Update ~ EYE want my Daggum Democratic Party Back! Can EYE Rant?

H/T ca democrat via Daily Kos

One Pissed Off Liberal writes:

I'm a Tom Joad democrat, a prison reform democrat, an anti-poverty democrat and a pro-justice democrat - so the party left me a long time ago...and they never looked back as they went chasing after the fat checkbook crowd. The few indisputably good things the party has done, such as the war on poverty and support for the civil rights movement, recede into the distant past as a brave new world emerges in which we are left to wonder just what IS the difference between neocons and neolibs, and whether democrats bombing the world in an unending war orgy is any better than repubs doing the exact same thing.

Today's democrats are yesterday's republicans.

 Democrats (not all of them of course, but enough of them) enabled the Bush administration in some of the worst crimes against humanity in modern history: the illegal invasion of Iraq, the shameful atrocities at Abu Ghraib, Bagram, Guantanamo and elsewhere, kidnappings, torture, murders, assassinations, double-taps such as that shown in the Chelsea Manning video and on and on.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

My judgment is especially harsh for the Democratic Party because the whole world looked to them for justice and were denied. Justice is what we owed the world. JUSTICE!
The prospect of a Republican freak out is no excuse for Democrats not pursuing justice. We're always crowing about what a great nation we are – but we can't even manage to bring our own worst and most public in-your-face criminals to justice.

EYE said it once, and EYE say it again.  The Democratic party has been infiltrated by reactionary/New Dems/Blue Dogs/ Centrist/Conservadems/Moderates, and hell knows who/what else to promote neo liberal (aka conservative) ideas.

In addition to conservative infiltrators the democratic party has so called "moderates, centrist, center" who try and walk a thin line down the middle of the party. We don't know if they are pro choice or anti choice. We don't know if they are pro civil rights or anti civil rights. We don't know what the heck they stand for. They are in the middle whatever the heck that means. My daddy says the only thing down the middle of the road is a yellow line. Moderates are afraid to take a position one way or another because they don't know what side of the road they are on.

The definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again,  hoping for a different result.

We’re “absolutely unified on three essential messages going forward: It’s middle class, middle class, middle class,” said Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), who had just surveyed 90 Democratic members about what they want to see in 2016. “Everybody agreed that it has to be about the middle.”

Who the heck is "Everybody" Rep. Steve Isreal, Sir?  Blue Dogs and New Dems who vote with the republicans and have no connection to the traditional democratic base?  The traditional democratic base they use to get elected, then throw under the bus?

 Davis panders to the right, who are wrong about everything, to the detriment of the, as he calls them,  democratic base(women,minorities,labor,public school teachers,civil rights leaders,African American political organizations). You know, the traditional democratic base that marched, bleed and died to change Alabama. The traditional democratic base that made it possible for him to be the sitting Congressman from the 7th district (which includes the black belt) of Alabama.

Enough.  It's time for real Democrats to stand their ground, and for those who don't support the Democratic platform 100% to go.  Those who believe a half an A$$ is better than no A$$ need to find another party.  Just because someone say's they are a democrat , doesn't mean they are democrat.

Real democrats are pro equal, civil, and human rights.  Real democrats support a woman's right to choose to have a safe legal abortion.  Real democrats support public education, public school teachers, and labor.  Real democrats support equal rights for LBGT citizens.  Real democrats are proud, unashamed, Birkenstock wearing, Hybrid car driving, tree hugging, anti war, anti poverty, card carrying, flag waving,  LIBERALS.

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

If you can't support all of the above, you are with them, and against us.

  Independents are really republicans who are ashamed to call themselves republicans.

I'm sick and tired of cowardly Dems.

RedEye Rant Over and Out.  For now.

Putting Eric Holder in his place "Fast and Furious"

The Importance of Being Eric

Fuming over the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Health Care Act,  republicans will probably take their fury out on Attorney General Eric Holder and hold in Contempt of Congress this afternoon since they can't get the President...directly.

GET THIS! Barack Obama and Eric Holder (two dark-skinned guys) concocted a scheme that would have forced good white people everywhere to voluntarily give up their guns. Theplan was to run MILLIONS of weapons into Mexico. The spread of violence as a result of all those firearms would surely spill over across the border onto American streets - resulting in the countless murders of innocent white children with red hair and freckles and names like "Rusty" and "Muffie". The result of the carnage would force the American people to demand a ban on all guns. It's an evil, liberal plot, you know.

Any DINO/BLUE DOGS  who joins with republicans and vote to hold Eric Holder in contempt should be given the middle finger from this point on.  What good is electing a democratic representative if they govern like a republican?

Eric Holder is being held in contempt of congress by a contemptuous jackass like Darrell Issa. Isn't that funny? The House will be voting on the matter this week. You can guess which way they're going to go with this one. Holder does not want to handover to Issa documents he is legally forbidden to produce - applications for wiretaps and grand jury transcripts for instance. Holder won't budge and Obama is citing "Executive Privilege". "What are they hiding?" goes the cry. It's nothing more than a political witch hunt; a desperate attempt to discredit the Obama administration just in time for the November election. Are enough of the voters going to be stupid enough to swallow this bullshit without so-much as a chaser? Judging by their pathetic history the answer to that question is a resounding "YES".

