Republican Party: hating the public since 1980!

So, is there anyone out there who doesn't think our economy is in deep trouble? (If not, you might want to read a freaking book or even a newspaper first, then.) Whether we want to admit it or not, this is the kind of systemic disaster the New Deal, and the federal government in general, was/is designed to tackle. The path to recovery might not be a straight line, but without the government's help, we are doomed to a complete meltdown not seen since the Great Depression. And we haven't seen one since then because of the New Deal and its regulatory heritage. The Republicans have tried to sell us on the dismantling of the New Deal based on such canards and propagandistic slogans like, "It's your money", or "The government is the problem", etc. etc. etc. And you know what? They got their way for the last 28 years, pretty much (even Clinton helped them out with some deregulatory moves), and our present disaster is a perfectly direct result. Greedy pigs sucked the economy dry, whether they were bankers, accountants, enabling politicians, stock speculators, or "captains of industry", to the point where one crisis (in the mortgage biz) crashed the whole system so that we are all going to suffer for it.
Help is on the way, though, now that we have a President who knows what the hell is going on and most importantly, wants to fix it. Obama and the Democrats in Congress, however, are getting no help whatsoever from the Republican Party. The House today passed a stimulus bill by a vote of 244-188, but hidden in that number is one far more remarkable: not a single Republican voted for it. Not one. Every single Republican in the House is determined to withhold help from any sector of the American public, regardless of historical evidence, common sense, or even political expediency as motive to the contrary. Do we really need any more reasons to kill the Republican Party and vote its representatives out of office? They certainly don't care about us . . .

Because war is so popular these days, let's have some more

There is now a bill making its way quickly through the House calling for a naval blockade of Iran. Yes, with an "n"!! For those of you not hep to the language of diplomacy, a naval blockade is pretty much an act of war. Things are getting darker . . .

Mississippi!

Hot on the heels of the Democratic Party's House election successes in Republican strongholds in Louisiana and Illinois comes the news that in Mississippi one more Dem has taken a formerly Republican seat. Travis Childers will be filling the seat left open by Roger Wicker, who was appointed to replace Trent Lott when he quit. So, in effect, we traded Lott in for a Democrat! (Yes, I know the difference between the House and the Senate, but give me a break--this is exciting stuff!)
While Childers only sits until November, when he has to run again, the trend is clear, and so were the results--he blew a strong Republican scumbag away by 8% points. Congrats to Mississippians and Representative Childers!

House: 1 step in the right direction

Let's hear it for the Democrats in the House of Reps! They took a stand against telecom immunity, rejecting the Senate bill including it and sending their own FISA bill back to that body. And then they went on their scheduled 2 week break! Well played, indeed. Even if the Senate Dems roll over yet again for Smirky--the Republicans are well past being a lost cause--nothing happens for 2 more weeks anyway.
The longer we keep this issue front and center, the more the general public will see that the Republican Party as a whole cares not one whit for their rights, but instead wants to insure that their corporate buddies/funders are kept well fed and quiet. This is all about making sure the telecoms are safe from prosecution, and therefore safe from being forced to turn state's evidence against this Administration's coercive and unconstitutional practices.
If you are in the habit of emailing or calling your Rep to berate them, please remember to email/call them to thank them as well when they do something responsible--I would bet those pleasant congratulatory messages go a lot further than the angry ones!