who's an AIPAC lackey in charge. But Pelosi sure looked good putting on that show with all those kids at her swearing-in.

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If you think there's actually going to be an election in 2008, I guess it doesn't.

Good article, but impeachment is just as important as all the rest. There can't be a Chancellor Bush if he's not around to declare martial law when the next hurricane or virus or terror attack hits. If the investigations get started now, we might have a chance of uncovering enough to get rid of him while we still have the chance.

Congress oughta be working 18 hours a day on every item you mention, including impeachment. But of course they won't. They'll dick around thinking they've got the next election in the bag until a "state of emergency" postpones the next election. Or until the Democrats look like such fools that they can't win an election.

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Before the lights get turned out, let's get a couple of facts straight:
1- In a real democracy workers can organize without fear of employer reprisal.
2- In a real democracy citizens don't stand naked before the power of the state.
3- In a real democracy civil liberties are non-negotiable and no government has the right to infringe or suspend them.
4- In a real democracy the elected do the bidding of those who voted and pay the bills.
5- In a real democracy corporations do not have the standing of persons.
6- In a real democracy every vote counts and every vote gets counted.

There is a truckload of evil to be undone and until then we are just pretending that we live in a real democracy.

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As stupid as everyone claims Bush is, he is stringing Democrats along. They're doing everything he wants!

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The Democratic "leadership" is cloaking their support for the war under the guise of flubbed failures and procedural rigmarole.

The vast majority of America wants out! Why are we still there! This, among so many other examples of treachery against the American people and the US Constitution in recent times, illustrates the fact that there are a groups of people pulling the stings from both the "left" and the "right," Democrat and Republican whereby we witness the continuity of the outlandishly absurd path this country has been going down.

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As abysmal as the Democrat (sic) Party and Congress under their majority control are, they are still nowhere as bad as the Republicans and Bush White House. The difference is as vast as the difference between sins of omission and sins of commision.

So why does Congress have a much lower approval rating (about 14%) than Bush (about 28%)? Easy.

The Republican voters are told what to think. Two-thirds of us find the Democrats unacceptable, but almost all of them do, so they bring what would have been a 25-30% approval if they voted naturally down to 14% on instruction.

Likewise with Bush, who would probably be at about a 10-15% approval rating if only people who were voting their own minds voted. But you've got the Borg expressing approval in large numbers.

It's pointless even polling the Borg. Just ask their handlers what they think.

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I'm honestly completely unsurprised by congress here. Most Democrats talk and talk and talk, but they're still coming out of the same ranks as their opponents, and they clearly have the same dreams and motivators (and financial backers).

I am, however, flabbergasted that these dreams and motivators are so widespread - that these people can't see how horrifyingly twisted and ugly this world has become as a result of their decisions. The only reason I can see is because they don't have any demonstrable soul. It's a sweet world for the soulless if they happen to have money, mansions, vacations, power suits, self-approved pay-raises, nice haircuts. Such a world is tailor-fit to serve their ilk, but how could they overlook humanity as a whole like that? Can't they see the suffering around them? Ahh, yes, no soul. Just a shit-eating politician's smile and empty promises.

America's primary motivators are greed and gluttony - the two ugliest of the seven deadly sins. Wrath, sloth, envy, lust, and pride can all be justified to an extent, but greed and gluttony are truly hideous in their nature from the bottom up, and they are the defining markers of our nation and times, along with the eighth sin: lying, in all its attendant forms: Untruth, skewed truth, or the new favorite - completely ignored truth.

As I see it, elections don't matter anymore, because the enormous majority of politicians do NOT listen to the people. They couldn't give a damn about public opinion or what is right. These folk care about two things: Themselves and the hand that feeds them, which is theoretically supposed to be the people, but is actually the smallest segment of the people - corporate donors and lobbyists.

So again, elections don't matter. The same goes with writing letters to congress, gathering in the streets and yelling, or any of the other methods we have been using.

It seems there are only two solutions to this problem: The first is outright revolution (unlikely, given our absolute lack of cohesion and manufactured antipathy to violence or guns, as well as the probability that any attempt would be squashed or infiltrated immediately).

The second solution is easier, and requires no formal body. It means hitting the enemy where it hurts: Their wallets. For the moment, I advocate the latter. Research everything you buy, no matter how much you want it. And curtail your use of resources as much as possible. If something has the slightest hint of ugliness to it or if its manufacturer is contributing to the government process, don't buy it. It's harder to educate yourself than to remain dumb about what you buy, but it needs to be done. They need their power stripped, and this is looking like the only way.

Our money is the only democratic voice we have in this corporatist fascism, because clearly our actual desires are being ignored and we are all seen as a threat. Money is hugely important to these people. It matters to them transcendentally more than your opinion about anything does.

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"Why all this clamor to launch a proceeding surely destined to fail, aimed at a duo who will be out of the White House in sixteen months?"

Surely, you can't be serious? If these bastards are NOT impeached, tried, and imprisoned then what message are you sending to anyone else who will occupy the White House in the future? What you are telling them is that it is PERFECTLY okay to break the law, perfectly okay to do what you want - there are no consequences to your actions - there is one law for you and one for the rest of us!

Is this what you want?

These bastards can do a HELL of a lot more damage in 16 months - including the nuking of Iran in another war.

Is this what you want?

These SOBs NEED TO BE IMPEACHED, TRIED, AND IMPRISONED or we have had it.

Do you understand?

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Pelosi is a treazonous b..ch

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Pelosi is a spineless coward who has repeatedly betrayed all Americans:
* appointed Dingell to chair Energy and Transportation. His first act was to torpedo any chance at getting an increase in CAFE standards in the energy bill
* bows to Bush's every whim on Iraq, has been invisible as regards using her position as a bully pulpit to oppose the insanity and dishonesty surrounding the conduct of the war. Has she even had a press conference since taking office?? I read the paper every day and watch Mathews and Stewart but I don't recall even seeing her timid shadow.
* refuses to confront Bush on his undermining of our fundamental rights, allowing the gutting of FISA, failing to go after the Republican thugs with a full court press, including invoking the RICO statute, to push them back on their heels and ultimately land them all in jail.

Pelosi is, hands down, the weakest House Speaker in the past 50 years. She needs to go. Any news about Cindy Sheehan running against her? We need a leader who remembers what the phrase "standing on principle" means! We need a leader who does not look like a frightened deer-in-the-headlights at the podium!

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Isn't it obvious what the Dems are doing? They're simply riding it out until '08 (no different than most cowardly, chicken shit Americans). They won't even consider touching this hot potato until a duly elected Democrat occupies the oval office. Then and only then will someone begin to gingerly touch what is this disastrous foray into Iraq.

See, the Dems will lose either way. Demand a pull-out too quickly and they risk turning off those slimy, flag-waving red neck pieces of shit who think we need to stay the course for integrity, foolish pride, etc. If they don't pull out, they're seen as weak and unwilling to confront the Neocons. I'm rather in the latter camp. I think they're all worthless pieces of excrement who never should have been voted in to begin with but *sigh* what do you expect from the dumbest people on earth? And those politicians who probably would do something are ostracized by useless idiot Americans because they're too short, balding, not as charismatic, etc. You're all pathetic and you get precisely what you deserve.

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People need to wake up to the reality that as long as the bought-and-paid-for corporate "two-party" duopoly remains in place, nothing of significance will change. Both the Democrats and Republicans serve the same masters, which is why both are essentially indifferent to public opinion. Because obviously, that's not the opinion that matters.

Working within the system for change, by supporting supposedly progressive-minded and populist Democrats, is an exercise in futility. Either they are fakes, or else their candidacies are purely symbolic, as in the case of someone like Dennis Kucinich or Mike Gravel. All candidates like that do is provide a veneer of legitimacy by offering the illusion of real choice, where in fact none really exists.

What I suggest as an alternative strategy is: Become a (peaceful) revolutionary. The political rulebook embodied by our Constitution, its interpretation, statutory laws and practical realities, is highly regressive and unfair. It effectively guarantees the perpetuation of a system in which the wealth class enjoys a complete monopoly of political power, and is able to continue their policies of militarism, environmental degradation, and the financial exploitation and victimization of the lesser classes. Among so many other outrages and abuses.

Turn your backs on the fakery and false promises of the Democratic Party, and begin the process of building an independent progressive movement dedicated to a dramatic overhaul of the American Constitution. Our current version (AC v1.27) represents a political operating system that might have made sense for the America of 200 years ago. As we move into the 21st century, it is badly outmoded and in need of major renovations. To believe otherwise, and to continue to expect deliverance from the soulless and corrupt *by* the soulless and corrupt, is -- in Ralph Nader's words -- a snare and a delusion.

