What if the Democrats decided to play hardball with the Republicans?

Instead of playing with a ping-pong ball or a birdie?

What if they decided to do what the Republicans did with the Bush tax cuts, or the Bush Medicare drug bill, or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Of course, they paid for none of those. They rammed them down the throats of the Democrats. The Medicare bill alone cost about the same as the proposed health reform in some of the bills proposed by the Democrats. The tax cuts cost over a trillion dollars - as did the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What if the Democrats just decided to ram the public option through, the same way they did the Bush tax cuts? They said they would be paid for but they knew they would not be. Just ram it down their throats.

Then, while they were whining to their friends in the media, ram another bill through to reform the campaign finance laws. No longer would any of them be permitted to take the big dollars from the insurance companies or other special interests.

Then, while they were shitting bricks about the new campaign finance laws, bring back the Fairness Doctrine. This is the way to play hardball with the Republicans and the only language they understand.

And we wouldn't have the chance to make our party the Strawberry Shortcake of politics.

:spray:

There will be pigs roosting in the Sycamore trees before any of that come to pass.

Perhaps it is because we do not demand it or because we think it is a fantasy?

but look at the day to day behavior of the Senate Democrats. Do you honestly see anything there to suggest they might be able to muster the collective will to follow your prescription? Maybe if we could take Ms. Landrieu or one of the Mr. Nelsons out behind the capitol and shoot them it would somehow galvanize the rest. But we are talking here about deeply entrenched power, which has been consistently and lavishly rewarded for doing the bare minimum. Rummy was right, you go to war with the troopers you've got. We've got Jubilation T. Cornpone up there in the Senate..

...'Democratic Parties' that share the brand name, and run under it every two years. Other than that, they are separate parties in a coalition government, with overlapping but not identical agendas, agendas that sometimes conflict.

Forget the labels "Democratic" and "Republican". This country is backwards from Europe. In Europe you fight the election, then form the coalition. Here you form the coalition, then fight the election. And apart from fighting the election, the parties in a coalition, even a successful one -- and that's what the present 'Democratic majority' is -- may have very little in common, and clash on many points.

Yet they managed to jam all kinds of things down our throats.

Rove's 50%+1 governing model was designed to govern with a one-bloc party. You keep all of your votes, and peel off one or two votes from across the aisle, depending on the individual issue. No attempt to form a broad coalition.

Which is why, believe it or not, the GOP carried very little of its legislative agenda, certainly little of it in its original form, apart from the war, between 2001 and 2007.

(I'm sorry, I never get tired of that one!):silly:

the disturbance in the Force would be enough to negate gravity, and we'd all go flying out into space.

major Health Care overhaul, would change the picture for this Country in an incredibly good way.

Flying pigs!:spray:

Flying pigs! :spray:

... whine and apologize.

Imagine if there WERE any Democratic leaders ...

The Democrats dont all represent the people.

being relegated to basement storage rooms for any hearings they tried to hold and being treated with no respect whatsoever. Did they forget these things? Do they not remember having their microphones cut off when some repig chairswine didn't want to hear any of what the dems had to say?

than weak and right. *Not an exact quote* At least, politically speaking.

That said, I prefer strong and right of course. ;)

what is going on now look like they were at a child's tea party?

Which is more likely to occur than Dems actually "growing a pair".

No more 'pork' for GOP Reps and Senators, unless they cut the obstructionist bullshit and start to work with us in a constructive fashion.


That's all it would take.

it's the patty cake that's freaking nuts. Especially since the other guys are wearing brass knuckles.

I just got tingly thinking about it.

We can do it nice, or we can do it ugly... Just do it!

:rofl: