what they really should be doing is MAKING them actually filibuster so that America can see exactly who is blocking progress in Washington.

Exactly! Make them fillibuster and fillibuster and fillibuster 'til they drop!

Yesterday Bernie Sanders was on the Thom Hartmann radio show and said that there's been a lot of talk behind the scenes about making the Republicans actually stand up and filibuster and that he personally favored doing exactly that. Sounds to me that if we keep the pressure on the Democratic leadership that this a tactic they may actually adopt. Certainly can't work any worse than what they're doing now.

Make them filibuster. Make him veto.

It is shit like this that is going to be a nightmare for dems in the 08 election. I mean look at what the hell these fools are doing. They are going to hand the election to the repugs. Who the hell will waste there time to vote for these weak. do nothing dems. They have the chance to make there case as to why they should be in power in 08 and this is what we get? Dems need to activate the public to get out and vote, and what makes Harry Reid think that this is going to help people think that the dems should be the ones who will begin to set the country in the right direction? Once again dems will snatch defeat from victory.

And I am sad about that.

Want to get the chills?

Read the History of France from 1750-1789.

The Dems have been disappointing to say the least. They don't seem to want to take stands on some issues that really matter, even though we have a president and VP with approval ratings in the toilet. I'm feeling quite discouraged and pessimistic about 08. I too have wondered whether they have been "complicit in the Bush activities, either by ommission or commission and don’t want it publicized", or perhaps this administration has something on them. Either way, this country is in a heap of mess, and it doesn't really look like there's much hope on the horizon.

Dems don't really have a majority in the senate.

I am active in politics up here in Minnesota and I am finding it tuff to get people to even care what the hell is going on. I hear the same question all the time, what do dems stand for? I am having a hard time answering that question when dems keep caving to the repugs every chance they get. We will end up with another 4 years of bush bullshit or worse, and this time dems won't be able to cry that the election was stolen.

diamondmc @ 15:

Karen, If you are right and I think you are, how the hell will dems beat the repugs in 08? Once again I will ask, how do dems energize the public to vote?

I am not Karen, but I'll offer this:
Find out who is DLC and vote against them in the Democratic primary/caucus in your state.
Find out who is DSCC and vote against them in the Democratic primary/caucus in your state.
Find out who is DCCC and vote against them in the Democratic primary/caucus in your state.

The Democratic party needs a lot of pruning, sort of like a sick boosh!
[Pun intended only because the metaphor rolled off the fingertips that way]

diamondmc,

If Karen is right, why would you want to elect the dems in 08?

The Dems truly need to start showing some chops. They should start busting the cahones of BushCo at every turn. As to filibustering, damn right the Republicans should be called out.

By the way, folks, I'm not sure how I could be "right" about anything. I simply listed several explanatory hypotheses. It's not likely that they're all true, though I suppose it's possible. And I probably omitted other possible explanations. :)

"Markos, like the rest of us, was at a loss as to why the Democratic majority seems to be so afraid to stand up to the minority party and their president. "

No mystery here - Reid et al are simply corrupt politicians who are doing their financial master's bidding. The telecoms have obviously bought all the politicians they need to get their amnesty.

Titus @ 7:

It makes no reasonable sense that the democratic majority leaders (Reid and Pelosi) consistently roll-over to this administration, unless there are some skeletons in their closets that are being used against them.

My belief is they have been complicit in the Bush activities, either by ommission or commission and don't want it publicized.

Please pay attention to the news of the past two weeks. We learned they set up Nancy Pelosi to be an accessory to the crime of torture. She was therefore forced to take impeachment off the table unless she wanted her complicity revealed. God only knows what they've got on Harry Reid and the rest. There's absolutely no other conclusion that most of the key Democrats have been targeted as well. They're either being threatened, bribed or silenced by some monstrous evil. This is where we are today. All the key members of the government are operating not in accordance to their oath of office but to some unknown master. Any further discussion concerning what to do about it should start here.

Titus @ 7:

It makes no reasonable sense that the democratic majority leaders (Reid and Pelosi) consistently roll-over to this administration, unless there are some skeletons in their closets that are being used against them.

My belief is they have been complicit in the Bush activities, either by ommission or commission and don't want it publicized.

They are of that odd breed - conservative Democrats. Before Atwater played the race card and took the South for the Republicans, the South was filled with them. Now, most of those who are left are in the West. The complaints about fecklessness are coming from the Northeast, the liberal wing, of those same Democrats.

The biggest mistake we on the left could make is to follow the example of the Republicans and chase out those who don't follow our line of thinking exactly. The fractures on the right have kept them a minority party for a long time. Unfortunately, they found a couple of political evil geniuses in Atwater and Rove. Those men found a way to meld the eyeball spinning whackos on the religious right with the Grover Norquist greedheads.

