:facepalm:

Is there some type of force field that causes brain drain to occur on supposedly intelligent people when they start camping out in DC?

I just can’t help it. Please don’t shoot me.

Looks like the lobbyists are wining and dining the Dems — at $30,000 a table. Who said our guys don’t know how to play this game?

:facepalm:
:headbang:

For some folks it seems to be business as usual.

It’s true — I considered putting a “with” after “wining and dining” but it sounded funny.

I couldn’t agree with you more on this. It would also be nice if the media pointed this out as well as the GOP’s lobbyist fest at their retreat over the weekend as noted here by ThinkProgress:
It’s an post titled

Boehner Feigns Ignorance That His GOP Retreat Is Attended By Goldman Sachs, Other Corporate Lobbyists

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/29/boehner-lies-lobbyists/

They should all be outed.

Oh Bernie, say it isn’t so!

So that’s why you cut your time on the Thom Hartmann Program, mmm.

I know. Bernie Sanders?!

I guess it’s tough to turn down a weekend at the Ritz in January.

So what’s DKos and TPM saying about all this touchy-feely stuff?

They’re probably loathe to link to Politico. Don’t blame them– me feel dirty, too.

I was in Florida once in January and it was so cold. SF felt tropical in comparison.

And Obama.

It’s still fuckin’ cold… *gnarl*

But did those lobbyists know they were palling around with a Socialist? Can’t they lose their lobbying credentials for that?

David Sirota is right, there are only two political parties in the US – the Money Party and the People Party. The GOP is a wholly owned subsidiary of big business and the Dems would love to be a wholly owned subsidiary of big business. The people only get shafted over and over again.

I can never watch that clip too many times. After all these years, Peter Boyle’s name still makes me wince, though.

It is easier to shake down the lobbyists for dems now that the republicans have a 41 seat majority in the Senate.

-the Dems would love to be a wholly owned subsidiary of big business.

After the Senate HCR package you require further evidence that they have already attained that goal?

A Jobs Fair for Democrats.

Bingo.

Where is our Will Stark?

Damn, yer jes’ gettin’ here an’ ah’m jes’ leavin’. Sure am glad I don’t work for folks like oldhippiejean talked about on the unions thread but I gotta go back to work either way.

Namaste

Namaste, SD.

“an increasing cynicism that the whole game is rigged”, an understatement if I ever saw one.

Free Speech?

This wasn’t even inexpensive speech.

A race to the bottom for us.

Wonder how Politico got the guest list.

Not many here thought much of the SOTU or the Q&A with congressional Republicans. But, it seems others did.

The most recent polling by Gallup and Rasmussen indicates a decent boost for Obama.

gallup.com

rasmussenreports.com

Thanks for the smile! This bit is one of my very favorites.

Our gal Kay. She was a worthless repug before she was a worthless dem. And what IS that white stuff outside?!

Hey Democratic Senators need to have some fun too. And as long as the corporate hags are payin for it..then its funny, but one way to get some money out of em….just wish I were a Senator…

I dont trust politico either, they are always slaggin off Democrats and causing trouble. They are nothin more than fox news, puke mouthpieces…in my opinion.

Support Health Care Reform and Pass it Now !!

I just got email from some neighbors who spend the winter in FL and they said it’s to be a high of 60 today in Vero Beach.

Nice and warm inside with the lobbyists, probably.

Don’t they get everything from Dick Cheney’s ass?

Levin and Stabenow – no surprise there – they just voted for Bernanke so they’re off to collect payment.
Time for a People’s Party.
I am constantly amazed that virtually the entire nation remains sheep, goes along with the wool pulled over their eyes, happily staying in the barnyard. Makes me wonder exactly what it will take to get these people into the streets, making demands. (sorry – needed to vent a little there)

Menendez is one of my Sens. I’ll never vote for him again after he deep sixed the Drug re-importation effort by Sen. Dorgan. Medendez is the Sen. from Big Pharma. He has no interest in real Health reform unless it lines the pockets of the drug pushers.

Little Piggies
In their life is something lacking
What they needs a damn good whacking

I think drug re-importation has been oversold.

If it ever amounted to much, then it wouldn’t.

I appreciate the sentiment, but money is the mother’s milk of politics. Without it the Democrats could not compete.

Hold a rally in DC disguised as a jobs and health care fair. Pass out signs as part of the process. Wait for a conservative politician to walk past, point in his or her direction and yell, “Look! Over there! That’s the creep who stole our money!” Ta-daaa! Instant political rally!

Or, do it in Florida where our politicians go for warm graft!

The people sitting on their hands are the ephemeral silent majority, who currently appear to be busy polishing their resumes. Clearly, they aren’t paying much attention to the cabal looting the treasury…

I tend to agree. Drug re-importation is what you do if you’re too weak to negotiate your own fair drug pricing.

Wimps.

DING! DING! DING! You’re right on point there. Negotiate drug prices first and foremost.

Erm, I don’t think I claimed otherwise.

The drug manufacturers admit they charge Americans more than anyone else. We are wealthy, in their opinion, and someone has to pay for all of the R&D.

This is another area where it is in the public interest to act, but the politicians say no. We can’t dent their precious donations. I mean, that implies they work for us! We can’t have that, now, can we?

Look, the problem with it is that if it got big, the pharmaceutical industry would just cut back on the amount they export.

It is a mirage.

I’m all for public financing that includes the elimination all other forms of contributions but I don’t remember it being signed into law and if it was it would still have to get past the SCOTUS.

This meeting looks to me like the second or third string in the almost-pay-for-play arena, too public and non-specific to get real work done and serious money won’t change hands. The big boys have quiet personal discussions that lead to unconnected reciprocation at another time and place and those meetings tend toward committee chairs or highly place committee members. Or does POLITICO think that Ds and people like Sanders should put on their horsehair and make sure that only Rs belly up to the contribution trough. If there were a clear connection between this shoomze fest and votes then I’d be a bit more concerned.

