MSNBC
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver referred to the debt deal as "a sugar-coated Satan sandwich" in a tweet. He warned, "If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see."
What’s your take? The comment thread is open.
Your last word on the debt deal
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Mon Aug 1, 2011 8:34 PM EDT
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Oh, I thought you meant "seitan".... yummy. :-)
Seriously, Dems and Obama should have refused any debt ceiling bill attached to anything else. We have always voted on it as a stand alone bill. That's the way it should stay... no hostage taking.
They did. It was voted down by whatever Republicans decided they were Tea Partiers on that particular day.
I think it's a POS. Is it better than defaulting? Yes. Was that truly about to happen? No. All the pols wanted to stretch their camera time to the limit. They accomplished that. I still back President Obama. I hate the Republicans for screwing my country for their own personal benefit. I hope the morons who voted them into office, and especially the teabag bunch, like what they got for their vote.
How is not paying your bills not defaulting?
I would favor going after efficiencies first. Truely detest the fact that Wall Street continues to get away with destructive tendencies. The idea of the poor and middle-class taking the brunt of the hit, is, turely, a clear sign of a continuing decline in the US sense of fairness and empathy for all that are not wealthy and/or powerful.
- Another sad day for our future.
The way the people can win ... its called TERM LIMITS for every US Representative and every US Senator. Where do I sign up?
I believe there was a term limit bill several years aga. It was challenged in court and ruled unconstitutional. They felt the eletions were "term limits".
Ann, I have a better ideal. Drop a bomb on Washington and get rid of the lawyers turned polititions and start over. Kindergarden drop-outs are smarter than these people.
Amen Johnny
Nice try. But new Congressman get paid new hire wages in the lobbying world.
Google "Publicly Financed Campaigns" sometime. Then let's talk.
Term Limits have to come from the voters. Why would these free loaders want to throw their job under the bus. The Middle class are the only ones seeing the under side of a bus and they started the engine with this bill. Anyone there for 20+ years should be shown the door. TEABAGGERS should never be allowed to enter the door.
The baggers are the whole problem and the Repub are just lackies for the wackies. Where I come from you don't cave in to bullies it only makes them more embolden the next time they try and take your lunch money. I fight Chicago style. Like Elliot Ness. But the voters put these unvetted loons in congress so the good has to suffer right along with the bad until election time again. If you want to really put the country in a chocker hold vote for more Bagger/Rebubs. I am happy to listen to an alternative to the DEMS but I hear *crickets*unless you on board with crazy and I am not.
A wise liberal once told me that I should quit whining about certain policies. He told me that the Republicans had the House, Senate and Presidency for several years- if they couldn't get passed what they needed to get passed, either it wasn't that important to them or they didn't want it bad enough to compromise enough ovr it to get something passed. I told him that he was actually right.
Would you folks quit whining.
Agreed. It is called compromise for a reason.
My view is president Obama is a main part of the problem.
From the start after the now false claims [or lies] of "hope and change" he continues to try to work with republicans who have made it clear they do not respect his leadership and threatened to make him a one term president.
Also, on important progressive issues, like this one, he has moved to the center and near close to the right on things like the public option [which he abandoned in the health care debate], extending the bush tax cuts for two years, [which he said he would not do at first] and now agreeing to cuts to the big three that he claimed he would not consider.
He allowed conservative pundits to intimidate him on the following issues.
Acorn.
Shirley Sherrod.
Van Jones.
Closing Guantanamo.
Ending the war in Afghanistan.
Rev. Wright.
Jobs, which people in this country are more concern with than this budget problem started by Republicans and their tea party cohorts over a debt ceiling that has been raised by democrats and republicans several times over the course of our political history.
Before he was elected President Obama played the role of a progressive, but very little of what he done reflect that view that I expected and still believe in as a progressive.
He seems to be more interested in political survival and this latest deal seems to reflect that.
He also makes it clear he does not give a damn about the progressive that he promised hope and change to.
Now, I am not sure I will vote for Obama in 2012, but I absolutely will not vote for any republican or tea party members who has adopted the use of bigotry against him.
I am disappointed in the president.
RTBJ55
i hope you don't mean that about not voting for President Obama. the baggers would love that.
if you do not vote, you will have given the baggers exactly what they want. they will have won.
