Oh, so $15 trillion in bailouts hasn't "screwed the little people"? Please.
Posted by lambert strether at July 10, 2009 09:16 AMIn fact, THE REPUBLICANS WANT THE PARTY AND OBAMA TO FAIL.
No shit! And that is exactly what happened with the stimulus when the republi-KKKons were allowed to frame the issue. The r-KKKons gave the wealthy $1.3 trillion dollars in tax cuts (although the legislation took the top bracket from 39.6% to 36%, the effective rate went from 23% to 17%). Then they bitched, caterwauled, screamed and whined when it looked like anyone who wasn't wealthy was going to get something.
We are in an emergency here, folks. If the DemocRats in Congress are so disconnected from their constituents that they can't understand people are really struggling out here then nothing is going to change. We need education programs. We need work programs. We need infrastructure. We need mass transit. We need the government spending money like drunken sailors on stuff made in America by people in America.
How will it be paid for? Just like in most other times of emergency (WW-II, anyone) you raise taxes. So what do the blue dog DemocRats do when it looks like a 2% tax increase is needed to fund public healthcare? They bitch, caterwaul, scream and whine and grind the bill to a halt...over a 2% tax increase.
Wanna tax increase? I'll give 10% more in taxes for a real public option with prescription coverage, 15% if it includes dental and vision. And that's a bargain on my end compared to what happens if I get really sick with my shitty private coverage.
Wanna do a tax increase the proper way? Add a new bracket or two at the top end of the scale.
Posted by phidipides at July 10, 2009 10:19 AMThe corporate ruling class runs the country and, therefore, controls the federal budget. Hundreds of billions of dollars are transferred from the people to the corporate ruling class for the supposed purpose of defending the United States. This amounts to much more than the official DOD budget. That these expenditures have nothing to do with defending the United States from any real or reasonably probable attack is obvious to anyone who cares to do a little research and thinking.
It is interesting, and heart-breaking, to consider how different this country would be if during the course of my lifetime (b.1955) the US had spent 20% less on "defense."
Posted by James E. Powell at July 10, 2009 10:20 AMAnd another thing. The administration is not negotiating with Republicans or Blue Dogs. Obama, Rahm & Co. are not stupid. It is negotiating with the corporate ruling class; the Republicans and Blue Dogs are mere hirelings.
The fact that the people who really run the country hire (and retain) people like Sanford and Ensign to be US senators shows that being a senator means little more than performing the formal privileges of the office, like actually casting votes. Deciding what the vote will be is some one else's job. It was, after all, Senator Durbin, the Assistant Majority "leader," who said, "Frankly, the banks run this place."
Posted by James E. Powell at July 10, 2009 12:33 PManyone who's paid the slightest attention to X-Files or "24" realize, as Powell says, that the strings of government are pulled at a higher level than the Congress. It's all about power, which in turn leads to money for the powerful. Those pulling the strings have long realized that the Republican mindset makes for much easier puppetry than Dems. They certainly don't mind pulling Dem strings when it suits them, but the non-diversity of the GOP make the best puppets.
Posted by T2 at July 10, 2009 12:56 PMI only need to read this article to reinforce my belief that Leftists suffer from debilitating metal disorders.
Leftists, you have the White House, you have the House of Representatives, you have the United States Senate, and you have a complicit main stream media. You have the power to enact whatever policies you want. Carte-blanche to destroy the country and yet you rail against the Republicans. The Left is the party in power: take responsibility.
The Obama's failures, as you percieve them, have nothing to do with the Republicans.
Regards,
Bagley
Posted by Quick! Someone Give The Denizens Of This Asylum Their Meds! at July 10, 2009 02:19 PM...debilitating metal disorders...
Similar to your "Gold Fever"?
Posted by phidipides at July 10, 2009 02:53 PMThere may be millions of people who think that the billions dumped on the DOD are outrageous and stupid. The problem is that opposing this situation seems like a hopeless cause, kind of like hoping that the Democrats in Congress will someday stick up for progressive principles.
Posted by Katherine at July 10, 2009 06:26 PMI actually will agree with Bagley here. The Republicans are not the problem; they are as predictable as a sunrise: to solve healthcare, tax cut; to solve unemployment, tax cut; to solve deficit, tax cut.
The real problem is with the pseudo Dems. The party has all the marbles, and it only passes the veneer of reform.
Of all the lousy attributes of G.W. Bush, at least he wasn't afraid to push his agenda (at least in the 1st term). I do pray that the current way of doing things is not Obama's long term agenda.
Posted by Dazir at July 10, 2009 11:59 PMAt this point, it's useless to blame the Republicans. The Democratic party leadership are a pack of spineless twits and bimbos, forever sucking at the Republicans' kneecaps. And President Obama, I'm sorry to say, is turning out to be a wimp. If Palin splits the Repubs with a new winged monkey conservative branch that will follow her, I think it would be a great opportunity for Progressive Dems to start a party of our own.
Posted by RobBlue at July 13, 2009 09:52 AM