Inside Lugar's epiphany.

[SoCalDem]

All we hear is Lugar is so brave.. Lugar is so presicient...Lugar is such a statesman.

Reid slobbered all over him.. The press is slobbering all over him..

He's in the MINORITY...and he's now got the MAJORITY of the press & approval..

See how it's done, folks!

Republicans are like toddlers who shit their pants day in and day out, but go in the potty when Grandma's there.. That way Grandma can spend hours "teaching" the exasperated parents how to potty-train "correctly"...

Lugar is providing a safe harbor for republicans who will gleefully pile on the bus he's driving. By the time the election is here, the whole "Iraq-Is-Shit" idea will be a totally Republican-owned theme.

Bush is toast...he knows it..we know it..he KNOWS we know it..and he doesn't care ..not even ONE bit. His "troops" have their marching orders..it's always about the politics..the stacking of the courts, the controlling of congress, and winning elections..

One by one, the republican legislators will "oppose" him and appear brave..and cutting edge. Their minions eat this stuff up..

Rove & the guys know how vulnerable they are this coming election, so every opportunity they get to appear strong and decisive, they will grab it away from the democrats.

I am SO wishing that our legislators would just NOT allow republicans to control the agenda. Reid should have NEVER even taken up this whole immigration issue...It's just raw meat to stir the masses up.. Nothing good will come from this legislation, no matter what they "decide".

They should have concentrated on issues that matter to middle class america..

getting insurance companies out of health care (universal single payer coverage)
stopping outsourcing
getting a LIVING wage
making college affordable
stopping oil company gouging
stopping media consolidation
making elections fair & recountable

[MADem]

1. Not all Democrats oppose the war, unfortunately. I'm happy that Lugar has seen the light.

I hope he brings a few more of his brethren with him, frankly.

When it comes to getting those kids out of harm's way, I don't care if the devil himself accomplishes it, so long as it is done.

[Vincardog]

2. making elections fair & recountable #1 the only way to get the rest

[moondust]

3. How many people have died

and suffered crippling injuries waiting for this constipated old man and his fellow war mongers to wake up?

[maggiegault]

10. My brother, Andy, who died on May 3rd from an IED blast and hailed from Indiana

Indiana has sustained very heavy losses in the * war for oil. While I do not believe in Lugar's politics, I have been an Indiana resident long enough to know that he is a decent man who has served the state of Indiana very well.

I think that Lugar has seen firsthand what devastation Indiana and other American families have experienced as a result of his and others' folly. As the sister of a soldier who was killed in this war, I support Lugar in his moment of clarity and respect it. It's not an easy thing to admit when you are wrong.

[villager]

11. oh no, MaggieGault -- this is the first I've heard of your loss...

and I am so, so sorry for it...

[Bucky]

12. You're right, Maggie. Lugar is doing the right thing.

I still suspect it's for electoral reasons, but then again that's what democracy is all about. Officials feel like they should please the voters to hang onto their jobs. I just wish it didn't take so long. I just wish your family didn't have to pay the price.

Four of my former students are in the Marines and two have been in and out of Iraq twice. I never stop worrying about them. Thank you for staying around DU and reminding us of the price your brother paid and the service he gave.

Stray strong.

[moondust]

15. My sympathies.

I'm sure it is a great loss.

I would have more respect for Sen. Lugar if he had done some independent thinking for himself and Indiana along the way and had not joined in lockstep with Bush/Cheney and all the other GOP rubber stampers responsible for this tragic mistake and your personal loss.

[jaysunb]

17. Hi Maggie

I hope you and your family are well. Always remember, your loss was has been felt by many.

[Infomaniac]

29. My deepest condolence on the loss of your brother.

[DefenseLawyer]

4. Lugar probably has the safest seat in the Senate

Now this may be part of some overall strategy of the Republicans to alter their war posture gradually, but Lugar himself certainly isn't concerned about his political future. He would poll 10 points ahead of Jesus Christ in an Indiana general election.

[SoCalDem]

5. That's precisely why HE was the one to be bold..

The others can then claim to be "persuaded", without being the vanguard..

[TwilightGardener]

18. I fail to see how this is bold. He's hardly the first, and he kept these views to

himself for many months until he got the "signal" that it was OK to start up the "let's plot a new course" rhetoric. "Bold" is when you have something to risk. He's as safe as can be. Amount of credit I give him, for saying what Dems (and a few Repubs) have been saying for months or years? Zero. Am I glad it's starting to turn in our favor? Yes.

[SoCalDem]

20. The media has annointed him "bold".. That's my point.

he grabbed the spotlight, and the media (& Reid) gush with approval.. It's the spin :)

[TwilightGardener]

22. Ah! Thanks for clarifying. Yes, I am overcome by the boldness!

What a courageous leader he is! So principled! (as long as a Republican is saying it...)

