Mornin’, BT

No, and I’d support it again in a heartbeat.

That said, I need to know more about Halter.

If nothing else, a primary should wake blue dogs up to their losses of support among primary voters. Against Lieberman, though, that would assume some sort of capacity to listen to anything but his own fantasies.

Well, if the Lincoln Primary works like the Lieberman primary, we’ll end up with a Halter who won’t be elected and a Lincoln who is an IndiDem.

Sounds like the start of a third party.

D’s to the left, R’s to the right and ID’s in the middle. Maybe the R’s will do the same thing and we can have ID’s and IR’s for a 4 party system.

I may end up getting slammed for being a one issue pony but this guy Halter has to be pro-choice and be able to prove it before I’ll support him. The reichwing is on abortion like white on rice and I’m not gonna help them.

Nader’s on democracynow, just called the U.S. senate a ‘graveyard.’ I might have to remember that.

They’ve certainly shown the world what petulant children they are.

Nader characterized Dodd’s bill to put more consumer protection in the FRB, but with no enforcement powers, ‘beyond satire.’ Think I’ll remember that one too.

Now either they’re children or they’re old, crotchety, and senile.

Old, crotchety and senile is childlike. A visit to a geriatric ward is an eye opener.

If nothing else, a primary should wake blue dogs up to their losses of support among primary voters.

With a little luck it’ll also wake up constitituents who haven’t been paying attention to how their representation in congress is selling them out.

Reverting to childhood?

The LIEberman campaign was an early indication of the real orientation of the big dims, including obama. The winner of the primary was considered an interloper, not a real Democrat. He was to be dismissed in any way possible, even if it meant that the rethugs had to supply the votes. Does Halter represent the change that Lamont would probably have brought? Probably not, but the lesson that it would teach is that the old ways will not stand without challenge.

More truth to that than we’d like to admit.

Cars are ‘computers on wheels’ according the Nader. I’ve forgotten how he can turn a phrase. And there are no scientists in the regulator who understands that.

For Democratic activists( like me) the lesson of Lieberman’s primary defeat was the absolute silence – nada, no condemnation, for mounting an independent run after being defeated as a Democrat.

It signalled to me that Lieberman was part of ‘the club’ and the lack of support for Lamont during the general election by ‘name national Democrats’ said it all. It was as if Lamont/and or progressives were being punished for mounting the primary challenge to begin with.

I have never forgotten that Obama has championed Joe Lieberman whenever he can and when he does that, he champions what Lieberman stands for.

The President is no progressive( really does not like any progressive or what they stand for very much) and anyone paying attention could have seen that through the prism of Joe Lieberman’s career since 2004

The amount spent on highwar & car safety compares unfavorably with the amount spent on guarding the Baghdad embassy. ‘Institutional insanity.’

Lieberman was Obama’s “mentor” when he was elected to the Senate. Nuf said.

From your tidbits Nader appears to be in good form this mornin’.

I think it is good to support almost any primary candidate against Blanche. The point is that selling out has consequences, and the more often we can enforce that point the better. That said, what about Jonathan Tasini in NY. A real progressive promoting many of our key messages. I’m surprised not to see more support for him and now that Ford is out of the NY race he could make a real run against Gillibrand.

Extremely good form. I don’t want to gin up the Nader love/hate-fest, but it is a pleasure to listen to someone who is articulate and on the right side of the issues. We are so starved for that.

Nader love/hate-fest

There’s a time waster if there ever was one.

Talking about this book with the photographer and Nader, who wrote the intro. Powerful stuff.

More like a perpetual motion machine, where the lines are carved in stone and retyped every time.

Good, I’ve got something to look forward to at lunch.

So, what are we learning about this guy Halter? Anybody got any good links? Blind faith in anything will get ya killed.

Yes. Final segment is on the poorest postal code in Canada, a real community of the Downtown East Side of Vancouver, within spitting distance of the Olympic Superstore.

Has Nader ever considered running for a seat in congress? Personally, I’d have a hard time voting for him for President, but wouldn’t think twice about it if he were running to be my Congressman… especially since I’ve got a Republican now.

Cars are ‘computers on wheels’

But when my car crashes I can’t just turn it off and on again to reboot. /g

Madoff whistleblower on AM joe.

