What Republicans are saying about the Disappointed, Disillusioned, Depressed Democratic Voters

[FrenchieCat]

who normally vote, but may simply just stay home this election season?


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HkP3veaALsQ/Sl0V2YqKgtI/AAAAAAAAAJA/3yLTXpA-xMs/s400/laughing+man.gif

WE'RE KEEPING THOSE TAX CUTS!

<--Dem who won't vote.

"30 years of fuck ups, and we're not about to quit now,
so thank you! I thought I could count on you!!"

"Say Goodbye to everything Democrats.
No Hope, No way! Thank you Media!
Glad they bought it!"

"You're Welcome!"

WE WON! All I can say is Thanks!
Couldn't have done it without you guys!

SUCKERS!


"THIS IS JUST GRAND! THANKS!"





IF ONLY THIS WAS A GAME....then you could feel like you won something!

WE HAD A SLIGHT CHANCE, BUT WE NEEDED YOU!

We took 8 years to really fuck it up,
and you took 20 months to give it back?
Really? Kewl!




THANKS SO MUCH....

[ncteechur]

1. Nuff Said.

[flamingdem]

4. If you don't vote, don't over emote, when Sarah & Co. throw you in the moat

Okay, not that catchy but you get the idea!

[bluestateguy]

2. I'm voting. It was never in doubt that I would.

Am I excited and enthused? Energized and feeling like voting will be some sort of spiritual awakening?

No.

But once I go into the voting booth my vote counts for exactly the same as someone who says yes to the above questions.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

3. Yet Obama continues to try to work with them...

appointing them to *fancy* commissions, and all. Go, bipartisanship!

[FrenchieCat]

6. It is voters who put them in Congress......

Not Obama, and not the new "Death Panel Commission".

[WorseBeforeBetter]

12. Again, Obama chooses to work with them...

Republican scum like Alan Simpson and Tom Coburn, with Mr. 310 Million Tits out of office since 1997.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Alan Simpson is NOT in congress -

why the fuck did Obama appoint him? He has been hostile to SS for his entire fucking career - you really think Obama was unaware of that?

[FrenchieCat]

21. Good. He can be the Republican voice of dissention.....

Considering that he is making a name for himself all over again,
it will be easy for him to be seen as a piece of shit,
and everything he says to be discounted.

It's not like I wanted anyone to agree with him anyways....
and now he gave them a reason not to.

Might not be so bad in the end.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

30. Simpson revealed himself as a piece of shit during the...

Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Guess Obama forgot (or overlooked) that.

[RaleighNCDUer]

40. Voice of dissention? You do know that 15 of the 18 members agree with him?

We were fucked from the moment the DLCer put this misbegotten commission together.

[FrenchieCat]

56. So you are not voting this Election?

You seem fixated on something that isn't.....
But I'm asking you about something that is coming in November
for sure; the elections.

[Name removed]

65. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[IndianaGreen]

124. Your boy Chris van Hollen, chair of DCCC, refused to say he would oppose SS cuts

Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, refused to say he would oppose cuts to Social Security.

http://www.americablog.com/2010/08/theyre-coming-for-your-social-security.html

[suzie]

162. You seem to dislike all Democrats. And everyone who supports Democrats.

Why do you spend so much time on a site that supports Democrats?

[dionysus]

211. ding ding ding ding folks! we have a winner!

:toast:

[IndianaGreen]

217. Do not post personal attacks against other members of of this discussion forum

3. Civility: Treat other members with respect. Do not post personal attacks against other members of this discussion forum.

[JDPriestly]

181. I would like to see a Democratic Party that stood for something

like it did when I was younger.

What good is a Democratic Party if it is just a clone of the Republican Party -- a wanna be running around trying to be "popular." If we can't win elections on truth and justice, I'd rather lose. I've lived my life with a sense of integrity. I associate myself with people of integrity.

The Democratic Party under Obama has lost the integrity of its purpose.

There are good Democrats. Barbara Boxer is one. Alan Grayson is one. But Obama has proved himself to be a man of very little if any courage.

He needs to fire his economic advisors and Rahm Emmanuel as well as Salazar just for starts.

I don't see how he can win elections or do any good for the country if he keeps listening to these people who have been proved wrong over and over and over.

[olegramps]

112. Is this part of Obama clever "Chess Game"?

Like his handling of Health Care Reform and Financial Reform. Or maybe threat that he will rescind the proposed tax cuts for the wealthy? He surely wouldn't want to offend his corporate contributors. Or maybe his appeal to the corporations with his attacks on the Teacher's Unions. You know that it is all the teacher's fault and not the fact that failing schools are located in the poorest communities where corporations have have succeeded in consigning the Middle Class workers to the dust bin of history.

[stray cat]

5. Conservatives are clearly more intelligent than progressives

They know it is better to elect someone you don't agree completely with then to elect the devil ie democats

[RaleighNCDUer]

41. Which is why there are soooo many liberal republicans in congress.

What have you been smoking?

[Skelly]

138. quite the opposite

Talk to some moderate Republicans. They make up most of my in-laws. Ideologically, they are Republicans. They did not like Bush, saw him as the "lessor of two evils". Most now rue the day they voted for him. Did this stop them from voting for McCain? Nope. Those who always vote the party line risk voting against their best interest.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. How are those Social Security cuts going?

I expect that everyone at DU will be voting for "Dems", even if they fuck working Americans at every turn - just a little less than do the out-of-the-closet Republicans.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Andy823]

14. Actually

I haven't seen anyone with any credibility come out and say cutting SS in anyway is on the table. Sure I see the right wing saying in, but I don't buy any of their BS, do you? If you fall for the BS from the right, you play into their hands. If you sit home and don't vote, you help them get control of congress. I don't know about you but I sure as hell don't want to see that happen! Bush took 8 years to screw things up, do you really think "anyone" could have fixed this mess in less than two years? Do you think republicans are going to do "anything" at all for the next two years if they get back in control of the house or senate?

[MannyGoldstein]

25. Both commission co-chairs have called for cuts

and attempted them in the past. Even Bowles made a deal with Gingrich while Clinton's Chief of Staff to slash benefits.

And who appointed both of these outspoken slashers to head this committee?

[FrenchieCat]

28. Rumors.

That you wish were true.....
as it would justify your feelings.

[MannyGoldstein]

32. one of us us ignorant of documented fact nt

[FrenchieCat]

35. I'm fine.

Thank you.

So what are your plans for the elections?
Will you be voting or not?

[Name removed]

212. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dflprincess]

42. Apparently the House Progressive Causus is also worried about the "rumors"

Per this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4527402">House Dems To Obama: No Cuts To Social Security

In a letter to be sent to President Obama, obtained by TPM, House Democrats will pledge to vote against any legislation based on the commission's report unless Social Security is taken off the table.

"We oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits, including raising the retirement age," the letter reads. "We also oppose any effort to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part.... If any of the Commission's recommendations cut or diminish Social Security in any way, we will stand firmly against them."

Of course, this is the same caucus that vowed to fight for a strong public option so you probably don't have to worry about them standing in the way of Obama getting what he wants.

[FrenchieCat]

53. Good that the Dems are communicating

as they should...
but you should believe the worse,
if that makes you feel the way you choose to feel.

So will you be voting in the upcoming elections?
And if so, will you be voting for a Democrat?

[dflprincess]

80. Fortunately the DFL candidate for governor is a good liberal and I can vote for him

with no hesitation.

I will also be voting for the DFL candidates for state House & Senate without a lot of reluctance. The Congressional candidate does not impress but I will vote for him as the lesser of evils.

However, depending on what happens with the "Deficit Reduction" Commission and Social Security, I am giving serious thought to resigning the local and state party offices I currently hold and I'm thinking bout not caucusing in 2012. I've never missed a caucus since I began attending them in 1972 but there really won't be any point if there is no challenges to Amy Klobuchar and/or Obama.

I've stuck with the Democrats through thick & thin the last 38 years and one thing they've accomplished in the 1-1/2 they've been in charge of Congress & the White House is make me want to walk away from them. I'm not the only one. Just in my Senate District several long time activists have already resigned because they are fed up with being sold out.

[JDPriestly]

182. Obama promised transparency -- so he appoints a secret Cat Food Commission.

And then you wonder why we don't want to support him.

