An idea so beautiful and elegant that I wish there were a way to make it work...

[Jackpine Radical]

http://buzzflash.com/articles/node/7645

A Modest Proposal: States Lose "Main Street Job Creation Act" Funding if Senators Vote Against It --

By Mark Karlin

I have a modest proposal: if a U.S. Senator votes against the "Main Street Job Creation Act" (BuzzFlash's name for the "stimulus" bill), their state should lose half the funding from the bill. If both U.S. Senators from one state vote against the bill, the state loses its entire allocation from the legislation.

This may sound Draconian, but it might induce the people out of work and with piles of bills to tar and feather the "economic kamikazee" Republican Senators who got America into this mess -- and to run them out of the country.

After all, most of the GOP Neo-Confederate opposition to the "Main Street Job Creation Act" comes from Senators who represent states that already receive more money from the federal government than they pay into the treasury. With the exception of Florida, most of the Old South is still poorer than most of the rest of the nation, and needs massive federal aid to survive economically.

Stepford Republican Senators who believe that you can stop a house from burning down with a tax cut for the rich -- like Chatty Kathy dolls who just repeat the same line over and over again -- should suffer the political consequences of being so profoundly treacherous to the nation. And nothing would get them off the nearly 30-year-old message point of tax cuts for the rich like a good tar and feathering.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Bullshit

I live in a red state with two idiot repuke senators. I am not the only one here who doesn't support them. But you want to take any benefits away from all of us here in my red state??

What bullshit.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. ah, but just a hint of such a threat would be enough

to make those red senators see red.

[liberalhistorian]

8. No, I'm afraid it would backfire big-time

in favor of the obtructionist senators and, thus, have the opposite effect.

[valerief]

24. How? That doesn't make any sense. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Actually it would likely undo a lot of the gains we have made in my red state

It's had enough getting people involved and awake enough to see the crap the GOP is pulling.

[Oregone]

2. Damn. I'm not even sure Id vote for it, if given the opportunity

We should always preserve the right to dissent. Thats normally a liberal concept.



BTW, that would make a manipulated "Yes" vote influenced by duress, which is a breach to the democratic system.

[liberalhistorian]

11. You have a very good point, and

I'm inclined to agree. We can't condemn GOP lockstep conformity and then turn around and demand the same. It doesn't work that way.

[MichiganVote]

3. Really. If they are so sure their contituients don't want it---forego it in their state.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Good idea. I'm in Nebraska, and I'm all for it. Maybe these welfare-queen farmers

will finally stop listening to Limpballs and stop putting assholes like Johanns and Lee Terry in office. Time for red-staters to reject "socialism" once and for all, and embrace "rugged individualism" wholeheartedly.

[liberalhistorian]

10. I understand just where you're coming from. Here in SD

everyone rants and rails against taxes, even though we have no state income tax, and the fed'rul gubmint' and "socialism", and "freeloaders" and claim independent individualism, etc., etc., yaddayadda, blahblah, (you know the drill, I'm sure). Yet this state would be nothing and nowhere without federal farm and ranch subsidies, federal spending on transportation infrastructure (used by said farmers and ranchers for the conduct of their business), federal disaster relief (blizzards, floods, etc., especially in this state), etc., etc. This state receives a lot more in federal funds than it sends to the treasury, yet try telling these "rugged individualists" that. Drives me absolutely up a wall.

[Jackpine Radical]

14. Overall, I believe the Red states get more money back from da Gubmint

than they send in to Worshintun, and the Blue states have negative balances. All the military bases in the South, ag subsidies & land leases in the west, etc.

[TwilightGardener]

20. I lived "West River" for four years, near Rapid. I know that culture well, LOL!

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. You understand since you live there you would also be penalized?

You are willing to allow that?

[TwilightGardener]

19. Yes. I would love to see my neighbors and acquaintances, who hate

the "Mooslim" terra-ist-loving gun-grabbing baby-killer Obama, suddenly know what it's like to permanently lose "socialist" assistance from the ebil gubmint. Might change some minds.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. I live in a red state too and I want to see my neighbors benefit from "socialist" assistance

A lot of them realized what a disaster Dubya was and voted for Obama. And we have Republicans leaving the party and becoming Democrats here.

[TwilightGardener]

22. Well, I'm glad it's turning around in your area--my county is RED. In my small town, I

was slightly famous (notorious?) for the Obama bumper sticker on my car. How dare I?

[Jackpine Radical]

23. KS has a proud liberal past. We're waiting to welcome you back

to the "socialist" Midwest.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. And we are ready to come back

:woohoo:

[Waiting For Everyman]

6. Or that point might be made to those senators "off the record"?

I've seen mention of that somewhere. Who knows, it may be happening. :shrug:

[ldf]

7. sort of like

if you're union, you get to benefit from the work the union does. if not, you don't.

there are always the free riders.

and yes, red states have a lot of people on our side. just not enough of them. how do we GET more, if there are no consequences to actions? answer: we don't.

also sort of like NIMBY.

[glowing]

9. That would mean my state would recieve half of its bennies if the puke

didn't vote for it. I would hate to see what would happen to Florida.. Its been bleeding since 2006... and was never really good for anyone who was extremely wealthy... everything has sucked here for a long time. People are scattered and disorganized and can't understand why everything sucks so badly.. yet the fundies keep those fuckers in power, while they continue to hurt.. because their afraid of evolution and abortions... assholes.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. What's really impressive

is the quality of debate you can get going around here on a topic like this. I'm sure there are certain other, more ideologically pure, sites where everyone would be in lockstep.

[ddeclue]

16. There is NO way that would be Constitutional...

You would end up getting the whole law invalidated in Court assuming you could even get such a nightmare passed in the first place.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. You're right, of course, and properly so.

That's why I said somthing about wishing there were a way to make it work in the OP.

And I didn't, really. I was mostly struck by the poetic justice of it, while knowing that poetic justice usually doesn't map well onto real justice.

[BlueJazz]

18. I'm for your idea. I believe it (might) cause hardship for the sane-Liberals in...

...a state but over the course of 2 years, great changes would happen to the state that would benefit everyone.

[valerief]

25. I agree. nt

[NC_Nurse]

26. I'm in GA and I agree. If they want to be frugal, go ahead. Let's see how long they last.

[BR_Parkway]

28. Rather that mandatory - intro an amendment that allows any Sen to "opt out"

of the final bill based on those numbers.

Force them to vote that they don't want to forego the money - that they are just playing obstruction games.