They Act As If No One Is Responsible!
It’s hilarious to hear Ken Mehlman lament “the Bush-era culture of ferocity” when he has spent the last six years ushering it in and giving it a comfortable home. Republicans in DC, led by Mehlman, were happy to abuse their power, ignore their responsibilities, shut out the Democrats and turn our government into nothing more than a Republican haven for gluttony when they controlled all of the levers of power, so it’s a little convenient that they’d like to change the tone now! But it’s also typical, as is the Democrats’ tendency toward accommodating the request.
I understand that governing efficiently and fairly requires thought, consideration, debate and compromise, but God damn it, I’m still pissed at the GOP for what they have done to (and what they haven’t done for) this country, and like the Dixie Chicks, I’m not ready to make nice. Especially when the Republicans on the Hill whine about divisiveness at the same time they continue to block any meaningful legislation that will accomplish what the majority of this country wants (and what they know is right), an end to this war.
The Republicans were willing to steamroll the Democrats in their quest to erode our freedoms, strip us of habeas corpus, legalize torture, condone illegal domestic surveillance and other atrocious legislation, so I think it’s high time the Democrats did a little steamrolling in the other direction. The people disagreed with what the Republicans were doing yet they still got the job done. The Democrats, by contrast, have the support of the American people, I can’t think of a better time to run roughshod over the minority Party. Payback shouldn’t be the motivating factor, but it sure would be a nice bonus considering that the Republicans are only playing obstructionists to save their own political butts and to keep their lying, cheating, freedom hating, moronic President from destroying their Party for generations. There’s nothing noble in that.
So go ahead Democrats, kick a little dirt in those GOP faces, they certainly deserve it, but more importantly, it will help accomplish the most important item on the agenda, getting our troops out of the crossfire of the Iraqi civil war and bringing them home.
posted by The (liberal)Girl Next Door @ 9:20 AM
20 Comments:
And, remember this classic?
RNC Chief to Say It Was 'Wrong' to Exploit Racial Conflict for Votes
By Mike Allen
Thursday, July 14, 2005; Page A04
It was called "the southern strategy," started under Richard M. Nixon in 1968, and described Republican efforts to use race as a wedge issue -- on matters such as desegregation and busing -- to appeal to white southern voters.
Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, this morning will tell the NAACP national convention in Milwaukee that it was "wrong."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/13/AR2005071302342.html
What can you expect from a Party rife with amoral apparatchiks who are incapable of discerning the truth from what is simply useful?
drm, please come out and play with us on this one!
LGND - If the DEMS actually took the attitude your are promoting here, I may actually think they can make a difference. Inevitably, it will their "tendency to accomodate" that will make me lose hope once again that they actually stand for something (instead of their wallets).
Establishment politics have always been this way. Going back to the Founding of the Republic. And before.
When wealth is at stake, the Establishment will fight to keep the status quo.
What needs to be shown is that these clowns don't care about religion or family or supporting the troops or future generations. They only care about profit margins.
These guys are weasels and jerks. They took power because the public often picks weasels and jerks when times are good. What can go wrong?
The Climate Crisis will require a sustainable retreat in the economy. That's why the Establishment opposes it. It means a planned economy. And that will mean an end to their looting.
Let's get real. What America needs is a BBC. It needs to breakup the monopolies of newspapers, TV networks, and radio stations. It needs to let The People speak.
John Gibson has recently gone on rant about Obama's father. He quoted from the UK Daily Mail. (What's with this new trend of 'reporting' what scadal sheets have said.) Well, the Daily Mail is perhaps the most rightwing newspaper in Britain. It supported Hitler during the 1930s and serialized the Protocols of Zion, for that it was nicknamed the Daily Heil. It's commonly called The Daily Hate as that's what its founder promised to provide the public. Hardly a reputable source. But I guess the Washington Times needed a rest.
Dale--I kind of hope your taunting works!
Anonymous--Believe me, I'm with you on this one, I have no love for the Democratic Party, I just loathe them less. It doesn't take much to be a hero in the Senate, which is why it is just so sad that we have only one in Russ Feingold.
David--I think they have already exposed that they don't care about religion or family or the troops, but the more frightening thing to me is that the Evangelical voting block has shown that they don't care about those things either by showing their support for Rudy Giuliani! Rudy is perhaps the only man (besides Dick Cheney) that, given the chance, will do even greater harm to this country than Bush has. I just hope the American people are not dumb enough to elect one thug President after another. If we do, we deserve what we get.