I'm thoroughly frustrated with Harry - even his quavering speaking style shrieks of weakness. But I'd bet he's a strong leader in caucus. But, as I said, his agenda is closer to Bush's than ours is.

The repugs work for three obvious factions:
1) Southern Baptist tools
2) AIPAC
3) Corporations
As a group, they attack any and all opposition to their agenda, using any and all means available.

The Dems have no united groups to work for or to motivate them.
The Dems also appear to chafe when an organization does challenge them,(such as MoveOn...)

There was coalition politics in the 50s to 70s that turned things around. but today....
1) nobody but blacks care about blacks
2) nobody but gays care about gays
3) there are only weak objections and no solutions to the immigration issue - mexicans are not the only immigrants, just the bellweather ethnic group.
4) nobody cares about women and women don't appear to care about women.
5) nobody but nobody cares about the poor. period.
6) nobody holds out any hope against corruption. people have given up.
7) --> add your own complaint here and repeat as necessary <--

bill w @ 9:

Titus @ 7:

It makes no reasonable sense that the democratic majority leaders (Reid and Pelosi) consistently roll-over to this administration, unless there are some skeletons in their closets that are being used against them.

My belief is they have been complicit in the Bush activities, either by ommission or commission and don't want it publicized.

I agree.

YEP.

Think about a Democrat version of this one:

http://blimptv.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-bush-coins.html

"Don't Vote. You'll Only Encourage The Bastards."

yellow dog @ 32:
The dems of which you speak are not conservative as a political ideology. they are rich and have status and are in government and are there to protect their own interests and the interests of the fundraisers, not the interests of anyone who voted for them.

don't hate me @ 30:

nancy could have walked out of the room.

Bush and his villinous dogs must have some videotape of Reid in a hotel room with a prostitute. Nothing else makes sense.

don't hate me @ 43:

Karen @ 31:

anney @ 27:

Karen @ 11:

*** Excuse me? She only intends to give up SOME of the UNconstitutional powers Bush has claimed! And she won't tell us which ones until AFTER she gets elected?? Are you f-ing kidding me?? She's no better than Bush. Why the hell is everyone talking about her pant-suit and not this??

And actually, she didn't say she intended to give up some of those powers, just that she would consider doing so.

don't hate me

Here's what a scholar said in the NY Times about presidents "giving up" executive powers:

As a bipartisan rule, presidents jealously protect their prerogative of executive power, though Sidney M. Milkis, a professor of political science at the University of Virginia, said there was some precedent of candidates’ promising to relinquish it in reaction to administrations perceived to have overreached. This year, he said, is such a year.

Officials of the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois said Mr. Obama, too, had indicated he would scale back executive power. John Edwards and other Democratic candidates have made similar statements.

But Professor Milkis said of past candidates, “That rhetoric has not really been fulfilled when these people got into power.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/us/politics/24dems.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

So your doubts about Hillary's giving up "some" powers without naming them is quite likely to be true, given history. Note that apparently the other Democratic candidates didn't do any better, either. Power is an extremely addictive "substance", a gift dropped in the lap of the next president.

the democrats aren't going to do anything becuz they are in on the deal with the republicans. our democracy died a long time ago...the reality is right in front of us but no one wants to see it....

Karen

And actually, she didn’t say she intended to give up some of those powers, just that she would consider doing so.

Let me stretch it out a bit farther. She actually said she intended to review those powers, not give any of them up!

tballou @ 28:

"Markos, like the rest of us, was at a loss as to why the Democratic majority seems to be so afraid to stand up to the minority party and their president. "

No mystery here - Reid et al are simply corrupt politicians who are doing their financial master's bidding. The telecoms have obviously bought all the politicians they need to get their amnesty.

This looks like the most reasonable explanation to me. Fuckers.

Harry Reid is a douche.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071215/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_videotapes Admin asks judge not to ask about CIA tapes.......

miss marple @ 33:

I am simply disgusted with the weasels. Although my husband and I are in our 70's - we have actually talked about leaving this Country, depending on the outcome of the election. Never have I seen our Constitution as unprotected as it is now and it seems that our loyalty to it has been usurped and instead given to this Administration. Is that who we pledge allegiance to now or as GW is alleged to have said, our wonderful Constitution is "Just a GD piece of paper". How have we let this happen? Is the kind of Society we are giving our children and grandchildren and can we even go back to how things were when the people we elected actually worked for us. Time for change if we care.

