“Every poll shows that most voters regret that error
now, and wish that Congress would tax the wealthy and
preserve social insurance. Now those voters had
better make their remorse heard, and loudly, if they
hope to avert catastrophe.”

Why do we persist in the delusion that we still live
in a democracy? The 2000 election was hijacked by the
Supreme Court. The 2004 election was hacked by
Smartech and the Supreme Court, with its Citizen’s
United decision, has allowed corporations and the
wealthy to buy elections outright. The “voters” can
scream themselves to death and nothing will happen.
The “voters” didn’t vote for the Tea Party lunatics.
Unless you mean oil companies and hedge fund managers
when you say “voters,” there’s nothing the “voters”
can do about this.

Is it possible that all along the line, excess may be killing itself off?  Excess concentrations of wealth leading to economic crises worldwide, convicting entire populations to death as a way of life?  Excess violence leading to chaotic unending wars where everyone is the enemy of everyone else.  Excess environmental destruction polluting air, water and land?  Excess class greed where 2% of a nation’s population is denying 98% adequate food, clothing, shelter, education, adequate health care and a safety net in their old age?  And filling its prisons for private profit?  Excess political radicalism where the will to destroy governments leads to blowing up office buildings or posting “manifestos” and then single-handedly mowing down children simply because you wish to preserve the “purity” of your race, your political opinions, your religion? Dictators blindly holding onto an excess of power even though their demise is inevitable? And the excesses of technology that sanction massive manipulation, suspicion, distrust and offensive scrutiny of harmless opinion and sacred privacy.  As a wise friend of mine keeps warning:  “One hundred percent is fragile!“And the wise old Greeks prophesied:  “Nothing too much!”

What a grand show the GOP has put on this year, from
Wisconsin union-busting to voter scams to tea party
Armageddon.

One hand clapping.

Now, throw ‘em back out.

“Yet another American looking for the Quick Fix?”

No. Just another American looking for any evidence at all that the sitting president is anything but another corporatist. There comes a point when we’ll have to confront the reality that the only change we can expect will be continued shifts to the right. I appreciate the complexities of legitimate reform—some of which you alluded to in an earlier post—but I’ve lost faith in the current system’s ability to “fix” itself. Americans have proven time and again their willingness to entrust the country to the ethically bankrupt, men who make quick work of any lingering progressive holdovers from previous admins. Without long term continuity and a series of committed, ethical leaders it doesn’t seem to me there can be any chance for progressives to affect meaningful change, barring some radical realignment of the flows of power within the political system.

WE LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES

PM: Wasn’t there a two year window during which this should already have been done? If your so-called “progressive agenda” is any longer a possibility in this country, then why was no discernable shift (aside from the dubious health care canard) made toward it at all?

Yet another American looking for the Quick Fix? We’ve been doing that for half a century and it has got us nowhere.

First, to answer your question, there is no common will for a Progressive Agenda. Most Americans have thought, for three generations during the economic expansion post-WW2, that the system provided jobs and all was just fine in the best of all possible worlds. Wakey, wakey!

We were living a pipe-dream that ended abuptly when the Iron Curtain came down in the early 1990s and the world’s Labor Supply was doubled overnight - principally by that of China but also the European Eastern Bloc. And what were we doing?

Strutting about like cocks on the walk gloating that “Ours was the better economic system and God had proven it”.

We were all Rumpelstiltskins until the pain became acute as a result of the Great Recession of 2009. It takes great economic hurt to shift mentalities Leftwards.

MY POINT

Which has happened ... next year will tell if Americans have awoken to the New Reality where nothing, but nothing, is a “given” anymore in this Brave New World.

We live in interesting times. Unless, of course, one has their head buried in the sand like the TeaPartiers. They are oblivious to the fundamental changes that have occurred in this world.

There is no going back to a world that no longer exists just because we are overcome with nostalgia. The only gear left in the mechanism is “forward”.

My Congressman, Bucky McKeon, is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He sent out a self-serving piece of shit about the deficit last week to his constituents. I wrote back that he could solve the entire crisis by pruning back the wasteful expenditures that pass before his committee.

I got a reply today. A form letter, addressed to me, that stated the usual platitudes about how important it is that we live within our means, etc. Not a word about cutting the defense budget.

To JERRY BORG,

read more carefully, to suggest those on this thread are partisan is almost insultingly ignorant.  most comments here suggest extreme frustration with the current 2 party system, where repubs and demos are clearly working together to maintain a status quo of intense wealth collection in the richest 1% while draining resources from the rest of the planet.  “Partisan” is an almost useless word in this discussion, unless you are talking about a new third party, ala Project Mayhem’s previous comment. 
peace

“So, let’s continue with the work begun in 2008, which is a long road to hoe. There’s much work to be done towards clinching a decisive victory in Congress as well as implementing a Progressive Agenda that institutes more fairness in our economy and thus our society.

And to do so, taxes must be raised on the rich. So we need to draw that line in the electoral sand.”