Good point about Rudy Giuliani. I've seen a rising level of optimism about his chances among non-evangelical righ-wingers. But I don't think he'll be able to hold the base, and therefore, he won't get on the ticket. The picture of him in drag alone may doom him in the South. I hope that's the case, anyway.
What we need is a "Draft Jeb Bush" movement.
Rudy looks better than McCain, but that's because McCain has become pathetic in his pandering. But Rudy's past is against him. He's got too much baggage and he'll not survive scrutiny.
My impression is that all the Republicans running are losers and that it's way too early to tell who will win. The Dems on the other hand all look like winners.
"The Dems on the other hand all look like winners. " ha ha ha ha ha... You have got to be kidding?
John "2 Americas" Edwards living in his 20-30000 sq foot mansion on clear cut forest land.. Which wing of his palace does the other America live in?
Barac "Empty Suit" Obama? Has he said anything that resembles serious policy statements? I think not
Shrillary Clinotn?? Let's see, we have been told for 6 years that Bush is a divider, we are too polarized and you want the most divisive, cold, shrill person in the Senate to lead the country?
Al "The Sasquatch of Carbon foot print" Gore? Don't mind my 20 times average power consumption, I purchase "carbon offsets" from the company I am part owner and chairman of. Noting like paying yourself to justify your massive carbon foot print...
Joe "I love to hear myself talk" Biden? You have got to be kidding... New reality show, let Biden debate himself, he wouldn't shut up for the entire hour.
Has any of the Dem candidates actually accomplished anything besides being a Senator? Oh yeah, Hillary married some guy that took her to the top... I can see her slogan now, "Vote for me, I am married to Bill" or "Just close your eyes and think you are voting for the other Clinton".
The thing that separates Romney and Guiliani from the Dems is one word, "accomplishments".
drm, very funny one-liners. Of course they're just jokes and one can easily do the same to the so-called accomplishments of Rudy & Mitt.
drm`
I suppose as a liberal I should be encouraged by the
seriousness with which the only presidential candidate in history known to appear in drag is being treated!
I'm guessing it won't play so well in wingnutistan. Nor will his 'stealth moderate' positions.
I imagine that you were in full 'kool-aid mode when Kerry was hammered for flip flopping.
What kind of mental gymnastics do you have to engage in to overlook Romney's 'Olympic' quality 'floor program'?!
Also, what kind of judgement do you need to "oh yeah" introduce a piece of trash like Ann Coulter and then not repudiate her homophobic shot at Edwards?
"Empty Suit"?? Of course comparing Dubya to an empty suit would be VERY unfair.......to empty suits.
YouTube - Rudy Giuliani in Drag Smooching Donald TrumpRudy Giuliani in Drag Smooching Donald Trump ... Yes, it's former NYC mayor Rody Giuliani in drag having his "breasts" shamelessly violated by "Apprentice" ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IrE6FMpai8 - 91k - Mar 1, 2007
So, I see the MSM is busy being revolted by comments left on liberal/progessive blogs in the wake of the suicide bomber attack on Cheney.
The blogosphere has hit back --quite rightly-- that taking an odd selection of comments is completely misleading.
Afterall, each blog is like an op-ed piece or more like a columnist's observation. The comments are akin to Letters to the Editor.
That said, Mitt Romney's time as Governor of Mass. was completely forgettable. Rudy wasn't much liked by New Yorkers in the weeks prior to 9/11. He was distant, corrupt, and a reckless adulterer.
Now, most of drm's jokes about the Dems were rather tepid. They really only played to the home team. I'm more amused by how Hillary annoys Republicans just by existing. And Obama scares them just by being everything Sidney Poitier's character was in *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner*. And the best the Right can come up with when talking about Edwards is to lamely call him a faggot. And one wonders why The Half Hour News Hour bombed so badly. Sorry, Republicans have no sense of humour.
drm~
"Bush Administration push for privatization may have helped create Walter Reed 'disaster' "
Let's see, no sense of responsibility, no sense of humor and no common sense or sense of decency.
Yet another example of Republican ideology trumping competence.
Face it drm, all your blathering about the alleged deficiencies of Dem presidential candidates can't obscure he fact that this Republican party can't govern.
Tell you what. Instead of worrying about the rules of civility in a college debate, why don't you drop into a VA hospital and explain your moronic obsession with tax cuts, and support for privatization, to the beneficiaries of your idiotology?