It's the Big Pay Back!  Revenge!

Redeye's Sunday Shorts

Are the American people skeered to protest like the Egyptian people? Unlike the second amendment loving TeaPublicans, the Egyptian people staged a peaceful,persistent, nonviolent protest and they WON.

U.S. corporate media coverage of the unfolding events in Egypt provide little or no window into the true social and political dynamics of the country – who the actual popular actors are in this history-shaking drama. The author describes the people and movements behind the revolt.

TeaPublicans aka CPAC celebrates Black History month with a minstrel show. They tell me they thought Rep. Allen West (TeaPublican token, FL) was one of the waiters. Snicker

West is one of only two black Republicans in the House.
"You endured the relentless and hostile attacks from the liberal left, such as being called racist," West told the conservative activists. "Perhaps they should see who is standing here as your keynote speaker."

How can you tell the good democrats from the ones who are just republicans wearing blue t-shirts? Well, reaching across the aisle and voting with the republicans (not to be confused with the TeaPublicans) is a sign. H/T gradyw

The modern gop is armed and dangerous. I'd be careful about working with them. BTW, how come democrats, or so called democrats, are always the ones reaching out to republicans?

Attempting to repeal insurance reform would be bad enough. Attempting draconian budget cuts during a halting recovery from a deep recession would be bad enough. Making fools of themselves by wasting time reading selections from the Constitution while doing absolutely nothing to create jobs would be bad enough. Launching a war on women would be bad enough. Whining about deficits while proposing policies that would actually increase them would be bad enough. The entire Republican approach of knowing nothing and doing nothing, unless it is to attempt a return to the prevailing values of the Thirteenth Century, is so corrupt and irresponsible that it would defy credulity, were we not already so accustomed to it as to take it for granted. But it's even worse.

Just because the media said the Gulf coast beaches are safe for swimming and the seafood is safe for human consumption in the aftermath of the BP oil spill doesn't mean it's true. Video

Incensed over BP ads claiming that the spilled oil is gone and the Gulf's beaches are clean, Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen of Alabama set out to document the truth.

Welcome to my world redux. Cops beat the Crap out of Rutgers student.

Imagine this. You are asleep in a basement apartment with your roommate. You are both Rutgers students. One of you is white, the other an Arab American, and you are both 19. One of you has a father who was a cop. Police in New Brunswick, NJ have a warrant for a different student living in a different apartment in the same building. You have no police record. You are not identified on the warrant. It's 4:30 in the morning. Guess what happened next:

Redeye tiptoeing away from the computer to go pray for our children and our country.

Cam Newton will be in the NFL rather than College~addendum

Slaves? H/T Field Negro

As the southerners who love Auburn football celebrate their championship, they may want to take a second to absorb a couple of sobering realities. First, the school got $21 million just for winning that one game. Auburn’s coach, Gene Chizik is due for a multi-million dollar bonus and millions will flow into the pockets of administrators, coaches, commentators, and corporate sponsors, almost none of whom are black.

At the same time, the star players for Auburn, including Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, will simply get to throw up the “A” to their boys, and some will live off this short moment of glory for a lifetime. Like preventing slaves from learning how to read, the NCAA has created laws making it illegal for Cam, his family or the families of any of the other players to get any of those millions that coaches are gladly putting into their pockets. All the while, Auburn will be searching for the next batch of big, black bucks who can win them more championships. Like chickens being grown by KFC, black males are a commodity that Auburn University can’t live without.

Note; Please attack the message and not the messenger. It's not about Boyce Watkins, it's about what Boyce Watkins said.

I would like to share the following email I received from a reader in response to my post about the Auburn Tigers big win, Cecil and Cam Newton, and the so called pay to play controversy. It's spot on, and it ties into Dr. Boyce Watkins theory that NCAA Athletics is Racial Segregation at it's finest.

Hey Redeye,
Thanks for your mention of the Auburn Tigers' big win. As a Auburn
grad, I know I don't have to tell you how proud I was of our "Family"
bringing home that crystal football, the SEC championship, our third
Heisman and our second Lombardi award, thanks to Big Nick Farley..

Like you, I was so happy to learn that Cecil Newton was able to be in
Arizona to celebrate his son's outstanding leadership and athletic
achievements. The whole mess about the "shopping" made me sick.
College athletes make big money for their University, for vendors, for
the BSC, the SEC and the NCAA, but outside of scholarships, these
athletes and their families are never compensated for earning all that
money for "the powers that be." There's something fundamentally wrong
with that IMHO. As far as the school "shopping" is concerned, it goes
on all the time, so why not acknowledge that the rule can never be
completely enforced and come up with a more realistic solution, such as
setting limits on the amounts of compensation an athlete and his family
can earn during a given season? Cam will be in the NFL draft rather
than completing his Senior year at Auburn, and I can't blame him for
making that decision. I would have done the same thing if I had been
in his shoes. He has been and will continue to be one of the greatest
representatives Auburn University has ever had......not to mention he's
so darn cute, he makes President Obama look homely! If his NFL career
ever goes sour, he's a shoo-in for a career in entertainment.