Suzette- Obama himself said that if the economy was turned around after 3 years, he wouldn't deserve a 2nd term.
I would suggest we measure him by that standard.
Problem is, Rusty, that President Obama has been shut down by the Republicans at every turn. They haven't cleared his nominations to posts - a historic high for a President. And controlling the House, they don't allow Democratic bills to go through to the Senate, they have stymied him at every turn. Now, we have a debt ceiling bill that will only continue dampen the recovery. They screamed jobs, jobs, jobs at him, and threatened to take control of the House & Senate. Well, they have the house - and how many jobs bills have they delivered? It is in their best interests to see this President fail, and have, so far, done everything possible to make that happen.
rusty,
you love that standard, don't you? you didn't even have to make up a standard of your own.
you go ahead and measure him by that standard. politicians, republicans included, say things when they are campaigning that are just plain silly. remember, "read my lips, no new taxes"? even republicans say things that they are sure they will be able to follow through on, but events and extenuating and exisiting circumstances prevent a president from doing what he thinks is right.
maybe by that standard you think he doesn't deserve a second term. but i think this debt crisis invented by the baggers and the republicans have given the american people a good look at what is in store for them if they vote for a republican.
i will measure him by my own standard, just as i will judge the baggers and the republicans for inventing a crisis where there should not have been one.
i am sure President Obama had no idea of the animosity that would be directed at him when he made the statement that you refer to above; animosity, yes, and hate. and not only do they have these feelings, but they are on display for everyone to see and hear, its as if they are showing them off.
i am ashamed of the baggers and of the republican party.
Whywould I make up a standard of my own when the one he made up works well. A liberal friend of mine told me to quit whining when the Rs had both houses and the Presidency in the early 2000's. He told me that with a majority in every area, it was just how effective Bush, et al wanted to be to get things passed. Obama had that for just short of 2 years. He was able to pass whatever he wanted, with a minimal negotiations needed- just enough to get a Maine Senator or so to agree.
Now, he has to compromise a little more to get what he needs. I'll give him a hint: The compromise speech doesn't begin with, "Those rotten no-good America hating Rs, terrorists all of them, also let me toss in the Nazi, Facist, racist and fearmongering words, I just don't understand why they won't support my left wing ideas at every turn and all Americans need to give up their thinking caps, bibles and guns- and contact those Rs immediately".
You and I will disagree on much, policy wise- but Bill Clinton and RR and Bush I were all able to reach across the aisle and make deals. For God's sake- even Bush II reached across the table to Teddy Kennedy and put NCLB into play- for better or worse. This President just doesn't understand much at all. He has a skewed view of the economy, thinks everyone is on his side outside of Washington, and is certain that only he has ideas worthy of consideration.
listen, i am not whining. what has been going on in washington is not business as usual.
i hate to give grover norquist credit, but he has succeeded in doing what he said he would do: make it impossible for a democratic president to govern.
i have never heard the president say what you have posted above. however, W. bush did the same thing that President Obama is doing, saying that the democrats were standing in the way of getting things done, or being critical of them in other ways. i do wish that President Obama was a little more like bush, but democrats, as a general rule are a little more "subservient" to a republican president than the other way around. i really dislike that about my party. the president is not saying that republicans can't think for themselves, BUT they do not like to compromise, especially it appears with President Obama. i wish our president would stand his ground, but he is trying to move an immovable object, and for the short term they may get want they want, but the american people do NOT like the way the baggers have reacted to our president, inventing a crisis to try to make our president look bad. time will tell if they have succeeded.
i do not believe that President Obama is certain that he only has ideas that are worth consideration. some of what you write above is biased. how do i know that? because i hear republicans saying about our democratic president the same things i say about a republican president (especially W. bush) in power. the only difference is that racism is now a part of the rhetoric, and that the baggers/republicans have now signed pledges that have made them immovable because they care more about the affects of breaking the pledge than they do about the american people, or at least that is what they are saying behind closed doors.
maybe that is part of the reason for the stubborness and the inability to compromise (you don't use the word), signing pledges and believing that god has chosen the "right". you can hunker down under pledges and the bible, and stand your ground; an immovable object.