Then again, I recall Charlie Brown never was able to resist the siren call of Lucy offering to tee up the football and not snatch it away at the last second, no matter how many times previously she'd betrayed the same promise. Sad to say, at the moment the activist/progressive segment of the American citizenry seems to be stuck in the same kind of delusional mindset.

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The Democrats are no better than the Republicans. They are both part of the same agenda.

The Democrats gave the President the domestic spying powers his own party wouldn't give him. Who is on whose side here?

This isn't about Democrats or Republicans being in power. They're both the same team in different colors, scrimmaging in front of you in different colored jerseys, putting on a show. It may look like there is some kind of conflict over which way they are going to take the country, but the true conflict is not along party lines. This is between the vast majority in Washington who want more expansive government powers, versus a tiny minority who still comprehend liberty, with a considerable amount of noise thrown in from the dimwits in the system who still think there's a difference between D and R.

The Dems keep conceding to "Republican" ambitions.

The "conservative" War on Terror is nothing more than super-aggressive, liberal Wilsonian foreign policy.

Changing the party in the oval office will accomplish nothing. Changing the philosophy will.

Ron Paul '08!

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I can't help but see all of this [discourse] as white noise.

Historically, those in power seek to get more of it - only on rare occasions [usually as a result of civil conflict] do concessions get made.

The US, at this moment, possess a climate which makes it very difficult for the hoi poli to organize. What working American would organize if it could cost him or her their job? Even as sorry a life it is working paycheck to paycheck, it is better than living out of your car or under a bridge. Providing universal healthcare and a greater welfare benefits would undermine the very threat of being poor. The threat of poverty is awesome and with so many of us seeing it lurking behind us, it in itself motivates the many into such servile positions.

To prove that nothing will be done, look into the election frauds first. Where were the independent investigations? Where were the mass protests? Thirty years ago, when a person made 15,000 a year and a home cost $40,000, people could afford to stand up for their country. These days home prices put that poverty spectre right in the backseat.

I believe it takes re-thinking what a citizen of this country is and should aspire to. The many illegals should actually be admired in their 'take the money and run' posture. What a philosophy - work like a slave, send the money back home where it can go three times (or more) as far as the US, then go back home and live well.

Right now, we don't get much out of the social contract and I believe that history will once again put its patterns to work.

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Democrat for president.

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Perhaps I am hopelessly optimistic, but perhaps what we are seeing is not another swing of the pendalum, but a train coming off of both rails (sorry for the mixed metaphors).

I am a democrat through and through, but I give congress the same rating. As others have pointed out, the little that they have done is for show, and does not represent the type of change that is needed. (Like the insulting raise of the minimum wage. I would like to see any of them live on 6 bucks an hour for one month.)

Of course. The democratic party has been hijacked by corporatists, just like the republican party. The bosses have turned our political system into a hedge fund. Of course. It is stupid to even say it out loud because its obvious.

I'm not sure the polls result is a bad thing. If they had indicated approval, it would show that America's anger was an inch deep, that all we wanted was a change of hats. It would validate all of the lobbyists who are switching allegiance in anticipation of democratic gains in 2008.

No. America's anger is not leading to a climax in 2008. It is leading to something much more significant. When the workers and middle class begin to realize they are on the same side, something dramatic will happen. It may be at the ballot box, or it may be something else. But it won't be business as usual.

Keep your minimum wage increase. I'll take the class war instead.

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I would call the dynamic alluded to by "lasarte-oria" in the previous entry ("Kaixo") ECONOMIC TERRORISM. More needs to said about how the current system is terrorizing the middle class with the fear of poverty and rendering them impotent in the wake of ever bolder attacks on their freedom, security and overall quality of life. It is a beautiful complement to the fear of "standard" terrorism.

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Is this the same Cockburn who can't figure out what happens to the gas he puts in his car's tank? The man who thinks that suddenly sunspots are driving the most dramatic change in climate in the past half million years, rather than the dramatic change in the composition of the atmosphere due to burning fuel? And now we're supposed to forget his inability to understand atmospheric sciences but willingness to write about it, and we're supposed to think that he might know something about his current topic of interest?

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1972 to be exact. That was the begining of the blending of the two Parties. The Democrats for Nixon Campaign. Imagine that democrats backing a crooked president? That's why they are still doing it today. Yes, our president IS a crook. The Congress is too. Did'nt matter it was republican run for twelve years,these fecless flechers already had been working together for years. The current crop just proved it again.
Because they were bold enough to say 'We'll do more in the first 100 days....' put the press heat on them. What did we see? Just what they wanted us too. NOTHING!!!! They had the ability to overturn everything Ol' Bushy boy did. They did not.
They went for a bunch of grandstanding bullshit to make it seem like they were actually doing something. They did Not.
This is the reason no one from any of these two parties of thieves should be re-elected. They are totally corrupted and no longer function with the best interest of the People in mind.
There was this document they used to make us recite. It started out with 'When in the course of Human Events...' and if the events were bad enough we could cancel their right to govern.
I believe the events have caught up to us. It time to sweep out the trash!! You sitting at your screen reading this...YOU should have some say in things. You don't. You could do a better job than any of the clowns we now have. Maybe that's the real answer. Get out in you neighborhoods and talk to you neighbors. I bet you'll hear more you agree with than what comes out the T.V. or some paid politician's mouth. So elect,Draft, do whatever to get the folks you agree with in office. If they ain't taking donations to speak,they're probably much better people than what we have now.
Draft Jeffrey7 for Prez...it's the only vote that counts

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Hoodwinked by the Republicans and betrayed by the Democrats, there is only one option left to you: give up and get out. You may think you can save the country the world once admired and loved, but its soul is quite dead. Only a miracle will be able to breathe life into its fly-blown corpse. While the Republicans may have opened the many doors to fascism, the Democrats have been nigh equally seduced by its dark power. All that is left for you who remain behind is to weather as bet you can the grim storm we see brewing. Is there any hope? No. We awoke from the dreams of our last election to find ourselves living the same tired nightmare. Only the insane can now imagine that the coming election will bring anything different.

The only comfort that remains is absurd fantasy, the depressing mental opium akin to the sad entertainments of the poor who buy lottery tickets week after week after week ... just in case, maybe, this time ... (whimper) ... please, this time?

Maybe we shall welcome a President named Kucinich. Maybe we shall see the House utterly dominated by progressive Democrats, and the Senate too. Maybe progressive Democrats will govern every state of the Union. Maybe much needed constitutional and electoral reform will resurrect the stone-cold dead. Oh, go ahead, buy your electoral lottery tickets. Maybe you'll win big this time and strike it rich.

Give up and get out. While you still can.

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His atrocious denial of global warming science mimics that of Big Oil interests. Plus, his pimping of Obama ignores the fact that Obama's main financiers are the financial/real estate sectors - see opensecrets 2008

Alexander Cockburn seems to prove that George Orwell was on track when he defined a liberal as 'a power-worshipper who is out of power'. It's pretty shameful - and the website that he's involved with, CounterPunch, refuses to allow reader commentary - just like the New York Times. Even the Washington Post has comments section - so why not counterpunch?

Hmmm... could it be that Cockburn wants to control the message in the same way that the NYT does? A global warming denialist who pimps Obama... atrocious.

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...They'd call themselves out as "bi-partisian" and Kick Rethug Ass Every Chance they Get!

I know I'd vote for someone who finally held somebody accountable for a change instead of falling in line with the ongoing debachery just so they can go home for the whole month of August...

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First Mr Cockburn... will the liberals be able to influence the dems..THEY ARE THE DEMS!!!!

It didnt take a genuis to see that the dems ( liberals) were going nowhere fast.. first 100 hours - petty fights with repubs, personal attacks on Bush - they looked pretty much like a bunch of kids finally let into the candy store and filled with such emotion couldn't decide which candy to take first!!!

As many have said, there is NO difference between repub and dem - show them the money (donations) and they will jump to almost any tune!

As for surveillance - what is so hard about this.. suspected terrorist communications vs someone reading my mail.. read my mail.. who cares - progressives need to get off this wagon ..it's a minor inconvenience – people are in Iraq/ Afghanistan fighting to contain terrorism, over 3,000 died in 9-11 and you’re worried about someone reading your emails!!!

No wonder the approval rating of congress is below that of Bush!!!

As for Pelosi - what color drapes did she finally use in her office??? important stuff first!

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"do nothing" plans that were showing through the cracks last year. But here's a better idea as to why neither political party will actually do anything true and honest these days.

INSIDE THE FALL OF THE DEMOCRATIC - AND REPUBLICAN - PARTIES

WHAT REALLY HAS HAPPENED, AND WHY IT CAN'T BE FIXED ANYTIME SOON

by

Samuel A. Stanson

P.S.: Yes, I know it came out in late 2004 but seriously, the content of the article is NOT outdated one bit.

