Dems are just as smart at the Repugs ...

... which, in general, means they are amazingly dumb.

Giant Oil Spill Threatens Alternative Energy Legislation. Wait, What?

When Congress doesn't want to do something anything can be used as a reason.

Now that's a real surprise ...

Democratic Party Image at All-Time Low; 54% Now Rate Party “Unfavorable”

The biggest thanks should go to Barack Obama. He's taken lying to a Republican high for Dems.

But don't forget co-president Rahm-boy who appears to relish the most dastardly actions.

Next, we should thank Senator Reid.

And of course, Nancy Pelosi did her part.

And finally, the US Congress. Specially mention goes to the Senate. So proud. So arrogant. So corrupt. So incompetent.

The House? Well they almost did something to be proud of. But in the end they showed themselves lacking in guts.

No doubt all these actors got sufficient perks to make them forget about oaths of office, responsibility to country, integrity. Subservience to corporate will is all they need to feed their egos. Enjoy.

Good to see the numbers on Obama's deliberate failure ...

From Greenwald:

A new CNN poll today finds that Americans oppose the current health care plan by a margin of 59-39%, but a sizable portion of those opposed -- 13% -- oppose it because "it is not liberal enough" ...

Thus, a majority of Americans either support the plan or believe it should be more liberal (52%), while only a minority (43%) oppose the plan on the ground that it is too liberal.

I'm one of the 13%. I think Obama did this deliberately. He got a teensy bit of improvement in insurance coverage (maybe) at a tremendous cost to the country's citizens while working to fill the coffers of the greedy, crooked insurance and pharmaceutical industries. And he calls that a victory.

Now that's creepy.

Just like Bush, Obama works oh so hard to ensure failure ...

But not to worry, all Obama needs is a few super speeches to convince us that his failures are successes. And if he can't fool us all the time, or even some of the time, then he will make the reThugs very happy as he, with much help from the House and the Senate, takes down the Democratic party.

Fact Sheet: The Truth About the Health Care Bill

Not that taking down the Dem Party is much more a loss than the destruction of the reThug Party. Neither party intends to govern this country as a representative democracy.

Today's quotes ... on disillusionment ...

... it is both disheartening and illuminating to realize that the progressives in Congress have no true commitment to anything but putting on a show.

and

Few organizations resisted the urge to whip for the very bill they asked members of Congress to oppose last August during the fundraising drive for the public option. The entire progressive movement devolved into complete message incoherence as the unions announced their willingness to step outside of the Democratic party in order to enforce corporate deals within it. ...

and

... The thing I have learned above all else in this campaign is that the corporate control of government is much more extensive than I ever imagined, and the tools we have to fight its influence are ineffective.

and

... In the end, what we learned is that we can’t count on members of Congress in either party to do anything but play their part in “villain rotation”

What is pragmatism ...

Obama's pragmatism leads him to follow, perhaps reluctantly, in the footprints left by Bush and Cheney, and to work for Banker and Insurance Industry friendly legislation at the expense of 90% of the US population. Obama's pragmatism is tied up with 10%, or less, of the American people. He behaves as if he thinks his pied piper routine of the campaign is all that is needed for the rest of us. Obama's pragmatism leads him to ignore majorities, ignore popular support, ignore justice, ignore law, ignore constitution, ignore principle and cater to the rich, the loud, the corrupt, the greedy.

At firedoglake.com, Jane Hamsher's pragmatism is a quite the opposite:

As for FDL, we’ll continue to maintain the position we’ve held since June 23 and insist that a health care bill must actually achieve its goal of helping people, rather than the the unregulated monopolies who exploit them. That’s not being a “purist.” It’s just being pragmatic.

I'm with Jane.

Alan Grayson is my hero ...

Alan Grayson’s Four-Page Medicare Buy-In Bill Introduced

What couldn't the United States do if we had more like him ...

Is Obama going to 'scamper' again? ...

For years, Democrats have failed to grasp the fact that they are perceived as "weak" not because of any specific policies, but because they are perceived -- rightly -- to believe in nothing (or at least nothing that they claim to believe). It is hard to imagine any act that could more strongly bolster that perception than to watch Barack Obama -- yet again -- scamper away from his own claimed principles all because the GOP is saying some mean things about him.

Scamper may provide the best imagery so far for what Obama does so well.

Scamper away little mouse, and all your little mousy friends in your administration and in Congress; scamper away into safe little holes but get out of our government and out of our lives. Then maybe we can find some people of courage to help rid us of the reThugs.

Another failure by corporate-owned and character-deficient Democrats ...

Working to get Democrats a majority was an absolute waste of time and money.

Democrats have retreated from adding new privacy protections to the primary U.S counterterrorism law ...

Rockefeller, smuckafeller ...

In other words, Rockefeller was willing to be a righteous champion for the public option as long as it had no chance of passing (sadly, we just can't do it, because although it has 50 votes in favor, it doesn't have 60). But now that Democrats are strongly considering the reconciliation process -- which will allow passage with only 50 rather than 60 votes and thus enable them to enact a public option -- Rockefeller is suddenly "inclined to oppose it" because he doesn't "think the timing of it is very good" and it's "too partisan." What strange excuses for someone to make with regard to a provision that he claimed, a mere five months ago (when he knew it couldn't pass), was such a moral and policy imperative that he "would not relent" in ensuring its enactment.

Except for, maybe Grijalva, 99.9% of those who have supported the Public Option appear to have been deliberately deceiving their supporters. I wish I believed these people would get their just desserts like getting soundly trounced in an election; having their entire constituency calling up and telling them to start doing their job instead of being a paid corporate pasty; or some other miraculous intervention to turn these turds into decent people instead of public paid conmen.

