MERGED: The Politics Thread

[Q_BE]

Reasons to Vote Democrat 2010

Diary Entry by J. Edward Tremlett, OpEdNews.com, 11-1-2010
========================

In a choice between bad and worse, it pays to think LONG TERM STRATEGY. You can vote stupid and angry tomorrow, or you can vote angry but smart.

I remember when the rightly-infamous David Duke ran for Governor of Louisiana as a Republican, several years ago, he was running against a Democrat who was as crooked as Frankenstein's dog's hind leg. It was a clear case of bad versus worse and no one was happy about it.

So some enterprising soul sold Official Bags for the gubernatorial election: the idea was that you could go vote for the crook over the klansman, and then either hide your face in shame, or be sick. As luck would have it, David Duke lost, and nothing he has said or done since then has ameliorated any of the concerns most rightly-thinking people had about his potential turn as Governor.

Flash forward to 2010. The Democrats are disappointing. But the would-be replacements waiting in the wings are a disaster waiting to happen. In a choice between disappointment or disaster, one would think the wise choice would be to vote for the former.

And yet, in what proves to be an important election -- maybe the most important yet -- many progressives want to throw their vote away by either throwing it behind a third party candidate, or else not voting at all.

How reckless can you get?

The bottom line is this: as much as the Democrats need to have some sense slapped into them, the Tea Party and their cronies (and their backers) MUST BE REPUDIATED AT THE POLLS. And this has to happen NOW, not after two years of a Republican/Teaparty-led Congress that has had ample opportunity to take the good that has been done over the last couple years, and throw it under the bus.

It goes beyond certain candidates ignorance, stupidity, or sociopathy. It goes beyond firefighters watching someone's house burn and the National Review's writers saying that it was not only okay, but a "teachable moment" to the Left. It goes beyond Birtherism, crypto-racism, curb-stomps, and arresting reporters.

It goes to the very heart of our system of government. Do you believe that the Government is there to help, but sometimes harms, or do you think the Government can ONLY EVER HARM, and needs to be shot in the face by an angry mob who, like the angry villagers in Frankenstein, have decided to get torches and pitchforks rather than let the party members of a (insert latest tea party jibe about Barack Obama here) hold onto Washington for one more day?

If you are any kind of thinking progressive, I would hope your answer is the former. It should then follow that we should do everything we can to ensure that, as nauseating and disappointing as their antics may sometimes be, we have to vote for the Democrats tomorrow.

Third parties? Forget it. As of right now, there are none who have a fireball's chance in Hel of pulling off enough votes to block the Republicans from office. None. Maybe in a few years, if enough average voters -- that is, left-leaning rather that leftIST -- abandon the Democrats, they could just have enough. But that is not now.

Vote strike? Get to !#$%. The only thing that does is not only disenfranchise yourself, and give you no right to legitimately complain over the next few years, but also negates your ability to vote for state and local issues, which are also critically important.

You can stand on your tub and pound about the need for a credible alternative to the two big, lumbering giants of American politics, but tubthumping only gets you so far when most people would rather buy into one or the other. The change of attitudes necessary to pull off such a switch is several years in the making. It does not happen overnight, and will definitely not happen in the wake of a disastrous election result, as some have encouraged: the Dems will just obstruct for the next cycle and then say "see what happened? vote us back in." And we'll be back at square none all over again, along with pipe dreams of a Green win.

There is only one party to effectively block a Republican takeover of the House and Senate, tomorrow, or at least ensure that they do not win a huge majority. It is not one of the third parties. It is not NO party. It is the Democrats.

So here's what I am suggesting: go to the polls and vote for the Democrats. You may want to hold your nose when you do so, or go be sick afterwards -- if so, good. Take that nausea and turn it into anger, and then turn that anger into energy. Then, take that energy and use it to either fix what's wrong with the Dems, or create that credible alternative.

Of course, you could always do that NOW, too. But we have to think strategically. When that alternative or fixing takes place, two, four or six years from now, after two, four, or six years of being in thrall to the Tea Party and its cronies (and backers), things will be so screwed up that it will take many more years to effectively fix. And in the meantime, those voted out will sit on their hands, be obstructionist, and claim that the mess is all OUR fault, and we should be voted out.