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This is what happens when people don't pay attention to politics in their own country. Americans are too lazy and dumb to know anything about their own country's politics. Alternet.org readers are above average intelligence, but unfortunatley the majority of Americans are retarted. Dems and Neocons are both corrupt. They both serve the same master. Things will never change until you abolish the 2 party system. And guess what? Your leaders that rape you every day have known this for a hundred years!!

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I think we are all agreed that the Democrats have not done the job they had advertised they would do prior to their becoming the majority party. But before you jump on the Democrats you must take into account that the Republicans stop at NOTHING to get their way- either as majority or minority- and have often sabotaged the attempts Dems have made to start a change. Even with this, Democrats have made some minor gains. And much that is being asked of them is beyond their ability to prodcuce. (ie succeed in impeaching, although this is is overdue)

Al Gore, in his recent book, "The Assault on Reason" gives a complete, clear, concise explanation of not only why the Democratic Party but also the Americans have so difficult a time dealing with the present situation (crisis). It is really worth a read.

If it is any comfort to those who comment here, Al Gore notes that it is the Internet, the people who make comments on articles such as these, who have their own blogs, who join organizations such as MoveOn that are having house parties to share ideas with each other on an issue, and those who send in petitions are those who will in the long run be the ones who can save our Democracy. He says in essence to be of good cheer- you all are the roots from which good will eventually come - because you are THINKING.

There are those in Congress who are not corrupted. It has been said repeatedly in recent months that the American citizenry are way ahead of the Congress in knowing what needs to be done. We need to let those in Congress know when they do what is of benefit to this country and also when they fail. If they care, they will listen. It has taken years (since R Reagan) to get to this point- we cannot expect that the Democrats will be able to change all this in such a short time, especially with a president who fights them every day.

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Remember a while back when a bunch of Alterneters were saying Pelosi was going to change everything, make things happen and blah, blah, blah, because she's the first female speaker?...

How's that working out?

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Where was everybody back then. The first election was a fix but not the second one. Now the Dems are supposed to come in and "clean up" six years of running this country into the ground in 8 months. Bush always 'needs a little more time for his war to work' and he gets it. Stay the course. And everyone does. Now, let's have some action from the Dems. NOW. The SOB vetoes everything decent that is put in front of him. I don't like it either. Thanks, ANNA

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Bitch and moan - bitch and moan! The opposition reads these blogs. No wonder they laugh. Read these comments and be honest. Should they be afraid? I think not. Chronic complaining and criticism is counterproductive. We don't like them and we don't like us either. Again, not a good plan. And if contributing writers can't do any better than to drag people down maybe that should be addressed. Does anyone really want Rudy to be the president ? Could happen. Anna

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After all, Bush was threatening to put them on restriction and not let them go on vacation!!!! What could they do???? I mean civil liberties, and the right to privacy are important, but VACATION!!!!

What a bunch of impotent, incompetent, inconstant, lily livered, yellow bellied weasels!!!! I hope they are all voted out of office. I think they deserve to be hauled out of their offices by their constituents and tarred and feathered. The traitors!!!!

And what of the candidates? Have any of them mentioned removing Alberto Gonzales for perjury???? Have any of them mentioned the FISA law and that GEORGE BUSH WAS BREAKING THE LAW FOR YEARS AND SHOULD BE IMPEACHED???? Have any of them mentioned that the democrats in congress have BETRAYED Americans????

They are as weak kneed and duplicitous as the skunks in congress.

The only one I would give a plug nickle for at this point is Kucinich.

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They tried to impeach Bu$h Cheney Inc. Pelosi: “all options for impeachment are off the table!”

They tried to hold Bu$h Cheney Inc. responsible for illegal Iraq war and furthermore despicable, horrifying, and insidious war crimes and genocide/mass murder – Pelosi: “no timetable for Iraq withdrawal!”

They tried to allow a *comprehensive independent* investigation into 9/11, and more importantly, investigations into U.S. complicity/culpability in 9/11

They tried to rescind the extremely totalitarian Military Commissions Act + Insurrection Act - and reinstate Habeas Corpus

They tried to reverse NSA’s illegal spying on the American people (realizing it is unconstitutional and a direct assault on our civil liberties/civil freedoms)

They tried to stop allowing corporations + big biz (esp. Big Oil, Big Banking + Big Pharma) to continue running their agenda in this country and not interfere with their lobbying influence on Sin-ators and Con-gress.

They tried to repeal the ineffectual and otherwise superficial-fake-phony No Child Left Behind Act (after all, they realized that NCLB is a deliberate set up to fail teachers in the U.S. public school system)

They tried to stop allowing globalization and outsourcing of U.S. middle class jobs (esp. engineering, science, technology and manufacturing), realizing that middle class + economy is being further eroded in this country – everyday - ensuring U.S. becomes a feudal system

They tried to change the fact that the U.S. is now officially Fascist-Nazi-Totalitarian

They tried to change the fact that the U.S. news media is a state-run-Goebbel’s-style propaganda tool cranking out convenient and manipulative propaganda, mind control, misinformation, ambiguity, obfuscation + outright lies to further the neocon agenda

They tried to empower the Democratic Party…..they really are not the un-empowered apologist party + lapdogs for Rethugs

They tried to discontinue allowing Israel/AIPAC to exert their coercive influence + control with respect to Congress/Sinate/White House….because they realized that Israel is running U.S. and sincerely wants this practice to cease

They tried to: end the illegal/unethical wars in Iraq, Afghanistan et al (soon Iran) so that unscrupulous wealthy contractors continue benefiting from war profiteering at the expense of a million innocent people who are victims of mass murder. Also, the Dems tried to stop ensuring that U.S. + Israel geopolitically reconfigure the Middle East, continue taking possession of (STEALING) their assets - oil/land/gold/water, and commit despicable acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing against innocent Arab indigenous people - further allowing Israel to exert hegemony + financial control over the entire Middle East

Most importantly, they went in and rocked the boat and changed the rethuglican/neocon status quo!

NOT!!!! All the Demon-crats have accomplished is this:
MAINTAIN THE REPUBLICATION/NEOCON STATUS QUO!

The two parties have coalesced into one party……they give the illusion of a two party system, but alas it’s only an illusion. We need a viable independent…….or a massive American Revolution. If we want to take back our country, we will probably resort to the latter, not the former.

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Statement of Laura W. Murphy, Director (excerpt)
ACLU National Washington Office [December 6, 1995]:
...But this bill, in fact. would do even more harm than the versions proposed by President Clinton and passed by the Senate. As its final, fitting coup de grace in a bill that hastly expands federal law enforcement powers, the proposed counter-terrorism compromise would virtually destroy the ancient writ of Habeas Corpus, thus stripping federal courts of their ability to grant a remedy for the abuses of those powers that result in unconstitutional prisoner incarceration
[excerpt from an online article :Know Your Rights (All Three of 'Em) The Democrats and the War on Civil Liberties By JOSHUA FRANK October 11, 2006 ]:
....In the wake of September 11, it wasn't surprising that Clinton's successor George W. Bush legislated additional infringements upon civil liberties in the name of patriotism and national security. And yes, the Democrats overwhelmingly supported the Patriot Act in both of its awful versions. But it wasn't the Patriot Act that allowed the federal government to make those sweeping detentions across the country immediately following 9/11 -- it was Clinton's Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty bill.
The basis for nearly all of the eviscerations or nullifications of
Constitutional protections of fundamental rights and liberties
was established during the time of WJC... President Bubba I.
The establishing as a ME foreign policy staple the mass murder of Iraqi civilians was instituted and carried out by ruthlessly applied sanctions to imprecisely targeted infant /children victims...again thanks to WJC..Bubba POTUS. BushCo merely picked up where Bubba et al left off. Let's do a little stroll down Dem memory hole..Sorry.. lane...[from Wiki]:..Recently, the DLC also urged Senate Democrats to vote against Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court "on principle", but firmly opposed any filibuster of the nominee.[6] However, if DLC members had filibustered the nomination, Samuel Alito would not be sitting on the Supreme today.
The DLC gave strong support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Prior to the war, Will Marshall co-signed a letter to President Bush from the Project for the New American Century endorsing military action against Saddam Hussein...still other critics believe the DLC has essentially become an influential corporate and right-wing implant in the Democratic party. Marshall Wittmann, a former senior fellow at the DLC and the former legislative director for the Christian Coalition, and Will Marshall, a vocal supporter of the war in Iraq, are among those associated with the DLC who have been accused of having right-wing credentials. Finally, detractors of the DLC note that the DLC has received funding from the right-wing Bradley Foundation as well as from oil companies, military contractors, and various Fortune 500 companies
DLC
Solutions??...Well, the author and others point us in the right
direction: time for new 'digs' under new management after
some 'revolutionary' remodelling and restoration:
Bring Dynamite and a crane
Blow you up, start all over again
Build a town be proud to show
Give the name Tobacco Road
Like most of us the reasoning is pretty simple :
Cause it's home
The only life I've ever known
Oh I despise and disapprove you
But I love ya, 'cause it's home [Tobacco road lyrics]

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That's the problem with the hard Left and hard Right... their arrogance and belief that they are in the overwhelming majority when it comes to sentiment on the war and anti-Bush and anti-Nazism.

