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This extremely interesting, and somewhat frightening, discussion focuses on how far right the GOP has gone and how dedicated they are to beating President Obama at all cost, even if that cost is the complete shutdown of the government and irreparable damage to our democracy.Here is part two of this fascinating conversation in which MUCH of the blame for our out of control partisanship is laid at the feet of Newt Gingrich. And then here is part three where we learn that this is NOT the fault of both parties, regardless of how hard the Republicans try to push forward that lie.
The take away from this is that there IS no longer any way to negotiate with today's GOP and the only way to make progress is to vote them out of office and replace them with Democrats who appear, thus far, still able to put progress ahead of ideology.
If you are interested you can purchase the book "It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism" by clicking here.
Notice how the mainstream media will not interview these guys. Is there any doubt that the mainstream media is Repub ruled.
ReplyDeleteThis is why we MUST urge every Dem we know, and run into to, make sure they are registered, and ready to vote come Nov. This is VERY important.
I've heard all of this information before but it's nice to hear it all tied together. It's almost surreal how polarized our political system has become. I am extremely glad that the issue of race was so openly addressed in this conversation. "It's not below the surface, it's ON the surface." Were race not such a political third rail and were it more openly discussed in this matter it would discredit those who are racist and call our their hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteThe one graphic that really disturbed me was the graph that showed how far the right has swung to the right as opposed to how far the left has swung to the left. Just seeing the empirical data of how polarized we are right now was sobering. And the truth of the matter is that one of three scenarios will happen:
1. The left tacks further left in response to the right's extremism. This would ensure that absolutely nothing ever gets done in Congress due to hyper-polarization.
2. The left get's pulled to the right in an effort to actually get things done. Been there, done that. How'd that work out in '08?
3. The right moderates and becomes more centrist. Fat chance with the t-baggers in office.
The right's extremism and inability to compromise leaves only one option if we are to move forward as a nation and that is to aggressively attack the extreme right politicians. They need to go. Problem is they're supported by Citizen's United empowered big money interests. But that's not insurmountable. Here in WI Walker has outspent Barrett TWENTY FIVE TO ONE and the polls are still well within the margin of error, some even showing a dead heat (btw, FWIW, the Marquette U poll showing Walker up by 7 is total bunk. They basically polled mostly older, white suburbanites).
Better stock up on the Maalox. This is going to be a VERY ugly political year.
Thank goodness for Chris Hayes and you!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you are giving this book and these authors coverage. This information is so crucial.
If anyone thinks the economy is bad now, if Romney gets elected and the GOP holds the House and takes the Senate, "you ain't seen nothing yet."
We will all be wishing we could relocate to a socialism-based country where, though taxes may be high, but the people get free medical, free education, and a decent retirement. It is a shame that the GOP cannot even grant the barest and most threadbare of safety nets to the increasing percentage of the poor and working poor. We will all become the working poor if the wealthiest amongst keep getting all the breaks.
If you haven't yet looked up the meaning of oligarchy, you'd better do it now because if Romney gets in, it's what we will be living under, and folks, that will not be pretty.
Plus, the Supreme Court may need new Justices in the near future. We cannot have more, cannot survive under more like Roberts, Scalia, Alito, Thomas and Kennedy. We need to have a Democratic President and a Democratic Senate to ensure we get Justices who are not in the hip pocket of the wealthy and the corporations.
Get out and vote and vote Democratic. Take neighbors to the polls with you, sign up to drive the infirm and the elderly or those without cars to the pools.
Thanks again, Gryphen, for spreading the word about this book. Maybe bloggers can force the mainstream media to start covering it.
OT - somewhat - but over at Juanita Jean's blog, the following just broke (though some may already have known about it - I sure didn't).
ReplyDeleteMcCain's opposition research - all 200 pages of it is now online.
Man, it has some gems. Some you just have to stop and read carefully and think about to be stunned. Other things are truly obvious that do prove him to be an arrogant, over privileged jerk.