(This DOES sound familiar, right?)

So yes, for some of us it's a choice between tweedledumb and tweedledumber. Maybe even tweedlevil, if you consider it that way. But it's not defeatism if you look at it as a strategic exercise, and it's not cynicism if you know what you're getting and have a plan to make it work for you.

But we have to get ourselves the breathing room to fix what's broken. We will not get that unless we keep the Dems as healthy as possible this cycle.

So please. Please. PLEASE go and vote Democrat tomorrow. Wear a bag if you have to. Just make sure that people like Rand Paul et. al. are not the face of America's lawmakers for the next two or more years, and, even if we are stuck with them, it will not be so much that they can completely dominate the dialectic.

========================

There. I posted my bipartisan piece. I got that out of my system. Coming up later, more reasons to vote Democrat, and I don't think you're going to like them…

Q-"Reaching across the aisle—to headsmack you"-BE

[JJ]

Right Wing Tavern looks at the 2010 election...............................

[JJ]

With most of the country up in arms..............a look at the Bama Man during the 2010 election.........

[JJ]

 A Mid Term Election Primer on Election Day 2010
-------------


What this election day is NOT about:

Ans:  a vote for the Republicans.
-------------



What this election IS about according to the Left Wing Media (inc. Wash Post, NY Times, LA Times, Newsweek, TIME, PBS, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNN Hdline, MSNBC, NPR, etc.)

Ans: the Economy
-----------------------




What this election IS really about:

Obama, Pelosi and Reid POLICIES!   Period!

It's a rejection of those policies.
That's what Liberals, Leftists and Democrats are missing today.
When and if they realize this fact, adjustments will be in order, either for more of the same or less of the same.
=================================================
Mid Term Elections - see the Democrats run -

see mush mouth Keith Overbyte cry on the air at MSNBC - see Chris Matthews scratch his head again and again - see Rachel Maddow smirk and smile her way through THIS one - watch Andrea Mitchell spin this one like a poisonous spider - hear Obama express disbelief - get a load of Joe Biden out of touch with reality as usual - read E.J.Dionne piece on how the stupid public just doesn't understand Obama - follow Wolf Blitzer as he asks repeatedly how the Dems lost instead of how the Republicans won - giggle along with Howdy Doody look alike David Gregory on Meet the Depressed next Sunday, with even more questions on how the Dems lost instead of how the Republicans won - pick your winner in a fist fight breaking out between former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and rival Steny Hoyer - get a glimpse of history in the making as Harry Reid becomes the first Senate majority leader to lose an election in his own state -  for calm and quiet, see former motor mouth and TV screen hog Chuck U. Shumer of New York win his re-election handily, as he ignores his Dem friends going down in smoke everywhere - for belly laughs a plenty watch Socialist Bernie Sanders of Vermont repeat for the 1,000,000th time that it's all the fault of George W. Bush - for serious observers watch Pennsylvania and Ohio go RED for Republicans signaling a serious rebuke of Obama policies and a major shift in American politics - and for irrelevancy watch CBS with the perky Katie Couric because no one else will be watching her - step right up ladies and gentlemen for the Greatest Show on Earth..............

[sidewalkpsycho]

You know you can't copy-paste your ballot, right?

[JJ]

You know you can't copy-paste your ballot, right?

========================================

Good one!   

[Siria]

You know you can't copy-paste your ballot, right?

Actually, you can. Or at least, pretty close.

[onion_writer]

Watching the returns. I still have hope for Feingold.

Otherwise, I want to puke.

America? You're going to get the government you deserve. You have failed to read the newspapers, failed to think for yourselves, failed in every way. You have abbrogated your responsibility for self rule. Sound bites, millionaires and FOX pundits appear now to run the "free" world.

I predict that the U.S. will freefall into a depression far worse than the Great Depression. Buy gold, everyone. Run to Canada. I'm sure thinking of it.

I am ashamed of my country.