Rumors abound when people hide the truth. And that is what Obama is doing with this Commission -- hiding what is going on from the American people.

[dionysus]

213. well, einstein, it ain't so fucking secret if it gets discussed here every day.

[JDPriestly]

214. But, we are discussing rumors. We don't really know what is

going on in the Commission. I was explaining why we are merely discussing rumors -- because the Commission is meeting in secrecy.

Someone on the Commission is strategically leaking certain information about what is going on, but who knows what is really going on?

Obama did not set that commission up so as to be transparent. He also negotiated with the hospitals and pharmaceutical companies in secret behind the backs of the American people. It wouldn't be such a problem, except that he promised transparency and has not delivered on that important promise.

[Andy823]

31. Well...

I hate to tell you this, but that is not proof that it will be done, now is it? Until I hear the president say "HE" is going to cut SS I won't go around spreading right wing BS! They can "SUGGEST" all they want, it doesn't mean it will happen! Would you rather have the republicans in charge of congress. because falling for their "FEAR and smear" tactics, and their "doom and gloom" will get you that! One thin I am sure of, is that if they do get in control NOTHING will get done for at least two years, maybe more. Can you live with going back to the good old day of George W. Bush? I can't!

[MannyGoldstein]

36. OK, so why did Obama create this commission

and stock it with known attackers of Social Security? And instruct them to make recommendations after the elections? What's your thinking here?

[Andy823]

44. If I am not mistaken

This is not "just" about SS. The right has picked up on this and are using it to get the left angry, and it looks like it's working. This commission is supposed to come up with all kinds of things to help get the country back under control, but they are not the last word on any idea they come up with. Now the republicans have come out and said point blank they want to get rid of SS and medicare, doesn't that get you upset? The right "WILL" do it, get rid of everything that helps those in need, and give it to the rich, do you want that?

I really do not think that SS will be targeted, nor medicare. The president did not put this group together to cut SS, he put it together to try and come up with ideas from both sides to help fix things. No matter what comes of this commission, no matter what suggestions may get to the floor of congress, the president will have to have support from both sides to pass it, even if it's just a few from the right, he will need them. You can't just tell them to all go to hell unless you can get your own party to "FULLY" back you, and that doesn't work with Liberman, Nelson, and a few other DINO's who don't want to help get things done. As some here already said, the time to get the DINO's out of office is during the primaries, and then you have to stop and think just who it is you really want to see in charge of congress, democrats who have at least done something since the president took office, or do you want the party that has only voted "NO" to pretty much everything, and who will stop the government completely if they do win back on or both houses! It's your choice, but I won't be part of helping bring back the Bush days!

[MannyGoldstein]

54. So why pick two outspoken critics of SS?

So many other people to choose from. Why those two and their particular fetish?

[Andy823]

57. As I said

This is NOT all about SS!

Will you stay home and let the republicans take us back to the Bush years?

[MannyGoldstein]

60. It obviously is about SS

The commission co-chairs and multiple members have said they are likely to recommend SS cuts - but I haven't seen them suggest any other likely actions.

[Andy823]

64. No it's not obvious

And there are no facts to support your claims.

Now once again are you willing to sit home and not vote so the republicans can get back in power and take us back to the Bush days? Is that what you really want?

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

79. FACT: Obama endorsed Lieberman over Lamont during the 2006 primary.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/top_lieberman_staffer_we_begge.php

In response to the Lieberman camp's pleas for help, Obama subsequently endorsed him at a dinner of Connecticut Democrats later that month.

"I am absolutely certain Connecticut is going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the U.S. Senate so he can continue to serve on our behalf," Obama said at the time.

