The Democratic Party had it made

[SHRED]

All they had to do was pass a potent government health insurance option, get our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and focus bailout money to us here on Main Street.

They did none of the above.

They are losing me and many Americans.
Obama's Afghanistan fiasco will be the death knell IMHO and those Dems in Congress who vote to fund it will be the dirt on the coffin.

I am sad for America and sad for our party.


---

[JanMichael]

1. Fuckin' commie pinko shit...

Yeah I agree...but that's a given:-)

[Go2Peace]

84. Watch the polls next month on, they are likely to PLUNGE

I just don't understand. Are the democrats so out of touch? Or are they terribly cynical and think they can manipulate us in the end?

[drmeow]

89. They are addicted to power and money

continued voting pattern despite its potential detrimental effects

[rhett o rick]

132. That's becaue it isnt a fight between Dem's and republicants, it is a f'in class war.

Congress is owned by the wealthy elite and dont give a crap about us peons. The Democratic Party has been bought by CorpAmerica.

[leftstreet]

2. K&R

[laughingliberal]

3. K & R nt

[eleny]

4. I feel the same

[mullard12ax7]

5. Letting those pesky widdle war criminals walk doesn't look so good either

But hey, it was just torture, conspiracy to commit war, civilian killing and a passive genocide, who cares right?

[MUAD_DIB]

6. They still have the ability to really fix things up or phuck em up, TEB.

Let's hope they can get their collective ass together or it may get a collective kicking in 2010.


Fools...

[SHRED]

8. "MUA" in da house!

:toast:

[MUAD_DIB]

23. Hey Shred. How goes? LTNS.

Cheers! :beer:

[SHRED]

24. I still mash up...

...over at craig's.

Hope you and your's are doing well my friend.
Happy Holidays.

:hi:

[MUAD_DIB]

51. You're better than I then.

After my last correspondence with Mr. Newmark I just walked way from CL WoPo.

He seemingly doesn't care or won' be bothered with the cesspool he has created.

It's frankly not worth my time or effort.

[Dr. Strange]

143. Off-topic, but...

shouldn't that be "MUA" in da sietch!

[AllentownJake]

7. Who would hire them when they leave office than? n/t

[SHRED]

9. their wealthy friends will

[LakeSamish706]

10. Total agreement.... I think they have totally screwed up big time...

The scary part with their screw up is we could really someone like a Palin in the WH... Yikes..

[Jakes Progress]

11. Back seat of the sedan down at the waterfront.

Democrats talking to their big brother, Obama.

"I coulda been a contender. You was my brother. You should have watched out for me? Now we're on a one way ticket to palookaville."

[tiny elvis]

95. soon to be a van down by the river

looking forward to rahm's motivational speeches
he's down in the basement where he's been drinking coffee for the last three hours

[rwheeler31]

12. Sorry you feel this way.

[piratefish08]

13. Welcome to CorpUSA.

One dollar equals one vote.

I have officially given up hope.

[SandWalker1984]

14. Republicans or Democrats, they all belong to the Corporate team now.

I too worked hard the past 2 elections to get Democrats back into power, thinking it was the way to repair some of the damage and destruction done by Bush & company.

What I did not realize then, but do now, is that the Democratic Party has been, at least on a national level, destroyed from within by the DLC. It is now the CORPORATE Democratic party. The corporations -- from military suppliers to health "care" providers -- now own both sides of the aisle in Congress and any legislation passed is to benefit THEM not us.

Many Republicans have left their party to become Independents in disgust and now Democrats are doing the same. This is NOT by accident. It is a deliberate takeover by the corporate CEO's of control of our government. Mussolini would be proud of what the CEO's have accomplished.

That's why Obama will keep the war machines running, why we will get the corporate enrichment & healthy profits bill instead of health care reform (including the mandates but NOT the private option), why NAFTA will not be "fixed" nor will manufacturing jobs return to the United States, why more and more people will lose their homes because they cannot earn enough to keep them.

Politicians now collect the bulk of their campaign donations from the corporations they "represent." With the electronic voting machines, we are no longer even needed to cast our votes (as Florida and Ohio has proven).


That is why they are no longer listening to us -- because we are no longer needed.