[TheZookie007]

Pendulums always swing back. Even Joe McCarthy was eventually voted out of office. Don't despair yet, onion_writer.

Although I will agree with you on this point: a people get the government they deserve. The people of Kentucky deserve Rand Paul, and they deserve all the aggro electing this fellow who is one shade below a neo-Nazi will produce. Likewise for any other state that votes in a Tea Party Republican to represent them on Capitol Hill. Granted, some states' races have you wanting to go into the voting booth with a lighted match, to get rid of the stench (I'm looking at you, New York), but still...

How could you listen to that Special Commentary by Keith Olbermann in which he quotes (with citations) the words of those Tea Party candidates, and still vote for them? Are you on crack?

Inasmuch as there almost always is a turnover in a midterm, with the party in the White House losing some seats because of the "kick the bums out" mentality that takes hold, such a result is not unexpected. The silver lining in the cloud: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are gonna have a buttload of material for the next two years, as they skewer the missteps and the foibles of the incoming Congress.

JJ, this is not a case of the Democrats losing, or of the Republicans winning. Every Tea Partier that wins an election is another nail in the coffin of hope that reasonable, sensible, qualified candidates will put themselves up for public office. And our entire country suffers when nitwits, nincompoops, corporate lackeys, Do-Nothings and Know-Nothings, are holding the reins of power. Do you not know who is funding the Tea Party "movement", and what they stand to gain by so doing? Google "Koch Brothers tea party funders". Add that to the Supreme Court decision on corporations and funding of campaigns, and you have a very dangerous mix.

And to all the people who voted for those Tea Partiers, those corporately-sponsored usurpers of the Republican Party, aided and abetted by the propaganda machine that is Fox News Channel, I say, in the words of Col. Jessep from A Few Good Men:

"You fuckin' people... you have no idea how to defend a nation. All you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee. That's all you did. You put people's lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son."

[JJ]

.....the view from the Right.....................
=========================================


Watching the returns. I see Feingold going down big time.

So I want to say thank you voters in Wisconsin.

America? You're going to get the government you deserve. You have failed to read the newspapers, failed to think for yourselves, failed in every way the past two years.  You have abrogated your responsibility for self rule the past two years.  Sound bites, millionaires and liberal media pundits have been running the "free" world.

But now I predict that the U.S. will move forward into what can be the best times of our history. Buy gold, buy stocks, buy clothing at Wal-Mart, buy houses - good times are coming. Run to your nearest restaurant early and often.  I'm sure they are waiting for you.

I am so proud of my country.

[rtpoe]

Great.

Now he's copy-pasting other posts here.

[TheZookie007]

Very sad.

In other news: call him "Governor Moonbeam". Jerry Brown defeats the eBay moneybags (and mother of a sexual assaulting son or two) Meg Whitman for the California governor's race. I am going to miss the Governator!

[CarlTL]

.....the view from the Right.....................
=========================================


Watching the returns. I see Feingold going down big time.

So I want to say thank you voters in Wisconsin.

America? You're going to get the government you deserve. You have failed to read the newspapers, failed to think for yourselves, failed in every way the past two years.  You have abrogated your responsibility for self rule the past two years.  Sound bites, millionaires and liberal media pundits have been running the "free" world.

But now I predict that the U.S. will move forward into what can be the best times of our history. Buy gold, buy stocks, buy clothing at Wal-Mart, buy houses - good times are coming. Run to your nearest restaurant early and often.  I'm sure they are waiting for you.

I am so proud of my country.

Congratulations JJ & Q_BE.

Now that your people are in control of the House (and have a few more Senate seats) what are you and they going to do now?

[pedonbio]

Congratulations JJ & Q_BE.

Now that your people are in control of the House (and have a few more Senate seats) what are you and they going to do now?

Well, let's start with seeing if they will keep their promise to cut wasteful spending. There is a federal department, created for one specific purpose, which last performed that function 59 years ago. It costs over $100 billion a year.

Buh-bye, Marine Corps! Semper fi, Dudes!

[JJ]

He said it......................................
=============================

Great.

Now he's copy-pasting other posts here.

