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No Shutdown, But a Lot of Sellouts
If you had asked Franklin Roosevelt or Harry Truman or John Kennedy or Lyndon Johnson or Jimmy Carter or even Bill Clinton what Democrats would defend in a fight over the future of government, there's no real question that funding for housing, public transportation, community development programs and safe air travel would be high on the list.
Yet, in order to achieve the Friday night deal that averted a government shutdiown -- for a week and, potentially, longer if an anticipated agreement is cobbled together and agreed to -- all of those programs took serious hits.
The arrangement worked out Friday night averted the threatened shutdown with a two-step process. First, the House and Senate passed a one-week spending bill that addressed the immediate threat. That should give Congress and the White House time to finalize a fiscal 2011 spending deal -- on which they have agreed in principle -- before an April 15 deadline.
So who won the standoff? President Obama says the deal is good for the future, and that might make some Democrats think that he and the Democrats prevailed.
They didn't.
The one-week spending bill enacted by the House and Senate contains $2 billion in spending cuts to transportation, housing and community development programs.
A Senate Appropriations Committee review says that most of the $2 billion in cuts contained in the one-week bill come from a $1.5 billion slashing of the Federal Railroad Administration's High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail program. More cuts are achieved by hacking $220 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Fund. And research into making air travel safer and more efficient took cuts as well.
In other words, precsiely the sort of programs that Democrats used to defend were slashed.
The Senate agreed to the one-week plan by unanimous consent.
Seventy House members opposed the bill. Of those 70 "no" votes, 42 came from Democrats. They did not want a shutdown, as some of the GOP "no" voters did. But the dissenting Democrats said the cuts went too far.
They were right.
And we will need a lot more FDR Democrats to prevent the broader deal from becoming the greatest triumph yet in the GOP campaign to end the New Deal and bend the arc of history against progress.
Comments
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125 Comments so far
Show AllObama: The Great Capitulator
Capitualtion?
Nah, Mr. Obama's puppet strings were being pulled
from the first time he announced that he WOULDN'T RUN
for president.
This is all some bad opera and most of us are the supernumeraries
carrying the spears.
. . . When will we use them? Which way to the Bastille?
.Ah to the Bastillie indeed. But what then Madame Defarge? What comes after the fall the aristocracy. What comes after the truth about all this corruption, hypocrisy and double-think mentally is unmasked and their true colors are revealed? It is only a matter of time before everyone will know everything, instantly and the truth will out as it always does. But what comes after that? Hopefully something more civilized than that which toppled the French monarchy.
..
Gonna need a lot of spare Guillitine Blades.
>^^<
Obama's capitulation is nothing but another con from the consummate con man.
I agree with you, Paul.........I am afraid that another 30 Billion or so will be given to the awful Republicans in order to get the debt limit raised.......These folks do not care about the American government..........They figure that they are rich (mostly) and that they will be protected if the government defaults........I wonder what planet are they from??????
One gets the feeling that the direction of our change is bringing us in a big circle. We find ourselves in a time warp headed to 1900 thru 1930.
However, as Robert Reich points out: it is more like a spiral. One major difference is our awesome military might. After 50 years of industrial strength paranioa, we have been lead to a state of perminant war. We can kill anyone; the problem is their ideas live on. Now, lead by the "Ooze coming out of our TV sets." -Zappa. We vote against our own interest.
In 2001 we decided to wage unwinable war without paying for it. "Go shopping" was the cry to battle- use your credit, we will make it easy for you, because we made sure you do not make enough money to pay the bill. So here we are with a very small group of "real" American's leading us to an ever smaller, less secure personal future. At this the very moment when we can win every battle, and never win the war; we are are working against the very people who go fight those wars.
Watching CNBC Thursday morning I was treated to an international titan of industry, explaining "the working class is lazy, and ignorant, and the rich have to guard their money from them, through any method, or the lazy people will vote to to take it away from the rich, because they are to lazy to work for it." I enjoyed his honesty, I felt so liberated.
The last part was not honesty, the titans statement. The poor have been broken by a wealthy elite who has suppressed wages to increase corporate profit. The elite are lazy because they have made billions by exploiting the labour of common working people. Many havbe great difficulty finding work due to mass layoffs to increase corporate profitability for the elite.
