Zed. (when did zed hunting start here? I remember the “first post” comments years back on slashdot, figured out that “zed” was the operative means here shortly after arriving).

Obama may surprise on this. I’m with you Jane.

According to Think Progress, Spector’s first phone call was to grover Norquist.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/…..r-no-efca/

I think Jane answered the question posed here

The question is whether Obama and Reid are willing to take the action which bypasses the cloture vote requirement. My bet is that Obama doesn’t HAVE the guts to.

And that is unfortunate because until the ‘playing field’ is leveled, there will absolutely be NO RECOVERY.

This is such a small piece of the union puzzle which needs to be created for labor. I use Norway as my example for fair labor practices. They have made a place within their government to acknowledge and support unions and to assist them to negotiate with private industry, with government agencies, and with nationalized industries such as electrical utilities and energy companies.

Hello Jane and WMD1961. Thanks for bringing attention to the need to support unions and labor.

Snarlin’ Arlen rolls over for a tummy rub, again. Look at the hind leg go!

Ack!!! ACK!!!!! Do ya think taht even among supporters(”supporters”?)too many people are talking compromise too soon and gutting the provision for arbitration of the initial cba if te parties can’t agree?

the huge transfer of wealth taking place in this country

is killing my hope.

How is this “change” different from the last thirty years of trickle down, up my ass economics?

Looks like Snarlin Arlin is looking to retire in 2010. What dems are there who can take him on?

I was wondering the same thing myself, they have Toomey — who is our Left Knight?

Depressed wages are what is killing the US economy. The very wealthy don’t give a fuck, a receding tide crushes all those under the boats. The republicans have been conducting covert class warfare since the dawn of time.

I don’t get why anyone is ever surprised by Specter’s last-minute backstabbing. He’s built his career on it (when he’s not inventing magic bullets). But I’m not sure Specter is reading the tea leaves properly here, he’s going to end up like McCain—losing all of his “moderate” credibility and still not satisfying the ugly and crazy in his own party. And if he does survive his primary I don’t think Club For Growther rubes are an effective GOTV machine, so labor will have a good run at seeing Specter’s senate career come to an end.

My guess is that Obama’s team is orchestrating the anti-EFCA move behind the scenes. It’s hard to believe that anyone as pro-corp as Obama would do anything for labor, despite what he said to get elected.

There NEVER has been a union that has existed, that has done to the American worker and taxpayer what the non-unionized Wall Street weasels, thugs and thieves are doing.

With the enabling of the absolute ,acquiescent accomplices in Congress.

They are supposed to do a job FOR us.

They are doing a job ON us.

Isn’t his district reliably red? My understanding is that Specter turned red along with his district and a D doesn’t really stand a chance there.

Not familiar with their field. Depending on how the economy does there could be a lot of pick ups in the senate. Six R senators have already announced they are not running and several are vulnerable. The attached list has the seats up in 2010. To that seats in NY & CO should be added.
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayo…..ss_III.htm

Club for Growth makes me think of Hair Club for Men.

Club for Grope.

As a Senator his district is all of Pennsylvania

That last paragraph…President Obama has expressed strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act. He’s shown that he’s very good at making the case to the American public about why something needs to happen. If he genuinely believes in it and thinks it’s important legislation, he could easily resurrect it, and I very much hope that he will.

Let’s see Obama has said a lot of positive things, the buck stops with him, he’s angry about the ripoffs and bailout and bonus’s. He supports EFCA. He sure TALKS a good game. How many more of these, we’re getting screwed but we like the new President and we hope he does something eventually?

Give it time right? How long before the hope turns to ‘crap’ that I fear it already is?

PA went for Obama – and although there are states with more union members, believe I read it is second in membership to population ratio

…and when is the last time Club for Growth won a seat at anything other than Grover’s Wednesday Luncheon ??

wOOt … Specter to vote against EFCA, giving the Dems one more seat in 2010 !

I’m happy because EFCA is going to pass, regardless of Haggis’ nay vote.

I’m a dumbass! Yes, of course.

That’s what I get for listening to the new NPR which was saying that the best alternative for D’s was getting Specter reelected. Very skewed.

Oh come on, ole Snarlin Arlen never would have earned his moniker if he had ever stood for anything. Beating his chest when it doesn’t matter and caving when it does is who he is. If Lieberman has the patent on sanctimony, Specter has the copyright on cowardice.

Specter seems to be thinking that the right wingers won’t primary him if he votes against cloture. But he’s always been in denial about how low and despicable the wingnuts are, they’ll still primary him. He had a chance with organized labor behind him and would have been an easy shoe-in if he had changed parties but he’s just too old and set in his ways.I’ll be happy to see him go. That gives the Dems another vote in the Senate because the chances of Toomey winning a Pennsylvania Senate seat are about the same as Mel Gibson ever having a carreer again.

Excellent !

As a Democrat, I find and I can always rely on the DLC and the euphemistic “neo-libs” or Corporate Democrats to be seen coming out of their hen houses in slow-mo-fashion, given that the wolves on the Right are hungry, and EFCA, is their meal ticket to their future ascendance.

