Democrats News

Why Does The White House Love Geithner So Much?

8:42 am EST August 4th, 2011 | Democrats, Economy | 10 Comments

Tim Geithner’s easily one of the worst members of the Obama cabinet. He’s too close to Wall Street, terrible in media appearances, and a symbol of economic half-measures that have been far more friendly to hedge fund managers than middle class voters. The NY Times reports today that the White House has basically begged him to stay. I suppose they don’t think the GOP would let anyone else through, but still… fail.

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The Grand Crap Sandwich

7:36 am EST August 1st, 2011 | Democrats, Economy, Liberals | 101 Comments

ObamaThe Republican Party was able to enact more conservative cuts on the government with a Democratic President and Democratic Senate than they were with a Republican President, House, and Senate. That’s how much of a massive failure the debt ceiling “deal” is.

It is a massive failure, not only of progressive politics, but of American politics. The legislation will hobble the economic recovery while hurting the poor and middle class. Anybody who believes in progress for America should loudly vote against this monstrosity.

Everybody should share the blame here.

The Republican Party, for its dogged dedication to policies that enrich the already rich at the expense of ordinary Americans.

Congressional Democrats, for being listless and directionless and spineless at practically every opportunity. Given the reigns of power by the American people, they dithered and dithered and watered legislation down. While in the majority, they allowed the GOP to wield far too much influence, while also making the party’s own conservative wing overly influential. Those choices helped lead to a loss of power in 2010, and even weaker leadership in 2011.

President Obama, who has now shown himself to be a terrible negotiator of epic proportions. With just the House, he gave the Republicans the least terrible of their demands. The right demanded no revenue and all-cuts, and Obama gave them just what they wanted. Sure, they would have rather had even deeper cuts — but Obama played the entire game on GOP territory.

I wish someone would show the President a thesaurus and explain that “capitulation” is not a synonym of “compromise.”

In 2010, Democrats ran on a platform of “the Republicans are worse” and as a result suffered at the midterm elections. You cannot run a strong campaign on that kind of message. People need a reason to vote for you, not just against the other guy.

Democrats have now compounded their 2010 problem. If the bill passes, a Democratic president, along with a Democratic senate, will be enshrining conservative policy as law. While overall it’s still better to have Democrats in power — the Democrats themselves have undercut progressive policy. That’s a crappy way to motivate your progressive base.

And again, besides the politics and the optics, the deal is just bad for America. It is wrong for our country. It hurts an already bleeding nation. And the Democrats helped.

In the past progressives like myself said we needed “more and better” Democrats, please. Now we truly realize that its far better to get better Democrats because a majority with a Democratic president simply unwilling to push forward and do the right thing clearly isn’t getting the job done.

This is a massive failure.

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Martin O’Malley Blasts The GOP’s Dinosaur Wing

1:05 pm EST July 21st, 2011 | Democrats, Maryland | 17 Comments

Maryland’s governor continues to be a national leader for Democrats.

Over the course of a few days, O’Malley chided Republican governors for staying silent while “the dinosaur wing” of their party dominated debt talks in Washington.

He blasted “a new breed of tea-partying, FDR-hating” governors who have come to power, singling out Chris Christie of New Jersey for additional scorn. That “colorful character,” O’Malley said, lives in a “make-believe world, where down is up, up is down, candy is a vegetable, and vegetables are candy.”

Cough, 2016, cough.

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Obama Beats Fundraising Goal… By About $20 Million

7:24 am EST July 13th, 2011 | Democrats, Politics | Comments Off

Yeah, so that‘s pretty good.

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised a combined $86 million between April and June, blowing past the $60 million goal set by both groups at the start of the fundraising quarter. Obama campaign manager Jim Messina announced the total in a video released before dawn Wednesday, touting the 552,462 donors who contributed and claiming “more grassroots support at this point in the process than any campaign in political history.” “We did this from the bottom up. We didn’t accept one single dollar from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs,” Messina said.

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VIDEO: Senate Dems Attack The Private Jet Exemptions

1:58 pm EST June 30th, 2011 | Democrats, Economy | 28 Comments

Granted, I’m sure at the end of the day the Senate Dems will disappoint me and capitulate, they’re at least saying something about it now.

