Tag: bipartisanship

Unmasking Barney Frank

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Writing for naked capitalism Matt Stoller sheds some light on the myth of retiring Massachusetts Rep. Barney Franks’s true politics, and it’s not as liberal as you would think. Despite the press touting Mr. Frank as a “top” and “passionate” liberal in reality, Mr. Stoller points out, that in reality he has been a career Reaganite

The career of Barney Frank casts a large shadow upon the Democratic approach to financial matters, as he perfectly epitomizes how they behaved throughout this time period.  Frank was elected in 1981, as a quintessential Reagan-era Democrat.  He is frequently misunderstood, and cast as a liberal.  In another era, he would have been such.  But he was first and foremost interested in cutting deals, and to that end, his ideology ended up as that of a Reagan-lite.  It’s unfortunate, because by the time he had real power in 2008, he had no firm basis upon which to make decisions for the broad public, and ended up consolidating wealth into the hands of a smaller and smaller number of people. [..]

He’s a bank-friendly Democrat who is believes in neoliberal ideas, but wants to ensure that there is some housing for the poor.  Let’s take this comment, which cuts to the core of how Frank sees the economy.

   “These days in developed countries, everybody says you need a private sector to create wealth, you need a public sector to create rules by which wealth is created. Sensible people understand that.”

This is absurd.  The government creates enormous amounts of wealth, from the telecommunications industry to the computer to the internet, to infrastructure like the national highway system.  If you’re driving across any number of bridges or traveling over airports, that’s wealth.  That’s value.  And it’s government-created.  The Reconstruction Finance Corporation lent out a total of $55 billion in the 1930s and 1940s, it was a government-bank that financed infrastructure all over the country.  Liberals govern like wealth can be created in both the public and private sector, and destroyed in both areas as well.  Neoliberals like Frank put their faith in the private sector.

Nor is Barney a friend to activists as Matt sites this statement that was made just recently about the Gay Pride movement:

    And I believe very strongly people on the left are too prone to do things that are emotionally satisfying and not politically useful. I have a rule, and it’s true of Occupy, it’s true of the gay-rights movement: If you care deeply about a cause, and you are engaged in an activity on behalf of that cause that is great fun and makes you feel good and warm and enthusiastic, you’re probably not helping, because you’re out there with your friends and political work is much tougher and harder. I’m going to write about the history of the LGBT movement, partly to make the point that, in America at least, it’s the way you do progressive causes….

   Pride Weekend was very important early on, because people didn’t know who we were, the hiddenness was a problem. Today, Pride has no political role. It’s a fun thing for people.

Wow! If it weren’t for the activists of OWS and Gay Pride there would be no change in public attitude about LGBT rights and no turn in conversation about the corruption of Wall St. and the causes for the income disparity that is holding back the economic recovery from the Great Recession.

Like President Obama, Barney Frank likes bipartisanship and compromise. The problem with that is it has been the downfall of the Democratic Party and widening of income disparity for the 99%. It well past time Barney Frank retired. Let the voters of Massachusetts replace him with a representative that will stand for the principles of the Democratic Party, the majority of Americans and not the banks and Wall St.

Happy retirement, Mr. Frank, and congratulations on your up coming nuptials which might not be happening if it weren’t for the Gay Pride movement.

Why Don’t You Two Get A Room?

I’ve been watching these two flirting while pretending not to flirt since about 2002. The elephant would watch the donkey all the time, and the donkey would watch back, while they pretended to hate each others’ guts. The donkey would pretend not to give a shit — not speaking to him, not returning his calls, but the whole time she’d look for excuses to be around while the elephant was in the room. It got to be pretty annoying after a while — the donkey would be flirting her ass off, and the whole time saying it was nothing, just a little bipartisanship, all in a spirit of compromise.

It only got worse after 2004 — the donkey practically throwing herself at the elephant, while acting all coy, like she didn’t even care, the elephant behaving like a cold bastard toward her, while anybody with half a brain in their head knew he really wanted to fuck her brains out.

The goddamn’ donkey got even worse around 2008 or so — smarmy coy looks, suggestive touching, soppy goo-goo eyes, all the time insisting there was nothing to it. Finally, about the time of the health care vote, she was all but falling all over the elephant, and it became insufferable. It was all I could do to keep from yelling “for crissakes, why don’t you two just get a room, already?”

Hat tip to political cartoonist Mike Flugennock for posting this at Corrente as well as at his own site.

Obama’s Power to Produce Progressive Legislation May Increase Dramatically Tuesday

It now appears that in all likelihood republicans will win a congressional majority this coming Tuesday. Nate Silver’s projections of Friday October 29…

…found Republicans gaining an average of 53 seats, which would bring them to 232 total. Democrats are given a 16 percent chance of holding the House, down slightly from 17 percent on Wednesday.

Increasingly, there seems to be something of a consensus among various forecasting methods around a projected Republican figure somewhere in the 50-60 seat range.

Several of the expert forecasters that FiveThirtyEight’s model uses, like the Cook Political Report, the Rothenberg Political Report, and Larry Sabato, have stated that they expect the Republicans’ overall total to fall roughly in this range. A straw poll of political insiders for Hotline on Call found an average expectation of a 50-seat gain. And some political science models have been forecasting gains somewhere in this range for some time.