As far as the National Championship is concerned, I did the same thing
"Bo" did at the conclusion of the game...cried with sheer joy and
pride. Attached are some personal photos. As you will see, even my cat
was "showing his colors" for the Big game. He simply couldn't be
outdone by his friend, our neighbor's little dog, who wore a Auburn
scarf for every game during our undefeated season, and Ming actually
enjoyed wearing his little jersey...probably because it was so darn
cold on game day. .War Cam Eagle!

The writer makes an excellent point, why not acknowledge that the rule can never be completely enforced and come up with a more realistic solution, such as
setting limits on the amounts of compensation an athlete and his family
can earn during a given season? I guess that would be too much like right (pun intended).
Per Dr. Boyce Watkins;

If you are one of the thousands of black families sending your son or daughter to the NCAA to build their multi-billion dollar coffers, they would tell you that paying the athletes or their families is simply impossible. They would convince you that in spite of the fact that the athletes and their families are the most important part of their revenue-generating process, universities simply cannot afford to share their money. Even if you are homeless and your child can’t buy groceries, you must stand to the side as others earn millions from your child’s athletic labor

I'm just saying...

Keep those emails coming...knowledge is power...shared knowledge is powerful.

If President Obama had listened to the "Professional Left" we wouldn't be in this mess

According to Liz Sidoti and Jeffinfer Aglesta the results of the midterm election are proof Obama's party is in trouble with independents. I don't know why Obama's party is in trouble with so called "independents", he did everything but bend over and kiss their rear ends.

Near the midpoint of his presidency, Barack Obama's diverse voter coalition reveals giant cracks and he faces major work repairing his standing among independents in states crucial to his re-election chances. Catholics. Older people. Women. Young adults. They shifted toward Republicans in this month's elections and failed to support Obama's Democratic Party as they did in 2008.

Two years before voters render judgment on his tenure, Obama's most critical task may be winning back those who aren't affiliated with a party but who hold enormous sway in close contests. National exit polls from the midterm elections show these voters broke heavily for Republicans after helping elect Obama and Democrats in the two previous elections.

Psst President Obama! Independents are really republicans who are ashamed to call themselves republicans. They are not, and will never be your friend. You stand for everything thing they oppose. You need to stop listening to the gaggle heads and listen to us Professional Leftys. You need to surround yourself with some real Political Scientist and kick the clueless consultants and their enablers to the curb.

Watching CNN's gaggle of idiots – and I do mean gaggle, as there were at least 15 of them rotating through an archipelago of tables while Anderson Cooper was forced to play ringmaster – "explain" the election last Tuesday was enough to drive me to drink. They were absolutely obsessed with thematic explanations and sweeping claims of mandates and referendums. A referendum on health care reform. On Obama. On government spending. A mandate for Change. For the Tea Party. For John Boehner. A sign of voters' anger. Or their fears. Or their desperation. Or their impatience. Basically they did what the media do best – vomit a dozen explanations at the camera and let viewers pick whichever they most prefer.

The blue dogs and their progressive enablers just don't get it.

And that is the real story of the 2010 elections. Blue Dogs have traditionally won by voting in such a business-friendly way that they can swamp their opponents with corporate cash. This year, Karl Rove made sure their opponents were competitive. So, without a huge cash advantage, they had to run on their records. And their records sucked, because they wouldn't defend the good their party had done, and they actually bad-mouthed what their party had done. If I'm a socially conservative person of modest means, the only way I'm voting for the Democrat is if it's clear to me that he or she is going to side with me against the fat cats who ruined the economy.

One thing I can say about the gop, they vote for candidates who share their ideology regardless of the color or their skin. Modern day Minstrel show here we come.

Defying the odds, West and Scott were the only two winners of the 32 black Republican candidates seeking seats in the U.S. House this year. By surviving, they are poised to command the spotlight as soon as they arrive in Washington. No doubt they will be in great demand by conservative television and talk radio, offering up living proof that the GOP has a drop of melanin in its lily-white portrait. Scott, in particular, landed a plumb assignment within the first week of his victory. He’s one of three incoming freshmen legislators appointed to the 22-member transition team that will craft House rules under the Republican leadership.

West and Scott are far-right conservatives who owe their seats to the Tea Party and its princess, Sarah Palin, who endorsed both of them. This will complicate their mission. They must embrace the Tea Party and the far-right wing of the GOP as it pushes traditionalists within the House leadership to the extremist margins of politics. All of this drama promises to make West and Scott must-see political theater.

Nancy Pelosi is the hero of the Professional Left because she stood up for our core values. Maybe that's why every DINO who ran against her LOST, why democrats lost the House, and almost lost the Senate.

You are not going to keep a majority if you don’t have core principles that the people know you are going to fight for. And they can’t be core principles that some will fight for; it has to be everyone or no one.

If there is one lesson democrats need from the midterm massacre its play to win. Another is don't throw your base under the bus and expect them to vote for you.

If the Republicans are so dumb, why are they winning? Clearly, the “know-thing” party understands some things a lot better than the Democrats – including the actual workings of race and racism in America. Meanwhile, the Democrats seem incapable of self-help. “Just one legislative triumph for working people would have been enough to give Democrats a margin for victory.”

The political landscape is dismal but I am not without hope. I am hopeful because we can still be resourceful. I am hopeful because we can still be creative. I am hopeful because we can still serve, taking what we have and making what we need. It is this hope with which I go forth to serve during this exacting moment in history.

EPILOGUE – Every victory contains the seeds of defeat. Every defeat contains the seeds of victory. We just have to find the seeds of victory, create the conditions so they will germinate, sprout and grow. Then we must cultivate them until they bear future fruits of victory.~AL State Senator Hank Sanders

The White Backlash has arrived. The gop infused, media enabled Tea Party managed to turn Hope for Change we can believe in to a black president leading the charge to eviscerate Medicare, Medicaid and social security in the name of “deficit reduction,”.

We Professional Lefty's tried to tell you. Can you hear us now?

Who will CD7 Representative Terri Sewell support for Minority House Whip?

Full disclosure- I am not a resident of CD7, however I have friends and family who live and work in CD7, therefore I care about CD7. I was a strong supporter of Sewells' opponent Sheila Smoot in the democratic primary because I believed Smoot to be the most experienced, and I believed the voters in CD7 deserved real liberal (not to be confused with progressive) representation after 8 years of Artur Davis. My opposition to Rep. Sewell was always political, never personal. She is a very nice, accomplished young lady from a good family. I congratulate her on her win and wish her well.

The first test Rep. Terri Sewell will face is deciding who she will support for Democratic House Minority Whip....Rep. Steney Hoyer, who raised campaign cash for her, or, Rep. Jim Clyburn, who didn't raise campaign cash for her, and is an influential member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which I assume Rep. Sewell will become a member.

The elephant in the room is not ideology, but race. No one can deny that the Democrats have a problem with white voters. Making the face of the party more black is a concern for people who are worried about regaining the support of whites for the 2012 elections.

Therein lies Terri Sewells' dilemma. But it's not about Sewell, it's about the voters in CD 7.

I hope you live up to the words and legacy of my Sorority Sister and not the legacy of your predecessor who voted against health care reform, the hate crimes bill, resigned from the house judiciary committee to run for Governor and was an apologist for some racist actions. Shirley Chisholm was a true, proud LIBERAL who spoke truth to power, unbossed and unafraid.

I agree with Booman;

I think we need to confront the issue of race head-on. Race is not a reason to prefer Hoyer over Clyburn. When it comes to ideology, Clyburn isn't the most progressive progressive. He does represent South Carolina, after all. When it comes to issues like Social Security, I don't think there is a whole lot of difference between Clyburn and Hoyer. So, I think the ideological distinction is a bit overblown.

I also agree with rikyrah;

Clyburn is in your face without seeming to be the 'Angry Black Man.' In addition, he has consistently had this President's back.
Hoyer is a weasel, plain and simple, and wouldn't hesitate to stab the President on national tv. Give me Clyburn.

F$#K THE BLUE DOGS, and I mean that.

I know you promised not be a rubber stamp for President Obama but what about what the voters in the heavily Democratic 7th district want? Who will you represent in Congress? Remember the reason you are the first African American female representative from Alabama is because of them there gerrymandered districts. Please don't lose site of this fact like your predecessor and vote against the interest of the people for your personal, political gain.

Representative Sewell, my big REDEYE will be trained on you like a laser beam. Remember it's not about YOU, it's about the voters of the 7th district. I HOPE and PRAY you prove me wrong, not for MY sake, but for the sake of the the 7th district, ...

The voters in the heavily democratic 7th district want you to have President Obama's back, not stab him in the back. Been there. Done that.

I'm just saying...

Bring. It. On. Update

Dag, I step away from the blogosphere for a little while and all hell breaks loose on the political front.

Update: Sign the petition to put Keith Olbermann on the air now!

MSNBC suspended Keith Olberman without pay because he didn't disclose contributions made to three democratic congressional candidate. Psst KO! Don't you know thanks to the Supreme Court ruling all you have to do is incorporate (become a corporation)and you can donate as much money as you want. And, you can do it anonymously. Or you can be a right wing republican TeeVee Talking Head.

Even if you set aside the hypocrisy of the Joe Scarborough double-standard, Phil Griffin's explanation for suspending Keith Olbermann doesn't add up.

Griffin says Olbermann violated a policy requiring NBC News reporters to obtain approval for making political campaign donations that "jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist." But Olbermann isn't an "impartial journalist" and doesn't claim to be. Neither is Joe Scarborough, a point that NBC itself made in excusing Scarborough's donations.

Yep. There is something rotten in the Cotton over at MSNBC.

MSNBC suspended host Keith Olbermann today, following revelations that he made campaign contributions to three Democrats in the elections -- a violation of MSNBC policy.

But a search of OpenSecrets.org reveals that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough and MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan have also made contributions to political campaigns.

