have forced courts to recognize out of state foreclosure-related documents. Given the wide-scale fraud in forclosure-related documentation--to the point where it's not clear who actually holds the title or liens for millions of homes--this is a great move, since it will allow courts to hold the lenders and foreclosures accountable. Of course, if policy makers had adopted cramdown legislation, this issue probably wouldn't have arisen in the first place. But what I want to know…
Maybe if the Obama administration and the Blue Dog (corporate) Democrats fought for an economic policy that made the middle-class' lives better, we wouldn't be faced with the looming political failure to deal with environmental problems. From Politico: Most House Republicans envision killing Nancy Pelosi's special global warming committee if they claw their way back into the majority this November. Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner wants to keep the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming alive so it can investigate climate science and police President Barack Obama's green…
Think Progress has recently described the mechanism by which the 'U.S.' Chamber of Commerce is able to circumvent what few campaign finance laws remain and funnel money from foreign corporations to Republicans. So I have a very simple question: why don't congressional Democrats censure the 'U.S.' Chamber of Commerce? Well, there is the obvious answer: Congressional Democrats are dumber than a fucking sack of hammers*. But, seriously, if the Republicans can successfully censure ACORN--an organization that actually did useful things, then surely the Democrats can return the favor. I would…
The problem is simply this: many people who have made a lot of money haven't been ethical about it (or even legal). That's why I'm surprised we haven't seen more ads like this: In Ohio, Representative Betty Sutton calls her Republican rival, Tom Ganley, a "dishonest used-car salesman" who has been sued more than 400 times for fraud, discrimination, lying to customers about repairs, overcharging them and endangering their safety. She warns voters, "You've heard the old saying, buyer beware!" In Arizona, Representative Harry E. Mitchell accused his opponent David Schweikert of being "a…
I'm a little late to this, but Susie Madrak asked Obama advisor David Axelrod a very important question: Madrak asked, "I'm a blogger, and I don't know if you know this term, but are you familiar with the term hippie-punching?" There was about a 15-second pause. "Go ahead," said Axelrod. She continued. "Liberals and bloggers feel like we're the girl you take under the bleachers but won't be seen with in the light of day." She mentioned a series of incidents where the White House distances themselves from their base, and wondered how that helps Democrats regain enthusiasm from those same…
Why, yes, I did. And Senator Evan "I'm dumber than a sack of hammers" Bayh illustrates exactly what I'm talking about: Today, MSNBC's Chuck Todd asked Bayh about the poverty data, and whether there is a disconnect between the real economic pain that people are feeling and lawmakers squabbling over tax rates for the wealthy. Bayh agreed that there is a disconnect, but then concluded that the poverty increase means lawmakers should forget about "fairness and things like that" and cut taxes for the rich: TODD: Yesterday, the Census came out and said one in seven Americans are living below the…
One of the things never discussed by 'framers' is anger. Anger, especially righteous anger, is a powerful motivation, yet progressives and Democratic political operatives seem oblivious to his. Thankfully, we have Lance Mannion to set us straight (italics original; boldface mine): The Democrats aren't going to lose Congress because the Right Wingers are going to come out to vote. They're going to lose because Democrats are going to stay home. And this isn't going to happen because the President has been insufficiently attentive to the vanities of liberal bloggers who like to think of…
I'm no great fan of DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, but I'm on his side over his calling his book about movement conservatives "American Taliban." According to progressives such as Matt Yglesias, this title is unwarranted hyperbole*. Tristero explains to boychick Yglesias why the title works: Matt has described a dismaying number of ways in which the right wing sounds terribly Taliban-ish. Rhetorically speaking, simply by engaging the notion that radical Islamists can be compared to the right wing GOP, the creepy similarities between their worldviews and values simply can't be…
By way of Howie Klein comes this explanation of what makes a successful politician--and what gets in the way: It goes, "I am not part of the political establishment. I am not a career politician. Trust me, because I am a successful business owner and can run government better." That's not much of a sales pitch. As much as they proclaim they do not want to be a career politician, that is exactly want they want to be. They are bold faced lairs. If you don't [to] want to be a career politician don't run for office. You are obviously lacking the convictions of your beliefs to fight for what you…
Fred Clark, at Slacktivist, fires off a essential rejoinder to deficit reductionists and austerians, with bridge reconstruction as the particular example (italics mine): Let's consider again the objection of deficit spending. The so-called deficit hawks object to repairing structurally deficient bridges because they say the government cannot afford to borrow money to do so -- even at the low, low rates at which the government can now borrow it. Maintenance on these bridges must therefore, in the name of "fiscal responsibility," be deferred indefinitely. This is nonsense -- a dishonest trick…