Restoring Sanity

Oh how I wish we could've been there.

What an event by all accounts - if anything, to tell our fabled leaders: "Enough."

America has had enough of the antics, of the obfuscation and we demanded real change. Yes, REAL change. We were sick with what the Republicans did during their 8 year stint that we voted for a radical shift. As we now face a mid-term election this coming Tuesday America isn't really happy with how the Democrats have played out either.

Until both parties try to reapply their pulse on America - we are going to keep seeing the revolving door in Washington.

That's why the recent Restoring Sanity rally on the National Mall in D.C. was so important. Take any picture from the event and SEE the demographics. Old, young, white, black, Hispanic, male, female -- proved that you can get over 200k folks coming together to tell Washington that they need to change their attitude. They need to change their approach with how they govern.

The problem is - they won't.

A very telling interview with President Obama took place on the the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last week - where Jon (to his credit) really laid it out there for the President to address the fundamental problem with the party and the direction of things in Washington. It was a great display of a leader doing this in secured measurements to ensure that change is at least moving forward. Progressives are never really going to like that it wasn't "everything" that Obama preached for and something even he admitted to.

"Obama: You know, there are folks, I'm sure, who don't think that we've achieved the ideal. And so, I guess, on all these issues, my attitude is, if we're makin' progress, step by step, inch by inch, day by day, that we are being true to the spirit of that campaign —

Stewart: You wouldn't say you'd run this time as a pragmatist — it wouldn't be, "Yes, we can — given certain conditions..."?

Obama: No, I think what I would say is, "Yes, we can, but — [audience laughs] — it is not gonna happen overnight.""

I think as a society - we really need to look at that reality. But when pressed about the frustration in Washington:

"Stewart: Do you believe government is nimble enough to handle these 21st-century crises? Is government agile enough — you said, "We want to build a 21st-century regulatory regime for business" — by the time government builds that, obviously it'll be the 22nd century, but won't they have already started trading molecules in some sort of weird — Does government still have the ability to be agile enough to handle these types of things?

Obama: I think it's a legitimate question. I will tell you that there are a couple of things that have changed in our politics that are gonna have to be fixed. One is the way the filibuster operates. As I said, that's just not in the Constitution. In fairness, Democrats used it when Bush was in office and felt very comfortable using it — although not to the extent that it's being used today. What we've been seeing is unprecedented. And that makes it very difficult for us to move forward in serious ways, and actually reduces compromise, because what ends up happening is that if Republicans know that they can block anything because we don't have 60 votes, then they feel no need to compromise. That means the Democrats, then, their attitude is, "Well, we're not gonna compromise; we can't get 60 votes," and everybody moves in opposite directions. The same thing is true, I think, when it comes to how our districts are drawn. You know, we've got a lot of districts that are so safe — 90% Democrat or 90% Republican — that that also helps to polarize the electorate, so there are a couple of things that are structural that are probably going to need to be changed, but, having said all that, we have made a lot of progress over the last 18 months that, from a historical perspective, ranks up there with any legislative session we've seen in history. And we're gonna have to continue to make some progress on things like energy (which didn't get done), on immigration reform (That did not get done.), and most importantly we've just got to do a lot more work in terms of generating the kind of jobs that ensure we've got a growing middle class and that people are able to live out the American Dream, because right now I think there are a lot of folks who are worried that if we don't make serious investments in education, in energy, in infrastructure, in research and development — that we're gonna start fallin' behind."

(see the video and full transcript at LincMad.blogspot)

......

Admittedly -- I was certainly caught up in the same frustrations. But I also see a party that is creating more hell and frustration upon themselves - than the other party. I'm patient as long as it feels like our representatives are moving in that direction, Mr. President. Unfortunately that's the problem so many of us see and that's why many of your candidates are in trouble this week.

That's why the likes of Restoring Sanity were important for you to see and understand that America is frustrated not necessarily with you, Mr. President. They are frustrated by the electorate that have a really hard time buying into your plan for the future or be bought out by special interest groups.

The GOP make absolutely no apologies that they are corporate hacks. They don't care that they're painted as unforgiving, uncaring, shills for industry so as long as their own personal tidings are taken care of.