Back in the real world, however, the picture is vastly different. The Nazis STILL control 99% of talk radio. They STILL control a vast segment of the trailer trash church-going population of the US who will never vote liberal and would vote for Satan himself before they voted for a Democrat (and already have, TWICE!)

Expecting Congress to go in and mount a coup against the executive branch by following the constitution would have been like a revolt in Hitler's Germany by their legisitlature in 1936 and would have been destroyed and put down every bit as fast, with assassinations if they were required. A "night of long knives".

People on the hard right and on the hard left vastly underestimate the vast numbers of the great "middle" of America, who craps their pants daily at the thought of Arab terrorists flying planes into their kids' schools. Who never paid attention to geography or history in school, and can't conceive of the simple fact for a single second that they are raising their children and grandchildren up in a Nazi country far more evil and far worse off than Hitler's Germany in 1938. Who would only vote for Hillary as a last resort if they believed she most definitely would NOT cut and run from Iraq. Who believe every last piece of shit that issues from Karl Rove's mouth and is echoed ad infinitum by everyone from Ann Coulter to Rush Limbaugh to Fox News to Art Bell.

And THAT'S why Congress' ratings are below Bush's.... because the majority of middle America thinks the bastard is right and can do no wrong, still, even though they're not telling that to their neighbors, friends, reporters, or pollsters.

That's the truth in MY idiot family, and it's the truth everywhere.

Get off your high horse. Congress IS ABSOLUTELY doing all it can without being assassinated where they stand. This Administration would think nothing of NUKING THE CAPITOL WHILE THEY WERE IN SESSION if they thought, like they did on 9-11, they could get away with it.

You on both sides VASTLY underestimate the level of desperation of your enemy, not to mention the depths of depravity and levels of evil they have stooped to to achieve their greedy self-serving ends in the past.

Furthermore, there is NO GUARANTEE whatsoever that Diebold's back has truly been broken by miltary/CIA out- hacking them, even though they did it last time and sucker punched BushCheneyCo; they just might NOT out hack Diebold the next election.

There is no guarantee of real Democracy anymore in this Godforsaken Nazi disaster.

So quit acting so Goddamned superior. It ain't over, not by a long shot. The battle's only beginning, and very well might even be lost before it really starts.

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I try to vote for people with integrity and intelligence, spend my money where it will flow to do the least harm, tactfully call attention to important issues in social situations, and raise my kids to value peace, question authority, and vent the natural mammalian urge to violence in constructive and exciting ways. It's all I can do. My kids are the long term technique. They will be rebels to any future facism. Believe me! But I've lost a lot of respect for a chunk of the American populace. Just not smart enough to deal with luxury, change, and fear. They may just bring us all down. I've been incredulous at the idiocy since 9/11, a real eye opener in so many ways.

Yes, the dems have failed the country again (like the media). But they've been doing it for a long time. The repubs offer what they accuse the dems of; people to become sheep and be ruled by a paternalistic government. Abroad it's the unholy and disgusting use of violence (military) to serve our national (economic) interests. At home it's the enslavement of our workforce through insecurity, fear, and physical exhaustion. Mostly so a few can marvel at their own cleverness and ability to amass wealth and thus power. Wear 'em out, give them a TV so they'll forget, and keep 'em on edge with fear of (fill in blank). That keeps a lot of Americans ignorant and pliant. The LOWEST social instinct in society is the profit motive. Yet, we are being ruled by so many people who hold this as their highest social ideal.

I've known a couple of people like this. A female relative of mine has a penchant for much older men (no, not for money) and her last was on the Board of Directors of G.E., was close friends with Haig, Reagan, and the Bushs and had a very typical political philosophy. He worked his way up from poverty, no less, but still had a rather callous and even coldly Darwinian attitude toward those less fortunate. These types of people pretty much don't think very deeply about things. They are clever, personable, and even generous to those they personally know, but there's a spiritual dimension missing. They actually believe a lot of myths (i.e. universal health-care = communism and does not work), not because they actually know about it, but because it serves their human need to feel justified and entitled to what they have. It's so SAD. These people hold so much power and feel righteous because they superstitiously believe that because they have wealth and power, they automatically are qualified to arbitrarily influence social evolution.

Ultimately it's a spiritual problem. Apparently most religions cannot help, having sold out to secular interests and obsessions long ago. It can only fall to those of us who will try to do the right thing just for the sake of doing the right thing. I can only do my best in the short time I am on this world. I'm trying to teach my children this too.

But i'll tell you one thing. Our current state of our nation is one HELL of a civics lesson. A DEPRESSING one, but, to paraphrase that ancient Chinese curse; we are indeed living in interesting times...........

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It's getting near time that we just might see another dramatic terrorist attack in the next year or so. You can bet some desperate plans are being considered to take our attention away from the catastrophes playing around. I wonder if it will be a dirty bomb this time. That just might make the stupids actually become labotimized Bush zombies, ready for the brown shirts and everything (in Cheney's fevered dreams!).

And I thought I was cynical when I was young! Eleven generations my family has been here, but Canada or even France (gasp!) are starting to look really good compared to here. But the USA is PRIME real-estate. We may be getting screwed, but in a great location!

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Kucinich or Russ Feingold represent the best hope for restoring civility and constitutional governance with meaning. Neither will ever be seriously considered to lead this nation. Obama gives us the best shot among the remaining rubble, but he will sell his soul to the very interests that must be eliminated from any future political influence. Whoever prevails in '08 is irrelevant- money talks, suckers walk and welcome to USA, Inc. We bought it and it is here to stay. It makes no difference which team you hitch to the wagon of state, both of them suck and Nader hit ithat nail squarely on the head when he bashed both parties during his inaugural Green Party run for the presidency. Remember Howard Dean? Whatever happened to him and the groundswell of support he generated? One or two media hits, the Clintons and bye bye Howie. Good luck Amuricker in '08, this worm won't turn!

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.
It’s impossible to know what any political candidate will actually do once they are elected, because campaigning is a process driven by expedience and money, honey. And the day they are elected, politicians start planning for their next campaign. So, it’s always about the money.

Because, that’s the SYSTEM.

Most Americans who’ve learned to think know it’s always about the money, but we respond to this knowledge in different ways. There are those who decide, “Okay, that’s how our system works, and I can’t change it, so it would be stupid not to take advantage of it.” Then there are those who want to change the system, for better or worse depending on your point of view. Depending on your point of view, an egalitarian society is goal worth striving for and sacrificing for, or not. Most Americans have apparently decided, not.

Voting for Democrats or Republicans changes nothing because the SYSTEM is intentionally corrupt. Capitalism, by it’s very nature is corrupt but enough of us have profited from it, that we don’t want to change it. We just live day by day hoping the SYSTEM doesn’t crash and burn before we die.

“Capitalism has eaten and voided democracy.”

No worries though, if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing, maybe our human sacrifices will appease the money gods.

.

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I have taken some pretty nasty bric bats from some on here over the past year. I do recall warning about the Dems and how they would be hoodwinked by Bush. While Nancy Pelosi is a House hottie (and God, I hope my wife looks that good when she is 67!), she has fallen into Bush's trap. It makes me more certain about my observations about life the universe and everything. It is hard being right, you get beat up on, but it is satisfying in the end.

Now to the future...

1) Iran will soon be attacked
2) The economy is only going to get a lot worse, and the US dollar is going to crash through the floor
3) The MSM media will become more the domain of ambitious, shallow, career climbing women who will not tell the truth if it threatens their pay cheques
4) So-called progressives will step forward and serve the role Catholic priests served in the middle ages: offering absolution for climate change, racial discrimination, third world poverty etc. by letting you give them lots of money so they can jet to conferences and party with NGO babes. Beware the shallow progressive, for he/she brings only false tidings

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Anti-war movement? WHAT anti-war movement? Mr. Cockburn, take a trip outside of Berkeley. There's a country out there. And it is a country where left-wing Democrats havent won a single election in modern history.

