••• Can we survive 2 years of the GOP till 2012? If so, how? •••

[breadandwine]

President Obama is about to lose effective and possibly actual control of Capitol Hill. The economy has again stalled. The public is deranged and not listening to reason, which will make it very hard for them to vote Democratic. We are dealing with masses of Joe Six Pack who are ready to haul off and BELT someone for their frustrations and figure out if they acted wisely only thereafter. Gallup says the generic vote is now 10% more for the GOP than the Democrats. The combination of disappointment within our base and astroturfed rage by the right is an almost perfect storm for the GOP. $400 million in corporate cash are flooding into the election for the GOP thanks to the coup plotters on the Supreme Court.

Don't tell me I'm giving up. Far from it. I've been in Democratic politics all my life and I'm not a quitter.

But we are about to be hit by the biggest political Mac truck since Hitler took over in Germany. Beck calls everyone a Nazi --EXCEPT HIMSELF -- and the Tea Party is financed by the Koch brothers whose father founded the John Birch Society. With astroturfed town hall meetings that beat up our side, we are shell shocked and punchy and not ready for a fight and as usual our side doesn't even know what negative campaigning really is. There is no fire in the belly by the politicians on our side, no inspiring podium pounding.

We are going to suffer huge losses this Fall. We can debate exactly how bad it will be but that's not the point. There are going to be hearings. There is going to be another impeachment. There is going to be another shutdown of the government. It will not be enough for Obama to just veto the GOP Congress's avalanche of right wing legislation. They are not just going to propose, they are going to combine it all with a near assault on Democrats. They are going to beat Obama up so bad that he will be politically punchy from it all and reeling and not able to resist well. They will find all sorts of dirt in his closet, real or imagined. If you think YOU have found cases where Obama caved to corporations in a corrupt way, wait till the REPUBLICANS with their hearing process get hold of him. It will be shock, shock, shock, wall to wall, 24/7/365 how "bad" Obama is, how did we ever elect him, what were we thinking, we had no idea, etc. etc. etc. blah blah blah.

It's easy to say there will be silver linings in all this, the GOP will make fools of themselves etc. Wasn't that supposed to have happened ALREADY these past 2 years? They ran over us like road kill and never looked back in the rear view mirror and are continuing to floor the gas peddle for more destruction.

First, let's honestly try to imagine what a Republican Congress in the Fall is really going to look like.

Offer your predictions. Here are a couple of mine:

The GOP Congress will embark on a witch hunt against believers in global warming. They will investigate them. They will haul scientists before hearings and grill them like Joe McCarthy. "We have an email in which you told a colleague that carbon dioxide is a natural gas! Do you DENY it????!!!"

There will be demands that science renounce one thing after another that it knows to be true and this will be forced on universities, institutions receiving government aid and so on. It will be like Galileo at his sentencing being ordered to declare that the planets go around the earth.

I don't know who is going to get burned at the stake but many in this country will be, politically. If you think there is a witch hunt going on surrounding Ground Zero, wait until after the election. With subpoena power they will manage to declare that the Moon is made out of Worcestershire sauce. Nuts with guns will go out and shoot anybody who dares say otherwise.

I am not convinced that all this will somehow "boomerang" in our favor by 2012. Net freedom will be destroyed and the media will be even more corporate. MSNBC will be forced into bankruptcy and sold to right wingers or Saudi Arabia. Say goodbye to Keith Olbermann and everyone else. They will be economically and politically lynched. The new Congress will GO AFTER ITS ENEMIES and rest assured there will be an enemies list.