A five-year, $120 million contract awarded to a firm run by a former executive from Halliburton – a multi-national corporation where Vice President Dick Cheney once served as CEO – will be probed at a Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs hearing scheduled for Monday.
"We have learned that in January 2006, Walter Reed awarded a five-year $120 million contract to a company called IAP Worldwide Services for base operations support services, including facilities management," Waxman continues. "IAP is one of the companies that experienced problems delivering ice during the response to Hurricane Katrina."
Waxman notes that IAP "is led by Al Neffgen, a former senior Halliburton official who testified before our Committee in July 2004 in defense of Halliburton's exorbitant charges for fuel delivery and troop support in Iraq."
Before the contract, over 300 federal employees provided facilities management services at Walter Reed, according to the memorandum, but that number dropped to less than 60 the day before IAP took over.
"Yet instead of hiring additional personnel, IAP apparently replaced the remaining 60 federal employees with only 50 IAP personnel," Waxman writes."
http://www.rawstory.com//printstory.php?story=5197
david,
Ask anyone how New York City compares pre and post Rudy Giuliani. He did a tremendous job revitalizing the city and transforming it to what it is today. That is a HUGE accomplishment.
Romney has a long business success record, he was appointed to take over the management of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and turned it completely around into a huge success. As governor of Mass. he accomplished many things, including a health coverage plan for all residents. Those are all huge accomplishments.
Again I ask, what has Shrillary, Barack or the Brek Girl accomplished? Getting elected senator is nice but to me is meaningless.
The reason there hardly ever is a Senator that becomes president is because they are not leaders. I would put my faith in a Governor any day because they actually have experience at being Executives. A person with Executive branch experience and/or with CEO business experience is in my mind much more qualified than a Senator, who is nothing more than a 1 in a 100 blowhard with a huge ego.
Senators very rarely accomplish anything, have no Executive/Leadership experience and thus are not suited for President.
Again, what have any of these Senators accomplished or when have they shown they have what it takes to be an Executive?
Once again Shrillary showed today that she needs her man to get anything done. She has to bring in her man in an attempt to give her credibility with the blacks in Alabama. I am sure all the feminists just love that. Once again she has proven her slogan, "Vote for me, I am married to Bill" or "Close your eyes and think you are voting for the other Clinton".
In my opinion, Bill Richardson is the strongest Presidential candidate for the Dems. He have governorship experience, which is a huge plus. He has shown he can run things.
drm~
"I would put my faith in a Governor any day because they actually have experience at being Executives. A person with Executive branch experience and/or with CEO business experience is in my mind much more qualified than a Senator, who is nothing more than a 1 in a 100 blowhard with a huge ego."
How Republican of you. Do you really want to go down a list of specifics delineating how Dubya blows your autocratic theory of governance out of the freakin' water?
Something tells me that if either George Macaca Boy Allen or Ricky Man on Dog Sex Santorum had retained their SENATORIAL seats, and either decided to run, you'd be doing a 'Romney Flip' on senatorial suitability.
Anyway, no one is interested in your Unitary Executive theory of government.
We've seen what the 'faith' of people like you has done to this Country. No mas. Time for reality and reason.
Try thinking your arguments through before posting them.
The inconsistencies are laughable!
Dale,
you need to lighten up. Wasn't the Rudy in Drag an SNL skit? I saw it and thought it was quite funny. So how is that relevant? It shows Rudy's got a sense of humor. The way I see Romney is he has grown into a more pro life position, just like many do.
As many in the pro-life movement say is they are trying to change the hearts and minds of people so when a politician actually moves closer to the pro-life position why would we find that troubling? That is what we are trying to accomplish.
Say what you want about GW but he is the only one with a Harvard MBA, he lead a baseball team and was a Governor for 2 terms, meaning he was in the Executive branch. Obama is nothing more than a legislator with no practical leadership experience. As I said, Gov Richardson is the most formidible candidate the Dems have.
Dale,
Why do you think I am not supporting McCain? One of the big reasons is he is a Senator. I would not have voted for Allen or Santorum in the primary but of course would have supported them if they would have won the nomination.
Of course the VA hospital conditions are a concern. For what I understand money was appropriated but those in charge did not spend it properly and 3 people have been canned. 2 generals in charge of the Hospital and the Secretary of the Army. It is too early to tell but I believe Sec Def Gates took appropriate action and those responsible for the situation have been sacked.
