The Politics of "Win Some, Lose Some" DADT traded for Billionaire Tax Breaks

[TalkingDog]

http://opinionatedcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2010/12/politics-of-win-some-lose-some-dadt.html

Look inside the beltway this week and gaze upon a hauntingly familiar scene. A stunningly stupid piece of economic legislation sails past the critics with a few token protestations and a worthy little bill that had almost no chance of getting passed somehow finds it's day in the sun.

/snip



Red pill vs Blue Pill politics.....

[CBGLuthier]

1. Someone on DU said that if the repeal passed

They would consider this congress an UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS.

I have found few statements upon DU that I disagree with more.

We got a bone and they got a lifetime supply of steak dinners.

Any small measure of happiness at the repeal of DADT is smothered to death by every thing else.

[TalkingDog]

4. What a lot of people seem to overlook is

the standard "fix" for a collapsed economy is war. The bigger the collapse, the bigger the war. Or as Dr. Funkenstein said: The bigger the headache, the bigger the pill....

Has been for as long as Capitalism has been an economic system

If we are going to get our War On in a big way then we'll need every able bodied... body to chew up some goods to stimulate the economy.

History is just getting it's ducks in a row. And I mean that in a target shooting sort of way.

[MadHound]

6. War is not the standard "fix"

It is the standard operating mode of any empire. Our economy didn't need "fixing" after WWII, yet we proceeded to engage in several low level, and a couple of high level wars from the surrender of Japan until now.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. That Was Moi

The repeal of DADT was no more of a bone than Harry Truman's executive decision to integrate the armed forces; especially to the 14,000 brave men and women who have been drummed out of the military because of this odious policy. People of good will can debate what the most effective marginal tax rate should be. I submit that people of good will can't debate whose rights will be respected and protected whose rights won't...

[elocs]

2. Yes, all is forgiven now and we can all join hands and sing Kumbya. n/t

[handmade34]

3. Extended tax cuts: $$$ Billions$$$

Repeal of DADT: PRICELESS!!!!

I'll take it.

...now about that SMART Treaty

[TalkingDog]

5. Ouch. 4 votes down to one. I guess we're taking blue pills on this one.

nt

[ClarkUSA]

7. Spare me the conspiracy theory. Nate Silver has a more logical reason for those 11 GOP votes.

"... Republicans seemed to conclude they might have been taking on some measure of risk by voting to perpetuate a policy that a clear majority of the public wanted to see repealed.

The yea votes from the two Republicans from Maine, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, who often break party ranks, were not surprising — nor was that from Scott Brown of Massachusetts. (Ms. Snowe and Mr. Brown will face the voters in 2012). But the vote from John Ensign of Nevada, who is ordinarily quite conservative, was more out of character. Between Mr. Ensign’s personal scandals and the fact that Nevada seems to be transitioning from a purple state into a blue one, he is probably the most vulnerable Republican senator running for re-election in 2012.

Two other Republicans, Mark Kirk of Illinois, who won election by a narrow margin in November, and Richard Burr of North Carolina, who won re-election by 12 points in November but who has tepid approval ratings, may have cast a yea vote with an eye toward 2016."

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/popularity-of-dont-ask-repeal-may-have-drawn-republican-votes

[arendt]

8. Spare me the "just so" story.This reads like an "explanation" of why...

the stock market went up/down/sideways today. These reasons are always bullshit, but statistics freaks/quants love them.

The problem with these "explanations" are that an equally convincing case can be made for the opposite story by cherry picking different micro-excuses.

[ClarkUSA]

10. Your rhetoric is nonsensical whereas Nate Silver knows what he's talking about.

Don't waste my time.