The forecast also seems consistent with the average of generic ballot polling. Our model projects that Republicans will win the average Congressional district by between 3 and 4 points.

The modeling also suggests that there is a 90% chance that after Tuesday Democrats will control at least 50 seats in the Senate, but that there is a 0% chance that Democrats will control at least 60 seats.

It’s not looking good by any stretch of the imagination.  

Rethink Afghanistan or Rethink 2012, Mr. Obama

From GritTV and Brave New Films, July 27th, 2010

With the release of the WikiLeaks “War Logs,” more focus has been brought to the war in Afghanistan. But will anything change?  Our friends at Brave New Films have been following the war there for years, urging Americans to learn more about the situation and what’s being done in our names and with our tax dollars.

The war in Afghanistan has been spilling over into Pakistan practically since the beginning, and we bring you this selection from Brave New Films to look into this little-reported aspect of the conflict.

Bipartisan Joe Is Thankful



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An Independent Senator From a Northeast State Expresses Joy at the news that the Democratic President and Party is less Popular in the Polls Because The Independents Who Voted For Him….  Don’t Feel “Cared About.”

The Hill, April 14, 2010

Minutes 9 thru 11:15 on video

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-…


“There were a lot of people, particularly Democrats, who were declaring after the 2008 election that we were beginning a period of Democratic dominance that would go on for decades,” Lieberman said during an interview with the conservative Newsmax magazine.

“Now, all of a sudden, the momentum is with the Republicans. And that’s –  thank God –  that’s the way people have spoken, you know? That’s our democracy.”

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Q. The Obama administration is saying to the world, If you attack us with biological or chemical weapons, we will not attack you with nuclear weapons first if you don’t have them. What does that say to our enemies who might want to wipe us out ?


Appropriate ambiguity up to now….    We reserve the right to use nuclear weapons …. if the attack was bad enough.

I prefer that ambiguity.  I don’t support the change the Obama administration has made.  Like swiss cheese, full of holes.  There are plenty of reasons the US could find a reason to respond.

Bottom line,  I want any nation thinking of doing anything as extreme as to attack America  to fear we would respond with a nuclear attack.  I hope we never get to that point.  I want our enemies to be uncertain and afraid.  

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Q. Should President Obama have dropped the term “Islamic Extremism ?” What do you make of that ?

I don’t like that change.  I don’t understand it.  I think it’s fundamentally dishonest.  I don’t think it gains anything I think it loses us some support in the Muslim world.  The fact is, we’re not in a war with some nebulous group of violent extremists, ah

we not in a war with environmental extremists,  white supremist extremists,  we’re in a war with Violent Islamist Extremists and Terrorists.

the people who attacked us on 9 – 11 were not just violent and extreme,  they were motivated by an ideology of Islamic extremism,  which took the religion of Islam and essentially transformed it into a radical political ideology.

(video minute 4)

and if we don’t call it what it is, first up, we are violating the first rule of war for thousands of years:  Know Your Enemy.

Secondly, how do you defeat your enemy unless you describe what it is , and 3rd, in many ways it is an ideological conflict between one set of values and this violent Islamic extremist ideology.  Most people in the Muslim world reject this, but if we don’t say there’s a difference, between most Muslims in the world, and the violent Muslim extremists and terrorists,  we disrespect most Muslims, and I don’t think we gain any favors from that .  I think that our enemies …  must be laughing at the word game, and our friends can’t be encouraged by it.

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Time to use military force in Iran?


time to have plans ….. when we say it’s unacceptable for Iran to go nuclear.  

next step is tough sanctions… to hurt.   …. last chance before using force.  This is a turning point in history. If we allow Iran to go nuclear the world becomes unsafe for everybody ….  all the work, it’s over. The chance of peace between Israel and Palestinians is over.    

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Oh, and the former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin?

You underestimate her at your peril, says the Independent Senator.


“Everybody should listen.”

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http://www.mercurynews.com/top…

4/13/2010  Contra Costa Times

Palin’s speaker’s contract found in dumpster with other shredded documents at Cal State, Senator Yee had sought them in public disclosure request


” In addition to the bendable straw and Learjet that Palin required, the contract also stipulated that she be picked up at the airport by SUV or black towncar; that her name be registered at (an upscale) hotel under an alias; that autographs not be allowed; that all photographs be taken by a professional photographer; and that personal cameras, cell-phone cameras and any other recording devices are to be turned off wherever she is.

…. A representative of WSB (Washington Speakers Bureau) or the Speaker”s party will open the water at an appropriate time….   ”

“It is truly shocking and a gross violation of the public trust that such documents would be thrown away and destroyed during a pending investigation.”

The students, Alicia Lewis and Ashli Briggs, submitted the documents to the attorney general”s office Tuesday to buttress an investigation already underway into whether Cal State Stanislaus violated the California Public Records Act.

“The linkage is absolutely intertwined,” he (Yee) said. “It”s like having a fundraising operation in my Capitol office.”

