[Jane of Arc]

I stopped being a Democrat. I am without a political party. I'm just a citizen hanging out there in the breeze working with other citizens to get honest elections in America. The goal is paper ballots in 2008, not a paper trail from private corporately owned voting machines, but paper ballots with a receipt owned by The People.

So I am watching closely what this new Democratic Congress will start to do in a few days. If they do the following things I will strongly consider working for them again. They would have to:


(1) Stop the funding for the Iraq War. (That's how the Vietnam War ended.)

(2) Demand that Bush get congressional approval before he attacks Iran and deny him such approval.

(3) Hold Bush accountable for lying to Congress when he sought approval for attacking Iraq and breaking constitutional law.

(4) Deny Bush the troop increase he seeks.

(5) Overturns the legislation that approves spying on Americans without a warrant and reinstate habeus corpus in the Patriot Act.

(6) Passes voting reform legislation that guarantees paper ballots in America by 2008.

(7) Passes legislation that caps the amount candidates can spend on any election at a reasonable amount.


This is totally achievable in 2 years. And this is not a lot to ask. Who thinks they will do these things? Who thinks they will do some of them? Who thinks they're as bad as Republicans?

[-V-]

It is entirely possible they don't do any of the items on your list. It will definitely take a push from a lot of people like us with help from organizations like MoveOn? But as bad as Republicans? No. At least the Dems understand what the priorities should be even if they are afraid to enact them.

[Jennifer_SFBA]

Hi, Jane of Arc. Yes, federal government is more than frustrating. It is exasperating! For a while, I played with the idea of joking with my politics by joining the Whig Party since I considered, then, U.S. Federal government a JOKE, and I was "Whigged out," ready for a party that is a "party," etc. Unfortunately, U.S. Federal government is no joke at all, but deathly serious business with the American people used as a shuttle **** to be played in the very same game!

America needs a new political game entirely. That will not happen under the RepubliCratic Party of America.

[FDRfollower]

I hope a link will show up soon. Everyone should watch Virginia Sen Webbs response to Bush's "state of the union". He was great! He ripped George to pieces on the economy and implied a threat of impeachment at the end.

Its the new politics baby!! Whoot!

[FDRfollower]

Thanks to the sharp folks at FireDogLake, here's Webbs response.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Democratic Response of Senator Jim Webb
To the President’s State of the Union Address

Good evening.

I’m Senator Jim Webb, from Virginia, where this year we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown � an event that
marked the first step in the long journey that has made us the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth.

It would not be possible in this short amount of time to actually rebut the President’s message, nor would it be useful. Let me simply
say that we in the Democratic Party hope that this administration is serious about improving education and healthcare for all Americans, and addressing such domestic priorities as restoring the vitality of New Orleans.

Further, this is the seventh time the President has mentioned energy independence in his state of the union message, but for the first time
this exchange is taking place in a Congress led by the Democratic Party. We are looking for affirmative solutions that will strengthen
our nation by freeing us from our dependence on foreign oil, and spurring a wave of entrepreneurial growth in the form of alternate
energy programs. We look forward to working with the President and his party to bring about these changes.

There are two areas where our respective parties have largely stood in contradiction, and I want to take a few minutes to address them
tonight. The first relates to how we see the health of our economy � how we measure it, and how we ensure that its benefits are properly
shared among all Americans. The second regards our foreign policy � how we might bring the war in Iraq to a proper conclusion that will
also allow us to continue to fight the war against international terrorism, and to address other strategic concerns that our country
faces around the world.

When one looks at the health of our economy, it’s almost as if we are living in two different countries. Some say that things have never been better. The stock market is at an all-time high, and so are corporate profits. But these benefits are not being fairly shared.

When I graduated from college, the average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker did; today, it’s nearly 400 times. In other words, it takes the average worker more than a year to make the money that his or her boss makes in one day.

Wages and salaries for our workers are at all-time lows as a percentage of national wealth, even though the productivity of American workers is the highest in the world. Medical costs have skyrocketed. College tuition rates are off the charts. Our manufacturing base is being dismantled and sent overseas. Good
American jobs are being sent along with them.

In short, the middle class of this country, our historic backbone and our best hope for a strong society in the future, is losing its place at the table. Our workers know this, through painful experience. Our white-collar professionals are beginning to understand it, as their jobs start disappearing also. And they expect, rightly, that in this age of globalization, their government has a duty to insist that their concerns be dealt with fairly in the international marketplace.

In the early days of our republic, President Andrew Jackson established an important principle of American-style democracy � that
we should measure the health of our society not at its apex, but at its base. Not with the numbers that come out of Wall Street, but with
the living conditions that exist on Main Street. We must recapture that spirit today.

