Obama - this is your last chance to tax the rich

or face the poor and middle class in the streets.
Enough already!

when it failed.

A SMART politician would have the bill introduced, go on TV to tell Americans to contact their Congresscritters ("If you don't know who you're Congressional Representative or Senator is, you can go to this website..."), and then hold a news conference blasting Congress if the bill failed.

Don't you remember how Reagan did things? (Aside from the DLC caving in to him all the time?)

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Many significant bills were reintroduced time and time again before they were passed. But in the meantime, the public began talking about them.

You need to read some American history.

You need a Democrat in the House or Senate to introduce legislation.

You KNOW that presidents introduce bills by getting a House or Senate member to do it for them (or am I telling you something you don't know?)

...to pass it. We've never had that during Obama's presidency. NEVER. Look at how many Republicans willingly supported the greatest bills passed by FDR and Johnson. They didn't filibuster. They went along.

were fools?

By continually reintroducing those bills, they kept them in the public eye, even when they knew it was hopeless.

And in the case of Obama, it wasn't Republicans who were the problem in 2009-2010. It was the Blue Dogs, who should have been given well-funded primary opponents for their recalcitrance, because with Dems like them, who needs Republicans?

Civil rights issues and bills dealing with annual budgetary/spending/revenue levels are 2 entirely different things with 2 entirely different natures.

Of course you have to keep reintroducing a civil rights related proposal until it passes. Its not like its something that pretty much automatically comes up every year. And its not like you face the possibility of "undecided business" that effects the current year when the civil rights related bill hasn't passed yet. Budget/tax related bills, on the other hand, come up pretty much every year. There is and never will be a permanent tax code or a permanent set of rules for how spending is allocated. This stuff has to be decided and voted on periodically. And they have to pass something that covers every single year. Its not like they can spend a decade arguing over it without passing anything.

I agree on the Blue Dogs. The ones in the house were of no real consequence. But a handfull in the Senate, + Joe Liberman were able to effectively water everything down. However, if the Republicans weren't willing to filibuster every single bill that was proposed, regardless of how liberal or conservative it was, and allowed an up or down vote, the blue dogs would have been of no consequence in the Senate either. Thats the key thing people are missing here. The vast majority of Democrats in the house AND the vast majority of Democrats in the Senate were willing, ready and able to vote on much more progressive legislations. The vast majority of Washington Democrats have been leaning the right direction on just about every single issue and bill that has came up over the past few years. But virtually none of the Republicans have been willing to even allow a fair vote. Neither FDR nor Johnson experienced resistance with that kind of power. The people serving in office during their time were willing to allow things to happen.

Require filibusterers to actually stand up and talk for hours instead of just killing bills with a threat. Or just eliminate the filibuster entirely.

That would have been a procedural change, not a Constitutional matter.

This learned helplessness... :puke:

I'm not saying that as a justification, I'm just saying that is most likely the thinking. All those re-election bids are going to give the Republicans more avenues to take back the Senate. If by chance they lose their majority in the Senate, they want to at least have the option of filibustering the privatization of Medicare. Although I feel like I would love to see them get rid of the filibuster altogether, I have a feeling that at some point in the future, I'll look back and be happy that they kept it in tact.

I'd rather he at least waste his time trying to be progressive (even if he fails) rather than waste his time running to the right (which will always end in failure).

to introduce a bill in the House, which is where revenue bills originate. The problem is this: who controls the House? Who controls the agenda in the House? The Speaker does!

This is basic civics, folks.

They just couldn't find a single member of Congress to introduce any legislation.

And Wall Street and their lobbyists just can't pass any bills because nobody in Congress will lift a finger.

Who controlled the house from 2006-2010?

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

America is going to hell in a handbasket, and all we have to offer is excuses. And circuses.

to get them through the House? Can you answer this question?

