Even though the election of Barak Obama was a referendum by the majority of Americans that, among other things, we wanted a new health care system, we should have a public referendum which allows Americans to vote on what we want as far as health care goes.
Americans go to the Polls to vote on Health Care Reform and if the majority, 51% vote for a plan it becomes law.
What could be better?
It's time to put the notion of bipartisanship on the back burner and move ahead with a real "partisan" plan for healthcare reform with a public option. We would not have Social Security if FDR had waited around for a bipartisan consensus. The Republicans are the minority by quite a margin!
It is abundantly clear that the Republican Party has a plan to demean, disrupt and destroy anything this Democratic, Obama Administration does. There is no point trying to coop someone or something that has no other mission but destroying you. The Republicans are terrorists, they are equivalent to the Taliban in every way. The Republican members of the Senate and Congress are disloyal and traitorous "dogs-in-the-manger" snapping and growling at everything in sight since they lost the election.
The strategy for Democrats must be that we're going to do this without you. Every Democratic Senator and Congressman needs to be on board or not count on any support from the party in the next election. It is time for Democratic Senators and Congressman to vote the party line for the sake of the country and the future of the party in all elections.
It doesn't matter what the Republicans do if Democrats stick together and do what needs to be done. The moderates and independents who have any skepticism about Health Care Reform will come around when they see what the actual reality is; as opposed to all the hype being generated by the Republican Party and their Insurance Company bosses. Let the Republicans filibuster, no force them to filibuster so that America can see what they really are about.
It's also time to call the Republicans out on all their lies and abuses. Democratic Senators and Congressman need to speak up and be heard. I'm tired of listening to the constant BS put out by the Republicans and their has been friends like Tom Delay. The media will love hearing from the Democratic Party, and the public will start to respect Democrats only when we stand up and fight these right wing liars.
The right wing doesn't care how many lies they tell. They believe there are enough Americans out there who want to believe all these lies. Republicans want to create a negative vibe about everything so as to damage the Democratic Administration and create fear. The tactics have not changed since Ronald Reagan.
During the election Obama did not let anything go unchallenged. He fought back. Now is no different except we need to go on the offense as well.
Americans don't respect anyone who doesn't come out swinging when it's necessary.
Why is there not more outrage from Progressives and Liberals about the consistent lies and un-American behavior of the politicians, pundits, Fox News hacks and far right crazies who get their faces on cable TV everyday spouting slurs, lies, anti-American rhetoric and slanderous remarks about the duly elected President of the United States?
We moderates and progressive Democrats and Republicans are tolerant folks who think everyone has a right to speak and that truth will prevail. What's happening now is a campaign by the Republican Party to hold the President and this administration up to enough bogus ridicule and scorn that in the next election people have doubts even in the face of an improving economy, end of the Iraq War, and other positive signs that the Obama Administration is doing the right thing on all fronts.
When I see pasty faced Republican Senators like McCain get on TV and purposely say things that undermine the economy's improvements, government plans that are working and health care reform I find it to be unpatriotic and them as traitors to this country.
Their rhetoric is not the loyal opposition talking, it is the voice of "let's bring down the USA for political gain. When McCain, who has voted to confirm every Supreme Court Nominee in the past, says he won't vote for Ms Sotomayor even after she was approved, it's plain where he's coming from and what his and the other right wing traitors are coming from. Not only are they bigots they are traitors.
Cable and radio bigots like Lou Dobbs, Libaugh and Beck should be indicted for slander and inciting to riot. The stuff the spout has no basis in reality and goes beyond "Freedom of Speech." principals. We may think everyone will recognize these lies but this is not about the lies it's about sewing the seeds of scorn and constantly trying to condition the general public to have doubts about the President and this administration.
We are at War! They are trying to bring down the government of the United States. Now they've got scores of hired protestors, going out and disrupting town hall meetings. The media with only a couple of exceptions is treating these hooligans like they really represent some significant segment of the population. Why doesn't someone interview a few of these idiots. Ask them some real questions about who has organized them and coached them about disrupting the democratic process.
The so called "Blue Dog Democrats," need to understand that unless they vote with the Democratic Government they will go down in the next election with other Democrats what ever color they may be. If they can't vote with the Democratic majority in the Senate who needs them?
I think a lot of Americans, including myself, would be willing to donate to a real campaign with advertising to fight back against this outrage. We need to have a campaign that is as strong as if an election was in progress, because that's what is needed. "We need to fight fire with fire!