Wasn’t there a two year window during which this should already have been done? If your so-called “progressive agenda” is any longer a possibility in this country, then why was no discernable shift (aside from the dubious health care canard) made toward it at all? You come into the discussion with a few worn platitudes about “income disparity” and “fairness” and then respond with holier-than-thou disdain toward anyone who suggests that the current system is, quite possibly, bloated and corrupt beyond the hope of redemption. Well, bravo. How excellent that you continue to bail water over the side even as the bow goes completely under. Stay the course, noble Lafayette, and all will be well!

What might it take to galvanize a viable third party is a question worthy of being discussed. The inertia of the current political and social climate makes it seem an impossibility at the moment, but that doesn’t mean this will always be so. The Tea Party, while reprehensible, does offer a blueprint of sorts for how a grass roots movement can gain momentum and a presence in the political discourse. I realize they are funded by the usual right-wing suspects, but that isn’t entirely the point. I’m curious about if, as our present slide becomes ever more precipitous, the opportunities to rally people around a third party will only be seized by reactionaries and their fundamentalist bedfellows? Is it so hard to imagine a progressive third party joining the fray? And if so, why is that the case?

conason:
“As America lurches toward new and unfamiliar status as a nation that defaults on its
debts, commentators around the world are wondering how the democratic
government that was once the most admired in the world—for many reasons—is now
so “dysfunctional,” to use the polite term. But the truth is that the entire U.S.
government is not dysfunctional.”

this quotation need elucidation and/or proof that this observation is true.
i do not think that it is!

i suggest that the observers of the u.s system of rule was admired/envied by other
supremacists because of its success in rendering general pop totally obedient to u.s
ruling or supremacist class of life and not for its democratics.

tsars in20th c. and even hitler had not succeeded in enserfing lower classes as did
the u.s ‘educators’ [clergy, politicians, teachers, stars, et al]

it goes w.o. saying that a democracy can be the best fascist/supremacistic system of
rule yet devised. and why wldn’t have napoleon, senacherib, a tsar, mussolini, et al
welcomed and admired any democracy—had they seen the truth, that is?

but hitler, i believe, had seen it! and he knew as well as truman, nixon, bush, obama
that he had to first of all destroy socialism/equality builders/building. and u.s had
done that better than any other empire.

france, germany, u.k, italy don’t come even close to what the supremacists in u.s had
achieved. but which way are the euro lands now going? towards ever greater
americanization of life? possibly!

by now it was proven thousands of times that democracies commit more crimes
against humanities/planet/biota than any other form of rule.

i do not have to enumerate euro-american crimes against weak peoples; i think that
the readers on this site no the facts as well as i do!

mind u,most of the posters on almost all internet sites are denying them. and i do
not. that’s the reason i have been banned from some sites; while others hold up my
posts for ‘moderation’; most of which never appear.
no surprise! it is quite democratic to do just that!

truthdig is the only site that publishes all my posts! tnx

RALLYING AROUND A DIFFERENT DRUMMER

PM: I also find myself in agreement with those who argue that the differences between the mainstream Democratic and Republican parties is purely cosmetic.

That notion is rather broad-brush and indicates very little reflection in the matter. Besides, the point is moot. There’s a third-choice come November of next year?

And if there is room for a third-party, in order to rattle Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dee, what is its program? Is it progressive? Meaning in the vein of Centrist Social Democrats who believe dumping capitalism is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater? But milking Capitalism’s Cash-cow and spending it on Public Services is what neuters best Income Disparity. Income what?

Is Income Disparity (read “extreme inequity”, or get a dictionary) the central core of a progressive agenda and, if so, who will carry that particular battle-flag?  And if it isn’t, then what is? Reforming the way a two-party system encrusts itself into long-term governance – some making a life-long career of it? (And is that good or bad? I go with the latter.)

There are so many complex issues regarding the matter of political reformation. And all we seem to talk about is how disgusted we are with the present scheme of things. Which means, in all likelihood, there will be no rallying around another drummer, no third-party, no real challenge to the “two-party establishment” and thus no change.

Just more of the same petulant bitching-in-a-blog.

“They are not dysfunctional, they are political terrorists, determined to destroy the nation so they can rebuild it to their own specifications… Not dysfunctional. Criminally dangerous traitors to EVERYTHING we value.  As the Fascists in Italy and the Nazis in Germany used free elections and the democracy’s laws against itself, so the TeaParty intends to do the same thing.”

Spot on. Conason’s column is useful in that he draws attention to the forces driving the problem, but he misinterprets the narrative that explains why they are doing so. I also find myself in agreement with those who argue that the differences between the mainstream Democratic and Republican parties is purely cosmetic. Strangely, I’m past the point of rage or incredulity over this issue; it’s kind of like watching a train wreck unfold in slow motion right before one’s eyes. It is riveting spectacle, for sure, and some nihilistic part of me wants the wheels to come off. I wonder if perhaps eclipsing our debt ceiling will serve as some kind of clarion wake-up call, the catalyst for a general rising up of the public that is long past due? Naive thinking, probably, but what will we get if the debt ceiling is actually raised? More blood-from-the-stone concessions from the poor and the working- and middle-classes in exchange for maintaining the rotten status quo for a few more piddling years. It hardly seems worth the trouble.