That's what I did last year. I took my little tweakerbell self and moved to Canada. Not that Harper's any prize (believe me: he's basically Bush Lite) or that the opposition here is worth a damn (The leader of the Liberal party, Dion, makes Reid look like an arm waving firebrand. Utterly gutless) or that the other-other opposition party, the NDP, has competent leadership (they have a habit of spouting bullshit and then having to backtrack over their own sick - very messy sight, indeed).

Still, due to the nature of the gov't here, I don't expect Harper to last much more than another year. Dion could have rejected the "Throne Speech" (basically a State of the Union on steroids) and thrown the country into an election, which, I believe the Conservatives would have lost. But I think the Liberals are simply giving the Conservatives a little more rope for their own hanging. Harper's gov't came out of Bali looking REALLY BAD, and now with Mulroney incriminating himself that he was a crook on the take, the Conservatives look even worse. The problem is Dion - he's simply NOT an appealing or forceful leader. No matter what, it will be a minority govt, so it's simple a question of who pays off the Partie Quebecqois and their huge voting block...

Right now, it's snowing here. A lot. But it's not fascist, yet. They have public transport. They have a working public education system. They have basic health care. It's a functioning country that is desperate for quality people. The USA is desperate for automatons (hence the river of illegal immigration). Canada is desperate for trained/skilled workers. The taxes are high, liquor is ABSURDLY expensive, but the crime rate (compared to the USA) is zilch, and you actually get stuff for your tax dollar that isn't the world's largest stockpile of weapons.

Seriously. Move to Canada before the USA closes the border. Other places I would recommend are Australia and New Zealand. But LEAVE NOW. The 2008 election is going to be a disaster. If it's Hillary vs. Mr 9/11, you're completely screwed - there will be no change in Iraq or the idiotic state of the economy or action on the impending collapse of petroleum production (Mexico will stop exporting 2012 - 2015, the Saudi's are this }{ close to going into decline. Canada's tar sands are an ecological nightmare with VERY low energy return on energy invested. North American nat. gas has been in decline since 2000 and no amount of LNG import is going to change that. The North sea is in decline and all recent discoveries are not that big, under deep water, and will have low energy return on investment. Basically, the USA is done, from an energetics perspective.)

Canada has most of what is left of the petroleum on the continent, and huge amounts of fresh water. Move now while you can. It may be snowing now, but how many more years will that happen? Think about it...

Perhaps the Dems are less gutless than they are complicit.

Mo @ 59:

Apparently through unwarranted spyng Bush got some dirt on Harry Reed.

Now somebody's talking. Though i think the dirt was known before the spying.

I view it as more of a class thing than a political difference. That is, we now have the "governing class" (politicians, corporations, the ultra wealthy) and the "citizen class" (the rest of us). Or, you can choose whatever names you like (the Rep / Dem thing seems passe to me). Every day the chasm between the two becomes larger.

99% of the people who "represent" us in government don't really care about us. They care only about their own standing - once they make it to the "governing class" the power and money affects their personalities, their brains - it's like being addicted to a drug. They will do anything to remain in their positions - lie, cheat, steal, lie, cheat, sell their souls, lie......... I have regulalry emailed, written to and called my representatives and senators for the past 7 years, and all I recieve from them are form letters filled with platitiudes, while they vote to keep themselves in power. The public be damned.

Now that the media and communications corporations are mostly all tools of the "governing class" (there are no more Journalists, or real newspapers/organizations)
the messages can be completely controlled, and the important information we need to ensure the continuance of our republic is kept from us. Our forefathers, some of who were scoundrels, nonetheless knew what it was like to live under tyranny and did their darndest to give us a form of government and a Constitution that is genius. I hope we, the citizens, can figure out some way to take back what is rightly ours.

I happened to see Les Miserables a short time ago, which is a good reminder. I think the difficulty now is that swords and muskets have been replaced with TV news, fasle-flag terror operations, armored vehicles, tasers, Blackwater soldiers and tactical nuclear weapons.

Cufford @ 65:

When are people going to admit the obvious, and then start doing something about it.

This isn't about cowering to Bush, it's about doing favors for your big donors. In other words; "it's the money, stupid!".

The Democrats are as beholden to big money as the Republicans are. It's just the way our system works. It runs on money...lots of it.

Money has bought of our federal government -- on both sides of the aisle -- and that's the simply explanation.

It has nothing to do with weakness, or cowering, or capitulating...blah...blah...blah.

Simple fact is, neither party of congress represent the "people". They do the bidding of big business and the wealthiest in society, plain and simple.

Our priority should be reforming the electoral process; removing the private money from it...completely!

Why is nobody ever talking about fixing what is obviously the root of all this evil in our country.

It's the money, stupid!!!

Cufford
Fresno, CA

It's FASCISM, dearie .......

