While I applaud Pres. Obama for recommending action to be taken against the banks,

[saracat]

this has been a long time coming. But it remains to be seen if this will be implemented. A short while ago the president endorsed repealing the anti trust exemption for insurance companies and it floated into oblivion in the spirit of bipartisanship. As I read todays SCOTUS decision, I feel great despair.

Arizona is the home of Clean Elections.This funds many local and statewide candidates through a combination of $5 contributions from the voters and fines from lawbreakers.Matching funds were provided to any candidate running against a traditionally funded candidate who a spent more than the allotted allowance.Clean Elections candidates are not allowed to take PAC or corporate funds and are strictly regulated. Recently, the matching funds element was stricken down by our courts. This clears the way for corporations and lobbyists to once again control local elections without providing the citizens any recourse.

The Arizona ruling is now coupled with SCOTUS, ensuring that the people will never get representation on either a local or federal level.The dream of parity in the electoral process is finished.

While what the president has stated today regarding the financial sector is admirable, it is only now that the realization the damage the Bush has done may be irreversible.Our only chance to make real change was with a super majority and that chance was squandered. We acted too late and with too little effort.

The Democratic Party was elected to go to war against those coddled interests that threatened to destroy us and we conceded to compromise and bipartisanship before the first shot had been fired.

Maybe in the final analysis, none of it really mattered , and no one could have righted this ship of state,but if the damage is truly irreversible, I would have rather gone out with guns blazing than with a whimper.

[flamingdem]

1. EXCELLENT MOVE BY OBAMA!!!!!!!!! The market dived in response nt

[ShortnFiery]

2. I'll hold my applause until I note true "ACTION."

Talk is CHEAP.

[Tailormyst]

4. Right there with you

I don't believe shit any of them say anymore.

[saracat]

8. Read carefully. I applaud the statement.There has been no action yet.

[dbonds]

9. I agree, talk has been too cheap lately

Lets see action.

[Better Today]

3. I'll applaud him IF and WHEN he gets something meaningful

through to a final bill. Till then, I chalk it up to more speechifying.

[saracat]

7. Well, that is kind of the point. I did say "If implemented".

[Better Today]

10. Yeah, I know I was just re-inforcing your POV.

I am glad he is moving quickly into these financial issues while letting the HCR cool (hopefully while Dems in Congress find a workaround and a better bill or set of bills). I hope jobs and stimulus are next, like tomorrow.

[saracat]

11. Thank you.

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. speechifying. He's certainly good at that.

:silly:

[spanone]

5. i agree

[BP2]

6. I applaud him too. Anyone running in the 2010 Election better be AGAINST Barack or have

their opponent outspend them, courtesy of unlimited donations from the Bankers. :banghead:

[Feron]

12. I agree. nt

[dgibby]

14. DOW: -215.16 n/t

[Better Today]

17. I know isn't it great. Means he's heading in the right direction,

I hope he doesn't chicken out again.

[ddeclue]

15. Obama talks a good game but when its crunch time, he caves..

:argh:

[bain_sidhe]

16. Depends on who's getting "crunched"

He fought tooth and nail for the excise tax. Or, as I call it, the "tax good insurance plans out of existence and raise health care costs for workers" tax.

[xchrom]

18. It seems to me we had the greatest levarage for

Introducing reulation when we were bailing them out -- or close to that time.

Now? I think it will get watered down.

[saracat]

19. Exactly.

[David Zephyr]

20. Here's what you wrote that too many miss seeing:

"A short while ago the president endorsed repealing the anti trust exemption for insurance companies and it floated into oblivion in the spirit of bipartisanship." You put it squarely as it could be.

President Obama just says a lot of things and then that's the end of it. The very end of it.

It's almost like the period at the end of the sentence on his teleprompter is really the end of him doing anything that he says.

He' bookended in his Cabinet meetings by two Goldman-Sach executives, Ronald Reagan's Fed Chair and he re-appointed Bush's Fed Chair.

How in the hell does that give him any credibility when it comes to cracking down on these banks and Wall Street criminals who should be in prison with the kids that steal a car for joy riding, or smoking a joint of pot?

[saracat]

21. Um HMM and right after he bailed them out he railed about "fat cats"

but no restrictions were placed on those fat cats.