What’s important to note is that AARP says it opposes cuts to Social Security as part of discussions on how to reduce the deficit. Notice they don’t say anything about opposing cuts to Social Security anywhere else — only where it pertains to deficit reduction. That’s a pretty weak defense, if you ask me.

The relentless drive to cut Medicare and Social Security is real, omnipresent and extremely well-funded (see: Peterson, Pete). Politicians on both sides of the aisles can always be counted upon to stand there with their hands out, ready to oblige — that is, if it doesn’t cost them their seat to do so. So which of these is real, and which is political theater meant to minimize political fallout for doing that?

My advice to any political party is to focus the bulk of their energy on doing what ever possible, as quickly as possible, to deliver real improvements for the electorate. People pay attention to how the government is affecting their lives, not the show politicians put on for each other.

If Democrats had spent even half as much time on getting more people help with their health care as soon as possible as they did getting that “pretty” CBO score for their bill, I suspect they would have had a better showing last November.

It appears that the plan, all along, was to hold the extension of unemployment benefits hostage so those in need can once again be used as the poster children for this “necessary” compromise.

It’s Christmas time, you bastards. People can’t feed their kids. You continue to shovel trillions of dollars at the banks. And all of you — Pelosi, Reid, Obama — you fail the test not only of leadership, but of basic human compassion. Of having any kind of a moral compass.

Nancy Pelosi dug her heels in last night and told her caucus that the President wants no extension of the Bush tax cuts beyond the $250,000 threshold. She’s also signaled that she’ll put it up for a vote on the suspension calendar, which means Republicans can’t make amendments or the motion to recommit. But it also means she’ll have to get 290 votes in order to pass it, and there’s no way she can bring enough Republicans on board to do that.

So it’s a purely symbolic vote that will fail. But she’s asking members to take it anyway, because she says that’s what the President wants.