WH Response is Perfect

The White House responded superbly to chickenhawk Republicans. More specifically to big Dick Cheney and his criticism of the Obama administration's anti-terrorism approach listed in the post below.

"I think we all agree that there should be honest debate about these issues, but it is telling that Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the Administration than condemning the attackers."

Spot on, but it gets better.

To put it simply: this President is not interested in bellicose rhetoric, he is focused on action. Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country. And it seems strangely off-key now, at a time when our country is under attack, for the architect of those policies to be attacking the President.

[...]

There are numerous other such public statements that explicitly state we are at war. The difference is this: President Obama doesn’t need to beat his chest to prove it, and – unlike the last Administration – we are not at war with a tactic (“terrorism”), we at war with something that is tangible: al Qaeda and its violent extremist allies. And we will prosecute that war as long as the American people are endangered.

EXCELLENT!! For a number of reasons actually. First it squarely hits Republicans right where they hate it most: calling them out on their weakness on national security and most importantly on their cowardliness when it comes to leading by actions rather than words.

The White House statement also laments on the fact that tough talk is meaningless and best reserved for fifth grade playgrounds. But people like Dick Cheney, George Bush, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and the rest of the Republicans have to talk tough to make up for all they lack. They have to see Glorious War on their Fox News teevee sets and macho tough men talking about smoking out bad guys and rambling about sissy liberals. They have to have it to survive. It helps them evade reality and when the MSM catches on to their John Wayne movie set drama where masculinity is measured by drawing Nielsen Ratings, it makes their evasion of reality that much easier.

But most importantly, to people like Cheney and the other Bushies, it's all about saying the right things. You don't have to actually shrink government, rein in spending, and squash deficits, all you have to do is talk about doing it. Modern conservatism or Republicanism is not about adhering to certain principles, it's about lip service to a make-believe doctrine of 18th century thinking-- and about talking tough. It's that simple. Talk about invading countries just for the smell of it, dropping Freedom Bombs on people who disagree with us and about shrinking government and you are in the good graces of people like Bush and Cheney and everyone at Fox News.

Thankfully, like President Obama's media statements says, this president does not have to walk around chest thumping war and talking tough merely paying lip service to a psychotic Marlin Brando renegade bunch of cowardly pansies. Leave that to the GOP and move this country forward. Hello 21st Century.

Cheney is Ineptitude at its Finest

I see Dick Cheney cannot resist to abandon all forms of moral decency and once again attack the President of the United States. At a time like this, it's important to understand that Dick Cheney is the epitome of a pussy. There is nothing in his past, present or definitely his future that resembles any act of courage, toughness or service to this country.

During prime fighting age, when his country needed him most, Dick Cheney ran and hid receiving 5 deferments from combat service in Vietnam. In fact, his last deferment granted because of a dependent child, came 9 months 2 days after the announcement that men with children would not be called up.

This is a man that has never seen an ounce of combat in his entire life who clearly went out of his way to avoid serving his country that is now determined to ridicule people about war and doing what's necessary to defeat an enemy. It's absolutely something he knows nothing about. Unless Dick Cheney can watch war on his Fox News teevee set, he runs and hides. Only when he's allowed to pretend that his life is full of courageous moments of enemy fighting, war waging patriotism can he even possibly be considered an authority on war and sacrifice.

Politically speaking, this is a man that began his career under disgraced president Richard Nixon, and the incompetent Donald Rumsfeld, two of the most embarrassing and hated men in America. Only in Republican circles can someone who owes his entire career to a crook and a war criminal be considered a tough guy patriot. Furthermore, while serving in Congress, Cheney constantly argued for the supreme authority of the president to do how he pleases when it comes to matters of national security. He even argued Congress had no authority over the president when it came to national interests. As Vice President, Cheney argued numerous times disagreeing with the supreme power of the President only aided our enemies and that having a national debate about the president doing the right thing is "the biggest problem," and "biggest threat" we face as a nation. Totally crazy, lunatic stuff!! Criticism or questioning the President of the United States meant acting un-American, putting the nation in harms way and was a serious threat to all of us. Of course that's only when Republicans are in the White House.

Nonetheless, here is a guy that is as cowardly as any human being has ever been, that has made his entire career out of questioning the patriotism of people who did not agree with him. Everything he says is a contradiction to how he has actually lived his life. He raised his entire family off the government-- actually, he started a family because of the government-- ran and hid when his country called him to service and has spent the better part of 40 years demanding that people not do what he does, only what he says. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the leading voice of opposition against the current president is a crackpot politician that thrives when people avoid reality.

You Decide

One of the presidents listed below is labeled a socialist tyrant by supporters of the other. Can you guess which one? When you lay it all out, you see just how extreme and how ignorant political discourse in America has become.

President A

1.) Created the largest federal expansion into a national education system in American history that centralizes all primary educational institutions and erodes local control.

2.) Created the largest federal expansion into civil rights since the Alien and Sedition Acts. Creates federal power to detain people indefinitely, obtain and read private correspondences and wiretap communication all without warrants. This is done to keep us safe.

3.) Ruled by the indefinite right to invade any country under the guise of "preventive war." This is done to keep us safe.

4.) Instituted the largest federal expansion of prescription drug coverage in 40 years. A program that is single payer and fully government-run and that adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the national deficit.

5.) Redistributed over $1 trillion of American tax payer wealth to foreign countries to wage endless war, build roads, schools, bridges, mosques, and other infrastructure as well as to pay for and train national police forces and military personnel. This is done to keep us safe.

6.) Instituted 8 tax payer funded takeovers of private industry including the takeover of 234 private banks-- all with tax payer money. By far the largest federal expansion into the American free market economy ever.

President B

1.) Instituted $787 billion "stimulus bill" to revive the American economy. Directs tax payer money to be spent on tax payers and on American soil rather than in foreign countries. Compare to number 5 above.

2.) Followed through with $80 billion auto industry bailout setup under previous administration's TARP.

3.) On the verge of signing the most sweeping personal expansion of medical insurance coverage in American history. A program that will reduce the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars and will ban insurance companies from denying coverage.

