On Assigning Blame, Or, "So, You Think I'm Retarded?"

by: fake consultant

Sun Feb 28, 2010 at 11:23:17 AM CST

LANGUAGE WARNING: Today’s story is uncharacteristically blunt, and from this moment forward we will be using lots of inappropriate language in making our points.

Gentle Reader, you have been officially...warned.

With that in mind, if you take offense when confronted with language strong enough to knock a fuckin’ buzzard off a shitwagon, please stop reading now.

Senate Health Care Bill Less Popular Than Stalin

by: countrycat

Fri Dec 18, 2009 at 15:28:17 PM CST

Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee just released a Research 2000 poll showing that the insurance industry giveaway health insurance reform bill now being considered by the Senate has less support among American voters than Stalin has among Russians - and he was responsible for the deaths of about 20 million people!

Joe Lieberman's giveaway to Connecticut insurance companies health care bill gets 33% support.

Stalin has a 37% favorability rating.

However... add the public option back to the bill and support for is soars to 59%.

My favorite question:

President Obama has said he favors a public health insurance option. Senator Joe Lieberman is widely credited with forcing Senate Democrats to take the public option off the table in order to win his vote. Do you think President Obama should have done more to pressure Lieberman to allow the public option to move forward?
	YES	NO	NOT SURE
ALL	63%	29%	8%
Men	59%	34%	7%
Women	67%	24%	9%
Democrats	87%	10%	3%
Republicans	13%	76%	11%
Independents	72%	18%	10%

Look at those numbers for the coveted "Independent" vote!

In 2006, Karl Rove confidently predicted a Republican sweep - in defiance of poll numbers - calling his calculations "THE math."  What kind of math is Harry Reid using?  Not to mention the Democratic leadership and President Obama....

They're getting ready to pass a bill that barely a third of Americans support when they could instead pass real reform with a public option supported by 59%.

Hey, I wasn't a math major, but even I can see which is the better deal - both for the Democrats and for the country.

Why can't our "leaders?"

Call Congress: 866-338-1015.  Call early.  Call often.

RECONCILIATION.  NOW.

The political "what ifs" that wind up actually happening

by: kayman

Sun Dec 13, 2009 at 18:09:28 PM CST

Cross posted on my own blog:

The political and societal 'what ifs' are some of the most interesting things that occur in modern times.  What I'm talking about are the things in conventional wisdom or in scholarly thought are the things assumed not likely to occur.  However, some of these things have been defeated due to circumstance or sheer luck, but it happened.  Case and point, the Commonwealth of Virginia elected it first black governor with L. Douglas Wilder back in 1989 although just 7 years prior California failed doing the same with the candidacy of Tom Bradley thus we have the political theory known as the Bradley effect.  Nevertheless, a Southern state was the first to actually elect self-identified black governor to its office. 

On Determining Impact, Or, How Stimulative Is Stimulus?

by: fake consultant

Tue Nov 17, 2009 at 18:43:50 PM CST

A Party Divided Will Not Stand

by: Redeye

Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 09:32:23 AM CST

I've ranted about different factions and the infighting under the so called democratic big tent.

Frankly, I don't see how one can be  both Conservative and  a Democrat.  Democrats are pro choice.  Conservatives are pro life as long as it's in the womb.  Democrats are pro equal rights and civil rights.    Democrats are pro labor and pro union, Conservatives are pro-prayer in school and pro "traditional family".  Conservatives favorite Congressmen are Jim Marshall and Jim Taylor, Democrats favorite Congressmen are John Lewis, Robert Wexler and Dennis Kuchinich.

Others have raised concerns about the strength of democrats. 

  I am very happy to be a BIG D democrat.  However, we may be at our most vulnerable time and we must be very wise in how we position ourselves and how we move forward. 

I warned of the potential for Artur Davis' gubernatorial campaign to divide the democratic party.

One thing I will say about Davis's candidacy, it is pitting democrat vs democrat, white vs black, conservative vs liberal, white progressives vs black progressives, pro choice vs anti choice, north AL vs south AL, rural voters vs urban voters.  And some call me "divisive"?  Go figure.

The democratic party has been infilitrated.

Alabama Democrats likely need more Populism and Progressivism from their Chairman than prayer and publishing. 

The democratic party is not pure or perfect because it's been infiltrated by those who don't share democratic party principles or values.  Candidates and elected officials feel free to take our money and our votes for granted and pander to those who might vote for them (or not) at the expense of those who have to vote for them because they have no where to go.

Bash and smear me all you want.  You aren't hurting me.  You're hurting our party and our country.

Links below the fold just in case the ones in the diary don't work.

