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I'm not defending a damned thing and I'm not endorsing a damned thing, but .......

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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:32 PM
Original message
I'm not defending a damned thing and I'm not endorsing a damned thing, but .......
..... of late, it seems, we're kicking the shit out of each other over stupid stuff.

Let's think about a few things.

We don't like some of the candidates. Some of the best people for president aren't even in the race. Why is that? Well, in no small part, it has to do with cash. Its takes a shitload of it to run for county dog catcher. It takes hundreds of thousands of orders of magnitude more to run for president. A Billion or more will be spent in the collective efforts to get the office. A frickin' Billion.

We can shout at each other all day long about the way this one picks their nose or that one holds their hand when speaking or the other one combs their hair. But ya know what? It doesn't fucking matter.

Money Talks. Bullshit walks. Its that simple.

And we probably all agree on what the solution is.

Public campaign funding.

But instead its so much more productive (hahahaha) to yammer on about absolute meaningless bullshit dredged up in the worthless media. We squable over what THEY want us to squabble about. Age. Boomers vs everyone else. Tips. Lapel pins. Flying saucers.

Stop it.

Focus.

We all scream about the leadership of the party and what they're doing. Or not doing. (Just by way of example) Debbie Wasserman Shultz, no doubt as great a Democrat as anyone can imagine, and mostly on the right side of our REAL issues, will get her ass handed to her because she had the temerity to do her legislative job and act as the House Chief Deputy Whip and say that there are priorities higher than impeachment. I'm as upset by this as anyone. but I also applaud that out leadership is actually trying to do what we've been asking them to do for YEARS .... take a solid, united stand on stuff. It is inexplicable to me why they continue to choose THIS issue, but geeeze .... at least they're all on the same fucking page. Is this all Pelosi? I have no idea, but my gut says no. Instead, I really think it is them trying, however misguidedly, in my opinion, to get a larger majority in 08.

See .... its back to that cash again. Of course, the media only plays up our own internal squabbles ... to impeach or not. They magnify the divisions and ignore the unity. And of course they never focus on the substance - our president and vice president are arguably criminals and DESERVE impeachment.

You know, if the media actually allowed an HONEST discussion of impeachment, things would turn around pretty quickly. We can beat the shit out of our leadership, but until THEIR CONSTITUENTS are strongly pro impeachment, it ain't happenin'. How do their constituents get on board? Not by reading DU. They have to have it spoon fed. I try to talk to at least one person each day about impeachment. Imagine if the media were doing the same thing. Talking about it every day. We'd then know what the country REALLY thinks.

The media. Yeah, that's a huge problem, too. Every bit the equal of campaign finance reform. How do we fix it? Get a majority and a Dem president and then pressure the hell out of them to make the media honest again.

With an honest media, the vote system frauds would have outraged everyone in the country, not just Dems or Repubs ..... everyone wants to think their vote counts and is counted fairly. Its not even a partisan issue. Instead ..... we get shit. A few lone voices in the wilderness.

So yeah ... we can squabble about the small shit and the medium sized shit. That's what the media and money guys want. Instead, we need to be looking at the BIG shit.

I don't think there's any shit bigger than the twin badasses - the media CRISIS and the BROKEN campaign system. If we can fix then, I honestly think everything else will fall into place.
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peacebird Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:33 PM
Response to Original message
1. excellent points. k&r!
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:38 PM
Response to Original message
2. We had a majority and a Dem president under Clinton.
They didn't fix the media OR campaign finance.

Seems like there's always some excuse.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:41 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. Were youpressuring them to do so?
I recall VERY little outrage when the media went further away from fair under Clinton.

I recall little if any substantive discussion about campaign finance reform either ....... a few second rate bills in Congress, but no collective national HUZZAH.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:43 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. YES.
Fat lot of good it did.

And what the fuck are you talking about? National HUZZAH? :eyes:

How about we stop assuming they're all clueless and wake up to the fact that most are fucking COMPLICIT.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:46 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. What I'm "fucking talking about" .....
with 'national HUZZAH' is an upwelling of support from the populace.

The only Huzzah in the Clinton years was over the First Penis. And that was media driven.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:48 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. Oh well... too bad Clinton stabbed us in the back by not fixing the media.
Cause then maybe Granny D's efforts (your national HUZZAH) would have got more coverage.