Secondly, aside from suggesting the full scope of the problem we face, and I ask you to conceive below just how bad a GOP Congress will be this time, making Newt Gingrich look like Tinkerbell, but also, if you can offer solutions below for how we respond, how we make it through the next 2 years till 2012. Don't give us the usual, well, it will boomerang, mantra. The control they get on Capitol Hill will be USED to cement their power including media power. Many of the scandals that would result from GOP takeover will be barely reported because the GOP will use its new power on Capitol Hill for cover up and to shut up critics and anyone who reports the truth. We are headed towards a fascist hegemony on Capitol Hill compared to which the French Revolution will be only an innocent child. Certainly that sounds like an exaggeration but factor in the fact that what the GOP does in the next 2 years to a world already reeling from global warming will have vast WORLDWIDE repercussions that will KILL millions of animals, plants and even people. Imagine another oil leak in the sea killing the plant life that supplies most of the oxygen we breathe. There is really no fixed limit to the destruction we face because the EARTH IS ALREADY IN THE BALANCE.

There will be massive famine around the world from global warming-caused crop failures and there will be food riots. You can be sure the GOP powers that be will insure that everyone thinks the rioters are to blame for not growing more food.

It will be things like that.

We are witnessing a period where right wing and corporate forces will collude to engulf the country in insanity far worse than what we are seeing now. Naomi Wolf's predictions of fascism in the US, in part through a combination of corporate and other forces, will be much closer to reality and people will be afraid to speak out.

You can't solve a problem if you bury your head in the sand and pretend "We're fine!" We're not.

What do we do in the next two years?

[DJ13]

1. What do we do in the next two years?

The same exact thing the GOP has done the last 18 months.

NOTHING.

Become the party of NO and stop THEM in their tracks.

Honestly, that should be the ONLY response.

[Subdivisions]

2. We can't stop them when we have the majority. What makes you think

we can if they have it?

[DJ13]

4. Time for mass spinal implants for the remaining Dems in Congress (& the WH)

[Subdivisions]

6. Agreed. I predict we see nothing but mush. n/t

[breadandwine]

5. The GOP has done more than nothing. They have perpetrated a near-lynch mob.

Imagine how it will be once they have the power they now lack.

This is not the GOP of New Gingrich or even George Bush. This is the GOP of Sharon Angle, Michele Bachmann, Rand Paul etc.

I am astonished that "do nothing" is a sincere suggestion here. Deer, meet headlights.

[DJ13]

I am astonished that "do nothing" is a sincere suggestion here.

What you say about todays GOP is true, but by the same measure why work WITH them knowing what they're like after they obstructionism they've practiced since Jan. 2009?

That would only further their goals, why would you want that?

[Skidmore]

17. That is without doubt the most sorry excuse for handing

the government over to the Rs. It'll be okay. Sure it will, we'll just sit on our asses and whine some more for 2 more years then we'll blame everyone both sides because we all decided to sit on our hands.

[Retrograde]

43. How about we get out the vote in November and not have to deal with this problem?

It's two months until the election: we should not be giving up now.

[JDPriestly]

3. Here's the problem:

Democrats, just like the Republicans, are serving corporate masters not the people.

I just visited Barbara Boxer's website -- and found no statement from her about Social Security. That's a big, perhaps the biggest issue, for many reliable voters this year. But if she says anything about it, it isn't easy to find.

Obama and the Democrats are tied down by the likes of Robert Gates at defense, Salazar in Interior and worst of all, Bernanke at the Fed and Geithner and Summer and their ilk in other leadership posts on the economy.

Obama did not come down hard enough on BP and allowed the use of Corexit. What is more, Americans are being prevented from determining for themselves just how much damage has been done in the Gulf of Mexico. Excluding the press from the beaches in the Gulf was a tremendous blow to our democracy.

Obama has done a lousy job and needs to fire most of his staff. Democrats act like Republicans and you wonder why the American people aren't supporting them? Come on now. It's obvious.

[breadandwine]

8. JDPriestly, the issue I'm raising here is not WHY our base is disappointed. But what do we do now?

....

[JDPriestly]

41. I don't think that WE can do anything.

Obama has to do things like appoint Elizabeth Warren, like fire Geithner, Summers and Bernanke, like disband the Cat Food Commission and simply twist the arms of conservative Democrats in Congress (as he did Kucinich's prior to the passage of the health insurance bill) so that at least portions of the liberal wish list are passed by Congress, especially the Senate.