After all the pot shots at me.... sidebar... it is funny how most posts here hardly ever post in support of the Dems. I am still waiting for someone to define what the gaggle of Senators running for the Dem nomination have actually accomplished.
Shrillary does a good job using Bill as the reason she should be voted for. Boy, the feminists sure must be proud. She rides the coat tails of her man quite wel..
drm~
I DO think it's funny. The implication I made was that your red state wingnuts might not find the skits, together with Rudy's pro-choice, anti-gun, pro civil union for gays stances, particularly amusing.
Citing Dubya's, ahem, 'credentials, while overlooking as stunning a record of executive incompetence
as we're likely to see in our lifetimes is also......funny! The Texas governorship is widely known to be one of the weakest among the 50. Really think he 'general managed' the Rangers? Please.
As for Romney's 'conversion' on embryonic stem cell research to Right to Life, would you really
accord what you must admit is a benefit of the doubt to a Dem politician who made a similar, timely conversion in the other direction?
"I would not have voted for Allen or Santorum in the primary but of course would have supported them if they would have won the nomination."
So, a nomination of either of two of the biggest nitwits, among a constellation of Repug nitwits, would obviate your
'executive experience' litmus tests for the Presidency? There you go again, exhibiting that wingnutistanian fuzzy logic!
I too applaud Sec Gate's quick action on the VA scandal. Think a pre election results Rummy would've been so decisive?
I take it you don't believe the reference to the privatization of the out patient services to the same lame asses involved in some
of the Katrina screw ups. I'll look forward to your 'somersaults' as this matter unfolds!
"New Yorkers got a chuckle when their mayor dressed up in women's clothes for comic skits at press club dinners and on Saturday Night Live, even having Donald Trump bury his face into the fake breasts in one video still playing on "You Tube. But some conservatives who are already suspicious of Giuliani's liberal social stances fail to see the humor - calling it downright undignified for a would-be commander in chief. Still, South Carolina Republican chairman Katon Dawson can already picture the 30-second ad showing Giuliani in a dress, with funny music, a lighthearted narration - and a message that leaves social conservatives in his state wondering what Giuliani was up to. "It'll be up to the mayor to explain it," said Dawson of what is expected to be a bruising first- in-the-South primary. "If you don't define yourself, you can bet someone else will."
Tell me true now. Are your wingut friends REALLY funny?! I don't mean to us liberals, but among yourselves.
Aside from Dennis Miller losing his nerve, who ARE the conservative comics?
Why Aren't Conservatives Funny?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mcquaid/why-arent-conservatives-_b_41256.html
"One answer is that a sense of grievance underlies much of the conservative media. Limbaugh, Fox News and many in the right-wing punditocracy trade on the sense of being excluded and demeaned by elites, who are thus deemed to deserve nothing but scorn and mockery. So their attempts at humor - at least, the ones that get broadcast - tend to be pretty blunt and obvious, sometimes mean-spirited. That is, not funny. Dennis Miller seemed to lose it when he put himself in the Bush camp and started announcing his fervent desire to blow our enemies up. Ha ha!
So how is it liberals - at least some of them - are funny? The idea that there must be a "liberal humor" vs. "conservative humor" smackdown is the same false dichotomy you find comparing "Doonesbury"and "Mallard Fillmore." "Liberal" may be a degraded term in the political sphere, but In America today "liberal" is a broader, more protean category than "conservative." Jon Stewart is a liberal, but neither he nor the Daily Show view things purely through a left-wing prism. Their goal isn't the care and feeding of a single, narrow political constituency. Thank God."
drm, you are so silly. Fifteen senators have become president; that's over a third of the occupants of the highest office. And that included Truman, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Monroe, and Jackson.
I hardly thinking GWB's Harvard MBA counts for much. Now, Obama's Harvard Law degree --wow! Obama wasn't simply there to pick up the piece of paper, he actually made his mark at Harvard --as a leader!
GWB did not "lead" a baseball team. What a laugh! He invested in one and sat in the owners' box and that's about all. And any Republican concerned about taxes, private property, big government, and public subsidies to sports teams would do well to review what Bush & Company did with their team's ballpark. It's enough to make a libertarian scream!
As for being governor, I think you need a few friends in Texas because Bush only served one and a half terms. And the Governor of Texas is a constitutionally "weak" executive officer. Most of the cabinet offices are elected too. If that's the model Bush has been using in the White House, I'd be very afraid. No wonder this is the president to spend more time on vacation than any other president in history --during war time or peace time.