Was on Rachel last night. He wrote a book, so he’s on his book tour. He was much less animated on Rachel than when he testified before congress. Someone must have coached him to tone it down lest he appear to be a fanatic. Either that or he’s on meds. I liked the other one a lot more.

Representative, Allison Swartz of Pennsylvania, was just on the Bill Press show and despite being a former “supporter” of the public option is now saying that it will not be in the bill hammered out in reconciliation. Despite that she is saying what a great bill it is for the American people. The spin is picking up. Should this dog pass expect Obama to come out before the cameras waving the bill over his head and proclaiming in a triumphant tone, “we have health care in our time.”

True dat.

Nader’s point was that no one in the National Highway Safety thing knows anything about how computers control the systems and the car, and are therefore completely unqualified to judge their safety.

Soon as I read “waving the bill” the Chamberlain image flashed.

Which has been amply demonstrated within the last month.

Nader said that the only reason that came to the fore was because of irate car owners calling NHSA. Otherwise, they were perfectly happy to ignore it all.

The spin for this half-assed legislation is going to be like nothing the country has ever seen, unless you include the spin for a war of aggression.

Clinton and Bush turned our regulatory agencies into hollow entities.

Agreed.

New post up top…

Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool.

US KIA Irak: 4,380

US KIA Afghanistan: 1,008

Iraki and Afghan casualties: estimates vary to over 1.5M

US MBS 2010: 7,440 and counting

Be good to yourselves, and all other living things.

Namaste

TX…with the lowest graduation rate in the country…complaining about gov’t being too intrusive into state on educat. policy…Of course, Perry moaning, among others.

Namaste, SoDrag

I know Obama is in shape, but waving 2,000 sheets of paper would be more like lugging the bill, which, come to think of it will make a great boat anchor for the 2010 Democratic electoral Titanic.

Heard the report on NPR this morning. So-called moderate Board of Ed member whining about Federal intrusion and how TX standards for higher education are better than the Federal standards. Disgusting how the issue was dodged.

They were just continuing Reagan’s work.

Finally the WaPooP has the scoop on the Rahm Presidency. Jason Horowitz Rahm’s stenographer, explains what Rahm wants him to explain.

Emanuel is a force of political reason within the White House and could have helped the administration avoid its current bind if the president had heeded his advice on some of the most sensitive subjects of the year: health-care reform, jobs and trying alleged terrorists in civilian courts.

President Rahm is is a busy and all powerful decision maker.

His office is the White House nerve center. “In order to get a final decision, everything needs to go through Rahm’s office,” said a former administration official who thinks Emanuel should delegate more….

The official said Emanuel surveys colleagues’ opinions “more than people think.” Emanuel’s initial reaction to criticism is likely to be slamming down the phone.

Rahmbo gets bipartisan support, with corrupt D’s and R’s defending Rahm against the lefty insurgents.

Listening to Emanuel would serve “all our overall goals,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). “I think that Rahm’s considerable legislative experience translates into advice that the president should heed.”

“When the going gets rough, the chiefs of staff are always on the firing line,” Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) said last week.

Rahm does make the tough decisions. He takes credit for the Health Care Bill in Congress.The Mad Max Senate Bill, which gives even more taxpayer money and power to Blood sucking parasite Insurance Companies, belongs to Rahm.

When the larger measure stalled, Emanuel harangued Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and later argued to Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to strike the public option from the legislation to expedite passage, the source said. Reid insisted on putting it in.

We should put up strong candidates against Republicans as well. If primarying a Democrats fails or results in electing a Republican, there will need to be another seat picked up to avoid digging ourselves into a deeper hole. And every single Republican is now vulnerable for hiding behind Jim Bunning. The problem is that in states like Richard Shelby’s Alabama, the Democratic Party has been down so long they don’t know how to fight for ordinary folks. But there are a list of Senators to go after as being too extreme.

DeMint (SC)
Isakson (GA)
Shelby (AL)
McCain (AZ)
Crapo (ID)
Grassley (IA)
Vitter (LA)
Burr (NC)
Coburn (OK)
Thune (SD)
Bennett (UT)

Some of these, like Burr, have opposition and are not likely to win. Others, like DeMint and Isakson, are more vulnerable than they appear nationally. Others, like Coburn, are dancing toward “reasonableness” in order to hide their looniness and do not have a serious challenge yet.

