The hell with bipartisanship. Let them filibuster.

I get so pissed watching them, but I get madder at the DNC. The minority should be shut down. I say let them filibuster. Then we can show the country how they will hold the country hostage for a power grab.

Thanks to John Kerry for a little fire and brimstone.  To paraphrase a line from one of my favorite movies, I always thought of him as a bit of a Streisand but in this clip he's rockin' the shit.

"So how much bipartisan outreach can you have when 36 out of 41 republican senators take their marching orders from Rush Limbaugh?"

Paul Krugman is an exceptional Nobel Prize winning economist. He slams Obama as much as anyone, and he is telling us what the GOP refuses to hear. Please do not let the GOP in Senate trick you.

As a small business owner and the father of a 6 year old, I have a vested interest in the future, and I am in support of the Obama package. Period.

Why the GOP tax cuts are the wrong answer.

Against my therapist's advice, I've been listening to more C-Span.

Three Republican Senators have just had their say in succession, including Kit Bond. And though each of them were well spoken, I wasn't impressed with their rhetoric. Overall they are pushing for tax cuts, and the deeper the better, and not for the poorest people. They mostly are aligned in small business top-down cuts.

Some want more infrastructure spending (great!), some want more military spending to refresh equipment (fine!), some want to cut stuff that seems superfluous (many of which were all ready cut, they just like to mention them again). One of them wasted time bitching about shutting down Gitmo (talk about superfluous!).

So why not just cut taxes? Couldn't hurt right? I couldn't disagree more.

Cutting taxes for most would mean that cash disappears. I for one would do my best to keep it in a mattress. Only the poorest would be assured to spend it immediately. This is what has happened in the past with Bush's cuts. And they specifically do not want to give the poorest the money, because in their opinion they have all ready have enough of a break by being so poor they aren't taxed.

Most importantly, these cuts undermine the push for some form of universal healthcare, which we desperately need. This is of paramount necessity for the country, as employee supplied health care is going extinct.

Healthcare for all is a Democratic platform item, and something surely not on the GOP's agenda. And that is why we will never see eye-to-eye on this. We are at cross purposes.

So let's get infrastructure spending going, let's supply the military with what is necessary, but please put my taxes to work for good. Just make my dollars count.

Does Obama have the political balls to nationalize the banks?

During the campaign, Sarah Palin scared legions of low-information voters with red baiting. The ominous words "Experimenting with Socialism" triggers mental images of Soviet style Communism, even in the minds of those who know better.

In reality, we do have some socialist practices right here in the States... Social Security, for example. Unfortunately years of cold-war propaganda programming may be shooting us in the foot. In essence, if John Wayne may have fought in a movie, it is out... WAY OUT. And it may just be required to do this stimulus right.

We have been seeing plenty about the banks lately we don't like. They don't seem to be able to keep themselves out of hot water, and every day it's keeps simmering, presenting the nation more examples of outrageous spending and poor judgement. Many voices, including Paul Krugman in his latest op-ed are screaming for nationalization of the banks for a limited amount of time.

And yet... Obama and his brain trust seems determined to avoid this. But why? Is it because it's the wrong thing to do, or because it's politically risky? Is he afraid the GOP will gain further traction by slamming nationalization as "experimenting with Socialism?"

Perhaps it is politically disasterous, but I agree with blogger Bob Cesca when he states "Nationalizing the banks would be an enormous political risk. However, if it's going to be done anyway, sooner is way, way, way better than later."

In reality, the more this debate goes on, the more the GOP will be able to spin it as socialist or unrestrained spending, and the stimulus will continue to get watered down. I hope Obama will get this under control and push it through soon, and have the political balls to do what he has to. He didn't ask for this when he ran, but the economy may be the make or break for his first year, if not his Presidency.

Is Joe the Plumber helping the GOP with strategy?

If this is true, I hope he helps them A LOT. As in plan EVERYTHING.

Politico reports (without irony):

"When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.

Wurzelbacher, who became a household name during the presidential election, will be focusing his talk on the proposed stimulus package. He's apparently not a fan of the economic rescue package, according to members of the group."

SHOCKER! GOP pick black man to lead them too!

First there was Hilary Clinton. She was so popular that she nearly became the Democratic candidate for President.

Days later, the GOP is looking to appear fresh and vital... get a little bit of the progressive edge to not make them look like a bunch of old white guys for a party mostly of old white guys. And so...

SARAH PALIN IS BORN! Skirt! Heels! Vagina! Estrogen! Surely this shows they can be every bit as forward thinking as those liberals.

Alas, their "Hilary-lite" choice had more star-power than political acumen, and was soon discredited by the majority of informed voters.

Well, at least the GOP learned a lesson. Never again would they cynically pick a leader in a desperate attempt to appear progressive. Surely they would reform themselves now, and base their decisions based on a true desire to dig deep and figure out what they truly have to offer the country in the 21st century.

WRONG!

Michael Steele will be the next chairman of the Republican National Committee, after being endorsed by Ken Blackwell (the guy who helped Karl Rove rip off votes in Ohio during the 2004 election.) Black! Dark skinned! Black! Like Obama! Did we mention he was BLACK?

WOW! How progressive! How forward thinking.

WILL THEY EVER LEARN???

Don't bother answering that. As a funny aside, the other guy in the running just had to quit a whites-only country club. I guess since he lost, he can rejoin now. Whew.

After billions of dollars in concessions to the GOP... a party line vote.

It still passed, yet not a single Republican voted for it.

Redonkulous.