If the democrats had gonads (which we know they don't)Before the 112th Congress convenes, the Senate of the 111th would pass the 400 bills sent to them by the industrious House… That's what the republicans would do. Another thing the republicans would do is pick the member with the biggest gonads to lead them. But do the democrats do that? Nooooo. They want to throw the member with the biggest gonads under the bus in favor of the member with no gonads. The Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads are breathlessly talking about the brewing fight between Steny Hoyer (Blue dog), Jim Clyburn (too nice) and Nancy Pelosi to be Minority leader.

Let me say right off the bat I am behind Nancy Pelosi 100%. Why should she fall on the sword? She did her part. Plus that, she does not cut and run. If mild mannered Harry Reid, who barely won re-election can remain Senate Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi can be House Minority Leader. If Robert Gibbs, David Axelrod, Eric Holder, Tom Villseck and Valerie Jarret can keep their jobs, Nancy can keep hers. Plus that republicans are skeered to death of Nancy Pelosi.

Just because democrats lost the majority and squandered a filibuster proof Senate doesn't mean we should roll over and play dead. On the contrary it should make us fight harder. There are three things in our favor.
1. Democrats are still the majority in the Senate so they can check any craziness that comes from the house.

2. President Obama is still in the White House and has his trusty VETO pen and signing statements.

3. Most of the Blue Dogs are history. Progressives prevailed. The democratic minority is going to be as effective as the republican minority was because they will be UNITED in their opposition. Snicker

We don't need a mealy mouth or a Blue Dog as our leader, we need a proud, courageous liberal leading us. Like lamh32 said;

We need Nancy knocking heads now more than ever, since we are no longer in the Majority. Nancy seems like the ONLY one who can do that and who has a credible chance of being elected.

Sign the petition in support of Nancy Pelosi.

Hmmm...I wonder who 7th district Congresswoman Terri Sewell will vote for?

On October 19th, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, the Majority Leader of the House, will be coming to Birmingham as Terri's special guest at a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). She's also made financial contributions to other Dems in Alabama and is campaigning with Alabama Democrats up and down the ballot to prevent a Republican takeover.

It. Is. On.

A Redeye Stroll Down Memory Lane

It's has come to my attention that it's been almost a year since my front page privileges were revoked at leaning Left in Alabama for being to black, I mean uppity, I mean liberal, I mean anti Artur Davis/Terri Sewell, I mean posting factual incorrect information on the front page, and I founded Redeye's Front Page. Although I miss being able to participate in the discussions at LiA, I'm enjoying the freedom of having my own blog. In honor of the first Anniversary of Redeye's Front Page, from now until November 13, I will take readers on a stroll down memory lane and post links from some of my favorite diaries I wrote during my tenure at LiA. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank readers for their encouragement, comments and most importantly for reading. I don't have any illusions as to my "influence" or importance in the world, but I love my country, and in my own way I HOPE to make a difference because I want to make the world a better place for everyone.



With all the talk about gambling, vote buying and elections A Gambling Man is a must read.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.

Know when to walk away, know when to run
You never count your money, when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done. ~Kenny Rodgers, The Gambler

No, I these lyrics don't apply to Ron Sparks. They apply to Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis.

AL-5 republican congressional candidate Mo Brooks wants to go to Washington so he can fight with a girl (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) and repeal ObamaCare. He might want to rethink that strategy after reading By The Grace of God Go I Redux

How would you feel if you, or someone you loved, was diagnosed with cancer then fired from their job because "they were obviously unable to perform their duties"? Never mind they aren't able to perform their duties because they are undergoing chemo therapy. Never mind they won't have health insurance because it goes with the job. Never mind they can't afford the cobra payments to maintain their insurance because they have no job. Never mind they can't get health insurance because they have a pre-existing condition. Never mind their former employer has sentenced them to death.

I was outraged then and I'm outraged now. You're Darn Skippy I'm Always Outraged.

There is an angry, fringe-left in this country, but the progressive base of the Democratic Party is not fringe. At least, we're not fringe if you poll the American people on what they want to see in domestic and foreign policy. But, we are feeling a bit dispossessed at the moment because we're seeing policy get crafted to appeal to the most conservative elements of the Democratic Party.

Why would conservatives be a member of a party where they disagree with the party platform? Think about it.

I'm with healthy, lets stop calling them Blue Dogs and start calling them Blue Rats

Political Prosecutions Prose and Politics Blog stroll

First they came for Democrats.

Then they came for ACORN.

Then they came for LBGT's.

Then they came for health care reform.

Then they came for health care reform supporters.

Hope will never be silent.

And neither will I.

Poverty is at an all time high in Alabama, come with me on The Poverty Tour.

My family relocated from the big city of Huntsville to a small, rural Alabama town when I was eight years old because my Daddy was named the principal of a segregated K-12 school. We weren't rich, but we were better of than a whole lot of our new classmates and neighbors. My Daddy didn't want us to feel like we were better than anyone else because of who we were or how we lived so one cold winter evening he and my mother bundled us up, loaded up the VW bus with brown paper bags of "government cheese, butter, powdered milk, rice, flour and cornmeal and set off on what my Dad called the Poverty Tour.

This diary is dedicated to my parents who instilled in me a social conscious and molded me into the person I am today. All that I am, all that I hope to be, I owe to them.

Things that make you say "Hm..."

