To say that progressives are furious that Joe LIEberman has brought the entire Democratic Party to its ass-kissing knees on the life and death issue of health care reform would be a gross understatement.
President Obama allowed himself to be punked by Larry and Timmeh on the Wall Street bailout fiasco.
Then, cowed by Generals Petreaus and McChrystal into escalating the war in Afghanistan.
Bad enough.
But to let himself be rolled on his signature domestic issue by a loathsome creature like Emperor Joe, the man he personally chose to be his Senate mentor when he first entered D.C. as a wet behind the ears freshman— well, that’s just too freakin’ much.
That the likes of Harry Reid, John Kerry, and Chris Dodd backed LIEberman’s play against progressive candidate Ned Lamont could prove to be the death knell of the Democratic Party, at least as far as the 2010 mid-term elections go. Progressives and independents could very well decide to stay home.
Better yet, they could form another party, especially if the Teabaggers decide to take a similar route. That would create a 4-party system that might just bring down the easily bought, corporatist dominated duopoly we are forced to deal with today.
Take Howard Dean’s advice and kill the bill now. Start over and use reconciliation. Better yet, get rid of the obsolete filibuster rule, created during a time, far, far away, when bipartisanship was still a viable option.
Enuff is enuff.
LIEberman is a hypocritical corporate tool, and a vindictive, self-important jerk.
But in the end, he did just what Rahmbobama wanted, as Russ Feingold pointed out yesterday: “”This bill appears to be legislation that the president wanted in the first place, so I don’t think focusing it on Lieberman really hits the truth. ”
Though Obama did on occasion pay lip service to the public option, there were many opportunities where he was strangely silent on it, including at least one town hall meeting last summer, and most recently a closed door meeting with the Dem caucus.
Despite a campaign pledge to usher in a new era of transparency, even going so far as to invite the cameras of CSPAN to cover the deal making, Rahmbobama was from the gitgo, cutting backroom deals with the medical-industrial-complex in exchange for promises that they wouldn’t use their billions against the Dems in upcoming elections.
Unless we get real campaign finance reform– publicly funded elections– the experiment in representative democracy that the Founders envisioned and worked so hard to create is going to end up on the ash heap of history.
If the progressives stay home in 2010, then the rethugs, or worse, the tea baggin fools will have control of the House.
I’m with you. I am totally disappointed in the Democratic Leadership. I’m sick to death of the Lobbying and the bought and paid for Congress. But it would be much, much worse than what we have now if the rethugs and other parasites should get control. What we need to do is work even harder and find the right people to Primary their asses.
The Blue Dogs are like yesterdays rethugs. I don’t know how anyone could even consider calling them Democrats. And today’s democrats are quickly turning into no good lying bastards.
We need to find a way to abolish the Senate all together. They’re just a bunch of useless egotistical selfish know nothings. It would be great to go to the Parliamentary System. Checks and Balances? Does the Federal Government even know what that means anymore?
LIEberman has really gotten to me. But worse, Rahm sold us all out. If they don’t listen to Howard Dean and others like him regarding HCR, then we are ALL screwed.