Now, Obama has, since his arrival into the Senate, refused to be part and parcel of the DLC. However, does he see himself as a Corporate Democrat? And eventually, when it comes to EFCA, how Obama responds relative to the sharp elbows of competition, will determine for me, his potential ascendance as a Corporate Democrat and at the level of Rahm Emmanuel.

Jaango

Maybe we should demonstrate in front of the US Chamber of Commerce? Or informational picketing at Home Depot and other well known opponents? Why should politicians have all the fun as it were? Why not share the joy?

digg is open.

Thanks Jane, bullseye, as per usual.

((Petro!!))

{{{Elliott}}}

Specter is joining Ghouliani & Co in hastening the demise of the Repug party … how can you not love the guy ? *g*

thanks very much for your earlier link to Lucy Komisar – suspect I have read her work in the past but didn’t note the author’s name.

maybe she’ll get some attention with the WH announced interest in closing tax havens – and did ya see Janushka’s diary on Barclays ?

In a way I hope EFCA doesn’t pass. Then maybe people will take to the streets.

OT

Bobby Jindal To Speak At Fundraiser On Same Night As Obama’s Prime Time Press Conference

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will again carry the Republican mantle opposite a primetime appearance from President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

You can’t make this pooh up.

It certainly is starting to smell like that.
It would seem we have really, NO ONE, in WashDC who will speak for us.
We The People.
I keep thinking of how this country is operating more and more like civilization in Egypt, when the pyramids were built.

He wanted a chance to discuss the waste of hiring lifeguards.

Hey,
Matt Taibbi’s upstairs
Talking Economic Accountability With Matt Taibbi

Hey Pups!
Taibbi’s upstairs!
Talking Economic Accountability With Matt Taibbi

I thought he wanted to explain that Green Energy will be a bad influence of our kids because
it’s the same color as Grass !

@#31:

Yes,thank you,I did-AFTER I made the post here,darn.

The Tax Justice Network has been one of my favorite pit stops for about a year now.

Lucy Komisar was instrumental in the creation of the international wathdog site,based in London.SUPER reference site,as it is continuously updated.

This is in addition to her home site Komisar Scoop.

This lady is truly a woman for all seasons and its unfortunate she has not gotten the much deserved recognition for her intellect and longtime efforts .[She goes back to early civil rights activism in ’60’s South,btw,although she is a New Yorker.]

A real unsung heroine,imho.

Where’s waldo?
I mean him, Al Franken.

Hmmh,…what’s the chance of a Hurricane blowing through Louisiana tonight?

Or a volcano in Alaska erupting again this evening?

What odds would the hedgers have put on that?

[This is cosmic,folks,Jindal arguing against volcano research funding,and then Mt. Redoubt blows 5 times up in Alaska,a couple of days ago.

God, what does that bode for La. since he turned down stimulus money?]

Tabling it was the correct action. They’re waiting for Al Franken now.

That’s crazy. Make him actually cast a vote blocking Employee Free Choice. That will be the end of his career, and we will have one more vote in the Senate after the next election.

Sen. Specter is trying to get the State Senate to make his primary open so independents can vote in the Republican primary. They are not going for it, so the only chance he has is to run as an independent.

He may have have made a deal with the Devil, so that he can run unopposed in exchange for not voting for cloture.

Like most deals with the Devil, this one may have a catch. “You should have read the fine print Sen. Specter. The deal was ‘we’ would not run anyone against you. If a Republican independently decides to run against you that is none of our concern.”

This is an outrage.

Spectre must go.

So let me see,

Big investers can “risk” money for high returns as a risk taker.

When the risk becomes loss, Taxpayers fund their bailouts.

When someone loses their job their house is foreclosed on.

You can break the contracts of unions, but you can’t break the contract of bonus to Wall Street executives?

Bailed out banks can take tax payer money and use it to lobby congress and contribute to political campaigns.

But the EFCA is the most threatening issue facing American prosperity. Not two wars and terrorism and the economic melt down. Its the EFCA?

Health care will be the biggest threat when it comes up.

It is like, Ted Kennedy is the most liberal in congress. Then it was Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary, Obama, Barney Frank, Pelosi, Harry Reed, Pat Lehey, and so on and so on. How can all of these folks be “the Most Liberal”?
It is like the movie Highlander-”Their can be only one”……………..

You can break the contracts of unions, but you can’t break the contract of bonus to Wall Street executives?

Bailed out banks can take tax payer money and use it to lobby congress and contribute to political campaigns.

But the EFCA is the most threatening issue facing American prosperity. Not two wars and terrorism and the economic melt down. Its the EFCA?

Amazing isn’t it. I’ve been wondering how it is we’ve produced two cultures (at least, in political terms) so different as the Bushie Repubs and the Democrats. Now I have to gawk in amazement at the amazingly stupid blind Wall St. crowd (not really limited to Wall St.). I think Sen. McCaskill hit the nail on the head — “idiots”.

Health care will be the biggest threat when it comes up.

They should be working on that now, though I expect the financial industry reform will have to slide into first place on the legislative agenda as it’s going to require some real cooperation from the Executive and both chambers of Congress. In many ways it’s also more complicated.

But, once health care reform comes to the fore it should be pretty well done since some people have been working on this for a long time.