Can we tell them to fuck off now? I hope Obama gets a shot at strengthening the package back to full strength before it gets signed into law, cause I don't buy that this watered-down bill would do jack.

OKAY.... I'm calming down...

Here is a great link to sooth my worry: "Obama Versus the Republicans: Chill Out, He's Got This" by Bob Cesca.

On the GOP and their push for small business tax breaks

I have been hearing a lot from the GOP on tax breaks for small business, and how it needs to be in the stimulus package.

Well, I AM a small businessman. I have been for 10 years. It is my family's sole income. I DO NOT WANT A TAX BREAK. It would be all nice and fine, but in the end it won't help.

What I want is the structure of the economy to be repaired. I won't have anything to tax if I have no clients. I'd rather make sure the taxes I do pay are used correctly. Additionally, we will need those taxes to renovate health care, social security and medicare.

So let's stop harping on tax-breaks. I got 'em when you people were in charge. They are a drop in the bucket for anyone making over 50K. Let those below that have something to buy food with. Give me the chance to make my own money.

GOP big shots looking out for themselves, blocking Obama, and putting the country LAST.

For the past 8 years, the Republican Party got just about everything they ever wanted — and now are desperately trying to avoid taking the blame for it. Diplomatic, economic, and ethical disasters should fall soundly on those who caused them — yet rather than reform their party, they continue to turn to the same old "look out for Number One" agenda.

Here is the recap and related links to all things firmly rooted in the NOT HELPFUL category. Clockwise from the top left...

1. House Minority Leader John Boehner and other Republican leaders are attacking the stimulus package with while promoting their own version featuring their favorite fix all — tax-cuts. Maybe further stock market deregulation would help to!

Do these people still believe they have ANY expertise at fixing the economy? — READ AT Huffington Post.

2. Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State (The one who helped Karl Rove steal the 2004 election results in Ohio) bluntly stated that conservatives should vote against the stimulus package, because the plans success would mean more people vote Democrat, thus making it harder for Republicans to retake the White House. — READ at Think Progress.

3. Rush Limbaugh decides to put country last and oppose the stimulus plan out of fear it's success will prevent GOP wins in future elections. — READ AT Think Progress.

4. Karl Rove, unable to admit defeat, takes his magical misery tour to a Miami university lecture hall and tells attendees that Obama won't be able to close Gitmo. But at least he did wish Obama success. — READ AT the Miami Hurricane website

5. John McCain, along with the other GOP leadership, has threatened to vote against it unless major changes are made (like adding those tax cuts the GOP loves). This is probably because the fundamentals of the economy are STILL strong. Senator I thought you were better than this... then I remember your presidential campaign. — READ AT Huffington Post.

6. Kathie Olsen,once at the forefront of Bush's systematic denial of the human causes of global warming, has "borrowed-in" to a protected job within the Obama government. And Obama may not be able to do much about it. Many such former Bushies have done so in recent weeks, but she is one of the more higher profile cases. — READ AT talkingpointsmemo.com.

Paul Krugman: "It's time for GOP to stop whining"

THWACK!!

"As the new Democratic majority prepares to take power, Republicans have become, as Phil Gramm might put it, a party of whiners.

Some of the whining almost defies belief. Did Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general, really say, "I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror"? Did Rush Limbaugh really suggest that the financial crisis was the result of a conspiracy, masterminded by that evil genius Chuck Schumer?

But most of the whining takes the form of claims that the Bush administration's failure was simply a matter of bad luck — either the bad luck of President Bush himself, who just happened to have disasters happen on his watch, or the bad luck of the GOP, which just happened to send the wrong man to the White House.

The fault, however, lies not in Republicans' stars but in themselves. Forty years ago the GOP decided, in effect, to make itself the party of racial backlash. And everything that has happened in recent years, from the choice of Bush as the party's champion, to the Bush administration's pervasive incompetence, to the party's shrinking base, is a consequence of that decision."

Read on...

Republican leadership candidate distributes "Barack the Magic Negro"

Top three reason's why Chip Saltsman is a total dick:

1. It's bad enough the guy's name is Chip Saltsman


2. It's worse that he's such a cheapskate that he makes mix tape CDs for gifts


3. It's worst of all he's a racist pig

(I had more but I'm trying to be less wordy.)

RNC candidate Chip Saltsman’s Christmas greeting to committee members includes a music CD with lyrics from a song called “Barack the Magic Negro,” first played on Rush Limbaugh’s popular, yet asinine radio show.

“I look forward to working together in the New Year,” Saltsman wrote in a note that came with the CD. “Please enjoy the enclosed CD by my friend Paul Shanklin of the Rush Limbaugh Show.”

Chip denies being a total dick: "I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies.”

Glad to see that the GOP has read the will of the electorate accept that they have nearly screwed the country with their agenda, and with humility (not to mention newfound wisdom) are moving forward with an eye toward reconciliation.

Now look at the picture above... do you think he became a total dick BECAUSE his mother named him Chip Saltman, or he looked like a dick right from infancy and his mom merely gave him a name to fit?

Read more at The Hill

If you must, listen to the song.

All and all it's just another Bush in The Hall.

Above: Jeb Bush ponders his future, hurts brain.

Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor of Florida, has big dreams, including a possible run for Senate, and god-knows what else.

President Bush's brother Jeb says the Republican party should not cave to a Democratic majority. Rather, they should set up a "shadow government" to provide a counter-agenda.

"The party should establish a loyal opposition and "organize ourselves in the form of a shadow government" that would address key issues, providing the public with "a loftier debate about policy" rather than mere partisanship"

I have no words that are adequate in expressing how much all Bushes need to get as far away from running this country as possible.