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I read recently that somehow Steny Hoyer has Pelosi hamstrung. I don't understand all the machinations of the inner workings of our political system, but
make no mistake, Pelosi screwed up big time with her "impeachment is off the table" strategy. I don't buy her recent back pedaling with the comment about the FISA bill doing violence to our constitution. It is too little, too late for Pelosi.
There are only two candidates, in my opinion, worth a second look. Kucinich and Gravel.
They are and represent everything progressives want. Nope, they are not perfectly coiffed, their suits are not Armani, their faces are not botoxed beyond recognition, BUT listen to their WORDS!
I don't trust Hillary or Obama (another chicken hawk) and Edwards is right about there being TWO Americas, but he does not buy the solution, Universal, Single payer, health care (Medicare) for all.
Biden and Richardson are smoozing, fast talking fakes and Chris Dodd is a well placed schill for Hillary.
Kucinich and Gravel are the only ones seriously talking about getting out of NAFTA and the WTO, getting us out of IRAQ and MR. Kucinich HAS introduced articles of IMPEACHMENT. Gravel got us out of Viet Nam and he can get us out of IRAQ!
The media does not mention these two men because the sweeping changes they represent scares the hell out of them. That should give you a clue!
Don't be sold (by the media)on the idea there are ONLY two choices for the Democratic nomination. Get off your complaining backsides and volunteer for or donate to Gravel and Kuchiich. Stop donating to the DEM PARTY, in general,and donate directly to Kucinich and Gravel. If Alternet readers are true progressives and want sweeping changes, then Kucinich and Gravel are the solution.

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The name 'democrat' comes from the Greek demos, meaning 'people'. So the Democratic Party should be the people's party, as opposed to the parties that favor the elite. But how many Democrats in Congress or running for President can say that they favor the people, rather than special interests? Nancy Pelosi, through her inaction on impeachment and her allowing increased Administration spying on us, has shown that she is not protecting the people. Hillary Clinton, in sharing a podium with Rupert Murdoch and raking in huge sums of corporate financing, has shown that she is not favoring the people. Barack Obama, in changing his mind when corporate interests threaten him about engaging in dialog with other countries, is really not speaking for the people. John Edwards, who suggests that debates be limited to "major" presidential candidates, is not standing up for the people.

The only Democrat running for President who has consistently spoken for the people has been Dennis Kucinich. Here are some of the ways that Kucinich has done this: (1) co-sponsoring with John Conyers HR 676, a universal health plan, (2) voting against the Patriot Act, (3) voting against invading Iraq, (4) promising to withdraw from the WTO and NAFTA, (4) standing opposed to weapons in space, (5) voting against a flag-burning amendment, (6) advocating a 12-point plan to get our troops safely out of Iraq, (7) voting to cut off funds for prosecuting the Iraq war, (8) urging the signing of the Kyoto Protocols to cut down pollution, (9) advocating education for all, from kindergarten through college, (10) urging the creation of a Department of Peace, (11) ending the "war on drugs," (12) urging renewal of the environment, (13) sponsoring HR 333 to impeach Dick Cheney, and (14) abolishing the death penalty.

All of these positions favor the people over the wealthy and well-connected. All the other presidential candidates are Democrats in name only. Ralph Nader called Kucinich "a genuine progressive." The corporate punditry with its big media would prefer our remaining content with ersatz progressives. That way they can continue to run the country from the top down, and the people will be none the wiser.

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.
All societies are hierarchies, that’s the SYSTEM we’ve followed since our beginning. We accept it unquestioningly, but is it the best system we could devise? Actually, the system we inherited had worked tolerably well, far from perfect, but it was workable. We will probably always be ruled by hierarchies, but we still have a chance to choose what kind of hierarchy that rules us.

The Republican hierarchy we have in power now would like to rule forever, and they don’t care what it takes to achieve that goal. This hierarchy has killed and will continue to kill many more people before they are stopped. Amazingly, the Democratic mini-hierarchy doesn't see the problem, or doesn't care.

Let’s do what the Mayans did. Whenever they had drought or famine they attacked another tribe to capture human sacrifices, which they sacrificed to appease their gods. The idea spread and pretty soon there was a human sacrifice race to prosper. And it worked. As more people died, their problems disappeared, and more and more Mayans abandoned their civilization and melted into the jungle.

.

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Although, I am totally disgusted with the Democratic Leadership, I'm not surprised. The majority of the Democrats in Congress are best defined as Neo-Liberal, New Democrats (ala 'slick Willy' Clinton). On the 'true' political spectrum, their policies would place them in the Conservative (or at best liberal Conservative) category. This is based on their economic, as well as social policies. There is a small percentage of the Dems that could be categorized as being on the Left, but they have no voice or influence in the Party.
However, although these surveys reflect my own dissatisfaction, our experience with pollsters and the corporate media make me suspicious. I wonder if this is not another ploy to discourage Democratic voters from going to the polls.

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The Left says it's immoral.
The Right says it's survival of the fittest.
The Left says it costs too much.
The Right says the winner doesn't have to pay.
The Left says it's making people mad at us.
The Right says, fuck'em.
The Right says get the liberals off our backs and let us do all that's necessary and all will come out fine.
The Left sucks it's thumb.

Nobody says -- we can't succeed at becoming the rulers of the world. Even if all in the country accept the current immorality, the ruthlessness (which in fact most do, lip-service to the contrary notwithstanding), we can't win. Yes we have unbelievable power, but we're like a great battleship, easily located and not very mobile. Our enemies cannot sink us, but they can harrass us endlessly to the point where all aboard, except the captain and some officers, are driven insane. The enemy can reduce us to a state of internal chaos.

And they can do this easily. The data in support this hypothesis are legion and rarely mentioned on the Left.

If the Left is serious about mobilizing people against the war it must educate the public to the most salient consequences it faces: the loss of everything that makes their life tolerable.

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With the exception of a few newly elected Democrats (Jim Webb for instance), this has got to be the largest concentration of slugs ever assembled in one place. Their approval rating, or in this case 86% non-approval, is well justified.

We should have gotten a clue when Pelosi took impeachment off the table within a matter of days! However; if the thought of a president Pelosi doesn't scare the bejesus out of you nothing will!

These clowns can look forward to the shortest tenure in power, as there's an incredible tide of sentiment building throughout the country to get rid of Democrats AND Republicans in '08.

It's definitely time for some new faces; representatives of REAL people, who aren't all beholden to the corporate lobbyists, and who have had to cope with the issues which impact everyday American's lives.

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With Congress and the current administration following the routes they do and if I didn't have family responsibilities, several good doctors who treat me and medical problems to contend with, I would move to another country (European) and live there !

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Seems we all admit and accept that it is dead and buried why aren't we fighting for it. When you vote people in you want them to get straight on with doing what they said they'd do. In the UK we have the supposedly left-wing party doing awful things and we're expected to choose between them and right-wing party.

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Mr. Cockburn has forgotten a few details. For one, the Democrats didn't fail to deliver on what they were elected for. It was those "Bluedog" Democrats who failed. All 47 of them should be taken out and shot. They are Democrats in name only. They have consistantly voted with the Rethugs, right along with Lieberman, and have no right whatever to call themselves Democrats.

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I read this article and the comments and must believe that the Republicans are laughing at how quickly the Democrats start feeding on each other. All it took was a few months of stonewalling from Republicans and vetos from Bush.

The result: oh yeah a Dem might become President in 2008, but with the anti-Congress feeling, Republicans get a good chance at regaining control of the Congress...maybe even enough to override vetos. So we'll still end up with a Republican controlled government.

Now yeah I'll agree the Dems are too weak and give up too easy and many are no better than Republicans. But the mess we are in is definitely what the Republicans have caused.

So let's place blame where it belongs...on the party that made the mess, not the party that is having a hard time trying to start clean it up.

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The only place there's an incredible tide is the Bay of Fundy! I see no possibility of a third party gaining any traction whatsoever. Unfortunately!

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Obama should be the next President of the USA. We need Obama because he is less a politician than anyone running--Democrat or Republican. Obama has statesman like qualities and that is what America is short of and sorely needs.

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Not due entirely to the NYT article that got "headlined" to indicate the "surge was working" as a "war possible to win" ..For those that DID bother to follow up or even read/decipher what the 2 authors were "reporting"...and in their follow up MEDIA SESSIONS by MSM, that picked up the headlined and INGORRED the full content and even when THE authors said, NO WAY UNLESS THE GOVT> GETS ITS POLITICAL ACT TOGETHER, but even now, thanks to how ALLOED to be spun,indeed , you have a RESURGE to climb back on the Bush bandwagon....How come all were too INEPT in getting the FULL thrust of the article out and about is a question that needs to be answered !!!

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The Demo-rats blew it when Nancy Pelosi decided to suspend and eviscerate the U.S. Constitution by saying Impeahcment is off the table..!

