ITW,

Are you making an assumption that these leading Dems are NOT doing exactly as they intend no behalf of their funders?

The struggle you talk about is all theatre ... they have no intent to reform anything in any way that will slow the flow of money to the already rich.

No reduction in healthcare profits, no reduction in foreign adventurism, certainly no reform of the banking and finance cartel.

Either that or you know something that is not immediately obvious from the actions of these people.

Worried? WORRIED????
Scared $#!tle$$, and rightfully so!

It’s time for Reid and Pelosi to stop playing nice, both with Dims and Rethugs and go to bare-knuckle anything-goes politics.

Remember that “carrot and stick” INVOLVES A STICK.  Use it on ANYONE for whom the carrot isn’t working, or who wants too many carrots. 

It’s time to enforce party discipline and stop “herding cats”.  Anyone doesn’t go along? They can be an “independent” come November!  They can be the most junior member on the paper-clip sub-committee.
They can be the LAST district to get Fed funds.

Pull out the stops, Harry! Stop f**ting around, Nancy!  Get off your duff, Barack!

Well, looks as though Scott Brown has won; I expect the pundits to react as if a cross was burned on the White House lawn ... publicly and with impunity. 

Actually, it was an excellent time for Democrats to take power, but then what was even better from the Republican point of view, was that they were too gutless to use it. Too shy, too demure, too snail like, plodding and approval seeking.

And then to top if off they handed power back to the Republicans by letting the bankers control their actions and febrile attempts at reform.

So here we are again, the shy and effeminate Democrats have just been beaten up by the big nasty republican bad boy on their way home from school. So now their running home to mommy, with tears in their eyes complaining about how unfair it is.

Unfortunately, for the Democrats school starts again tomorrow, and bully boy, is the new student. He’ll soon be basking in the light of the corporate media, and chumming up with Sarah Palin.

It’s likely that the birthers will get even more funding, to escalate their attacks on the legitimacy of the president, culminating in moves for impeachment after 2012.

One thing I know about bullies, you have to stand up to them, or you might as well go out and buy a tube of Vaseline and wear it around your neck, for next time.

There was the agenda that got Obama elected.
Then there was the money that got Obama elected.

The overt agenda proposed changes thought of generally as “liberal.”
The hidden agenda proposed by the money that paid for the pvert proposals (advertising for candidates) came from conservative (business, corporate) poekcts.

After the election the business/corporate donors exerted influence behind the scenes to get appointments bent in their favor as payment for contributions.

The business/corporate agenda prevailed over Obama’s personal wishes causing corporate-minded staff appointments that disempowered him. Then the economic crisis increased corporate clout by engendering fear and a need for emergency action to bail out corporate interests.

Obama found himself unable to lead in the directons he promised, and the directions he personally wants, whereupon his masses of non-corporate supporters deserted him, leaving corporate power in charge.

The lines are drawn that make Obama almost irrelevant.  The future struggle is now even more plainly between corporate power and power of the people.

As people power cannot afford to buy media, it will have to come from person-to-person organization of majorities among the lower and middle class. I see no alternative to a lot of hard grassroots political work, person to person, door to door, neighborhood by heighborhood.

Massachusetts is the example of the alternative.

What amazes me is the universal condemnation of the Democrats here juxtaposed with the years and years of conservative support which Bush W enjoyed.  In fact, ever since Reagan’s election 30 years ago the Republicans have been promising their base:

  *  A better economic future based on lower taxes and more opportunity
  *  Fundamental conservative “values” reform supporting Christianity, anti-abortion and other changes to social “ills”
  *  Enjoyment of the benefits of being the most powerful nation on earth through a “robust foreign policy”

... but what they’ve delivered is the rich getting richer and the middle class slipping into poverty (where life has become increasingly intolerable).  They’ve delivered very little in the way of “values” and, in fact, U.S. society is probably more liberal than in 1980.  They’ve delivered a lot of State intervention in people’s lives but not to further conservative values ... more like 1984 state dominance of thought and activity.  As for the “robust foreign policy”, this has been a near continuous string of foreign military adventures and a marked increase in the garrisoning of the planet.  This has emptied public coffers an delivered a whole lot more of that “rich getting richer” stuff.