"It was a favor as huge as we could have gotten -- it was like a drowning man getting thrown a life preserver," the Lieberman official continued. "Just when Ned was trying to establish himself as a credible alternative on the war, Barack Obama came in and said, `Hey, I disagree with him on the war, but you should send him back to the Senate.'"

~~~~~~~~

War is a pretty huge thing to disagree about, no? And who knows how health care "reform" might have looked without that little fucker Lieberman in the Senate. The Senate is nothing but one big club, with Obama bringing back Simpson, a member from 13 years ago. Awesome.

[Mimosa]

188. Obama proved his loyalty as part of 'The Club'

But he's all there is between us and ???? real change?

[RaleighNCDUer]

45. You go by what the president says?

How about "Gitmo closed in one year".
How about "DADT repealed".
How about "a public option is an important part of health care reform".
How about "No mandates for insurance".

How many broken promises will it take for you to catch on?

[FrenchieCat]

51. He has fulfilled more promises than he broke.

He wasn't gonna be perfect.
Not even close.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

83. No one expected perfection.

Interesting avatar, by the way. Obama should have stood up for Van Jones.

[Andy823]

55. Well...

What about all he has done? Do you think nothing has been accomplished since president Obama took office?

And yes, I believe him more than I do the right wing smear machine who control the media, who make up lies, just fear and scare tactics to get the left to stay home and not vote.

Now tell me something, would you rather have the republicans back in charge of congress? Are you ready for things to get much worse than they are now? Are you ready to see every program that helps out those in need done away with so the rich can have more tax cuts? Are you willing to let all the things that have been done since Obama took office vanish because the republicans will control the money to fund those programs?

Will you really stay home and let them go back to their destroying this country?

[RaleighNCDUer]

61. He's done a few things.

He handed billions over to the banks, rather than protecting peoples' mortgages.
He expanded the war in Afghanistan to include the Pakistan border regions.
He continued the extraordinary rendtion of people not charged with crimes.
He protected the insurance industry which thought, for a brief time, that they might face real competition because of the 70% of the public that FAVORED a public option.
He protected the auto industry by paying off their debts while NOT holding ANY of their management accountable for the practiced that put the industry in the shitter in the first place.

Now he's preparing to save the economy from the perils of paying for Social Security.

How is ANY of that different than what the Republicans would have done?

[Andy823]

66. So

He has done "nothing" good in your book? That tells me a lot!

[Baltoman991]

68. How about you

laying the blame where it belongs.

Obama is not God...........Obama is not King...........Obama is not a dictator. All those things take Congress to work and there aren't enough real Democrats/Liberals/Progressives to get what he wants.

The Republicans thank you and the rest of the so called Liberals out there for continuing to call Obama and liar and a promise breaker. They don't have to convince voters he and the Democrats suck...........folks like you are doing the job for them.

[RaleighNCDUer]

72. Widen your scope -

The people Obama has surrounded himself with are the very self-same folk who ATTACK real dems/liberals/progressives as being "fucking retards" - who dumped Dean as soon as Obama got in office - who support blue dogs over progressives in state races around the country - who take advice from goldmans sachs banksters rather than nobel winning progressive economists.

YOU CAN'T GET LIBERAL ACTION BY ELECTING CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS.

Is that so fucking hard to understand?

I am not a Democrat because I like the logo. I am a Democrat, and have been for 40 years, because I support progressive policies that are good for the people and good for labor (which is good for the people). I oppose corporatism, unbridled capitalism, the amassing of wealth by the top tier of the population at the expense of the lower 95%. WHY would I support those things just because they are being touted by the leadership of my party? Do you REALLY think a single insurance company CEO, CFO, President is going to lose ONE penny because of this so-called health care reform? On the contrary, they will come out of this better off than ever - and what do WE get? We can keep our kids on our insurance until they're 26 - if we can afford insurance, that is.

I don't recognise this party. Maybe it looks 'Democratic' to kids that grew up under Reagan, but some of us grown ups remember better.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

86. Where did this God/King/dictator meme originate?

It's idiotic. And "so called Liberals" is pretty transparent...

[bvar22]

77. Here.

You will enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wHr3nMG6Y4#

[Ramulux]

46. Yes

In the choice between social security cuts and privatization, I choose cuts. Why would anyone choose to get fucked over horribly when they can choose to only be fucked over a little bit?

[RaleighNCDUer]

70. How about not fucking over ANYBODY?

Why is raising the cap not an alternative? A 10% raise in the cap, from $109,000 to $120,000 would make SS solvent indefinitely. You think Joe Millionaire is going to feel a pinch because he's paying into the system for another $11,000 of his net income? What's 7 1/4% of 11,000? A payment on his Lexus?

FICA taxes are the most regressive taxes we have. They are paid on the first 109,000 dollars of your income, whether you make 26k/year or 26/hr. Bill Fucking Gates only pays on the first 109,000 of his income.

Who is getting fucked over?

[Ramulux]

76. Im not saying its good

"Because our system is horribly corrupt" would be the answer to all your questions. I dont mean to be pessimistic but you shouldn't be expecting our political leaders to do anything that makes sense, our politicians do what little good they can while making sure they protect the big business interests that run this country. This thread is about acknowledging that we have two choices this November, neither of them are good, but one is infinitely worse than the other.

[RaleighNCDUer]

Actually, this thread is about shutting up those who believe in a third option -

a third option which is NOT presented by "third way" democrats. The old, tried and true, successful LIBERAL response.

I ask dems to confront the 'third way' fifth column, and stand up for real liberal solutions. And i will not be shut up by anyone saying 'but you will cost us the election', because it is not I who will cost us the election, but the right wing blue dog DLCers who are intent on driving the left out of the party.

If republican and DLC are my only choices, I submit it's time for me to do a Fritz Lang and get the fuck out of Germany - the country's gone too far to be saved. I hope not, but just LOOK at what's going on.

[Ramulux]

84. What third option?

Again, I do not disagree with your criticisms, but you are being unrealistic. We dont have a fucking choice in this country and we arent going to anytime soon, our only option in regards to saving this country is the slow, incremental reform of the democratic party. In the primaries we fight to nominate progressive dems and then vote for them in the general, if a crappy DLC punk wins the nomination we suck it up, vote for him in the general and then repeat the process in two year. As much as it may suck, this is our only option.

What you have to understand is that we cannot allow failures of the party as a whole effect our motivation in regards to showing up at every election. The fact is this, if every liberal and democrat in this country put aside the fact that they are unhappy with how democrats have performed in congress and showed up at every election in force, the republican party would no longer be relevant. If we set aside our grievances and focused on establishing the democratic party as the only legitimate party in this country, we would be free to focus on changing the party itself into one that represents us without having to worry about a party full of extremist whackjobs taking power.

[RaleighNCDUer]

93. Raising the cap on SS to save a program supported by 85% of the

public is "unrealistic"? A very simple move, which will actually only affect the FICA payments of well less than 10% of the population, while securing the program for 100% of the population - how is that "unrealistic"?

It is only unrealistic because the DLC wants to KILL Social Security. They, like their republican masters, want it privatized. Only, unlike the republicans who want to just 'do it', they see a need to weaken and undermine it first, so that more people will be afraid of it disappearing on them who they can then panic into backing privatization.

Voting for a slow death is not a better option than voting for a quick death. Dead is dead.

THE DLC IS NOT ON OUR SIDE. If you are on the DLC's side, I'm not on your side. I am a DEMOCRAT.

[Mimosa]

190. ^ EXACTLY so, RaleighNCDUer ^

[WorseBeforeBetter]

81. Wow, way to roll over and play dead.

Or bend over without the lube. *Whatever.*

[Ramulux]

85. What do you mean?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

90. I choose not to be fucked over a lot, or a little bit.

No cuts, no rise in retirement age, no privatization. Raise the fucking cap...it's so simple.

[Ramulux]

92. As does everyone on this site

but our congress doesn't care what you or I think. With the democrats we will get cuts and with republicans we will get privatization. I was simply making the point that like most rational people I will choose to be screwed over a little rather than a lot.

[Skelly]

140. some of us

refuse to have our world limited by others. Give me two options that 'fuck me over' and I will come up with one that doesn't.

[Ramulux]

169. and who in power

is going to listen to your third option? Regardless of whether you like it or not, our shitty two party system is reality and its pointless to pretend like there is so,e other viable option. The democratic party has us by the balls because they know they are our only choice.

[Skelly]

210. they are our only choice

Only when we think they are our only choice. I am not willing to go down so easily. Are you?

[Hekate]

98. Have there been any cuts yet? Have there been any bills to that effect yet? Has th Commission even

... written its report yet? Has Congress entertained that report yet?