Do Congressional Democrats REALLY Think They Can "Compromise" on Health Care With These People?

by: countrycat

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 11:18:10 AM CST

Fortunately, I missed the live media coverage of the Traveling Teabagger Freak Show "Super Bowl of Freedom" yesterday, but this account of it in the Washington Post is truly choice:

In the front of the protest, a sign showed President Obama in white coat, his face painted to look like the Joker. The sign, visible to the lawmakers as they looked into the cameras, carried a plea to "Stop Obamunism." A few steps farther was the guy holding a sign announcing "Obama takes his orders from the Rothchilds" [sic], accusing Obama of being part of a Jewish plot to introduce the antichrist.

But the best of Bachmann's recruits were a few rows into the crowd, holding aloft a pair of 5-by-8-foot banners proclaiming "National Socialist Healthcare, Dachau, Germany, 1945." Both banners showed close-up photographs of Holocaust victims, many of them children.

Immediately in front of this colorful scenery, various House Republicans signed autographs and shook hands with the demonstrators.

[...]

By the time it was over, medics had administered government-run health care to at least five people in the crowd who were stricken as they denounced government-run health care.

But Bachmann overlooked this irony as she said farewell to her recruits.

How much more of this does Harry Reid need to see?  Has Holy Joe ("I think I'm the most important guy in the Senate") Lieberman been struck blind? 

Paging Parker Griffith: too bad you aren't a psychiatrist because some of these people obviously need mental health care. Will you be proud to stand with them and vote against the Democratic bill?  Will Bobby Bright be proud?  How about Artur Davis?

Redeye's Prose and Politics Blogstroll

by: Redeye

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 01:49:12 AM CST

First they came for Democrats.

Then they came for ACORN.

Then they came for LBGT's.

Then they came for health care reform.

Then they came for health care reform supporters.

Hope will never be silent.

And neither will I.

Redeye's Post Election Post Mortum Blogstroll

by: Redeye

Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 22:59:11 PM CST

Pay attention all you candidates out there who pander to the right wing/conservative/moderate white crowd at the expense of your base,  Give us a reason to vote for you or we'll stay our Donkeys' at home.

The choice is yours. Give us a reason to vote for you, or we sit home. And you aren't going to make up the margins with conservative voters. They already know exactly who they're voting for, and it ain't you.

You got that?

Look out blacks, gays and minorities in Virginia, you may be going back in time.

Republicans Robert F. McDonnell who is now Governor Elect, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, who is now Attorney General, Elect. As the washington post noted, "by some accounts, the three represent the most conservative Republican ticket to run in Virginia in many years."

Watch and snicker alert; Troy King family values video. link on AAPP.  WTF?

The Rude Pundit breaks it all down as only The Rude Pundit can in The Rude Pundit Style.  Warning, raw.

Forget what the assholes on TV are saying about the various elections and initiatives from last night. Who gives a shit what Michael Steele is crowing about? 

My sentiments exactly.  There's lots more.

repubs really have nothing to gloat or cheer about.  They are still a regional rump party. h/t mooncat.

Across the country, Democrats still hold 60 legislative chambers and control 55 percent of the nation's partisan legislative seats. Our current position remains a solid one heading into the final election before the Census and the next round of Congressional and legislative redistricting.

The Legal Schnauzer says The Huntsville Times deserves our Most Deceptive Headline Award.   You think?

We've heard about selective prosecutions and political prosecutions under the George W. Bush Department of Justice. But the Alex Latifi case in Alabama can best be described as a "racial prosecution." And that makes it one of the ugliest Bush fiascoes of all.

On Understanding Your Market, Or, Mr. Obama, We Need To Talk

by: fake consultant

Wed Sep 09, 2009 at 08:17:53 AM CDT

What are you gonna do? Do we follow the traditional Democratic Party legislative process of passing...something...at any cost, assuming the entire time that the Left and the Netroots will "go along with the program", or is there a risk that the calculus doesn't work as well today as it did in 1994 and 1996?

Well, lucky for you, I'm a fake consultant, and I know a few things about your "target market", so before you answer that question...we need to talk.

The Blue Dogs for Dummies

by: Dardango

Thu Aug 27, 2009 at 15:37:56 PM CDT

Politico cartoonist Matt Wuerker nails 'em. I would only have added a panel of them being petted by their corporate masters:

Redeye's Daily Blog Stroll

by: Redeye

Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 15:36:29 PM CDT

Crooks and Liars is on fire today. The Annals of Journalism on Mikes Blog Roundup is a must read amont many.  And please read about how President Obama is conspiring with us netroot thugs *snicker*.
http://crooksandliars.com/

Salon.com asks, What if democrats behaved like republicans?  If only they would...
http://www.salon.com/comics/to...