[SHRED]

15. I agree...this is what I see happening also

[NoUsername]

20. Hey c'mon now. They still need us.

To pay taxes. Other than that, we can all FOAD as far as they're concerned.

[Frank Cannon]

40. And they desperately need us to buy all the shit China produces

How else can the Chinese get rid of all their toxic waste?

[SammyWinstonJack]

52. Kinda hard to do that without good paying jobs. Guess they haven't thought that far into.

the future. :shrug:

[Frank Cannon]

114. I'm sure they'll help us all out by making it cheaper

Hell, discarded car batteries are practically free. There's no limit to the stuff they can craft those things into.

[natrat]

47. this is also why the fed policies won't create jobs but instead crush labor

[AndrewP]

75. Well said

[undergroundnomore]

103. I'm beginning to

hear more and more rumblings this way and like you said it's not just from the crazy beckers leaving the republicans. Some of my friends say they see no real difference, no real change. I'm curious though, if some progressives left the democrats and became our own party would we take any of the current office holders with us or would would we find people who would serve and listen to our concerns?

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. Death knell

[SHRED]

18. corrected...thanks

[ShortnFiery]

17. Kick

:dem:

[TexasObserver]

19. True. But the refusal of Democratic leadership to deliver has hurt the party name.

Now, all those independents whom Obama gave HOPE realize it's just a four letter word that means FUCK YOU.

Pelosi, Reid, Obama - there's a trio that have made history by blowing a huge lead and the chance to effect real change.

Change? Same generals. Same Defense Secretary. Same Wall Street goons. Same tired old lame ass excuses for bending over for the military complex and the health care industry.

I had high hopes for the president, but he's shown nothing to be encouraged about in many months. What a huge disappointment. I strongly backed him, but his detractors were right. He is good at giving a speech, but that's about it. "Let's all sit around and talk about it, while the GOP runs over us" isn't much of a plan.

Maybe he'll have his teeth kicked in enough by the GOP he'll get more LBJ and less Jimmy Carter in his game. I've never seen any major Democrat blow such an opportunity in 40 years of being a Democrat. Does he know? Does he ever get outside his own head to find out how badly his policies are being rejected by those who elected him?

[SHRED]

22. well said...

...send this to the Whitehouse.


As if they care.

[SammyWinstonJack]

54. They don't and neither does Obama.

[tblue]

25. I really wonder how he expects to be reelected if he writes us off like this.

You know when he lost me? During that healthcare speech, when he said he's getting grief (my word, not his -- I'll look for rhe quote) from the right AND the left. He actually disparaged his base before the Congress, equating us with the Republicans who never did a damned thing to support or help him.

I'm not totally giving up on Obama, I badly want him to succeed, and he can still win me back, but he is really yanking my chain.

[TexasObserver]

26. Every opportunity in his life was created by liberalism.

From the moment of his conception forward.

Liberals made it legal for blacks and whites to marry.

Liberals made it acceptable to be biracial.

Liberals made it possible for him to go to Harvard Law School.

Liberals made it possible for him to use drugs but not have impede his political career.

Liberals got him the nomination.

He owes his entire life and career to the liberalism he thinks is so 1960s. When will he get it? Will he ever get it? He's got too much yuppie and not enough yippie.

[girl gone mad]

28. I doubt he sees things that way.

A lot of successful people live in a bubble of self-delusion, thinking that they made it to the top purely by means of their own brilliance and hard work. Very few ever willingly acknowledge the extent to which timing, good luck and the sacrifice of others contributed to their success.

Obama has done very well under the corporatist, right-wing system. Why would he really want to change the status quo?

[TexasObserver]

130. He certainly fits that. A bubble of self-delusion.

He owes all that he is to liberals and the things liberals have made possible.

[thegoodfight]

107. He doesn't owe Liberals anything

Don't think that I like him, I don't. You're actually saying he owes liberals because they made it okay for a black person to be president? I don't care if you're liberal or republican, there's a racist in both political parties and he doesn't owe anybody, anything, because he happens to have more melanin in his skin. That's like saying, you were born black, society hated blacks, some people in society (who weren't affiliated with any particular political party) said you would make a good president, even though you're black, you owe those people something because you're in debt for being black? I'm sorry, society created racists, those people who wanted him to become the first black president, they owe it to him, not to bring up his fucking race if they're so keen to eradicate racism, but clearly, you think he owes you something because he's got more melanin in his skin.

