The Democrat Thread

[Balta1701]

First responders came all the way from Jersey and Connecticut? If the bill was out of state people only I could buy it a little more. But we all know it's 99.9% New Yorkers.

Hell, I can recall first responders and recovery workers being sent from Indiana.

[southsider2k5]

First responders came all the way from Jersey and Connecticut? If the bill was out of state people only I could buy it a little more. But we all know it's 99.9% New Yorkers.

 

There are people who take trains from NJ and CT who have much shorter commute times than people actually on long island.

[Rex Kickass]

If I can catch the express train into the city, it takes me only 15 minutes longer to get from the PA/NJ state line (Trenton) to midtown Manhattan than it would take someone coming from Inwood (the northern tip of Manhattan).

[Rex Kickass]

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/12/09/gop-fr...n-lobbyist-cos/

 

Perhaps to the surprise of many Tea Party populists who helped elect them, the Washington Post reports, “Many incoming GOP lawmakers have hired registered lobbyists as senior aides. Several of the candidates won with strong support from the anti-establishment tea party movement.” These lobbyists are not public servants. They are experts at carving out special deals and tax giveaways to powerful corporations:

 

– Rep.-elect Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) selected lobbyist Tim Harris as his chief of staff. Harris works as lobbyist for a trade association representing the shareholders of energy companies like American Electric Power, Duke Energy, NiSource, Vectren.

 

– Rep.-elect Mike Pompeo (R-KS) selected Mark Chenowerth as his chief of staff. Chenowerth previously worked as a lawyer on the lobbying team for Koch Industries, the conglomerate owned by Charles and David Koch. As ThinkProgress reported early this year, Pompeo was groomed for office by Koch Industries-run front groups, and has served as an executive for Koch Industries oil company subsidiaries.

 

– Rep.-elect Robert Dold (R-IL) selected corporate lobbyist Eric Burgeson as his chief of staff. Burgeson works for the lobbying firm BGR Holdings serving business clients in China, the coal industry, and a nuclear company.

 

– Rep.-elect Chip Cravaack (R-MN) selected corporate lobbyist Rod Grams as his chief of staff. Grams works for a lobbying firm called Hecht, Spencer, and Associates where he represents 3M, Norfolk Southern and the Financial Services Roundtable, the trade association for the country’s largest banks.

 

– Rep.-elect Krisi Noem (R-SD) selected Jordon Stoick as her chief of staff. Stoick is a vice president at the lobbying firm Direct Impact. Direct Impact also specializes in building public support for corporate causes, boasting on its website that it once generated hundreds of letters to the FCC on behalf of the telecom industry.

 

– Rep.-elect Jeff Denham (R-CA) selected corporate lobbyist Jason Larrabee as his chief of staff. Larrabee is the founder of his own lobbying firm.

 

– Sen.-elect Pat Toomey (R-PA) selected former corporate lobbyist Chris Gahan as his chief of staff. Gaham previously worked at the lobbying firm Latham and Watkins.

 

– Rep.-elect Steve Pearce (R-NM) selected Todd Willens as his chief of staff. Willens is a lobbyist at Vitello Consulting, a firm that represents a number of interests, including a casino.

 

– Sen.-elect Charlie Bass (R-NH) selected lobbyist John Billings as his chief of staff. Billings is a lobbyist for a food marketing and whole sale trade association.

 

– Rep.-elect Chris Gibson (R-NY) selected Steve Stallmer as his chief of staff. Stallmer is a lobbyist for the Associated General Contractors of New York State.

 

– Sen.-elect Ron Johnson (R-WI) selected Don Kent as his chief of staff. Kent is a lobbyist for the firm Navigators Global. Navigators Global represents AT&T, CitiGroup, and other major corporations.

 

– Sen.-elect Mike Lee (R-UT) selected lobbyist Spencer Strokes as his chief of staff. Lee is one of the most prominent corporate lobbyists in Utah, representing clients from the private prison industry to the nuclear industry.

 

– Sen.-elect Rand Paul (R-KY) selected anti-union lobbyist Douglas Stafford for his chief of staff. Stafford is the vice president of the National Right to Work Committee.

[BigSqwert]

[jasonxctf]

While we're at it...

The $7.4 billion price tag is less than 1% the price of the tax cut agreement.

 

By the way, Illinois, when Mark Kirk was running for office, he pledged to vote for this bill. He also voted for it while he was in the House. He is now in the Senate, and he voted to uphold the filibuster to kill the bill, on the grounds that the Senate should do nothing until the tax cut package is extended.