And yes, this country is going to hell because we allowed the Teabaggers/Rethugs to take over the House. See what happens when we don't vote. Yes, it's going to get worse because Republicans will see to it that it does. And what will we do? Not blame THEM. We'll blame Obama/The Democrats. So, yes, you're right! This country IS doomed!!

i don't get it.

easier to throw tantrums i guess...

:shrug:

and don't understand that the president has little to do with introducing legislation, then maybe it is our fault. If we fall for right wing propaganda and buy into the lie that it is our fault and not theirs, then we might as well hand over the keys to the White House and the Senate. They already control the SCOTUS, most state legislatures, most governorships, and most district and appellate judgeships.

If you don't even do that, then it really doesn't matter how many votes you have. Sure you can give up before you even take the first step, but what else is new since that's all we ever seem to do. Maybe we should take it all the way, just give up on everything, let them trash the country, turn it into Somalia. See you on the other side. Should be much easier to fix it when even Faux News can't cover it up anymore.

discuss how governments work yuh you want to be part of government, explain the history of taxation simply, and fugg up the ReTHUGS
EFUCKINGNOUGH!
There will be no recovery with taxation and a massive stimulus bill.
If necessary do like Bush and use the Executive Orders. ReTHUGS and their corporate friends must not be allowed to sabotage the economy to gain power.

That is in violation of the U.S. Constitution and a breach in separation of powers. Only Congress can pass tax and revenue bills!

Turn off CNN. Turn off MSNBC. Turn off CNBC. Turn off the local commentary channels. And definitely turn off Faux!!

Watch C-Span! That is the ONLY network that will show entire Obama speeches, from start to finish. It is the ONLY media venue that will air his town hall speeches and discussions with American people.

If you watch all these other cable "news" channels, you're NOT going to see Obama taking these claims to the American people. The Corporate Media will not show his speeches in their entirety.

Just because YOU haven't heard him use the bully pulpit doesn't mean that he hasn't. It just means that you haven't seen it!!

WATCH C-SPAN!!!!

"I need 15 minutes in prime time."

Reagan did it. Bush Sr. did it. Clinton did it. Bush Jr. did it.

Second, are you saying Obama will extend the tax cuts for the rich? You do know that would make him a liar, right? He just said in his big budget speech he would not extend those tax cuts again. Did you not get that memo?

Really? That will NEVER happen! These clowns will generate another bill to *EXTEND* the tax cuts! Either that, or they'll just put riders on existing bills, like Defense bills, for instance. They'll issue amendments to other proposed legislation and insert provisions about extending the tax cuts. Hell, they'd make extending the tax cuts part of any proposal to raise the debt ceiling.

You're right. They may not need to introduce a NEW bill, but they sure as hell won't allow the tax cuts to expire without deceitfully holding the American people hostage.

WAKE UP TO WHO THE REAL ENEMY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IS!! It is the Republican Party! PERIOD!!

and if he does that then when he said just a little over a month ago in his big budget speech that he would not extend them again was a lie.

The real enemy of the people are the top 2% which are destroying this country. And their best tool is having people like you make this a republican vs democrat issue when the democrats are more than happy to fuck you over as well.

You want to know what politics boils down to in this country? It's this:

a year and a half of more hemorrhaging

and then - after Obama gets re-elected - there is no guarantee that he won't extend it again

Our President needs to raise a Billion dollars for his campaign.

Guess how this story ends?


(I really enjoy your posts, by the way)

"many are already in the streets -- not by choice."

:applause:

K&R to Malaise!

:hi:

Or the Legislative?

Please think! The president has no power to levy taxes. That's a power that can only be exercised by the Congress via the U.S. Constitution. Now that we have MORE Rethugs and Teabaggers in the House of Representatives, do you really believe that they are going to not extend tax cuts for the wealthy?

The president has the power of the veto; that's the only way he can stop the Rethugs.

I would like to, for once, see DUers target the Republican Party on this issue. For once, I would like to see them point the finger at Republican obstruction and political gamesmanship. Just once!

