7 months to the primaries… March 31, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : General , add a commentAnd John Zogby gives us the political lay of the land. Not pretty for the Republicans and the alternative sucks. That’s basically what I get from John’s post. The So-called Democrats would win seats in both the House and the Senate if the elections were held today, but they aren’t, so plenty of time for the So-called Democrats to disgust some more.
I like how John doesn’t mince words :
The Republicans are clearly in a bind on this issue and in the public eye. This could be a bad year for them. But while the Democrats are shown to be doing better in the polls today, the Democratic Party also enters the election with some serious problems. First, they are tongue-tied on the most intense issue of the year, the war in Iraq. They have been unable to raise the opposition to the war that their base wants because they so strongly supported Mr. Bush in the first place. Absent the money saved by bringing troops home that could then be used for programs like Medicare and education, the Democrats are in checkmate on these issues because there is no other place to get money for these programs — unless the Bush tax cuts are rolled back. Democrats fear rolling back tax cuts in an election year, and the alternative — coming up with their own package of tax cuts — still means no money for spending programs.
While Democrats, as the minority party in Congress, have been able to play defense by blocking some of Mr. Bush’s initiatives like Social Security reform, they have no program except to tweak the decrepit program already in existence. And while the Democrats were able to block the plan to turn over management of several major ports to a Dubai-owned company, this by no means confers credibility on them in the fight against terrorism. President Bush’s support for fighting the war on terrorism is now at only 42%, down from 64% when he won in 2004. Still, the Democrats remain outgunned on this issue.
Finally, the personalities. Mr. Bush may not have much political capital, but he has been a resilient political figure who has risen from the ashes before. The Democrats have no political personality to match him. While former President and Senator Clinton certainly excite the base of Democratic voters, their involvement triggers an equal and opposite excitement in the Republican base to oppose them.
What makes a comment “racist”?!?! March 30, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : So-called Democrats , add a commentJane Hamsher wants us, DC folks, to figure out if she and her crowd are correct in labeling a comment about Coretta Scott King, made by some rightwing-plagiarist-blogger-nobody that washingtonpost.com hired to “balance out” Dan Fromkin’s column. A hack to “balance out” a qualified, experienced journalist. Shameful, but what else is new? This is the Post, the paper that cheered on the Iraq invasion, and supports continued occupation, just like the Democratic Party.
Ok, so this guy that Jane doesn’t like said that Mrs. King was a communist, or some such. On the day of her funeral too, or something to that effect.
I don’t know about everyone else out there, but I’ve long ago given up my subscription to the Post. The Post is a joke, something for a good laugh, once in a while. Please. Even Fromkin isn’t all that special, give us a break.
Oh - and no, I don’t think that was a racist comment at all. Stupid and ignorant, yes. Racist, no. Even a rightwing hack blogger is entitled to his stupid/ignorant opinion. Why does Jane think it’s “racist”, is what I want to know.
PS: I didn’t much appreciate Jane & Co’s breathless campaigning against the Dubai port deal, cheering on Islamophobic Democratic Leaders such as Chuck Schummer and La Clinton. That was disgusting.
Immigrant activists March 29, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : US , add a commentWaPo’s Harold Meyerson has the most cogent overview of last week-end’s massive and historic demonstrations in LA. I know I am impressed and the (Anglo) media didn’t have a clue this was going on. I mean, it takes a lot of organizing to pull something like this, not to mention the other demonstrations in just about every major urban center around the country.
The non-Latino city and the English-language media were plainly stunned by the magnitude of Saturday’s protest — though on balance, it’s hard to imagine a more healthy surprise. In laid-back Los Angeles, it’s the immigrants who are forging a culture of civic activism, and teaching Angelenos how to be engaged Americans.
I’d say, that goes for the entire country.
What’s wrong with the French? March 28, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : General , add a commentIt’s hard enough keeping track of strikes and riots in France these days, never mind figuring out why people are striking or rioting. I’m generally sympathetic to people’s protests but this time, I have to say, I don’t get it.