Which president is the socialist tyrant and which one is the greatest president ever? Anything left out? Any changes need to be made?

Green for Iran

AP report on rioting in Iran.



There has also been some sketchy reports on some government police officers refusing to fight or crack down on the protesters. Interesting developments indeed.

Adding to the List of Non-Responsibility

As predictable as GOP insanity is, it's still unnerving to watch the lengths they go to cover up the past and the total free reign the MSM allots them.

• Earlier this month former Bush press secretary Dana Perino made an astonishingly inaccurate claim that terrorist attacks never happened on Bush's watch. The whole world knows that's a complete lie. But the media Fox News allowed the claim to go unfettered. In the Republican Fantasy World, a world where Bush was a popular president and Iraq had something to do with 9/11, there is not one iota of anything negative Republicans are responsible for. They are purely Freedom Fighting Great American Patriots.

• Also we have the Great American Reagan "purity test" some in the RNC want future Republicans to be able to pass before they are allowed to run on their ticket. The "test" is supposed to qualify members of core Republican principles. A huge problem with the test is that it's a total lie. No where in the last 30 years of American history could any Republican pass the test, much less Reagan.

• We can't leave super tough guy patriot Big Dick Cheney out of this Republican lie fest. He recently told web-based media outlet Politico the Bush administration has no responsibility for the current condition of Afghanistan. This is the same administration that invaded Afghanistan in 2001 only to completely neglect it for 8 solid years. The administration that Cheney claims bears no responsibility also took resources from the war in Afghanistan and deployed them to Iraq-- a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. Yet, Cheney with his five deferments from combat service in Vietnam gets to tell Americans that his incompetent administration has nothing to do with why we are still fighting a war that is second in length only to the one Cheney ran and hid from while he was of prime fighting age. Not a single follow up question from the very liberal media.
  

Now add to the list of the Republican Misinformation Campaign none other than Republican mouthpiece Mary Matalin. Matalin appeared on CNN last week where she freely stated the Bush administration inherited a recession and terrorists attacks and fixed them both.

I was there [in the Bush White House]. We inherited a recession from President Clinton and we inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation's history. And President Bush dealt with it. And within a year of his presidency at this comparable time, unemployment was at 5 percent. And we were creating jobs.

Yes, in the Republican Fantasy World, a recession that began 2 and a half months after Bush took office and the worst terrorist attack in world history that happened 8 and a half months after Bush took office are not the responsibility of the Bush administration. Instead they are credited to the previous president. And the very liberal media CNN allowed her to spout the lies without a single correction.

What planet are Republicans living on? Who gets to pass the blame as much as this? In what alternate universe do you get to oversee the worst terrorist attacks in history, two ongoing botched wars, grow government larger than any president in two generations, run up the largest deficit in human history and preside over the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and you not be responsible for any of it? Seriously, who gets away with this stuff? It has to suck to be Republican.

Blame

Since Republicans are so determined to generate blame for the unsuccessful terrorist attack this week, wouldn't it make sense to start with the fact the suspect was granted a U.S. travel visa under the Bush administration of which the American government knew then about his ties to extremist Islam? Let's see how many times super tough guy Republicans go on Fox News and acknowledge such subtle facts. I'm guessing none. Better yet, let's see how many times the very liberal media reminds them of their amnesia while they're spouting off their hatred for America.

Twin Blogging

4 weeks 3 days.

Thwarted Terrorist Attack

And I'm sure the lunatic right wing Republican Party won't waste any time attacking the Obama administration. Remember when it was anti-American to question or attack a wartime president? It's a good thing a Muslim never tried to light an explosive device on a plane when Bush was president.

No Waterloo

Senate passes Democratic health care reform 60-39.

*Update:

Tea Baggers plan national day of strike to protest what they call the "leftist socialist agenda." No word yet as to why the nut slappers didn't strike when Republican George Bush instituted 8 government takeovers of private industry, or when he redistributed over a trillion dollars of tax payer wealth to Iraq, or ran up the largest deficit in human history.

**Update:

Lone Tea Bagger call-in to C-SPAN claims she took down her Christmas Tree and her Christmas lights to protest health care reform and the socialist takeover. Claims Members of Congress are ruining the birthday of God's Son by passing reform. Yes because the Bible tells us we are supposed to decorate trees and our homes with lights in December to honor his Son that was born in July. It's very possible there's not a sane one in the bunch.

You're Wrong Obama

President Obama told the WaPo that he did not campaign in support of a public option. What? Was he drunk? Of course he campaigned in support of a government-run health care option. It was not his whole reform package but it was part of it.

Now is not the time to start suffering from self-inflicted amnesia. You didn't push the option hard enough and now it's noticeably absent from the Senate's version. Progressive support didn't just appear out of thin air. You campaigned on the notion of health care reform that included some sort of a government buy-in. It's insulting to suggest otherwise.

More GOP America Bashing

Yet again, another elected Republican member of Congress says the president hates America. Speaking on right wing hate radio yesterday morning, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) had this to say about the president and the attorney general.

I really do think they have a disdain for this country deep down, both of them.

[...]

So, I think you’re right its an absolutely political move and a disdain for our form of government may in fact be in place. I think its an absolute philosophical block on what it has, what it has taken to allow this to be the greatest nation in the history of the world.

These are such proud moments for our country.

As I've been slowly documenting here on The Fold, the official stance of the Republican Party is not that they disagree with the majority party, it's that the president is a foreign born enemy that hates America. (More documentation can be found here, here, here and here).

These aren't the crazies on the street. These are actual elected Republican officials. This sort of behavior is unprecedented in American history. The only time I can find any substance to such disregard for this nation by a major political party is during the Civil War. Maybe during the Cold War and throughout McCarthyism there were some instances that can be comparable. But the total infection of the GOP to portray Obama as illegitimate and an enemy has not been seen in 150 years or better known as the time when conservatives were in an uproar about enslaving people like Obama.

I couldn't imagine what would have happened 11 months ago if one elected Democrat had ever behaved the way the entirety of the GOP is today. Do Republicans ever cheer for America? Do they really hate this country that much?