Even union workers can't rely on keeping up with inflation! Gotta keep the profits/and bonuss flowing up!
>^^<
When I spoke of being liberated by the statements of the "titans", what I meant is to feel free to talk plainly about depth of greed to anyone who is wondering how I feel about this warped vision of the working class. There is a true distain by many of the rich toward the "Masses" They are now out of the closet, so to speak. That helps the average man see the bluntness of their "club."
The most striking reality of the recent budget fight was that military spending was increased by $5 Billion. The cuts to social programs: -$38 Billion, Education, aid to the disabled, elder care, head start, colleges, training, But build me a new way to kill, and I will give you money.
All Hail Sparta. ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς (Ḕ tā̀n ḕ epì tâs)
"Either [with] it [your shield], or on it"
Ahhhh yes the old "workers are lazy" thing. Yep we sure are. I'm keyboarding on a computer built by lazy workers. The electricity is traveling through transmission lines put up by more lazy workers. The power itself is generated at a plant operated by still more lazy workers.
Earlier this morning I was in my car assembled by still even more lazy workers, traveling on the interstate built by some of the world's laziest workers, the American worker. Jesus, putting these thoughts in cyberspace is just too much work. I'm taking a nap so I can dream of the transcendence of the rich and hard working.
What I found most shocking is that he, and Reid, both congratulated themselves and the Republicans for a "Job well done". Basically Democrats were beaten in this, you dont babble on about how something which goes against all progressive values is a great success and congratulate yourself. Obamas speech should have been of sadness, regret, sorrow and statements about what a bad deal it really was .
Part of the problem is as well People like Obama move further to the right, the more concessions that he gives to Republicans, the more the Republicans will come back with even more vicious demands than before. As with the extension of the buig tax cuts fo the wealthy at the behest of Republicans which added $900 bn to the deficit. We knew that after that the Republicans would be even more emboldened.
Obama it is very clear now is not a progressive and does not really have the commoners interests in mind.
Of the recent fiasco, the most shocking things were when reid and obama both said that the cuts were important to the economy, which is an outright lie, and then extolled his wonderful relationship with the corporate elite and chamber of commerce. This was deeply maddening and shows we have very serious problems indeed and basically little opposition to the extreme fascist agena of republicans.
But it was well done. DEM's and REPUG's are just tags for the seating arrangement, They served their bosses well! and will be rewarded. It's all a big magic show. Where money appears and dissapers to and from nowhere!
Again The Corporate Masters have won! Their servents have done their jobs well!
>^^<
John Nichols says,
** "President Obama says the deal is good for the future, and that might make some democrats think that he and the democrats prevailed.
They didn't." **
He then tells us that the Senate agreed "unanimously" to this corruption.
How dense do you have to be to NOT see that this debauchery is what the democrats and their friends want?
Not ALL the democrats want this. Just the majority of them, who need corporate money to run for office.
Translation = It's good for Obamas future. He doesn't have any parents relying on Medicade, or SSI His future is bright indeed. A secured job somewhere in the MIC or a Chair at some fancy ivy laeuge University, Whatever positions his kids want!
His future is fine, even is he doesn't get re-elected, and the good ole boys will see to that. if the Repugs have to run Charles Manson!
>^^<
The wealthy continue their deadly ascension upon the back of the workers.
Right, you bet they are. But they really aren't getting too high because all the lazy workers can do is lay down on the job. Maybe that's because we're really very tired from building the world's greatest civilization. All those buildings and roads and railroads and airports and airplanes. And getting all that oil out of the ground and cutting down all those forests and mining all that gold and killing all those indigenous folks, who are even lazier then the rest of us.
Right. The rich are so arrogant, they don't even come to blogs like this and read what the workers really think. They just hire more lazy workers, who don't think, to come here and post the party line. What do we do? Let's just ignore them. Vote our own interests and roll up the streets so their commerce can't proceed. Then they can come outside in the weather, roll up their sleeves and build new streets with their own hands. A little hard work does wonders for the lazy.
