GOP Senate Win – The Fools Controlling the Blind

Benjamin Franklin's scepticism when he said he'd given Americans a republic, if they could keep it, has again proved to be well founded. I guess he understood the general populace's addiction to illusion and dislike of thinking for themselves and taking serious responsibility for their choices.

The truth about President Obama, that he's a brilliant man who has turned the country around in ways that no other leader in the world has been able to do for their country, is available to everyone but too many have chosen to see an illusion created by fools whose only talent is in conning the multitudes, the kind of fools who distribute pamphlets telling people the election has been postponed or the polling stations have been moved. Who organize robocalls to election officials the night before voting telling them they're not qualified and mustn't show up on election day. That's who will govern the US for the next two years. 

It doesn't say a thing about President Obama or what he’s achieved in reality but it speaks volumes to a level of mental degradation in the majority of those who chose to vote. Dumbed-down doesn't even begin to describe it. Well, you can blind yourself to reality but your blindness doesn't save you and everybody else from the consequences of your choices.

Equality for women, rights for all minorities, LGBT equality, decent working wages for all, health care for all, affordable education, a soaring Dow Jones, a middle class and economy on the path to recovery, policies protecting the environment and promoting clean energy - kiss it all good-bye.  

And welcome back increased racism, paranoia, prejudice, poverty, promotion of environmental destruction, more guns, a country split even more disastrously into first world and third world with an ever widening gap between the two, increasingly disintegrated infrastructure, wasted spending, international wars and more power to the military industrial complex, banks doing what they want, an even more biased justice system… 

Welcome back to everything that set America plummeting down on a course towards economic destruction and social disintegration.

  

This brings to mind the words of a Faith Hill song I’ve Got My Baby; “Those were dark days, dark days indeed.” Further on, the words are “But everyone knows that that’s how it goes, it’s usually bound to get better.” It will, eventually, but not for the next two years and that’s a lot of time for the rot to set in again.  

What a wasted opportunity. My heart goes out to President Obama, the First Lady and their daughters. This must be unimaginably and inexpressibly painful for them. Being ahead of your time  brings grand respect after your job is done or you're dead but it doesn't bring much to you when you're alive.

Senators Reid and McConnell Reach a Deal and Save America from Default

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have reached an agreement to reopen the government and avert a US default on its debt by extending the government's authority to borrow into next year. Since the first rumors surfaced of the agreement, the Dow Jones has surged 200 points. 

Congress still has to act, which should press alarm bells, but most people seem to believe that it will, including Warren Buffet, speaking to CNN's Poppy Harlow. He also said "the first thing that should be done after it passes is for both sides to say 'we will not use the debt limit as a weapon any more'. In fact," he continued, "we should get rid of it entirely." He added that it was wrong to put the American people through unnecessary worry as Congress has been doing lately. "It almost becomes a game...it's beneath the level of our Congress" he said. When Poppy asked him if this, being a short term deal, would harm business, he said it wouldn't if both parties promised not to use the debt ceiling, which was as much as he was prepared to say on that subject.  

He didn’t need to say that only one side has been using the debt ceiling as a weapon. So for now a global crisis is close to being averted one more time. Most importantly, Obama's line in the sand wasn't breached. This deal has conceded nothing to Republicans. They played a dirty game for the second time, gambled and lost for the second time. Will Congress change, will it learn its lesson? Not likely. 

The Press Secretary, speaking at a press conference at the White House, when asked if the agreement reached in the Senate was a win for the President, a vindication, replied that there were no winners, stressing the point that Obama didn’t stand his ground as a strategy in a game that he hoped to win. 

There was a winner, though. Sanity. Sanity came out on top. And the biggest loser?  A Tea Party that didn’t after all manage to herald in a new world order or spark off any great social movement of change other than that of stirring up scorn for a Speaker who let them get out of control; inflaming anger against Congress that has blocked progress for almost 5 years; and nurturing repugnance for themselves as a party and for the individuals like Ted Cruz whose hearts are filled with a lust for power, whose heads are filled with sawdust it appears, but who are well and truly whipped.    