Republican Jokes Just Keep on Coming!

Nevada's Republican Senator John Ensign reminds his colleagues to remember their "solemn oath" while voting on health care reform.

Anyone with half a brain will recall that "solemn oaths" mean nothing to John Ensign. Earlier this year Ensign admitted to having an extra marital affair with a friend's wife who also just happened to be one of his staffers. After his friend-- and husband of his raunchy lover-- discovered the affair the very ethical and solemn oath senator got the husband a high paying lobbying job and also hired their teenage son as a "political adviser," to be paid for by campaign contributions from lobbying firms like the husband's new place of employment. These are solemn oaths John Ensign is so determined to uphold.

I know we all wish the Ensign drama ended there. But unfortanely for the party that preaches moral values and principles, Ensign's keeps going. It gets so messed up and so "solemn oathy" that Ensign's parents had to pay off his mistress and her family with $96,000 to keep them from going public. I'm not sure what's sadder. Standing on the Senate Floor talking about "solemn oaths" or the fact your elderly parents had to pay off your hump buddy.

Anyways, none of us are supposed to bring any of that up. We are all just supposed to forget about the track record of GOP moral values and principles, oh and don't forget their 40 year track record on fiscal responsibility too, and heed Ensign's insistence that everyone else remember their "solemn oaths." Wheeee!!!

Fake or Not It's Funny

I'm almost pretty certain this is a fake, but it's hilarious. What's more is how Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) doesn't even try to talk any sense into the caller. He knows the Tea Baggers are crazy and he knows the GOP is controlled by total wackos and most of all he knows Sen. Coburn did in fact tell people to pray that senators would not be able to make it to certain votes. Barrasso's safest bet was just to let that caller slide and hope nobody noticed. Lucky for us that didn't happen.

Make Way For the New Dixiecrats

The comparisons to the Civil Rights movement and today's "conservative" reaction to another piece of social legislation is startling. Quite a few times I've stated the comparisons are numerous and probably more than coincidental. Here's a quick rundown. Conservative opponents to Civil Rights argued state's rights, nullification, secession, role of government, the decay of the social fabric, and many times compared the federal government and/or the president to a tyranny. And let's not forget region. Overwhelmingly the opposition to Civil Rights (and of course the Civil War) came from the former Confederacy. As a historian, I can easily make the connection from the Civil War, to the Civil Rights movement, to today's conservative reaction to HCR.

All the arguments of the conservative past are eerily similar today. Again we see state's rights, nullification, secession, role of government, decay of society, all the way right down to region. Conservatives really haven't changed all that much.

One of the missing pieces linking current conservatives to the conservative shame of their past behavior, more specifically from 1948-1970, is the "disenfranchisement" that resulted in many "conservatives" bolting from the Democratic Party. Today we have the missing link. Rep. Parker Griffith of Alabama provides us with the first Southern conservative Democrat to switch parties to the GOP officially completing the circle of history to what is no doubt the continuation of a right wing that has been on the wrong side of history throughout every monumental movement of this great nation. Welcome back to 1948.

*Update:

GOP Chairman Alan Keyes Michael Steele's press release welcoming Griffith to the Republican Party is priceless. Steele unequivocally states Griffith's switch proves there is no room in the Democratic Party for "mainstream America." I love it!!

The Party that is entirely ruled by an extremist right wing that dates all the way back to supporting slave holding states claims it's mainstream America! Only in the Republican Fantasy World can something like that be true.

Steele also claims the newest Dixiecrat has nothing to do with politics but everything to do with "principles and values about what is right for America." Yes because a political party controlled by a false conservative movement that has concurrently been on the wrong side of history is led by "principles and values." What principles and values could he possibly be talking about? Every day 123 people die without adequate access to health care, that's 45,000 people a year. What is principled or valued about trying to wipe out HCR with "death panels," "socialist takeovers," a "tyrant president," claiming state's right to nullify federal legislation, threatening to secede from the Union to block reform, arguing government has no role in ensuring health care, what values and principles can Republicans possibly be talking about???

This press release should be posted on every billboard and teevee commercial in America demonstrating just how extreme and mentally inept the Republican Party truly is. Hang it right next to their circle jerking Tea Baggers and their Freedom Fighting chickenhawks. Make them own it!

Dems Overcome GOP Filibuster

Health care reform seems all but certain to pass after Democrats knockdown GOP filibuster. What a long year it's been. Current senate reform package only ensures we'll have to reform health care again 10 years from now. What a decade it will be.

CBO Scores Senate HCR Bill

CBO estimates: cost $871 billion over 10 years, reduce the deficit by $132 billion over 10 years and by $1.3 trillion over 20 years. The bill would extend insurance to 31 million individuals, covering approximately 94% by 2019."

	Senate Bill	New Managers Amendment	Difference
Costs	Reduce deficits: $130B/10yrs Cost: $848B/10yrs Spends on subsidies: $447B/10yrs On Medicaid/CHIP: $374B/10yrs On Small Employer Credit: $27B/10yrs	Reduce deficits: $132B/10yrs Cost: $871B/10yrs Spends on subsidies: $436B/10yrs On Medicaid/CHIP: $395B/10yrs On Small Employer Credit: $40B/10yrs	Reduce deficits: +$2B/10yrs Cost: +$23B/10yrs Spends on subsidies: -$11B/10yrs On Medicaid/CHIP: +$21B/10yrs On Small Employer Credit: +$13B/10yrs
Insured	Uninsured reduced by: 31M Uninsured in 2019: 24M In Exchanges: 25M | Public Plan: 3-4M In Medicaid: 15M	Uninsured reduced by: 31M Uninsured in 2019: 23M In Exchanges: 26M In Medicaid: 15M	Uninsured reduced by: No Change Uninsured in 2019: -1M In Exchanges: +1M In Medicaid: No Change
Revenue	Mandate penalty: $8B/10yrs Free rider penalty: $28B/10yrs New taxes: $238B/10yrs Excise tax: $149B/10yrs Payroll tax: $54B/10yrs	Mandate penalty: $15B/10yrs Free rider penalty: $28B/10yrs New taxes: $264B/10yrs Excise tax: $149B/10yrs Payroll tax: $87B/10yrs	Mandate penalty: +$7B/10yrs Free rider penalty: No Change New taxes: +$26B/10yrs Excise tax: No Change Payroll tax: +$33B/10yrs
Medicare and Medicaid	Total savings: $491B/10yrs Medicare Advantage: $118B/10yrs Medicare Commission (IMAB): $23B/2015–2019	Total savings: $483B/10yrs Medicare Advantage: $118B/10yrs Medicare Commission (IMAB): $28B/2015–2019	Total savings: -$8B/10yrs Medicare Advantage: No Change Medicare Commission (IMAB): +$5B/2015–2019

None of this even matches up to Chairman Michael Steele's comments from the post below. None of it.