Corruption will always make the wrong choices. Defend yourselves economically as best you can. Living local is more important than ever. The lack of knowledge and thoughtful participation by the American People bodes poorly for needed corrective changes. We seem to be on an irreversible track driven by powerful wealthy interests leading to very bad national and personal outcomes. This is no reason to give up but instead to sober up to reality and redouble our efforts both locally and nationally.
The results are merely a small part of the correction that will continue after the November election, caused by the current administrations policies during his preceding tenure.
"we will need a lot more FDR Democrats"... Didn't we just have, not just the White House, but also a "super-majority" in the Senate and a large majority in the House? And what got accomplished? A sell-out HCR, a "financial reform" bill written by Goldman-Sachs, an increase in war spending, renewal of the odious Patriot Act, an industry shill as Secretary of Interior... I could go on. Boy, we sure need more Democrats... sheesh!
Actually, Nichols uses the 'FDR' modifier to distinguish the Glass-Steagall, labour-friendly Democrat of yore from the modern fascist version.
Of course, in the same vein he might as well be calling for more sundials, siege towers and Gutenberg presses.
We could get in a circle hold hands and think hard for a return of the mostly dead FDR Dems, and all dead Abe Lincoln Republicans but as crazy as that sounds... compared to what we are doing now, it couldn't hurt.
It would be more fruitful than electronic voting, and if someone decent accidently is elected they get "Wellstoned".
When any non-living entity does more harm than good for a prolonged period of time it is simple basic morality to dissolve said non-living entity.
If our new found corporate person friends want all of our people rights, let's give them the right to receive the death penalty. Plenty of crimes to choose from and a guilty verdict would result in revocation of their corporate charter and dissolution of assets for reparations. Well, this IS Common Dreams...
Sell out is an understatement, all the elected officials that voted for these cuts should be charged with treason. These cuts are the beginning of the dismantling of the social safety net. Poverty is not synonymous with stupidity the masses will rise however, it will not be as peaceful as it was in Egypt especially when the masses are armed.
Pity we can't even get a recall, or an impeachment...
No, the only treason trial will be for Pvt Manning!
>^^<
Why blame Obama in particular when he leads one of the parties of Big Business? First their capitalist masters called for state intervention with the bailouts and with the expense of the imperialist war machine and the tax cuts to the rich, they have now ordered a reduction in the national debt. Of course the working class is left to pay the cost as it always is as long as the capitalist class maintains hegemony within the system - the capitalist system, btw. If anyone is expecting any other outcome, they are sadly politically naive. The ONLY way out for the working class is a socialist revolution. There is no other way to gain real democracy and end this dictatorship of the capitalist class.
Vote third party, short term pain equals long term gain.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahahahaha Vote third party?? WE already have one----Rethugs, TEABAGGERS and Dems! How's that for 3 party?? We got screwed from the GOP Party of NO again. We need to revolt and it won't be a nice one either BUT we need to do it to save our Democracy and Republic!!!
The Tea Party shows how a faction can successfully operate inside one of the major parties. Unlike the Progressive Democrats, who try to "bore from within", they are able to force the Republicans to their will by running their own candidates or otherwise not voting for the "authorized" Republican candidate, being willing to let the Democrats win a few elections. Result: we got Obama and his ilk and the Tea Party gets what they want from now on.
The Progressive Democrats, on the contrary, use empty phrases like "holding Obama's feet to the fire" or "hold your congressman to account" but are never willing to put teeth into those phrases by be willing to vote against the Democratic candidate. No guts, no glory.
You confuse socialism with totalitarianism. Many well-functioning nations, such as Sweden, that largely keep out of other country's affairs and tend to the needs of their own citizens, are socialistic societies.
If it isn't clear to you by now that capitalism and the dying empire of AmeriKKKa are on their last laps, then you really are delusional. It is past time that AmeriKKKa adopt some of these "hybrids."
It is true that the commentator you're replying to is confusing socialism with the bureaucratic dictatorship of societies such as the Soviet Union. But you yourself are confusing socialism with social democracy. Sweden is not now and never has been a socialist society. It is a capitalist welfare state, and there's a huge difference between that and socialism. And the same undermining of social programs by corporate interests that's taking place in the US and elsewhere is also taking place in Sweden, it's just that they had more of a welfare state to start with.