This is just POLITICO playing their standard game of yanking the anti-D chain.

Why has fat cat become a label of derision for people that are plundering the economy when blood sucking vampire squid seems much more accurate? Personally, I have nothing against cats that are exercise challenged.

Putting on the ritz goes the old song and the Dims seem to think they too can talk out of both sides of their mouth without anyone calling them out. I sent an email to our State’s 2 Senators, both Democrats one of whom is running for re-election this year, referencing this story. Appears they are just following Obama’s example of talking out of both sides of one’s mouth.

Maybe this is the time to start THE PEOPLE PARTY, otherwise known as the Progressive party. The people are angry, and if they (us) were presented with a transparent progressive platform – based only on truthful facts that can be easily defined and defended – maybe the public would go for it, because they already know that either the repubs and dems are for the corporations.

Get some new (or openly) progressive house and senate nominees (if they are dem or repub now, they would have to change parties to the progressive party). Give them the same grass roots support we gave obama (but openly oppose official dem or repub candidate), show the people exactly what our nominees will support and HOLD OUR NOMINEEs FEET TO THE FIRE. (Which might have more validity if the nominees understood that if they fail in their commitments, we will not protect their backs, and would gladly give out the knives. This does not mean if they fail in their objective we will try to kick them out next election, it just means they have to back up their words/commitments with action even if their objective fails in the end).

We know what is happening in this country, and we know how to fix it. And maybe this is time to start the party that could do it!

i would guess there is a reasonable explanation for bernie’s attendance. what causes my wtf alarm to go off is the fact tha politico is reporting. i trust bernie over politico any day of the week.

Do this and prepare for a generation of Republican rule.

R&D for pharma is about 14%, THAT’S IT.

It all feeds into the story, so we are going to hear plenty of this in the next year. Recall that Bush got a free ride until DEC-2004, or more realisticly SEP-2006.

You need to know what the politics and at least some of the policy is – before you win an election, so you know, you have something to do. This is harder to do when what you say is furthur from what you do (D’s talk a good game, R’s not so much – they are a bit more upfront with they stupid stuff they want to do, and sorry Dem’s but its the R’s who mindless forgive their leaders for working them over every time).

It appears they are not trying, or lying, or the “real” story is so far away from the kubuki dance that they are not trying as hard (or its falling apart).

BEST case is pol as usual (not good in the medium or long term), Worst case Deep Impact (you know where everyone is puttering around to their jobs while the gub’ment stocks up on Ensure and Pedialite). Its probably a blend of the two… I think the fools have us at the edge of a human (“system”) created disaster.

“I think the fools have us at the edge of a human (”system”) created disaster.”

I fear you may be correct here.

I don’t understand your explanation. The public is mad, and if a progressive party were to specifically explain their platform, show how that platform is the real deal and deals with culprits, which again the public knows, there might be chance.

There never have been and there aren’t now enough progressives to form a majority in Congress.

To this point, progressives have partnered with moderates to about half the time form a majority. As a reward they get half-assed halting progress. Generally, it beats nothing.

If you split that coalition with the progressives going it alone, the conservatives will dominate.

For your theory to work, our political culture is going to have to change dramatically in leftward direction. I doubt this is going to happen, but, I guess, anything is possible.

Why don’t protesters show up at these events, and why are they never reported in advance, so we can?

Yeah, and along with them, out the media.

Wait. Never mind.

I know why Bernie Sanders was there! He’s a socialist. That’s why.

They are posers to the last woman/man.

Vote anti-encumbent in every election, raise your kids to do the same. My daddy used to say that. I used to disagree, but whatta ya know, he was right about that too.

There aren’t enough of us ignoring all the chum being strategically dumped into the water every day to rile us up in fierce defense of Obama, Reid, Pelosi, etc. Most Democratic voters are swimming for the chum, they can’t resist the color and smell, it drives them mad. That’s what it’s FOR. Glenn Beck has BOTH sides in a constant dither, that’s his job. He’s laughing his rich soulless nazi ass off at his country.

Bob Menendez is my senator–I just sent him an email urging support for the Fair Elections Now Act. I was wondering if it was too strongly worded; now I feel it probably wasn’t strong enough.

Always nice to see that Democrats understand the fundamental problem with events like this.

You could [Edited by Moderator] ‘GIVE ME LIBERAL POLICY’ and they’d take away from it that they were [Edited by Mod. because they weren’t moderate or centrist enough.

Okay… I’m assuming I was modded on the assumption I’m advocating violence or something of that nature, and while I wasn’t, I’ll try to reframe the analogy to be more mod-appropriate.

If there was a magic book that said ‘advance more liberal policy’ under strategies on how to win, Democrats would take the reading as a message in disguise to move to the center or to the right.

In short and so as not to anger the mods, my point is that Democrats aren’t failing to get the message, they simply choose to ignore it. They see what they want to see, and they DON’T want to see the left-leaning attitude of the nation.

My apologies for the prior upset, mods.

…an increasing cynicism that the whole game is rigged…

It isn’t? It doesn’t take cynicism to come to that conclusion. You know, if you take away the people who claim to be Democrats but aren’t, there really is no viable progressive party in this country. Hasn’t been one since Nixonland.

She’s a party-switcher or just one of the bidness-Democrats?

The white stuff; yeah, haven’t seen it this deep in several years; guess the drought is over.

Wonder if the Corporate so called “libruls” Olberman & Rachel Maddow will cover this on their “progressive” shows.
Don’t count on it they work for a Corporation.