A list is so much fun to make. And we all know how subjective it is to do so. So I am rushing in before the MSM does it own. You can join me and put in your lists as well. In fact, I think you all can beat me hands down in this game, but I get mine in first!!!!
Losers:
T-Baggers:
These people got the shaft in so many ways. But they ran eagerly to accept the prize of being able to openly hate blacks, bankers and democrats. All Michelle Bachman had to do was just "Beck"on them on and they came. They gave money and enriched the GOP firms and hangers on as they did so. Corporations used them in the HCR debate, the infamous town halls, where the T-baggers again showed how easily they could yell talking points.
C-Street House:
They lost their tax exemption to some extent and their anonymity. They were spotlighted over and over on the Maddow show, giving us all a glimpse into the shady doings, the sleazy methods and the total lack of anything that I ever took to be Christian. Their idea is that if you have power and money then God has chosen you and you are entitled! Apparently entitled to be complete asses!
Optimism/Hope:
After seeing the results of the Senate chopper/shredder on the HCR bill, middle class tax payers again take the hit and get damn all to show for it. No repeal of the exemption of anti-trust, no real regulations, no single payer, no public option. What we have left is a bare mention of a type of clearing house that will "negotiate" with insurance companies.
Immigrants:
The horror stories of what has happened to immigrants should chill us all. It borders on total repression for us all. Our country has gathered up folks en masse without regard to their children, jailing them for extended periods of time without any form of due process just because they have no forum and no one to speak for them. But for the grace of God or fate, there goes us all.
Investors:
Not only did the SEC not do its job, rating agencies didn’t either. Toxic assets were listed as AAA rated. Congresscritters did what the top folks like Stanford wanted and kept the ponzi going longer than it should have. Ponzi schemes collapsed this year leaving a large number of folks empty handed. So far none of the watchdogs have felt any heat.
Feminists:
It was simply amazing how cheaply the democrats tossed out reproductive freedoms from the HCR. We didn’t even get anything in return. Reid had to bribe Ben Nelson on top of the abortion concessions. The C-Streeters won on this one. Stupak and Pitts are C-Street house workers.
Rule of Law
Funny, we had all thought that with Obama being a constitutional scholar and with his AG being a thoughtful guy we would see a complete reversal of Bush controversies. Well, not so much. We are seeing work to close Gitmo. We, hopefully, do not torture. However, our immigration policies are scary. There isn’t as much transparency as we hoped for. And surprise, the Obama administration is just as loathed to relinquish power and authority as Bushco. We often find that the Obama justice department is arguing on behalf of DOMA, or Bush policies. We still have contractors meddling in the multiple wars with impunity. The drone wars verge on being totally unethical, illegal and stupid to the max. (Yes, killing terrorists is a wonderful aim. However, killing civilians is a no-good very bad way to promote pro-American feeling.)
The planet and the myriad species living upon it.
The Copenhagen agreement was not a big deal. It is not binding, it is not strategic in that it provides anything new or innovative or even forward looking. Copenhagen was poorly set up, IMO, and allowed states to just run amuck rather than attack climate change problems. I am assuming there will be other efforts, but my lord, time is not on our side! This was the rare come down for a C-Streeter. Sen. Imhofe didn’t get his forum and the press (foreign) thought he was a nut. This is the damn truth!
Winners:
Banks
won big. They did the dirty, didn’t pay the price, got bailed out and got to issues billions in bonuses. No regulations were passed this year. Rethugs have used populous anger to fuel the tea bagger complaints but have offered no solutions just finger pointing at Obama.
Wall Street
came back with a bang with the humongous outpouring of moneys from the TARP and from the Federal Reserve. We still have no idea of how the latter has done its work. Auditing the Fed seems to be a horrible, not so very good idea, in that the citizenry might actually get a clue!
Health insurance companies
won huge benefits in the current versions of HCR. First is the mandate. A lot of folks who don’t currently have insurance will be required to purchase same at the risk of penalties if they don’t. There will be subsidies, but those subsidies click off at about 60,000 a year, from what I can tell. So for all those folks making under 60000 the insurance companies get your money and my money known as tax money. They don’t give up much either. They can charge up to the wazoo for pre-existing and older folks. And they are already upping their premiums this year in order to ramp up to the new orders.
Rethugs
won big. No investigations into the Bush/Cheney god awful messes. No real MSM pushback on the horrors they created in the financial markets or the deficits they ran up during their eight years in power. Nope. The only slap they got was a tiny one in NY where they tried to eat each other. They’ve been allowed to lie, cheat on their wives, cheat on the taxpayers and become a bullying roadblock. And they have had democrats in name only carry their water for them – Nelson and Lieberman for two.
Blacks
won big. Bagging the presidency enabled them to have a higher profile on the MSM. The racism quotient rose, but it was actually called racism for the most part putting the onus back on the section of the T-baggers that love to hate.
Rep. Alan Grayson –
he took on the rethugs with his analysis of their HCR ideas ("Don’t get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly!) and had a great comeback when they pounced back –(46,000 Americans die every year because of the lack of health care coverage in this country!) Regardless of whether he has staying power or not with his putting the spotlight on the rethug shortcomings, his sword of wit was not left in the scabbard but brandished for all of us to enjoy. How many people (congresscritters, news anchors, bloggers) have we seen really doing battle for US?
Rachel Maddow:
IMO she just gets better and better. She kept on the story of the "kill the gays" bill in Uganda linking it to the C-Streeters and for once the C-Streeters took it on the chin! She took on the quackery of "healing the gay" straight on, no holds barred. She took on the drone war in a way that we haven’t seen done in the MSM rags. She works to explore those complex issues that the regular MSM folks avoid like the plague.
Senator Harry Reid
won big. He pulled off the trick of the century getting the unorganized dems to vote for a HCR bill.