Congress Republicans Backed into a Corner as President Obama Stands Firm

On the 8th of October, eight days into the government shutdown, President Obama spoke from the White House about the need for Congress to understand that funding the government and paying the nation’s bills are not bargaining chips, they are part of Congress’s primary role. He said “…members of Congress - and the House Republicans in particular - don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their jobs. And two of their very basic jobs are passing a budget and making sure that America is paying its bills."

Obama’s message has been consistent throughout the government shutdown crisis. He will not negotiate with blackmailers. He has said a number of times that if a person blackmails you once, they'll do it again. And again and again. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agrees with him. His stand is ‘open the government, raise the debt ceiling and we’ll negotiate’. Colleagues and aides have said recently that in all his 25 years in the Senate Reid has never been this outraged or aggressively proactive. House Republicans have crossed a line in his opinion. As Democrat Senator Patty Murray said of Reid, “He feels passionately that if we allow our country to be run by hostage-taking - ‘I feel [strongly] about an issue, and I’m going to shut down the government unless I get my way’ - it is bad for today, it’s bad for tomorrow, it’s bad for democracy.”

On October 6 President Obama had spoken at FEMA and challenged Boehner on his stand that he didn’t put a clean CR to a vote because there wasn’t a bi-partisan majority to pass it (despite that Democrats and even some House Republicans having said there was one).

“If [some] Republicans and Speaker Boehner are saying there are not enough votes, then they should prove it. Let the bill go to the floor and let’s see what happens. Just vote. Let every member of Congress vote their conscience and they can determine whether or not they want to shut the government down. My suspicion is, my very strong suspicion is, that there are enough votes there.” That suspicion has been shared by many all along. If Boehner was telling the truth he had nothing to lose by putting it to the vote.

Congress has played this game since Obama began his presidency – of taking a hard line when the stakes were high and pushing Obama and Democrats to making concessions. In the beginning Obama was willing to be flexible because that, he has insisted, is what democracy is all about. But he’s also said that when it matters he knows how to draw his line in the sand.

That’s the part that Congress didn't believe. With the government shutdown and their job approval ratings according to Gallup at 11%, one percentage point higher than their lowest in Gallup history, they blindly tried the same tactic again recently when Obama invited the House to speak with him. John Boehner said last Sunday, after that invitation was issued, that he would not let a default happen, which got him a few kudos for a day or so because most people believed he was saying he wouldn't participate in blackmail again.

But they were wrong. What he didn't say on Sunday was that his idea of not letting the default happen was to continue the blackmail but with the stakes so high that the President and the Senate would have no option but to cave. 

He and his Tea Party backers not only proved Obama to have understood them perfectly, but they also miscalculated badly. Neither Obama nor the Democrats caved and the House has truly backed itself into a corner with the debt default date looming - something that even hard-core members like Ted Cruz have begun to realize. He's not making any grand speeches these days.

Perhaps they've finally looked at the polls and realized where reality lies. They're still whining about Democrats and the President refusing to negotiate but they're sounding embarrassingly pitiful now. With Congress job approval ratings virtually at an historic all-time low, overall favorability is at 28%, down from 38% in September (as opposed to Democrat job approval at 43%). As for the Tea Party, the highest support it’s ever had was 32% in late 2010. That support has dwindled to 22%.

It becomes clearer and clearer that the Tea Party isn't interested in democracy but wants to impose its will on a reluctant American electorate. It seems to have a vested interest in the Republican party imploding, even if it means that the US economy falls apart. They clearly see themselves as David versus Goliath and a new world order emerging with them triumphantly heralding it in. The point they haven’t apparently grasped is that a new world order always has a huge groundswell moving it with a fully representative leader. This group of political bandits hasn’t just taken on Obama, they’ve pit themselves against the voters, actually creating a groundswell - of opposition to themselves. 

It’s very strange in a civilized country to see a political party so blinded by self-delusion and behave so stupidly and self-destructively as this one has since 2008. 

The Republican Party is a rag-tag bunch now, disintegrating at the speed of light. Controlled by a group addicted to blackmail and gambling, unable to see or acknowledge how lousy they are at both. 