[TexasObserver]

129. You clearly don't get it, and don't seem capable of getting it.

Thanks. It's seldom by only one post I can tell that a poster will never have anything to say. You've accomplished that.

You also appear lost. This is a Democratic site. We're Progressives.

[natrat]

49. the machines are fake so if his bosses like his performance.....

[Better Believe It]

91. Because he expects liberals have nowhere to go and will vote for him instead of a Republican

[yurbud]

27. the GOP isn't kicking in his teeth. They are a corpse in rigor mortis. He, Reid, and Pelosi

are just pretending the GOP is twisting their arm as an excuse to give away the store to the already wealthy.

[natrat]

48. if its any consolation clinton would have been no different

[Jackpine Radical]

106. That is true, and truly cold comfort.

I 'member back in '01 when everyone was slobbering over their memories of Big Dog & I just never bought in. I remembered things like Nafta, the Grinch Revolution & Bimbogate.

[chimpymustgo]

57. The SQUANDERED opportunity. People were famished for CHANGE. They actually had HOPE.

Obama could have come in and passed real healthcare reform and ended the wars and the PEOPLE would have been behind him overwhelmingly.

He just gave us the big FU. And we won't even talk about WALL street vs. MAIN street.

[Common Sense Party]

90. Don't you get it? He's a freaking chess master.

You people are so stupid. He's strategically playing the board ten steps ahead of the opposition.

:sarcasm:

At least, that's what all the Barackophants keep telling me.

[DumbBassRepublicans]

128. Obama vs. Palin...???

GOOD post, TO...!!!

Your observations are pretty accurate, IMO...!!!

Still, I'd rather have a DEM in the White House than a republican....

Hopefully, a Palin nomination, will continue Obama's presidency..!!!

But I think we can forget the Congress, unless things change for the better, in a hurry..!!

[aaronbav]

21. K&R - My feelings exactly! n/t

[nemo137]

29. All they had to do.

I'm surprised they didn't get it done in the first week. Everyone knows that major legislative work and massive foreign policy shifts are a breeze.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. No. McCain/Palin would have been a nightmare even worse.

[Techn0Girl]

32. Oh yes...

With McCain we would have been locked into years and years of endless war with thousands more young men and women killed. They would have given the economy away to the banks and put industry shills in charge of it all. Those bastards would NEVER have given us a public option or reasonable health care reform. They would have made deals with the Pharmaceutical companies to keep prices high.

With Obama it's so much better.

[Javaman]

68. if mclame and failin were in, gasp, office now...

there would be no discussion regarding bringing the troops home or ever ending the war. At least we have that.

the same goes for health care, their election would have effectively shut down permanently any discussion of health care.

and besides, if they were the leaders, it would have been one grand fucking retarded kabuki show after another.

mclame only comes out with the occasional moronic statement now and then (he has to remain somewhat coherent due to him still being a senator) but look at the complete 8th grade buffoonery we are currently being treated to via failin quitter.

you would want that functional moron as vp and possible prez? not like she wouldn't have plotted her own moves to have mclame declared mentally incompetent so she could assume the throne.

Even though Obama isn't the sparkling beacon of hope he was marketed to us all as, he is still massive leaps of sanity and intelligence above mclame and failin.

[GreenPartyVoter]

72. Never said it was great now. Believe me, I would rather have an election system that

really works where you have more choices and no campaign monies outside of public funding. But to have a President Palin would have been above and beyond the disaster of W/Cheney, no question in my mind. Just the fact that she is hyper-religious and against abortion even in cases of rape and incest set my teeth on edge and sent a chill down my spine. Corporatocracy sucks. Corporatocracy under a Christian Taliban would suck even worse, which is the only reason why I didn't vote for my own party, as sad as that made me.

[txaslftist]

I dunno.

McCain would have had both houses against him and all of us energized against him. I wonder if that would have forced him to come to the middle? As opposed to this sort of "what do we do when our guy is screwing us?" sort of feeling.