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Charged With Rape, Molestation In Sweden

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose whistle-blowing website caused uproar last month with a leak of secret U.S. military files on Afghanistan, has been charged in Sweden with rape and molestation, the National Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday.

Assange was quoted by a Swedish daily as denying the allegations.

Assange, an Australian, was in Sweden last week to discuss his work and defend his intent to publish further documents on the war in Afghanistan. He has close ties with the Nordic country, where WikiLeaks has said it keeps some of its servers.

The non-existent Mosque story over shadows our Troops coming home from Iraq. Well most of our troops....

Remember way back during the 2008 campaign when the war in Iraq was a pretty big deal? When Democrats had to choose between one candidate, Clinton, forced to defend/explain her (bad) choice to approve the war and another, Obama, who had spoken out early and often against the war. We know who won that fight. Then America was asked to choose between Obama and McCain – who advocated sticking with Bush’s war until we “won”, whatever winning meant. We all know who won that fight too.

Today, one of the hottest topics of the campaign is meriting seemingly little national discussion as Barack Obama has kept his promise to end the war in Iraq. No Republicans on TV are lambasting him for this action or saying we should stay. Fox News is eerily quiet on the successful withdrawal of troops from Iraq, which btw, will not only save lives but will end a huge drain on our national pocketbook. No, instead we’re obsessed all of a sudden with whether Muslims count as Americans protected under the same 1st Amendment rights as the rest of Americans.

God told Bush to send our troops to Iraq.

President George Bush has claimed he was told by God to invade Iraq and attack Osama bin Laden's stronghold of Afghanistan as part of a divine mission to bring peace to the Middle East, security for Israel, and a state for the Palestinians.

Who cares about Article IV of the U.S. Constitution?

President Obama's religion is no one's business. If he were an atheist, that would be no one's business. That Democrats continually play into the right wing game by going out of their way to prove their religious faith is a continuing problem. When asked about religion, all politicians should be able to say that their beliefs are private. It would be nice to see them refer to Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. It also would be nice to see more people stand up against the very idea that being called a Muslim is a smear. If asked directly whether the president really is a Muslim, the best response the White House could give is the Charlie Chaplin response: President Obama does not have that honor.

Although The Professional Left is always right(pun intended) we get no R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Politicians (generally speaking) only love us when it comes time for our money or our votes. Once elected it's all about serving the corporations, not the people.

There is no difference between the republican and democratic party.

At a time when Democrats, Independents and most Americans are craving a strong, coherent populist message, why do we have Democrats presenting themselves as shills for the two or three hundred richest families in America? Isn't that why we have a Republican Party? And isn't that why the Republican Party was voted out of power?

It's official the GOP is winning the hearts and minds of Americans, I wonder why? Hm...

New poll shows majority of Americans do not trust Obama. Majority of Americans want repub congress in place to control Obama from doing anything to help this country pull itself out of the deep pit that the last admin left us in.

Americans do not want money used to help main street Americans, Americans want the money used to help the poor top 5 percent apparently. How quickly we forget what GOP stands for.

States get million of dollars for charter schools as school libraries are defunded.

This Administration says it wants to focus on programs that are effective, but it has not only recommended policy that will keep school libraries underfunded, but it will also eliminate funds for a program that the Department of Education has evaluated twice and found to be effective both times,” American Association of School Libraries (AASL) President Cassandra Barnett said. AASL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Hm......

You wanna know whose A$$ to kick Mr. Obama?

If I may be so bold, let me name a few......

You can start with a swift kick in the a$$ of the Attorney General, Eric Holder. He needs to, as the late great James Browns sang,  get on the good foot, and start investigating, indicting, and incarcerating all the crooks and liars who drove our country into the ditch, restoring honesty,integrity and trust to the U.S. department of InJusticelike you promised to do.

Know Justice.
Know Peace.
No Justice.
No Peace.

Line the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads and the White House Press Corp up, make them bend over, go down the line kicking them in their a$$e$ for using the public airways to distort what we decide by lying and misinforming we the peeps. Then go back up the line and kick their a$$e$ for the lack of diversity in the MSM. In case you haven't noticed, the MSM and the White House Press Corps is ALL white and that's not right (pun intended). It's the media Mr. Obama. They want you to fail. He/she who controls the information controls the outcome. You need to take control of the information Sir.

Open up a big ole can of kick a$$ on David Axelrod, Rham Emanuel,Robert Gibbs, your staff and your entire cabinet for advising you to kick your base in the a$$ and play nice with republicans. Ask your Harvard bud and soon to be former Congressman Artur Davis how that worked out for him. I'm sure his a$$ is still smoking from the mega a$$ kicking he received June 2.

I don't know what you are waiting for to kick BP and Haliburtons a$$e$. They need a good a$$ kicking just because IMHO. You can start by fining them out the a$$ until the oil spill is plugged. I'll bet they get off their a$$es and do something then.

Kick Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen a$$ to the curb replace him with General Russel Honore's a$$. Honore is ready willing and able to kick some a$$e$ for you. Delegate the a$$ kicking Mr. Obama.

Put your size 13 up the a$$e$ of the blue dogs/DINO's and don't take it out until they pass a jobs bill and start representing the people who sent them to Washington. Remind them they work for we the people, not the other way around.

