Monday, December 21, 2009

The Bottom Line

The Senate has finally passed what Progressives rightly consider to be an unpalatable piece of legislation purported to be health care reform. Having long ago grown tired of the facile bromides about not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good and this was the best the Democratic president was going to get from his majority-Democratic House and Senate, I once again join in the chorus calling "bullshit".

How is it that, when they want to give the rich the biggest tax breaks in the history of this country, the Republicans don't give a flying fuck about the comity of the Senate, manage to get it done, with Democrats on board. When it comes to doing something to help the average American, the legendarily timid Democrats, knowing full well they'll never have 60 votes, go through the process of coming up with a bill so riddled with compromises, Tiger Woods couldn't fuck all the holes in it.

And the joke seems to be "Yeah, it's bad now, but we'll fix it". How? Do you expect to have 60 reliable, rock-willed Democratic caucus votes someday? Uh, huh. Right.

The White House and Harry Reid just don't get it.

I'm here to tell you that the millions of people who spent the last years working hard and doing their best, only to see the financial system ruined, their 401ks nearly eliminated, or totally exhausted, because they had or have no job, and the values of their homes decimated, are pissed. They're pissed about a Wall Street that remains unpunished and unrepentant. They're angry at a party that promises reform and delivers yet another windfall to one of corporate America's most insidious cartels. They've had enough of the lack of balls and the lack of leadership from President Obama and Senator Reid. They're pissed, and they won't soon be forgetting. I know, because I'm one of those folks.

I want Blanche Lincoln, Harry Reid, Ben Nelson, and Joe Lieberman to know I, and millions of others, won't be forgetting. Count on it.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

ConservaDems - Some of you will pay

Here's how.

I live in Georgia, one of the reddest of the red states. Although we give it the best of the old college tries, for the foreseeable future, we can't get a Democrat elected to the Senate. So, while I volunteer here in Georgia, my money goes where it can make a difference. In 2006, that was Connecticut, where Progressives were able to bounce Traitor Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic nomination for the Senate. Unfortunately, CT has no "sore loser" rule, and Bad Penny Joe was able to pull enough of a Count Dracula meets Xaviera Hollander act to get back into office. I write this to let our intransigent ConservaDems know that such things do happen, and I'm not alone.

It looks quite likely that this year my money will be going to Arkansas, and against Blanche Lincoln. Since we do not have a leadership that seems capable of punishing wayward Democrats, I believe it's up to us as voters and contributors to take on the task, and kicking Blanche to the curb is lining up to be job one.

I know Fire Dog Lake is committed to this, and I will be following their lead. We have to make sure ConservaDems understand that votes have consequences. Traitor Joe wound up on my hit list for his cloture vote on the 2005 Bankruptcy Bill; Blanche, and probably others, are going on for their stance on the Health Care Bill which has become the Massive Windfall to the Insurance Cartel Bill.

I look forward top FDL and other informed progressives' advice on how to spend my limited resources wisely. I just hope Arkansas doesn't have a "sore loser" law.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Price of Failure? Harry's gotta go.

And so Joe Lieberman, the double-talking, prevaricating Senator representing Aetna and the rest of the insurance cartel has made his stand. Little Joe will achieve some measure of payback against the left, who've rightly seen him as a tool of big-money interests, by gutting from the Health Care bill any chance of a public option or Medicare at 55. I'd like to thank the Senator for showing the world, in the starkest fashion, the pathology of the small man consumed by the excesses of egotism.

He's singularly backed down progressives, liberals, the White House, and the Democratic caucuses of both houses of Congress. He is, indeed, Mighty Joe Dung.

One would think this would be a lesson for the Democrats, but I remain skeptical of the ability of the donks to take away anything of value from such a harsh upbraiding. They never seem to learn. I doubt that Traitor Joe will ever be punished for this series of transgressions, which have gone far beyond anything I've seen in the Senate in the 35 years I've followed politics. Democrats seem to have no stomach for dropping the hammer on their enfant terribles, no matter how egregious their duplicity and treachery. At the end of all this, Joe the Aetna Ho is likely to keep his chairmanship and status in the caucus, and probably looks forward to the next time he can pull Harry Reid's nose and kick his shins.

I think the only way this changes is, because of this failure in this test of his leadership, Reid steps down as Majority Leader and is replaced by Dick Durbin. Durbin should then (and I'm betting the farm he has enough balls to do it) strip Lieberman of his chairmanship, his office space, and, if necessary, kick him out of the caucus. Durbin should then tell Blanche Lincoln not to expect much help from the DSCC in her upcoming election, and he should schedule a couple of "come to Jesus" meetings with Mary Landreux, Evan Bayh, and Ben Nelson, hopefully reinforcing their understanding of what's expected and required from them. I think Durbin understands the concept of tough love, and I believe he'll be more helpful to this president than Reid has been. I believe it's time for Democrats to demand that Harry Reid step down.

Monday, December 14, 2009

"...I Ain't No Band Leader"

These days, when I see Traitor Joe Lieberman, I think of the Jack Woltz character from The Godfather movie. Lieberman has declared there isn't much that scares him as far as what the Democrats can do to him, and he's hellbent on filibustering the Health Care bill. It's time for Harry Reid to have a horse's head delivered to Aetna's Ho Joe.

Like President Obama, his fellow graduate from The Homer Simpson School of Bargaining and Negotiation, Leader Reid has a penchant for starting his negotiations from the worst possible position. Reid long ago took the stick known as reconciliation out of his arsenal, and his reward for attempting to preserve tradition and comity in the Senate is to be bitch slapped around by tools like Lieberman and Ben Nelson. It's time for this to stop. It's time for Reid to put reconciliation back on the table.

Harry Reid has to make an example of Joe Lieberman. His reason for doing so comes down to one simple fact: Joe Lieberman didn't keep his word, and the caucus will not be held hostage to a liar.

Harry Reid and the caucus must strip Lieberman of his chairmanship, they must make him as much of a non-entity as they can, even if that sends him over to the Republicans. How can Reid expect the Blanche Lincolns, Ben Nelsons, and Marie Landreuxs to fall in line if there's no consequence for their willingness to wander off the reservation. Traitor Joe has to become the poster child for party disloyalty.

Progressives, who long ago realized it's all about Joe, have done their part to get Joe out of the Senate, but DINO Joe got saved by his Republican friends. The money we raised and the the volunteering we performed (pay attention Mrs. Lincoln) got Joe beat in his last primary. It's time for Senator Reid to do what only he can, and reconciliation is the first step. What say you, Mr. Majority Leader?

Matt Taibbi - Raking the Proper Muck

Matt Taibbi expected some degree of consternation to follow his reporting on the Obama Administration's favorite nephew treatment of Wall Street, and his prescience was borne out here, here, and here.

Taibbi takes the time to rebut his detectors, proving, on the whole, he is a far better writer, and certainly more intellectually honest than those who disagreed with his Rolling Stone piece, which they tried to pan off, but are unable to factually support, as being highly inaccurate. Felix Salmon of Reuters particularly takes Tim Fernholz to task for trying to spin Taibbi's article as being highly challenged in terms of facts, even as Fernholz does nothing to prove, beyond one inconsequential error, that assertion.

Judging by the reaction from the Washington access whores, Taibbi's reporting is hitting some nerves among this speak-no-evil bunch who seem to believe progressives are better off to stew in silence while Obama continues to over-analyze, abdicate, and avoid the need to brawl on tough legislation, while meekly handing Wall St. everything she wants. They're wrong; Taibbi's right, and we could sure use a few more of him.