Nancy Pelosi and House Dems say hell no to SS cuts. Are you going to be voting against current Dems who aren't progressive enough to show them who's boss, and allow Repubs to take their seats who will definitely vote for cuts?

In the Senate, hundreds of House bills go to languish and die. Are you going to support Dem Senators who voted against one or two things you wanted, or are you going to oppose them and let yet another Repub take the seat and really tip the balance so that once again here is no chance at all that progressive measures can get passed?

Hekate

[IndianaGreen]

116. Ding! ding! ding! We got a winner!

Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, refused to say he would oppose cuts to Social Security.

[Andy823]

9. You got that right!

I keep seeing so many negative posts here which to me sound a lot like "republicans" trying to get everyone to stay home and give up. This happens every election, and sadly it works on to many people. 2008 was different and the voters got out and asked for change. Now to many of them are pissed off because "NOT ENOUGH" has been done, even though president Obama has accomplished more than any other president in years! Now I know there are a lot of trolls here who love to get everyone depressed and angry, but we don't have to put up with it, and we don't have to fall into their trap!

I think the whole idea that the November elections are going to be a "landslide" for republicans is crazy! There is just way to much coming from the republicans that can be used to prevent them taking over congress. They have pissed of way to many people from the unemployed, to single mothers, and they have angered the Spanish voters, the Muslims, and called helping the states keep teachers, police, and firemen working simply another "bailout" to "special interest" groups! They have openly said they will stall the government, stop payments on health care reform, try and impeach the president, get rid of all the regulations that have been put in since Obama took office, and take us back to tax cuts for the rich and to hell with the deficit and the people! Now anyone who wants to believe the BS coming from the right, the MSM, and the trolls who come here and try and get people to "not" get out an vote, is crazy as hell!

Sure the democrats up for election will have to work at get re-elected, and they will have to go on the attack and give the right dose of their own medicine, but they can do it and they have so much ammo to use against them right from their own mouths! Just laying down and giving them the keys to the country is crazy, even though that's what they want.

Turn "back" the clock and live the Bush years over again, I don't think so!

[FrenchieCat]

13. The only viable strategy that the GOP have is to hope enough Democrats

don't bother to vote....and since the game is to repeat the same thing over and over again,
so that it becomes a self fufilling prophecy, to a great extent, the GOP is relying on those
of us who will do as you describe.....spread gloom and doom day after day.

[Andy823]

20. Yep,

Doom and gloom along with fear works, and the right has been using it for years. I get so sick of hearing all the complaints, but I never see any credible evidence to support the vast majority of what I hear. So many post seem to be repeating the right wing talking points, and scare tactics! Why so many democrat fall for their crap is beyond me! It's all hype, lies, lies and more lies! How anyone could stay home knowing full well we they have to look forward to if republicans "do" get back in control of one or both houses, is beyond me!

[RaleighNCDUer]

50. It is NOT the republicans who will be responsible for Democrats

staying home - it will be Democrats who refuse to fight for Democratic principles.

I will gladly vote for any Democrat who tries to sound and ACT like a Democrat.

And will not vote for any Republicans in Democrat's clothing.

[HughMoran]

10. K&R

They are laughing at us.

[Gordan Shumway]

11. I Fucking Hate Republicans

All of them. The ones in Washingtion, the ones on TV, the ones on this website, the ones slithering in my sewer. Fuck all of you inbred elephants.

[Bluenorthwest]

15. Never missed an election in my life

Never would, because to do so is to be a negligent and worthless waste of space. Many people, I am told, live most of their adult lives not even bothering to vote at all, ever. Each of those skipped votes are like votes for Republicans and horrible laws. I could not live with myself if I missed even one election. That is why I never have.
Those who miss many elections have much to make up for. And much to learn.

[FrenchieCat]

29. Yep. I became an American Citizen just to Vote!

[olegramps]

118. Yes, I will be voting a straight Democratic ticket.

However, it still doesn't mean that I am not critical of the seeming lack of forceful leadership by President Obama. Sorry, but I am disappointed in his strategy of bipartisanship that has been an abject failure. I am also very disappointed in several of his appointments who don't support progressive policies. The Bush-Cheney administration was so destructive the situation demanded radical change, not a continuance of the status quo. President Obama should have studied FDR's fiery condemnation of the capitalists' unbridled greed in which he welcomed their hatred as a badge of honor. He didn't extend any hand of friendship to those he knew were his sworn enemies and who his successor referred to as a pack of SOBs.

[Bluerthanblue]

120. good for you! Me neither-

the 26th amendment allowed me to cast my first ever vote for Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale at age 18, and I haven't missed a state or federal election since then.

:hi:

[chervilant]

139. hmm...

Your post reminds me of the myriad people I've met in my fifty-plus years on this planet who assert with relative satisfaction, "I don't bother to vote; I'm not a political person..."

I'm left to wonder how many of these unfortunates spend inordinate amounts of time whinging about our 'bad economy' and all the other pressing problems dragging us down into oblivion.

[jkshaw]

17. Thank you FrenchieCat,

This should be a permanent fixture in both DU and DailyKos until election day!

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. Oh, I'll vote all right. And I won't vote for any Republicans.

But neither will I vote for any DLCers or blue dogs. If that means I submit a ballot with nothing on it but my opinion on a school bond issue, so be it.

No democrat who opposes Democratic fundamentals will ever get my vote again.

[FrenchieCat]

23. If you are identifying yourself as one of those that is the subject of this OP.....

Then you know, the GOP will find you hilarious....


Far as they are concerned......

[RaleighNCDUer]

38. Hey, I can't help it.

I'm a fuckking retard.

[FrenchieCat]

39. The GOP would agree with you on your self assessment.

I'm guessing.

[RaleighNCDUer]

63. That's Obama's Chief Of Staff's words, not mine.

As if you didn't know.

[FrenchieCat]

99. Those are your words in your post calling yourself that.

Rahm was referring to a strategy,
you referred to yourself. :crazy:

[JTFrog]

101. +1

:spray:

[HughMoran]

109. +2

[liquid diamond]

203. Exactly. Rahm was criticizing attack ads against fellow democrats.

However, the fringe left insists he was calling "the base" fucking retarded. Some people hear what they want to hear.

[Tarheel_Dem]

209. Exactly.....

:spray:

[griffi94]

47. well said

i'll always vote, it may only be for a city council position tho.

[Ramulux]

52. Do you not understand

how our political system works? Those shitty DLC blue dogs may not vote the right way, but at least they keep congress in Dem hands and Dems on the various committees. Those crappy centrists keep the republicans out of power, as much as that might suck.

[Jensen]

19. K&R....Nothing will keep me from voting !!!

I hope they feel so smug and get KNOCK on their A$$es...I want to see "Shock and AWE"!!

[Lorien]

22. Very immature

and not a good way of winning friends and influencing people. If you want to GOTV, then give the people something to vote FOR. Don't pull this GOP scare tactic crap with any of us.

[FrenchieCat]

24. Can you say...."Cat Food Commission"?

Cause that ain't nothing but a bumper sticker scare tactic....

Much more than the truth of my OP.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

33. ...

[FrenchieCat]

34. So does this mean you are not voting?

Considering that you are all over this thread? :shrug:

[WorseBeforeBetter]

43. LOL...4 posts is "all over" this thread?

I'll be casting a vote AGAINST that fucker Richard Burr (R-NC). Happy?

[FrenchieCat]

49. It's not about me......

It is about us.

[bread_and_roses]

146. If it were about "us" there would be no question of people going out to vote

...they would. Like they did in '08.

And haranging the people on this site is not going to change the minds of the young people who've abandoned the Ds, of those unhappy with the Ds handling of the economy, or the people giving the Rs a roughly 10% lead in generic Congressional ballots, or the Ds who are not enthusiastic about voting this fall.

All bode ill for the Ds in this year's elections and have nothing to do with the people on this board.

If the Ds were "about us" we'd see a hell of a difference. Instead, given a dramatic mandate and an army of foot-soldiers ready to battle for them they ceded the narrative to the R's and the policy to the Oligarchs. How's that working out for them?

Even aside from anything else, it is the most astonishing display of political stupidity.

[FrenchieCat]

175. Political stupidity = not voting

[Andy823]

37. So

You don't believe the right is using "scare" tactics to get the left to stay home and not get out and vote? Do you really buy into all the BS you hear coming from those who say they plan on staying home? These kind of tactics work, all you have to do is keep people depressed and they won't get motivated to vote. If you can "scare" people enough you can convince them of just about anything, as long as they don't bother to check out what you are saying.

I am sorry, but going back to the "good old days" of George W. Bush is not what we need. He had 8 years to get us into this mess, do you think anyone could have gotten us out of it in under 2 years?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

48. It's not the PACE, it's the DIRECTION.

And I have no idea what "scare" tactics the right is supposedly using to get the left to stay home; I tuned out Corporate Media a long time ago.

[Andy823]

62. It's not just the media

I see so many posts here on this very board that sure sound like right wing trolls trying to get the left to give up and forget about voting. I see them on other boards, trolls that never post anything positive, only tear down the president, and come up with all kinds of things that are not backed by facts. I see a lot of people who "are" buying into this BS, who get all worked up and agree with the trolls. All you have to do is read the post on this thread to see all kinds of things being said that can't be backed up.