People, even in OK, deserve real choices. Especially in the aftermath of Bunning making it crystal clear that the GOP will destroy the country rather than break their “party of No” political strategy.

But as usual, those up for election are hiding behind folks like Kyl and even Bunning who aren’t up for election.

You forget the roles of Carter, Reagan, and Bush 41 in deregulation. Not to mention the judicial breakup of AT&T.

Couldn’t agree more Susan. Obama and Lieberman are like two peas in a pod.

No, I haven’t forgetten it, it’s a little wonky for folks who weren’t old enough or weren’t payin’ attention at the time.

Anyone out there think it was a bad idea to mount a primary against Lieberman?

YES. And his name is Barack Obama. And he thinks that primaries against Arlen Specter and against Blanche Lincoln and against Harry Reid are bad ideas too.

Anyone out there think it was a bad idea to mount a primary against Lieberman?

Yeah me. Y’all should have [edited by mod]

[Mod note: Please do not suggest violence on others. Thanks]

If Lincoln gets her ass kicked by a right winger how would we noptice the difference she has taken all that Health insurance money. And as an after thought where are all those folks who we singing YES WE CAN a year ago???

I am still looking for that Change we can believe in

Lieberman is a Dem traitor, only in it for himself. But-we see what we got when we opposed him. Just like Spector, he can change his spots at will.
With Lincoln, we have, unlike Lieberman, a dem who wins in an red state. She has to walk a fine line to stay in office. I’m not so sure she could do it any other way. What if the progressives and FDL lake, instead of threats, promised to give her the support we are promising the new guy? Could we get a change in her attitude? We will never know until we try it some time. Each state and the circumstances of the electorate is different and I think we should evaluate them as such. It costs a whole lot more to mount a primary challenge,(or defend one) leaving a weaker candidate in the general election. I don’t like the way Lincoln is voting, but maybe that’s all she can do and maintain the balance she needs to keep in office. Just sayin’ since I don’t know her a bit. And what about that hair-do? Damn.

These primary challenges from the left are just what was needed in that it shows itself and others the political strength it wields. Now as any good Machievellian knows power must be put to good use.

Similar primary challenges to Reid, Landrieu and Nelson must be supported for their deliberate frustrating of a public plan designed to benefit the public and challenge profit gouging insurers. Their canard about government overeach as an excuse was transparent and insulting to everyone’s intelligence.

Much work is left and the message must be made clear that incumbency with the perogative to trample on the public’s wellfare in order to benefit private gain is being exposed and resisted not just from the left but from the country generally.

Now is the time to strike back at Congress both House and especially the Senate while the iron is hot. And support of any alternative candidate must come with strict conditions, no one must feel that once elected they are free to turn their back and to leave the public’s business undone.

Would like to see Obama face a primary challenge.

Once this popular effort to unseat these compromised Congresspeople begins to take hold in earnest we should expect a fierce all out response from all the affected and threatened groups and their apologists: the same Congress, the MSM, Obama and the business community. They will wage an all out war to protect their pricipal means of enriching themselves by way of the public purse.

Their reaction should be expected and will not be long in coming. Time to get ready.

Definitely Obama should go and we should continue to exert pressure from the left at every point along his remaining way. There is no question that by his actions Obama believes that it is the public’s role to transfer its wealth to private profiteers.

Well he can go and continue to kiss their ass as a private sycophant once he is voted out next election. He should be under no illusion that as far as the left is concerned we have caught on and turned our back on him a while back.

I agree with you but remember as it is now,the Dem candidate has to be an anti-Dem party candidate.
The WH & Dem leadership is seen as corrupt & incomptent.It’s almost like nothing has changed since Bush left,except the same lame excuse over & over from Dem apologits(Stephanie Miller & Ed Shultz),”see it’s the GOP stopping reform”

Looks like it’s getting so bad for Rahm that they are having to pick sides. Those claims for Rahm’s powers really don’t help him: now he’s responsible for no PO. Brilliant. Rahm -no doubt- loves it. Hell he wrote the article, didn’t he?