Addendum to my last - there are liberal islands in the west - SFO area comes to mind - just as there are conservative island in New England - think northern Maine. I live in the western foothills of Maine which tend to be conservative. The local Democratic chair took part in a union busting sweep of the local PD. Most Dems here would probably think Coolidge was correct - that the business of America is business - but there are enough liberals in southern Maine that the state is trending blue. Even our two Republican senators are called RINO's by the local whacky right.

Need I say more?

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

From the Declaration of Independence.
How do we het this started?

We need to start challenging these cowardly Dems in their primaries. It's the only way to move the Democratic party away from being Bush/Cheney/neocon enablers.

The Democratic party is to the right of center now. We need to move it, and the debate in the country back to the middle (and slightly left) position. Conservative principles have failed across the board. We need to take advantage *now*.

What KOS is saying only makes sense if you think the 'democrats' in congress are real democrats. They ain't. They are republicans. They like the war and all the other Bush policies every bit as much as the 'real' repukes. Of course, I don't consider this current crop of 'republicans' real republicans either, at least not Goldwater republicans....

I agree that 'dirt on Reid' and others is a persuasive thesis, until you consider what anyone else would do in such a position: resign. Why wouldn't you just step down for 'family reasons' and do something else? I can't imagine continuing to work facing so incriminating a past that selling out millions of people becomes a reasonable option. It doesn't make sense.

The idea that Bush and co might do something worse (like a Musharraf) if thwarted is better, yet I would think most people would stand up to such hubris by letting Bsuh take that course of action and show his true colors rather than to enable it by passing bills.

I dunno... the whole thing is very strange. I've been asking myself every day why when Democrats were not in power they were told that if they used a fillibuster Republicans would freak out and make a constitutional amendment removing the power, while now that the Democrats are in power, it seems every bill failed 'because the bill did not receive 60 votes'. Drives me crazy, and I'm not even an American!

"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

John Adams

Check and Mate. It's already been discussed. But the Dems sit there and go, who else are you liberals gonna vote for? You aint gonna vote for those mean and nasty Republicans. So we Democowards will sit here and do exactly what we want, when we want and how we want. And you, the Amerikan people can just sit there and stew in your own juices.

No third Party.
No Accountability.

Just Left or Right; all very dis-heartening.

yellow dog @ 69:

CoIntelPro @ 40:

yellow dog @ 32:
The dems of which you speak are not conservative as a political ideology. they are rich and have status and are in government and are there to protect their own interests and the interests of the fundraisers, not the interests of anyone who voted for them.

No - I'm speaking of the electorate - and the politicians who are elected by them. Westerners are John Wayne type conservatives regardless of party affiliation. I lived ten years out there. Was deeply involved in party politics for awhile, but I couldn't stomach the fact that rank and file lower middle class voters with a D beside their names talked like Republifarts.

The pols simply reflect that ideology and once they gain power become corrupted by K St. and no better than the people on the other side of the aisle. Blow up K st. somehow - figuratively - and the problem goes away. Shorten campaigns to 45 days - probably through a parliamentary system - and you do away with another motive to vote Fortune 500 because campaigns cost less.

Liberal pols in the Northeast are also beholden to corporations, but they still rattle George's cage occasionally. It's not just the money. There is an ideological divide that separates the country on geographic lines.

sorry, I misunderstood.

Just another thought to the worthwhile comments posted so far:

I believe that our current politicians are far too comfortable with the status quo and would rather endear themselves to the public by pandering and projection of competent images instead of substance. Where are our principle based leaders? Risk is part of the political game, and refusing to act affirmatively now just delays the heavy lifting to future generations. Our politicians have done precious little to secure our future and promote a vision of a better America, rather, they are comfortable with their short sighted myopia and pandering to special interests. And voters simply don't demand that they do anything more.

Our future depends on having better clarity for what America will be tomorrow and having the courage to act affirmatively today. Political courage is certainly the minority view today, and the only way it stops is when concerned citizens reject the flaccid and short sighted messages of today and insist that we have the courage to secure tomorrow.

In the final analysis, apathy is our deadliest enemy. We must persist to demand what is right despite whatever odds are against us.

The oligarchs who rule this country are ruthless, brutal and utterly corrupt. They are willing to lie to you, steal from you, spy on you, torture you and kill you, and they want you to know it while holding out the delusional hope that you can do something about it by voting for a different one of them.