"Did Obama just kill the public option?" ...

Well, why not? It was obvious that he was lying every time he sorta, maybe, perhaps supported the Public Option:

Curious

I have to agree that Marshmallow Man Obama is not as bad as Bush The Lesser, but that is so far from a compliment or recommendation that it is embarrassing.

Today's quote ...

Jon Walker, firedoglake.com: “What a strange ‘Democracy’ we live in that an idea is too popular for any to stand against yet it might bring down the whole party and health care reform because many so deeply hate their supporters.”

Words and games ...

Shades of 1937? Obama to Announce Three-Year Spending Freeze in State of the Union

Wonder what Obama will actually say in his speech ...
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I tend to think that Greenwald is right in who Obama intends to betray:

The clear fact is that, no matter how severe are our budgetary constraints, military spending and all so-called "security-related programs" are off-limits for any freezes, let alone decreases. Moreover, the modest spending freeze to be announced by Obama tomorrow is just the start; the Washington consensus has solidified and is clearly gearing up for major cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, with the dirty work to be done by an independent "deficit commission." It's time for "everyone" to sacrifice and suffer some more -- as long as "everyone" excludes our vast military industry, the permanent power factions inside the Pentagon and intelligence community, our Surveillance and National Security State, and the imperial policies of perpetual war which feed them while further draining the lifeblood out of the country.

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Isn't Obama just so smart? And destructive?

The Obama Chill: In 2012 Obama Will Run Against Democratic Congress

And mind you, I spoke of Obama’s “perceived self-interest” above, because no matter how you look at it this policy simply makes no sense. Voters in 2010 are going to be voting on their pocketbook. Voters in 2012 are going to be voting on their pocketbook. They don’t really care about deficits. Rather, they care about a working economy. And this little PR stunt will only make it harder for Obama to do what he needs to do to get the economy working again.

Just thinking ...

I don't call my House Rep's office very often and I never call my Senators' offices (Joker McCain and Killer Kyl). I have called a few other Congressional offices.

My experience is that the people on the phone do not use that contact to find anything out about my opinions (other that the short blurb I have prepared) nor usually where I reside. It really seems a waste on their part, though, perhaps, they don't care what the callers think. Which is most likely the case. A trifle shortsighted perhaps.

Obama seems to be destroying the Democratic Party ...

Perhaps that's unfair. Maybe he's just helping its decline. Anyway, Obama appears more Bush-like with each passing day. Democrats are falling left and right.

Obama in his wisdom decided to insist on legislation that works against the interests of the America public while ensuring some of the main products of his 'reign' will be designed for and by the corporations which have, apparently, bought his soul as well as the souls of the majority of our Congress, Dem and Thug alike.

I'm particularly impressed by the critical thinking skill of the press who are charged with keeping us informed about all these machinations. Great comedy is the only thing good that seems to come from the quagmire our country's ruling structure has turned into. I particularly enjoyed the following article by Jane Hamsher:

Writing About Politics Is Hard

Interesting the way some of the best reporting seems to emanate from The Daily Show. It's a weird, weird world and it only seems to get weirder ...

I wonder, when -heaven forbid- we complete the slide into absolute corporate control with the ultimate goal of absolute economic slavery, will Obama understand his role in ensuring the resulting human misery. That is, is Obama's role in this active or passive. I'm still not sure ...

But one thing I am sure about is that not being quite as bad as George W. Bush is no compliment.

And, sadly, there is no reason that a person who breaks a barrier, such as being the first black person to be elected the President of the United States, must necessarily be a person of character. But it is definitely a shame and a disappointment when such is the case.

Today's quote ...

It is important to remember that the perfect was never mentioned in this health care debate. The very good was declared impossible and did not even have a place at the table when they started planning reform last year. Even good reform was dismissed almost immediately.

The debate this entire time has been between what might be labeled “decent reform” at best, and terrible corporate giveaway labeled “reform.” This is not about making the perfect the enemy of the good. We were never even offered the “good” as a compromise.

-- Health Care Reform to Date: So Very Far From Perfect by Jon Walker, firedoglake.com

Fixing the donut hole by making it bigger before they make it smaller? ...

The Democrats and President Obama have been clear that the “doughnut hole,” as the gap is known, would disappear gradually over the next 10 years. They have not mentioned that Medicare patients would, according to House figures, face a slightly larger hole in coverage during two of the next three years than they do today.

[from: Health Care Reform: This is Getting Personal by Ann in AZ, firedoglake.com]

When I get around to it I will be switching my voter registration from Democrat to Independent.

The Republicans are evil and dangerous and the Democrats are incompetent and dangerous.

We have money ...

for war, but NOT for jobs ...

for war, but NOT for health care ...

for war, but NOT for education ...

for war, but NOT for peace ...

We have all the money you want as long as it's for war.
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Dennis J Kucinich via Crooks and Liars:

"The message is clear: We have money for war but not for jobs," said Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio). "We have money for war but not for health care. We have money for war but not for education. . . . We have money for war but not for peace."

Too put it mildly ...

... Even bigger than health care, if the entire Democratic party exists only to give Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, and Mary Landrieu sole power to design every peice of legislation, the progressive grassroots needs to reevaluate why they even vote for Democrats.

America's delusion ...

... no matter how one rationalizes continuing and escalating the war in Afghanistan, the same arguments make a more compelling case for invading and nation-building in Mexico. Which we all know is laughable. So, why is no one laughing?