And under the leadership of the new Democratic Congress, we are on our way to doing so. The House just passed a minimum wage increase, the
first in ten years, and the Senate will soon follow. We’ve introduced a broad legislative package designed to regain the trust of the
American people. We’ve established a tone of cooperation and consensus that extends beyond party lines. We’re working to get the right things done, for the right people and for the right reasons.

[FDRfollower]

Sen. Webbs rebutal, part 2

With respect to foreign policy, this country has patiently endured a mismanaged war for nearly four years. Many, including myself, warned even before the war began that it was unnecessary, that it would take our energy and attention away from the larger war against terrorism, and that invading and occupying Iraq would leave us strategically vulnerable in the most violent and turbulent corner of the world.

I want to share with all of you a picture that I have carried with me for more than 50 years. This is my father, when he was a young Air Force captain, flying cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift. He sent us the picture from Germany, as we waited for him, back here at home.

When I was a small boy, I used to take the picture to bed with me every night, because for more than three years my father was deployed,
unable to live with us full-time, serving overseas or in bases where there was no family housing. I still keep it, to remind me of the
sacrifices that my mother and others had to make, over and over again, as my father gladly served our country. I was proud to follow in his
footsteps, serving as a Marine in Vietnam. My brother did as well, serving as a Marine helicopter pilot. My son has joined the
tradition, now serving as an infantry Marine in Iraq.

ike so many other Americans, today and throughout our history, we serve and have served, not for political reasons, but because we love our country. On the political issues � those matters of war and peace, and in some cases of life and death � we trusted the judgment of our national leaders. We hoped that they would be right, that they would
measure with accuracy the value of our lives against the enormity of the national interest that might call upon us to go into harm’s way.

We owed them our loyalty, as Americans, and we gave it. But they owed

us � sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it.

The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable � and predicted � disarray that has followed.

The war’s costs to our nation have been staggering.

Financially.

The damage to our reputation around the world.

The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism.

And especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve.

The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military. We need a new direction. Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos. But an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq’s cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.

On both of these vital issues, our economy and our national security, it falls upon those of us in elected office to take action.

Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.

Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves “as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other.” And he did something about it.

As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. “When comes the end?” asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.

These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world.

Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.

Thank you for listening. And God bless America.

[Jane of Arc]

I am also completely impressed with Webb. He was perfect. After his speech I said out loud, "I'd vote for him for president!" Then I realized, once again, we don't have real elections in America. I remembered the voting machines are electronic property of corporations and are manipulated and controlled.

Will the Democrats in Congress pass the Kucinich paper ballots legislation?

[Jane of Arc]

As most of you know here at POL ... I use to be a Democrat. I was on the Democatic Board in my county. I worked my ass off for Kerry and he looked me in the eye and thanked me. After Kerry did not go to Ohio to "make sure every vote was counted" and walked away with millions and millions (Terry Mcauliffe commented on this in his new book and described his own anger and disbelief), I pulled the knife out of my back and went down to my Democratic Headquarters. In a last ditch effort I tried to get the Democtats there to fight for the 2004 vote with me. Only one 90 year old guy named Hank was willing to join me. The rest folded up their chairs, made plans about the next potluck dinner and said, 'maybe better luck next time.' I quit the Democratic Party. I've been working on voting reform.

With that said ... I see the same chair folding, potluck dinner, better luck next time Democrats in Congress. They should be hanging from the chandeliers of Congress because we have an executive branch that is out of control! The majority of American citizens want Bush impeached! http://www.democrats.com/bush-impeachment-poll-2

This article in BuzzFlash got my attention on this issue:

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/interviews/051


We have a rogue, runaway executive branch that is daffy with delusional behavior, allowing thousands upon thousands of Americans and Iraqis to be killed and wounded, wasting hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars -- and calling it a success.

When will the subpoenas start flying in Congress? When will the Dems say enough is enough? When will they screw "bipartisanship" and stand up for sanity, democracy and the Constitution without compromising their principles?



"Liberals are often codependent, and our so-called compassion becomes suspect when it is based on the desire to use others to prop up our self-worth." -- Peter Michaelson, author, Democracy's Little Self-Help Book

[FDRfollower]

What a difference an election makes!

The House of Representatives had an actual honest to goodness 45 hour DEBATE on the issue of the (actual 50,000) troops the sophists in the administration plan to send into the meat grinder, and wouldn't you believe it, 17 Republicans supported the Dems in opposition to the "surge".

Before this Novembers election, that would have been unthinkable. The Republicans who broke, were Peter up in WI, Duncan in TN, Paul in TX for example. Send a note thanking them.

