And no, I don't mean Sarah Palin's "Real mericans". I mean real, unadulterated, Americans.
Real people, with real lives, real families, and real pain and suffering as the economy still smarts from years of bad policies and the like.
But what do the odious "moderate" and Blue Dog members of the Democratic Caucus care about? What are the Blue Dogs practically shouting about with glee from the nearest mountaintops about?
The Fucking Deficit.
In a time where millions of Americans are still hurting, some very badly because they lost their jobs to the monster of a recession that most Real Americans would still say is going on - in spite of whatever the economists might tell them - there are those within the damn Democratic Party who are crowing and cawing about a victory as unemployment benefits are now going to lapse yet again.
Join me in my rage here at some of the most self-righteous and tone deaf things I've heard in recent memory.
All credits to HuffPo for this one:
But this is the first time the Democratic Party can't even half-plausibly blame the Republicans for the lapse. "This isn't being done because of Republicans, believe me. This is done because there's a group of us, we don't have a majority, but they listen," said Rep. Dutch Ruppersburger (D-Md.), who fought to shrink the size of the bill. "I think it's really symbolic. We have a very diverse party and the party has come together... This is a real victory for the moderates and the Blue Dogs and the freshmen, that our party leadership is working with us to let this happen."
Excuse me, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
This asshole from Maryland openly admits that the Blue Dogs are quite happy to engage in what I think can legitimately be called "tyranny of the minority" in order to get a fucking victory? A political victory. A Pyrrhic victory. What does Rep Ruppersburger actually get for this? The ability to stand on some Godforsaken pedestal and talk about how much he hates the deficit Real Americans.
He doesn't care that people are going to hurt and suffer even more. He cares about his deficit peacockery instead. He cares about preening, and shining up his ConservaDem bonafides instead of giving more assistance to people who really need it.
Asshole.
Gerry Connolly, who unfortunately comes from my great home of Virginia, thinks that this is some sort of "turning point". What is he worried about?
Connolly said that it's a signal to congressional leaders. "It may be a turning point. We only know that when we look back on something, really," said Connolly. "But I think it's a growing and collective recognition that you're going to be held to a higher account if you're going to propose deficit spending for anything."
He's worried about holding people accountable for deficit spending.
Hey Gerry! Why don't you try holding people accountable for the mess we're in? Like the Wall Street Robber Barons who along with Republicans helped drive the car into the ditch. Or, hell, there's a great corporate bastard giant in BP that is killing our ocean, marine life, and the way of life for thousands of people along the Gulf Coast. Why don't you hold hearings or investigations into holding them accountable?
No sir, Gerry Connolly has more important priorities. He is committed to holding the rest of the Democratic Caucus accountable for deficit spending. The worst evil in the world is being tamed now thanks to Gerry Fucking Connolly.
At least, that's the way it sounds.
"But, you know, voters can hold seemingly contradictory views simultaneously," said Connolly. "That is to say, somebody can say, 'I want you to fix the unemployment problem, but I want you to stop those drunken-sailor ways of yours. Get rid of that wasteful, over-reaching spending you seem to love.' Voters can hold both views simultaneously, and it seems to me that politicians ignore that at their peril."
...Is Gerry Connolly taking political advice from the fucking Teabaggers? That sounds like right-wing rhetoric to me. You're a damn Democrat. How about you start acting like one?
And then there's Jason Altmire. You know, the back-stabber from PA-06 who sounded like a go on Health Care but really wasn't?
Blue Dogs are now baying. "The week we had talking about the need to pay for things that are not emergencies has paid off," said Blue Dog Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.).
...
So being unemployed is apparently not an emergency anymore. Or maybe it never was. You'd have to ask Rep. Altmire what he really thinks about that.
But last I knew, being without a paying job when you want, no, need one in order to support your family and pay your bills and put a roof over your children's heads is a pretty damn big emergency. One of the worst, in my opinion.
I spent the months after I graduated college last year unemployed. I was a lucky one though. I was "only" unemployed from the middle of May until the beginning of November, and even then I was offered a second, better-paying job at the end of November which I started in December and am still currently at.
I was lucky. Millions of other Real Americans are suffering, and have not gotten lucky. But yet Jason Fucking Altmire of Pennsylvania is worried about a damn political victory.
Hey Jason Altmire? Fuck you.
Lurking beneath some Democrats' deficit concerns is the suspicion that unemployment benefits make people too lazy to look for work.
"We've had four straight months of job growth," Altmire said. "At some point you have to take a step back and look at the relative value of unemployment benefits versus people looking for jobs."
Now I'll be honest. For people who are out of work and can't even be bothered to look for a job, but will more than happily collect unemployment checks...I have absolutely no sympathy for sponges. You should not be able to sit around and collect money for sitting on your fat ass all day.
The UK has a system where people have to prove they are looking for work. What do we have here? I honestly don't know, as I have never collected unemployment. Either we have no system like that, or we have one that isn't good enough, because people like that do slip through sometimes...
But to use that as an excuse to cut off benefits for the millions of people who legitimately need it?
Hey Jason Altmire. FUCK. YOU.
The San Francisco Federal Reserve did a study in April that found "extended unemployment insurance benefits have not been important factors in the increase in the duration of unemployment or in the elevated unemployment rate." But despite this authoritative debunking, Altmire and other members, such as Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Pa.) say businesses in their districts complain of hiring trouble, claiming that would-be employees would rather stay on the dole.
What businesses, huh? Which businesses of yours are complaining to you that they can't hire people?
Why don't you help your businesses out and publish their information and say that they are looking to hire but gosh darnit, they just can't find anyone who isn't a lazy bastard and doesn't want to stop collecting their gubmint checks to work.
I'm sure that citizens outside your districts who are hurting and would love to have a job would commute or hell even move to take the job.
But no, doing that would make too much sense. You're Members of Congress. You have a duty to deprive people of things that help them in order to make yourselves look better. The only job you really care about is your own.
"We're nickel and diming the most fragile people in this economy," said Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the National Employment Law Project. "These are people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. They continually certify that they are out there looking for work."
Oh I guess this answers my previous question. So people are out there looking for work, proving it, and you want to stop their checks?
Hey. Blue Dog Caucus. All of you.
Go. To. Hell.
"What do we do now?" said Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.). "We could just turn our backs on them, but that doesn't seem very American to me."
Amen.
Too bad the Blue Dogs hate Real Americans.