It's time for real representatives to step up and to represent Americans. Not some corporation, not some shill for the insurance lobby or the oil lobby or the bank lobby or the military industrial complex lobby. We need representatives that know that a gallon of milk costs a shade under $4.00. We need representatives that know how hard it is for folks who ARE trying to work, who have spent a lot of their lives playing by the rules and who feel left out of the process. We need representatives who care about Americans first -- corporations and businesses second.

It's time to restore sanity in the process and to put people in power that want to make change - REAL change .... and not revert us back 10 years or believe some incredibly stupid notion of "trickle down economics."

Bring it on Tuesday America. Make your vote count.

The Problem.....

I admit I'm in a political hangover ... actually ... I'm pretty damn disappointed in how things have been shaping up for the country. I know a lot of other liberals feel the same way because there was all the talk about change -- about making a difference and finally taking back the government while restoring some sense of sanity to it.

Well now I'm just trying to figure out what happened.

No. I'm not going to jump off the cliff like every conservative yip who thumbs up their nose going: "told ya', told ya', neener neener..." No need to address that kind of petulance ... but it has become the Republican way of doing things....

So what happened? Why did the Democrats just FOLD? Leaving the Republican juvenile antics aside ... is it possible that there are too many independent thinkers in the democratic party? Is it possible that the Dems have aligned themselves with too many conservative democrats that have conflicting points of view?

The Problem -- with the democratic party is its lack of cohesion and lack of a unified course for this country. They couldn't agree on health care reform, so we get a watered down thing that kinda resembles reform. They couldn't agree on controlling Wall Street ... so we get something that will still leave gaping holes and allow companies to continue to exploit the "rules" for the sake of their own personal greed.

The Problem -- is that this country have gotten SO INCREDIBLY DIVISIVE on the issue of money and power. There's a growing apathy of "saving your own ass" at the expense of what it's doing to the world around you. "Not my problem" is the running creed these days and that's seen from both parties. There's no common sense, common decency between our various segmented populations except for a great deal of resentment and animosity.

Look at what's happening in the Gulf right now. BP wants to settle for pennies for something that will affect OTHER industries along the gulf shores. Guess what folks: OIL ISN'T THE ONLY THING THAT COMES FROM THE GULF..... and yet there's a vocal segment of our population that thinks we need MORE drilling.... which makes absolutely no sense when those that continually RAPE the profit every quarter wants a free pass on their OWN cleanup.

The Problem -- is that we've gotten so used to blaming everybody ... and no one wants to try to take responsibility for their part. Politicians on both aisles are incredibly guilty of this -- and yet the teflon coating remains..... It would be sad and tragic if it weren't so immoral and criminal.

So while we could - for awhile - blame the Republican party for their egregious behavior ... now it's the Dems turn to shoulder the blame for their own inaction and reign in the party. If that means losing seats, fine.

Americans have demanded change for the last 4 years when they voted Democrats to be in power. Americans demanded change in November 2008 when they elected President Obama and unless they have turned off their hearing aids ... democrats should be listening once again to the cries and please for change in the upcoming 2010 election.

Rahm Emanuel recently said that the spirit of bipartisanship is over ... which really comes as a shock to most of us that thought that the spirit of bipartisanship ended when Dems were given the mandate to enact change.

What's it going to be dems?

The Stupak Problem....

I've been hearing Rachel Maddow and others come out scathingly against Bart Stupak and the abortion issue with the upcoming health care reform bill that's slated to be voted on soon. At first - I'm like: "yeah yeah, Bart bad bad guy..."

Then ... a couple of nights ago - Rachel had the night off and we watched Chris Hays (who did a great job - but please do something about the pen!) ... and he had on Diana DeGette from the U.S. House of Representatives on the program.

Now Rachel's contention is that there is no mention of abortion in the pending legislations ... that - Democrats didn't want this to be a sticking point for anyone in order to pass health care reform. The concept was to keep things "status quo." Which in my opinion makes perfect sense and what not.

Except.