Strange he would forget about that campaign promise right after he got in office... 'specially seein as how they were raking him over the coals so reliably.

But you know what they say... politics makes strange bedfellows.
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capi888 Donating Member (819 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:49 PM
Response to Reply #2
9. Clinton had a Republican congress..after 1994
Pugs started the war against Clinton, from day one. They did the knock the Dem Congress out..he had to work with them from 94 on...check it out!
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:51 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. Yeah they were elected in 94 and took office in 95.
So that only left him with just a measley year or two to get anything done.

Hmmm... what'd bush manage in office his first two years?
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frylock Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:57 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. that's unfair..
who knows how many interns he may have tapped in those first two years that we're not aware of? you just don't understand politics.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:51 PM
Response to Reply #9
11. There ya go with them damned facts again
Why do you hate America?
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:59 PM
Response to Reply #11
14. What facts in there are relevant?
Anything to avoid the painful truth, huh...
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:02 PM
Response to Reply #14
17. Why
the chip on your shoulder?

Do you agree with the OP or not?

Or do you just enjoy stirring up shit?
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:04 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. I do agree with the OP... but I am sick this week.
Sick and fucking tired of being stabbed in the fucking back and being told to suck it up and pretend like it's not the dems fault, oh no! They're good and if they're not they have a good reason not to be... cause they're all really trying really really hard, REALLY!

Sorry... I'll stop fucking up your thread.

Let's just all vote Dem... no matter WHAT KIND of dem they are... cause you know... we've got no fucking choice.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:10 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. Feel better, okay?
And just remember .... even junk yard dogs attack actual enemies.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:15 PM
Response to Reply #19
20. What does that mean?
Junk yard dogs?

*sigh*
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warren pease Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:15 PM
Response to Reply #9
21. Yeah, and he chose "triangulation" as the way to work with them...
Which essentially meant he became a moderate corporatist republican in all but nominal party affiliation. And besides NAFTA, his crowning achievement was the Telecom Act of 1996, which opened the door to media consolidation and set off an immediate flurry of mergers and acquisitions.

The results included Clearchannel's domination of the radio waves and the lowest-common-denominator monoculture of happy talk, mood music and endless advertising it spawned; the stench of Murdoch's News Corp. permeating every corner of the information dissemination business, even the Wall Street Journal's news gathering and reporting operations; the monopoly of over the air and cable news networks now owned by six giant holding companies, creating a system in which "news" now serves only to support the status quo and echo the value systems that gave us BushCo.

I don't know if Clinton was dragged kicking and screaming into triangulation or if he was a willing participant in his co-optation. Either way, the results speak for themselves. And now his wife is about to inflict that very same corporatist ideology on us yet again -- with the full support of the corporatist media monopoly that Clinton enabled in the first place.

Ironic, to say the least.


wp
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stellanoir Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:46 PM
Response to Original message
6. Four compromised elections later
we are pretty much entirely bereft of truly representative leadership. Indeed the media is mostly entirely complicit and totally sycophantic.

Sickening.

Luv you stinky.

K & R'ed
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iamthebandfanman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:46 PM
Response to Original message
7. money money money aint it funny
its a rich mans world :p
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sam sarrha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:57 PM
Response to Original message
12. corporate campaign contribution's are nothing but BRIBES.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 05:59 PM
Response to Reply #12
15. Which explains poltiicians lack of will to do JACK SHIT about them.
Yes, even our sainted Dems. :eyes:
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:00 PM
Response to Reply #12
16. I could not agree more
I'd personally love to see a law whereby if you give or take a dime, you go to jail.

First amendment people hate that view. I think there has to be a way around that.
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sam sarrha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 07:46 PM
Response to Reply #16
24. it isn't speech its money..it isn't free ..it buys favor...='s bribe
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 11:19 PM
Response to Reply #24
25. That's my view
Speech is speech ... to say nothing of the fact that its a right that accrues to humans, not Big Bidnesses.

Money is not a form of speech.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:35 PM
Response to Original message
22. This thread started out NOT being about Clinton - or anyone else
Sorry about the way it turned out.

I'd really like it to get back on track again.
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Fredda Weinberg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Nov-09-07 06:36 PM
Response to Original message
23. Kumbaya, my lord ... kumbaya ... n/t
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