Impeachment up till Pelosi's denying America a fundamental protection from "the eternal abuses" of government was enshrined in The U.S. Constitution..

Nancy Pelosi will go down in history as one of the great enablers of Tyranny and Dictatorship in America a key figure in the fall of Democracy and it's greatest experiment in the history of the world..

As a matter of fact if we objectively look at the women involved in helping to create a Dictatorship and neo Nazi based Tyranny by a family that has supported and was begat with the Nazi idieology and profitted directly from Auschwitz and the Holocaust itself even such as Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi it really should give people pause and consider just how willing American women are prone to support Tyranny and Dictatorship and elitism and a police state...

We must really completely re-think the idea of a women President with all these women so eagerly or tacitly supporting Dictatorship and the Unitary Dictatorship of this family which were now as we know much more clearly were Nazi collaborators and profiteered due to their deep substantial Nazi collaboration..!

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1/3rd of the so called Democrats in Congress are really just DINOS anyway. The Democratic Party is dead taken over by moderate Rethugs like Webb an ex-Reagan Cabinent Sect.) Why? Because the really radical rt. has completely taken over the Repuke party. So The Demos. are now just the left wing of the REpuke party for all practical matters. Clinton parades around the country with BV$H senior. It goes on and on. Nobody represents the average American anymore. The Corpiracy has won its over.

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The Founding Fathers gave the House of Representatives two weapons to rein in an out-of-control executive that has overreached its legal powers and has usurped Congress's powers on war.

The first is the power to Impeach a president or vice president, or any other high government official who systematically overreaches and undermines the limits and the checks and balances in the Constitution.

One of the first things Speaker Pelosi did after taking powr was to assure Bush that "impeachment is not on the table." This is like a new sheriff, elected to stop a crime wave, telling the people (and the criminals), "criminal investigations and arrest warrants are off the table."

The second power the Constitution gives to Congress, an absolute power to prevent the President from assuming too much power for warmaking, is the power of the purse. As a last last resort, Congress can cut off the funding and leave the President unable to continue the war without coming to them and enlisting their full cooperation.

A funding cut-off, or even a significant cut-back, is the second thing that Speaker Pelosi and her supporters assured us was "off the table."

Having voluntarily renounced the only two weapons they have to carry out their sworn Constitutional duties, all the Democrats are left with is posturing for the next election and trying to avoid giving the Republicans anything that can be twisted and distorted into a campaign smear tool in 2008.

Short of a massive grassroots and netroots movement for an entirely new, fresh third party, I don't see this democracy healing and continuing.

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I've said it before and I'll say it again:

When the Democrats elect a President, this war will continue unabated. Same goes for the class war.

You might be able to change a few minds if you get out of this echo chamber and actually talk to some of those working-class Christians that are such a base of support for the Republicans, instead of painting them all as ignorant rednecks. Maybe you can't agree with them on all of the issues, but there has never been a better time to convince them that they have been voting against their own interests for decades.

Now is the time. In case you hadn't noticed, the bubble of safety surrounding the middle-class has been steadily shrinking since the 1970s. The question is, are you going to swallow some pride and try to find a middle ground with every day people by talking to them and not at them? Or, do you middle-class professionals and semi-professionals continue to act as the gatekeepers? Wake up! Screwing the little guy isn't enough for them any more, now they are coming for you.

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Of the 108 democracies, the USA is the only one with a 2 party system. Any time a viable third party candidate emerges the ruling parties employ the fear tactic that a vote for an independent party is a wasted vote or for opposite ruling party. It's time we stop listening to the lies design to maintain the status quo, and for the first time in our history choose candidates that supports the ideals of a free society guaranteed in our Constitution, rather than those whose only interest is in amassing wealth and protecting foreign investments.

It's also time for the independent parties to stop their petty bickering and form coalitions. At this time 40% of voter actually vote, If the other 40-60% voted the independent parties could control the House, 1/3rd of the Senate and the executive branch. It can be done and the time is now. Both ruling parties are out of favor. Are we willing to let people elected by a minority of the people continue to use our country's resources as their personal cash cow? Or are we now ready to elect a government more representative of America. Not rich but willing to service the country and her people. People who want to bring back the greatness of our country, not with brutality but with respect for all peoples and nations.

It's time that we accept responsibility for our country rather than letting the wealthy and corporate America steer the course that is most profitable for them, and chose the leader they feel will help them meet their economic goals.

As election time nears both parties pay lip service to what they believe the people want, but as we are experiencing now and have seen in the past they, with a few exception, it is just empty words. Money and power ends up corrupting the majority. They are of the opinion that the American people are dumb and have short memories.

With the two party system the alternative is the other ruling party. Both are parties of the wealthy and corporation with slightly different social views. The Dems want to make sure they get their share of the pie from wealth building wars, they like the Repubs don't have anything to loose.

They have already decided who are leaders will be. While they let several candidates run in the primaries that is just for show. They want us to believe we have a choice, but they make sure that the voice of the chosen is the only one we hear.
If you just can't break away from the traditional parties than at least when it comes to the primaries elections, rebel against the status quo and elect one of the long shots like Kucinich to be the parties candidates. If for no other reason than to send a message to the leadership that it is the people who run the country not the wealthy and corporation and if you don't do what we want we will replace you.

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If most Americans were as aware as most of you this would be a different and more peaceful world. Tragically that is not the case and there is no great effort in America to reduce ignorance or bring fairness into everyday lives. While tens of thousands of Americans are paid by their government to keep past and present truths from the people the 'good' America myth will continue and people will continue to vote in the same way.

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"Pursue them for war crimes after they've stepped down."

Bingo. That's the way to go.

As for Congress, I wish the DCCC would quit sending me fund-raising letters. I've quit donating for this bunch.

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Back when everyone said how great it was that the Democrats were in charge of Congess. I said they are as spineless now as they were when they all stood up and cheered as Bush proposed going to war and gave him all those Dictator powers. That's why I could never support Senator Swift Boat, I saw him and several other so called "left" Dems give about two dozen of those ridiculous standing ovations that have now become so routine and meaningless as Bush spoke. Anything he said after that display I knew I couldn't trust. A pox on all of them.
I really don't think anyone that really understands what fuels this economy is ever going to end the war. That new Bush appointee is now glibly talking about reenstating the draft and is being listened to; not a proposal one makes when there is any remotely serious consideration being given to ending a conflict. Weapons of war and prisons and "security apparatus" are our biggest exports and we have drifted this way ever so slowly but without waver since Eisenhower's unheeded warning way back in 1960. Things are so now that anyone who is from government and runs for president KNOWS this going in and really can't easily end outlets for our best manufactured goods like the war in Iraq. If they say otherwise they are LYING! The economy would collapse! And that, brothers and sisters, is the bootom line.
Gotta maintain that economy... that gawd of Capitalism that no one ever questions; that is the reason for every biological degradation, every human misery, every extinction in the last 200 years. One day Earth itself will end this stupidity in a massive meteorological, climatic and geological convulsion. Til then we'll keep believing our way to our way to our own destruction... following leaders who invoke the G word rather than refusing allegiance to anyone who would call him/herself thus.
Thank you Alexander Cockburn for your clarity of vision.

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We should be targeting those Democrats whose votes enable the Rethug agenda.

Here's a site being developed to bring their names into sharp relief. It's quite eye-opening:

www.jellycrats.com

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The Repubs have been stonewalling and blocking almost everything the Dems have tried to do. On the recent FISA bill, all but 14 Dems voted against it, while almost all of the Repubs voted for it. There was no oversight while the Dems were in the minority, and now there are all kinds of investigations into the crimes of this administration. What needs to happen is that the people who are represented by those 14 Dems that dropped the ball need to be calling their representative's office and urging them to get with the people's will, and/or consider running against them in the primary, or actively supporting a Dem or Ind challenger.

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We the people, opposed to the destruction of the planet and it's peoples, now atomized and powerless in "grass roots" and "special interest" groups, must unite our efforts and resources into a new party to replace the corrupt Democratic Party!

A new party that rejects corporate funding in order to end the corporate plunder of the federal government.

A new party explicitly opposed to the Project for the New American Century. Opposed to unending war for profit and power. Cut the military budget by 50%, shut down the 700 military bases around the world. Re-instate taxes cut by Bush gang.

A new party that commits the entire resources of the country to end global warming, end imperialist wars, implements true non-profit universal health care. promotes mass transportation, develops renewaable energy, and produces the essentials for human survival.

A new party that promotes an economy that works towards fulfilling the economic needs of all the people, not just to profit a tiny minority of super wealthy. No more people living on the streets! No more hospitalized people being dumped into the streets when they have no money or health insurance! (See the film SICKO)

A new party to unite all of the oppressed people of this country. A new party that cuts across all the false social and cultural divisions that keep us forever powerless (racial, ethnic, age, language, etc.). A new party to unite us against the unending destruction of peoples and planet.

