Who should I vote 4?

[Jiggers]

If I want Medicare and/or Medicaid benefits cut to the bone, locally and nationally?

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[Carson]

Didier, write him in. Only the Tea Baggers are suicidal enough to try that.

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[JoB]

jiggers..

why on earth would you want medicare and/or Medicaid programs cut to the bone?

They are pretty cost effective programs since both pay proportionately more for preventative care.

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[austin]

Maybe he knows someone on Medicare/Medicaide that he really dislikes.

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[Jiggers]

I’ll reverse the ? and ask who shouldn’t I vote for then?

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[Carson]

Don’t write in Didier, he can’t win…….

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[c@lbob]

You were a little cryptic here, Jiggers.

Is your premise that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, nothing will be changed about SS and Medicare?

If that is so, it is because they are such popular government programs, that they are cliched “third rail” issues.

There are some indicators that the Republics have given up trying to privatize SS, as they did with Bush 43s most recent assault in 2005. The precipitous decline in 401-Ks after that last Republic caused recession has probably had even more of an affect.

So, after 75 years of trying to kill SS, the Republics have relented, a bit. Fast learners, aren’t they.

Now, try to imagine a world where there were no Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations. You know, the crack-pot Republic eras. I’m giving Nixon a pass, because he did some fairly good things; and Eisenhower was practically a Democrat, looking at him in retrospect.

I can imagine that we’d now have a real national health plan, a much lower poverty rate, and much higher employment. 9/11 would just be another day, and we wouldn’t have spent 3 trillion (extra) on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Don’t think for a second that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, you just have to look at a wider scale of time.

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[Jiggers]

I see Rossi is one who would cut your benefits..

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[redblack]

why doesn’t anyone ever mention that social security and medicare are non-budget programs that are funded separately?

oh, yeah. i forgot. they’re socialist programs that need to be defunded… err.. uhh… except when we need to raid their trust funds for political reasons, that is. or when we turn 67 and start getting our dole checks. or when aetna turns down our claims because of preexisting conditions.

but anyone who wants to defund medicaid is just a mean-spirited cretin who doesn’t understand – or simply doesn’t care about – the hardship that almost half of this once-great country endures.

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[Jiggers]

They’ve already defunded S.S. by not allowing the annual normal increase this past year. Its the same, and will probably be for another three years. No raise on your S.S. benefits for awhile.

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[redblack]

al gore was right: lockbox.

and, gee, i believe it was al gore who saw the possibility of paying down the national debt when he ran for president. you know, back when it was 1/3 of its current value and we had a budget surplus.

gee, i wonder if that had anything to do with the fraudulent 2000 presidential election. no matter your political stripe, you have to admit that our debt has been mighty good for big business.

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[c@lbob]

Yes, opening the treasury doors and ushering in the pirates makes it so much more convenient for them to loot.

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[HMC Rich]

Go ahead. Keep that far left agenda of yours front and center. Tell Me More. Tell us what you want.

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[redblack]

first, you tell me more. tell me how you suddenly got religion about deficits and debt, since democrats now control the purse.

tell us what you want. tell us you want to invest the social security trust fund in the stock markets, which have proven to be so stable. tell us how medicare has become a fraud, ever since republicans were able to get big insurance into the game. let’s hear some more of that laissez-faire testifyin’: “brother, can you spare a trillion?”

what do we want? we want the investor class to leave the public sector alone. the top 2% have all of the money; the bottom 90% gots nones, and that includes a majority of small businesses. the only defense the bottom 90% have from the sharks is the federal government, and it’s becoming quite obvious that top 2% want to take that from us, as well.

but what we really want is for republicans and teabaggers to stop defending the top 2%. admit that you have a lot more in common with bob cratchit than you do with ebenezer scrooge. admit that your health insurance premiums really are doubling and trebling every year. admit that big banks were doing exactly the same shit that they accuse freddie and fannie of doing, only on a bigger scale. admit that supply-side economics has been great for the top 2%, but that wealth hasn’t really trickled down or created jobs in this country.

and, please, stop talking about our government as if it’s some malevolent corporation with malign will.

we don’t want what the top 2% have. trust me. there is no conspiracy to redistribute wealth. no one wants to replace his job with a dole check (except politicians of all political parties, of course.) no one wants “free health care.” most of us are good blue-collar people and entrepeneurs who just want stable jobs with decent pay, health care for our families, and a secure future. so far republicans have provided none of that – for the bottom 90%, that is.

so if that’s a “far-left agenda,” color me guilty, as charged.

