Fuck the Democrats. If they can't deliver, they are of no use. If you can't see that, then you are part of the problem, and doom our nation to financial ruin, and our political process and our Democracy to failure and obscurity. And fuck Obama too. If he is going to side so strongly with the corporate elite, like he has shown so far by his actions that he will, he is of no use to the average American. He hurts us, instead of representing our interests. As the CEO of America, he has, like the CEOs of the Wall Street banks, turned his back on us, the share-holders.
I will break down my rants into digestible segments, attacking the conventional wisdom:
Give Obama a Chance, he's only had a year - No, no, no no. Don't give ANY of these office holders a "chance." Watch what they do, and assess their actions. Jesus, Obama works for US. We judge his job performance, and levy criticism, even political punishment when his job performance is not up to snuff. By all means, praise him, but make the argument based on what he has accomplished. And, a year (now 14 months, actually) is a long time in politics. There are plenty of actions to judge, and plenty (in my opinion) to criticize.
But from the Democratic Party cheer squad of liberal talk radio, I don't hear substantive arguments based on policy actions. I hear how Republicans make things tough, how he was left a mess, and how much better he is than George Bush, so don't complain.
Is Obama 100 times better than Bush? Of course - no argument. But do the fucking math. What is 100 times zero? You got it. Being better than Bush is NOT a metric that progressives, or even "centrist" Democrats should use. Bush and the Republicans drove our country off a cliff, into the abyss. Getting half way out of the abyss doesn't help. We have to get at least to the edge, so we have a chance of climbing out.
We should support Democratic candidates and representatives IF they serve our interests. Otherwise they deserve NO LOYALTY. If you owned a restaurant, would you pay an employee to work at a dry cleaners around the corner? We should support Obama if he works for us, the people. If he doesn't, we should yell and scream, just like the boss does. If he works against us, which I say he has on occasion, we should demand change, or dismissal. It's reasonable, and it is the way it is supposed to work.
Obama has shown, with his three major policy initiatives so far: the banks, health care and Afghanistan, that he serves corporate interests above the interests of the people ( just like George Bush did, by the way). He deserves the harshest criticism for these actions.
We must pass health care, even though the bill sucks, because it will insure 30 million more people - That at least is an argument with some teeth. Progressives are put into a corner. I do want universal health care, and to kill this bill may doom Americans to death by lack of insurance. And it really sucks to be put in this position by people who don't give a shit, like Joe Lieberman.
But this health care bill sucks too bad to pass. And, if progressives stand strong, they can still force the issue and win.
The conventional wisdom is that if we fail to pass the Senate version, it's game over and there is no health care reform for another generation. Bullshit. If this version is killed by progressives, the government HAS to take it up again. The current system is UNSUSTAINABLE. Even the health insurance companies know this. That is why they want this bill so badly.
This bill is a preemptive bailout of the health insurance companies. They cannot keep up with medical costs, and keep raising profits without the support of the US treasury. And this bill stupidly feeds them hundreds of billions in subsidies and mandated customers over the next decade. This bill keeps the worst part of our health care system on life support for the distant future, and the health care companies LOVE it. And, they are doomed without it.
Progressives could hold the bill, and the 30 million uninsured (notice how nobody mentions the other 15 million Americans who STILL won't be insured?) hostage for a Medicare buy in. Also, for the end of the anti-trust exemption. It is still there for the taking.
There will be no going back to fix health care for another generation - This may be true. And, it pisses me off to no end! The argument is that this political battle was soooo bloody and hard-fought, that no politicians will have the stomach for it again.
Mother fuckers! You all get paid Senator and House of Rep money, along with perks and benefits. Talk to the returning Afghanistan vet about getting bloody doing your job. Talk to cops, or firemen, or school teachers about hard-fought days at work in public service with limited resources. Talk to the uninsured about how you don't have the stomach for another round.
Really? You wouldn't put up a new bill next month to fix the holes, and finish insuring Americans because it would be a hard job? Then you are all worthless bitches who deserve to be voted out of office.
Now, this is the meme of the press, mainly. But they just put it out there, and let it go. They act like this is conventional wisdom, and that it should not be challenged. Of course they won't fight the tough fight again, because...because they are afraid of not getting reelected.
But that is just the kind of cowardly asshole that we SHOULDN'T reelect.
Oh my god, the Democratic Party is a circular firing squad - This is a bad analogy. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of shooting, and it is not helping the "Party." But it is not a circle.
There are progressives on the left that are fighting, and shooting at the right. They are trying to fight hard against the far right policies left over from the Republicans. They are shooting to the right. The problem is that there are a hell of a lot of Democrats in the way. And most of them are in "duck and cover" mode.
But the only solution I hear is for progressives to unilaterally disarm. Then, the only shooting is coming from the Republican party, and we all just get mowed down. How about, at least once and a while, the Democrats in the middle pick up a rifle and join in the good fight.
But I guess that is out of the question when you are a DLC corporate whore.
No, the only Democratic circle I see is not a firing squad, but a corporate circle-jerk, with the Democratic leadership in the middle and corporate lobbyists spraying them with the pearl necklace of campaign contributions. They are all in the middle, elbowing with the Republicans for their share of the golden shower. It is a disgusting image, but one I can't avoid when I listen to the radio any more.
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