I beginning to believe that the general public (who ever they are) is getting to understand that there are a lot of old Geasers out there like Cheyney, Limbaug, most "Republic" senators, with McCain at the top, cable pundits and others who just need to be ignored.
Case in point! The President makes the right kind of statement about Iran's current problems. President Obama said what the world expects and assured them that we are not going to meddle in the affairs of other countries. Up pops McBluster Geaser, and he rattles on and on with exactly the wrong thing to say about Iran. Thank God he's not President!
"Republic" Geaser Senators go on TV so much no one even listens to the babble anymore except for TV Cable news hacks who can't find any real news to report. The truth is the Geasers don't deserve any air time or discussion of their vitriolic spin and hate mongering.
I seems like it is time for the Obama Administration to go forward with it's agenda with or with out the approval or bipartisan participation of the Geaser faction. No one will listen to them except for the lunatic fringe.
Note: I have decided to call Republican Party members "Republic" or "Republics" as in "Demacrat."
The far right can't stop their true faces from being seen time after time. They are locked into the same race baiting tactics they've been using forever. The tactic they tried to use during the Presidential campaign was to accuse the other side of racism to disguise their own racist attacks. So the new code word for bringing up race or gender is to accuse the other party or individual or racism or reverse racism or of ethnocentricity; although they probably don't know what "ethnocentricity" means.
However obvious these tactics are they are also dangerous and are being used to provoke the lunatic fringe and crazies everywhere. It is inciting to riot in an obvious fashion and should be dealt with much like "Hate Crimes" or other forms of provocations to do harm to individuals or groups. There are people out there who believe all the lies and distortions, who are violent and looking for an excuse to do harm.
Can you imagine what would have happened if an equivalent kind of vitriol had come from anyone during the Cheyney/Bush Presidency? First the cries of "Traitor," "Un-Patriotic," "Love it or Leave it," "Terrorists," then arrests and unlawful detention.
I really believe something needs to be done about people on the right who go around during a time of war and severe economic stress, spouting anti-American rhetoric. Perhaps an action committee of some kind could bring civil action against them since the Justice Department could be accused of doing it for political reasons.
Arlen Specter is probably senile beside being an opportunist with no ethics. If he wants to be a Democratic Senator he needs to vote, a least like, a moderate member of the party. If not he should be opposed in the Pennsylvania Primaries and someone else run as the Democratic candidate. Either way the Democratic Party picks up another Senate seat.
We need NASA more then bailing out AIG and all the Wall Street Fat Cats. Look back to the days when we were caught flat footed by the Russians launching Sputnik and that's how we'll be caught by the Chinese when they land on the Moon and Mars while we become a 3rd World country with no technology. A culture of minimum wage earners.
Obama claims he's for Science, well NASA and the Space Program are about Science more then anything else. We should be developing vehicles and programs that continue to explore the Universe around us. There are also ten's of thousands of jobs at stake in various States.
If the Obama administration cuts or eliminates NASA and the Space Program it will loose a part of my support and serve as a kind of sign that maybe the President's words are empty. It also could loose Central Florida which helped elect this President and could help elect a Democratic Senator soon.
It is probably clear to every progressive and moderate person that what's left of the Republican Party is being controlled by the far right or the Republican Talibans. Their agenda has been, from the moment they lost the election, to take every opportunity to demean, tell lies, criticize, disrupt, personally attack the President, make fun of and stop every initiative of the Obama Administration. This is a virulent form of the negative campaign they conducted during the presidential election. The idea is to stop as much progress as possible but more so to create a perception in the media and in the public's mind that this President and his Administration are not capable of running the country and to move attention away from the progress and positive changes that are happening. The Republicans are not the loyal opposition they are disingenuous and traitors to this country.
The Democratic Party and all elected Democratic office holders need to unite to make things happen. But because of the independent nature of Progressive and Moderate people who find it difficult to see beyond their own personal views, there does not seem to be the kind of unity that will move the Presidents agenda forward in a consistent way. Everyone needs to look beyond their personal view and see the larger picture.
There needs to be a defense and an offense when it comes to dealing with the tactics of the Far Right. It is much like the actual campaign ran by Obama. Put forward the positive action and go after them on every lie and distortion they come up with. Don't let their poison take root. It's clear we cannot stop being united and being activists. The election campaign can't stop it just has to morph into something a little different.
I'm pretty sure the Obama Administration already knows this but we need to wake-up the grassroots movement again and assert ourselves at every opportunity. We can't let the negative spin continue.
For example we should point out that we are still at war and the actions of the Republicans are very unpatriotic and do not show a united country. It doesn't have to be as negative as the Bush years. It can have a much more positive spin. A stronger call to support the Administration in it's efforts to re-establish our foreign policy and end our involvement in foreign wars might be good.