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[elikapeka]

Who should I vote 4? Well, it won’t be any Republican candidate. Not that I’m enamored of the Democrats, but they’re slightly better. In the past, I’ve always voted for the candidate, not the party, and I usually vote for something or somebody, not against it, but the Republicans have demonstrated that they act in lockstep – individuality is not welcome in the party. They’ve become so extreme that I won’t vote for any of them.

We have had 30 years of privatization, deregulation, free markets, free trade, lower taxes. And both parties have supported this agenda. In any other era, Bill Clinton would be considered a moderate Republican. It didn’t work. It didn’t trickle down. A few people got richer, corporations made out like bandits, and the middle class and poor have lost ground. The class warfare and wealth redistribution the conservatives love to rail about has been going on for years, just the other direction.

We have lost jobs, pensions, any kind of security for retirement. Health care is a disaster. Our infrastructure is failing. Our educational system is a mess. We no longer lead the world in any meaningful category.

In the last election, the Democrats won with a different message, one that offers some hope to the middle class. Elections are supposed to mean something. Yet the Republicans in the Senate have abused the rules of the Senate to block almost everything. This isn’t a matter of being the loyal opposition. This is an abuse of the rules, where power and the institution becomes more important than the job they’re supposed to do. I sometimes see the same thing with unions, where the union itself becomes more important than the workers they’re supposed to represent.

Look, if you’re wealthy and living a nice life off of your investments, I get why you’d want to continue the status quo. It’s worked for a very small group. But why anyone else at this point would vote for people who want to continue down this path is beyond me.

Actually, the late George Carlin said it better than anyone else. You can watch at

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/1044358/

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[Carson]

The Bottom line is the Republicans got us in this mess. I am not totally confident the Democrats have the ability to fix it, but I would rather take my chances with them if I only have those 2 choices and today, that’s all I have. Besides, when Democrats mess up we get things like Universal Health Care, when the Republicans mess up we get 4400 dead boys and girls (Iraq War).

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[c@lbob]

Far left? Relative to Grover Norquist, Dick Armey, the Koch Brothers, Dick Cheney, Sharron Angle (does that refer to the shape of her head?), Tom Coburn, Mitch McConnell, Doc Hastings, and their ilk — I’m pretty far from wherever they are.

Relative to politics worldwide, I couldn’t be accused of being leftist.

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[charlabob]

I only have one question for rich and smitty and the other R’s who sometimes post here: aren’t you just a tiny bit embarassed by what’s happened to your party? Do you really think people who believe Global Warming is caused by Sun Spots are going to help us? Do you have any belief in, I dont know, basic intelligence? And before you wail, I’m not calling you dumb — I’m only saying aren’t you embarassed just a tiny bit when you hear Rand and Sharron and, omigod Christine???? We are (still) known by the company we keep.

And no one has yet explained who Cain married???

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[dhg]

This is a good time to recall the 60’s. My dad worked at a meat packing plant. Union job. The one job supported a family of 5 kids. His vacation time increased incrementally until it topped out at 5 weeks/ yr. We’d take off the entire month of August and see the country. And it wasn’t just my dad, there was a whole community that had this for a benefit. And with federal inspectors of meat, hamburger was safe to eat raw. Today, under self inspection, every restaurant prints a warning on the page about undercooked beef. Over a span of 50 years the middle class is reduced to lower middle class, poor pay, almost no vacation time and our food supply chain is a joke.

Oh, and did I mention we have Ronald Reagan to thank for this? The union busting did not begin until he had appointed a few friends to the national labor board.

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[JoB]

extending tax cuts for the rich will create jobs..

it hasn’t yet..

but it might

and pigs might fly too

but i wouldn’t bet on it.

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[redblack]

jo: oh, it will create jobs… in china.

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[JoB]

redblack…

i so wish i wasn’t sitting here giggling at your comment because this is no laughing matter…

but i am.

perhaps Jon Stewart is right..

laughter is the best way to deliver the truth.

if you don’t laugh

you cry

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[redblack]

jo, no, it really isn’t funny, but it’s true.

it’s even less funny when i hear obama talking about how, so far, his administration has “rejected protectionism.”

wtf?? china protects its trade and currency; so does germany; so does japan. they are *not* going to open their markets to american goods, no matter how much the free-traders whine.

if we want to get out of the fiscal mess we’re in, we should start filling the coffers by raising some tariffs, raising the cost of foreign goods, and making american goods competitive at home again.

