I'm jealous of Republicans

In at least one sense. Think about 2001-2008. No matter how crazy the idea, no matter how much the American people didn't want it, Bush and Republicans would push policy after policy out of fear of their base.

The Democratic Party does not fear their base. They tell us we're fucking stupid. They tell us we're too loud and demand too much. Until something goes wrong, then we're told "Why didn't you speak up?"

It's a trap. No matter what we do, the party's base is wrong. Read DU today, look at the venom directed at liberals and progressives for demanding anything of this party at all. A party with undreamed of control of government.

Do we get what we want? No. We get excuses, apologies, and most ominously, the blame.

Republicans somehow managed to pass laws and implement policies that the American people didn't even want.

Why can we not get our politicians to pass laws and implement policies that overwhelming majorities of Americans want? Why is it so difficult for Democrats? Why do they so openly despise their own base?

Something's wrong here.

What Arlen Specter did openly and transparently (i.e. switch parties for political expediency) most of them did covertly. Difference with Arlen is that he only did so to save his own ass. The DLC did it for the purpose of neutering the Democratic party from within. And damned if the fucking bastards aren't close to pulling it off. :evilfrown:

I don't get it either.

as lobbyists money.
That's a big part
Obama's are not. They do not want a public plan and so neither do many Democrats

We'd see entirely different kinds of bills and oversight if people who chaired or sat on committees could not get campaign funds from the interests involved.

A clear example of my thinking is the Federal Marriage Amendment. No one wanted it. It had no prayer of passing. It would have been one of the most galling violations of the spirit of our constitution in history. It was a national embarrassment.

Yet there it was, inexplicably so. All in the name of the religious base. All for them. All out of fear they would not turn out to vote if they were not heeded in the most ridiculous of ways.

Yet our base, our "radical" ideas are not crazy at all. We want health care, choice, freedom, equality.

Our crazy ideas never get the same consideration from our politicians. We're dismissed, told to be quiet, that we're the problem rather than the solution.

How did we reach such a topsy turvy state of affairs? How does our party operate so undeniably backwards?

Their base is so easily manipulated that Bush et al could have done anything and then told them whatever. They just had to talk the talk, do the dog whistles, the wink-wink, nudge-nudge, and their base was pacified. We've got a few problems with getting our elected officials to listen to us. First of all, there are powerful, monied interests that are fighting against everything we want. They have the media, which can make it look like a couple of idiots and a couple of paid operatives are some huge grass-root effort. I think the Dems who are not in the pockets of the corporations are also decent people who think compromise is possible with the other side. I don't know why they still think this. I guess because sometimes good people have a really hard time understanding how evil some other people can be. And we have to take some of the blame, too. We haven't been out pushing for the health care reform. We just haven't been. And look how fast we are to turn on them.

We've got to do something to change this, I agree, but what?

Obviously we would be far more successful if that number were in the low teens.

cause the elections were ages ago as far as politics is concerned.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really fall,
or does anyone care if it did?

Rahm does not care for what we have to say.

as you have no clue as to what everyone else has been doing.
What I know is that whatever is being done is not enough.
Try harder, I say......
Or have you given up already?

Criticise the President and Congress, and the criticisms and condemnations from unquestioning supporters come.

And when those don't work, claim those who have been doing the fighting aren't doing enough.

Either way, the Left loses, the politicians win.

It's quite a racket.

We work, and then we can complain when things don't turn out right.

This ain't about the politician....although he is the only spokesman out there
who seem to know what he is talking about it.

So what have you done to help get it done?

they are very well funded and have a much better lobbying infrastructure than we do.

They are supposed to be our voice, not the voice of Goldman and pharma.

He campaigned on a public healthcare reform platform, and we elected him on that platform. The majority has spoken, and it's not a silent majority. It's a very vocal majority that gave him the victory over McCain by 10 million votes. Almost 70 million people spoke on Nov. 4, 2008, and we remain unheard.

That was understated. The Opposition have the largest microphone though.

We DemoCRAPS just stab each other in the backs. Backs with NO backbone.

The Republicans don't care; they just stick together.

I'm so jealous of them...

it's because they are the party that idolizes authority.

We, on the other hand, distrust authority, which is absolutely the correct philosophy, but results in us getting fucked over whenever there is a need to run a good propoganda war.

That explains everything!!! John Dean made this very point in "Conservatives Without Conscience"

That's something to avoid. When my party makes a mistake, I call them on it.

I'm not interested in a party that values blind loyalty over honesty and integrity.

of their base", they keep their base in fear.

In the last 20 years, what have the Republicans delivered that they promised to their base? Nothing. Because if they delivered they would have to think of something else to promise.

Well, except for their REAL base - the wealthy.

The same Big Money buys members of both parties. For Republicans, this is less of a problem, as they seem accustomed to the cognitive dissonance needed to work against their voter base's interests. Democrats, however, have a tradition of effort on behalf of We The People, and so their excuses for inaction are necessarily more convoluted. The unanimity isn't there; the debate has shifted so far right in America that politics-as-usual is simple only for the GOP and their proudly ignorant supporters.

Get the goddamned money away from our representatives, and we might find out what "liberal" and "conservative" really mean. At the moment, our two major parties seem to differ mainly in what position they assume when whoring themselves.

sometimes, "the perfect" really is the ONLY acceptable outcome!

sad that blue dog dem's are so willing to throw us off the bus. Many of these blue dogs are in states that don't have many people in their states. Yet these bums are nothing more than traitors and they are going to tie the presidents hands. I hope they are happy.