this is complete and total misinterpretation/mis-use of the scriptures. the use of the words 'right' and 'left' are modern usage. in biblical days 'right' means correct position of high priority, and 'left' means incorrect position of low priority. they have nothing to do with liberalism and conservatism because Jesus would have been considered liberal by defying the status quo.
deuteronomy 5:32, "so be careful to do what the Lord your god has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or left".
this is not a warning against the politics of conservatism and liberalism.
but i am sure you will continue to hide under the guise of being on the 'right' side of god, the chosen party, and silly pledges that increase the laziness and ignorance in washington.
there are many democratic christians who study the bible who do not see themselves or republicans as chosen by god. they embrace everyone. your view of being the chosen party makes you right, and them wrong, thus having an excuse to dig in your heels and not do a thing with an african american president. i have seen the republicans flip-flop constantly with this president, disagreeing with things that they once agreed with or even brought to the table themselves. you do see that, don't you?
At the end of the day- Obama's own actions and practices are divisive, moreso than almost any other President.
i completely disagree with you, this president has brought many things to the table to try to get support from the baggers/republicans but they have refused to co-operate, sticking to their original agreement to say "no" to everything. how can we not think this has something to do with bigotry when we have never seen this kind of disrespect for a president EVER.
then given the fact that you all sign your pledges and think that god has blessed your political party from BIBLICAL TIMES, your narrow minded view allows you sanctimoniously punish the poor and reward the rich, the rich who will always be OK, and the poor and the vulnerable who might die because of your unfounded view that the bible and god give you cover for your political decisions. i find this truly disturbing, and not in line with the teachings of jesus at all.
if you think that the decisions of this president have been divisive, i would urge you to look at your own party. they have brought much of this divisivness forward as a way to make President Obama look incapable.
fox news is included in this as we know. a former executive of fox news, dan cooper said in 2008 that his own phone had been hacked by fox news station and that roger ailes was running a room for counter-intelligence efforts and 'black-ops'. most people at fox thought this room was a research room, but, dan cooper, who built the room said "it had counterintelligence and 'black-ops' office". he said that "accessing phone records was easy pie". security clearance was required to get in this room. we know that 9/11 families phones were hacked, and why would they stop at that? i am very curious as to what an investigation into phone hacking will show with fox news involvement.
is this also part of the religious right? is this also "covered" by Eccl. 10:2? as long as the end justifies the means, according to your view of what is ordained by god and the bible, is phone hacking OK?
what is really divisive, or what should have been is W. bush sending our young men and women to die in iraq without thought, and with full support of the republican party (and some democrats).
but the baggers dig in their heels on raising the debt ceiling, an invented crisis.
there is absolutely concious or unconcious bigotry on display for everyone to see.
I'm not particularly happy with the bill, and sure not happy with having the country held hostage by the Tea Partiers. Which is why I will -must- continue to support the President, even when I don't totally agree with the compromise. Barring some unforeseen disaster, President Obama will be the candidate of the Democratic Party in 2012. That's a given, since he is the incumbent. If we split the vote by forming some mythical Progressive Party, the only thing we can be sure of is that a Republican will win the election. And that would be better..how??
Agreed!
The victor in a battle is determined by the side toasting the drinks at the conclusion. In the recent political battle even the most hardened right wing extremist (tea party) find it hard to contain their glee, despite their words to the contrary.
Yet observe something totally different. The roles of villain and hero has clearly been defined as well. A heartless villain knows that the true weakness of the hero and the perfect trap to set for the hero is to threaten well being of very people that the hero is responsible for. The hero in exchange will sacrifice his own well being in order to save the ones that he cares for.
The President in my opinion negotiated as cleverly and tirelessly as possible in order to prevent “immediate harm” to the common good and general welfare of the 98% of the population that truly was at risk (whether they realize it or not is a seperate issue altogether). With the “Debt Limit Compromise” and the immediate damage held to a minimum, the President will have to work much harder to keep the details of the deal made from causing harm that potentially looms over the general public if another act of heroism isn’t performed to prevent it. I do believe that can be done, if the banks will loosen the capital and credit restrictions to small business very soon, there will be a quick resurgence of the economy and "jobs" produced. The President has taken a crippling hit that I am not sure he can recover from. Given his intelligence and perseverance, the villain better known as the corporate lobby and the right wing puppets that chant their propaganda is very strong and ruthless force that I am not sure that the President and the Democratic party can withstand.
There is now breathing room, but I am still very concerned about the very near future.
Obama will never get my vote agin unless he re-earns it. As far as I'm concerned he is a flip flopping peice of crap. How many times has he said, tax hikes has to be on the table along with spending cuts. He does alot of postering before the TV camera but as soon as a Republican says boo, he wets his pants. Why are the Republicans looking for a canidate for president. They already have the best money can buy in the W.H. now. He made me want to throw up when he gave another one of his pretty speechs tonight saying we all must share the pain, thhat we had to have tax increases in the super commissions proposal in Nov. The Republicans already know that he will cave at the drop of a hat.
you know maybe when you run for president you will understand ..you wont be made KING and arent allowed to do what ever you want. you have to do what you can for the best outcome you can achieve. he has the popular part with the american public, but he doesnt have the votes because their are to many republicans in there. he cant just say im going to do this and do it. he has to have the votes. i wish people like you would try to understand these things
yes, johnny, please make sure you do not vote in the 2012 election, and give the baggers everything they want.
if you don't vote, the baggers win.
See my reply to Rusty
the problem as i see it is that the people in politics are just not connected to the american public. they are insulated by their perks such as health care and little trains and their little city. they dont have to do what we americans have to do on a daily basis. most of them are millionaires. so how can they understand what we go through? i say that let them all be on medicare and medicade for their health care. let them attach their paychecks to sociol security. we pay them anyway why not make them be on the same system we are on? this way when they do all these cuts and bugdeting they are doing for us they have to do the same for their lives. so many people dont understand why president obama has to do the things he is doing..so many of the compromises he has to do is because we dont have enough votes in the senate and the house for demacrats to do what we need for the country.we allowed the republicans to take over the senate .it is our faults not the presidents that this happened. the tea baggers got in because we didnt vote. hopefully when we get to vote again in 2012 we get it right this time and vote all those bastards out....uniguy i agree with you. hopefully we as the public can and will recognize the hero in this struggle and back him in the comming election and give him the tools (congress) to use in his struggle against the villians in this
I want to see the Tea Party become an actual third party, rather than running under the "republican" umbrella. In that case they would be unable to intimidate the republicans into doing their bidding. They have brought the republican party so far to the right that it is unrecognizable. I'd like to see just how much support they really have as a stand alone. They are ruining our system and our country.
What Clinton knew better than anyone was that with each and every attack, there had to be an equally effective counter attack. That is what is missing now.
We are loosing the message battle. We have a communication problem. Our message doesn’t isn’t shouted load enough to stop the right wing talking points, and to some effect, the majority of the media isn’t going to air what we have to say. The Media is owned by mega corporations and there has been no investigative journalism since 2001. Or non that will pull down the ratings of Reality TV.
The counter attacks are simple. When a wingnut touts smaller government, simply say that our “Government is The People” Smaller Government means less control by the general public. If you think small government is good, visit Mexico.
Why can’t we make the general public understand that the highest points in prosperity for this country was when taxes were at their highest point and OUR government returned it in the form of infrastructure projects? Then we returned it again in taxes. Fewer taxes equals fewer public services. Fewer Police equals more crime. Fewer Food Inspectors equals food contamination. Fewer OSHA inspections equal increased workplace deaths and accidents. Fewer IRS agents means owed taxes not collected. Fewer EPA agents means water we can't drink.
There is no historic data available to support their theocracy, yet there are volumes to disprove it. Somehow we don’t know how to communicate it.
Where is the backbone of the dems? they didn't get what they wanted and that was the failure to get revenue increases and no tax loopholes. I hope that those that voted for cuts includes all their congressional benefits and pay and pass it to the recipients of social security, veterans, medicare and other needy people.
This happen because of the blue dog dem. Blue dogs vote republican 99% of the time. What we need is real progressive if we want are country to move forword.
Where is the backbone of the dems? they didn't get what they wanted and that was the failure to get revenue increases and no tax loopholes. I hope that those that voted for cuts includes all their congressional benefits and pay and pass it to the recipients of social security, veterans, medicare and other needy people.