The president "has" accomplish a lot. The idea he hasn't is absurd. He has NOT come out and said he will cut SS or medicare, yet many believe he will because of other posters who have been pushing this idea. I won't tell anyone how to vote, but staying home and letting the same morons that got us into this mess get back in charge is simply crazy as hell in my book!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

74. Do you trust Alan Simpson or Tom Coburn?

I don't. And I question Obama's judgment and intent in appointing them and some of the others, including Erskine Bowles. The Obama-can-do-no-wrong crowd needs to take off the blinders and accept constructive criticism.

There's no purity test for DU; anyone with an e-mail address can join. And I'm quite certain that "true" DUers are not as easily influenced by someone posting negative things about Obama or "buying into this BS" as you suggest.

[Andy823]

122. My point is

These two guys are NOT the only ones on the commission, and they will "NOT" be the ones to make the final choice of what is accepted or not accepted. I am not an Obama can do no wrong person, but I am also not an "Obama is always wrong" person either, which I see a lot of on DU these days. I have no problem with "constructive" criticism about what our leaders are doing, but when push comes to shove, I also think that even though there are some democrats that really need to go, we should do this in the primaries, the choice between putting republicans back in charge or voting for a democrat that might not be 100% on the same page as I am, I will vote to keep republicans from getting back in charge and taking us back to their "good old days" when Bush was in office, deregulation ran rampant, tax breaks for the rich while fighting wars, tax breaks for those who outsourced jobs to cheaper labor markets, high oil and gas prices that hurt the average american and went up every year Bush was in office, and taking the country to the edge of collapse! Then I would do my best to get rid of any democrat from my state that was not trying to help, but was only voting for those who gave them the most money!

People are only human, and you "can" influence them by playing to their fears, and that's what the right is doing. If a troll can get people to listen to them, and the get them mad enough, it can, and does, influence them. When a person feels like there is not hope of change so why vote anyway, and I have heard a lot of that here recently, we play right into the right wing plan, whether or not you believe it an happen or not, it does happen!

[Inuca]

108. It IS something to vote FOR

for keeping those effing bastards out and for being able to continue, slowly and painfully, to build what we started. It's not the whole story, but it's a goddamn important part of it. The thought of "hell no!" Boehner as Speaker makes me :puke:

[suzie]

164. From the many threads I've read since I joined DU, it seems there's nothing that any

Democrat could ever accomplish that would "give the people" who oppose everything that Obama or any Democrat proposes, something to vote "FOR".

No matter what accomplishments happen, no matter what goes on, the answer is always but He didn't/she didn't/they didn't ___________.

[Radical Activist]

26. I like the Wolf one best.

The media is part of this scam.

[FrenchieCat]

27. In a very big way.

Corporate tax cuts and continuing the Bush tax cuts for the rich
is a definite motivator for them. You can see it in their face,
when the thrash Democrats, and lie over and over again.

[pnorman]

58. Republicans Don’t Want You to Vote!

http://theunitedvoiceofamerica.com/UVABlog/?p=12637

[FrenchieCat]

59. I believe that this is their preferred choice for anyone who might vote Dem.

[KansasVoter]

69. Only you, Frenchie, would think Obama has NO FAULT in this. Disgusting!

[Arkana]

88. No one has ever said Obama was free of miscues

but you people make it sound like he's been responsible for all of them, when anyone who's been paying attention can clearly see that is not the case. When you have a majority held hostage by a Blue Dog caucus in the House and 41 Republicans in the Senate, your options are limited.

[FrenchieCat]

89. Obama has one vote.

and there is nothing disgusting in looking at the truth of the matter,
which is Dems who don't vote really should be a laughing stock and will be!
Talking about cutting one's nose to spite one's face! :crazy:

I'd never believed that Dems would believe that their solution
would be to give the keys back to the GOP, until I've read different here.

I'm telling you that any Dem who is willing to stay home
when they are registered to vote, and especially those who are
quite active in politics, well those Dems aren't really "into" issues....
they are only into themselves. Great giant ass poseurs is what they are.

[olegramps]

119. Isn't the fact that Dems or Repuks will not determine the outcome. It will be the Independents.

This appears from what I have read to be the important segment that is abandoning Obama. It would seem that the solution would be to determined just what has been the cause of this dramatic change. Also what has turned off the young voters that were very instrumental in the Democrats success in the last election. I have not seen any concerted attempt to win back their allegiance. Isn't evident that they have not been satisfied with this administration? Perhaps too much was expected, but also wasn't much promised?

[proud2BlibKansan]

201. + a gazillion

[firedupdem]

71. K&R

Too bad that the biggest mouths like teabagger jane and friends get so much attention. Some of us still support Democrats and understand we didn't elect a dictator. But, the media spreads this 'unhappy' meme because of them, and they never wanted anything good to come out of this presidency in the first place. They never were on board. They were about as bad as rush in wanting this president to FAIL!

On Edit: Let me add this from extreme liberal's blog about this stupid commission that gets to do nothing but make recommendations!

"So “President Obama has stacked his new 18-member commission”, really. I went to the executive order that created the commission and learned that this is how the 18 members were selected.

(a) six members appointed by the President, not more than four of whom shall be from the same political party;
(b) three members selected by the Majority Leader of the Senate, all of whom shall be current Members of the Senate;
(c) three members selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, all of whom shall be current Members of the House of Representatives;
(d) three members selected by the Minority Leader of the Senate, all of whom shall be current Members of the Senate; and
(e) three members selected by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, all of whom shall be current Members of the House of Representatives.

Ut oh, the truth is the president didn’t “stack” anything, he appointed 6 members of the commission, 4 of them democrats. It looks like they set up the commission to include both parties and both houses of congress. Sounds pretty bi-partisan to me which probably pisses off those firebaggers who demonize anyone who doesn’t think exactly like them or doesn’t hate Obama. We are Obamabots, you know, or apologists."

[Tarheel_Dem]

221. Great find. Thanks for posting that. Obama is constantly rebuffed for "trying" to work...

with Republicans, at the same time that Jane HamPster is being celebrated for working with Grover Norquist to undermine him. It really is upside down world around here.

[leveymg]

73. Voting? Of course - but, who'll be knocking hundreds of doors like in '08?

Not many, I predict. That will be the difference - and this has been apparent since the Democratic establishment lost the VA Governor's race by a landslide way back when.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

91. Good point. Didn't Creigh Deeds ignore Northern Virginia?

Huge fucking mistake.

[donco]

75. I’ll vote Dem

and vote often, even if I have to hold my nose while doing so.

[LibDemAlways]

78. Dems have every right to be "disappointed, disillusioned, (and)

depressed." They were promised change they could believe in - and were served a big, heaping helping of more of the same. If the R's take over Congress this fall, Obama will have no one to blame but himself. For all I know, he might not even consider that a negative. He's spent so much time courting them, perhaps he'll be happy to see even more.

[Arkana]

87. And I'm sure the massively overinflated egos of the Jane Hamsher

and Ralph Nader crowds will be sufficiently salved as Republicans vigorously cornhole the country without lube for two years.

[firedupdem]

96. laughing all the way to the bank! n/t

[LibDemAlways]

123. Where in my post does it say I'd vote for a Republican? I fully

realize that R's are the scum of the Earth. However, with the DLCers running the show, the Dems are doing themselves no favors.

[Tarheel_Dem]

97. You don't speak for this "democrat". You may speak for a small, but vocal

piece of the party, but you do not speak for me. I voted for change, and that's exactly what I got. Just thought you should know that.

[LibDemAlways]

121. Good. I'm glad you're happy with the change you got. The change I got

so far has been 6 months of unemployment, a health insurance bill that keeps me beholden to insurance company crooks, more soldiers from my area dead in Iraq/Afghanistan, bailouts for bankers while the interest rates banks pay on my meager savings continue their descent into the toilet, and a President who has set up a commission full of lowlife to investigate ways to screw me out of my social security. I think people nationwide are fed up with the treatment they are receiving from Washington. The tendency is going to be to blame the party in power, which means the R's will do well in November. I would never vote for a Republican, but these days it's hard to tell the difference.

[Tarheel_Dem]

125. Thank you Ralph Nader. If it weren't for weak minded "liberals", we

wouldn't be here in the first place. But, by all means, please carry on. Some were convinced by the purists on the left that Gore=Bush, and to them I say, you have blood on your hands. Sane people tried to tell the purists how dangerous the Bush gang would be, but they opted for their "principles", which resulted in two wars and an economy on the brink.

If you think Washington's given you hell up to now, just wait......:hi:

[LibDemAlways]

127. Why are you dragging Ralph Nader into this? I didn't vote for him.