Breaking News from NPR!  Archie chooses Veronica over Betty! Bummer.
http://www.npr.org/templates/s...

Understanding and Responding To The Teabaggers, Townhall Tyrannists, Etc.

by: Dardango

Mon Aug 10, 2009 at 13:10:22 PM CDT

A lot has been said and written about the townhall interrupters, teabaggers and asundry rightwing space cadets, but I don't think they should be dismissed as simply racists or crazies. While I think a lot of the anger is racially-motivated, I believe a lot of it is about something else.

Many of these folk live in small towns that have been NAFTA and CAFTA-ized out of industries that were there for decades. I shake my head every time I pass by Avondale Mills up in Sylacauga. That mill had been a source of jobs in that community for over a hundred years before it shut its doors in 2006.

The jobs were exported and lives were devastated. The loss of a job affects people on a deeply psychological level as well as the financial stress it brings. Along with the loss of a sense of continuity, often comes anger.

I'm not saying that this is the case with all the folks at the "tea parties" and townhalls. Some of these folks have been prisoners of their own bigotry for decades, perhaps. But for a fair number of people looking for some answers to why their lives have been devastated, these public displays of frustration and anger have an appeal.

What worse is that many of the leading conservatives who were 100% in support of the policies that destroyed the aforementioned communities are now egging on the anger, for what they hope is political gain, and nothing else. They care nothing about these folk on the street yelling. Yet, they point to the policies and the person of Barack Obama, who has been in office for a little less than 8 months, as the source of ALL the country's ills and their own? Who is offering a counter to all this, besides Rachel Maddow, Keith Olberman, and Ed Schultz?

A Redeye Roundup and Recap

by: Redeye

Sun Jul 26, 2009 at 21:03:58 PM CDT

Whether you consider Sunday the beginning of the week, or the end of the week,  we can all agree this was an "eventful" week.  I want to take this opportunity to roundup and recap two of the most important issues discussed here at LiA, healthcare reform and the arrest of Prof. Henry Louis Gates. 

I Tried to Tell You.

Remember when I said the so called Blue Dogs DEMOCRATS were really repubicans?  Remember how I was accused of wanting a "perfect party" and told any DEMOCRAT is better than a republican, and that DEMOCRATS are the "big tent" party and I wanted to kick people out of the tent who didn't agree with me on the "social issues" blah, blah, blah? 

Remember how I was blasted for saying the Blue Dogs DEMOCRATS had infiltrated our party so they could pi$$ in the pool?  Remember how I was accused of "scapegoating" the DNC, the DLC and the DCCC for funding the Blue Dog DEMOCRATS at the expense of progressive DEMOCRATS?

Assume a 50-50 split among the parties, something akin to 2004. That year, George W. Bush won 255 congressional districts to Kerry's 180. Why the disparity? The Republican vote was distributed more evenly, while the Democratic vote was concentrated in urban and minority-majority districts. This is a distinct advantage that Republicans enjoy. To win the House, Democrats have had to win districts that Republican presidential candidates carry in 50-50 years. This is not inconsequential for public policy.

If President Obama's healthcare reform iniative fails it will be because of the Blue Dog DEMOCRATS, the DEMOCRATIC National Committee, The DEMOCRATIC Leadership Council, and the DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL Campaign Committee.   If these DEMOCRATIC organizations had taken our contributions and used them to fund Josh Segall, Cheryl Sabel and Vivian Figures instead of Bobby "not so" Bright and Wayne Parker Griffith,  we might be getting the public option instead of the shaft.  As my Daddy says, this is like getting shot with your own gun.

The intraparty dispute had racial overtones. One African-American Democrat, Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia, pointed out that the seven Blue Dog Democrats holding up the health care bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee were “a nondiverse group” of white men.

How's that "big tent" working for you now?

Gates recap below the fold.

Moving into the 21st Century

by: intellectualAL

Thu Jul 23, 2009 at 19:53:02 PM CDT

This is just more of a blurb than a diary.

It has finally happened! The Democrats of JSU no longer have to live in the darkness of mass communication. We finally have a website.

I invite all of my friends here at LeftinAlabama.com to join our site and help promote it.

We also will have a little news “blog” but it is limited to 1,000 words per post.

I am not one that normally asks for handouts or favors, but We in the progressive community need to take a positive stand and band together. I am not asking for donations, only participation and helping us spread our “message” whether it is community events, or campaigning.

I am sorry that this is so short, I am just so excited that we finally have a voice on the web!

Join us at www.jsudemocrats.com today!

~IntellectualAL

One Redeye Rant Leads to Another Redeye Rant

by: Redeye

Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 19:36:41 PM CDT

Before I move on to a new rant, let me tie up some lose ends from my previous WTF rant.

