And as my new feudal overlords walk by, I’ll ask them…

?????????????????????

I mean, what is it that makes you think he’d hold fast on Roe while caving to political expediency on these other vital issues?

Sadly I must agree here. I mean, all the pro-choicers went for Bill Clinton (Mr. “Safe, Legal and Rare”) because the alternative had been Bush Sr who had become (belatedly, but still) unabashedly pro-life.

Yet…Clinton allowed denials of funding for abortions at military hospitals; he allowed 24-hour notification periods; he allowed regressive funding policies at the UN and other agencies. He supported parental notification laws that cost some teenagers their lives.

No the wretched two-party system has insured that we will always choice between two piles of shit and pull the lever for the one that stinks less. What we need to do is convert to a Parliamentary democracy so the left doesn’t get forced into caving in all the time.

Brad, I don’t pretend to know enough to decipher the ramifications of all this. But somehow I think the American taxpayer will get it in the neck, bailout or not.

That may be so—–but the most horrific thing about going THIS way (bailout) is is it basically tells every smooth talking slimeball on Wall Street that he can be as crooked, fraudulent, reckless and greedy as he wants, and guess what? IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE! You can ALWAYS get the good old t.p.er’s to scarf up the mess.

Pain and suffering I’m used to: I’m down to one meal a day and I live in a household where three adults share one decent car. But I’d like my daughter’s life to someday be better than mine. And if we don’t stand up to the pigs now, they will rule the day yet again, and we will be mired in infinite serfdom for the foreseeable future.

LET some of these fuckers pay the price for what they did! Let THEM default! Let THEM lose houses/yachts/spouses. Why should WE do all the suffering?

The Democratic nominee will get my vote in November. And I don’t care if he/she/it is a fucking werewolf.

I don’t care if the nominee comes and whispers in my ear, “hey, you know I’m the antichrist, right?” and then jebus comes over and says “it’s true, your party’s nominee is the antichrist,” I’m still voting Democrat.

I don’t care if space aliens come to eat our brains and one of them drops an invitation to a brain-eating social that’s signed by the nominee, I’m still voting Democrat.

There has been too much water under the bridge in the last eight years for me to do otherwise. If you’ve got a better idea, I’m all ears, and I am open to persuasion, but if your idea is something like ‘fuck Obama and all Democrats — I’m withholding my vote,’ then I have absolutely no use for you or anything you have to say.

For that way lies a McCain Presidency, and I think you know that already.

The point is, if our Democratic Party is not willing, even now, to try to minimally protect OUR interests – you know, Barney Smith, not Smith Barney – there really is no longer any point in voting, for anyone.

Phew! For a minute there I was worried you might have to compromise your principles.

The claim is, by some asshole over at Volokh Conspiracy or one of the other REEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY fucking nutcase blogs, that the Obama campaign is behind a series of ads and videos that really take Palin down a peg.

Like she’s relevant anymore…

Treasury Secretary Phil Gramm.

Again, you miss my point. If they pass the plan as it’s been presented, we’re all going to drown in the shit pool anyway. And the rest of the world will be drowning with us.

That’s why there’s the big rush to push Paulson’s shitty plan through – it’s not so much the details of the plan itself (which are dreadful), but it’s establishing a narrative to which opponents must respond. The best thing Democrats could do with his proposal is ignore it and get their own proposal together ASAP. Don’t buy into the $700B figure; don’t buy into handouts for rapacious businessoids. There are plenty of intelligent ideas from moderate centrists, flaming lefties, and others in between.

Dems might actually do it this time. Wouldn’t that be a pleasat surprise?

What are they on about?

But I’ll understand others who won’t, if Obama goes along with this bailout. And I’ll blame Obama and not those who stood on principle. If he would run to the left, I think the results would be surprisingly positive. No one likes bankers. Here in Gary’s Heartland, people still remember the farm crisis. Stand up to the bankers, and I’d bet all the money I wish I had that it will garner more votes for him than it will lose.

But we can’t go with the shit sandwich we wish we had . . .

Yes, absolutely. Sign the petitions, call your critters. Harrass them.

Obama is between a rock and a hard place. It’s his own fault, but I imagine he feels like he’s walking a tightrope here. He needed that sweet, sweet cash and he needed to convince the money machine that he’d play along to get it. He’s been taking advice from the wrong people, and money from the wrong people. All I can say is, if he wants to give lip service to the banking industry, while doing the right thing, that’s all good. If it’s the other way around though . . . well, then I guess I agree with Brad and Jennifer. This can’t be tolerated. It’s time to stand and do the right thing.

From the above linked article:

Obama has raised $9.8 million from investment houses (more than McCain). For economic advice, he relies on people like Bob Rubin — the NAFTA architect who gutted market regulations as Bill Clinton’s treasury secretary and who then tried to rustle up government favors for Enron as a $17-million-a-year executive at Citigroup, a bank embroiled in today’s implosion . . .

Sans aggressive opposition, McCain likens himself to Teddy Roosevelt and pledges support for tighter regulation — hoping America forgets his Keating Five past and March declaration that, “I’m always for less regulation.”

His surrogates, meanwhile, are on the cultural offensive. Even as they endorse the crony communism of Bear Stearns bailouts, conservatives are using Obama’s community organizing experience to depict him as an inner-city black socialist — a caricature invoking the geography, ethnicity and ideology that Republicans regularly rely on to prompt white backlashes.

Thing is, although some people seem to be waking up, not enough people are getting the message, and the press is not doing its job, although there are some hopeful signs of stirring there as well. But I’m afraid it’s all going to be too little, too late.

take a deep breath and think of the hundreds of things the Dems and the Republicans disagree on. or, just think of one: McCain would be perfectly happy putting Social Security money into the stock market; Obama wouldn’t.

the unfortunate thing about a two party system is, obviously, you don’t get ideal candidates: you must always choose the lesser of two evils. or, you can choose the greater of two evils. it’s your choice to make, of course. just be sure you choose what you really want, when you make it.

don’t want to vote for Obama? okie dokie. don’t come around whining about that President McCain enacted the things he campaigned on.

Last of all, even if you don’t agree with Brad and others who are on board with his point of view, you should at least communicate to your elected Dem representatives and candidates that you are.

already did it.