By the way Gore won Florida, even without the Nader vote. Blame the Supreme Court for installing Bush - not Nader.

Also, if Gore had won his home state of Tennessee, all of that would have been moot.

[Tarheel_Dem]

137. Blah...Blah...Blah... Heard all those excuses before. When the "purists"

among us, climb down from their self-installed pedestals, then perhaps they can begin to accept the fact that they are responsible for the Bush years.

The reason I'm "dragging Nader into this" is because you sound so much like him. There's no difference between the two parties? Really? Where have we heard that rhetoric before? People like you enable the very folks you claim to despise.

[LibDemAlways]

183. I don't think sounding like Nader is a bad thing. And I'm not a "purist."

You ignored my comment that I didn't vote for Nader. I voted for Gore, and I refuse to accept responsibility for the Bush years. It wasn't Nader's fault, however, that the Supreme Court ruled in Bush's favor and it wasn't Nader's fault that Gore couldn't win his home state. I can't believe you are so stuck in the past. My post dealt exclusively with the present.

I never said there was no difference between the two parties. In campaign rhetoric there's still a lot of difference. In terms of actual governance, there's a little - but not nearly enough. The Dems used to stick up for the little guy. No more.

[Tarheel_Dem]

196. "I never said there was no difference between the two parties."

"I would never vote for a Republican, but these days it's hard to tell the difference."

My, my...full of contradictions aren't you? How else does one interpret your over-the-top rhethoric? And for the record, I never directly accused you of voting for Nader. However, your language is much like that we were treated to in 2000, and I maintain that those on the left who voted for Nader, and claimed there were no differences between Gore & Bush, have blood on their hands.

[suzie]

165. Gore did win Florida, but Nader delivered it to the Bushes.

And the Gore should have won Tennessee sort of undercuts everything that so-called progressives have to say about how really easy it is to win in red states.

[chowder66]

150. Whot got us here?

"so far has been 6 months of unemployment (who got us here? Republicans, outsourcing and the voters who kept voting in Bush not to mention all the previous Republican Admins)
a health insurance bill that keeps me beholden to insurance company crooks (who got us here? Republicans, Insane Insurance practices, Greed, voters of Bush and previous Repub Admins)
more soldiers from my area dead in Iraq/Afghanistan (who got us here? Do I really need to spell this out?)
bailouts for bankers while the interest rates banks pay on my meager savings continue their descent into the toilet(who got us here? Bush and Wall Street)
and a President who has set up a commission full of lowlife to investigate ways to screw me out of my social security.(please see the thread above that someone was so kind to post about how the commission is appointed)

I think people nationwide are fed up with the treatment they are receiving from Washington.(Personally, I have been fed up for a very long time PRIOR to Obama getting elected, hence my vote for the man but I will not blame him for the devastation that the Bush Administration wrought. Frenchie posted a poignant image with Michael Steele's image you might look at it and think about it).

The tendency is going to be to blame the party in power, which means the R's will do well in November. I would never vote for a Republican, but these days it's hard to tell the difference." (If it is hard to tell the difference then I suggest that you do a little more research, think in broader terms - outside of yourself as well as including yourself. It is easy to see the differences. Instead of getting pissed, get involved. Call your elected officials, write letters, discuss, organize, look for solutions, see how many people you can get to agree with your positions/solutions, offer those solutions in petition form, mass mailings, protests, etc.)

[LibDemAlways]

184. Too busy looking for a job and trying to support my family to

engage in protests and mass mailings at the moment. Apparently your circumstances are better and allow you the luxury of being dismissive of those hit hard by this economy - under both administrations. Sure, Bush and his minions fucked things up royally, but Obama and his band of DLCers haven't exactly been working on behalf of the ordinary person either.

[chowder66]

218. Nope...not dismissive at all

Just trying to point out where the blame lies, that there is a difference between the parties and that there are things you can do. As for the suggestions on involvement, they are merely that. I wasn't saying to do all of them but suggesting them as ideas that you can pick and choose from in your own time. My circumstances are NOT "better", I have major risk insurance that I am about to drop because it keeps going up and BCBS is pricing me out. My job is not sustaining me financially and I am looking for another job on top of my full time job to supplement my income. I am battling an illness and I am getting deeper in debt. So no, my circumstances are not "better" and "luxury" is a joke. I just refuse to blame the easiest point of reference. No one can turn this clusterf**k around as quickly as it hits home, anyone else in this position would be hard pressed to deal with the mountains of crap laid out for them. Soooo... I write on the weekends after work, I leave messages and speak to my reps assistants about matters that are important. This is done when it can be done. It makes me feel better and I hope I am adding to the voices that are trying to be heard. It's not like Obama's workload is done and that's that, he has more to do obviously and many want what they want when they want it. It just isn't that easy.

[Tarheel_Dem]

82. Nothing to add. K&R.....

:kick:

[southmost]

94. i've donated and will continue to as long as i can afford

to local democratic candidates, and signed for volunteering for GOTV with the same determination as a couple of years ago...

[FrenchieCat]

95. Glad to hear this! It is good not to succumb to the whims

of those who apparently don't really give a shit....
about kids, about the less fortunate,
about anyone really....

and there are many...and they feed off each other!

[Born_A_Truman]

100. I'm fed up with the stayhomedon'tvotecrowd...

Fed the hell right up.

These aren't scare tactics. Take a good look at the pictures because that will be the reality.

R.E.A.L.I.T.Y.

[JTFrog]

102. K&R!

[rpannier]

103. Wow I rec'd this before I realized it was a Frenchie Cat post

I should have known it was yours.
The clever use of the various pictures is something you do very well

I hadn't seen a post by you in such a long while, I was beginning to wonder

Excellent post...And only because it's yours will I not hold it against you for using that cat as a Republican partier

[jaxx]

104. McConnell and Boner gloating ought to be enough for any Democrat

to vote for the Democratic Party.

K&R

[old mark]

105. It has been GOP philosophy for decades that Democrats can be counted on not to vote

and when we do, to split tickets.
GOP voters SHOW UP and vote for republicans.

I watched the last primary returns, and the GOP staffers were surprised that so many Democrats even bothered to show up to vote-we had around 20% turnout, which was fairly high for an off year primary.

They COUNT ON US NOT VOTING!!! and for many years, they have been right!

Maybe we should fool them this time?


mark

[mmonk]

106. I'll vote but make no mistake, if the bush tax cuts remain, it will

be the fault of Democrats.

[rug]

107. You left out the first picture.

[Kahuna]

113. Oh yeah..Rahm, the BOGEYMAN!

:eyes:

[rug]

115. Unlike Palin?

[Kahuna]

128. ...

I was being facetious.

[Kahuna]

110. Bogeyman! SQUAWK!!!

Just kidding. It's BRILLIANT!!! :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[NJmaverick]

111. K&R

[janx]

114. NICE! k and r !

[Peacetrain]

117. Thank you for the pulling that all together FrenchieCat

I especially love the shooting in the foot one..

[lunatica]

126. I'd rather fight and lose than to not fight even if loss is inevitable

I always vote

[elleng]

129. Well said as always, Frenchie, and shame on the fools, here and elsewhere, who don't get it.

Eeyore indeed.

[obxhead]

130. I think they're keeping those tax cuts regardless of who gets

in or out this voting season.

[placton]

131. oh, I will vote

selectively - and spare me the "only choice we have" arguments - not buying that anymore - you can thank Obama and his DLC for that

[Skelly]

145. Many feel as you do

I for one. To me, it isn't a matter of voting or not voting, it is voting for the person who represents my ideals. I am tired of voting for those who don't only because they carry a "Democrat" label. Of course, it is the primaries that are important to this, and quite frankly, I think we, as a party, often blow it. I have mostly considered myself a centrist, but have recently found myself farther and farther left of center and feel my party leaders are slipping farther and farther right.

[jenmito]

132. Thank you! Some here will acccuse you of "fear-mongering" because they don't CARE what happens. n/t

[Jennicut]

133. I will do my duty to keep all Rethugs out and I will vote.

I don't want Linda McMahon as my Senator. The majority of the time the Rethug is always worse then the Dem. It is funny, I am the only one I know of my friends and family in my age group that votes, and I am already 34 years old! Pretty pathetic.

[RBInMaine]

134. If you don't vote, you don't matter. Period.

[lonestarnot]

135. K & R!

And I love that kitteh.

[russspeakeasy]

136. Thanks, I needed that !!!

[LaurenG]

141. This just gives me a headache and feels to me like this is just

another way to stir the pot. I have not heard of anyone in any of my circles stating they won't vote.

However, I am so tired of this shit stirring that it makes me want to care less if they do or not. Look, we aren't getting what we want under any of them. They are almost all just self absorbed, into scratching each others back and trading one yay vote for another nay vote that it's meaningless anyway. They have to trick each other by adding things into bills the night before a vote so that no one gets to read it to get what they want passed.

Politics is the big lie and I believe that Obama had to learn that the hard way, just like we do. There are evil assholes in government but the scariest ones are the authoritarian, false god fear-mongering, plutocrats.


The majority of du'ers are voting and voting for democrats, we aren't stupid just disgusted and posts like this aren't changing anyone's mind.

[RBInMaine]

144. Expectations have to be real. There has been a LOT of progress, even per Maddow.

[savalez]

142. Thank you!