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VIDEO: Bernie Sanders Asks How About We Not Screw Over The Little Guy This Time

10:06 am EST June 28th, 2011 | Democrats, Economy | 3 Comments

Good speech from Sen. Sanders discussing how our budget negotiations must not screw over the middle and lower class in favor of the uber-rich. It’s time to draw a line in the sand, or we’re screwed.

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Senate Defeats Jon Tester’s Attempt To Kiss Up To Big Banks With Swipe Fees

3:13 pm EST June 8th, 2011 | Business, Democrats, Economy | 6 Comments

Jon TesterWhen a Dem being a toady for big banks loses a legislative battle, it’s just as good as a GOP bill going down in flames.

In a highly anticipated vote, the Senate rejected by 54 to 45 an amendment from Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., on Wednesday that would have delayed a swipe fee regulation from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

The move decides the fate of a $14 billion a year industry and ends another chapter in the intense lobbying war between retailers and bankers in which millions of dollars have been spent on print, television and radio ads within the Capital Beltway and beyond targeting key member states.

Durbin caught the banking industry by surprise last year when he convinced 64 senators to support adding his measure to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. It requires the Federal Reserve Board by July 21 to ensure fees banks charge merchants for debit card purchases are “reasonable and proportional.”

The Fed has proposed slashing the charge per transaction to 12 cents from an average of 44 cents but has not issued a final rule.

Tester is such a disappointment. He’s marginally better than Conrad Burns, the Republican he replaced, but he’s turned out definitely not to be the populist-leaning senator he originally ran as.

Bob Corker was his co-sponsor, but I can’t blame Corker for doing the dirty work of big banks… that’s what Republicans go to Washington to do.

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When “Progressive” Isn’t (Israel Policy Edition)

2:40 pm EST May 21st, 2011 | Democrats, News | 2 Comments

When you have an AIPAC guy at the “Progressive Policy Institue” (an affiliate of the pro-corporation DLC) pushing the conservative line on Israel policy. For instance.

The Democratic Party will be at its best the sooner these elements are marginalized.

 

Terry McAuliffe Throws Stones In A Glass House

3:42 pm EST May 11th, 2011 | Democrats | 4 Comments

Terry McAuliffeTerry McAuliffe is attacking the DNC for bad messaging in 2010. I don’t disagree that the party didn’t put together a coherent message last year, but Terry McAuliffe should keep his mouth quiet about such things.

Terry McAuliffe was DNC chairman during a time in which the party cozied up to corporate donors and lost elections. Terry McAuliffe presided over the disastrous 2002 election, where Bush was able to buck the trend of losing seats in his first midterm election. The brilliant Terry McAuliffe-led Democratic strategy then was to cede national security to the Republicans while thinking Democrats would win on “kitchen table” issues.

Terry McAuliffe was also DNC chairman during the 2004 election, when Democrats didn’t take advantage of their growing small-donor base and lost the White House again. It’s not a coincidence that Democratic fortunes began turning around in 2006-8. Terry McAuliffe was no longer DNC chairman.

Terry McAuliffe went on to run for Governor of Virginia, getting swamped by Creigh Deeds, who went on to be crushed by Republican Bob McDonnell.

When I think “winner” I don’t think Terry McAuliffe.

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Here’s Harold Ford Jr. To Shill For Big Oil

9:45 am EST May 11th, 2011 | Democrats | Comments Off

Harold Ford JrHarold Ford crossed the parody threshold some time ago. A nominal Democrat, so invested in shucking and jiving for corporate interests, that there’s no cause too scummy for him to suck up to. Here he is arguing in favor of more offshore drilling — in the Wall Street Journal no less. Ford even says “let’s stop demonizing Big Oil,” a lecture that should be greeted with peals of laughter.

The irrelevance of the conservative corporate shill of the nominally Democratic wing of the party can’t come soon enough. When Harold Ford is this much of a naked shill in the pages of the country’s top right-wing newspaper, it helps.

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