I tell ya, I am starting to see it as tweedledee and dum.

[Bluebear]

141. that's the shame of it

when you feel that there is no difference. that creates and is creating apathy.

[txaslftist]

87. I dunno.

McCain would have had both houses against him and all of us energized against him. I wonder if that would have forced him to come to the middle? As opposed to this sort of "what do we do when our guy is screwing us?" sort of feeling.

I tell ya, I am starting to see it as tweedledee and dum.

[cowcommander]

41. Imagine the public outcry if McCain did what Obama is doing right now

Instead of teabaggers, we'd have REAL political rallies and a public supportive of actual, meaningful change.

[FiveGoodMen]

76. That may be why the PTB gave us Obama

To keep us from making too much of a fuss.

And they have the Tea-baggers (hardly a grass-roots affair) to keep attacking him with nonsense so that we'll spend all our time debunking rather than demanding that change we all remember hearing about.

[glitch]

81. Bingo. I actually think that is why they impeached Clinton. But then my tin is strong. nt

[Marr]

33. They didn't do it for the same reason they didn't fight the Republican agenda during Bush's term.

The party's "leadership" decided they'd be able to just step into power without effort if they allowed the GOP to run roughshod over the system. Their goal wasn't so much to "win" the election, as to not lose as bad as the Republicans. That's all they give a shit about; their wallets and their personal influence.

[Firstzar]

34. (Sigh) Just like Bush after 9/11

He squandered America's good will around the world, same as he did with the surplus Clinton left him!

[prezpeng]

35. sad

What you said is true, but do not give up on them yet, because the alternative is worse. Keep on their backs and we can help them to do better. We have to work too, so our job is to push them in the right direction and make sure they stay there. I hate to see Hannity with that smirk on his face like Bush had.

[redqueen]

60. According to some DUers the alternative is not worse. (nt)

[rtassi]

117. The lesser of "who cares" thats quite a motivating choice ...n/t

[lib_wit_it]

36. The Rs managed to push through their agenda with ease. Obviously it can be done. Just not by Dems.

[mmonk]

37. Pretty much summarizes things.

I would add no real consequences for Bush/Cheney, continued spying, rendition, and Bagram.

[info being]

38. Shit, even 1 or 2 of those would have been SOMETHING

[cowcommander]

39. Remember what Truman said...

"Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican all the time."

2010 is going to be brutal. And if the status quo continues in 2012, Obama is not going to win.

[SammyWinstonJack]

58. He probably won't run, he's said as much. Won't seek re-election if

his policies failed or failed to pass. Set himself up for failure and acted or didn't act, on that.

[pipoman]

42. All true

the final nail for me may be this corporatist Pacific Rim US Job Giveaway...really...I am likely done if they/he allows this to go forward..

[SHRED]

44. do you have links to this?

I want to research more.

thanks

[bvar22]

62. Just Google "Pacific Rim Free Trade".

274,000 hits.

Even while pretending to support "American Jobs", Obama is quietly negotiating MORE "Free Trade", not just the Pacific Rim, but Latin America.

[pipoman]

79. Yep,

it will all be ok though....we can all give each other haircuts and oil changes..

[sad sally]

85. yeah, and don't forget

with the insurance "reform" (note insurance not health care) coming somebody's gonna have to sell the policies to somebody else.

[pipoman]

86. Oh yea...and somebody will have to be in charge of denying claims too..

[noamnety]

43. snatching defeat from the jaws of victory yet again. nt

[Echo In Light]

45. By design

[natrat]

46. this is all by design

the same rightwing fuckbag oligarchs own the whole deal and are successfully moving the country to the right with sold out dems turning the middle off. They dont even have to use the fake voting machines. Designated party of failure.

[G_j]

50. K&R

[Mari333]

53. The Party is Over

literally.

[tomp]

55. look at the bright side.

we could get a viable third party out of this, and not a moment too soon.

[glitch]

82. Not with the corporate voting machines counting the votes.

All third parties will be used as spoilers.

