Is it right to blame Democrats -in general- for all these Congressional failures?

[jpgray]

Or is it better to blame the specific Democrats who take the teeth out of our majority? Seems to me Pelosi is less evil in this regard than, say, Jane Harman or the like, who are too tied to the "rah rah support the troops" mentality to do anything but fold under accusations of being unpatriotic. It is a failure of leadership on Pelosi's part, but should we throw her and Conyers in the same boat as the truly foot-dragging Dems who deprive them regularly of the votes they need? Is it useful or descriptive to blast all Democrats when many good ones (Kucinich, Waxman, etc.) try to be an opposition party even as many bad ones are little more than ambitious cowards? What do you think?

[Fredda Weinberg]

1. I heard Harman lately on C-Span. There's a lot she can't discuss

but her tone sounded ready for a new administration.

[jpgray]

3. Her biggest issue with the wiretaps was that the malfeasance was -reported-

Her performances on Crossfire toed the admin line most depressingly, plus there are her votes to support the reauth of the Patriot Act's provision to monitor public libraries.

[rwheeler31]

2. no

[Olney Blue]

4. What makes me madder is that Bush is the warmonger, but the

Dems are being framed as weak for not stopping him.

Chimp and Cheney are responsible for this quagmire.

[frogcycle]

5. it is not right to bl;ame any of them

blame the lockstep obstructionist republican senators

[robinlynne]

6. There is no other way to make change happen. The great ones like Conyers are not offended.

Don't worry. They are applauding us, and need public action to back them up.

[jpgray]

7. Without the other Dems in congress, Conyers wouldn't be chair of the Judiciary committee

And no investigations would be going forward whatsoever. So in that sense the best Dems are empowered by that majority, even though it is a weak, divided majority.

[robinlynne]

9. I don't suggest destroying the dem majority. I suggest it would be a lot stronger

if the dems would have investigated the 13 stolen congressional elecitons, for example... end the war...
And if they don't get their act together right now and stop the war, there may not be another dem majority. People are really getting angry.

[sandnsea]

8. Or better to blame roadblock republicans

since they are vulnerable and we've been told our pressure can make a difference in their vote next week.

[Zodiak]

10. I think there is a communicative disconnect here

"Blame" in the case of the Democrats stems from the fact that there is a certain faith that our party would actively do something to stop the madness. They receive the blame when they fail to do that because they are on our side and we feel blame will make them fear the consequences of their actions and their behaviour will change accordingly.

Republicans are pure fucking evil....end of story. We could ascribe blame to them, but that is assuming they are in any position to make a choice in the matter. I submit that they are a mindless evil machine and we can no more blame them than blame a force of nature...it is purposeless. They are the enemy, plain and simple, and we would NEVER look to them to change their ways because they are incapable of it. They have shown us that time and time again. We just need to elect them out of office and stamp out their footprints.

That is why there is a disparity in the amount of "blame" that is thrown around. Many of us have simply given up on the possibility that any Republican in government will grow a brain. So "blame" is a weak word here...wemore than blame them, we fucking despise them and see them as a cancer that must be removed, not given the smart but caring smack of blame.

That's my take on it. You should never worry about the amount of sheer white-hot rage and hate (yes, hate) towards elected Republicans on this board. It is a given.

[sandnsea]

12. power is a great motivator

A number of Republicans have their power at risk. They can be moved. They are currently getting off without so much as a thump in the nose.

[Zodiak]

14. They are not moving, though

We have a few who are mewling discontent, but their discontent is of the level of Specter...all words, but they will vote with WhistleAss when the time comes.

They have their gerrymandered districts and their corrupt voting systems....and let's not forget they have the DLC, New Dems, and the Blue Dogs. I would say their power structure is rather intact. The ones who are unfortunate enough to lose their seat will get a higher paying job as a lobbyist or a think-tank asshole.

Their corruption sustains them....they are beneath contempt, so we reserve our contempt for those that are mutable.

[sandnsea]

15. The people aren't pressuring them

As long as that doesn't happen, they have no reason to move. We have the Dem votes in the Senate, and we're close to getting enough Repub votes for cloture. We can't even put up a veto challenge until we get the cloture vote. People are just flat ignoring the way Congress works. And there is no way Congress is going to let Bush leave our troops stranded in Iraq, and he would most certainly do it too.

[stillcool]

11. It's hard to reconcile...

the fact that so many horrendous pieces of legislation, so many confirmations garner just enough votes to sail through the Congress. For whatever the reasons, members of Congress have sold the people up the river..time and time again, and worse yet, continue to lie about it. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi may speak for the party, but the decisions made are of the party as a whole. This government, and all it's agencies have been thoroughly corrupted...and 'nothing could be done'. There is nothing minor about the devastating effects their votes will continue to have on our entire society. Who do you blame?

[Stinky The Clown]

13. Broad brushes rarely paint an accurate picture

I get really pissed off when I see 'The Democrats' being slammed.

[warren pease]

16. Of course not...

They're only the fucking majority party. Why would anyone expect them to act as such? Silly of anyone to believe them when they ran as the anti-war party bent on stopping systemic BushCo crimes and corruption.

Exceptions are Kucinich and the 18 or so who have co-sponsored H Res 333 -- articles of impeachment against Cheney. The rest of these spineless, anti-democratic enablers and apologists for the unforgivable stench of BushCo can all go to the very warmest corner of hell.


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