I feel soory for Democrats like Barney Frank and Independent Bernie Sanders. This must be a sad day for them. They have consistently advocated for democratic principles, whereas others have consistently adopted principles after a vote they have been pushed to cast. In most cases principles Republicans wanted them to adopt.
I do not believe that the Tea Party has taken Congress hostage. Tea Party and Republicans are on the same page. They have the same goals and the same big money is behind them. The Tea Party was only an excuse for Boehner to extract more from Dems. The actions of Senate and House Republicans and the Tea Party in all this "drama" seemed to me very coordinated.
Too bad the Democrats are not that united. If they would be, they would have the people behind them. Middle class people do not have anybody representing them right know. They are forced to rely on whiny Democrats and suffer the consequences of one bad deal after another. And after every such deal they go on TV and try to "explain" their vote to the american people, although it is clear, all they are doing is protecting their own jobs. No spine. Period.
Well I am totally disillusioned by this nightmare that never ends I dont have a job Havent for over two years while this madness dragged on and on I discovered why when I go to a job interview I dont get called back It is legal to discriminate against the long term unemployed so hope is gone their I woke up today to another nightmare my son who is Mentally Ill I have taken care of him for ten years his disability check didnt come now we cant pay the rent and other bills So whats next homelessness Ive been through this but had a job which I kept through determination I am more depressed each day I worked my whole life and never asked for help but I am falling apart and never felt this way before I have tried to have faith but I am losing confidence that it is going to get better Do they know what they are putting people through I just want to keep my son safe
im sorry to hear a bout your plight..me and my wife are kind of in the same boat...im disabled and she lost her job from lack of work and we have 2 teenagers to care for...this is going on around the country and these congressmen are always talking about cuts and never about taxing people who got rich off of our backs and labor ..it really sucks. thats why we really need to vote
The question that I pose is; would you vote for Pres. Obama for a second term? I would not vote for him again. He does not have a backbone and he has proven many times that he will give in to anyone who stands up to him. Having said that I think that he is the lessor of two evils but will the economy turn around during the next two, three, or even four years? It might turn some but I highly doubt that even in that time frame it will turn around to where the middle class and poor would be much better and spending again. The only time we've seen spending increase over the last few years is after people receive their income tax over payment checks. And so with the republicans going in the direction that they are, which is catering to the rich, the chances of this economy doing well under their leadership in the next election cycle are slim to none. So my thought is to elect Obama out and let the republicans have at it. With their direction they will most likely fail and hopefully in the mean time a strong democrat with a backbone will surface and we will then elect him / her into office. If we leave Obama in for another four years, let's face it, it's not looking good and the democrats will be more tainted then they already are. Obama won't stand up to these guys and then the whole democratic party looks worse then they already do. SO get Obama the heck out, let the democrats do some regrouping, like get Pelosi out of there, and let's move forward. Maybe we could make a good sweep in the midterms.
This is totally ridiculous that Obama doesn't stand up to these people!! He should never have taken the 14th amendment off the bargaining table and he should have used it. If he used it I am sure that more people would respect him for just being strong and not backing down. I never liked George Bush, but I respect him more then I do Obama because at least Bush stood by and stood completely firm to his decisions. He didn't waiver and I respect that.
Get Obama out of there and let's get some strength into this damn democratic party. They are so darn weak and spineless!!!
I want him to veto this bullsh*t bill at 11PM and force congress to pass a clean bill...one page one line like the last 72 times... then let's get to work on all the things ignored in the last month that are IMPORTANT... JOBS that Repubs campaigned on to landslide in 2010 ... how many new jobs are there... none... how many jobs will be lost now... PLENTY!!
Smart move Tom, lets put the reichwingnuts back in control of our goverment. Grow up man, or are you another TP stooge trolling in here? NO party gets what they want 100% of the time, it's just a fact.
You must not be living in reality Johnny boy. If you pay attention basically this is Republican controlled governing already. Boehner stated that the repubs got 98% of what they wanted so you tell me how close that is to 100%? If you cannot see that the dems completely caved then you need to wake the heck up. Just wait and see how far Obama's approval rating drops. Voting independent unless Obama and the dems get a backbone doesn't sound so bad to many people. Just wait and see.