[tomp]

135. your point on the vote counting is well taken.

as far as the spoiler issue goes, a third party would at least initially be a spoiler anyway, that's the point. i WANT a third party to "spoil" the corporatism of the dems. If the left consistently puts its votes elsewhere the dems cannot win. I'll settle for either a leftward moving or a non-existent democratic party.

[glitch]

138. I don't know, that leaves the field wide open for the fascists.

Not that they have much competition on the field right now anyway.
I used to think when the Republicans imploded the conservative Democrats could take over their party and we could take over the Democratic Party. But it looks now like that won't be possible, the Republicans are slotted for batshit fascist and the Democrats are slotted for elite fascist.

Elections seem to be becoming less of a path for change.

[tomp]

150. both fascists, both work for the same masters.

besides, that's the same excuse that's always used, the lesser of two evils, that prevents real progress. not buying it anymore.

i think we are actually at a point where a third party could gain serious traction very quickly. i'm not ready to rule out electoral change just yet, though i'm very close. the options are growing slimmer by the day.

[glitch]

151. If I am really thinking that electoral change may not mean much anymore then third party gains

in attraction. IOW, what the hell, might as well go down fighting.
More appeasing has a foul stench about it. And if that fails there's always the other thing.

[tomp]

153. yes, that other thing. not yet but soon.

something has to upset the system. kucinich makes so much sense. i'm hoping he breaks from the dems and takes the progressive caucus with him. i sense he is close to it. it could work.

[salguine]

56. Don't be sad for a party. Be sad for you. You're the one who was owed something.

[leveymg]

59. What we hoped for was FDR - what we ended up with is Harry Truman.

The Democratic Party is doing to itself what happened in 1948 - the unnatural alliances of Dixiecrats, Cold War Centrists, and Left Progressives is coming apart, again. Unfortunately, Obama is not turning out to be the unifying figure he was during the campaign - he's governing too far to the Right-Center to succeed as the leader of the Democratic Party.

Obama may get narrowly re-elected in 2012, but the Congressional majority looks more and more likely to shift hands. Nothing will get done. This country is truly f-cked.

[Vidar]

73. We ended up with Hoover. Truman integrated the armed forces,

instituted the Marshal Plan, fired MacArthur & never lacked for courage, something sorely missing in Obama.

[tonysam]

104. That's an insult to Truman, who was a real liberal. n/t

[glitch]

140. Truman was a moderate, although he would pass for liberal today. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

139. We ended up with Tony Blair,

who not only failed to undo Thatcher's policies but also added his own policies that pissed the British people off.

That's why everyone expects the Conservatives to come back into power this time around.

[tekisui]

61. We lacked true leadership.

[Danascot]

63. Related threads FYI

Forty percent of Democrats say they ‘probably won’t vote’ in 2010

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7116895

New poll paints ugly picture for Dems in 2010

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7114585

[bvar22]

64. The WORST thing to happen to The Democratic Party was...

...for America to give them The Presidency, MAJORITIES in the House and Senate, and a HUGE mandate for "CHANGE".

NO. MORE. EXCUSES.
It IS what it IS!
What is coming OUT of Washington IS The "NEW" Democratic Party.
Oh they are trying to blame the "obstructionist Republicans", but most of America knows better.

A quick review of the Democratic Party Performance in 2009:

*The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party SHUT OUT of the Obama Administration…...Mission Accomplished!

*WARS fully funded and EXPANDING. Bill sent to our children…...Mission Accomplished !

*Trillion Dollars given to friends and campaign contributors on Wall Street. No Strings Attached...Mission Accomplished!

*Military Spending INCREASED....Mission Accomplished!

*Trillion+ Dollars given to the Health Insurance Industry. Token, easily avoidable, symbolic only strings attached....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Kill the possibility for a REAL "Public Option" or REAL Universal Health Care for at least another generation....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Block ANY re-regulation of BIG BANKS and Credit Cards....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the Bush War Criminals and Torturers from JUSTICE....Mission Accomplished.

*Throw the Dirty Hippie Peaceniks, Liberals, and GBLT under the bus....Mission Accomplished!

*Reinforce the worst Police State provisions of the Patriot Act....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the very richest. Tell the Working Class that they CAN will be forced to compete with 3rd World Slave Labor.....Mission Accomplished!

*EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) killed in the crib....Mission Accomplished!

*More Anti-LABOR "Free Trade"....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Jobless Recovery....Mission Accomplished

NOW we have Your Children’s Money too !!!
And there is not a fucking thing you can do about it!
Now THIS is “Bi-Partisanship” !
Better get used to it!!
Hahahahahahahahaha!



Can you imagine the OUTRAGE if The Republicans tried to FORCE every American to BUY Health Insurance from the Health Insurance Cartel?....and then TRY to call it "Universal Health Care?

[Kolesar]

71. Obama gave us Secretary of Energy Chu

I'm happy with him.

Obama's government is creating tougher automobile efficiency regulations--I am happy about that.

[FiveGoodMen]

149. That's quite a list!

All true.

All terrible.

[rudy23]

65. They're the Washington Generals to the GOP's Globetrotters. They're doing exactly what they want.

Their job is to lose, and make it look like they were trying so that they keep getting paid for their roles. They legitimize Congress--they make it look like there's really two sides going at each other, but it's all for show.

[Octafish]

66. + 435

May the real Democrats stand up and take the lead, already.

[Soylent Brice]

78. most accurate description of our predicament to date. n/t

[Ignis]

94. Quoth Saint Hicks:

I'll show you politics in America. Here it is, right here. "I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs." "I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking." "Hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding out both puppets!" "Shut up! Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control. Here's Love Connection. Watch this and get fat and stupid. By the way, keep drinking beer, you fucking morons."

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rant_in_E-Minor

[BrklynLiberal]

67. It sure is a very sad state of affairs...

[Bluebear]

69. You said it. And reading the folks here who are promoting this war is sickening.

[CrispyQ]

70. Squandered opportunities.

k&r

[glitch]

83. Considering the state we're in and the late hour, the opportunity costs will most likely be dire.

IMO our only option now is to focus on local - see my sig.

[Thickasabrick]

74. I agree with your sentiments but in reality - it's what our party seems

to do best - which is screw ourselves because the majority of our politicians still do not have the backbone to fight and marginalize the republicans and/or the MIC - even when we have a majority. It has always been that way. Maybe a better name for the party would be spinelesscrats.

Dunno, but I'm done unless hell freezes over and we actually see things turn around.

[inna]

77. See this thread, too...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7125280

It's a minor point perhaps, but... for some reason it felt like the last straw for me today.

It just blows the mind that Obama backs this TAX CUT for milti-millionaires that will cost $233 billion over the next 10 years.

:banghead:

[dana_b]

96. tax cuts for wealthy people and

expanding this war. Does this make ANY fucking sense?!

I have to say - I will come to DU for information, some articles and some discussion but I'm already done with this administration.

[inna]

131. i.e., direct, open, in-your-face UPWARD redistribution of wealth.

UN-freaking-believable.

who needs republicans with "Dems" like this crew. :grr:

[Romulox]

80. The simplest explanation is that Barack Obama and the Congress are implementing PRECISELY the policy

that they want to. Obama's support of bankster bailouts, perpetual war, mandatory for-profit insurance, and job-obliterating free trade isn't a tactical mistake--is his core ideology. :hi:

[RedCloud]

88. I half expect Obama to stand up and say, "You know I am a Republican now!"

He sure caters to those folks and their wing nut issues.

Tell me again how Bush helped the liberals? By letting 9/11 hit NYC? By letting California suffer from those energy moguls? By letting NO get punched in the face by Katrina while he cut cake with McCain?

That's how he reached across the aisle: with the grim reaper smirking right behind him.

[spanone]

92. it. is. less. than. a. fucking. year.

[tiny elvis]

101. repubs also fucked us in less than a year. quit bragging

[MissDeeds]

93. But, but, but

He won the Nobel Peace Prize. Yeah, how's that peace thingy working out now? Escalating this BS war, and he takes home the Peace prize.

[dana_b]

97. he needs to not accept that

if he does, he's a damn hypocrite.

[davidwparker]

98. 2010 will be a (D) slaughter. 2012 will be a year for an (I) as president

as it was for Ross Perot before he freaked out, dropped out, and never regained traction when he got back in.