A SOCIALIST PARTY to promote the end of gangster capitalism, run-amok capitalism, which is supported by both Democratic and Republican parties.

A new party to support the labor movement and all working people. We urge the labor movement to stop supporting the Democratic Party (already besotted by corporate money), and to focus its precious resources to fund a new national radio and television network. By being on the air 24 hours a day the labor movement can provide the latest news, information, education and current affairs analysis desperately needed by all working people. This effort, combined with the formation of the new party, will be a bold step towards reviving the organized labor movement.

For years we have listened to radio programs like DEMOCRACY NOW! that has discussed with numerous "grass roots" groups desperately struggling to make a positive change in society. Anti-war protest groups, civil rights groups, union struggles, affordable housing groups, teachers unions, health care access, seniors about Social Security, have involved millions of people. Now is the time to unite the energy and resources of the people into a new party.

The new party provides a means of uniting the “special interest” agendas of each group into the platform of the new party. The new party candidates, selected from the various individuals and groups, would become the candidates representing their cause and the new party. The new party will contest for office at every level of government in order to take power. The new party will provide the new leadership and new programs this country desperately needs.

There is still time before November 2008 elections to start this process. Even the announcement and preparation for a founding convention of such a new party will shock both Democrats and Republican incumbents. They will know that their days are numbered!

The needs of all previous "minority" and "special interests" people now become the platform of the new party representing the vast majority of people. Can the existing activists of so-called “minority” and "special interest" groups overcome their existing powerlessness, and link up with each other to start this new party?

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The left is as easily distracted, currently by the phantasm of impeachment. Why all this clamor to launch a proceeding surely destined to fail, aimed at a duo who will be out of the White House in sixteen months? Pursue them for war crimes after they've stepped down. Mount an international campaign of the sort that has Henry Kissinger worrying at airports that there might be a lawyer with a writ standing next to the man with the limo sign. Right now the impeachment campaign is a distraction from the war and the paramount importance of ending it.

Why impeachment now? DUH! Because the very reason the war isn't ending is because the apparatus is manned by those that want it to last forever, a.k.a. the President, et al.

Why impeachment now? DUH! because investigations stemming from impeachment proceedings will create the political will to prosecute them for war crimes after they're out of office. Sixteen months from now, no one with an 'Merkaan attention span will be capable of effectuating a war crimes prosecution, that's why impeachment is crucial now.

Why impeachment now? Its the MORALITY of doing so, stupid.

Calling impeachment a distraction is like calling the surge a strategy. What's really behind calling it a distraction is the urge to justify mistakes as something other than mistakes.

How the Dims blew it in 8 months was, calling impeachment a distraction. They failed to tap the average Amerikaans' disgust and moral repugnance at the Chimp-Emperor. And now you're just making excuses by calling it a distraction.

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She can be, you know.
She's as big a betrayer as Benedic Arnold.

But you see when it comes to the whoe Demo-canidate show through the media power, no fair time is given to Kucinch or Biden, or any one else. Not because they are so described as the one's with a "lesser" chance of "winning", or have less campaign funding, but because Clinton and Obama are the shills of the game, as they are "allowed" to have "front-center stage" as approved by the Republican/neoConJobs. For they well know that the swing voters or Republican bigots will not change party lines to vote for a Man of color or a woman.
Therefore, when the voting is all over the Republicans will still control the "baiy and switch Game".

This is not America any longer. Call it what you want but the Amercan flag is just a symbol of a lost civilization. An idea that was based on a Constitution. But I guess Bush is right. As he said, "...it's just a god damn piece of paper".

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"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." --- Thomas Jefferson

Though it looks like the economic house of cards that have kept the rich in power may be collapsing like the 35W bridge and global warming may put an end to the whole mess, perhaps the terrorists have the right idea. Maybe we should just start killing these people. It isn't like they have any qualms about killing us.

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I believe it was Thom Hartmann on Air America who suggested that those of us who want the Democrats to vote differently, need to get in touch with all of our Senators and Representatives. We need to let them know what we want, tell them that we expect them to take the actions they were elected to take, then let them know that we will stand by them when they do.

Let's face it, this administration has done one hell of a job at convincing many Americans that they are safe only because he (Bush) has done such a good job. I know a lot of people who can't tell you who Alberto Gonzales is and who still believe that 9/11 was inspired by Saddam. You will not hear the mainstream media contradicting any of the Bush lies, you will only hear them catapulting the Bush propaganda. That is still where many Americans hear the news.

So, we have to pretend that we're the 'Wizard's, if you will, and give our Senators and Representatives the spine to do the RIGHT THING. Just DO IT!

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Unfortunately it took segregationist Governor Wallace to reveal the truth that "there's not a dime's worth of difference between" Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats willingly went along with the War in Iraq, suspension of Habeas Corpus, detaining protesters, banning books like America Deceived (book) from Amazon, stealing private lands (Kelo decision), warrant-less wiretapping and refusing to investigate 9/11 properly. They are both guilty of treason.
Support Dr. Ron Paul and end this madness.

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So much for the elections, so much for "democracy".

Impeach Cheney (first)!

Then we go get the chimp.

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Get yourselves together and vote with your feet folks! Learn to produce your own food and energy and be off the grid. Run your wheels on biodiesel. Build a ferro cement house or a dome. Don't support the war machine with your dollars. Not every single person will do it, but if enough of us did, we could starve the military industrial complex. It doesn't take a lot of money and power either, just determination. Us hippies are still around, didn't you know, and we are even online with our solar powered laptops. By the way, we wash too and read books.

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So, who is the more credible now? George Bush or Nancy Pelosi? For my money it would be George Bush. The reason being that we know he is lying and so does he. Nancy was hired to get the job done, to bring the criminals to justice. She has failed and she is apparently lying her way through to the end of the Bush Regime or someone or something has gotten to her. That something could be political strategy or it could be just plain old money, as so many have pointed out here in the comments.

Whatever the reason, the woman has failed the people who elected her. The true Democrats, the ones who believe in justice, honesty, and plain old democracy must surely be devastated by the whole thing. Who else are they going to vote for in the next election if they cannot even trust the people they vote for to do the job for them? Short of a good old fashioned revolution ( good luck since everyone is watching soaps or sports or sitcoms or something and are truly apathetic and are ignorant of the motives of their politicians ) you are stuck in voting for the same guys all over again in the next election. You have two choices and that's it. You have two proven products to vote for and once you vote for whoever it is you are going to vote for you should know already what the results will be. The people who you will elect will be working for someone else besides you. These are the facts of the case. So, my recommendation would be to vote for the most likeable and believable liar, or his or her replacement.

You are educated now and know the ropes; you know how the system works. The politicians will say whatever it takes to get your vote. You think you don't have any choices, but you do. You must vote your conscious and vote for the best man or woman to represent you. It does not matter that whoever you vote for will do what they want anyway. You already know that. That is the game that is being played. But, you must let the politicians know that you know. You have to be smarter than them because they think that they are smarter than you because you voted for them. So, what can you really do? You must vote for the best liar. For my money that would be George Bush or his replacement ( hell it might even be Dick Cheney, now that would really be a good bet and he is truly a great liar - the best there is ) And, if you cannot beat 'em then you must join 'em. You will feel a lot better and you will be able to sleep at night too.

So, to use our heading as an example. " Give the surge a chance or it's only been eight months? " which one of these two statements represents the views of the better leader? Both are asking for more time to get the job done. And, both people are lying to you as well. But, there is a critical difference in the mentality of the statements. One is a war statement, while the other is only a promise of war ( impeaching the president ) The person preaching for war ( Bush ) is actually more credible than the one saying that war ( impeachment is off the table ) is off the table and that we need more time. More time for what? I rest my case.

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To be a Democrat, you have to hope we lose in Iraq and you have to hope the economy goes south.

If the recent successes in Iraq can spread over to the political side as well, then Bush will have succeeded and that will bode well for the Republicans. If it doesn't and the military end of it gets worse for us, then the Democrats will do better.

The stock market may be a little volatile right now, but for the most part the economy looks pretty solid. If unemployment stays low and wages continue to rise, that will be a boon for the Republicans in 08. If we sink back into a recession and unemployment goes up and inflation balloons, the Democrats will have a lot of fodder and talking points to lob against the Republicans.

Basically, America has to lose so the Democrats can win.

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.

The Hierarchal System is always imposed from the top down. Whether your System of government is called a monarchy, communism, fascism, capitalism or anarchy, the Elite have the gold and power and use it to make the rules. Self-preservation is their first, last and only Golden Rule. Preservation of their wealth and power supercedes the most basic needs of billions of their subjects. If you lack shelter, food, water or health care, it’s because the Hierarchy has made it so. Your lack is their gain.

