If everything were the same today but Republicans were in place of Democrats what would they do?
- they'd vote for the most extreme legislation they can get with their supermajority in order to lock in constituencies for the future
but let's argue that with two independents the Democratic caucus is only 58 and they couldn't get the filibuster proof majority
- they'd have let the opposition filibuster through Christmas and created a huge outrage about it - they'd have put healthcare on hold and said: Fine, the other side won't give us a public option, so we're running in 2010 as a referendum of what you want America
and they'd get their supermajority and get what they wanted done...
...but instead we are like those sports fans following that hopeless team that time after time snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Dems are our team. They won't push anything through even with a supermajority because too many in the elected party caucus are corrupt craven cynics. And they won't campaign aggressively on a point of principle because they ultimately don't believe in the American people so would rather tinker at the margins and slowly lose relevance than risk the cash flow that comes from their political seats.
I invested a lot of time and effort making something really awesome to help candidates with organization and fundraising this time around. I work in Silicon Valley and figured I'd put my skills to good use. Now I am so deflated I don't even know if I can be bothered putting in the effort to get it out there. Why bother? Why bother donating time or money? Why bother with the effort involved in launching a product targeted at a deflated audience of political activists?
I've got to, right? The other side is worse? Really that's all you've got?
It is worse to put out a HCR bill that makes voters say, hang on i'm being fined for not buying healthcare that I cannot afford - which, by the way would have been my situation the last few years... it is worse to do that than to do nothing.
When you combine it with the regulatory capture successfully executed by the banking sector and locked in by team Obama... and with the letting the legal precedents stand that defend torture and crimes in office by the executive branch...
I'll give them Afghanistan, I think that this is a tough call, and talking to troops on the ground there, unlike Iraq, most seem to think it's just that it hasn't had the focus it needed - something good can be achieved there. I'll defer to the military folks I know on that one.
I just think I am getting nothing.
Any political party choice is a set of balancing acts - what do they do that I like vs. what do I not agree with. Work it out for both and come down. The Republicans are heinous with 90% of their current positions and their party is a basketcase. But the Democrats have positions I don't like on some issues too - I think the education system needs a radical overhaul and that's consistently fought against by teachers unions (and I think that teachers are grossly underpaid and underfunded but the terrible performance of the US school system undermines public support for paying them what they're worth). I think the ridiculous protectionism and opposition to things like H1-B visas is stupid. I think we should have invested in companies like Tesla and let the auto companies die - their assets would have been snapped up for other things and the skilled labor would have been mopped up in jobs that had some future. And the inability to understand that Venture Capital is different to Private Equity and the former needs its tax breaks to stimulate job creation whereas the latter are parasites that need treating differently drives me nuts. But I know honest intelligent people can disagree on these issues... I thought that my reservations were balanced by things like principle on torture; commitment to the poor and needy; healthcare... oh the list is long. But I get nothing. Nothing.
I am sat here watching the coverage on MSNBC - all these people talking about this tremenous victory. Covering 31million new people... it's not covering them it's criminalizing them. I'd have been paying fines I couldn't afford this last few years. I doubt I'm alone. And I doubt those people will vote Democratic for a generation when that hits them. Like Obama said you can mandate everyone buys a house - it doesn't mean they've got housing coverage, you've just criminalized them not having a house...
Politically tired, depressed and about ready to say FTW. I am in a career where I benefit personally from Republican tax policies. Everything else about them is insane (and those tax policies themselves I think are bad for America, as they increase inequality). But it benefits me personally. If my political wishes don't get satisfied by democrats and my finances are hurt by what they do get done, what exactly do I get here...
Nothing.
Nothing.