This is such bad news for Republicans they are stalling the vote as much as possible. Right now they have ordered the reading of the entire bill on the Senate floor. Very classy.

Funny I don't recall the minority party forcing the Republicans to read the Patriot Act, which is by far the largest government takeover in American history, on the floor. I don't recall the Republican expansion of Medicare bill read aloud. I don't recall the authorization to use force against Iraq read aloud. Had any of that been forced, the GOP would have questioned anyone's patriotism for doing so. What a bunch of putzes.

1000th Post!

Steele Keeps Feeding 'Em Lies

GOP Chairman, Alan Keyes Michael Steele, as blatantly as possible lies about health care reform by saying it will cost $1 trillion a year and is a government takeover of health care. Oh my...

Steele is obviously either a really bad liar or a pathological one. Democratic health care reform will only cost one-tenth of what Steele says and reduces the deficit, and it is in no way a government takeover of health care. Anyone living in reality knows that every CBO score estimated reform costs to be no where near Steele's lies. It makes no difference that Steele is talking to his base by giving this interview to Right Wing News. A Party truly concerned about HCR would not have to lie especially to its base. All it would have to do is instead talk about their bill and their plans to reform health care. But since Republicans have no plans and no desire to do anything about the status of health care in this country, they must resort to lies, fear mongering and conspiracy theories in hopes to derail the process. I would be so proud to be Republican.

Quickies

• Freedom Fighting Republicans are so patriotic and so pro-capitalistic that they praise communist China for obstructing climate talks.

"Republicans joined the Taliban in cheering when the U.S. failed to land the Olympics, they talk down any good economic news and now we have leading House Republicans siding with China and against America while abroad. Unfortunately, for the American people, today's Republican Party does not hesitate to throw America under the bus if the establishment thinks it will help return them to the failed policies of President Bush that left our economy in shambles."-- DCCC spokesman Ryan Rudominer

Honestly, do they ever cheer for America?

• Rep. Steven King (R-IA) claims those who protest Obama are "working Americans" concerned about their country. But those who protested Bush were "non-working Americans." Yes, because the millions who protested George Bush were only part of some media driven hysteria who were all unemployed. King is delusional but that's really how Republicans legitimize their Party. They claim they are the only "real Americans." They are the only people who work hard and love their country. All the people who disagree with them are "non-working," and of course liberals because all of us are liberals. Delusional.

• Drug addicted, and Leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, who also has three deferments from combat in Vietnam, calls for massive bombing raids in Iran. As one commenter notes, Rush is also pro-life so that makes it all okay.

• Michelle Bachmann leads Republicans in prayer to kill health care reform. 123 people die every day because of inadequate access to health care. But Republicans are pro-life, so that makes it okay.

• AFL-CIO doesn't like the senate bill either.

• And finally, it can't be Christmas in America without a husband as the prime suspect for his wife's disappearance.

Dean, Don't Go Away Mad, Just Go Away

The fact that Howard Dean thinks the senate health care reform bill is crap makes me want to look for reasons to support it.

Tea Bagger "Die In" Is Full of Stupid People

There's something quite telling in all of this.

Tea Baggers formed some sort of "Die In" this morning on Capitol Hill. The dying part was metaphorical of course. Just like the Freedom Fighting part is too. As nutjob Michelle Bachmann put it, the Tea Baggers are the modern day "charge of the light brigade." Everything they do has to do with fighting for freedom against the enemy. Literally everything. Never mind the fact the "light brigade" was handily defeated, it's the comparison to war, battle and toughness the GOP loves.

The telling part is this little Tea Bagger quote from some people from Georgia.

Die-iners hailed from as far away as Washington state. Georgia had a large contingent, though unlike others in the group, they didn't go to visit their senators during the office storm. Instead, they tagged along with the lone tea partier from Connecticut on his way to visit Joe Lieberman.

"We're lucky -- our politicians aren't the bad ones," Joy McGann of Atlanta told TPMDC. "We figured we'd go with this man from Connecticut -- he's alone and he needs the help."

Really? Your senators aren't the bad ones? They haven't done anything you are supposedly now protesting?

Georgia senators Chambliss and Isakson were both elected in '02 and '04, respectively. Both are Republican. Both voted with George W. Bush and the GOP almost 100% of the time. In fact, the budget deficit more than doubled during Chambliss and Isakson's terms in office. On average, from '03-'09, the deficit grew by more than $600 billion/year-- the largest in American history. They also enabled George W. Bush to not only fiscally wreck the country, but to increase the size and role of government by enacting the largest expansion of Medicare in history, spend more than a trillion dollars on foreign countries, instituted 8 tax payer funded government takeovers of private business and nationalized the insurance and lending industries including 234 private banks. But these guys aren't the bad ones? What possibly are you protesting? What a joke.

You people should turn off your Fox News teevee sets, turn down your drug addicted hate filled talk radio and wake up. The world is really passing you by.

*editor's note:

This post has been edited from its original publication. Thanks to commenters for noticing the error.

Getting There

I've been reading through some of the HCR updates this morning and it doesn't look promising for supporters of a public option (or a Medicare buy-in, which is a public option). Both seem to be in file 13 this morning. Okay. Whatever. I never had much faith in any Senate that Harry Reid was in charge of. I also never had that much faith in Democratic unity especially after the summer months when Dems wanted to be portrayed as tough macho men by running scared from standing up to the debate.