 

that's sad. these people were responding to a national emergency in a state of war against our country, not just NY. It shouldn't matter where their paycheck comes from. Help them.

[lostfan]

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/12/09/gop-fr...n-lobbyist-cos/

I'm not even surprised enough to get upset/indignant. Pretty much par for the course for the GOP, this is how they do business, and they don't even try to hide it.

[kapkomet]

I'm not even surprised enough to get upset/indignant. Pretty much par for the course for the GOP, this is how they do business, and they don't even try to hide it.

 

 

And the Democrats do. But whatever. Pious, they're not.

[StrangeSox]

We've covered the false obstructionism equivalence countless times.

[kapkomet]

We've covered the false obstructionism equivalence countless times.

 

mmmhmm, we have. And the conclusion always is the Republicans have the immoral lower ground then the Democrats, when in reality, wrong is wrong.

[StrangeSox]

mmmhmm, we have. And the conclusion always is the Republicans have the immoral lower ground then the Democrats, when in reality, wrong is wrong.

The conclusion is always that the Republicans have been far, far worse since 2006 than any other minority Congressional party ever, and by a significant margin.

 

If wrong=wrong, than doing it twice as much as anyone ever means you're twice as bad.

[kapkomet]

The conclusion is always that the Republicans have been far, far worse since 2006 than any other minority Congressional party ever, and by a significant margin.

 

If wrong=wrong, than doing it twice as much as anyone ever means you're twice as bad.

 

So... pushing through votes by any means necessary on the other side...

 

The point remains the same. The sleaze factor since 2006 has elevated higher then any other time by both sides as seen by "any means necessary"... but that's okay, it's justified by the majority doing the sleazy things and the Republicans trying to stop it. It's all justified if it's your side. Wrong is wrong is wrong.

[Rex Kickass]

So... pushing through votes by any means necessary on the other side...

 

The point remains the same. The sleaze factor since 2006 has elevated higher then any other time by both sides as seen by "any means necessary"... but that's okay, it's justified by the majority doing the sleazy things and the Republicans trying to stop it. It's all justified if it's your side. Wrong is wrong is wrong.

 

This is a false equivalency. You can point to "Freezerbucks" but he was removed from leadership, and was convicted IIRC. You can point to Rangel, but he lost his leadership and received censure. Democrats do hold members of Congress accountable, or at least have since 2006. This is why the House has had an ethics committee for the last four years.

 

If this was 2005 and Rangel was a Republican, there wouldn'have even been an investiation.

[kapkomet]

This is a false equivalency. You can point to "Freezerbucks" but he was removed from leadership, and was convicted IIRC. You can point to Rangel, but he lost his leadership and received censure. Democrats do hold members of Congress accountable, or at least have since 2006. This is why the House has had an ethics committee for the last four years.

 

If this was 2005 and Rangel was a Republican, there wouldn'have even been an investiation.

 

 

Yep, always different.

[lostfan]

And the Democrats do. But whatever. Pious, they're not.

lol I knew you were going to post this.

 

Democrats are a totally different type of sleaze. They're really not like the Republicans at all. The GOP more or less has a standard operating procedure across the board that they follow (you can tell on TV, they even use the same catchphrases in their media appearances in the same week) and if there was a written manual somewhere this would be in the first or second chapter. Republicans are openly cozy with financial-type lobbyists and are pretty unashamed about it, they are pretty indifferent when called on it. To the extent that Democrats do the same thing, they try to weasel out of it and pretend they're not doing the bidding of bankers etc., but even still that's only one wing of the party and everybody doesn't agree.

[Balta1701]

Whether or not what the Republicans are doing is different...one thing that is different is the fact that the media doesn't think it's worth reporting now, whereas the couple of Judicial Filibusters the Democrats were doing in 2005 was treated as a "Constitutional Crisis".

The fact that the 9/-11-related legislation was defeated was news. Period. The fact that it was defeated as part of the larger Republican strategy to tie the Senate in knots made yesterday's vote even more newsworthy.

 

But not at ABC, CBS or NBC. Last night, all three evening newscasts failed to report on the fact that Republicans had voted down a previously bipartisan bill designed to provide medical coverage for Sept. 11 emergency workers. At the major networks, that development was not considered newsworthy.

 

That's pretty remarkable. But the larger point here is that Republicans are now practicing an unprecedented brand of obstructionism and they're doing without having to pay much of a political price. Why? Because the press is giving them a pass. The press is pretending what Republicans are doing is normal and everyday. It's not. It's radical.