[whatchamacallit]

143. Simplistic propaganda + reverse psychology = yawn...

The great thing about democracy (such as it is in the US) is that I can do whatever I feel is right according to my beliefs. Vote/not vote... Then I can show up the next day at DU and you don't get to know what I did because it's none of your fucking business.

[FrenchieCat]

148. That's why the word poseur was invented, me thinks......

to describe those folks who do what they want to do in private,
and then pretend to have done otherwise.
The Internet is great at attracting them.....
and these poseurs are skillful at spreading doom and gloom for days on in,
helping spread a mood that is exactly what the media and the GOP ordered,
a self fufilling prophecy of negativity that discounts positive accomplishments,
and magnifies those areas that aren't perfectly so, or rumored to won't be perfectly so.
Same poseurs then act like they had nothing to do with the results
that they, each day, promoted. What they don't want us to know is that they
have been part of the problem all along, not part of any workable reasonable solution.

[whatchamacallit]

152. You know nothing

of me. I've been voting dem possibly longer than you've been alive. Why don't you go digging through my posts again? Oh yeah bad idea, last time was a deceitful fail.

[FrenchieCat]

168. This wasn't supposed to be about you.

except that you decided that it was so.

[whatchamacallit]

173. Ha right...

Try a little honesty sometime, you might like it.

[FrenchieCat]

176. You and I are only one of many

And this ain't about why each one of us does anything,
but how what each one of us chooses to do, when multiplied,
impacts everyone else.

[whatchamacallit]

179. Here's the deal lady

Most likely I will do what I always do: hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evils (a democrat). That said, know it won't be because of shitty, condescending, OPs like this. Also know the day is quickly approaching when NOTHING is going to get people to the polls because they're tired of being pawns in a rigged game. We're starting to wake up, the prez better wake up too.

[Enrique]

147. "we're keeping those tax cuts?"

you mean Obama won't veto any republican attempts to extend the Bush tax cuts? I agree, it's possible he won't. I hope he does.

[FrenchieCat]

149. I don't know what Obama will do,

But I know what he shouldn't be faced with doing,
if only we were united in realizing that we are
part of the solution.

It takes more than one man to run this country.....
just ask Bill Clinton.

If Clinton wouldn't have been fortunate enough to be in office
during the Internet bubble, all of the terrible bills that he signed,
would be his only legacy, far as I'm concerned.

[girl gone mad]

151. Unlike Obama and rest of the DLC, I really don't give a shit what Republicans say.

Ever.

[whatchamacallit]

153. +100,000,000

exactly how I feel.

[FrenchieCat]

155. The Republicans don't care if you care....so y'all are on the same page....

In fact, Republicans, if nothing else, appreciate
those with tunnel vision who lack peripheral sight,
and enjoy piling on with their side without realizing
the overall damage is caused by the height of the pile,
not what's in it.

[whatchamacallit]

158. Of course none of what's happening rests with the president

and his policies. All our problems are solely due to "republican enablers".

[FrenchieCat]

163. You are partially correct.

The President was never gonna be perfect,
his administration wasn't ever going to be flawless,
and the congress made up of a majority of Democrats, who in their numbers,
count entire districts which have been historically geographically conservative,
weren't always going to vote exactly as many of us would prescribe.

and so even as President Obama warned us that he understood that there were
always going to be disatisfaction from various segments of his "Base"
as time went on....

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.
...
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who wont agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government cant solve every problem.
.....
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
.....
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do." - Barack Obama - Election Night 2008

and that although many of us foresaw early that the negativity peddlers,
the rumormongers, the always disatisfied, and the news manipulators would be granted
a giant bully pulpit to spread their inaccurate perception of what has actually
been achieved by their only focus being what hasn't yet been done....

what many of us didn't believe was that folks who have been involved in politics
because they cared about "issues", would allow themselves a rationale for the unreasonable
position of indirectly siding with those who care the least about those very same issues.

As for enablers.....it is true that one person alone
cannot make a very large difference most of the time,
especially when what we are discussing is fighting against
very large corporate powers, which is an almost unsurmountable feat.....
and it would make sense that many don't believe that they have any impact on how things end.....
and that is where they would be wrong in their judgement.

The more folks deny the limitations of our politics,
the more folks will be buried under the odds of it
making a difference for themselves, but as importantly,
for the so many who risk losing all that they have been able to hang onto during these trying times.

The issues of immigration, climate change, education, equality rights,
economic health, war, and opportunity of hope for the masses will not end well
allowing Republicans to once again take over at the helm.
That is a fact, not a gamble.

[ctwayne]

161. Why Do We Have This Problem, Anyway?

Obama wins a huge victory. The Democrats take huge margins in Congress. Obama has a huge army of fired up volunteers and small internet donors. And what does he do with it all?

He decides to go all soft and bipartisan. He wants to hear the ideas of the defeated Republicans. He wants to be Mr. Compromise. Obama had no need to appoint the Cat food Commission in the first place. It was properly rejected by Congress.

Obama's Bipartisan Cat food Commission could be stacked with sworn enemies of the military industrial complex and strong supporters of higher taxes on billionaires like Pete Peterson. That would be Hope and Change I could vote for.

[Milo_Bloom]

157. DING DING DING DING!

[Skelly]

154. You make some good points.

However, those of us that do not feel like rewarding bad behavior (voting for someone that does not have OUR best interest in mind just because they have "Democrat" after their name"), are needing more than "Republicans would be worse". Of course Republicans would be worse. But how can one rid our party of those who do not really hold to democratic values (while holding the title of 'Democrat')except by NOT voting for them?
If I continually vote for the 'democrat' when the 'democrat' is not really one, will not our party look more republican? I understand the primaries are where this needs to be addressed, but in reality, unless there is some large scandal, most will vote for the incumbent without really knowing their record on issues.
And name calling disenfranchised voters does nothing to advance your agenda (of getting them out to vote). Addressing their concerns (like those I have written above)is more 'Obamaesque', more productive, and ultimately, much more empowering.

[FrenchieCat]

159. If you believe you've seen bad behavior to date,

then you are in for something that I would describe
as a rude awakening as to how truly bad behavior can
negatively impact the lives of those one would think
progressives should care about.

10 years' worth of redistrict is up
for grabs and will be dictated by those in the wings.....

As for what "disenfranchised" truly means,
it has little to do with sitting one's ass at home
due to a temper tantrum that has very little connection with
the reality of the storm brewing outside that has the potential
of knocking his/her house down.

In otherwords, the fact that you are making those that won't vote the victims
instead of the accomplices is mind boggling.

In a democracy, one gets what one votes for eventually.....
and if one doesn't vote, than whatever they get or don't get
is due to their own lack of responsibility,
and the only blame that they can assign is to themselves,
for not even being there to try and make the difference.

Hillary said it best; it takes a village.....

[Skelly]

166. Really?

"then you are in for something that I would describe
as a rude awakening as to how truly bad behavior can
negatively impact the lives of those one would think
progressives should care about."

Tell that to the woman who campaigned and voted for Gore and upon losing the election to Bush said, "Well, how much trouble can he do in four years" and then lost a son in Iraq.

Tell that to the man who has ALWAYS voted Democrat then lost his job, his house, his retirement under a DEMOCRATICALLY CONTROLLED CONGRESS AND WHITE HOUSE.

Tell that to the young girl who so feverishly campaigned and voted for 'change' and now sits and wonders whether her husband will have yet ANOTHER tour in Afghanistan and perhaps this time won't be as lucky to survive 3 IED's.

Telling these people that not voting in the upcoming election is a mere temper tantrum and they should then expect worse will NOT get them out to vote.

If it is your mission to get people to vote, start by telling them what we AS A PARTY are doing so the people we ARE voting for have more than just the label "Democrat" behind their name.

When someone has supported their party all their life and STILL experience the Earth ending negative impact (that your posts foresee if you don't vote), then voting really doesn't matter now does it?

It is time to make the government afraid of the people, not the other way around. As long as we keep voting people into office just because they have "Democrat" behind their name, we will not get the change we want.

You are right, it DOES take a village. It is time for this 'village' called DEMOCRATS to stand up to our representatives and tell them "You represent US, not some corporation or we WILL replace you". AND THEN DO SO IN THE PRIMARIES. But no, of course, we don't...we continue to vote in those incumbents because they have a better chance of winning in the general than their unknown challengers. Then we are left with pseudo-repugs that proudly won the DEMOCRAT nomination.

So, besides your posts detailing what to expect if one DOESN'T VOTE, what is your strategy before the next PRIMARY to get nominated those Democrats that WILL represent Democrats and not just be the 'better of two evils'?

[FrenchieCat]

172. What I would tell those people who's story you told is the same thing I would tell you....