I wasn't asking goppers and righty's WTF was wrong with the democratic party etc., but I'm glad they responded because their answers were very insightful, and now we know exactly W, T, F, we are dealing with. So now that we know, WTF are we going to do about it?

I learned big money controls who controls the media, and high priced campaign strategist/consultants are over payed and out of touch.  Psst!  Future democratic candidates! In the future if you need some real campaign *ahem* strategerie, drop us a line here at LiA.  We'll give you honest, competent advice free of charge for the sake of our country.

Yo, Democratic party big wigs and democratic candidates!  It's perfectly ok to wallow in the mud with the rest of pigs (right ph?).  There is nothing wrong with a good roll in the mud.  To paraphrase my Daddy, find a good mud pen and jump in.  No more Mr/Ms Nice Guy or Girl.  Bring it on.  You feel me?  The media loves to cover pigs wallowing in mud. :) 

Another Redeye Rant below the fold...

Redeye's WTF Rant

by: Redeye

Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 19:36:50 PM CDT

W=Where, Why, Who, When or What.

T=The

F=The F word,  

WTF is the democratic party? 

WTF have we lost 2 special elections in a row?

WTF did we even have to have 2 special elections in the first place?

WTF was the GOTV?

WTF were the town hall meetings and rallies?

WTF were the television, radio newspapers ads?

WTF was the freaking organization?

WTF where Artur Davis and Ron Sparks?

WTF is in charge?

I tired to calm down, really I did, but I'm pi$$ed.  Before I go any further let me be perfectly clear, this rant is not directed at anyone specifically, it is directed to everyone collectively and rhetorically.

One thing I'll give the republicans credit for.  They always bring their A game and they play to win.  If they weren't anti minority, anti choice, anti gay rights, anti labor etc. they would be my kind of party.  They know how to play to PR/spin game.  They know how to excite their base.  They know how to frame the issues so they look like the good guys intead of the bad guys they really are.  Of course it doesn't hurt they have the media and the InJustice system as enablers.

WTF is wrong with the democratic party?  It's as if they don't want to win.  It's as if they are afraid to stand up and fight for what is right (no pun).  Who/WhatTF are they afraid of?  

More ranting below the fold. 

"Democrat is the New Republican"

by: Redeye

Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 19:20:11 PM CDT

Bill Maher Strikes Again!

Last week Bill Maher called out Obama for pussy-footing around in the face of an audacious onslaught from Corporate America. He made clear that the President needs to show a little audacity of his own if he hopes to beat the health care companies, the energy companies, and the legions of powerful lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill.

Well, tonight he called out Corporate America's wholly-owned human subsidiaries in the US Congress, specifically those in the Democratic Party.

Click here to watch (good part starts at about 2.00)

What the GOP needs to do to "woo minorities"

by: Redeye

Thu May 07, 2009 at 20:05:33 PM CDT

I begin the day by mocking the GOP's effort to recruit minorities.  After careful consideration and instructive dialogue I would like to apologize for my mockery and offer the Ala GOP some sincere, constructive advice .

First of all, you are correct in your assumption the Democratic Party takes the African American vote for granted and make them dependent on them.  African Americans are members of the democratic party because they feel like they have no where else to go.  Democrats count on African Americans to carry the water for them.   Quoting VIP;

 If white democrats want to get more white districts here they should start by working on their friends, neighbors, and co-workers now! Tell them to quit voting againt their own interests. Black democrats will do our part, as we always do, so don't expect us to "take one for the team".

Since we're talking about changing mentality, the Ala GOP are going to have to rid the party of what I call The Plantation Mentality.  The mentality that believes African Americans are still property, something to be owned, not someone with equal rights and priviledges.  The mentality that says "you better watch how you talk to white folks". The train of thought that African Americans need someone to "take care of them" or "tell them how to vote" as if they don't have their own minds and don't possess the intelligence to make their own decisions.  The mentality that believes African Americans are lazy, shiftless, baby making, welfare loving, bums.

If you want to know more, follow me below the fold. 

On Angst, Or, We Meet A Tea Party Protester

by: fake consultant

Fri Apr 17, 2009 at 00:17:33 AM CDT

Alabama Federation of Democratic Women Unleashes New Website

by: Makeitblue

Fri Mar 20, 2009 at 19:20:54 PM CDT

AFDW President Elaine Lynch and President-Elect Pam Wallace have been hard at work on this year's membership drive (men, included) and 2009 Legislative Day. Please check out their new website and join the AFDW cause!

You can download membership forms if you wish to support AFDW, and yearly membership dues are only $10.00. Be sure and share the AFDW site with your friends!

Alabama Federation of Democratic Women