==============================

Grow up.

Lighten up.

Try smiling a little and having some fun.

Politics is not the number one thing in the world.

Hav a nice day.

 

[JJ]

Very sad.

In other news: call him "Governor Moonbeam". Jerry Brown defeats the eBay moneybags (and mother of a sexual assaulting son or two) Meg Whitman for the California governor's race. I am going to miss the Governator!

=====================================

Ok, fine.

But what does an assaulting son of a candidate have to do with the price of tea in China?

More importantly, here we have a state, California, land of fruits and nuts, hemorrhaging from high taxes, bloated state bureaucracy and a serious case of overspending on everything from A to Z.  They're in worse shape than Greece.

And the people want Moonbeam Brown, with no business experience, to run the state instead of a bonafide businesswoman such as Meg Whitman?

Isn't that letting the fox into the henhouse? 

[sidewalkpsycho]

So do these results mean that America is populated by a majority of JJ's and Q_BE's?

[onion_writer]

Anyone heard how turnout was nationally?

[DruulEmpire]

It was down somewhat -- though it's hard to say whether more voters would have changed things much.  Those who vote tend to be fairly representative of those who don't.

[Shara]

He said it......................................
=============================
==============================

Grow up.

Lighten up.

Try smiling a little and having some fun.

Politics is not the number one thing in the world.

Hav a nice day.

 

really now?

[Q_BE]

So do these results mean that America is populated by a majority of JJ's and Q_BE's?

Abso-freakin'-lutely!

Q-"Join us!"-BE

[Siria]

So do these results mean that America is populated by a majority of JJ's and Q_BE's?

No. It means Democrats are less than enthusiastic about voting, independents are disappointed with the lackluster improvement in the economy, and the rest are Republicans.

Some conservatives are actually logically consistent. The fact that JJ and Q_BE vote for politicians that would try to get this site shut down in a heartbeat makes me wonder whether they are.

[MunchWolf]

So do these results mean that America is populated by a majority of JJ's and Q_BE's?

It just means Diebold has gotten better with their vote rigging programs

-Munch "who's gonna check?" Wofl

[Real]

this all means that americans are the most impatient bunch of people on the planet.  who knew.

18 months after the biggest dive sine the depression of course everything should be not just fixed, but reversed and booming once more.

now it's throw money at the rich time again.  but this time they're not going to let it sit in the bank like the best independent research knows they always do, or send jobs overseas to make themselves more money like theyve been spending the last 25 years doing.  

honestly, this time it's all going to "trickle down"...

[onion_writer]

I begin to see how American socialist and communist movements grew in the 1930s.

And so the rich get richer. Think they'll suddenly rain jobs down upon us?

[espy]

I'm watching a local race that has me perplexed.  It's for a state legislator position.

The incumbent is running for reelection.  He is a respected, long-time local political figure -- isn't in it to "play politician" with power issues and the like.  Seems moderate and well reasoned in his actions, particularly when compared to some counterparts.  Last year he supported the passing of a domestic partners bill extending certain rights to same sex couples.  Not a same sex marriage law -- we're not there yet -- just extending certain rights that had been previously denied.

His opponent is a minister's wife with a single plank in her platform -- the incumbent needs to be replaced because same sex relationships are wrong.  They'll be the ruin of this country.  Period.  She doesn't know her ass from second base about anything else.  There was a debate, and her handlers attempted to anticipate the questions that may be asked.  They provided her with a stack of cards with appropriate responses, and when she was asked a question there was a slight delay as she searched her cards.... and then she literally read straight off the card.  As I understand, the wording on her card didn't always fit the way the question was asked.  And there were some unanticipated questions for which she had no cards... her response to which was a total "deer in the headlights" moment.  She hadn't even HEARD of the issues let alone developed (read: was handed) a position on them.  Some of these impact our area to the tunes of millions of dollars.  Oh, and she's so concerned with the political process..... she rarely votes.  Her voting history shows that at most she casts her ballot in 1 out of every 4 elections. 

So this is a slam dunk, right?  She made her point that fags are the devil, and the incumbent can feel comfortable in retaining his seat.