When Diana was on the program with Chris - towards the end of the segment, she began to articulate the position a bit more differently. I'm paraphrasing, but she said that the way the current system is, a woman who has bought private insurance can be covered under her plan to receive services associated with having an abortion.

THEN, Diana DeGette stated: "We want to make sure that this feature is also available in a government created market" when health care reform passes.

Wait, wait, whoa. Huh?

Technically, there is no change or provision for abortion, HOWEVER ... When Diana articulated that she wants to have the government negotiate plans in this special health care market - that would include the same provisions as the woman who would be opting for private health care insurance ... a light bulb went off.

I think I understand Bart's contention here.

Abortion is still a very very very divisive issue as it always has been.

But it's disingenuous to portray the abortion reference as being just "status quo." It's not really. Even if the bills out there do not expressly say: "government mandated abortion options," it does say government will negotiate plans for the public just like the ones a woman can get in private ... which is technically *not* status quo anymore.

Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with the right of a woman to choose - as much as it is the coverage options and negotiations initiated by the government which I can see from Bart's perspective as being a step forward in the pro-choice column. In Bart's mind a huge step forward is my guess.

Not that I'm against that -- because I *am* pro-choice and believe that a woman should hold that decision for herself. I do think women should be allowed to get treatment and that's my personal belief and opinion. But the Bart Stupak position contemplates the overall goal for health care reform.

UPDATE: As of this entry - I noticed tonight on Rachel's program that there's little that can be done for Bart's amendment - because the Senate bill has to be passed in its entirety anyway so Bart's efforts are all for not.

But I'm disappointed a bit in Rachel - for spending so much time attacking Bart, without being a bit more credible in her reporting about what Bart's position was. There *is* a difference when you put out all the pieces on the table - and whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, one needs to remain objective when observing that there *is* a difference in the approach. Regardless of your politics - having an honest discussion is better than trying to carry on a bias-slanted one that's based on a half-truth.

C'mon Rachel - you're better than that.

The Teflon is starting to flake off....

Outright lies is the way of Washington politics.

...which is why so many Americans are put off by our elected representatives -- and for good reason.

But there has been an aggressive campaign by the right to completely fabricate, lie or enjoy their own rolls in the mud. Each time they roll around in the mud - remarkably, almost impossibly - the GOP comes away scot free ... amazing! No dirt, no problem and they can launch salvo after salvo at Obama and the Democrats and have absolutely no accountability....

But something has changed.

Now - there finally seems to be some accountability.

The Teflon the GOP has worn for several generations is finally starting to flake off a bit. If you're going to be against Obama's stimulus plan, but you're going to take credit for it - FINALLY - someone is going to call you out on it. Even within their own party people are finally starting to take notice.

Never mind the other incredibly blatant attacks of late of "fiscal responsibility" while protecting Bush for 8 years. Or the sudden concern about terrorist rights when Bush was doing the exact .... same .... thing..... Even Colin Powell has no idea what the GOP is doing.

But then the GOP had their big confab this week ... the CPAC where they are supposed to hone in their message and get back on track. One of their headliners is no stranger to obscuring and obfuscation ... Mitt Romney delivered his speech which had about as many holes as a board riddled with termites.

This isn't some "vast left wing media conspiracy..." No. These are the hometown papers and the Wall Street Journal that's calling out the GOP for their .... "mistakes." Now comes the moment of atonement ... because I do believe this is nothing more than a strategy ploy to help re-define the Republican Party for 2010 and 2012. As long as we have the likes of Fox News, Rush and Beck coming to their aid to help them correct their mis-deeds ... the Republican Party will keep living by their teflon lies and hypocrisy.

...and the sad song and dance continues.....

The Blame Game #7,846

The fingers and thumbs and words have been all a flurry the last few days. Folks blaming Coakley for being on vacation, for not being aggressive enough, her campaign firing back saying that they didn't get the support they needed in Massachusetts ....

....but if anyone was really TRULY listening to the voters, you would've found the REAL reason why Coakley lost....

Folks stayed home and didn't vote.

Why?

