Congress, as a body, needs to stand up pretty much in unison, and revoke the war authorization.
That, and we need to run a national fuel conservation program. Read up on what Jimmy Carter had to say about this whole business. Say what you want, Jimmy’s pretty smart. Go Jimmy, and good luck in all your endeavors!

1.  Confidence needs to be restored in the voting process via “unhackable” verifiable ballots.

2.  Term limits for elected officals in all 50 states.

3.  Campaign financing reform: i.e.lobby reform.

These 3 simple things would be a good start.

Well, well, well, history repeats itself, does it? We speak of Congress and they spoke of the Reichstag in 1930. Self-interest takes many forms. Whatever disconnect with the people occurs, the end result is the same. Now rise, dear Fascists. Rise. Take us all by surprise. Cloak all your evil intentions in phrases such as “democracy must win out over terrorism.” It is when the will and democracy of the people rise and the revolution is about to break, that you always show your fascist face. Here we go again. Gimme a scotch, somebody, make it a triple!

This is a addition to what #54456/rabblerowzer/2/20.  Everything you say is true, after all since the middle class pay the taxes, should they not get something back?  When you look at the police, transit operators and the like their job depends on the common people, not the rich or well connected this country always had that, but the people who fight and die should have somethng to say also.

Margaret from Vancouver, Washington

There’s another way, Mr. Dionne, to get us out of Iraq and a possible war with Iran: IMPEACH the bastards! (both Bush and Cheney)  The Demos don’t have to use the word “impeach,” they simply have to use their power to investigate, including use of subpoenas, the fraudulent run-up to the war.  They don’t even have to focus on illegal wiretapping or elimination of habeas corpus for suspected “terrorists.”  When BushCheney refuses to comply with the subpoenas, then the impeachment word should be let loose.  I suspect that the majority of Americans will agree with impeachment when faced with the fact that BushCheney deliberately led us into the Iraq debacle, knowing full well that the intelligence on WMD was doubtful, and the connection with 9/11 was non-existent.  The Demos should couple impeachment with a call for early elections following impeachment, so that they cannot be accused of trying to crown “President Pelosi.”

The Democrats have been steamrolled for the last 6 years by this administration and now that they have a slim majority in both outhouses of Congress they are supposed to change everything? Without enough votes to override a veto - who is kidding who. Bu$h Inc. knows they hold the whip hand for the next, sad to say, two years. Without the Dems willing to use even the threat of impeachment against Bu$h expect the same old same old in the District of Corruption.

The Admin and the Congress are influenced only by other than the masses. We, the masses,  have no effect, no clout. What to do? Form a new group of the working masses. Perhaps call it the AAWP..American Association of Working People. The purpose of this organization is to work for the best balanced interests of all Americans.At this time only the power elite, the special-interest lobbys and PACS, the media moguls, and a few wealthy individuals have any influence in Washington. The AAWP could and should do the same.

Don’t keep GOP feet in fire but in their mouth.

Well, someone else is going to have to go find em, but I’ll happily pay for and stoke the charcoal….and sing a happy tune the entire time, maybe we can even have hot dogs and cheap malt liquor!(charcoal’s getting more expensive, ya know)

Point is, the GOP’s little party is over, which could spell curtains for the big party too. Suffice it to say there’s not much ‘conservative’ about the ‘conservatives’ anymore, and it’s high time, yes, high time, that those of more sound moral principles and still in possession of something like ethics that haven’t ‘lost the plot’ take issue with these spendthrift charlatans that’ve seen fit to royally screw with our country. From Exxon to illegal immigration, to the Patriot Act and god only knows what else they’ve been doing, it’s time for this particular clown circus to be OVER. Maybe it’s been profitable for them, maybe they count what they’ve done as ‘victory’, and maybe it was some rich people that basically decided to wring every penny out of our country that they could. They already found out one of these sympathizer people was dumping money into the GOP. Corruption and incompetence sans third party oversight are a lethal combination…luckily, there’s still some people under the age of 80 in Congress with their hats on straight, who’ve been watching all this activity with keen detached interest, and taking copious notes of all goings-on. And, now is their moment to stand up and shine, and our moment to voice strong support for the necessary and long-overdue reforms in washington that will be necessary to mend fences and get the budget balanced, among other things, and probably fire a whole laundry list of people. The Iraq war will stand as our most egregious screwup of the 21st century, and only through untiring and diligent effort will a lot of things be put right.

We’re not polarized here in America on the war issue.  We just have senators and representatives who do not vote for the voice of the people they reprensent. (By the way this what they’re supposed to do!) These repukes vote with a view to personal gain and they’re perfectly OK with that.  “AMERICA BE DAMMED” is apparently their motto.