Time... is the one thing that will reveal "all" things. Every person/party/group/troupe has had the opportunity to chime in up until they pulled their heads out of their own ____— to have an effect on this 'deal'. Well, I say we have to continue to be patient because the resulting effect has not yet fully been realized, nor has the hope of the expectations from those who were elected to mold a resulting effect. The consequences of the actions of all who were involved will be so profound when this starts to unwind and the pre-speculation begins to become evident that those who sought the 'satan sandwich' will hunger, forevermore, for relief from the stomachache they advocated. Their intention to strangle the current administration's ability to govern and serve "all" the people, not giving thought to any previous administration as a litmus, is totally prejudicial and will not stand with the passage of Time...
Give the conservatives what they asked for. They haven’t been very careful.
The other day while I was thinking about the budget fight, my mind wandered to a show I had watched on the making of Big Ben, and the technical specifications of the clock mechanism. Did you know that they use a penny to adjust the weight on the pendulum, to gain or lose pace, in order to keep the clock within its range of accuracy? Imagine, that entire huge mechanism adjusted by adding or removing a penny every couple of days.
What would it take to balance the mechanism of the U.S. budget and dept? Would the entire panoply of specialness dispensations otherwise referred to as loopholes, deductions, givebacks, tax breaks, etc. do the job?
Supposedly, at the start of the year, the government passes a budget. Then over the course of the year, poo poo accrues. Maybe it is a horrible year for hurricanes, and it adds to the budget. Maybe someone attacks us and we have to go to war, adding billions to the budget. Maybe our president just doesn’t like someone, and we have to go to war, adding a trillion to the budget. Maybe, the economy goes into freefall due to the incompetence of our leadership, and we need a huge stimulus package to save it, adding a trillion to the budget. Or, maybe the government decides to give a multi hundreds of billion dollar prescription drug benefit, that wasn’t in the original budget. The point being that all of these adjustments get added to the budget as they accrue.
At the end of the year, after all taxes have been collected, by the percentages we have previously agreed to, the entire budget is taken out of the tax collections. Then, some portion of the remainder is assigned for paying down the dept. I’m sure some formula can be agreed upon, lol. Whatever is left, can then be used, proportionally, for specialness dispensations.
If you don’t eat your meat, how can you have any pudding?
The budget gets/is always balanced. The dept is paid on/reduced. People get back whatever is left; after they pay for the government that is the result of what they have voted for.
I would further suggest that in order to progress the corporate rate—take the ratio between the percentage of a corporations’ income that goes out as employee salary, and its net income, and come up with a specialness rating based on that ratio. For example, if you own a doggie daycare center, and sixty percent of your corporate income is going out as salary to employ people, you are very special. If you own a hedge fund firm that employs only thirty people, but pulls in one billion a year, the market has rewarded your specialness quite enough and you have no call putting the burden of supporting your specialness on everybody else.
I would further suggest that we progress the rate of, and creating limitations on, the percentage of personal tax deductions allowable.
Simple and fair, just the way I like it.
How 'bout we discuss Campaign Finance Reform here? Take the big bucks OUT OF OUR ELECTIONS!!
My petition is for election sanity. The amount of special interest money has made the United States election process a joke.
Let's have some creative ideas on creating Campaign Finance Reform. Level the playing field to enable anyone with the proper amounts of endorsement signatures run for office, both state and federal.
This would eliminate obscene campaign war chests and stress public debates over negative radio and TV commercials that just muddy the waters. The result would eliminate all the time candidates spend away from their jobs to raise money for re-election. They could do much more work to enhance the lives of their constituents instead of eating lousy chicken and making deals with corporations for sponsorship.
You will NEVER hear a current member of congress suggest this. We need to inform the American people of this concept and get new blood running for office that are not in anyone's pocket ... but yours!!
All ideas welcome. My petition is for election sanity. The amount of special interest money has made the United States election process a joke.
Let's have some creative ideas on creating Campaign Finance Reform. Level the playing field to enable anyone with the proper amounts of endorsement signatures run for office, both state and federal.
This would eliminate obscene campaign war chests and stress public debates over negative radio and TV commercials that just muddy the waters. The result would eliminate all the time candidates spend away from their jobs to raise money for re-election. They could do much more work to enhance the lives of their constituents instead of eating lousy chicken and making deals with corporations for sponsorship.