Because they do not feel Obama has been aggressive enough on Wall Street and Health Care Reform ... imagine that!!! The populist rage still loves Obama -- would rather see him in office versus any Republican ... but it's the policies set forth by this party that has stymied reform in two central aspects that really matter to the American people.

Independents and Democrats didn't CARE if Coakley went on vacation ... they cared that the current political approach in Washington isn't working, despite having a fillibuster proof majority....

So what happened?

It rests on the President's shoulders I'm afraid. Because he did something so incredibly admirable that no one in Washington really truly understood: let's come together, let's make it right for everyone. But if not for the incredibly old and decrepit party of "NO!" ... they simply are resigned to say no that the sky is blue or that the earth is round. In fact, they will say anything contrary to this President - even if he's right.

As incredibly selfless and fantastic as it would've been if someone was brave enough to meet Obama halfway ... who could see that the real America is not represented by an ass or a pompous elephant ... but by people from all walks of life, all cultures, all backgrounds and experiences. The days of "can't we all just get along" has become something of a parody in these times.

As well intentioned as this President was in his gracious and tireless efforts to make this a middle of the road kind of deal ... the voters of Massachusetts sent out their warning: "we don't want the middle ground." Good or bad, positive or negative - President Obama now has to decide which course he's going to choose as a result of this special election of some incredibly suave doofus poised to sell off his daughters to the highest bidder.....

...because the folks of Kennedy's home state just may have lit the warning torches of all Democrats: Shape Up, or Ship Out....

Obama was awarded a mandate .... and the American people demanded change. Enough with this party of "no" - and start legislating like you mean it Democrats .... or suffer the same Republican defeat of 2006 and 2008.....

Democrats deserve it....

Disappointment doesn't even come close to expressing how I feel about the Democratic Party right now. When I look at the headlines, hear the news accounts and wonder exactly what happened to the party that was supposed to LEAD us from the plight of the Ott years ... into a new decade.

This party has done EVERYTHING to take itself out of contention in 2010 and even 2012 because there's no unity. There's no consensus and the American people can sense this. So when this party faces its potential doom on Tuesday with the Brown v. Coakley race in Massachusetts -- I have to shake my head and say that the Democrats deserve it.

For 10 months they fought and rallied behind the man that would become their leader ... and everything this President wanted to do, every senator, every representative, every official was absolutely standing behind it ....

.... until they actually were confronted that this President was ACTUALLY going to do the things he set out to do. And then the floor began to fall out of this "super majority" which now looks like some sort of comical keystone cops convention....

It's been frustrating for this President, who thought he had every ally in alignment, in agreement, in forward thinking about health care ... only to find that he has a splintered party that supports (literally) both sides of the debate. HOW these elected representatives can side with the insurance industry is nothing short of shocking. It's unfathomable if not inherently against the ideals of the Democratic party.

That's why the Republican party is licking its lips come Tuesday. They can sense the door swinging harshly back in their favor at a time when it's surprising anyone would trust a Republican these days.

So what happened?

I do believe this President abandoned his vision for a better, stronger, more resilient America. I believe his party is a rag-tag bunch of individuals all vying for whatever political capital and cover they can get. The problem is - when they lose their majority, progress in this political climate will come to a standstill and Obama will fatefully be called a lame duck in his first term....

...thus making the Republicans look like prognosticators when all they did was muck and mire the entire process knowing full and well that the Democrats would only shoot themselves in the foot.

Well - the Republicans called that play right ... because it's pretty apparent that the Democratic majority has several self-inflicted gunshot wounds in their foot....

Independents see that weakness and they get less enthused for the President. I can't really blame them except to say that the alternative is NOT going to make this country better. But the Democratic party ultimately did this to themselves. The Republicans, in all their collective flailing about still had zero chance of overtaking the momentum.....

As he approaches his State of the Union address on the 27th - his party is in shambles. You can thank the likes of Grassley, Nelson, Landrieu, and others who completely let their blindness consume them for the greater good. What these idiots so truly don't understand is that they are NOT well liked by either party .... and hence the "once in a century" opportunity to improve a failing health care system falls squarely on these misinformed jackasses.

So I can't really say anymore except: "Good job Dems ... you got what you deserved..."