When you feel your blood pressure start to rise just look at the picture.
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This article originally appeared at Poplitickal)
In the before time, in the long long ago, when I, in a moment of foolish optimism actually believed in the possibility of Obama as a potentially truly transformitive force I managed somehow to click on something somewhere that got me on one of those damned e-mail lists from the Democrats. Not exactly the end of the world. Usually it's the usual fund raising crap, which hey I get it, money makes the Capitol go round. But now suddenly I'm getting fund raising emails about a very different topic from the usual "Senator Somebody needs your help getting elected" crap.
Hey, just wanted to make sure you saw this email from President Obama?
----------Original Message----------
From: Barack Obama
Subject: We keep emailing
Joe Biden has emailed you.
Michelle has emailed you.
And now I’ve emailed you.
We wouldn't all be asking if it wasn't so important.
Right now, Republicans in Congress are trying to sue me for simply doing my job. Yes, it’s outrageous. But it also makes this the most important fundraising deadline we’ve faced together. We’re down to our last 72 hours and still coming up 100,000 donations short of our goal. Can I count on you?
And this is far from the first begging bowl message I've gotten on this subject. In the last two days I've gotten at least five similar emails, possibly even more as I've not kept real exact count.
Now I may not be the swiftest boat in the river, but I'm starting to smell a familiar smell. Something akin to halibut that has been left to ferment.
Frankly this whole thing seems a lot like a gigantic smokescreen. We have groups like Wolf-PAC and Maydaypac who are figuring out how to use the rules to actually benefit people and to get money if not truly out of politics at least to blunt their impact so that our votes might actually come to matter again.
This sort of thing starts to trend and then Boner starts talking about suing the President. Then there's talk of possible impeachment proceedings. At this point I wouldn't put anything past the Rethuglicans, so I tend to not pay too much attention to whatever their latest wharblegarble is. But now instead of taking the high road and ignoring the "Right" instead the Democrats seem to be playing ball. Suddenly there's the sound of war drums beating and cries of "Circle the wagons". Right now. When it looks like people might just be starting to wake up and realize that some drastic action needs taken. Suddenly this "crisis" comes about which the more I look seems to be nothing but grand political theater in the interest of keeping people distracted so that the current way of things which profits both parties can be safely maintained.
The problem is that these people who would attempt to keep us distracted with this dumbshow are I think vastly underestimating the intellect, perspicacity, and doggedness of many of us. Some of us are not only not committed to the status quo, but actively loathe it.
If you are in the latter camp along with people like myself, allow me to offer some food for thought, and some talking points to counter the bullshit currently coming out of both parties.
1: Suing a sitting President for actions taken while in office is, while not impossible, damned difficult and so far as I can find, has never been successfully done before. Part of it is the way the laws are structured, after all if the President could be easily sued then even less than the current nothing, would get done in Washington. Then there is the fact that many politicians have an eye on the Presidency and they are reluctant to do anything which, while it might negatively effect the current officeholder to their and their parties benefit could come around to bite them in the ass later if they manage to get elected to the office.
2: Impeachment imsmeachment. Basically impeachment of a sitting President is not only next to impossible to get proceedings started for, but so far there has only been two attempts and neither was successful. Even if an impeachment attempt against Obama was successful, even if it resulted in his removal from office, (big and frankly unlikely ifs) there would be no way for the Rethuglicans to trump the chain of succession. This would mean that Biden would become President. Frankly part of me almost wishes that would happen. Because I get the sense that Biden is a lot less willing to play patty cake with these turd burglars. Plus of course the logic stated in point one still holds. Those politicians with an eye on the Presidency will be loathe to do anything that might set a precedent that could be used against them once they were in office.
3: Many of the fundraising emails keep carrying on about the damage that all this could do to Obama's "Legacy". This is pretty much pure distilled BULLSHIT. Quite frankly the only two President in modern times who's actions in office seem to have actually negatively impacted their legacy was probably Bush Jr., and Nixon. And even they are not nearly as loudly and roundly vilified as they deserve. Every other President seems to have their worst excesses forgotten as soon as they leave office. Were that not the case then people would still be burning Reagan in effigy to this day, and Clinton would be punched in the nuts every time he opened his mouth to speak.
Bottom line, this is meaningless political theater, and any money spent on it is money wasted. We the citizens need to be giving our money to those groups who are actually working to make our voice heard again. If you don't want to give to one of the two I've mentioned then look for another one. Or hell, form your own PAC. But please for the love of reason and sanity do not give so much as a single penny to help these out of touch parasites play their little games.
As a final note in the time that it has taken me to write this article I got yet ANOTHER desperate begging email.
I’ve been around politics for a long time, and even I can’t believe what just happened:
FRIDAY: In a closed-door meeting, some House Republicans discussed impeaching President Obama.
YESTERDAY: One of Boehner’s top deputies went on Fox News and REFUSED to take impeachment off the table.
TODAY: Boehner penned a USA TODAY op-ed threatening President Obama with a lawsuit
This is no laughing matter. These are the same Tea Party Republicans that managed to shut down the government last year. They’re going to keep coming up with new ways to sabotage Barack Obama’s presidency. And for these guys, impeachment would be the pinnacle of Republican sabotage.
My friends at the DCCC are doing all they can to take on the Tea Party -- but they’re in a bind. They need 78,321 more to meet their 100,000 donation goal before Republicans vote THIS WEEK to sue the President. I’m pleading: can you rush a donation now?
At this point frankly I'd be more interested and impressed to get an email from Superman asking me to chip in five bucks to help him in his fight against Lex Luthor.
I am going to end this article with a plea, something that I pretty much never do. Spread the word. If you just want to share what I've written around, that would be great. But if you don't want to do that, I really am not bothered or offended. But please, please take what I've written, or do your own research, and get the word out. Tell people how this is the political equivalent of Pro Wrestling, designed to keep us distracted while they continue to engage in business as usual. Tell any one who will listen to give their money to those people and organizations that will actually help us. For the love of whatever you may hold sacred, if nothing else tell them to at least not piss their money away helping those in power to continue to perpetuate a system that is akin to giants fighting in the middle of a farm house. The giants are never hurt, but by the time they are done the farm house is flat and every one inside it is dead.
Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!