You will NEVER hear a current member of congress suggest this. We need to inform the American people of this concept and get new blood running for office that are not in anyone's pocket ... but yours!!
All ideas welcome. My petition is for election sanity. The amount of special interest money has made the United States election process a joke.
Let's have some creative ideas on creating Campaign Finance Reform. Level the playing field to enable anyone with the proper amounts of endorsement signatures run for office, both state and federal.
This would eliminate obscene campaign war chests and stress public debates over negative radio and TV commercials that just muddy the waters. The result would eliminate all the time candidates spend away from their jobs to raise money for re-election. They could do much more work to enhance the lives of their constituents instead of eating lousy chicken and making deals with corporations for sponsorship.
You will NEVER hear a current member of congress suggest this. We need to inform the American people of this concept and get new blood running for office that are not in anyone's pocket ... but yours!!
All ideas welcome.
Beardo,
you have recognized the very core of the problem, or shall I say the very acid that erodes or democracy. The money has corrupted the process. To even raise the funds to afford the advertising to get elected, you have to start by begging.
It is common knowledge that the Democratic Party receives less than 25% of the corporate donations and the remainder is given to the Republican Party. The average campaign donation that was raised by Candidate Barack Obama was less than $100. This holds true for all democrats, who have a tremendous amount of citizens contributing small amounts. The opposite is true of Republicans who without argument are supported by large corporations with large sums donated, and therefore the republicans spend less time on the road, and on the phone raising funds. Republicans are basically employees of the few contributors and their vote is bought. Hence no increase in taxes or closed loop holes for the wealthy. “smaller government” claims which defunds regulatory agencies that enforce federal laws on business.
Now with the Supreme Court decision of the” Citizens United” (AKA Koch Bothers) that has now interpreted that the constitution qualifies a “corporation” as an individual. With that a corporation is allowed to run advertising for their candidate of choice as well as ads against the opponents of their candidates all in the name of “Free Speech” This is an issue that should be taken up by attorney general Eric Holder. In my view if a corporation is in fact viewed as an individual who deserves free speech, then they should also contribute no more than the federal limit that a citizen is held to. Additionally the donations to special interest groups that are given in support of a candidate should be included in this donation limit for that candidate. Although a Democratic President has executive powers to pursue such a legal maneuver, this president will never pull that trigger. He still has the dream of bringing both parties together, and he is alone in that battle. It ain’t goin to happen.
If we could have had the 60 vote majority in in the Senate 2008 instead of the 59, I do believe that much of the harm from “W” and Regan could have been reversed. Liberals could have controlled the narrative. Yet we had selfish “Blue Dogs” that are in fact spineless opportunist. But I believe, and not happily, that we missed the opportunity, and baring an untimely slip up by the Right Wing, or an intelligent awaking by the general public, getting another opportunity will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, or at least by my generation. Our children are being raised with less racism, and more religious tolerance and acceptance and will not likely tolerate the right wing point of view.
People, it may not seem obvious, but from my seat, Democracy as we know it is far behind on the score board, and there is very little time left on the clock. Wall Street now has more power than ever over this government that is of the people, for the people and by the people. And they are ruthless and reckless with the power, and with the government weakened, we will not have the ability to bail them out again.
Your drive to change campaign finance is admirable, but it is bringing knife to a gun fight. Not even the old school republicans like McCain even have a voice in their own party any longer. TRUE Campaign finance reform will never be accomplished until there is overwhelming liberal votes (without Blue Dogs).
I do hope that I live to see the day where government reverses and Democracy does prevail. I do believe our time has passed.
I think the answer to campaign reform is this: Each candidate is allowed to spend $XXX - not an obscene amount, but enough to wage an effective campaign. But that is the absolute limit. It doesn't matter where it comes from - individual donors or big corporations. Now, the creativity comes in as to who is able to do the most with it, who is able to use it the most effectively. And when it's gone....it's gone.
Open letter to the Tea Party
For those of you in the Tea Party who have forced draconian cuts in the budget with no rise in revenue:
Congratulations! You may go down in history as the Congress that destroyed the US economy—achieving the goal of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
Open letter to the Tea Party
While I'm at it:
The next time you blow a tire in a pothole, fall into a sink hole, have to drive many miles out of your way because the bridge has been condemned, look in the mirror and say "thank you".