Are these guys really whining about not wanting to be fired, ever? Who’s going to want to hire someone they can never fire, or at such a cost that small entrepreneurs literally go out of business?
I can’t help it, these people piss me off March 25, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : Iraq, US, So-called Democrats, Palestine , add a commentAnother “I was wrong” from someone on the American so-called left. At least, this post is well thought out and comprehensive. But it did take a severe defeat and thousands of innocent deaths, to wake some folks up.
Let’s see if all this self-reflection evolves to a consciousness that includes broader issues, such as Palestine, to cite just one example. Sure isn’t happening with the Democratic party leaders, is it? That’s a complete non-issue to the well-meaning American left but that’s its foreign policy test, as far as I am concerned. And an open-ended “peace process” that never comes to closure while the situation of Palestinian worsens - à la Bill Clinton - is not a policy, just a dodge.
Iraq = Bush’s Vietnam, says Ignatius
Posted by Delilah in : General, Iraq, US, Washington Consensus , add a commentWaPo’s self-appointed wiseboy, David Ignatius, is waking up. Hurray. He’s figured out that Iraq is Bush’s Vietnam in all sorts of ways, including presidential communications, and frets that a decent communication strategy is needed to manage an orderly departure from Iraq…
Whatever - at every antiwar demonstration that I attended, there have been t-shirts reading “Iraq=Bush’s Vietname”. Glad to see Ignatius come onboard. Sure took him and the rest of Washington’s establishment long enough.
So what took you so long? March 16, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : US , add a commentAmerica wakes up, finally. Geez, people.
“”His strong points as a president were being seen as personally credible, as a strong leader. That has all but disappeared,” said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, whose latest independent poll found a dramatic decline in Bush’s credibility.
A majority of Americans, 56 percent, believe Bush is “out of touch,” the poll found. When asked for a one-word description of Bush, the most frequent response was “incompetent,” followed by “good,” “idiot” and “liar.” In February 2005, the most frequent reply was “honest.”
“The transformation from being seen as honest to being seen as incompetent is an extraordinary indicator of how far he has fallen,” Kohut said.”
I’m with Feingold March 14, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : US, So-called Democrats , add a commentI love this guy. I couldn’t get through to my 2 Senators yesterday on the phone, so I sent them an email to urge them to support Feingold’s Resolution.
Chances are, they won’t, the Party bosses aren’t supporting Feingold, just like they didn’t support him on the war or the Patriot Act. Like Mosley says “F*** those Democrats”….
Krugman on Mc Cain
Posted by Delilah in : US , add a commentNo time to blog much these days - although there is a lot to blog about!
Still, I have to make a note of Paul Krugrman’s column in the NYT about John Mc Cain. It’s about time someone spoke the truth about this guy. He strikes me as the worse kind of hypocrit, a warmonger to boot. And he is being built as the savior of the nation. Gag me.
More foolishness from (so-called) Democrats March 1, 2006
Posted by Delilah in : Islam/Arab Phobia, US, So-called Democrats , add a commentSen. Barbara Boxer (D-Ca) is on my teevee screen (”Hardball”) making a complete fool out of her clueless self about the Dubai deal. Sounds like the deal is going through tomorrow and the (so-called) Democrats are losing their mind.
They want to have a bill prohibiting all “foreign countries” (not “foreign companies” wink, wink) involved in port management - as if we couldn’t see through the posturing and hypocrisy. At least the right wingers tell it like it is. The filth emanating from (so-called) Democratic politicians, bloggers and “consultants” is just nauseating.
PS: the (so-called) insertion before “Democrats” is borrowed from Mosley. He uses it systematically to express his contempt for the Democratic Party and I’ve adopted it too.
PPS: I’m done with Mosley’s book “Life out of Context” - a short and fun read. I’ll share my views and the emotions it triggered in a separate post.
Cognitive dissonance?
Posted by Delilah in : US, World , add a comment
He is in India, apparently. Arundhati Roy may be speaking for these women in the pic. And, according to a Pew study done back in 2005, India is where the US are the most popular… Bah.