It was always going to be difficult for Republicans at the 2016 elections as their main support base – older whites – dies off and as minority groups become increasingly franchised. But they’re making it worse for themselves, actively doing all the dirty work for Democrats, making it even easier for them way ahead of the next elections. It defies belief. If there are any sensible Republican politicians, now is the time for them to show leadership and fiercely lobby for what the American voters really want - a clean CR and to raise the debt ceiling - and show the electorate that not all Republican politicians are gamblers and hostage takers. 

But it doesn’t look as if that’s going to happen. More moderate Republicans in Congress are being more open about their desire to stop the hostage taking but so far none of them seem to have the courage to really take a stand against the Tea Party. No  wonder. Those who have, have lost Tea Party funding and support. The President isn't the only who's been blackmailed. 

All of which casts a pretty optimistic light on 2016; a Democrat President, Democrat Senate, Democrat Congress. 

It’s a tragedy of history that President Obama hasn’t had that kind of support, solely because of an undercurrent of racism and fear of losing status quo that is still embedded deep into the psyche of so many Americans, so deep that it's unacknowledged and hotly denied. But it's an absolute triumph that he has established a legacy that will impact on the US and the world for a long time. He is the man who has truly heralded in a new world order, the leader of a genuine groundswell in America with a genuinely representative leader. When change happens, whether it's in an individual or a nation, all the entrenched, destructive old ways fight to the death. That's what we're seeing here: the death rattle of the old order.

Bill Clinton Speaks to George Stephanopolous on Obamacare and 2106 Elections

People do bad things. Great men and women stumble and fall. Some are not broken by the public censure. They weather the storm and emerge stronger and smarter. Of those, some are more manipulative than ever, setting the stage unawares for another, more disastrous fall; others are more straightforward and a whole lot more likeable.  

Bill Clinton is one of the latter. He’s not the flirt he used to be. He’s more rooted, but he’s also disarmingly honest these days; outspoken, clear-sighted and focused, working for the good of humanity, enjoying himself immensely. He didn’t con the world into thinking he’s a good guy now; he genuinely changed. But he also has a real innate talent for enjoying life and moving beyond past mistakes. And he refused to be cowed. There's dignity in that.

GeorgeStephanopolous spoke to him about whether supporting Obamacare (which they both staunchly support) will help or hurt Hilary Clinton in the 2016 elections.

Stephanopolous: "I was really struck by something Lindsay Graham said the other day. He said ‘from now on’ – after Tuesday’s meeting – ‘I’m gonna call it Clintoncare.’...

[Breaking News (Fox News Live) showing On the Record]: “…if it’s a huge success Hilary Clinton will win the Presidency. If it’s the failure that I think it’s going to be then she needs to own the result of embracing this bill.” 

Stephanopolous: “How worried are you about that?”

Bill Clinton: “Not at all. There are some similarities and the one we proposed. His bill’s already produced a lot of good results. Look, they [Republicans] are desperate for this bill to fail. Because if it’s not a failure everything they’ve been telling us – since 1980 - they so badly want it to fail - I’ve never seen this – can you remember a time in your lifetime when a major political party was just sitting around begging for America to fail?”

Clinton’s recipe for winning a presidential election: “Two things: you’ve got to have a plan for the future that relates to the people – you know, this is not about the candidates as much as about having a plan for the future. 

“Secondly, you have to have a strategy for presenting your true self to the voters in an environment where there are unprecedented opportunities for those who don’t want you to win to paint a different picture of your true self.

“Learn the lessons of your mistakes and your failures without becoming a general who fights the last war. Because every new encounter will be shaped by different forces.”

Speaking about CGI – Clinton Global Initiative – he said something that showed an understanding of humanity that so many of us just don’t realize; that to move forward, you can have all the will in the world you could fail unless you have the right kind of support. “But I realized in the beginning when we started, we made unwarranted assumptions about how easy it was to decide what you wanted to do and then to do it.  And as we learn more about how people wanted to make informed choices and they need more help putting their commitments together, we did that.”

All in all, the man has a good understanding of the imperfections we all live with and how to get beyond them.