I'm sure I'll think of some more a$$es for you to kick, but this should get you started.

Get the kicking Mr. Obama.

Post Election Blog Stroll

Where's Artur?
Remember the photo op, I mean, rally part time Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis had with the Black Farmers on the steps of the state Capitol in Montgomery a few months back? Guess what.... Black farmers still waiting for justice.

Speaking of Artur Davis , his former top aide is now working for his opponent.

Campaign staffs can change like you change your underwear. (well at least if you change your drawers on a daily basis). Ron Sparks and Artur Davis have both been through more than their fair share of hires, fires and resignations this cycle. Par for the course in electoral campaigns
However, today's reported Sparks hiring of former Davis staffer Darryl Perkins is a major coup and surprise with just under two weeks until the June 1 primary.

Legal Schnauzer does an excellent job of pointing out the double standard and the injustice in the Alabama public school system regarding political speech. Anti Obama teacher placed on administrative leave. Democratic anti Bush teacher fired.

Are employees in Alabama public schools treated fairly based on alleged political speech? At least two cases we are familiar with, when compared to the Harrison case, indicate the answer is no.
Steve White, a science teacher at West Limestone High School near Athens, Alabama, was fired in 2006 after showing a film clip to his class in which President George W. Bush, members of his staff, and conservative personalities were referred to as "a--holes."

My email buddy gd writes;

I am strongly considering firing off an e-mail to Rahmbo this morning saying:

"How is that Progressives are 'retards' thing working out for you in Arkansas and Pennsylvania, this morning?"

gd also ask Can They Hear Us Now?

Sestak Wins in Pennsylvania,

Blanch Lincoln Defeated in Arkansas,
and the TeaParty Elects Their Republican, Rand Paul, in Kentucky.

It was sure interesting to watch all of yesterday's Primary Elections unfold. I was certain of a win for Sestak around 4:00 PM yesterday afternoon when I heard one of the MSM reporters say that the White House was saying, "Specter came to us. We didn't go to him." Doesn't take a political genius to recognize back-peddling "Damage Control" when we hear it, now does it?

Despite all the excuses about rain keeping older voters at home in PA and people not liking to be told how to vote, the Sestak victory over Specter had a lot to do with the failure of Organizing for America to turn out the vote the way they did during the Presidential Campaign. Why? Could it be that the Progressive Democrat Base, who worked so hard to elect the President and Democrats to Congress, are sending a message? I haven't heard that possibility discussed much as yet by the Corporate MSM or the White House, but it looks like Pennsylvania just elected a U. S. Senator who leans more toward the left than the right, and who did not get any kind of "endorsement" from the DLC or the White House until they were certain their "endorsed" candidate was not going to win.

Blanch Lincoln, who is a "Conservative Democrat" (Translation: Blue Dawg Democrat, DINO) lost BIG in Arkansas, so there's another message sent to the DLC that says "Best you start listening to what the Liberal/Progressive Democrats have been telling you, if want to keep control of the Senate, the House and the Presidency. It's time to stop breathing all that rarified political-insider air in DC and get back in touch with the passionate "grassroots" activists out here who actually work to win elections for the Democratic Party. You have now seen what kind of "Change" can happen when you "Don't leave the dance with those who brought you."

"This is what Democracy looks like," Mr. President and the DLC.....Now, about that "right of center" Kagan nomination.....

North Carolina Progressives coming together, republicans flee Rand Paul in Kentucky.

It's great seeing progressives and Democrats coming together after primaries in order to beat the right-wing menace. Within minutes of his defeat last night Arlen Specter graciously offered to campaign for Joe Sestak in the general election against Pat Toomey. Similarly, President Obama called Sestak to offer his congratulations and support. In Republicanland, it's a little different. In Kentucky, mainstream conservatives are shocked by Rand Paul's extremism and bizarre belief system and kooky personal style. 43% of the Republicans who supported the mainstream GOP Establishment candidate last night will not vote for Ron Paul's nutty son.

Rand Paul is a racist idiot.

Rand Paul is an idiot. He invokes the name of Martin Luther King, but tries to make the argument that the Civil Rights Act over reached when it involved itself in discrimination outside of the government. That’s just wrong and an abhorrent view.

What happened in Arkansas?

Yesterday's primary elections were marked by big anti-incumbent upsets, and one of the most interesting was the Democratic U.S. Senate contest in Arkansas, where incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln received only 45% of the vote, forcing a run-off with upstart challenger Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who got 43%.

We'll grind it out district by district, race by race. We have a great story to tell.

"If Democrats suffer large losses in November, it will not be because they tried to do too much. It will be because the administration sacrificed real progressive values on the altar of the misbegotten nonsense of bipartisanship."

Let's Roll!

Bipartisan My Donkey!

Democratic 5th Congressional District candidate Steve Raby says"A congressman's job is to work in a bipartisan way to make the federal government work for the Tennessee Valley," Which prompted this response from a member of Pam's listserv;

Well, good luck with that, Raby, and please let us know how that "Bipartisan" thing works out for you. It sure hasn't worked with health care reform, or much of anything else, but who am I to tell you not to continue to shoot yourself, the Alabama Democratic Party and the DNC right in the head. I thought "A Congressman's job" was to work for the interest of the people of his District...but then, I'm not a "Washington Insider" like you. I'm just a plain old, Registered Democratic Party, Alabama Granny.