It's worth mentioning the Democratic majorities today are larger than anything the GOP ever had from 1995-2007. Aside from war without end, what did they give their base that they can brag about today? Tax cuts? Sure, but you have to include the fact those tax cuts contribute to 40% of the record setting deficits we face today. Bitter sweet I suppose. So these things come and go and most of the time you end up disappointed. I say this because I don't see the Senate bill as a defeat for Democrats. I see it as a defeat for real reform. The bill the president signs will be landmark legislation, something no president has ever been able to accomplish. There shouldn't be any shying away from that aspect. Majorities, large or small, really don't matter when it comes to what those men and women representing us are able at the end of the day to accomplish. It's worth being disappointed about, I'll admit that. But add up the legislative accomplishments of this Congress and the last and compare it to any of the last 40 years and I'd say progressives should be somewhat satisfied in knowing we have changed things, maybe more than we realize.

Blog Update

Still having some trouble with the java script on the site. Sometimes the slider at the top works and sometimes it doesn't. During Christmas Break I'm going to get things tidied up.

First, a whole new layout is on the way. I've been testing it on a sample site and I still have a few kinks to work out but I'm really liking the new template. Second, I'm getting rid of the twitter account. I haven't used it in months and I personally hate twitter. I have no use for it. Third, I'm going to start offering more local political coverage after the first of the year. Most readers not from Illinois or deep south Illinois, like myself, might get bored but I think it's a must for the void I see in state and local government.

Finally, don't forget to add me to your Facebook!!

Gitmo to Illinois

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin plan to go to the White House next week to discuss details of selling Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government for the use of imprisoning Gitmo detainees.

My sources within the IDOC tell me this is a done deal. Illinois will get the detainees. The State of Illinois needs the money, the region of Thomson needs the jobs and Gitmo needs to close. All three problems seemed to be solved by this. Except I don't think the move accomplishes anything at all.

Meanwhile, at a prison in Southern Illinois, an inmate is shot dead after a 7 hour hostage standoff in which he took a female employee hostage.

Fun times in Illinois.

*Update:

Just spoke to chief of operations of IDOC and it will be announced soon that Thomson will get some detainees.

**Update:

It hits the news. Welcome to the very non-corrupt Land of Lincoln.

Quickies

• Mark Ingram wins the Heisman. The first for the University of Alabama.

• A striking account of Rep. Obey's (D-WI) dissent against President Obama's troop escalation in Afghanistan. Striking because I don't recall such allowable dissent during the run up to the invasion of Iraq as what we are seeing now. Sen. Max Cleland anyone? Not to mention the opposition is coming from the president's very own party. This is definitely something that was not allowed during the previous administration. I see it as healthy discourse and I'm glad President Obama is not trying to stifle it. And by the way, I agree totally with Obey.

• Steve Benen lays the ability of the progressive agenda squarely at the feet of two senators. One is a Democrat and one is a former Democrat that was kicked out of the party by voters. Maybe real Democrats should take notice.

• Stocks closed on Friday on a two week rise and just shy of a year high.
  

• Houston elects a gay mayor. And yes Republicans made issue of what they perceived as her immorality.

Banks Keep Getting Eated

131 banks have failed since Jan. 20, 2009. The most in one year since 1989.

History of bank failures by recent president:

Obama-- 131 (so far)
Bush II-- ~72
Clinton-- ~900
Bush I-- 1,015
Reagan-- 2,036
Carter-- ~70

Tea Bagger Cries Foul When He's Heckled

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is to watch and document Republican reactions and behaviors when their very own tactics are used against them. It's like watching Bababooey throw out the first pitch of a baseball game; something I could watch over and over again.

One of my favorites is the GOP cry baby reaction to Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) doing exactly to Republicans what they have been doing to Democrats for months-- exaggerating their HCR ideas.

Another is when an elected Democrat finally calls out the right-wing and its control of the GOP for their history especially that of civil rights and slavery.

The best, though, has to be this latest turn of events when the people propping up the Tea Baggers get heckled in Copenhagen while giving a speech rallying against climate change legislation.

Now there is not a group of people who deserve to be heckled and rudely shouted down more than the Tea Baggers. Their entire movement is designed around shouting, lying, inciting violence and holding up the most retarded, un-American and untrue signs. But when the tables are turned and their own behavior is used against them, they cry just like the Republican whine bags that they are. EXHIBIT A: Giving a speech in Copenhagen, American's for Prosperity President Tim Phillips was rudely heckled and had this to say:

"This is exactly what you would expect from the other side. It's the kind of attacks and personal things that you see from the environmental radicals. But I'll tell you this, it's why we're winning this battle. We're winning this battle because we stand up on the issues and these guys scream and roar." "The other side can't win this debate. So what do they do? They try to attack and scream."

THEY CAN'T TAKE IT!! Expect from the other side??? Idiot, you do it! These are the very people who have been protesting around the country yelling and screaming that the president is a foreign-born enemy of the state. They've been saying the president wants to setup "death panels" to kill undesirables; that he wants to setup, in fact already has, concentration camps to intern conservatives and Christians; that Obama is an "enemy of humanity" who is a socialist-nazi bordering on Marxism wanting to implement a new world currency and reforming health care is his way of accomplishing all of it. Nearly their entire movement is financed and propped up by Americans For Prosperity and their leader Tim Phillips. And as usual he can't take his very own behavior turned right around on him.

But what set Phillips off so much? Those must have been so mean hecklers saying some pretty nasty things, right? A group of people shouted "clean energy makes jobs!" Wow! That's so harsh. I would think people who go around shouting the President of the United States is an illegitimate socialist enemy of the state that wants to setup a socialist tyrannical government, would be a little bit thicker-skinned but obviously they are blowhards that cry like little babies when the tables are turned. Classic Republican behavior.

Not Normal Like Her

I find exceeding comfort in knowing Michelle Bachmann doesn't think Obama supporters are part of her reality and are not normal like her.

Deep Thought

Currently 55 Republican Members of Congress are receiving Medicare benefits. So it should be a no-brainer that at least those 55 would support, in the very very least, opening up Medicare to people age 55 or older, right? How could people who are benefiting from a single payer, government run system vote to deny it to other people?

Political Compass Score

I've always thought the popular acceptance of left vs. right is so inaccurate in American politics that it's exhausting trying to correct it or have a conversation with someone from Europe or even Canada about how we view what is liberal and conservative or left and right. In some of the comment sections I've noticed Spinner is the same way. How Americans view liberal and conservative is so wrong classically speaking that it has garnered it's own title as being American political ideology. We Americans tend to think of everything in a linear fashion. You are either on the left, right or center of every issue. When in reality the graph is circular or I've found a compass graph much more accurate.

For instance, take most "conservative" European governments and place them in our political paradigm and they would be what we call "liberal." Send Obama to Europe and he's a moderate conservative. Hardly do we hear such a label depicting Obama here in America.

Anyway, about 10 years ago I found the Political Compass as one of the best graphing tools of where people stand on a political spectrum. You can take the test here to see where you stand, it only takes a couple minutes.

I usually take the Political Compass test once a year just to see if I've changed and how much. As for me, I've generally floated right around the middle with sometimes veering toward a left-libertarian. It usually varies slightly each time. I took it this morning and I see I'm coming back closer to the middle again.

As you can see from the graph, thinking in terms of left and right is very inaccurate. When you place current American political leaders on the compass you really see what I'm talking about.

Republicans Travel to Foreign Lands Again to Undermine the Government

Remember when it was anti-American for incumbent members of congress to travel to foreign countries to undermine American foreign policy? For Republicans it's a great Patriotic Duty to travel to distant lands to openly undermine America. But how did these Great Patriots react when they ruled the world?

• Brad Blakeman, a member of President Bush’s Senior Staff, called Pelosi the “Neville Chamberlain of our time,” for going to Syria. He also said that her trip was giving aid and comfort to our enemies, a charge of treason in every sense of the word.

• The Wall Street Journal, printed an op-ed by a former Reagan government member that went as far to say that Pelosi may have committed a felony for going to Syria.

• Republican bloggers called Pelosi's trip a betrayal of her country. Labeled her a traitor. Said she encouraged terrorism and gave aid to our enemies.

It's also worth mentioning Speaker Pelosi's trip was conducted via the state department and not on her own initiative, unlike current Republican Freedom Fighting trips. In fact, the half-a-dozen or so Republicans traveling to Copenhagen next week are entirely doing so to "oppose plans for cap-and-trade legislation." The whole basis of their trip is to show public discord for American foreign policy. They are actually going there pretending that they are the head of state. I'm not sure there is any other action by the opposition party that can show a greater disregard for the president than this. They really believe the current Democratic government is illegitimate.

Deal or No Deal?

Who the heck knows.

Conflicting reports all around today about possible deals being struck with Senate Democrats to either strip the already watered-down public option, institute a buy-in and/or lower Medicare age to 55 for people who do not have insurance through an employer or are 133% above the poverty line.

Seems sort of encouraging to me. I'm going to wait and see before I decide to reluctantly support anything. I say reluctantly because at this point anything I support will be reluctant.

The Right and Its History

Finally an incumbent Democratic lawmaker and not a blogger makes the correct comparison about the right wing by connecting the dots from the days of slavery to today. Finally a Democrat has realized that yes, once again, the self-labeled conservative right wing is on the wrong side of history when it comes to granting equal access to everyone. There is no illogical jump of history to compare the right wing of the slavery debate and eventually the Civil War, to the right wing of the women's suffrage movement, to the Civil Rights movement to today's health care reform debate.

There is no denying it was the right wing of the slavery era that supported and fought to ensure the institution of slavery. They did it. You can't deny it. The right wing threatened issues of state's rights, nullification and even threatened secession. Guess what? They are doing the very same thing today with health care reform. Yes the right wing at the time was the Democratic Party but it was the conservative movement of the day.

By the time women's suffrage was at the forefront, the parties were changing ideologies but the wings remained the same. Again, the right wing-- the conservatives-- opposed women's rights. They did not want anything to change. Conservatively speaking they believed everything was just dandy the way it was. Conservatives greatly opposed any change to the social status quo especially granting women more rights.

It goes all through the Civil Rights movement as well. The Democratic Party splintered into hundreds of pieces because of it until what's left today are what we call the Blue Dogs, who are the supposed "conservative" realm of the Party. The right wing, which found it a welcomed home in the GOP, greatly benefited from the Party shift and controlled government by the "southern strategy"-- a playoff of using southern states (the same people who supported slavery) to win elections and enforce what we now know as a modern conservative rule of the nation. (We just had 8 solid years of it!)

The right, yes, has been on the wrong side of history throughout all this. It is the same wing that supported slavery using the very same arguments we hear today. They opposed women's rights using the very same arguments we hear today. They opposed Civil Rights and sunk the nation into a regional hold on federal power with large support from the very people who opposed emancipation and suffrage.

Finally people are catching on. But the story that makes it to the media is that Republicans, today's right wing movement, want an apology. Not that what Harry Reid said is very true. The media ignores the dots and wants to focus on the sensation of the story.

Excellent Idea

Why has this taken 8 years?

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) introduced a war bonds bill today. The bill would authorize the U.S. Treasury to start selling war bonds to help fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think this is a good first step at becoming more fiscally sound. It's something that should have been done on Sept. 12, 2001. Morally, we can't morally fight endless war with supplementary spending appropriations. Since war bonds will be voluntary, we should also implement a war tax to help finance the wars. Just like we did in WWII, a war we achieved victory in half the time we've already spent in Afghanistan.

A Widening Gap Between the Parties

Sometimes I'm glad to see such drastic differences between the two main political parties. I can remember a time circa '95-'99 and again '01-'05 where policy differences between the DNC and RNC were inconsiderable compared to what they are today. That's not saying there weren't huge differences between the parties during the previously listed time frames. It's only saying compared to today, policy differences were negotiable back then. There was a center, a meeting point where two different philosophies could conform. I just don't see that today with the gigantic gap separating the parties.