John Edwards has been addressing this very subject about not being able to get anything done in Washington - corporate greed, in other words, the lobbyists have more influence than all individual citizens in the United States combined. Chris Matthews mentioned in one of his latest programs that Edwards mentioned "corporate greed" several times in his last speech, but not enough people are paying attention. I don't know what CM was trying to make out of that, he just called it to the viewers' attention. (Yes, I know a lot of people think Edwards is raising this subject just because he did not get enough money to compete with HRC and Oprah, oh, I mean Obama, in raising money.) Why did Delay immediately, when the Republicans took over, start calling on K-Street and making it clear to them that he expected the lobbyists to center their attention on Republicans? Because he was making them aware they had their hands out and expected their palms to be filled in return for their lawmaking efforts. One reason they took over congress was that it was clearly reported in the media that Democratic congressmen were partying with lobbyists in the Caribbean, which many voters noted and said let's get rid of them! It was not just the Gingrich promise on the steps of congress. Somehow or other, we desperately need to get rid of K-Street, because apparently way too many of the congress critters want to feed at that trough! Me thinks the media now feeds at the same trough and they just party 'with the one they are with' and don't bother to report on the things that are really important to our nation. How do you stop it?! I guess the only way is the way the netroots are trying sending individual messages, eliminating them one at a time. It is a long, time consuming process, though; isn't it? Does our nation have enough time before corruption takes its toll and we no longer recognize our nation? This last question I have, is what makes me feel, we cannot continue to "reach across the aisle", because most of those people over there just don't seem to get it! We have to replace them with people who do get it and those people over there need to get on board with the Democrats, or just go away. I am an Independent, as many people are now -- but I am not a Lou Dobbs self-proclaimed independent (think he is really a Republican). I have really wondered how John Edwards would fare as an independent; would anyone else care to venture a guess?

Harry Reid beomes majority leader. Paul Wellstone dies in a plane crash. The gods must really want to see America self destruct. Maybe it's the souls of all those Indians we killed. Have there been any investigations into Wellstones' death? It does seem pretty fishy, doesn't it?

Becoming Complicit? Look I know that Marcos is a revered figure in liberal blog land, but the reality is that he was one of the most vocal advocates of the Democratic Party as solution to what is going on in this country.

The reality unfortunately is that the Democrats have been complicit in what is going on for 50 years, and only extremely naive, uninformed, and not very insightful people held out any hope of the Democrats riding to the rescue. By this I do not mean to implicate individual Democrats as it is clear that as individuals there are indeed some stellar performers trying to ride to the rescue. But it has been clear ever since Feingold's Censure resolution was buried by the Democratic Party what was going to happen in this country under the Democrats.

Becoming Complicit? I've got bad news for marcos The Democrats voted overwhelmingly in favor of invading Iraq. The Democrats passed the last war spending resolution with a vote of 95-3 (or something like that) in the senate. Gee golly really, ya think this might be a systemic problem? Nah, no way, it's just stupid george and darth cheney and all the rest of us chickens are just a-ok.

Until people start figuring out what's actually going on, things will continue to get worse. That's my prognostication for 2008.

Online Petition to Replace Pelosi as Speaker of the House of Representatives to Advance the Impeachment Process

By submitting a Question of Privilege, any member of the House can put forward the process to remove a seated Speaker of the House! If you want this administration to be Impeached, please read over the petition and sign on!

http://www.petitiononline.com/everyman/petition.html

Yeh mon.

"amnesty" for hard working, economy stimulating illegal immigrants, FUCK YOU

amnesty for telecomm companies that broke the law, of course.

way more to do with money than politics says I

HARRY, SHOW US SOME COJONES

Dear Senator Reid,

You are showing yourself to be a gutless weasel with the backbone of a jellyfish. You should be ashamed of your actions as the Democratic Majority Leader. You show more respect for the idiot Republican, Tom Coburn, than you do for your own brave Democratic Senator, Chris Dodd. Why have you sold out to Bush (and the military-industrial complex's own Dianne Feinstein) and the telecoms with your parliamentary shenanigans re: FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms?

You and Nancy "Impeachment is Off the Table" Pelosi have consistently proven yourselves to be hapless roll-overs and ultimate suck-ups to the Republican political machine. Where are your balls, dude?

I used to believe that shit about you being a former boxer and a political "fighter." So far, all you've shown me is blowhard rhetoric, followed by abject surrender. If you're going to continue to be a political coward, please stop all of your references to Harry "Give 'Em Hell" Truman. It's defamatory to his memory.

The Republicans and the Democrats are really the SAME political party, you just can't accept it.

Coke and Pepsi, Sieg Heil baby.

No Dem voter in his right mind will vote for a Republican next November. And many Rep voters will vote for a Dem Congressman who has done whatever is necessary to "support our troops" and "accomplish the mission" in Iraq, which they have done. Hillary hasn't made as much of a case as she could that her Authorization vote was not a "vote for war" but a vote to use military force if Iraq failed the inspection process, which is what it was. But in not clarifiying that as much as she could and letting the "vote for war" spin take over, a McCain campaign, if that's the way it shakes out, would have absolutely NOTHING to argue against a "voted for the war" Hillary campaign. So SHE picks up some "support our troops" and "accomplish the mission" Rep votes, too.

