I seem to recall a certain cabal of neoCONs who were quite deft at winning the most unwinnable arguments over the past 8 years. They not only marched in lockstep, like good little Nazis soldiers while spewing their bile on the floors of the House and Senate, but they most importantly went onto the teevee and shouted from roof tops: "UP OR DOWN VOTE!"
I got so very tired of that mantra that they carried and shouted daily, but I have to say, it was a successful bully tactic. It publicly shamed and conned the Dems into voting for things that otherwise may have been shot down. They would show up on a Sunday talk show and, with a smug smirk and fake "righteous indignation" ask rhetorically, "why don't the democrats care about their country? If they cared, they would see the urgency of [insert insane policy here]; but no, they would rather filibuster and hold the country hostage for the sake of scoring political points." Remember that?
Who cared that they were talking smack?! Who cared that they were lying through their teeth and never talking about the reasoning behind any kind of Democratic objection?! They were very skilled at killing logic and replacing it with fluff. They also had a complicit chorus of media presstitutes who bent over repeatedly to aide and abet the republiCon agenda! And, like cotton candy, people ate it up and the Dems feared the backlash of such manipulations.
So, what I want to know now is this: Why aren't the Dems doing the same thing now to the republiCONs with this Repair and Reparation Act? Why aren't they challenging the Cons to an up or down vote on this critical, extremely time-sensitive, hugely important piece of legislation now? And, WHY ARE THE DEMS ALLOWING THEMSELVES TO BE INTIMIDATED BY A FILIBUSTER?
I know there are many diaries about spineless Dems, feckless negotiations, allowing the Cons to manipulate billions in tax cuts while so many Americans are dying because of lack of assistance that is being held hostage by the gluttonously greedy republiCons who are simply catering to their Corporate Masters. The Cons truly are one-trick ponies if you think about it. They get their marching orders, they get their prepared talking points, they get their crank turned, and away they go! They don't have to really think for themselves, or make any kind of decision; they simply do what they're told, day in and day out. They have had some serious conditioning by bushCo and even though georgie and dick are away from the bubble, red-rover is still around barking orders.
I really, truly wonder what the Cons would do if they were truly challenged; and fed the same line back at them? Frankly, I'd like to see them choke on their own words. If they were forced to think outside of their prepared lines, just how well would they really do? How would they justify their stance(s)?
In all honesty, this is a very crucial time in our History, and time is of the essence. The Recovery Bill is a MAJOR piece of legislation that can help to right our Ship of State, and the Cons are more concerned about Its success resulting in their Party's failure than they are the success of the Country! It would be so easy for the Dems to be on the teevee today, shouting at the peak of their voices (without sounding shrill, of course) that the Cons should be agreeing to an up or down vote, and they need to do it immediately! And then, when asked why by the corporate presstitute of choice, the Dems can say that the sheer fact that the Cons are playing political games when the country is in dire straits is unconscionable! They could equate this legislation to cardiac paddles to jolt a person's heart back into beating, yet the republiCons are debating the success of them instead of simply using them and arguing later. We could use this line quite nicely to publicly shame the Cons into saying 'no' to the filibuster and giving the Dems the courtesy of an up or down vote.
It seems so logical, and so easy to me and I want to know why the Dems aren't doing this?! It is crystal clear to me (and to a great many of us here) that the republiCONs are playing games. They are trying like HELL to sabotage President Obama's efforts to bring the Country back onto a path of sanity and health, all because President Obama's success would mean the GOP's failure. Since when was it okay to put party and politics before the good of the country? If the Dems were doing something remotely as cynical and nasty to a republiCon majority, the Cons would be crying "TREASON!" and calling for a hanging in the Public Square! So, again, I ask: Why aren't the Dems fighting back in this manner? Don't they think that the American People would hear this message?
And besides, when is there going to be a level playing field with equal and identical sets of rules for by which both sides are to abide?!
It seems like this is the simplest message the Dems could be sending right now and it would make the Cons look like the petty, petulant, unAmerican, party-before-country, short-sighted dolts that they are...and it would give the Dems a bit more of a bully pulpit from which to flex their own muscle. And, more importantly than shaming the Cons into being responsible, it would expedite the passage of this bill!
Last time I checked, WE won, dammit! We wouldn't ever think about running roughshod over the Cons; not anywhere near the likes of what bushCo did. None-the-less, it is time for the Dems to find their voice, flex some very atrophied muscle, and tell the Cons to STFU and vote! All this blather about filibustering, requiring 60 votes, etc is wasting precious time that we can never win back! Meanwhile, people are dying. Got that? People. Are. DYING!
How many times were the Cons able to win legislation with less than 60 votes? How many times were the Cons able to use the "up or down vote" mantra to their benefit? How many times have you heard a Dem use it back at them???
The time has come. And the time is NOW! The Dems all need to show urgency and strength; they need to back up President Obama, and they need to force the Cons' hand. I'm sick and tired of the Cons manipulating, spewing their b.s., and winning arguments with nothing substantive! We are smarter than they are, and it's high time that we use our smarts to bring forth the change we voted for!
It's what I call doing the Peoples' business. It's why they were hired in the first place. In a more peaceful time, if they want to throw political water balloons at each other, fine. But not now. We are a Nation in crisis and it's high time we had real, responsible leadership; not a bunch of clowns running around a car fighting for position.