I don't know!  She's getting a ton of support... and much of it is coming from the business community.  I'm surprised by that -- I mean, support for her can't be seen as anything other than an anti-gay stance, right?  Both candidates are republican, so its not a party thing.  I know my gay friends are taking note and intending to avoid the businesses whose owners are backing her (including my next door neighbor).

It all seems so strange.  There are no local polls to suggest how the vote might go.  I like to think she's going to get pummeled.  If not, it'll be interesting to see how she "functions" in Olympia.

Right now, this one is too close to call.  Incumbent has 52% and gay-maligning challenger has 47%.  There are a lot of ballots to be counted, and most analysts agree the challenger will benefit from them most -- maybe enough to win.

[SamV]

Abso-freakin'-lutely!

Q-"Join us!"-BE

No thank you Q for your kind invitation.
But you see even at my age I actualLEE have these few cells left in my brain that still function properLEE.

[SamV]

this all means that Americans are the most impatient bunch of people on the planet.  who knew.

18 months after the biggest dive since the depression of course everything should be not just fixed, but reversed and booming once more.

Wadda expect when we all want things like, yesterday! Can't save for the kids future or our own retirement. Better to live in debt than waiting for the things we want and getting them when we have the money to afford them.

Truthfully I blame Madison Ave, who tells us everyday what we have to have, and the money lenders who say by just signing at the bottom of this incomprehensible document we can have it all.

I wonder sometimes if it's all due to Americans growing up on instant coffee, instant cereal, instant soup and microwave meals.

.... Think they'll suddenly rain jobs down upon us?

I'm sure something will be raining down on the lower economic classes, but it won't be anything very nice, or they'll like.
At least we'll all have a bit more sympathy for Biff Tannen when watching the Back to the Future 25th anniversary DVD.
 

Sam "I learned about frugality from those who had gone though the Great Depression and WWII - my family" V

[Shara]

doesn't oprah vote dem?

[onion_writer]

Okay. It's the next day. Where's my job? JJ, where's my job? I really need one now.

[Q_BE]

Okay. It's the next day. Where's my job? JJ, where's my job? I really need one now.

Liberals go last.

Q-"Since you got us into this mess"-BE

[JJ]

Okay. It's the next day. Where's my job? JJ, where's my job? I really need one now.

================================
I'm thrilled that you asked.  

Follow these steps.........

1. Stop sitting around for someone else to help you, especially the bloated Federal government.
2. Do what everyone else does in the greatest country in the history of the world, reinvent yourself.
Go out and take a job and work your way up the ladder. You can start in a small business or a larger one such as Wal Mart.  McDonalds is always begging for good workers.  By the way, security guard companies don't pay much but will hire you in a second if you work hard, show up on time and then, will promote you upwards in a hurry if you want management work. In any case, work your way up to a management position.
3. Or find a need then supply it by starting your own business in a career field of your choosing.  Like baking? Good at making donuts?  Good, start your own shop in town, beat the pants off Dunkin and the rest by giving better local service and selling your donuts to the local schools and businesses directly too.  Dream a little bit as you're getting off your duff waiting around for somebody to hand you something!
4. American exceptionalism is alive and well, providing opportunities for you.   If you find this task too daunting, you may want to move to Cuba or Romania where the government makes those choices for you.  

[JJ]

this all means that americans are the most impatient bunch of people on the planet.  who knew.

18 months after the biggest dive sine the depression of course everything should be not just fixed, but reversed and booming once more.

now it's throw money at the rich time again.  but this time they're not going to let it sit in the bank like the best independent research knows they always do, or send jobs overseas to make themselves more money like theyve been spending the last 25 years doing.  

honestly, this time it's all going to "trickle down"...

===========================================

Glad to see you got it right.  Wealth has never trickled UP to the best of my knowledge unless you steal it from those who make money and then give it to bums who are too lazy to earn it.

Trickle Down is alive and well, as always. 

[sidewalkpsycho]

At least he hasn't copy-pasted anything for 3 whole days.

[Shara]

how do you know this is not copypasta?