Meanwhile, despite what is said on this message board, the vast majority of the American people DID NOT expect the Dems in Congress to get us out of Iraq immediately when they voted for them last year. They expected them to get us out over a matter of a couple of years.

This is SMART, HARDBALL politics on the part of the Dems, folks. Do you want them to WIN the White House and maintain an even greater majority in Congress next year, or not?

My big question for Olbermann and Moulitsas is, why are you two barking out the favorite Republican talking point lie that this 110th Congress hasn't accomplished anything when they have had more roll call votes this year than any other Congress in history and what has not been signed into legislation has not been done so only because of presidential vetos and that there are still to many Republicans in Congress for the Dems to override a veto?

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/09/roll-call-record/

http://www.speaker.gov/legislation?id=0053

http://democrats.senate.gov/agenda/

I truely believe Nancy Pelosi, Harry Ried and Stenny Hoyer are Loyal Bushies and are traitors to the Democratic Party.

Karen @ 51:

CoIntelPro @ 49:

MargeAggedon @ 47:

elvisgoat @ 36:

Add me to that list. They're being controlled. Either that or they are trying to make it perfectly clear that they have no regard for the people they supposedly represent.

They obviously don't feel beholden to voters.

They aren't beholden to the voters. Each politician is "beholden" to only a continually shifting 50% + 1 of their gerrymandered constituency or state, and the financial contributors that enable them to walk the 50% +1 tightrope.

We can't really blame them for this. It is part and parcel of our electoral system. Until we revamp it, we will have politicians behaving the way they behave right now.

Great point Karen. On the street we say, "Don't hate the player. Hate the Game"
These candidates are just manifestations of a corrupt electoral consciousness. I recently learned about Instant Runoff Voting when I voted for the Board members of my local progressive radio station, and it definitely seemed more "democratic," even with well over 20 candidates. A Parlimentary system that also allowed for votes of "NO Confidence" so that corrupt politicians would be removed immediately, would also come in handy about now.

If this election was being counted by Instant Runoff Voting, then my top choices would look like this:

1. Dennis Kucinich (D)
2. Cynthia McKinney (Green)
3. Ron Paul (R)
4. Brian Moore (Socialist)

As a Citizen, my top 4 are all from different parties, which is blasphemy to those who are Party Branded, which is why we need IRV. www.fairvote.org

Also, I agree with the previous posters about the Blackmail of the Dems through the wiretap program (remember Sybil Edmonds fingered Hastert from a wiretap) and the threat of ANTRHAX if they try to blow the whistle.
That and the opportunity to make millions in war profiteering like Feinstein.
It's the carrot AND the stick approach to keeping the Dems in line.

As an Independent voter, and a non-Imperialist, the Dems and the Rethugs just look like they are playing an effective game of Good Cop/Bad Cop with the public.

miss marple @ 33:

I am simply disgusted with the weasels. Although my husband and I are in our 70's - we have actually talked about leaving this Country, depending on the outcome of the election. Never have I seen our Constitution as unprotected as it is now and it seems that our loyalty to it has been usurped and instead given to this Administration. Is that who we pledge allegiance to now or as GW is alleged to have said, our wonderful Constitution is "Just a GD piece of paper". How have we let this happen? Is the kind of Society we are giving our children and grandchildren and can we even go back to how things were when the people we elected actually worked for us. Time for change if we care.

Cool. Lead the exodus. Personally (I am Canadian) after living in Asia for 12 years, North America bores me to tears. It's so banal (and the people have become money-craving-robots, that don't think for themselves). There are lots of way cooler and way more interesting places on this planet.

(at) 111 equilibrio (sounds very X-men) anyway...

Also, I agree with the previous posters about the Blackmail of the Dems through the wiretap program (remember Sybil Edmonds fingered Hastert from a wiretap) and the threat of ANTRHAX if they try to blow the whistle.
That and the opportunity to make millions in war profiteering like Feinstein.
It’s the carrot AND the stick approach to keeping the Dems in line.

As an Independent voter, and a non-Imperialist, the Dems and the Rethugs just look like they are playing an effective game of Good Cop/Bad Cop with the public.

Wow, your country is sure f*cked. Do you really think it's ANTHRAX bad? I wonder sometimes. The Dems. just keep rolling over. How scary do you think the USA is right now? (My "bones" tell me, very scary.) Do you agree?? I'm worried Bush Cheney won't leave office (ever).