Take for example economic policy. The modern GOP is stuck in 18th century anticipation for how to handle the current economic mess they created. The official stance of the GOP is to freeze spending, cut taxes and to promise no new taxes. This was also their 2008 nominee for president John McCain's policy too that was widely rejected by the voters. Nonetheless, Republicans want everyone to believe the policies of the last 8 years, which caused the mess we have today, will rescue us from the policies of the last 8 years. It's crazy thinking. In caveman times when government's only role was to deliver the mail and wage war every once in a while, such policies sufficed. But government has a much larger role than that now and to relish in the days of old when only white, land owning men could vote and blacks were considered property is a devastating approach to the 21st century.

In contrast, we see the Democratic Party wanting to invest, sometimes heavily, in the future. Stimulus spending, which has no doubt been effective at jump starting the economy, and now an investment into main street job creation is like night and day when compared to the Republican scheme of shrinking government, controlling spending and cutting taxes, especially when you consider they have no track record of ever actually doing any of it.

So how do you reconcile the two different policies that are separated by hundreds of years of thinking? You can't. Call it what it is and demand we move this country forward.

Facts Back Up the President

During President Obama's prime time speech on Afghanistan the other night he made a reference to the fact that the previous administration did not listen to calls for more troops from the commanders on the ground.

Commanders in Afghanistan repeatedly asked for support to deal with the reemergence of the Taliban, but these reinforcements did not arrive.

This led many right wing nut jobs Republicans like former Bush Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to issue statements refuting the president's claim.

But facts clearly back up President Obama. Yesterday on Meet the Press, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates clearly stated there were many outstanding requests from commanders in Afghanistan for more troops that went unheeded by the Bushies due to resources being tied up in Iraq.



In Rumsfeld's defense, the calls for more troops appear to come after Rumsfeld was fired. Though I seriously doubt in the 5 years Rumsfeld oversaw the war in Afghanistan there was never a call for more troops to fight a legitimate war that the Bush administration disregarded. The fact resources were pulled or withheld from Afghanistan to go invade Iraq proves the country and people actually responsible for 9/11 were put on the back burner for a country that had nothing to do with the attacks on our country.

Will the super tough war cheerleaders on the right pick up on Gates' comments? Don't hold your breath.

At Least It's Not Bad News

I guess this is good news: Treasury Department revises TARP cost to be $200 billion less than the $700 billion allotted.

For a number of reasons I see this as good news. For one it means recovery is coming around. Yes, slowly, but it has started. Two, it means TARP has been semi-effective. It did ward off massive financial panics. It did stave off the entire collapse of the markets. And it has kept my stocks and mutual funds from totally bottoming out and even recently back to making me money. Some in Washington are now talking about using the $200 billion as a spur for job creation. Seeing how jobs are a must for any economy much less one with record unemployment, I think the next phase of the recovery must be in this direction. Something tells me, however, Republicans will pretend they are the true fiscal stewards and will have different plans consistent with their 18th century thinking.

*Update:

Not only is the GOP controlled by radical 18th century thinking, they are, as I've been documenting on The Fold, suffering from a very bad case of self-inflicted dementia. Sen. Orrin Hatch, whom I've written about quite a bit these last few weeks, still can't bring himself to recall the last 8 years of Republican rule. Not only has he entirely forgotten history that he helped make, he also insists the best way to achieve full recovery is to "get control back in Republican hands." Most telling this time, though, is here again,-- for the hundredth time-- an elected Republican says Democrats are trying to" socialize the country."

Such language from the minority party is so extreme and so uncommon in American history that even during the last 8 years of Republican rule, a time when those in charge were responsible for the largest growth of government since the 1930s, that also oversaw the largest fiscal irresponsibility in history, led during the largest drop in median household income since records have been kept, created a 26.1% increase in Americans living in poverty, and ruled over the largest drop in the history of the Dow, that not one time did a member of the opposition party ever call the Republican president a socialist, a tyrant or ever alluded to him being an enemy of the state. Sure George Bush was unpopular as any person could ever be, but never did the opposition let its crazy, fringe wing control the day.

Now, not only do the crazies control the GOP with elected officials saying and behaving in ways not seen since the Civil War, they also yearn for the days when they were in charge and were responsible for the very problems we have today. Wheee!

Mainstream Goes Radical

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) says Democratic health care reform would create a "health care gulag" just like Medicaid is.

The "gulag" talking point was first mentioned by Republican Congressman John Shadegg on the House Floor in October.

As we all know, this is just another way of saying any reform to health care by Democrats will only end up killing people while simultaneously creating a socialist tyrannical takeover of the American government. These are mainstream Republican views. The official opposition party in America really believes they are Freedom Fighting Revolutionaries only trying to save the nation. Their rhetoric is symptomatic of psychopathic whine bags that have done everything imaginable to forget the last 8 years. Couldn't imagine if the opposition party had behaved like this under George Bush's reign. The MSM would never have presented such behavior then as perfectly normal opposition thinking.

Quickies

• The smart, intellectual wing of the GOP is pondering whether the term "teabagging" should be treated like the n-word.
  

• Sarah Palin tells Salon that it's a "fair" concern to question whether Obama is a citizen. This is a mainstream Republican in an extreme leadership role. She's not a wacko on the street. This, again, highlights a big difference between the parties. The crazies are in charge of the GOP.

• Republican Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah) says he dreams of a day when Republicans have 60 seats and would "get this country under control." As you'll recall, two weeks ago Hatch called for a jihad against health care reform. Hatch is also a member of a cult that believes God lives on planet Kolob.

• Republican Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) tells MSNBC that people who do not have reliable health care coverage should go get a federal job. Of course the government acting as employer (ownership) is a socialist's dream...

• ...but someone forgot to tell House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) because he told CNBC the government doesn't create jobs. Not only should Boehner's claim come as a kick in the nuts to fellow Republican Judd Gregg's push for the federal government to employee millions of people without reliable health insurance, it's also interesting since in July Boehner thanked the stimulus package for "creating much needed jobs."