It ain't gonna get better under Republicans, as it is under them
that the terrain where one could lose one's house, one's job, or
one's life in a war was built.

as for my message of "Telling these people that not voting in the upcoming election is a mere temper tantrum and they should then expect worse....."

is exactly the truth.

Anyone who truly believes that in 20 months, the suffering of many Americans would end,
is currently having a temper trantrum that it hasn't.....
because reasonable level headed folks understand that in politics, slow motion is the norm,
and anything else is a miracle...and since Barack Obama is no saint, no savior, no magician,
there will be no instant miracle to fix what has taken years to break. period.

[Skelly]

180. But we are not voting for a President this Nov.

We are voting for Senators and Representatives. Many who have been in office for 2, 3, sometimes 4 terms who ARE NOT VOTING IN OUR BEST INTERESTS BUT FOR THEIR OWN.
The Primaries are now over. They have again won the primaries, not because they were the best person for the job, but because they were best seen as being able to defeat the possible Republican candidate.

You know, your position of 'voting for all democrats no matter that the democrat you are voting for will only be working for himself' COULD be seen as a Republican strategy of moving the entire Democratic Party more towards the right. When the Democratic Party is no longer recognizable as being "Democrat", for whom do we then vote?

We only definitely have a Democratic President for the next two years. We want to keep that. We want a majority of Democrats in control in 2012, but we want those Democrats in both houses of Congress to WORK FOR US. What better time than now to let them know this? If Congressional Democrats do not get the word THIS YEAR, it will be too in 2012. Better to have the 'wake up call' NOW, then in 2012 when a Presidential Election is at stake, no?

[whatchamacallit]

178. Good post. nt

[Diane R]

156. Thanks Frenchie Cat. Unfortunatley, some prominent journals on DU are helping the Repubs, too.

[Name removed]

160. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FrenchieCat]

167. As opposed to those who might cheer Democratic failure in these upcoming election?

Yes.....you are absolutely correct!

I cheer Democrats going out and voting for Democrats....
and I do so on the Democratic Underground.

Makes sense to me.

perfect sense, in fact.

Thank you for the reminder, that for each negativity peddler spreading their vision
for the rest of America, wishing for Republicans to take back congress,
an entire cheering committee is needed to counteract just one of those fools.
It's hard work, but at least some of us are willing to get it done.

[DesertFlower]

170. i voted in the primary and i'm voting

in the general election. i would cut my finger off before i would vote for a republican. i'm in arizona. unfortunately i might have Quale as my congressman. there's also a good chance that jan brewer will be elected.

[Jakes Progress]

171. Staying clueless and out of touch

and refusing to see reality while ignoring the giant elephant in the room. Not a good way to win elections.

I have rarely seen a more smug, divisive, and clueless post. You have outdone yourself. All those pictures you posted. That's what republicans are saying when they see this kind of post on DU.

[FrenchieCat]

174. The giant elephant in the room that you describe are the Republicans taking back the power

after a few short months.

Staying clueless as to the difference Republicans controlling congress would make,
are the ones denying the true results of their consistent action of peddling negativity
at every step along the way in the past 20 months.

The undeniable truth is that the less Democrats that vote,
the larger the elephant and his power will become,
and nothing good will come of that. Nothing.

[Fire1]

185. You're right on that, Frenchie. They think they're fucked NOW!!

Hahahahahahahahahaha!! They will be ROYALLY SCREWED with no kiss and no vasoline! HA!!

[Jakes Progress]

191. The giant elephant is the one

that sits in on WH meetings and DLC planning sessions. It gives advice and they seem to take it.

The undeniable truth is that the more right wing the Democrats become, the less reason the country will find to vote Democratic.

Clueless is brushing off with crude disdain the millions of Democrats who worked to get Obama elected but now have concerns. You want to tell them to shut up. You want to tell them to mind their place. You and the faithful will do all the talking.

Many of us tried right after the election to point out that kissing republican ass wouldn't be a good strategy. Not only is it morally bankrupt, it is just stupid strategy if you wan to get re-elected. But we were told that if we didn't like what Obama was doing, we must be working for palin.

Many of us tried to say that we had only a short time to enact the progressive agenda that the country wanted, the change they were promised. We tried to say that whiling away the first two years playing tri-dimensional bipartisan chess would only bite us in the butt at the mid-terms. We were told to shut up, that Obama had only been in office for 3 months, then 6 months, then a year, then a year and a half.

Like a enablers in a dysfunctional family, the faithful forgave Obama every error and twisted those things into virtues. You don't help the man with your fawning and adoration. You don't help get him more votes with your nasty, snotty posts that berate the very people you so desperately need to vote for him. You don't help him when you spend all your energy carving out the special little place in his heart for yourself by excluding anyone else. You don't help him succeed when you prate the old standard, beltway common knowledge that Democrats must act conservative or the country won't like them. That is the kind of horse shit that costs Democrats elections. People wanted something different, not just a nicer guy. They thought things would be different. Telling people who are out of work that things are just fine only convinces them that you lie. Telling people that the war is over when our money and the blood continue to flow is just not cutting it. Telling people that you are going to fix schools by putting ronald reagan's education plan into effect is not change. Letting the liars who caused the downfall of our economy and the destruction of our good will around the world walk away because you have no stomach for enforcing the laws you pledged to uphold is not a change.

You can keep haranguing people to love the man, but you won't be helping him. The progressives have been trying to help him from the first. They actually believed him when he said to hold him to his word and to tell him when he was wrong. He never gave a speech saying that you should love him unconditionally and turn a blind eye to his faults. We listened to his speeches and took him at his word. You did not. And the Democrats will continue to suffer until they stand up and say how shitty things are and who is responsible and the tell us how things will get better, not just not as bad, under their majority.

Your post is divisive and insulting. It is clueless and does nothing to help Democrats retain majorities. I don't know if you are capable of understanding your damage or if you just don't care so long as you get to campaign for your own special, special status as Obama's special, special someone.

[IndianaGreen]

194. K&R

:kick:

[Stinky The Clown]

197. I agree with you completely

[Smashcut]

199. This.

(big :thumbsup:)

[WorseBeforeBetter]

206. That was good.

This has to be one of the most obnoxious OPs in DU history.

[totodeinhere]

208. Thank you for sayting that. It needed to be said. n/t

[Exilednight]

216. Nicely said! Sadly, this will do little to snap some back to reality ...............

To them it's more important to deflect the blame of Obama's failures than to look in the mirror and admit that they are part of the problem.

[Blue_In_AK]

219. You are absolutely 100% correct.

[Foo Fighter]

223. Spot on.

Well said, Jake.

[Name removed]

177. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lfairban]

186. If we don't come out an vote . . .

. . . what are you going to do?

Send us to bed without supper?

:evilgrin:

[Phx_Dem]

187. That's some scary shit.

:scared:

[Cowpunk]

189. "Rome is the mob"

And the mob is fickle.

Especially when there are no jobs.

[yurbud]

192. way to get out the vote. Do as little as possible for your base then ridicule them if they don't

enthusiastically fight for you.

Rahm Emanuel or who ever came up with this strategy is truly the retarded cousin of Karl Rove--all the sociopathy with none of the political savvy.

[Jakes Progress]

202. These types of posts don't care to get out the vote.

They are more to promote the specialness of the poster. The brilliance of this kind of strategy is the brilliance of a very common mind, filled with beltway reasoning. It is practically a guaranteed path to election failure.

[yurbud]

204. Rahm & the DLC are masters at taking a winning hand and losing to a pair of twos.

[yurbud]

205. further confirmation that the DLC is glad to be the Washington Generals to the GOP's Globetrotters

which takes a special talent for losing when the GOP is imploding.

[LatteLibertine]

193. Bwah-ha K&R

If ya' don't vote don't whine about getting slammed by an elephant schlong.

[depakid]

195. Beats what the Democratic "leadership" and its surrogates have been saying....

and doing.

I should think you'd be somewhat pleased with the prospect- after all, Obama has wanted nothing more desperately that to work with Republicans in a "bipartisan" fashion- now it looks as thought he'll get what he wanted.

[Name removed]

198. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mimosa]

207. Why does President Obama keep siding with Republicans

Like Alan Simpson?

[FrenchieCat]

215. He doesn't.....

[Mimosa]

220. OK, so he has a master plan...

Which involves putting the meanest spirited Repiglican on a commission to examine OUR Social Security system and maybe even make cuts the Repiglicans have wanted?

FrenchieCat, HERE, among friends -hopefully- I will express my anxious thoughts about the President and his policies. But never think I would not support him against Repiglicans. Obama's all we have. He's trying.

[proud2BlibKansan]

200. They're keeping those tax cuts regardless of who wins in November

Don't be foolin yourself on that one.

[FrenchieCat]

222. We shall see!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=434565&mesg_id=434565

[Whisp]

224. Best Thread Ever.

We took 8 years to really fuck it up,
and you took 20 months to give it back?
Really? Kewl!

:rofl:

but but but they've got PRINCIPLES, not like us sensible schmucks!