This whole piece is silly.  WE need to hold the DEMOCRATS’ “feet to the fire” to get the troops out of Iraq.  Symbolic resolutions of disapproval - of the escalation, not the war - aren’t going to cut it, and the Dems in Congress know that perfectly well.

“Support the Troops” is nothing but an excuse to support the war itself.  There is already plenty of funding to “support” them while they withdraw; any further funding should be for withdrawal, only.  Withholding funding is the only approach that can’t be vetoed.  Remember, the House alone can do that: they don’t even need the Senate.  They originate funding bills; they can rewrite it and pass it with plenty of support and nothing to keep the war going on.  Let’s see Bush veto the funds to “support the troops.”

The Democrats in Congress have run out of excuses, and Dionne’s article is just trying to give them political cover while they perpetuate the war they supported all along.  It’s more than silly; it’s shameful.

The more I read, the more I’m of the viewpoint that this entire administration, and all their hangers-on can fair well hand in their resignations. Only gross irresponsibility and incompetence could have allowed things to transpire as they have, good riddance to all of em, democrat and republican alike. The ‘new dems’ got in office because people are sick and tired of the way this country’s been operated, tired of watching the daily bill for Iraq go up, up and up, while the offical mantra rotates between ‘growth’, ‘stay the course’, and ‘bullshit of the day___________(insert your bullshit here’.

Where are the thinkers, where are the watchdogs, where are the oversight people? Who was watching the till? These, and many other questions rise to the surface of many peoples’ thoughts upon watching the news, these days. When people that used to be considered far-left crackpots are now able to say ‘I told ya so’, and be accurate, you truly do have to wonder what the GOP’s been smoking for the last decade, or so. Maybe that’s a good topic to bring up. Would YOUR representatives pass a pee-test? Hmmm…..

He steals the election. He uses 9/11 to consolidate his agenda and stops at nothing to gain absolute power. He immediately places his foot on the neck of the opposition and never lets up. He drains the treasury of this current and of future generations ensuring their future impoverishment. He shows no mercy and takes no prisoners and never has. Mr. Bush’s agenda of grabbing everything nailed down or not has never varied from the first day he was elected.

And throughout all of this, the Democrats act befuddled, dismayed and at a loss to determine what’s going on. They continue to explore “reason” and compromise and common ground when the Republican opposition never even feigned interest in a common goal. The Democrats win a resounding victory and the Bush White House proves as it has all along, that they’re going to do exactly what they want to do no matter who votes for whom or what the Constitution says. And still the Democrats wring their hands and shake their heads and act as if they just don’t understand. Perhaps they don’t. But gross ignorance is no excuse for complicity.

In his analysis of Representative Van Hollen’s comment that, “The refusal of the administration to try to work with others to resolve this in a responsible manner has created a very polarized atmosphere”, Dionne remarks:

“That should be the central theme of the president’s critics because it’s true—and because it offers the best rallying cry for those seeking to change a disastrous policy.”

Amazing. The best strategy for bringing about change in the Regime’s Middle Eastern policy is to assert that it just doesn’t want to get along? I’m not sure which of two reports I’ve read today
that inspires greater nausea, this of Dionne’s or the Nation’s that Obama just gave his endorsement
to the Likudist atrocity in Lebanon last Summer.

John Lowell

Dictatorship by any other name, is still Dictatorship.

Sooner or later every group, club and organization develops an insider versus outsider mentality. For example, military versus civilians, employers versus employees, teachers versus students, cops versus citizens and congressmen versus voters. Competition within groups between individuals and factions is also intense, and cut-throat and backstabbing office politics is the rule, but when push come to shove, they unite for their own common interest. So in essence, what we have is an adversarial relationship between politicians and voters: their self-interest as opposed to our self-interest.

Take note that in the above examples one side has power and the other doesn’t. Our power to vote was superseded by the Supreme Court in 2000, and will stand as a precedent for all future elections.

Congress performs on a public stage and you can watch some of their machinations play out on c-span, but the really devious maneuvers happen backstage and after hours. Almost everything that effects national policy (their self-interest versus our self-interest) is now classified information. Since nearly everything is now Top Secret, it’s virtually impossible for us to learn when, why and what they are doing in their own self-interest as opposed to our self-interest.

Congress, the executive and judicial branch are the most exclusive power groups (or clubs) in America, and given the recent attacks and revocation of our most basic rights by all three branches of government, you have to wonder whether they ever give any consideration to our self-interest at all.