The problem of Socialism in America is everyone has a different idea of how to define it.
I have seen this all my life and the confusion about what it is and the endless arguments about what it is divides progressives and even Socialists more than capitalism does.
The dictionary says even government regulation of big business is socialist.
The Republicans just give it a dirty name and that's how they win while we divide ourselves over the dirty word "Socialism".
Notice how the subject was brought up by a Republican sounding poster.
The "Left" has even a worse understood meaning than Socialism and that is how they keep us divided... with arguments of what something means instead of doing what is best for the Common Good.
"Common Good" .. it can be attacked as Socialist too but I would rather argue about what is good than how something is defined.
I heartily agree with your opening statement, likeitornot - much ado about nothing. Congressional members spending day after wearing day arguing about whether to strip $30 - $50 billion out of a $3 trillion budget - just 1% or so - doesn't accomplish much of anything, except some posturing on pet programs.
I don't know if it's accurate, though, to imply that history shows socialism cannot work. Based on my understanding of authentic socialism - as Marx defined it - it's never actually been tried on a national scale. A friend who's studied this more than I recently explained that socialism, properly defined, is not state control of private enterprise (which I'd agree doesn't work very well). Instead, it implies a worker-controlled industial base. On a small scale, we've had a few employee-owned corporations spring up in the U.S., which would fit this definition - and some have been quite successful.
Anyway, that's a debate about political theory, which doesn't matter much in the reality of the moment. Until we're really ready to apply what wisdom we can muster to scale down the big budgetary anchors - Medicare and the military - big deficits will roll along, leading us potentially to national bankruptcy. Those two programs provide life support for a lot of people in America, which makes the task particularly difficult, especially if a person with the clout to rein in the budget possess a degree of compassion as well as the mind of an accountant.
I hope we make it.
You are a bit truned around , Liketitornot; Captalism has never succeeded (served the people equally) without social structures that support the entire citizenry. It is a measure of our deluded understanding of history that we erquate fair distribution of wealth with tyranny. Tyrants care little for ideology. Do you think Constantine really believed jesus was his person al savior.? Alas.
If it's true that socialism has not succeeded anywhere, it is because every society trying to build socialism has to immediately place itself on a permanent war footing to defend itself. Imperialism does NOT like socialism and WILL by ALL possible means attempt to destroy it. Imperialism correctly believes that successful socialism ANYWHERE on the planet is a threat to it's rule.
Socialism cannot develop properly in a state of constant warfare, whether the aggression is military, ideological, or economic, and it is usually all three. It diverts resources from human needs. It introduces grave distortions into the process and creates the need for a national security state. At its worse, it creates a garrison state where society lives in a constant state of warfare. These are not conditions where socialism can develop properly.
The Chinese understand this very well. China is a socialist state, but has maneuvered in such a way as to neutralize a section of imperialism or even to create a situation where a section of imperialism benefits from the development of the Chinese economy. Without the immense profits being made by the monopoly capitalist sector in the imperialist countries, we would be in the middle of Cold War II. The press would be full of anti-China propaganda, there would be economic sanctions, the 7th fleet would be constantly holding maneuvers off the coast of China instead of just occasionally to placate Japan or keep Korea in line. So many ideologs in the capitalist world think that the CCP merely pays lip service to socialism to placate "hardliners", but that ultimately capitalism will triumph. There are some on the right trying to sound the alarm. They are right but mostly ignored. Money talks louder.
This is the correct way to understand the strategy of the Chinese plan to build socialism.
Oh sure capitalism is doing a fine job... of destroying the people and the planet.
I'll take western Europes system over USA anyday, whatever you wish to call it.
And when has any large system not been a hybrid.
Universal Education, Central Bank, Progressive Taxation, three of the ten planks of the communist Manifesto.
"what record of success? There has never been a successful socialist society."
Ask the residents of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Japan, and Australia if any of them had to declare bankruptcy to pay for their medical bills, or a college education.
deleted my double post
I have a friend from Vienna Austria, whose middle class lifestyle is like a dream compared to the hell that has become the American Scream.