Unrecommend based on the lack of critical thinking and adherence to basic civics.

Dems also control the Senate

Why is this even the president's fault. We're talking about Congress's duty! If we cannot count on the Democrats in the Senate to deliver, then they deserve to lose next year!!

Yes, that's one way presidents can control Congress. They can veto legislation they don't like or legislation that the opposition has put poison pills into.

When I lived in Oregon, then-governor John Kitzhaber saved the state a lot of grief by vetoing an average of 50 Republicanite bills per year.

because he extended the Bush tax cuts to begin with - making them the Obama tax cuts for the rich

and there is no reason to believe he won't do it again

unemployment benefits; to repeal DADT; to address health care issues of the 911 Responders; for the START Treaty!

The Republicans were holding the American people hostage.

Don't you remember what happened?

"Think"
"Don't you remember"

We were all there and were following it

We just disagree with what was more important at the time

I think it was very important to kill the Bush(now the Obama) tax cuts for the rich. But he didn't

and now things are looking very bleak

And what's going to stop Congress from "black-mailing" him again when the next vote to extend them comes up?

indignation. The president can't "kill anything"!! The Congress votes on these things. He can only VETO bills that the Congress passes.

I'm not being condescending towards you. I'm trying to convince you who the real enemy is, but your hatred for this president won't let you realize what's going on.

While many would like Obama to play the "absolute" executive like the previous regime, he doesn't set the tax rates, the Congress does. Sure...he can cajole and prod people to action (it's called spending political capital) but he's pretty limited right now. There's not just a rushpublican Congress, but a batshit crazy one. They've voted to destroy Medicare, LOWER taxes on the rich and obstruct this President every step of the way. And you're gonna pass a tax increase through there? Let's smoke some really good stuff and pretend it could happen and then it gets to McConneland...the place where 60 votes is always needed...even to go to the bathroom. So you horsetrade and "compromise" and every side gets further pissed and more defiant in willing to negotiate the next time.

The clock continues to tick on the boooooosh tax cuts for the rich...and a political weapon that this administration can and may yet use. There's the defecit ceiling battle followed by the budget...neither side will give quarter...thus the precious little that is done (like averting the country from going into default) will be in small measures and only temporary. No tax hikes, but no big cuts in social services. Remember, we're raising the debt...kicking the can further down the road.

The way things are now I don't see this government coming close to agreeing on a FY budget...which would include extending the booooosh cuts. They may get kicked down the road for another year...or just left to expire in the chaos of what is sure to be a wild fall and winter ahead...

but Democrats have not fought to make sure Americans understand this 60 vote madness in the Senate.

There's this rule of you don't sleep where you crap when it comes to the Senate...especially among Democrats. To eliminate the 60 vote threshold is to "break precedence" that requires at least 60 and probably 67 to pass.

Here's the shit sandwich...to have control of the House or Senate requires forming accomodation with Blue Dogs and representatives from red and purple areas who remained scared shit of being called "tax and spend" or raising any taxes. They have nightmares of the flood of teevee commercials that will ensue. The only real answer would be 60 solid Progressive/Liberal Democrats in the Senate and that's not happening any time soon.

I think most Americans do understand about the 60 vote madness...and last year the rage was how great "divided government" worked in the 90s and how it was going to solve problems again this year. The problem is more an inept Democratic party that is stuck in its own beltway bubble.

:hi:

Now the only chance is in the future, after winning back the House.

Except for the "increase" that can be accomplished by letting the decrease expire. That we can do probably only in the future by some combination of holding the White House and /or the legislature to prevent the Republicans from having their way and extending them again.

All that assumes that Democratic politicians actually want to increase taxes on the wealthy, which I don't believe they do, except for just a few of them.

"All that assumes that Democratic politicians actually want to increase taxes on the wealthy, which I don't believe they do, except for just a few of them."

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