Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Looks like the Republicans will retake the House (Update)

At least, that's how the latest polls are looking. I don't see any way to turn this around, frankly.

Update: It's all so bloody predictable. After (or just before) the GOP achieves a majority, it'll be scandal time for the Obama administration.

What will the scandal be? Doesn't matter. You know how the Republicans are: In a world filled with real problems and real covert actions and real horrors, the right-wingers always fixate on something inane. Whitewater. Vince Foster. The Birth Certificate. You know the drill.

So the right is going to gin up some bullshit pseudoscandal that'll have just enough reality behind it to keep people intrigued. The WP and the NYT will take it seriously. The WSJ will go crazy. Limbaugh and Beck and Hannity and O'Reilly will scream about Bullshitgate 24/7.

And then will come the hearings. The GOP will be in control, so you know there will be hearings, and fishing expeditions disguised as depositions. We'll have a lot of Bullshitgate tributaries, and somewhere down one of those tributaries, someone will find something relatively minor but triable.

Bullshitgate will have strange -- yet strangely predictable -- effects on the PUMA folk. There will be a lot of people righteously pissed off by the horrors of 2008 who will cheer on the brave GOPers as they investigate every nook and cranny of Bullshitgate. And at some point, guys like me will come forward and say: "Look, I don't like Obama, but this Bullshitgate thing is, well, bullshit."

A-HA! people will say. We knew you were working for Obama all along...!

And there I'll be, defending a President I don't like against the nonsense being peddled by a bunch of other people I don't like.

Our political life has turned into Groundhog Day.

By the way: Andy Brietbart -- boy, I'm really starting to loathe this guy -- is trying to peddle some malarky about a Justice Department conspiracy against O'Keefe and his spooky pals. That's what the right-wing ratfuckers always do -- find some way to turn it around. (That's also what the Obot ratfuckers did on NAFTA.) It'll be easier for them to do this kind of thing when they have a majority again.


41 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess Obama really is greater than Jeebus after all.

Jeebus only raised one guy from the dead, but Obama brought a whole party back from the brink of extinction!

(He turned waffles into whine too)

Alessandro Machi said...

Why should it be turned around. Lets hope that some third party candidates win and that Pelosi and Reid go bye bye, that would be huge.

Perry Logan said...

Looks like all that "reaching out" to Republicans has finally paid off. :)

Jay said...

I'm not seeing that they ever lost it.

Bob said...

What an improvement...

The sleazebag Republicians will be replacing the scumbag Democrats.

I am agog with anticipation!

Anonymous said...

This is the beginning of the end of the Obama Democrats. More and more of them are breaking off and going their own way. Calling your constituents names and following bullies is not a sound campaign strategy.

Mormaer

bluelyon said...

Ya know, if the Repubs do this to Obama, I fear I won't be able to defend him. I won't buy inot their bullshit, but defend him? Nah.

Live by the sword and all that.

Anonymous said...

My fear all along. The weakness of Obama pitted against the determination of the GOP to win at any cost has created this inevitable conclusion which is going to hurt more than it will help.

I am no fan of Obama but for those just looking to satisfy their displeasure of him by bringing the GOP back into power the consequences may be more than they bargained for. A repeat of the Bush years with more of less the same cast of characters and some new more rabid members is not the secret for success.

However, I hold Obama and his current slate of advisers wholly responsible for this uptick. He choose to seek an "easy path" that did not include confrontation against those who have no investment in serving the nation.

Zee said...

::rolling eyes at Alessandro:: Yeah, multiple "third" party wins. You know, the Groundhogis having a tea party later with the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. You're invited.

Anonymous said...

I am a leftist, so be in the corner with right winger is a big stretch. But the 2008 stink still hurts. May be I am someone who doesn't get over things easily but the end result is that I will never forgive or forget 2008, GOP or not

Bob Harrison said...

What Bob said. myiq2xu, too.

Alessandro may be wishing and hoping but at least it is hope. Give hope a chance! I like the idea of an Animal Party-- PUMAs, Groundhogs, Tea Bags. Think of the cartooning possibilities.

(Would a third party be out of the question with a former president at the helm?)

Alessandro Machi said...

Zee, what is your point? You'd rather not have any third party candidates get elected knowing that would send a HUGE message to both parties?

My Third Party

You don't think Pelosi and Reid should for putting their own selfish motivations ahead of the democratic party and voters?

Your cynicism is mind numbing.

Anonymous said...

As a leftist, this has been the most painful experience in politics and it will worse for Obots judging from supporters around me. Obama has to be a plant out to destroy the Democratic Party and the country.

Alee said...

Hey, look, it doesn't make a difference what party it is that's in power as much as who the people in the powerful leadership positions are and where their priorities are. There are sane Repubs. and Dems. just as there are insane Repubs. and Dems. If there are snake in the grass leaders in Congress beholden to Corps. as is the Preznit, then we're f234ed for the foreseeable future. Clinton had her faults like anyone but I just don't see her f234ing up healthcare again or letting those jackholes in Congress f234ing up healthcare again, giving all the that money to Goldmansach of my knuts (especially since they didn't give much to her), supporting warrantless spying, DADT, campaign finance reform, praising Reagan for anything, and CERTAINLY not letting the Repubs. get a chance at taking back the Congress. Saying that clears something up for me and maybe you too. Her money came from regular folks moreso than BHO's, so logically she would be beholden to those folks, right? If you wanna know what a pol is gonna do, who he's gonna support with what legislation, follow the money. Now that's gonna be even worse of a prob. Man, we are done.

Anonymous said...

The first mistake in this "New Democratic Party" was in dismissing the actual Democratic supporters. They insisted they were no longer needed thus establishing groups like PUMA to evolve.

PUMA sites then became more open to GOP talking points and found in time that they were being "swallowed up" in support of anything that reinforced the opposition to Obama. Astroturfing by Tea Party financiers that were led by the likes of Dick Armey found "common cause" with the disaffected and the Right was being rewarded by many disenchanted Dems who were seeking a haven.

The Dem Leadership mistakenly declared that they "had nowhere else to go" and this arrogance led many to depart the ranks of the party.

Arrogance and dismissal led to the creation of the collapse of this house of cards and unfortunately we may be witnessing the rise of the party we sought to rid ourselves of in 2008.

In dismissing your once faithful base of support, believing that you have something better to offer, means you must deliver. They have not.

Instead, thanks to a neophyte with no firm convictions, we are faced with the rise of a party declared defunct only months ago. Not a good thing IMHO.

Anonymous said...

The Pirate Party started by millenials already had meetups on Jan 22 and Feb 1. I really like the idea of taking our country back. AARRARRRR!

Declarations and Demands

Anonymous said...

I don't think a solid win by Republicans will do anything but stymie everything. It will then become a push-pull circus. When we go from "the end justifies the means" governance to "no means at all", balance is upended and we have stalemate. America will turn into a third-world nation by default.

Lonni

Anonymous said...

America, we need a third party that can galvanize our generation. One that doesn't reek of pansy. I propose a U.S. Pirate Party.

jackyt said...

Abraham Lincoln was a 3rd party candidate IIRC. (I don't literally "recall"; I'm not THAT old!) I just can't wait to hear from the Obama 2012 campaign how Obama can't be re-elected because we're are all RA-CIST!!!

lori said...

I am sick to my stomach. We could have accomplished so much and instead we have used our limited wealth and energy to resurrect the party that has nearly destroyed the nation. I think Democrats in Congress were in a bigger panic about the demise of the Republicans than the Republicans were. Legacy parties, indeed.

Well, on the upside, Obama will finally be forced to haul his birth certificate and tell us what hospital he was born in. Unfortunately, he will be doing this as president so the right wing presumption will be high level hanky panky.

I swear Obama is a sociopath. He has done nothing but sow division and chaos in his path.

lori said...

I like the Pirate Party. That's pretty much it. You might want to introduce them to Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights, or Economic Bill of Rights. It's what I wanted the PUMAs to structure themselves around but that plan went up in smoke.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Bill_of_Rights

Sextus Propertius said...

Well, the Republicans love a good sex scandal, so I predict that the very first act of the 2011 Republican majority will be to subpoena Larry Sinclair and give him the 15 minutes of fame he always wanted.

Sextus Propertius said...

By the way, myiq, I believe I'm the originator of the "Republican resurrection" meme (just as you originated "failure was the *plan*").

willyjsimmons said...

If I were a devious republican...I would probe Obama's campaign contributions.

But that's just me.

Would I feel compelled to "defend" Obama at that point?

Hell to da naw.

Anonymous said...

Sextus:

You want it, you got it. I'll send any royalties I collect to you.

Alessandro Machi said...

Defeat Reid, Defeat Pelosi, support Third Party Candidates, support Hillary Clinton political supporters.

Works for me, what about you?

Send me names of politicians that meet the above criteria and I'll add their website to My Third Party.

Yes, even Pirates for Hillary are welcome.

alee said...

Hell to da naw, indeed. If the repubs. open a can of Obama worms, will they be 'Monica Lewinsky' type worms or 'I lied a whole mothertruckin lot and often' worms'? Please be the latter.

Alessandro Machi said...

One more comment for Zee. Why is it ok for Barack Obama to run on a "change" platform, but if a Hillary Clinton supporter "hopes" for change that does not require giving all the power back to the republicans who have done nothing to earn it, you ridicule the concept.

It is this kind of control patrol, control troll, coming from Barack Obama supporters that I will not keep silent about.

Your people can sit on the sidelines and start thinking about things that matter rather than the chatter of change.

Anonymous said...

After 35 years as a faithful Democrat , I now have no party. Both are corrupt, the Democrats are so weak and afraid of their own shadows. Not one investigation of Bush/Cheney wrong doing. I can tell you one thing for sure "I will never defend BHO ". I don't care what wild arse claim they make against him. Proud Puma.

NYSmike said...

OT Joseph...your blogroll needs an update. Liberal Rapture has moved to a new home...

www.johnwsmart.com

Alessandro Machi said...

Pumas and Pirates for Hillary. My Third Party

Diane said...

If Republicans retake the house it will certainly make it easier for Obama to privatize/feed the banksters social security. Not that I trust our so-called Democrats to preserve a shred of the safety net.
Maybe the power shift was intended, a feature and not a flaw.
I feel like I'm having a permanent out of body experience.

Anonymous said...

These particular poll results do not indicate much of anything as to the Dems losing the House.

Why? Because when you go into the polling booth, you do not vote some generic party or the other-- you vote for one CANDIDATE or another.

It's quite possible, and happens all the time, that although a given voter may 'prefer' in some abstract sense one party over another overall, still he/she votes for a candidate in the party supposedly dispreferred.

Just like incumbents as a class. It's not inconceivable that one could argue that 'incumbents' ought to be thrown out (in general), but specifically, YOUR incumbent rep ought to be elected anyway ('cause he's doing a good job somehow despite being in that bad party).

Both of these scenarios can happen, and do.

Taking the last time the Democrats lost the House, sure, they had a generic party preference deficit, and a bad one (worse that this one). However, still it took that 2 to 3 million that Haley Barbour's RNC took back from someplace they'd already spent it, using that Hong Kong billionaire's loan guarantee, with that money put directly into the closest 10 House races, to swing over the majority to them.

That is, with the Democratic Party in worse odor then than now, it took what was effectively foreign money, and a lot of it, for the day, or else even in those dire circumstances, the Dems would have KEPT the House majority.

When Charlie Cook or one of the others who are experts not only in this generic ballot, but in the specifics of all the House races, says that the Dems will likely lose **40** seats, I'll be more convinced.

He's not there yet.

XI

Anonymous said...

Hell to da naw, indeed. If the repubs. open a can of Obama worms, will they be 'Monica Lewinsky' type worms or 'I lied a whole mothertruckin lot and often' worms'? Please be the latter.

After Massachusetts, we know Obama and the Democratic leadership could have had anything they wanted. Public option, repeal of DADT, you name it. They just didn't care. The Democratic leadership never wanted public option. Obama and the Democratic leadership wanted Stupak-Nelson. Why aren't establishment feminists (NOW excluded) talking about that? They don't need 60 votes or even 51. They just wan the status quo. Imagine how angry House Dems or Senators like Feingold must be because Obama is losing their jobs?

Alessandro Machi said...

Anon, who cares whether the democrats retain control, or the republicans get it back, who cares?

I want third party intervention. Its time. Clinton/Palin 2012. My Third Party

Anonymous said...

Joseph, I know he feels passionate about it but Machi's MyThirdParty comments are devolving into spam. Please Alessandro, one pitch per Joe post. Oh, and did you support Nader too?

arbusto205 said...

Sorry, Machi-spam comment wasn't meant to be totally unattributed (problem with submitting and NoScript).

Arbusto205

Zee said...

I agree regarding the spam posts. It makes it more clear as to why the nonstop pitch for some random Turd Party if there is, in fact, an attempt to siphon people off to a named, linked Cult Party.

Oh, and Bob? I'm sure the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Alessandro will scoot down and make room for you at the Mad Hatter Tea Party. They're serving leftover "hope."

And if you can't see why "Would a third party be out of the question with a former president at the helm?" is the most laughable statement I've ever seen...and that includes all the Obot quotes Joseph is always finding for us...then you should fit right in with a Mad Tea Party.

What former president??? Jimmy Carter????

It's even funnier than Alessandro's Hillary-Sarah fantasy ticket. They're dolls, are they, Alessandro? Hillary and Sarah are little dolls for you to play with? No? Oh....then you're a political consultant in talks with them about an actual run? Noo????!!

Thought so. Joseph, we don't need trolls feeding on people's political fantasies in order to build a cult.

Listen up, loonies...if your link or your "Turd Party" suggestion doesn't involve an existing grassroots party with actual candidates in actual races, kindly stfu already.

Anonymous said...

The third party route, like a revolutionary movement, is usually only a seductive mirage.

When such movements are coming out of their cradles, they are ripe for the picking, and other hands pick up their reins.

Perot's Reform Party's devolution is one example. Kerensky vs. Lenin is another.

XI

Michael D said...

The Dems can go to hell. They had their chance to change things, and instead sold themselves to special interests. Obama and his no special interest advisors: bullshit. Obama and change: bullshit. Obama and open government: bullshit. Obama and Bush's unconstitutional power grabs: supported them. Obama and torture: continuing it. Dems and holding Bush people responsible for abuses: no. Fuck the Democrats, every one of them.

Zee said...

Fuck you, Michael. Fraudbama is a Trojan Ass, not a Dem. So, which is it. Are you a moron or a troll.