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Sarah Palin Raises Over 12 Million Dollars Over 9 Months Since Leaving Office Last July- Whoopie !  

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seat…   Seattle PI  4/13/2010


It was at the logging conference that Palin denounced as “a bunch of snake oil science” scientists’ studies linking climate change to emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. She also denounced California’s Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has taken efforts to curb emissions.

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“Since we all wear clothes …. and women wear most of them, I thought I could use my love of fine apparel to promote a fashion line which real Americans would find uplifting, something that would strengthen America’s foundations. ”  

– Sarah Palin, April 2010, source, Huffington Post  

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what the handlers must be thinking:

Thanks, Joe, for the referral !  Those kids didn’t need cheaper college tuition anyway.  

Still No Dawn Johnsen In Recess Appointments

President Obama is going to make 15 recess appointments during Easter break, but one name is still missing:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-…

Dawn E. Johnsen, the current nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Dept. of Justice.

While President – elect, Obama said he intended to nominate Johnson, currently a law professor and a former ACLU attorney, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General from ’93 to ’96 under President Clinton, and former Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Council from ’97 to ’98.

The Week in Editorial Cartoons: Let ’em Choke On It

Crossposted at Daily Kos

THE WEEK IN EDITORIAL CARTOONS

This weekly diary takes a look at the past week’s important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.

When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?

2. Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?

3. Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?

The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist’s message.

:: ::



Chris Britt, Comics.com, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register

A Long Day’s Journey Into Night

The historic Conclave at Blair Castle has finally ended, the illustrious personages in attendance have shared their wisdom with us, and I have humbly transcribed their words, so serfs everywhere will be able to sleep well tonight knowing that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well . . .    

The Week in Editorial Cartoons – Al Gore vs the Denialists

Crossposted at Daily Kos.  If you choose to recommend it there, the Rec Button may have been pushed to the bottom after the last diary comment made.

THE WEEK IN EDITORIAL CARTOONS

This weekly diary takes a look at the past week’s important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.

When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?

2. Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?

3. Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?

The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist’s message.

:: ::



Chris Britt, see reader comments in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

DiFi Does a Pombo on Salmon, Jobs Bill Amend Guts EndSpecAct

Dianne Feinstein is doing a Pombo on the Endangered Species Act, with an Amendment to gut it in an upcoming Democratic “Bipartisanship Enhanced” jobs bill.  

Like Salmon ?  Too bad !  McClintock’s in on it, too.

Hey, this even makes the Kansas City Star.  Everything’s up to date in Kansas City.   Dead silence at a certain other “Democratic” blog.

http://www.kansascity.com/400/…      Feinstein plan would loosen Endangered Species Act to pump more water    2/11/2010

Yes, our northern CA based Sen. DiFi thinks Billionaire Business Water Brokers in Kern County of Southern CA Who Donate To Her Campaign Are More Important Than Salmon.  So Does Tom McClintock.  

She intends to put an amendment that says we can ignore the Endangered Species Act, onto the upcoming jobs bill to let more water be pumped out of the Sacramento- San Joaquin Delta.   Why does this matter ?  Because at certain times of the year, the nursery fish need the water to swim and feed in.   And the West Coast salmon runs are at the brink of going away. Forever.


{{{  “This came as a bit of a shock that she did this,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif.

He represents California’s North Coast, which has been hurt by two years of bans on commercial salmon fishing stemming from collapsing salmon stocks.

“If this were to go through, it would have a devastating impact on Northern California and other jobs and other economies in the state,” Thompson said.  }}}

 

Where the hell have you been, Blue Dog Rep. Thompson ?   Didn’t you notice the real reason so many people up here in northern CA 04  DIDN’T WANT Carpetbagging Tom MCCLINTOCK of Southern CA pimping for these Southern CAL business sharks to take water out of Norcal and kill off our agriculture and wildlife ?    He’s running the exact same playbook that former Republican Rep. John Doolittle ran with Dick Cheney and the suckerfish up in the Klamoth river drainage.  

The Amazing About-Face of Orrin Hatch — Mr Entitlements

Back in August, barely 2 months ago, Senator Hatch (R-UT), displayed a graciousness and a spirit of bipartisanship, rarely seen among the Party of NO.

Senator Orrin Hatch on Ted Kennedy’s Life

The Situation Room — Aug 26, 2009

BLITZER: […] the issue that was the most important to him, health care for the American people, you were — you’re a member of the Finance Committee. […] And since this was so important to your good friend, Senator Kennedy, I’ll ask you directly, Senator Hatch — are you willing to get back into those negotiations with the Democrats right now in memory — in honor of Senator Kennedy?

You know how important health care reform was for your friend.

ORRIN HATCH: …

Grayson: “Bipartisanship is a Weapon of Mass Distraction to keep us from doing what we need to do”

Crossposted at Daily Kos

   

    “A Democrat with Guts, people think of it like a mythological creature, like a Unicorn.”

~snip~

    “Bipartisanship is a Weapon of Mass Distraction.”

   ~   Rep. Alan Grayson

    A Democrat with GUTS deserves an electorate that will FIGHT for him. That is how we will encourage more Dems to grow guts and learn how to fight.

    A short transcript and more below the fold.

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