I would have voted for Ross if he had not dropped out originally.

[BlueJac]

99. That is you get from sell outs!!

Corpocrats!

[mother earth]

100. I'm outraged, I'm not sad. I'm hoping Bernie Sanders runs

in 2012. I want a president, not a figure head. Who pulling the strings, or worst, it's scarey what has become of our democracy and our country. I thought Bush/Cheney threw us into the abyss, but I never dreamed we'd still be there after a democratic win.

Fuck bipartisanship, it's time to go FDR and end the damned war and do the real work with what's left of this country.

[man4allcats]

102. Hell, I'd have given them a pass if they had accomplished single payer health care

and nothing else! But none of the above? No! If they like their jobs, they better do better than that.

[emsimon33]

116. Me too.

Oh, and deep-sixed Rahm and Arne.

[JamesA1102]

118. So in other words your believe in making the perfect

the enemy of the good and you're just going to take your ball and go home like a spoiled child.

[man4allcats]

126. Yes.

No, silly. I'll just vote for progressives or sit it out, but I won't vote for Dems who act like Republicans. That's been going on for too long now, and it's got to stop. If you keep on doin' what you been doin', you're gonna keep on gettin' what you been gettin'. See?

[JamesA1102]

133. Maybe they would act more like Dems if they could count on their

base to come out for them.

[man4allcats]

134. Maybe their base would come out for them

if they would act more like Dems.

[JamesA1102]

137. Really?

Let's see, you're a Democratic member of congress from a swing district or state that John McCain won in '08. You're up for re-election next year and your base will stay home unless you adhere to a 100% lockstep agenda of ideological purity which is totally impossible to do in Washington. So how does anyone think that Democratic member of congress will vote on issues like Healthcare reform or Cap and Trade or DADT, etc. when he knows he can't count on his or her base and has to curry favor from the center?

Say what you want about Republicans but they get out and vote in every election. Dems seem to vote in one election and then walk away either out of apathy or from making the perfect the enemy of the good. That is why the GOP controlled congress for 12 years. That is way the GOP won 5 out of the last 8 presidential elections. And why the Congress as a whole still leans to the right. Democratic politicians are just not going to stick their necks out because they can't count on the Democratic electorate to have their backs.

[man4allcats]

144. If Democratic politicians don't want to do the hard work

and take the extra risks that it takes to act like real Democrats, then maybe they should follow Lieberman's lead and switch their allegiances. As to voting consistently, I for one am a regular at the polls including local elections. In fact, I'm going this Saturday to early voting to vote in a runoff election where I will be supporting Democrat Annise Parker for mayor of Houston so don't hand me any bullshit about not voting. I do nevertheless reserve the right to sit an election out if the only choice I'm given in candidates is unacceptable. As for lockstep only support, there is nothing lockstep about me now nor has there ever been so you can park that comment somewhere as well. I do, however, expect Democrats to act like Democrats. I'm not here to ensure they have a job and an income. They asked me for a job when they threw their hats into the ring to run for office. I expect those who get hired to do the job they were hired to do. If they're not willing to do that, I'm quite willing to find someone who will.

[JamesA1102]

145. I'm glad you're voting

And that you don't expect 100% lockstep from Dems. But you're the exception rather than the rule around here.

[man4allcats]

147. I'm not interested in the rules "around here."

I operate by my own rules. I always have. It hasn't made me popular or wealthy, but it's the only thing that works for me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[cliffordu]

105. Who ya gonna vote for??/

[bullwinkle428]

108. December 1, 2009 - the day the music died.

[Libertas1776]

109. ...in the shade

But like usual, they "fucked that chicken" as Jon Stewart would say.

[ColonelTom]

110. Amen. n/t

[Generator]

111. They had it made maybe around November 21, 1963

Since then downhill to a shithole. One failed Democrat after another promising everything and delivering nothing. At least LBJ signed the civil rights act and had the conscience to not run for another term. Can you imagine Obama doing either of those things? Obama will be the death knell of the Democratic party-that's what I've said to my husband. He will never end these wars and he will deliver nothing domestically. You can't win when you are making deals with the Devil. *that's bipartisanship for those that haven't figured it out now.