Congress Reaps the Reward of their Blackmail as the Debt Ceiling Crisis Looms

Republicans in Congress are reaping the rewards of their blackmail tactics as public disgust and scorn grow daily; as Obamacare /Affordable Care Act rolls out and more people actually understand what it’s about and that it benefits them; and as the next crisis aka the debt ceiling deadline looms. 

This isn’t the first time this Congress has tried governing by blackmail. The last time they caved; this time they didn’t, but they haven’t got many kudos for it, from Democrat or Republican voters. Everybody, except for the hell-raisers in Congress, is worn out and out of patience with the stupidity that has governed Congress lately and resulted in disaster for so many. The hell-raisers have celebrated, with Michelle Bachman quoted by the Washington Post as saying “We’re very excited. It’s exactly what we wanted and we got it.” but clearly she and her ilk didn’t think about the consequences of their desires.  

Now that more than a million are having to work without pay, and 800,000 others are on forced leave, Congress is scrabbling to save face, backing down, trying to pass piecemeal bills to protect those who have been disastrously affected by their actions.

Too little too late. President Obama and Democrats are standing firm. No compromise on this because the stakes are too high. If they allow government by blackmail they set a dangerous precedent. Members of Congress and especially Speaker Boehner are still doing all they can to point the blame at the Senate for refusing to compromise but few are buying it.

And now the debt ceiling crisis looms. Boehner has been making a point of talking privately and publicly about his determination to raise the debt ceiling, but what he says now and what he actually does could possibly be worlds apart.

He has said that if necessary he’ll work with Democrats in Congress and even break the informal Hastert Rule – which requires a bill to have a Republican majority support. What stopped him doing that up until now? He had only to present a bill to keep government open, without any blackmail conditions attached, and it would have been passed by Democrats and moderate Republicans in the House. No showdown. No shutdown. No consequences to millions. No scrabbling about now trying to fix things that broke real fast.

It was all up to Boehner, but he allowed himself to be caught between rationality and what the voting public wants, and conservatives pushing an agenda that hurt the majority and who have only a small voting public support base but who have the power to have him fired. Boehner chose to keep his job.

Now he’s going to be up against the same fight, and that’s what happens when you align yourself with thugs. With the debt ceiling, the only new factor is his powerful business connections. Are they powerful and influential enough to ensure that he doesn't lose his job if does what they want in the face of resistance from hardliners? Because it’s hard to imagine that the Tea Party members of Congress won’t try the same blackmail tactics.  

Boehner has gotten praise for his comments but it looks as if he's trying to placate his powerful connections and a public that is openly fed up with Congress. Either that or he's trying to raise people's hopes so high that the Tea Party members and their support won't dare to try and hold the country hostage again. The problem is that they've already shown they aren't that smart; they don't read the polls or notice anything outside the bubble of their own self-delusions. Again, to quote Michele Bachmann, this time speaking on the Hannity Show two days ago (as reported on MEDIAite), “This is about the happiest I’ve seen members in a long time because we’ve seen we’re starting to win this dialogue on a national level.” 

So chances are they'll do it again. And again. As Senator Harry Reid said, “You know with a bully you cannot let them slap you around, because they slap you around today, they slap you five or six times tomorrow.” 

President Obama, speaking recently on CNBC, said “It is not unusual for Democrats and Republicans to disagree. That’s the way our founders designed our government; democracy is messy. “But when you have a situation in which a faction is willing potentially to default on US Government obligations then we are in trouble. And if they’re willing to do it now they’ll be willing to do it later.

“One thing that I often hear is ‘well Mr. President, even if they’re being unreasonable, why can’t you just go ahead and do something that makes them happy now?’

“What I have to remind people is that what we’re debating right now is keeping the government open for two months! We would then be going through this exact same thing in the middle of Christmas shopping season…and then we’d have to go through it again six months from now and six months after that. And one thing that I know the American people are tired of - and I have to assume the vast majority of businesses are tired of – is this constant governing from crisis to crisis. So in that sense, do we need to break that fever? Absolutely.”

Speaking about a week ago, he said this: “If Republicans do not like the law, they can go through the regular channels and processes to try to change it. That's why we have elections.”