Quote of the Day

Listening to Obama talk about jobs and shared prosperity yesterday reminded me that we are back in campaign mode and Barack Obama has started doing again what he does best – play the part of a progressive. He's good at it. It sounds like he has a natural affinity for union workers and ordinary people when he makes these speeches. But his policies are crafted by representatives of corporate/financial America, who happen to entirely make up his inner circle. I just don't believe this guy anymore, and it's become almost painful to listen to him. - Matt Taibbi

No doubt some people will buy it. While Obama's approval ratings have tanked, except with black Americans (duh), there is a small percentage that will get all hopey changey again. Most Americans will not... and it's desperately important that Obama lose the election, despite what people like Kos say.

You simply cannot, in good conscience, hope a guy that is basically the opposite of your policy preference wins an election. Obama has trashed the "Liberal" brand beyond all recognition, and destroyed progressive politics for decades to come. You cannot reward that.

I want Michelle and Marcus.. and I'm completely serious about that. Politics in America is a joke. We're not represented.. only the top 2% are.. and while my pet issues are not economic, but rather social, I still despise Obama on that front. Endless wars.. the police state.. it goes on and on. We do better when the economy sucks, so while I feel bad for people affected, our bank account depends on politicians fucking everyone else... and they're doing a bang-up job of it.

I mean.. I really like Paul Krugman.. and think his economic philosophy is sound.. but if he were the unchallenged ruler of economic issues.. we'd have to find a new line of business because people wouldn't be losing their homes left and right.

Fuck Obama.. vote for the Republican.. and if you have a few bucks laying around, contribute them to the Republican.. because Wall Street is paying for Obama's re-election, and they have deep pockets thanks to the "bailout" of tax money that Obama handed them.

We don't get fooled again.

....

Bonus Taibbi on the terrorists of the Republican party, which I sincerely desire to put in control of everything.

Even though we do better when everyone else does worse, that doesn't mean I want to see everything burned completely to the ground, just mostly. The Republicans in minority are far more dangerous then when they're in power. I think give them full control of the government as a way to prevent the entire nation from become a radioactive wasteland.

But the time is coming when we are all going to be forced to literally take sides in a political conflict far more serious and extreme than we're used to imagining. The situation is such a tinderbox now that all it will take is some prominent politician to openly acknowledge the fact of a cultural/civil war for the real craziness to begin.

The smart thing to do is cede the power to the political terrorists, and subvert them from outside. Give them everything they want, and then just insulate yourself from them.

Or just do the smart thing and move to Canada. We really need to start thinking about what's involved in doing that. I figure in about 10 years we should be ready to get the fuck out of Dodge.

....

If you're really interested in politics, this essay from a former Republican staffer explains just how disfunctional the government is, and why the Republicans do what they do. It's a great read.

You might think they're just "crazy".. and mostly they are.. but there is a reason for embracing the Loon. There is some actual thought behind it.

How do they manage to do this? Because Democrats ceded the field. Above all, they do not understand language. Their initiatives are posed in impenetrable policy-speak: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The what? - can anyone even remember it? No wonder the pejorative "Obamacare" won out. Contrast that with the Republicans' Patriot Act. You're a patriot, aren't you? Does anyone at the GED level have a clue what a Stimulus Bill is supposed to be? Why didn't the White House call it the Jobs Bill and keep pounding on that theme?

You know that Social Security and Medicare are in jeopardy when even Democrats refer to them as entitlements. "Entitlement" has a negative sound in colloquial English: somebody who is "entitled" selfishly claims something he doesn't really deserve. Why not call them "earned benefits," which is what they are because we all contribute payroll taxes to fund them? That would never occur to the Democrats. Republicans don't make that mistake; they are relentlessly on message: it is never the "estate tax," it is the "death tax." Heaven forbid that the Walton family should give up one penny of its $86-billion fortune. All of that lucre is necessary to ensure that unions be kept out of Wal-Mart, that women employees not be promoted and that politicians be kept on a short leash.

One would assume that Obama and the congressional democrats have consultants on the payroll, such as that guy. It is not that hard to conceive of the importance of language in politics. I can only guess that Democrats do these things because they want to. Barack Obama is not a stupid man at all. I'm sure he's known all along how to take the momentum of his election, and 80%+ approval rating and turn it into success.

I'll bet Obama wants to lose. In fact, I can almost guarantee that Obama wants to lose the Presidential election. What does he gain from winning? They paycheck? The grief of being politically impotent?

What does he gain from losing? Millions upon millions of dollars.. payback from the corporate interests he represented. Massive amounts of money await Obama for losing the election.

I have zero doubt that he's going to lose because he wants to lose.

Look at the Republican candidates. The next President is going to be either Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachmann, or Rick Perry. My feeling is it's going to be Romney. The VP candidate is where the real crazy will be.