[MAGI]

What a difference an election makes!

The House of Representatives had an actual honest to goodness 45 hour DEBATE on the issue of the (actual 50,000) troops the sophists in the administration plan to send into the meat grinder, and wouldn't you believe it, 17 Republicans supported the Dems in opposition to the "surge".

Before this Novembers election, that would have been unthinkable. The Republicans who broke, were Peter up in WI, Duncan in TN, Paul in TX for example. Send a note thanking them.

I wondered who the 7 Repulicans were.

Thanks to `V` and Buzzflash I came upon it quickly.

See how Traitor Joe voted! thumbs-down

The seven Republican senators who broke ranks with their colleagues and voted in favor of the cloture motion were John W. Warner (Va.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), Olympia Snowe (Me.), Arlen Specter (Pa.) and Susan M. Collins (Me.). Warner is the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He was a principal sponsor, along with Collins and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), of a resolution that criticized the troop buildup and urged Bush to consider alternatives. That nonbinding resolution failed to pass the same procedural hurdle on Feb. 5.

One independent senator who caucuses with the Democrats, Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), joined 33 Republicans in opposing the cloture motion.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021700247.html?nav=rss_politics

[Jane of Arc]

So how is the new Democratic Congress doing everybody?

Is there a timetable for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq? Nope. The Democrats caved.

Did the Democrats refuse to fund the war? Nope. They gave Bush all the money he needed.

Have the Democrats tackled our election crisis? Nope.

Have the Democrats done anything about Habeas Corpus? Nope. Last week, the House of Representatives regrettably declined to include an amendment that would have made habeas restoration part of the defense reauthorization.

[MAGI]

Disappointing, YES!

And let's continue telling them so!

[Jennifer_SFBA]

Throw ALL the bums out! Register and vote Green Party.

[Wafflepudding]

Corporate money, empty rethoric, promises and propaganda, corruption and appeasement of their constituency. Same as the Republicans. Same as any large political party anywhere else. The difference is in the degree of competency for the job that the individual candidates hold, which is one of the reasons I get a migraine when people say they "vote republican" or "vote democrat".

Now, I don't know the greens, but really, power corrupts, that's why we have checks and balances, but judging from what has happened, I'd say it's not enough, and no matter how idealistic or benevolent they appear now, I don't think freedom is the liberty to choose your master.

If we really want things to be different, I think it's pretty naive to expect change just by voting for another party. As long as we have a representative democracy, and laissez faire capitalism, eventually we'll find ourselves on the same situation. Maybe in years, maybe in decades, but eventually, we'll go back to square one.

[Jennifer_SFBA]

Wp, you are certainly correct that there are alternatives to the representative form of government We, the people have had. I have thought that with computers and software we now have available, it is possible for We, the people to have democratic, at large voting. Complex issues are able to be independantly analyzed, simplified and condensed, with pro and con positions presented, as they are for state ballot initiatives here in California, all on the computer.

[Wafflepudding]

Like a digital direct democracy? I love the idea, I saw it on an old video game (Civilization: Call to power. It was one of the forms of government, virtual democracy in case anyone cares). But I'm not really sure if that would be a good idea, look at how... efective were the electronic voting machines. There would be reliability and transparency issues with that approach, and as widespread as internet access is in this country, I'm still not sure that's an alternative for the computer illiterate.

If anything though, I'm in favor of direct democracy. Not sure if that would be incredibly small or extremely unwieldy huge government though. I don't think we're ready for it as a society though.

[Jennifer_SFBA]

The way to start is to start. What is needed are ideas that are, then, thought through, contributed toward and put in "draft" form for further discusion and that end in final version legislation for a final vote of We, the people's electronic votes based on condensed, simplified, independant legislative analysis, pro and con positions having been presented to voters in a timely manner prior to the vote.

Move-On became very large in a short time. By people doing it, with kinks being worked out along the way, it would evenually become reality because We, the people would already have been doing it, making it so. While working on the legislative change-over, we are able, in the short term, to present We, the people's legislation to Congress for their vote on what We, the people have decided WE want.

[FDRfollower]

How were the Dem debates? I missed them.

Has anyone spotted a recorded video of it anywhere on the web?

[JamesP]

"Direct" is the only real democracy. Everything else is just variation on the age-old theme of paternalistic rule of the masses by entrenched wealthy interests.

Of course, real "power to the people" runs the risk that the people may use that power to implement policies and programs that re-distribute some wealth and power from the strong to the weak.... which is why it won't happen anytime soon.

[Jennifer_SFBA]

The Green Party could be begin an internal electoral process among Green Party registered voters. Legislative Committees for legislative writing and analysis could begin with Green Party meeting activists.