They are not dysfunctional, they are political terrorists, determined to destroy the nation so they can rebuild it to their own specifications. 
They WANT default.
They WANT the Federal government to fail.
They WANT old people on Social Security to be cut off.
They WANT the IRS shut down so they pay zero taxes.
They WANT private armies (run by them).
They WANT to end any reasonable cooperation in Congress.
They WANT to get rid of the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment.
They WANT a corporate government, like the ancient East India and West Indies companies that the British and Dutch established to colonize and run new territories. This went from the 1600’s through the late 19th century with Cecil Rhodes establishing Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe as a private De Beers-run company property.
They WANT an official religion: Christianity, specifically Protestantism.
They WANT more executions for more “crimes”, like abortion.
They WANT to make sure poor teenage girls have no access to birth control.
They WANT to destroy America.
They are America’s own Taliban.

Not dysfunctional. Criminally dangerous traitors to EVERYTHING we value.  As the Fascists in Italy and the Nazis in Germany used free elections and the democracy’s laws against itself, so the TeaParty intends to do the same thing.

DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND

F46: ... keeps attention on the usual wish of Republicans, governance doing nothing meaningful whatsoever.

Quite right.

America began a political renewal with the election of Obama. OK, we are not all happy with the result and, of course, in our lightening-rod political discourse it’s the PotUS who attracts the most vituperation.

But, I ask, think beyond the PotUS – to that part of our political governance designed specifically to avoid a concentration of power in the president. Which means the PotUS “rules” only by the consent of Congress – and this is no truer than in any money legislation that must pass via the HofR, the more popular of the two houses.

The Replicants would have thinking of the Dangerous Deficit. They would have us thinking about “No Job Creation” during Obama’s term-of-office. They would have us thinking about how markets self-regulate themselves so government oversight is unnecessary. They would have us thinking that Smaller Government is better.

They would have us thinking about anything that makes us forget their own pathetic ineptitude at political leadership during the Dubya-years.

Most importantly, they would have us thinking that nothing need change. That all is Just Right as is in the best of all possible worlds. 

Which is a boldface lie. Because the yawning chasm between the haves and the have-nots, exacerbated by the Great Recession of 2009, is worsening the social cohesion of our nation.  A   cohesion that is built upon a shared cultural value of “fairness”.  Meaning this: “Not equality (of incomes) but neither Income Disparity”.

Let’s not forget what is important for not only us parents but the future of our children. (OK, pluck a heart-string on that one!) Do we want to gift our youth this present mess we are living? Don’t we, don’t they deserve better?

MY POINT

Yes! So, let’s continue with the work begun in 2008, which is a long road to hoe. There’s much work to be done towards clinching a decisive victory in Congress as well as implementing a Progressive Agenda that institutes more fairness in our economy and thus our society.

And to do so, taxes must be raised on the rich. So we need to draw that line in the electoral sand.

A walk down memory lane provides the explanation for the
seeming confusions of the Republicans in the debt ceiling matter. 
Rather than do what’s needed at this time the Republicans are
occupying everyone’s attention with this concocted quagmire of
confusion.  This does two things, one keeps attention on the
false premise that somehow the budget mess belongs to Obama
and the Democrats in the minds of the not so bright among us
and the other is the usual wish of Republicans, governance doing
nothing meaningful whatsoever.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

JC: They don’t accept the idea that we have to pay for financial obligations already incurred—or that the rising interest rates caused by default will make future deficits much deeper.

At the hub of the Deficit Reduction issue are our friends at the Credit Rating Agencies. Lest we forget: These were the same people who helped bring us the SubPrime mess by attributing Triple-A ratings to Realty-manufactured Toxic Waste debt instruments.

Why doesn’t Obama push back on these people who are mouthing their concerns about “American debt”. Our debt is no where like that of Europes PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain).

Here is a list of some countries with their Public Debt to GDP ratios (taken from here):
Japan - 225.8
Greece - 144.0
Portugal - 83.2
Ireland - 94.2
Spain - 63.4
.
.
United States - 58.9

Why aren’t the CRA’s deeply disturbed about Japan’s debt?

Once again this drama is Shakespearian (Much Ado About Nothing), a scary-movie scenario directed by the Replicants to put pressure on Obama. They will show that he “caved in yet again” to their strident demands, just as he did for Health Care legislation.

Thus weakening him in the run-up to next year’s elections. And they think Americans will buy this prank hook, line and sinker.

Let’s hope our fellow Americans are smart enough to see through the subterfuge. Most of us will, but some of us out there amongst the Grass Roots - may be not ...

And next year’s elections must by won at the Grass Roots, where the Tea Party has their biggest following. Let’s kick the bums out! And give America back to the people.

POST SCRIPTUM

We shouldn’t raise taxes on the rich? Piffle. That is not what America thinks and has not thought for quite some time. See here.