One thing I hope that centrist Democrats understand is that the American people do not care one little iota whether Obama’s proposals pass through the Senate using normal procedure or through the use of the budget reconciliation process. The people voted for Obama and he retains a high level of popularity and confidence. The people support his health care and energy plans. If those plans do not pass through the Senate because we cannot muster 60 votes, the people are going to be unhappy. If those plans pass with 51 votes by using the budget reconciliation process (which precludes use of the filibuster) the people are going to be relieved.
I understand that Democratic centrists want to use their leverage to dictate legislative outcomes and that they need the filibuster to do that. But no one else cares about their precious leverage. We don’t want all legislation to be dictated by Sens. Snowe, Collins, Specter, Lincoln, Nelson (D-NE), and Bayh. And, if Obama’s signature proposals do not pass, the people are going to blame the Democrats and Obama, not the Republicans. If we can’t pass legislation when we have 58 senators and a huge majority in the House, then we are worthless.
D’accord! Agree! Concur!
right on boo…
g.
calling the “democratic” party worthless, BEENGO!!!!
Unfortunately, as I’ve been pointing out over at the orange site (and getting basically nowhere) ONE good guy (Obama) will find it nigh impossible to rise above the 50 years of putrid/utterly corrupt wasteland that the beltway has become – THANKS to our buffoon-ridden congress.
The financial disaster we now face is almost entirely the fault of congress, and THEY need to step up and clean it up. but they’re not doing this; what they ARE doing is revealing their true colors by throwing Billions of our tax dollars to their actual masters, the entitled/investor/wealthy class; a relatively small number of greedy cretins who thru their astonishing level of greed and stupidity managed to lose Trillions of dollars thru extremely high risk investments.
the evidence of the collusion between congress and the various crucial gov’t agencies which they let run amok (SEC, etc) and the entitled/investor/wealthy class could NOT be more crystal clear. one prime example is the glaringly lacking full blown investigation of the SEC for “missing” the Madoff fraud.
the excuses as to why Obama will not achieve single payer universal health care are already popping up (as I predicted) over on the orange site– because people there refuse to primary and get rid of “centrist” democrats (I nice way of saying they are repuglicans) as well as get rid of idiots like Pelosi and Reid.
DUMP 90% of incumbent congressional democrats. had we done this long ago, I assure you Obama’s agenda would sail thru congress. but NOT with the a-holes we have now.
RTF on boo.
what a crock of obstructionist bs. lack of progress on these issues, given the circumstances, will be considered, and rightly so, as a massive failure by the demoRATs.
they’re batship crazy if they think this is a positive move. all 12 of them will have to be put in the WPP if their obstructionist goals come to pass.
the people are pissed. and the outpouring of negative reaction to the AIG fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg.
proceed at your own peril mr. bayh.
Back off??? Dream on, BooMan.
Ain’t gonna happen. No way. No how.
Would a wise man place his money on yet another Democratic self-immolation?
You tell me.
Their “centrism” is part of what got us into this mess.
That presumes that there are 58 senators who consider themselves a part of this so-called “we” – you have 58 people who more or less agree on the organization of the Senate, beyond that it’s every man, woman and child for themselves. The GOP has the organization to punish heretics, but the Democrats no longer believe in heresy – everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That may make for a workable epistemology but it is a recipe for disaster as a governing philosophy.
There’s a reason why postmodernism hasn’t infected the hard sciences…
“If we can’t pass legislation when we have 58 senators and a huge majority in the House, then we are worthless. “
kewpie doll for booman.
to qoute arthur… bet on it.
Why should the moderates back off!! No sir, full steam ahead!!!! Time to let both the liberals AND conservatives know who is really running the country.
Right-wing Democrats, surely?
the president is a self procliamed “new democrat”.