[Gabi Hayes]

25. EXACTLY. I was going to read the whole thread before commenting, but

this post is the essence

the MEDIA controls what the vast majority of sheeple "think," as Pat Buchanan pretty much said the other day. If it didn't appear on TV, it didn't happen

I called a radio show yesterday, during which almost all of the two hours was devoted to immigration

I was allowed to speak briefly: it's the MEDIA, mainly RW talk radio that's pushing this secondary issue into the limelight, and keeping the spotlight off Iraq, corporate global fascism. I said that five or six media conglomerates control the vast majority of media outlets, and that the 1996 Telecommunications Act needs to be repealed

I asked the host if he'd ever heard of Robert McChesney, or his book Rich Media, Poor Democracy. the host said he hadn't, but would BOOK him on the show!!! I gave a one sentence synopsis of the book, after telling him that RM is a prof at UofIllinois.....the show emanates from Chicago (WLS), and has a LARGE national audience. that's why I mentioned the UofI connection.

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

23. Exactly

Senator Lugar could be caught speeding going 120 mph around 465 (Indianapolis interstate) driving drunk. while snorting lines and throwing baby kittens out the side window towards oncoming traffic and it wouldn't affect his popularity at all in Indiana. Not going to happen in a million years, but that's just example of how well thought of and powerful he is in Indiana, Indiana democrats didn't even run anyone against him last year in his reelection bid.

[JVS]

6. Well the Democrats should catch on and get some spine before the Pubs eventually...

get tired of the war and re-label cut-n-run to "Operation Eliminate Foreign Entanglements" and end up on the right side of of the war issue. I see a buying into the war by our "leadership" that displeases me

[madokie]

7. I see the dems as not seeing the picture as it really is

rove is setting the tone, setting the agenda if you will and the ball is going to stay in his court as long as the dems allow that to continue. I say to Reid and company grab the bull by the horns before he gouges you to death you stupid sob's. with each passing day I find my disgust and anger threshold moving farther out in order to remain somewhat sane.

[opihimoimoi]

8. He is in the Oval Office right now getting his ass reamed by Bush

Hellos to the Cats and to you...

[Bucky]

13. By Cheney a/o Rove maybe. I doubt Bush has the character to stand up to Lugar.

Bush is good at scorning his subordinates. Bullies never pick on their equals.

[Gabi Hayes]

26. Horseshit....that's what they want the sheeple to think. it's their next planning

session. the first rollout went perfectly. now they're going 'public' with their campaign to hoodwink everybody

if anybody thinks this isn't the most cynical ploy since Hitler blamed the start of WWII on Poland, time to wake up

[Supersedeas]

9. Spot on about Reid

"Reid should have NEVER even taken up this whole immigration issue...It's just raw meat to stir the masses up"

[Gabi Hayes]

27. Reid: a cluless halfwit with a political tin ear the size of Las Vegas.

man, he's pathetic

are there ANY politicians in the Senate, as in knowing how to PLAY the game of politics?

as hideous as the pugs are, they're so much better at 'the game'

course, when the referees are almost all on your side (M$M), one team doesn't have to worry about mistakes, because theirs are ignored, and only their "successes" are trumpted , endlessly, to the credulous news consumers, who have been proven conclusively to misunderstand the difference between a downpour of purest cloudforest thunderstorm and six week old urine.

let's face it....we're fucked, and have been since Reagan's Television Junta stole the presidency in 1980

[spanone]

14. Lugar is a shifty, life-long politician.... he must smell the end of bu$h*

if he felt this way long ago and allowed soldiers to die then he is the lowest of lows.

[SoCalDem]

16. republicans understand timing.. Timing is everything.

There is just enough time before the election to allow the lemmings to gradually shift their stance..and by the time the election happens, they will be fully "cleansed"..

Lugar's just the point man.. He's drawing fire (and raking in accolades from former opponents), so the lesser republicans can safely switch ...

[Bake]

19. The Pukes may now feel free to talk the talk

But when it comes time to de-fund the war ... the next time * comes to Congress with his hand out for appropriations ... they'll step back into the Bush Line.

Bet on it.

Bake

[Stinky The Clown]

21. Street fighters tend not to be Dems

Scolds and self-righteous ascetics are more likely to be Dems. Sad but true.

We need more street fighters.

[Gabi Hayes]

28. when they are, they get stomped to the ground.

does the name Howard Dean ring a bell?

[Tom Joad]

24. Lugar still accepts the premises of the war. and still wants continued occupation

as do most congressional dems. so while its wonderful that he is saying "the bush plan ain't workin'" it is not enough. not enough by a thousand miles.