So far, Obama has flunked every important test that I have had for the presidency at this time -- every single one. He has not even closed Guantanamo. He has not prosecuted anyone who authorized torture. He is not requiring his administration to allow the press to freely investigate the facts about the Gulf oil spill. He has not punished BP in any meaningful way. His stimulus package was far too small. He is continuing to shore up the failing banks -- as they foreclose on naive homeowners. His administration is a total failure this time. What Obama and the Democrats in Congress need to do is take some bold stances and risk to do what is right, not just what looks politically expedient.

They act like a bunch of scared rabbits facing a hunters' rifle. In fact, they are in the position of the hunter.

Obama needs to get rid of the conservatives like Geithner and Summers and Robert Gates. He should replace the leadership in the Pentagon. He should have replaced a lot of the Bush-appointed federal attorneys when he took office. Basically, Obama has been a Bush repeat.

I don't think that WE can do anything at all. Nada. Nothing. I have never felt so negative in my life.

[breadandwine]

42. Okay, JDPriestly. Obama could do some of those things. How would he do it without it looking like

a confession?

....

[JDPriestly]

44. Confession is good for the soul. Obama is human and has made mistakes.

He should simply fire Rahm Emmanuel, Geithner, Summers, Bernanke, Salazar, Holder, the whole lot and start over. Unfortunately, he has waited too long. He will probably have a Republican dominated Senate in the Fall. I have been screaming here on DU and writing e-mails to the president asking him to make these decisions. He procrastinated. Soon it will be too late. And what will happen in the country as a result of Obama's unwillingness to do what needed to be done will bring serious problems, even worse than now, to the country.

Frankly, I can't talk to voters about how wonderful Democrats are at this time thanks to Obama's sorry performance. Obama has ruined the Democratic Party. He is a Schussnig.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria_at_the_Time_of_National_Socialism

I predict that the Republicans will take the Senate and possibly the House. If they do that, they will impeach Obama and replace him with some absurd candidate like Boehner or McConnell who will govern until some extremist takes over or the country regains its sanity. Most likely, the environment will be neglected and deteriorate extremely rapidly, the economy will become chaotic, and Americans will be angrier than ever. Sorry, but that is what I see in my darkening crystal ball. Obama die not seize the moment that was given to him. He certainly won't be able to seize it after the next election.

The only thing that can save the country is for Obama to apologize and fire the aides who have given him such awful advice. He needs to stand up for what he knows is right. He may not succeed in getting everything he wants in Congress, but at least he will inspire Americans to have a sense of where he thinks the country should go. So yes, Obama needs to confess. Nothing else can save the situation.

[bowens43]

7. Your assumption of big Democratic losses in 2010

has no basis in reality. It's just FOX news rhetoric......

[breadandwine]

10. bowens43, your POST has no basis in reality. This is the most passive Democratic party in memory

when it comes to fighting. Legislation we got passed (albeit very corporate).

But fighting? There is no fight on our side. NONE. Politics is a contact sport. What did our party leaders think, they could just chuckle and wag fingers?

[pgodbold]

9. I anticipate the impeachment of any Supreme Court justice who rules against prop 8. nt

[MineralMan]

11. Unrecced for unsupported doomsaying.

If we all worked half as hard to get out the Democratic vote as some of us are working on convincing ourselves that we cannot win and that it's all over, we wouldn't have to worry about this at all.

[breadandwine]

16. MineralMan, I "unrec" your post for having your head in the sand.

We have GOP politicians saying there is no such thing as global warming.

There are RIGHT NOW areas of the earth where people live where droughts are becoming permanent and that is going to create huge numbers of refugees and starvation.

I'll stop talking about doom when the GOP stops PERPETRATING it.

[Dawson Leery]

12. There are no more decent Republicans.

[Ganja Ninja]

13. It's likely their buddies in the banking industry will cut lose ...

with the money they've been holding back on for the last 2 years. Survival in the short term won't be a problem.

[Imajika]

14. The President has been trending up...

...in many polls lately.