On domestic issues let the Republicans do their filibuster then pass the legislation anyway. The public needs to see just how obstructionist and anti American they really are. They would rather see this country fail then work in a bipartisan way to rebuild this country after they nearly destroyed it over the Bush years.
It's unfortunate that time must be spent on combating the far right, Taliban like, Republican radicals but we need to make sure they don't spread their virus any further. They need to be quarantined!
I haven't written anything in awhile, I've had enough of the die hard, old boys of the Republican party that gave us eight years of GW Bush, and a recession. They lost the election but you'd never know it from all the bluster and posturing that's been going on. Put your hand out to these dogs and you get bitten. They have nothing to contribute except more of the same. Some one needs to tell McCain he lost, the majority of Americans said NO to his old ideas.
After all the outreach to the people who got us in to the mess we're in, all we got was more of the same, obstruction, nasty politics, lies, theatrics and the same old partisan vitriol.
I know the President wants to bring the country together, but it won't happen until more of these Karl Rove trained Republicans get voted out of office come mid-term. In the mean time the President needs all the support we can give him. In fact we are all together. We voted for change and hope. There's going to be a fight with these old dogs until it becomes publicly embarrassing for them to spout their nonsense. The press has to feel free to question their bluster and falsehoods. If they want to filibuster let them do it in front of the American Public and make fools of themselves. Show them up as obstructionist and luddites.
Democrats and Moderates everywhere have to speak-up against the pseudo conservative senators and congressional representaives. Their leaders need to be voted out of office as soon as possible. We need a couple more senate seats and we can have the change we need. I'll never understand why 51 is not a majority in the Senate!
Invite constructive dialog, participation and non-partisan initiatives, but reject the obstructionists.
We're down to wire now. I voted early and having been urging everyone I know to vote early too. I believe that Obama will win in a big way. Especially if we don't take this notion for granted and everyone gets out there and votes.
Most of the Republican hype and advertising is last minute attempts to make it appear that they are in the running to get out their base.
McBush said he wouldn't use the Rev. Wright in the campaign but I just saw a slimey ad here in the Orlando area of Florida using Rev. Wright. It was put out there by some PAC group "God Trust" or something like that. In actual fact McCain's campaign controls these groups.
Anyway one of the biggest anti McCain advertisements is Palin who proves every time she spouts all the lies she usually does that McCain's judgement leaves a lot to be desired and proves he is not sane enough to be president.
McCain, Palin and their foul surrogates are on TV spouting lies and distortions that are beyond the pale. I just heard on Hard Ball some far right congressperson, Bockman, from Minnesota spout the most nasty rhetoric I've heard about Obama and Democrats, in the same vein as Palin and McCain do in their stump speeches.
It's time that Obama'a campaign start to put out the names of the people that McCain associated with over the past 100 years. The junkets McCain has been on, not only the Keating Five, Palin's corrupt behavior in Alaska and her total lack of ethics. There's a lot more about both of these people that has not been looked at and needs to be aired!
Exclusive use of the high road got Democrats like Kerry no where. There has to be some return fire to counter the Ultra Negative Blitz that Karl Rove and his proteges have launched.
This whole smear campaign is geared to sew doubt in people's minds, so that once in the voting booth they will once again settle for the devil they know. The Republicans and McCain are out there trying, and in some cases succeeding, in deceiving middle and working class Americans in to thinking that the Republican Party somehow represents their concerns.
The Republicans and McCain/Palin will say and do anything so that they and their neocon friends can continue to rape this country and turn it into some notion they have of what this country should be, a place ruled by the few.
It is clear, more then ever that the best team for this country is Obama and Biden. Even though at times during this debate, I wanted Barack to go after more of McBush's lies, distortions and insults, I can see that there is a strategy in how Barack responded or didn't respond.
But we can respond. It is obvious that anything abut Ayers or Acorn is a distraction and has nothing to do with Barack Obama or the Democratic Party. I hope the Obama campaign advertising goes after McCain and Palin on issues like the Keating five, and her ethics violations. There are also some real issues like the free cell phone towers on McBush's ranch and how Pallin's million dollar plus home got built in Alaska. Palin has no credentials for the Vice Presidency. I really wanted some response to McCain's attack on Joe Biden.
The high road is fine but there needs to be some response to smears as the campaign has been doing. We need to keep emailing everyone we know to dispute smears, set the record straight and inform everyone about the negative aspects of McBush/Palin.