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[JoB]

redblack..

and stifle free trade?

how unamerican ;(

we could be stoned for talking like this…

some will suspect we already are ;)

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[HMC Rich]

Redblack. Please look what happened when tariffs were raised in the 1930’s. It didn’t go well. Ask a Canadian apple farmer about NAFTA. Not real happy about that.

Why am I on deficit and debt kick? Because I have a four year old son who should not be burdened by our mistakes. Because entitlements are going to most likely fail. I will be paying into a black hole which has and will help many people but is not sustainable. Government cannot and should not be involved in all aspects of our lives. It is already too intrusive.

Social Security. Is it solvent? Ryan has a plan. Another lets people invest 1/3 into the private sector at their own risk while 2/3 would still go into a broken system that pays out to 53 million people a month. Both parties f^T^ed that one up.

I have never supported thieves. We all elected people to regulate various industries. I thought the financial industries were fairly heavily regulated but maybe someone in that industry could enlighten us. I am not a financier or a person involved, but Private Sector fraud is just as bad as government fraud. Were the payouts to the Fannie and Freddie crowd a bit excessive too? Hmmmmm

I support opportunity. Government is needed in certain areas but sometimes (usually) it hinders growth.

Also Redblack, the top two percent probably pay about 40 to 50 percent of our taxes. The top 10% pay about 50 or 70% (I can’t remember) Krugman wants them to pay 91% (how magnanimous of him). Next time you go to the grocery store, why don’t I just take half of what you bought, OK?

Which side of the coin works best?

I find it embarrassing to think with all of Obama’s “successes”, the Democratic Party is in complete denial. I find it embarrassing that the only way some of these candidates will win is to claim they (dems) voted against healthcare and are localizing their races. They are afraid of their voting record.

I find the struggle in the Republican party refreshing. RINO’s are going to become much more scarce. Conservatives. Get used to the term. Fiscal Responsibility just might return. Maybe even some confidence in our country will return.

I find it embarrassing for the mainstream media to say the dums are cutting into the leads of their Republican opponents when polling shows Republicans are gaining in the Senate races except for CA and CO. Wow, that could mean Republican control of the Senate. Even two months ago that was unthinkable.

I find it embarrassing that the Dums are losing 53 seats currently held by Dums and 20 more seats are within 5 points.

What is the Dum message? ? ? ? ? ? What? ? ? ? ? George Bush sucked???? Defending Obamanomics? Health Care? Cap and Tax? Porkulus? Except for slinging mud, those candidates are going to fail for what they have done in the last 21 months.

I did find it embarrasing to have Murkowski, Crist and Castle listed as Republicans. I am now convinced that the Progressive plague is finally being rooted out of parts of the Republican party. Even W grew the government. Shame on him.

I hope ODonnell casts a spell on you. Normally you secular fascists would be supporting a witch. Not Christine. Moonbeam probably didn’t need Allred throwing her client under the bus but she did. OK, I have to admit Paladino seems nuts to me. So did Mr. Green in South Carolina.

Global Warming. When the data is accurate, maybe I will believe it. Supposedly it went up this year, but it remained about the same for the past ten years. We are not Chicken Little (the sky is falling). There are good arguments for and against but I don’t see the seas rising 20 feet like Gore said. I will trust good science, not science that can’t find or threw out the original data and applied a formula which manipulates the data just to get more funding. I believe in climate change but let us not get too far ahead of ourselves. Lets be reasonable about this.

Lets compare rallies and litter. Beck Rally 4 to 500,000, very little litter, Union rally 200,000 or so and the place was trashed. Reality. The fiscally responsible people were more tidy. I bet some environmentalists were pissed.

Even George Soros knows this election is lost for his evil ilk. Bye Bye Pelosi. Say hello to Boehner and his sun tan. Bye Bye Reid, say hello to anyone who doesn’t think the American People STINK. Now that is embarrassing. Yes Harry, 14.4% unemployment doesn’t bode well for Nevada’s own Mr. Reid.

Let the Tea Party begin. In fact you had better get used to taking a lickin’ from the “tea baggers”. Did I say that?

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