Which prompted another member to ask what does bipartisan mean?

Psst! I'll tell you what it means. It means democrats are going to vote with republicans.

You don't hear of republican candidates saying they are going to Washington to work with democrats for the good of the country. You don't see republicans reaching across the aisle and voting with democrats. Quite the opposite. Republicans tell their supporters up front they are going to Washington to stop the liberal agenda. They don't even try and pretend they are going to be anything but what they are, obstructionist.

I don't want my representative working in a bipartisan manner if it means throwing democratic principles and values under the bus. If I wanted my representative to be a republican I would vote republican. Bipartisan is a two way street not a one way street. What part of that don't democrats understand?

President Obama made the mistake of saying he wanted to work with republicans, which they took to mean, it's our way or no way. I'm with Roland Martin on this one;

Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer made famous the phrase, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."

For me, I'm sick and tired of Democrats having power and being unwilling to use it. I've always respected Republicans when they had power because they were willing to use it and maybe apologize later.

You can't be bipartisan with republicans. They take kindness for weakness. They don't have it in them to work with democrats. I mean, how can you work with people whose sole sources of information are Faux News and right wing talk radio?

On almost every issue, Southern Republicans are far to the right of their national GOP brethren. In fact, GOP Southerners appear to be the driving base for some of the most extreme views circulating in the Republican Party today.

Faux News and right wing talk radio aren't the only ones to blame, the MSM we have enables the republicans by pretending not to notice their *ahem* transgressions.

If you don't think there's a media double standard that favors Republicans over Democrats, then let's play a game of what-if.

What if, in 2006, at Yearly Kos, the first annual convention of liberal bloggers and their readers, organizers shelled out $100,000 for former Vice President Al Gore to address attendees? And what if the same organizers booked as an opening-night speaker a fringe, radical-left conspiracy theorist who'd spent the previous year pushing the thoroughly debunked claim that some Bush White administration insiders played a role in, and even planned, the 9-11 attacks. What if the speaker (also proudly anti-Semitic) received a standing ovation from the liberal Yearly Kos crowd?

republicans have no ideas, no agenda, no plan. Which is why I can't understand why some democrats run across the aisle to work with them.

Topping the list is Artur Davis of Alabama, who comes from a D+18 district but yet has voted against his party on health care, detainees, cap-and-trade and Stupak. Fortunately, Democrats won't have to primary him -- he's quitting the Congress to run for governor -- but he's doing a fair amount of damage in the meantime. Following Davis is John Barrow of Georgia, who has been the subject of a primary challenge before. Then there's our good friend Parker Griffith, who voted against the Democrats on all ten bills -- fellow Alabaman Bobby Bright (who I'd give 60/40 odds of also joining the Republicans) was the only other Democrat to have done so.

If bipartisan means it's the republican way or the highway, I say forget it. I don't want a blue dog Congress Critter. I want a proud, liberal, progressive Congressman/woman who is willing to stand and fight for democratic principles and values. John Amato expalins why it matters;

There's an impulse to say screw it all and not show up anymore because "they're all the same," but I can't do that. For the most part, politicians will let us down because they are...well, politicians, but they aren't all the same. There have been plenty of books written about Florida in 2000. If ballots had been properly labeled so that voters who wanted Gore instead of Pat Buchanan could have done so, we might have had a more fair election. And then the Supreme Court would have been left to watch election night like the rest of us and Bush wouldn't have entered the White House in 2000.

Think of what that would have meant for the country:

The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy would never have been a reality.
I doubt we would have had the attacks of 9/11 because President Clinton warned that the greatest threat America would face was terrorism and Gore would have not ignored him like Bush did. But if we did get attacked, then you can bet that Gore would have handled it as an adult. He wouldn't sought "revenge" against Saddam Hussein and prioritized control of all that oil. Gore wouldn't have let Osama Bin Laden get away and the world would still be sympathetic to us.
Our efforts to put Afghanistan back together would be finished by now, assuming we even would have tried nation-building there.
More troops and people would be alive and we would have exited the Middle East with our heads held high.
America would never have invaded and occupied Iraq and over 4,000 troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians (if not millions) would be alive today.
Abu Ghraib would never have happened.
Terrorist recruitment would have stalled.
Torture would not be part of the American lexicon and the likes of Dick Cheney and John Yoo would never have descended upon the offices of the VP and OLC.
John Roberts and Sam Alito would not be on the Supreme Court and the makeup would probably be 6-3 against the radical Scalia-conservative agenda. A ruling on Citizens United is coming soon. Would the court ever have accepted that case? Not a chance and soon corporations will have a stranglehold on our election system much more than they have now.
George Bush would have been back home in Texas leading the state into secession along with his pal Alberto Gonzalez.
Nobody would have ever heard of Terry Schiavo.
A much swifter and more effective response to Hurricane Katrina would have been implemented.

Bipartisan My Donkey!

Peace Out.