 

UPDATED: Guess which show last night did cover the fact that Republicans voted down the 9/11 first responders bill? The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

[kapkomet]

lol I knew you were going to post this.

 

Democrats are a totally different type of sleaze. They're really not like the Republicans at all. The GOP more or less has a standard operating procedure across the board that they follow (you can tell on TV, they even use the same catchphrases in their media appearances in the same week) and if there was a written manual somewhere this would be in the first or second chapter. Republicans are openly cozy with financial-type lobbyists and are pretty unashamed about it, they are pretty indifferent when called on it. To the extent that Democrats do the same thing, they try to weasel out of it and pretend they're not doing the bidding of bankers etc., but even still that's only one wing of the party and everybody doesn't agree.

 

Okay. So, then, are the Republicans hiding in the closet (rather appropriate considering most of their stances on DADT, don't you think)? You just said they aren't, yet Democrats do exactly the same thing and it's hidden, swept under the rug, and they're "for the little people" all of a sudden? Bulls***. No one is for the little people anymore. NO ONE. But at least Republicans would rather let the private sector have something instead of nothing. The sad part is, none of it really matters anymore. This ain't your mom and dad's and grandpa and grandma's country anymore. It's our f***up, and I for one hate the fact that no one gives a s*** anymore and would rather defend our government sleaze and be "right" then really care about what's going on.

[Rex Kickass]

Okay. So, then, are the Republicans hiding in the closet (rather appropriate considering most of their stances on DADT, don't you think)? You just said they aren't, yet Democrats do exactly the same thing and it's hidden, swept under the rug, and they're "for the little people" all of a sudden? Bulls***. No one is for the little people anymore. NO ONE. But at least Republicans would rather let the private sector have something instead of nothing. The sad part is, none of it really matters anymore. This ain't your mom and dad's and grandpa and grandma's country anymore. It's our f***up, and I for one hate the fact that no one gives a s*** anymore and would rather defend our government sleaze and be "right" then really care about what's going on.

 

I would argue the private sector's gotten a pretty good deal over the last two years.

[kapkomet]

I would argue the private sector's gotten a pretty good deal over the last two years.

 

 

I would argue you're flat out wrong... I know what you're trying to say (bailouts)... and on that these 2b2f companies should be on their ass, I won't disagree. However, the "price" for a lot of that is government control, which is not a good deal for all of us long term.

[Balta1701]

I would argue you're flat out wrong... I know what you're trying to say (bailouts)... and on that these 2b2f companies should be on their ass, I won't disagree. However, the "price" for a lot of that is government control, which is not a good deal for all of us long term.

Not just that, but the other side is...corporate profits are at record highs as well, from industry to industry.

[Balta1701]

I like how the Post puts it.

This holiday season, those two worlds have been thrown into stark relief: At Tiffany's, executives report that sales of their most expensive merchandise have grown by double digits. At Wal-Mart, executives point to shoppers flooding the stores at midnight every two weeks to buy baby formula the minute their unemployment checks hit their accounts. Neiman Marcus brought back $1.5 million fantasy gifts in its annual Christmas Wish Book. Family Dollar is making more room on its shelves for staples like groceries, the one category its customers reliably shop.

 

"When you start to line up all the pieces, you see a story that starts to emerge," said James Russo, vice president of global consumer insights for The Nielsen Co. "You kind of see this polarized Christmas."

[lostfan]

What government control? The Wall Street "reform"? cmon now. Written by the banks for the banks.

[Rex Kickass]

Not just that, but the other side is...corporate profits are at record highs as well, from industry to industry.

 

In addition to that....

 

Let me see, the Banking sector gets a multi billion dollar bailout and no real accountability for their actions.

The auto industry gets a bailout and a turnaround.

The health insurance industry gets 30+ million new customers as per law.

Extending unemployment benefits beyond 26 weeks assures that millions of Americans continue to be able to buy basic necessities at grocery and department stores.

 

This president has done a great job doing over the last few generations have done, Republican and Democrat alike, protect money.

[HuskyCaucasian]

John Boehner - I will not compromise

And while expressing an interest in "common ground," Boehner refused to entertain the idea of compromise. "I reject the word," he said. Elsewhere in the interview, Boehner added, "I made it clear I am not gonna compromise on my principles, nor am I gonna compromise the will of the American people."

[Jenksismyhero]

John Boehner - I will not compromise

 

Taking it out of context. Watch the tape. He's basically saying I'm not going to sell out on the people who elected me just to get something passed. He then reiterated that the key is finding a common ground on issues.