Bluesage @ 114:

I think even the Bushes must have been surprised when the coup of 2000 took place in Florida and they got away with it. They had their good friends in the media do their "Get over it" campaign and the people went silent and the DC Democrats were cowered and they knew then that they could do any damn thing they want and get away with it. The rapid decline of our Democracy over the past seven years is astonishing. We the People have been abject failures as citizens and the Democrats cannot be considered an opposition party by anyone's standards. I don't think Hillary or Obama are the answer. I'm not sure there is an answer.

Revolution is.

As 12 King of Kings Says: Want to get the chills?

Read the History of France from 1750-1789. says, do give it a read. It might shock you. (Did you know the major cause of the French Revolution was State DEBT. See US Treasury, and the $9,000,000,000,000 trillion owed.)

willyloman @ 97:

Online Petition to Replace Pelosi as Speaker of the House of Representatives to Advance the Impeachment Process

By submitting a Question of Privilege, any member of the House can put forward the process to remove a seated Speaker of the House! If you want this administration to be Impeached, please read over the petition and sign on!

http://www.petitiononline.com/everyman/petition.html

I have signed the online petition to remove Nancy Pelosi. This is too important to slip by. Bush & Cheney are above the law & simply can't be stopped until they are thrown out of office.

Since big business runs this country why don't they become the leaders on issues that are important to Americans.

marc @ 22:

diamondmc,

If Karen is right, why would you want to elect the dems in 08?

DFL here in MN, the only blue state in 84, either the American public lost their collective minds in 84,
or the election was stolen (rigged) yet again, same could happen in 08 too.
Just needs another faked 9/11 event, some subtle tampering, further elector disenfranchisement,
and four more years of Rethug hell.

Anyone notice Moulitsas and Pelosi each have their eyes equally wide open and unblinking when they speak into the camera?

Kind of weird, no?

It is true that there need be no "conspiracy" to explain this. But I simply cannot abide by such incompetence. Greed, sure. But not raw incompetence.

There was a time when even the lowest thief understood that the smartest way to lighten a pocket was to flatter the owner. I fully expect to be robbed, one way or another, by most politicians, most of the time. But such insults! Such contempt for any citizen's intelligence! They are not thieves but thugs... brutes with fortunes where each interaction with the common man is beginning to look more like vicious rape rather than mischievous larceny. Pain for the sake of pure sadism, rather than simple financial gain.

The irony -- indeed the balance -- of such situations is the vacuum that it creates. At this very moment, for example, is the premium opportunity for some glory-hound (maybe a would be thieving politician themselves) to step up and say the likes of the following to this Cowboy administration and their baby boy buggering buddies:

The Cowboys are finished, you understand? I see a red sash, I kill the man wearin' it!
So run, you cur... RUN! Tell all the other curs the law's comin'!
You tell 'em I'M coming -- and hell's coming with me, you hear?!
HELL'S COMIN' WITH ME!!

From, of course, the position and the intent to do exactly that.

Now, I'm not so naive to think this is a great thing. Far better to have avoided this situation all together, but that choice is in the past. Men (or women) of ambition that rise to feast on such injustice with righteous anger... well, even when well-intended tend to get a bit carried away. I suppose we'll have to keep an eye on that. But also the longer we wait for correction, the more violent it will necessarily be. Perhaps to the point of real, physical damage of human beings, rather than only requisite damage to the mounded detritus of a gargantuan and inept bureaucracy. Best not to wait, then.

So who will step up against complacency in the face of, if not evil, vile and complete corruption? And when?

Your everlasting fame awaits you.

This kills me. I actually respect both of these guys, but they're not helping the situation here. By insisting that the voters have no alternatives continues to drive home the idea to ignore third parties. They didn't even mention them. Sure, they could say that the way our system is set up it's a gargantuan task for a third party candidate to win, but to say that there is absolutely no alternative is factually incorrect and not progressive at all.

And please don't come back with the "viability" argument. Viability is all in our heads. If we, collectively and individually, had the courage to vote for whom we REALLY want and not worry about party then it would be an issue. Insisting that only the Demplicans or Republicrats can save us is not viable.

CHRIS DODD IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. Why did Markos Moulitsas ask why those running for President weren't fighting this issue like Dodd is and why didn't Keith Olbermann correct him? Chris Dodd is actually doing something good instead of just talking about his plans, but he seems to get the least press of all the candidates. I don't get it.

"Markos, like the rest of us, was at a loss as to why the Democratic majority seems to be so afraid to stand up to the minority party and their president."

For a pseudo-political figure, Markos Z. is wrong more than half the time. He is a valuable organizer, whose own analysis is frequently glaringly wrong.