[valerief]

112. Same old, same old running the country. As someone said earlier, we're war slaves. nt

[branders seine]

113. watch out!

the thread locking cheerleader-forum cop tag teams are out in force!

[emsimon33]

115. Didn't vote in VA for governor in 2009 & will stay home in 2010

If the Democrats want to be wannabe Republicans, we might as well have the real thing and the nation be damned.

Whatever happened to verifiable voting?

The system is rigged and neither party gives a damn about the people.

[JamesA1102]

121. So you prefer the GOP controlling Congress? nt

[emsimon33]

146. Sure...the Democrats aren't doing anything very different

I worked so hard and gave money that I really didn't have to give to get people elected who would represent the greater good and not the wealthy, the greedy, the special interests, etc. Although I didn't totally buy into Obama as a true agent of change, I took off from work and devoted myself to the campaign as a volunteer for months.

Health care reform is beginning to look like another significant give away of tax dollars to already wealthy corporations, much like the Medicare Drug bill is. If I were younger, I would simply leave the country. Our elected officials are no better than whores. Obama is now in the running with Bill Clinton for best Republican president since Lincoln.

Perhaps if the Republicans gain office again we will finally reach the tipping point and throw 90% of both parties out of office--OK, 100% of the Republicans and Joe Lieberman.

With no verifiable voting and no cap on political campaign spending or accountability in political ads, there is no hope.

So, I gave it one last shot with Obama, volunteered for Terry's run for the Democratic candidate for governor, and then just gave up. I don't even watch the Daily Show anymore and only check into DU occasionally.

The Obama administration disbanded all the work that Dean did with the 50-state strategy. When he did that, he signaled that the grassroots really don't matter and the disdain that his administration exhibits through words and actions for the grassroots only confirms that we were used and are now expendable until the next election when we will be fed more false promises and mirages of hope.

Discounting us as liberals when the majority of the country wants what we want is no better than the marginalizing we experience from Republicans...so, let the Republicans man the phones, go door-to-door, and show up to vote...for the Democrats who cater to them and not to their base, which could be 70-80% of the people.

[JamesA1102]

119. Yeah such real easy things to do.

Those damn Dems. How dare they not wave their magic wand and fix all the problems that took years to develop. Maybe it would have been a bit easier if there weren't an opposition party whose only goal it to obstuct, a MSM that still give more time to the GOP & gleefully adopts their talking points as well as fair weather supporters who decide to take their ball and go home like a spoiled child when they don't get instant gratification.

[geardaddy]

120. I agree.

Part of the problem is that we don't walk in lock-step like the pukes. We represent a larger, broader constituency and without a truly parliamentary system, we're stuck with the two-party system.

[natrat]

123. it would help if there were some semblance of leadership

[geardaddy]

124. Aye

It would.

[WoodyM]

122. Obama has tried hard to reach across the aisle

to be bipartisan. I said to my wife that he would draw back a bloody nub. However, I was wrong. Apparently, he has crossed the aisle and joined them.

[trickyguy]

125. Obama, Pelosi and Reid. Do the three stooges come to mind?

I'm horribly disappointed in the leadership (?) we have been offered.

And even more horrified at what is being sacrificed at home for a war in the Afghanistan mountains.

I worked hard for Obama and change. I'm still waiting.

[rg302200]

127. Wow was no one paying attention to the primary?

Obama said he was going to shift his focus from Iraq (which was the wrong war) to Afghanistan which is the correct thing to do. I for one support Obama still and will...The shear amount of anger here on DU makes me wonder why I call myself a Liberal, because if this is how Liberals act them I am a shame to call myself one!!!

[Bluebear]

136. "I am a shame" - - - Yes. You are a shame. nt

[DemBones DemBones]

148. Nope, they were too busy dissing Hillary Clinton

to notice what Obama actually said. They got the empty suit they wanted.

[krabigirl]

142. Both parties are the same..the Dems just don't have as much of the crazy. ro

Of course Obama was going to escalate this war...the "defense" (offense) industry in this country is one of the only sectors doing well.

[LastNaturalist]

152. Such doom and gloom.

You may be disillusioned at the moment... but have you seen the other political party? They're batshit nuts!