How come the conservatives have not risen up in arms against the Republicans?  Judging from this thread, prospective Democrats seem to recognise when they’ve been fooled and ripped off!  I don’t buy it that conservatives are somehow “dumber” than liberals ... what gives?  The press?  Corporate campaign funding?  Lobbying power??

Oh poor, stupid democrats.  They have no real politics of substance to differ from their BFF on the other side of the aisle, all they have is a measurement of power through the election of more corporatist war mongers wearing their party colors.  How sad.

I love reading E.J. Dionne.  His bullshit is such a yock.

I am so sick of the crap propaganda coming out of the washington post.  What relevance does it even have for this site? 

DieDaily: No there were no facts in the story because it’s a fairy tale.  The ‘liberals’ in the story are all corporatists who don’t give a damn about any traditional liberal values.  Can’t serve Wall Street and real people at the same time.

Samson:  Right on. The Democratic party has become obsolete.

Wanna know why Obama does what he does?

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

That’s the list of his top contributors, as compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.  Note all the Wall Street firms that made the list.  Also notice the same website will tell you that he shattered every record for raising money, with $745 million.  The Democrats like to cite his small contributions, but that was only about 30% (with $200 considered ‘small’ ... lot of money to most of us).  The remaining $500 million of ‘large’ contributions alone would have easily shattered both of Bush’s records in 2000 and 2004 for the most bribed presidential campaign every.

Look at that list of top contributors, and you won’t have any problem understanding exactly what is going on.  Of course, anyone with any sense would have done this before the last election and never voted for Obama in the first place.  (I gotta sneak in my “I told you so’s”!)

Everyone ....

To beat big money, we need strong grassroots campaigns.

Strong grassroots campaigns take longer to organize and get rolling.

Start organizing now for the 2010 elections!

Yikes ... more Democrat propaganda from the WaPo.  They just crank this junk out, don’t they.

Mr. Dionne misses the obvious fact that Obama has exactly continued Mr. Bush’s policies towards the economy.  Pump billions into Wall Streets coffers.  Throw the smallest possible pittances out to struggling workers and Americans.  Constantly cite the deficit whenever asked to help ordinary Americans.  But spend a trillion or more on ‘defense’ to keep our overreaching empire and all the wars going.

Best of all worlds for the shadow Republican who feeds Mr. Dionne his stories.  Republican policies continue with little change, but the other corporate party gets the blame for things getting worse and worse and worse and ....

Is 2010 the year the left decides to vote for a real alternative and real change?  The Democrats certainly were not the answer.  And there’s almost always more than two names on the ballot.  Or there can be if you organize a real opposition campaign for real change in your area.

one of them offered a dire and uncannily accurate forecast

Would that happen to be Peter Schiff?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0QN-FYkpw

DBM,

The only way to regulate the banks, is to eliminate regulations. Banks operate on a fractional reserve system. The Federal Reserve was set up in order to protect banks, and be a lender of last resort. The Fed allows banks to operate without the fear of bankruptcy. This system of banking can not be regulated, ever. It is simply not possible. The only way to control banks, is to remove their safety net. Please take some time and watch this video (approx. 42 min.):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYZM58dulPE

Actually, methinks “progressives” had better abandon the Democratic Party and begin thinking outside the Democratic box; the Demos are just as bad as the Repubs are when it comes to betraying large chunks of their constituencies in the pursuit of power—or the struggle to maintain power once won, for that matter.

Did anyone notice any facts in the article? Anyone?

There is no question that the Democrats are terrible at framing questions. And Americans have an inability to recall and learn from recent history.

It is amazing at how quickly everyone has forgotten that Bush, and his policys got us into this mess. In the end, our country needs bold leadership, and neither party wants to, or is capable of providing it.

It was insane deregulation of the finance industry and general greed by corporate executives and boards that brought about the financial crisis and made it so deep.

When the Democrast stop “palling around” with the lobbyists and corporate criminals they should be prosecuting they’ll find the voters come right along with them.

Absent that unlikely event, who cares who wins?