Some people are still concern-trolling the blogosphere, saying "the sky is falling" and "Democrats aren't standing up to power," and "we're going to lose this thing!" Okay, that last one they had to give up Nov. 5.
So here's a post-inaugural timeline of the increasingly forceful (and increasingly stunning) Dem statements and stances as we start to realize...hey...we've got this.
Note the TTP (Truth To Power) meter ratings below each entry.
I WON.
Barack Obama Jan 23, 09 - http://www.youtube.com/...
TTP: 3/10 (He was only stating the truth. And it wasn't on camera. But, wow, did he really say that?)
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SHAMEFUL AND THE HEIGHT OF IRRESPONSIBILITY.
Barack Obama Jan 29, 09 - http://www.youtube.com/...
TTP: 5/10 (Is this really the President of the U.S. holding our banking system accountable for wild spending sprees?)
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THESE PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS.
Claire McCaskill Jan 30, 09 - http://www.youtube.com/...
TTP: 7/10 (It would be higher, but it was not directly TO the people in power. At the same time, this started the seismic tone shift. In any other Dem administration, this would have warranted an apology and retraction the next day.)
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WE’RE DEMANDING RESTRAINT IN EXCHANGE FOR FEDERAL AID (THE $500,000 WALL STREET SALARY CAP)
Barack Obama Feb 4, 09 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
TTP: 6/10 (It was way harsher how Claire said it. But given the messenger, it still had to hurt.)
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CIRCLE-SLASH REPUBLICAN BILL-WAVING THEATRICS.
Barbara Boxer Feb 5, 09 - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
TTP: 7/10 (Is it me, or are our women senators showing an awful lot of fire these days? And the response was priceless - nothing about the actual challenge, just bluster and shock at being talked to that way.)
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YOU COULDN'T FIND YOUR BACKSIDE WITH TWO HANDS IF THE LIGHTS WERE ON...
YOUR VALUE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE...IS WORTHLESS.
Gary Ackerman Feb 5, 09 - http://www.thealbanyproject.com/...
TTP: 9/10 (It would have been an 11, because it was jaw-dropping to witness (felt bad for those SEC reps), but it was to the evasive, defensive, uninformed, obstructing group that testified not the full laundry-list of numskulls that let Madoff bankrupt good people and companies over all of these years.)
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I INHERITED THIS DEFICIT, ALL WRAPPED UP IN A BOW...
SPENDING IS STIMULUS. THAT’S THE POINT.
Barack Obama Feb 5, 09 - http://www.youtube.com/...
Barack Obama, cont’d Feb 5, 09 - http://www.youtube.com/...
TTP: 9/10 (Again, not spoken directly to the presumed recipients - but delivered directly to the people who needed to hear it: the Dems and the public, who needed to see some blazing pushback after a week-plus of lies and spin and obstructionism.)
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Frankly, it looks like Feb 5 may go down in history as the day the tone shifted and the truth began to be set free. Which may backfire, too, but the dulcet tones were not working to date.
Waiting to see what correction awaits the Citi Stadium investment and the KBR Pentagon contract. Since when did watching MSNBC offer more suspense, controversy and one-liners than the finale of any reality TV show?
Here's to reaching a perfect 10/10 - then NEVER HAVING TO GO THERE AGAIN because we actually do get to disagree with people without being disagreeable and the right thing gets done anyway.