For example he is back up to 48% in Rasmussen. That is from a low of 41%.

The RCP average is only -1.5 now.

I agree, the generic ballot looks bad and we will probably lose seats. But it is too early to assume the worst.

There is still plenty of time to turn things around. The summer polls gave us a good warning about what might happen if we don't stay on our toes.

[breadandwine]

19. Imajika, what's your take on the generic ballot now, 10 point GOP advantage, worst since 1942?

....

[Imajika]

23. Yeah, it's bad...

..no doubt. That Gallup generic has been bouncing around quite a bit though. Just a few weeks ago it was Dem +6 or so. Enough that, I believe, Charlie Cook wrote an article suggesting the Democrats fortunes might be turning around. Couple weeks later it flipped and is back to the GOP way up.

Bottom line, we have a ton of seats and a crap ton of territory to defend. The Republicans don't. The economy is not good, and we will get most of the blame. So yeah, things are going to be rough and we are going to lose quite a few seats. A victory for us is holding the House with at least a handful to spare and holding the Senate by only losing 7 or so seats.

I am not downplaying the bad polls, nor disputing them - but we are 2 months away from the elections, the President's approval numbers have been trending up of late and the entire party knows what is on the horizon if we don't mobilize and get into high gear to save as many seats as possible.

[bluestateguy]

15. One thing not to do is handwringing

The White House didn't stick their head between their legs after Scott Brown's election and give in to all of the Georgetown Cocktail Party media's spin memes.

If you lose, you get up, dust off your uniform, and get right back on the field.

[breadandwine]

18. bluestateguy, you say one gets up and fights back after Scott Brown's election.

Really?

I'm waiting......

[bluestateguy]

47. They said the health care bill was dead

Now if that wasn't the bill you wanted, I really don't care, that's not the issue here.

But instead of cutting and running and doing nothing like the Clintons in 1994, they dusted themselves off and got the House to pass the Senate bill.

Bottom line is, they had a passed bill on the president's desk.

[kctim]

20. You forgot

how the old will be eating cat food, that we will be under U.N. control, that abortion will be made illegal, that we will be a socialist country, that we will all be forced at Wal-Mart camps and that UFOs will finally land.

The GOP will win some seats and Dems will win a few less. It won't be the end of the world or the country.

Burying you're head in the sand is bad. Being chicken little is worse.
Fear is not you're friend.

[breadandwine]

21. kctim, your conventional generic comments are IDENTICAL to what was said before Gingrich took over.

And all factors now are much worse.

[kctim]

35. Actually

they are the same fear based comments spouted EVERY election cycle. If Republicans win, old people will be eating cat food. If Democrats win, they will take you're guns. If Republicans win, they will outlaw abortion. If Democrats win, we will become socialist. And which one's have happened? None.

Granted, things may not be to you're liking, but it won't be the end of the nation.

[no_hypocrisy]

22. My primary fear: Once republicans get back in power, they won't relinquish it again.

Voting machines, media, money. They could and they would.

[griffi94]

26. they've had voting machines, media, and money

for the last 10 years.
the democrats are in the position they're in because things aren't going well for
a majority of the american people.
you can blame that on whoever you want, but the democrats are the ones in power, so they'll
be the ones who take the fall.

[breadandwine]

24. Okay, enough of the Prozac popping of the "We're fine!" crowd. Enough of the deep denial.

What.
Do.
We.
Do.

[562dem]

25. Clinton did fine, so will Obama. I believe in him

[SomeGuynTexas]

27. EPIC bumper sticker: "The public is deranged and not listening to reason"

LOL.

Yeah. That's the way to get my vote.

"Hey You! Deranged person! Yeah you! Stop ignoring reason and vote democratic already!"

eh....what?

Epic.

[breadandwine]

28. So, SomeGuynTexas, here on DU it's your testimony that you're a Repub I need to convert to the Dems?

.....

[SomeGuynTexas]

31. Huh?? I was pointing out you called a voting block "deranged"

I'm more of a supporting the right person at the right moment type of guy:

"The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government."

