ACORN Broke No Laws - Dems Still Threw Them Under the Bus

[Joanne98]

By Ian Welsh, Open Left
Posted on December 24, 2009, Printed on December 26, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://www.openleft.com/144797/

As with David, I'd like to take a moment away from the holiday to highlight a story which I don't want buried.

The NYTimes reported yesterday that Acorn broke no laws. None. In the last five years.

But the Democratic Congress still threw them under the bus, with an illegal bill of attainder, banning them from receiving any government money before waiting to see if they really had done anything wrong. Very similar to how they censured MoveOn for daring to challenge Petraeus.

Can you imagine the Republicans doing the same? When the Swift Boat Vets lied repeatedly about John Kerry, did the Republicans vote to censure them?

And for that matter, did Dems try and censure the Swift Boat Vets?

Democrats constantly throw their own supporters to the wolves. It’s one of the reasons there is little real loyalty on the left. On the right, someone may occasionally have to take a bullet for the team, but afterwards they’re well taken care of and even rehabilitated if possible. And major conservative organizations aren’t repudiated, nor do Republican leaders generally speak of “conservatives” with the sort of contempt that Democratic leaders reserve for liberals and progressives.

Democratic Congresspeople, as a group are weak people without strategic sense or the ability to bargain. The exceptions, the strong ones, are unfortunately mostly conservadems - Republicans in drag like Ben Nelson.

If 40% of Dems are thinking of not voting in 2010 it’s exactly because Democrats won’t stand up for their own base. For their own people and what those people believe in and need. They only stand up for Pharma, banks, insurance companies and other entrenched powers.

Loyalty. It’s a two way street. And neither the White House, nor Congress, have shown any.

http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=103704

[Demeter]

1. Face It. It Isn't Our Party, and Hasn't Been for Some Time

Our party started to die when it ignored Jimmy Carter, and just went downhill from there. The occasional "point of light" is shadowed by the bringers of Darkness, like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

[ixion]

2. sadly, that seems to be the Dem hallmark these days

at the first insistence of the GOP-DLC, they will toss the under-privileged, the GLBT, the progressive base -- anyone who refuses to accept "the message" -- under the bus with no consideration for said subgroup whatsoever. :(

[seattle_blue]

8. That's just what they do

The Democratic Party simply does ANYTHING their republican masters tell them to do.

[jerryster]

3. A majority in both houses...

... and the Dems are STILL scared of what Republicans think or what they might say. It drives me nuts.

As far as not voting in 2010 I view it a little differently. Yes, we have a bunch of wimps in both houses. However, we need an even larger majority in order to give them some backbone. Of course, they still may not have any, but less numbers will be really disastrous. The idea that the progressive base will then have taught the President and Dem leaders a lesson strikes me as someone drinking poison in the hope that it will make the other person sick.

[Botany]

4. They impeached Clinton over a blow job, stole two Presidential elections,

lied to start a war, supported oil companies & the for profit health care industry over the common good of
the American people, and now are fighting that all the world's leading scientists are making up "global warming"
as 1,000s of year old parts of civilization go under water.

We need more Frankens, Feingolds, and Jennifer Brunners and less DLC shits.

Although "they" loss in a landslide the last 2 elections the stunning not standing up for what is right is sickening
but "they" work on the big lie model .... tell it long enough and stick to the script and a certain % of people will
buy the lie.

[Vidar]

5. K&R.

[Bitwit1234]

6. What I can't understand is why the Democrats

are so all fire hot to appease the republicans on every turn. I would tell them to stick it, and go on with what has to be done. When they were the majority they ran the country the way they wanted. They did not even ask democrats to participate. If they become the majority they will do the same. So why all this crap about bi=partisanship. As far as republicans go, they won't be. SO CLOSE EM OUT.

[azul]

7. Maybe because the conservative corporate interests rule the airwaves/message?

And have some power, if they can stage it right, in messing with the vote through owning many voting machines and the tabulation.

Conyers came out and said, when many were expecting some action, that the congress could not impeach Bushco because he feared the media spin would make them out heros and make things worse.

The Acorn trashing BS was intended to disenfranchise voters, especially the voters Acorn was trying to help, and distract from the big, glaring issue of a corrupted voting system, IMHO.

[IndianaGreen]

9. Republicans and Democrats are two wings of the same bird of prey

I think I read that in the Bible somewhere.

:popcorn:

[Dr.Phool]

10. They're getting better and better at throwing their base under the bus.

These are the same congress critters who benefit from all the registration ACORN does.

[ck4829]

11. K&R

[JoeyT]

12. Yeah, but don't worry.

They're still cuddled up to Xe, Lockheed Martin, Haliburton, KB&R, etc, who most certainly have broken laws.