Neither of our political parties represent the interests of the billions of subjects, they represent the Hierarchy because they are part of the Hierarchal System. The System is the means by which a small minority rules the vast majority by terrorism, cunning and deceit. Which doesn’t mean they are smarter than all the rest of us, on the contrary, most are incredibly stupid, but remember, they live in a world of their own making, aided by the basic decency of all those billions they abhor.

Their rules (laws) are one-way< Good for them, bad for us.

The hierarchy we have in power now would like to rule forever, and they don’t care what it takes to achieve that goal. This hierarchy has killed and will continue to kill many more people before they are stopped.

Is that grounds for Impeachment?

.

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only a very slight majority in the House and a minuscule one in the Senate. The White House is still in the hands of the most egregious bunch of cut-throats in the land. This in not exactly the right stuff to change much of anything in the hostile climate that the Repugs have in place. The Dems who were recently elected are NOT the ones who are going along with the President on the spying bill, war funding, etc. They have a differnent agenda, but we need to send them more Dems to shore up their moral positions. Sure we are disappointed, but it is not time to throw in the towel just yet.

To say that there is "no difference in the Dems and the Pepugs is factually incorrect and dangerous. Those folks should know better!

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Democrats know that the war is a huge success for Corporations and will do nothing to interrupt this success until every square inch of the middle east is secure for exploitation for their majority.corporate pals. Just because 70% of Americans want the occupation to end now doesn't matter because Democrats together with the Republicans mean there is no other option for this pesky

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it becomes NECESSARY-

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THE NEXT TIME YOU GET SOLICITED FOR DONATIONS BY THE DEM. PARTY, TELL THEM TO START DOING THEIR JOB FIRST. I TELL ALL THESE A-HOLES LOOKING FOR MONEY THAT I HAVE NO DESIRE TO SUPPORT THIS NONSENSE. THE DEMS ARE LAME LAME LAME.

WE NEED ANOTHER PARTY, THAT IS TRULY AN OPOSITION PARTY. SUPPORT DENNIS KUCINICH!!!!!!

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Republicans, with few exceptions, we already know are worthless; Democrats, with slightly more exceptions, have proven to be equally worthless; the Bush administration is far, far, beyond worthless. So, where does that leave us?

On our own.

Until 4 to 5 million americans can be persuaded to march on Washington, nothing will change; until the vast majority of voters can be persuaded to vote every single incumbent out of office (assuming we ever again have an untainted federal election), nothing will change, and corporations will continue to run – and ruin – our lives; until americans refuse to buy the cheap plastic crap that is 80% of what corporations produce, nothing will change – except Earth's benign environment we all depend upon for our survival. That will change soon, quickly, and not for the better.

We...are on...our own.

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When the Opposition is voted in and then does nothing- By the time you've figured it out-

it's too late-

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The only difference between the Democrats and republicans is which set of rich people own them. We need a third partty that is for the people that don't have seven figure incomes.

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and for the American soldiers who are stationed there. If our goal is to end the occupation, then I do think that impeachment should be "on the table" for activist priorities. Even if impeachment is not accomplished, "mainstream" scrutiny over how we ended up in Iraq can only help the anti-war movement.

Investigation is our friend, and House Resolution 333, the impeachment of Dick Cheney, is a way to get a (possibly) serious congressional and media investigation into why we are in Iraq. Not to mention that, because of the last section, it may help prevent war with Iran.

I personally think that we should be pushing for impeachment of Gonzales right now, for "wanton removal of meritorious officers"; just to get the impeachment ball rolling, to help the limping democrats realize that they are allowed to follow the law.

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“The Democrats control the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi could have stopped the bill in its tracks if she'd wanted to. But she didn't. The Democrats' game is to go along with the White House agenda…”

Put politely, this story and how it is framed is nonsense.

All branches of government at DC and its cooked parrot of an MSM are virtually owned lock, stock and barrel by a Fascist and de facto Corporate Monopoly Crime State.

To pretend otherwise is to live at a denial bubble.

Pelosi, the Clintons, Obama, Edwards, etc on the so-called “left” are self-serve corrupted sock puppets for corporate gangsters as surely as their GOP counterparts. They are only somewhat less obviously so.

Therefore, we get “impeachment is off the table” and less than zero accountability for an utterly bogus “war on terror” spy state built over no more than lies and blood money deception.

Government under crypto-Fascism is a paranoid racket. It’s also a very old and very murderous sting folks. Keeping a lid on it is job one at Washington and its MSM echo chamber.

If you want to know where the real power is, ask where well over $2 TRILLION of the pentagon’s budget vanished too the day before 911 and its COVER-UP .

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Impeachment is one of the most important things we could do for justice in this country. I too held the opinion for a brief time that it wasn't important. It is, the fact that the current duo of desperado activity in the white house has run roughshod over the constitution is of utmost importance and must be abrogated and stopped by that process so in the future all leaders know beyond a shadow of a doubt that because you managed by hook and crook to get elected you do not have power that puts you above the law. For that reason alone Impeachment Does Matter. We need it.

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I think we should have one primary objective above all others: We need to get the Republicans out of office. As is, the Republicans have gained an unfair advantage in our political system. They own the media,which is a branch in it self, the executive, and the judiciary branches of government. This current power distribution still has the Republicans with a power advantage.

When I see articles like this one on a liberal site given free Republicans talking points, I really question the motives of the writer. The Democrats have the momentum going into the 2008 election, I see the right making every effort they can to slowly chip away at that momentum.

Ralph Nader, Ron Paul, and a divided Democratic Party should be enough to keep the power distribution the same. Ralph Nader is financially supported by the Republican Party, and Ron Paul is a Republican. The person who wrote this article is probably a conservative Democrat, so in my analogy, he is one step away from being the enemy.

Here is my point: Ralph Nader's influence by itself will not affect the outcome of the coming election; Ron Paul's influence by itself will not affect the outcome of the coming election; apathy, resulting from division, will not affect the outcome of the coming election. However, when you put these factors together, there is enough influence to keep the good old Republicans in office. The only thing worse than 4 more years of George W. Bush, is 4 more years of his friends.

Joseph

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...by the sheer ignorance! Several referred to the R.W. as “mainstream America” – they honestly think they’re the VAST majority! – and they refer to Bush as “The Great Man”! They were delighted that Bush had “put the idiot dems in there place and do what there (sic) told for once”. And another: “Damm strait! Now thiers a leader (sic)!” Another suggested Bush should have “ordered some of them arrested… show em whose (sic) boss then!” I wish I were exaggerating the misspellings, at least.

I have to wonder what planet these people are from, anyway. It can’t be the one with MY America in it. Even people from other countries, even third world countries, know more about the Constitution than that! They WANT a damned king! Worse, they want a dictator; that, or they really, somehow, DO NOT SEE what it’s all leading up to. What with the gulags filling up and all after it all comes apart, I won’t even be able to enjoy a good “I told you idiots so”! And it’s almost a religious thing: they cherry pick evidence and then say, "See!” They ignore outright EVIL, obvious lawbreaking, lying, thievery, scams, obvious corruption, multiple extremely hypocritical scandals of the Repubs, and find one tiny (usually misinterpreted) thing and say, “See!”, as though they have been justified. How in Hell does one talk to people like that??

Ian

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This could have been a whine-fest that Democrats can't take action because the Republicans will call them unpatriotic, terrorism supporters but it wasn't. I want to like the democrats as the only opposition to the war and the wiretapping but I can't. Leave it to Democrats to either make a strong position appear weak or to cave in. What a worthless bunch.

How are Democrats any different than these who didn't act out of being called n*gger lovers.

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I was about to say that the voters are at fault for failing to vote in an overriding majority of Democrats instead of a simple majority, but when I see that some Democrats are not voting along party lines, I must dig to find an explanation.

It's possible that some Democrats are under threat in their own district because they persuaded otherwise conservative voters. This means they are self-preservationists and may be driven by an agenda supporting a personal investment.

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The fact that anyone actually expected anything to change amazes me. The only difference between Democrats and Republicans are some of the special interest groups they are beholden to. Let me say it now... All of you that expect some radical change after the '08 election are in for a rude awakening. The '06 election and all that has not been accomplished is just foreshadowing of what's (not) to come.

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If Congress is able to enact Ted Kennedy's new proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 in late 2009, that will enhance voter confidence because it will be the first time in decades that a minimum wage worker with two dependents will not be in poverty.

The raise to $7.25 in July, 2009 was not widely heralded because it merely matched the raises already enacted in many states, and was still a lower figure than already had been enacted in the home states of both Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi, among many other members of Congress.

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