As for 'the minority party' -- the Senate of the U.S. has a ONE vote majority on the Dem side, but 25 or so DINOs who do not vote with the liberal caucus (and the Leader is himself not a Progressive, but rather more of a Blue Dog compromiser, as his politics show and have shown over the 25 years or so he's been there).

Mark @ 119:

I have signed the online petition to remove Nancy Pelosi.

Were you to succeed (you won't), you would be installing Speaker Hoyer.

If you actually don't like the DLC, then why are you working so hard to put them into more power?

You should, by now, be able to make the SAME ANALYSIS the Speaker made. Leader Reid of the Senate is weak and compromising -- there are about 25 loyal Dems, and about 25 who waffle or vote for Bush every time. Under those circumstances, no conviction will come from the Senate, and the Senate will grind to a halt. And, the R will have the bully pulpit for months.

But since you want to put Hoyer fully in charge of the House, you will replace her analysis, with his. His is even more of what you dislike from Democrats, guaranteed. His is corporate -- his is comparatively Old Boy patriarchal -- his is even more power for the appeasement.

Don't blame the Republicans, and don't do the Speaker's analysis in reality, and end up doing what you're doing. Anyhow, g'head. If stupid had wings, it would fly instead of walk.

"stand up to the minority party and their president."

The actual votes we have:

Senate 25-75(R or DINO)

House 189-224(R or Blue Dog)

The minority party has the leadership of both Houses. Beyond that, it is all a matter of politics, because nothing will go forward without minority (factual majority) agreement on some level.

Let's stop asking for reasons or explanations for the DNC inaction; time to put the evidence before Grand Juries, and let's prosecute these Members of Congress: 5 USC 3331, failing to defend the Constitution.

Let's work to remove Pelosi as Speaker, now before the 2008 election.

Let's get the State AGs to lead prosecution efforts against the President and VP.

Hello? @ 140:

Markos at a loss?

Doesn't he have a background in the CIA?

Oh, OK

No, he worked for the CIA for about six weeks, right after he was in the military (pretty common). That doesn't make him a CIA agent--it makes him someone who decided not to pursue a CIA career to further serve his nation.

I've met a lot of vet activists. If you think you can presume their loyalty/disloyalty based on fact of service or the six weeks he spent being interviewed for a job, it just ain't the case.

Lazy Congress @ 139 "time to put the evidence before Grand Juries"

You don't have the power to call grand juries.

"prosecute these Members of Congress: 5 USC 3331, failing to defend the Constitution."

The failure of the FBI to defend the Constitution is quite a bit more the point than your interpretation of Constitutional defense.

"Let's work to remove Pelosi as Speaker, now before the 2008 election."

Which would put DLC Steny Hoyer in the Speaker's chair. Please explain how putting the DLC MORE in charge serves a progressive agenda? Does anyone in the DLC overtly support impeachment?

A lot of Progressives do -- and they support the Speaker at the same time, because they can count the votes. Progressives put the Speaker into power OVER the DLC, and their candidate Hoyer. But he would be the next Speaker by your route.

Leaving aside the issue, the way to replace the Speaker is to get a new one elected by the Progressive Caucus in December 2008, after the federal election. If you have a better DLC candidate, who is it? If you think Kucinich can sway Progressives enough to become Speaker, then put that on the table. Trying to replace Pelosi is not enough -- you have to JUSTIFY THE RESULTS, also. Or you are just blowing smoke.

"Let's get the State AGs to lead prosecution efforts against the President and VP."

California State AG Jerry Brown has decided not to even prosecute Schwarzenegger -- I don't think you will find him interested in taking on the Executive except on peripheral issues like CAFE.

These bastards are most likely being threatened, by this administration. There is no way possible for this kind of shit to continue to go on. I say they need to resign, if this is the case and allow someone that is going to do the jobs, they simply are not.

Replace the top two and the others will fall in line.

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, need to be kicked out of office, for the very incompetent and willful intent to assist in screwing up our government.

This is just over the top.

Pelosi has someone running against her NOW we need some one to run against REID, and others that are DLC'S. Time to start weeding the DEMOCRAT party and bring it back to the party of FDR and JFK, and the CONSTITUTION and bill of RIGHTS.

When someone breaks into your nations home with guns in hand and holds your family hostage and starts recontructing your house and asking you what you think about it. You would probably say it looks great. That does not make the thief the smartest guy in the nations house. He's just a thief with a gun.

The problem is Harry Reid isn't a smart guy either, because he keeps bringing a knife to the gun fight.

The Democrats have done nothing with their majority because they have been complicit in every illegal action taken by this administration and former Republican-led Congress. To expose the outrageous illegality of the past seven years would only invariably incriminate every one of the Democrats currently leading the party. Please people, stop the bs line that the Democrats are weak, they are totally complicit.