When I hear stuff like that I get a tingle all up and down my leg. From my funny parts down to the little piggies.

[SomeGuynTexas]

29. *double Post*

[breadandwine]

30. Again I ask, WHAT. DO. WE. DO?

Ostrich behavior is for the outback.

[CakeGrrl]

32. If you know anybody saying they're going to sit out the midterms,

tell them to get off their asses. They're the ones who are going to help usher in this doomsday you seem so sure is coming.

[mdmc]

33. Sure. it will be easy

The GOP will just want less taxes for the rich, more military, less social services. We can get through it until a less evil Dem group gets back in power, imho..

[breadandwine]

34. Okay, mdmc. What do we do?????

.....

[mdmc]

36. keep on keepin on my friend

Courage and chin up..

If the GOP take over, we just need to stay alive and live through it.
Eventually the Dems will take over, and the DLC will be less evil then the GOP.

Until then we learn to live with War, war profiteering, and destruction of our social fabric / welfare.

This too will end...

[breadandwine]

37. mdmc, do you really think your reply was particularly constructive?

You just said, "learn to live with war."

Isn't that a little like, "learn to live with death"?

Or even, "So WHAT if you drop dead?! You'll live!!!"

[mdmc]

40. We are currently "learning to live with war / death"

imho, the "mission" has not been "accomplished" in Iraq.
Imho, a stable, pro-west, unified, secular Afghanistan is at least 50 years away. 50 years of war (wasted blood and treasure).

My life really hasn't changed as a result of a change of power in DC.
No matter who is in charge - the rich get rich, the poor get beat.
War profiteers make money. I pay taxes. The world goes on.

The idea that the world will stop if we lose our 60 seat majority (what did we really do with our majority? not much, imho).

I guess if you are looking for advice on how to live through the next GOP administration I would suggest running for political office. I think that having a bully pulpit to express your political beliefs is a very helpful tool to deal with a world gone wrong.

The other thing that can be done is joining groups like DU, moveon, ACLU, and local groups that have similar beliefs to your own.

I also find that following a wisdom tradition (and meditating!) to be very helpful when living under a fascist regime.

Also, join a credit union and get rid of your taxpayer bailed out Wall Street bank (if you haven't already done so). Shop at farmers markets and reduce gas consumption. Eat vegan.

Hope this helps.. Peace and low stress..

[mdmc]

45. We are living with war under Obama, right?

Under Clinton too..

[SoCalDem]

38. 2010-2012 will be consumed with investigations & witch-hunts

to further demonize any dems who made the cut in 2010. The republicans are after a super-majority in 2012, and have 2 years to get it done. They will not be timid..they never are.

[breadandwine]

39. Thanks, SoCalDem for a post that addresses the OP. And I agree with you.

The more blood the GOP tastes, the more they will want.


By the way. The FEMA camps really exist and they weren't created by the Democrats but by the military.

See this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJBxdRIQx7Y

How long will it take before these reactionaries say:

"Since we HAVE those camps, why don't we do something USEFUL with them and put people in there that we really NEED to get rid of? Like immigrants, minorities and Democrats, instead of REAL Americans, you know what, come to think of it, as a matter of fact!!!!!"

[Cal33]

46. Or better yet, Would we be able to survive at all, if we should also

lose the presidential elections in 2012?

[breadandwine]

50. Cal33, that of course is part of the whole plan.

Leaving us broken and bleeding after 2 years of "hearings" makes us an easier target for road kill in 2012.

[NHDemProg]

48. Remember...

From out of chaos comes order. 1994 wasn't a good year, but in the long term it worked for progressives because Clinton didn't TALK as much about what he wanted, but still got it done behind the scenes.

[breadandwine]

49. NHDemProg, you mean like NAFTA?

After the GOP takeover of the Hill Clinton basically decided to start whistling in the graveyard, go along with Rome and find his "inner Republican."

[DailyGrind51]

51. If Obama borrows Bill Clinton's spine, we can! He managed to outmanuerver Newt after '94!