The media is ignoring Palin's problems in Alaska and repeating all the McCain campaign lies about Ayers and Acorn non-issues. The media needs something else to talk about and the only way to get them there is to feed them some of the real negatives of McCain and Palin. They are both really not who they pretend to be. McCain is a puppet of the lobbyists, his whole entourage is made up of Rove, his followers, the most dirty lobbyists and neo-con Republicans.
There should be more facts getting out there about Schmidt and Davis, two of the most evil, corrupt advisors McCain is being led by. The stuff McCain spouts is written by them. As was obvious in the debates he just keeps repeating their talking points over and over again, like the "Joe the Plumber" routine. McCain will be controlled by these same people if he is elected and as his dementia increases he will be replaced by Palin who is another puppet, but with her own extreme fundamentalist agenda. McCain and Palin are trying to rally their far right base but that won't do them much good if the rest of the country votes for Obama.
Moderate Republicans and Independents must recognize that a vote for McBush/Palin is not in their interests economically or in any other way. They need to vote Democratic to change the course of the country away from disaster.
Democrats need to go after Republican voter registration drives they way the Republican Party is once again going after potential Democratic voters. We also need to contest attempts by Republicans to disqualify minority voters in almost every state.
McCain needs to tell his followers, when the subject of hate and race comes up, a lot more then he currently says. He needs to say "Barack Obama is an American, a Christian and Patriot and he deserves the respect that any other candidate gets. Not to say this is to condone what these people are doing. McCain needs to reign in his campaign which has used "code" and other devices to encourage ethnic and racial divisiveness. Everyone knows what is gong on but the media is afraid to say it.
It's now abundantly clear that McCain's pick of Palin as Vice Presidential running mate is another example of bad judgement and why no one should vote Republican. Palin Abused Power and violated Alaska State ethics laws. She is not fit to be a heart beat from the Presidency, especially since McCain is on his last leg mentally.
It seems clear that we must go after this issue and let the public know who McCain and his running mate really are and not let Palin's ethical violations and lies be swept under the rug.
McCain pretends to be reining in his campaign of hate and racist innuendo but it is not true. McCain and Palin are liars and must be called out.
The McCains', Palin, and the rest of their carnival troop are showing just how creepy they really are. They are actually trying to incite their naive supporters in way that is reminiscent of Nazi Germany! Fear Mongering, use of ethnic names to bring out racist feelings among their supporters, lies, distortians, and sleazy name calling.
They accuse their opponent of everything they are guilty of doing to try and distract everyone. They are talking to their "base" but this stuff is picked up and re-broadcast a thousand times day after day by the media, looking for a rating. What this does is increase the problem and the negative coverage of Barack Obama. What the press should be doing is calling for a halt to this kind of thing and demanding the McCain's stop this kind of behavior. The media should be talking about the Recession we are in and the actual causes of it!
All politicians, Democrat and Republican need to go on record condemning McCain, Palin Cindy McCain and the entire McBush campaign. The whole world is watching and wondering how low McCain will go before we put a stop to this.
Why would any self respecting Christian support McCain/Palin who are exhibiting anything but Christian Values. If a murderer or child molester said they were anti-abortion would that be a reason to let them loose? McCain and Palin are hypocrites and cannot be trusted. They will betray their Christian supporters just like Bush has done. Christians need to take a look at an economy that will kill infants of starvation and make parents homeless.
Bottom line is that we do not want someone like this in the Oval Office. A sleazy old degenerate who is showing signs of dementia with a Vice President who is a slime ball empty skirt, waiting for him to drop dead to slide into the Presidency is not what this country needs. McCain appears to be mentally exhausted if not unstable. He is like an old actor reciting lines he's given but really can't remember well. McCain does not have what it takes to be President even on a good day. He's out of touch and does not get it. He is a foul mouthed, chauvinistic opportunist and compulsive gambler who needs to retire and go home.
McBush has come out and clearly stated that he will cut Medicare and Medicade to pay for his taxable healthcare plan.
If you think about McCain and his sponsorship of Privatizing Social Security it is clear where he stands and what he will do if elected.
McCain will continue the effort started by Ronlad Reagan to undo every social reform ever enacted by FDR. They've already repealed every regulatory safe guard and caused this economic crisis in the world.
McCain will say he has no choice but to cut Social Security benefits to pay for the Bail Out and use what's left of the entire Social Secuity fund to get us out of the economic crisis.
We can't afford to let the McBush and the Repulican Party stay in power. We need Barack Obama and the Democratic Party to get this country back on course and save Social Security.