A comment pointed out that Cheney flunked out of Yale twice only to finally go to the Univ. of WY to get his two degrees.
On the following link, you discover that though Romney got in to a good school - Stanford, he left after his freshman year to go live two and half years in France for his missionary work. Rather than get back to Stanford, he opted for the less demanding Brigham Young. He did go on to get his M.B.A. and J.D. from top-rated schools, but I wonder if that was the influence of his wife. They lived on income from the dividends of and sale of stocks his father gave them.
Honestly, the 200 pages are easy to read - being as they, Executive Summaries (as I learned in business myself that those are always written simply) with nice bold titles and subtitles for pithy summaries and the last pages are quotes taken from tapes where Romney said some truly stupid things.
One thing that struck my husband was I “haven’t urged my own children to enlist.” Considering how hawkish Romney is, how eager he is to send other people's children to war, that is obscene.
If you read nothing else, be sure to read the quotes. They are doozies. Tip of the hat to Juanita Jean and her tipster, Elise.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/78582788/McCain-2008-Oppo-File
That looked like an incredibly thorough vetting - makes one wonder how Sarah Palin slipped by them.
DeleteI firmly believe that every Republican member of Congress is a traitor. They planned from the beginning of the Obama Administration to do everything they could to keep the country from moving ahead. It's a miracle that President Obama has been able to succeed as much as he has. The credit all goes to President Obama.
ReplyDeleteOBAMA/BIDEN 2012
Yes, President Obama has made a lot of accomplishments in spite or Repub obstruction.
DeleteThe pukes have abused the filibuster so extremely that they have effectively shut down doing the will of the people. They always say elections have consequences when their guys win, but when they are out of power - forget it. They have obstructed nearly every appointment of the WH and kept federal judges from the bench and qualified candidates from federal agencies. They have kept the POTUS from enacting the programs he ran on and was elected BY THE PEOPLE to get passed. The reason Elizabeth Warren is running for Senate is because the pukes would not allow hearings for her appointment to the new consumer protection agency.
ReplyDeleteWhat they are doing is anti-American. They consider themselves such uber-patriots, yet they are putting party before country and is sickening. Their platform is to deny Obama a second term at all costs, run the economy into the ground and deny Americans affordable healthcare.
It does make you wonder just how bad it has to GET before the easily misled, finally figure out how badly they've been punked by the extremists.
ReplyDeleteI had to yell out "EXACTLY!" when Bill Maher made a comment recently, to the effect that its odd that billionaires don't seem to know how to simply ENJOY their wealth.
Instead, they are all angry over not owning every single dollar there is, and willing to part with money, UNCHARACTERISTICALLY, in order to buy more elections and politicians.
When they force the masses to storm their gates in hunger, they'll wish they'd just sailed their yachts and flew their private jets, and left well enough alone.
Thanks for posting this. I always record Chris Hayes, I think his show is one of the best, but it's on too early on weekends.
ReplyDeleteThis book is on my must read list, which is about 20 books beside what's required for my classes.
There is no middle ground in politics anymore. I live in Pennsylvania, have been a left leaning Democrat all my life, I'm involved in local politics big time, and was gobsmacked that the only politician that would even entertain helping me with a few issues, was Arlen Specter, a centrist Republican. Those days are over.
I loved the retort to Michael Steele's "where are the moderate democrats?" And the correction on how Clinton and Obama are not that much different, except for the melanin issue. Steele constantly gets away with walking back on the race issue and the fact that the GOP planned the obstruction route the day President Obama won the election, ushering in the douchebag freshmen Teabaggers.
They're right, the scotus is at stake as well as the middle class and poor. Citizens United is just the pin of the Grenade, let's not let Romney pull it.
I don't agree.
ReplyDeleteI think Karl Rove had a very healthy part in this.
And let us not forget the supporting players of hate speech. From Pat Robertson, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh to our own Sarah Palin.
Dividing our nation since 1994