Bush Said`
Nice job explicating some of the points I tried to raise with drm. By now the "silly one's" propeller a top his beanie is spinning as furiously as a helicopter blade. If he doesn't undo the chin strap he'll surely lift off!
The attempt by drm to fabricate Dubya's credentials out of whole cloth has failed miserably. If the chimp had distinguished himself in either the academic, corporate or governmental spheres we would certainly know that by now. Instead we have ample evidence of exactly the opposite.
Yale football player Calvin Hill, while registering for a course, seeing that Dubya was registering for the same course, yelled out to his teammates in line with him: "Georgie in this one too. This is the class for us!"
Here's a link ot a story about Obama's stint at Harvard Law.
President of a Review consisting of 80 editors among a class of fifteenfreakinghundered!
"At Harvard Law, a unifying voice
Classmates recall Obama as even-handed leader"
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/
To paraphrase professor Kingsfield from "The Paper Chase":
"drm, I suggest you turn on your cell phone and call all of your wingnut friends. Tell them that there is serious doubt concerning your ability to muster the facts, let alone the critical thinking skills and objectivity necessary to hold your own on The LGN blog.
Your head is filled with MUSH!"
you guys are really stretching it if the only accomplishment you can point to is something Obama did while in Law School.
Once again, Shrillary pulled the "I'm Bill's wife" card by riding into Selma Alabama on Bill's coattails.
Women, you cannot like the fact that anytime Shrillary is in trouble what does she do? Calls in her man. It is pathetic.
Also, what is up with Shrillary and Obama resorted to ebonic speak when speaking from the pulpit in black churches? Can someone please tell me what "befo" is? As when Obama said, "I've been in Selma befo". So much for being articulate. And I think we can all agree Shrillary's speech was a DISASTOR.
What is this, politics from the pulpit? I thought you left wing crazies despised mixing church and state...
So after all these posts we find the only accomplishments of the Dem candidates are:
1. I am married to Bill
2. I was a leader at Harvard
Pretty impressive
drm~
So after all these posts we're nitpicking DEM candidate qualifications? i understand your need to change the subject(s), but you're not very convincing!
No matter what you post you're left with the sad, pathetic and tragic record of a total incompetent.
From Jonathan Martin:
http://www.politico.com:80/blogs/jonathanmartin/0307/Scooter.html
"Let’s say you’re a Reagan Democrat. Let’s say you pulled the lever for Bush in 2004, even though you had some worries about Iraq, because you just weren’t comfortable with the thought of John Kerry leading the country on a war on terror. Since then you have seen:
Harriet Miers, a woman who was a perfectly nice White House counsel nominated to the highest court in the land, leapfrogging slews of well-regarded federal judges, each with considerable support in the conservative base.
Katrina. Yes, the media reporting was wildly inaccurate and sensationalistic, but the overall image of the president and his administration was out-of-touch, disconnected from events, slow to react, etc. We're seeing massive amounts of money misspent in the reconstruction, as well as endless complaints that the city isn't being rebuilt fast enough.
Iraq, and an increasing sense that the only folks who really want a stable, democratic, pluralistic state and who are willing to fight for it in Iraq are the Americans. The Sunni, Shia, and Kurds all seem to be putting their factional interest above any sense of national unity, and don’t seem interested in building anything greater than a tribal spoil system. The Brits and the rest of the coalition are increasingly saying, “okay, we’re done, we’ve done all we can do.” There is a growing sense that with no WMDs and the ties to terrorists hotly disputed, the purpose of the mission is a sort of Wilsonian nation-building that the country clearly didn’t believe it was signing on for in 2003.
A 2006 election debacle, in which Republicans were largely wiped from office from the entire northeast and slammed in places like Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
A report of horrific conditions in veterans’ care, one more sledgehammer’s blow to the belief that the Republican Party, with all its ties to business, are natural managers and administrators…
And now, the Vice President’s chief of staff convicted.
Let me also offer that there’s a housing bubble about to burst (not necessarily the president’s fault, but he certainly hasn’t taken actions to mitigate that inflating bubble, much less talk about it much), and the reverberating economic effects of that...
Even if you like this president, even if you’re pulling for him, even if you think his heart is in the right place… is there any way this presidency doesn't look pretty disastrous at this moment?
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