Dumb Democrat of the Week

Quit legislating your personal qualms!

In the Illinois senate there was a lady whom I won't mention her name that every time she had a thought pop into her head she wanted it to become law. She legislated ideas and personal feelings, which is no way to do your job. Rep. Anna Eshoo appears to be no different.

Deep Thought

My how things have changed. Remember when it was anti-American to criticize the commander in chief? Republicans don't.

*Update:

Donald Rumsfeld blasts parts of President Obama's speech as a "bald misstatement." The days of criticizing the commander in chief only to be labeled a terrorist sympathizer are long gone. You clean up the mess you're left with, Rumsfeld.

Notes on the Speech

I didn't get to watch the speech live but watched an hour or so of the post-speech reaction on CNN, MSNBC and kept track of some things on TPM. Then this morning I replayed the speech in whole to see it for myself.

Initial reaction is I think it's a mistake to send more troops to Afghanistan. Initially, too, I thought it was a great idea to invade Iraq so maybe I'll be just as wrong on this. I just don't see what we can accomplish in Afghanistan. Our very presence breeds terrorist networks like al Qeada and asking our military to sacrifice even more than it already has is intolerant.

Best part of the speech:

“I make this decision because I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of the violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak.”

True enough. Our attention was turned to Iraq to fulfill some tough guy love of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld to take out Saddam. It was a grave mistake we are paying for now. It is the very reason, if not the only reason, that we find ourselves today escalating an 8 year war in a country that has known nothing but war. But what's the noble cause? What can we possibly accomplish?

Best Democratic reaction:

Sen. Russ Feingold: "I do not support the president’s decision to send additional troops to fight a war in Afghanistan that is no longer in our national security interest. It’s an expensive gamble to undertake armed nation-building on behalf of a corrupt government of questionable legitimacy. Sending more troops could further destabilize Afghanistan and, more importantly, Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state where al Qaeda is headquartered."

A statement like this could never have been made in 2002-03, especially by a member of the then president's party. It's nice to see and be part of a political party that allows dissent; that encourages the open flow of ideas both publicly and in private. I think we are going to see more Democrats follow Feingold and let it be known they cannot faithfully support more war. As much as I like Obama, I like the open forum of being allowed to disagree with him more.

I've Been Living Off the Government Tit

Senator Grassley (R-IA) finally admitted he loves him some socialism. This morning on C-SPAN Grassley was told by a caller to the program that as a Congressman and a farmer he had been living off the government for years. Grassley, of course, being a government employee of some form since 1958 can't deny that but he sure tried to talk his way around it. (Yes his exact words are "So if you’re trying to make a case that I’ve lived off the public tit all these years, I think you’re saying correctly...")



The point is there is no greater exhibit of socialism in America than the United States Congress. Members entirely live off the tax payers. We pay their wage, their health care, their sweet-heart retirement plans. We pay it all. Most members raise entire families off government money. There is no fundamental difference between Congressmen raising families off the government than people currently on public aid. It's all welfare Chuck, just admit it. Or do away with your welfare, either way is fine with me.

The Dementia Continues...pretty much unabated

In a matter of two days with just a couple of posts on a lowly blog, we've visibly seen just how sickening the GOP really is. They intend to move full speed ahead on washing out any history whatsoever of their track record of actually governing this country.

First is the "purity test" some in the RNC want candidates to swear to before they are backed by the national party for election. It's a test that not one single Republican candidate or president of the last 30+ years could ever pass. But never mind any of that. Historical facts are for the weak. In the Republican Fantasy World you just have to be able to swear your allegiance to small government, fiscal responsibility, moral values conservatism even if you don't really mean it. To them, it's all about saying the right things.

Next we have Bush's former spokeswoman ignorantly declaring on Fox News that terrorist attacks didn't happen on Bush's term. That's just not true. Not true in the least bit.

We easily see, just from those two items alone, that Republicans want to be able to pretend that they are conservative and keep us safe. The reality is the worst fiscal management of this country took place under Republican rule and the worst terrorist attack in history took place under Republican rule. Not only are they fiscally irresponsible, they are weak on national security. But they lie continuously about their conservative credentials and their governance. It's what they do. And the media largely allows them to do it; hence no correction from Fox about Perino's lie.

Today, with a third post, we have yet more historically applied dementia from the GOP. In an interview with the web-based Politico, former VP Dick Cheney exempted the Bush administration from any responsibility for the current condition of Afghanistan.

Cheney was asked if he thinks the Bush administration bears any responsibility for the disintegration of Afghanistan because of the attention and resources that were diverted to Iraq. "I basically don't," he replied without elaborating.

Now, only a very sick person could think the Bush administration bears no responsibility for Afghanistan and the current president's reaction to it. Only someone in a comma the last 8 years could ever believe such a thing. The Bush administration turned over to a new president a country at war on two fronts; a country on the brink of financial collapse; a country as poorly mismanaged as any in human history and they believe not one ounce of responsibility falls on them for it. Just to be sure, just soes we all understand, never has an elected president ever inherited two ongoing wars tripled by an economic collapse in the history of America. That's just how bad things really are and were.

Just like with Perino's falsification of history, and the RNC's "unity test," Cheney too wants people to believe that it was only after Bush left office did things turn bad in Afghanistan. Never mind the fact the Bush administration dithered for 8 years in that country and turned our attention and resources toward a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. None of that ever happened in their world. It was only a few months ago did any thing of substance really happen to create the crisis we have today. Of course Cheney and the Bushies know none of that is true. They just want enough people to believe their lies in hopes to muddy the water up just enough to make people believe everything is someone elses fault firmly relinquishing them from any responsibility for the worst presidency in modern American history. It takes a very sick people to be able to pull this off and Republicans have no qualms about seeing it through.

*Update:

Andrew Sullivan makes a good point here. The Politico interview with Cheney is a perfect example of the media acting as Bush-enablers. No follow up question, no journalistic notion to question a word Cheney says. Mike Allen at the Politico merely acts as the mouthpiece for Dick Cheney and his lies. Bush-enablers yes they are.