Her merit based college education, was fully paid for by her family's taxes, and she graduated with a master's degree from the University of Vienna, not owing a cent.
The streets are clean, well maintained, and crime is low. She has no fear to walk the streets of Vienna late at night, going to and fro from her downtown apartment.
Her parents have both had major surgeries, and weren't put on a waiting list, like is the perennial claim of those who decry single payer in the US.
A few years ago she broke her leg, while skiing on one of her long government mandated paid vacations. Her hospital stay plus months of recuperative physical therapy were guess what? Yes, already paid for, by her family's taxes.
In short, they get something for the taxes they pay. Namely the security that they will never have to be stressed out about injury or illness, and as such are free to use that freedom, to better themselves in a myriad of other ways.
likeitornot/mightymite:
"Next we'll hear the usual call's (sic) to get rid of capitalism and go to that eminently successful system of socialism with it's (sic) record of success, oop's (sic)...what record of success? There has never been a successful socialist society."
******
"Imagine a child building a sand castle on the beach. Shortly after she starts, a big bully comes along and kicks it down. She starts again, and gets it about half finished before the bully comes along and knocks it down again. The child's belief in the sand castle is strong enough to encourage her to try again and again. The bully, however, equally motivated, and stronger, knocks the castle down, again and again. Someone then poses the question: Are sand castles dead?
"Imagine that the Wright brothers' first experiments with flying machines all failed because the automobile interests sabotaged each and every test flight. And then the good and god-fearing folk of the world looked upon this, took notice of the consequences, nodded their collective heads wisely, and intoned solemnly: Humans shall never fly.
"Fact: Virtually every socialist experiment of any significance in the twentieth century has been either overthrown, invaded, or bombed ... corrupted, perverted, or subverted ... sanctioned, embargoed, or destabilized ... or otherwise had life made impossible for it, by the United States. Not one of these socialist governments or movements -- from the Russian Revolution to Fidel Castro in Cuba, from Communist China to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua -- not one was permitted to rise or fall solely on its own merits; not one was left secure enough to drop its guard against the all-powerful enemy abroad and freely and fully relax control at home."
Excerpt from:
William Blum
Will Humans Ever Fly?
Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice
Volume 9, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 63 - 67
(See also www.killinghope.org)
Good rebuttal, Giovanna.
And FWIW, I don't remember all that (sic)kening apostrophe-mangling in the previous incarnations.
"The cut's made are to increases that were generally given under the guise of "stimulus" so it's of little matter anyway."
Can you please be more specific, or should I assume that you are just ejaculating this bullshit out of your right wing back porch orifice.
Heckuva job, Barry!
Don't be fooled by the phony Funding-for-Planned-Parenthood battle that was waged merely for the purpose of distraction. It was waged to distract our attention from the latest massive Democratic capitulation to Republican demands.
Proving themselves to be bystanders or participants in "conservative" efforts to enrich the rich and impoverish all the rest of us, Democrats presented no opposition to the Republican demand for budget cuts.
Recognizing that some of us might notice the speed and intensity of this most recent Democratic surrender, the possibility of defunding Planned Parenthood was dangled in front of us. In the end, the only thing that really happened was that the people who destroyed our economy got wealthier and more powerful and the people suffering already saw their government get $38 billion weaker.
Right you are. The billionaires who pull the strings of the Republican Party don't give a flying fuck about Planned Parenthood, abortion, or any of that other stuff so dear to the heart of the "Christian" right, but they know that this is a sacred cow to a large section of the Democratic Party's supporters and would allow the Dems a fig leaf to sell out. "We saved Planned Parenthood!"
Right. We saved $75 million and gave away tens of billions. Such great horse traders.
Ignore the biggest distraction of all! That there is an argument! There is no argument, the corporate owners of our government have no argument. The so-called Parties Dem and Repug are an illisuion, the biggest of all. They all belong to same clubs, came up thru the same ivy leauge colleges, intermarry. and take their orders from the same source!
Till you can see past that dog and dog show. you have no clus whats going on!
>^^<
So John Nichols is going looking for "FDR Democrats" ! Hah! While he's at it he could look for unicorns and the Holy Grail....with about as much success.