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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI'm done dancing around playing nice. I'm done looking for the high road. I'm done with it. I'm done
In politics, whoever wins, wins. And whoever wins gets to make the rules. Nobody's gonna step in and say, "But wait, you lied! You cheated! That's not fair!"
Well, it's NOT fair. But these are the rules of the game and if you lose, you don't get to have say. Simple as that. Politics is a zero sum game. Complaining about how unfairly the winner played the game is useless.
For two days now I've been SEETHING (this is not an understatement) about the words and attitude of Representative Akin and the GOP. It's not that I didn;t already know that hate women. But something about this whole episode has gotten under my skin in a way that I can't articulate. I'm beyond angry. I'm seething with rage about it. And about the fact that this is what's happening OUT IN THE OPEN in the United States in 2012.
Well I'm done with it. Ladies, this is a war. Men, this is a war. Progressives, THIS IS A WAR. We will either win and survive or lose and god knows how many lives will be lost as a result.
MORE:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/21/1122048/-That-s-it-All-bets-are-off
99Forever
(14,524 posts)Hand wringing over "playing nice" is a BIG part of why we are now in the situation we are in.
xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)evilhime
(326 posts)Because now the links to Ryan and his archaic attitude on women's reproductive and health rights are being brought front and center. A very good thing for those who are more modern than 1800s thinking. And the taxes are STILL out there!!! This to me goes along with President Obama's comment yesterday in the press briefing... "You can't just make stuff up."
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)He actually believes what he said.
Just because it has distracted from the tax returns has nothing to do with planning. The problem with the tax returns issue is that the American media and public and the very voters themselves have an incredibly short attention span. And while we need to continue to ask for the tax returns, we mustn't overlook any other stupid thing that they say or do and get right back at them on it.
If anything, this Aken stuff is helping bring home how much the Republican Party these days is simply one that caters to a very small segment of the population: white men who think they should be in charge of EVERYTHING, including who pays how much in taxes, whether a woman can get simple health care, let alone other vital services, how much should be done for the common good. I could go on, but everyone here knows all these things.
Cha
(295,899 posts)can multi-task as can anyone else who is actively supporting Democracy.
Todd Aikin set him self up with his stupid mouth saying what was exactly on his stupid mind.
YellaDog1950
(44 posts)Last edited Tue Aug 21, 2012, 10:09 PM - Edit history (1)
The platform that the National Republican Party is soon to vote on asks for a Constitutional Amendment banning abortion.....of any kind.....even to girls and women who become pregnant from rape/incest.
And here's a little pre-preview (that many missed) from the platform officially adopted by the Texas Republican Party at the State Convention in June, 2012:
Right To Life - All innocent human life must be respected and safeguarded from fertilization to natural death; therefore, the
unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.
and this......Morning After Pill - We oppose sale and use of the dangerous Morning After Pill.
eta: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/opinion/granderson-gop-rape-abortion/index.html
amerciti001
(158 posts)Akin was speaking his "Mind" on that matter of -LEGITIMATE RAPE- and that which came out of his mouth, is that which he understands and believes. Just imagine if he had had a couple of drinks before hand, WOW-remember Ricks Perry intoxicated ramblings...
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)did he cost the United States right out in the open? Enough to chap my ass! Here.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014200699 and that was just for him. Imagine his hands directly dipping into the Treasury for his crony richers.
George II
(67,782 posts)you're talking about singer Clay Aiken or the town where they run 2-year old thoroughbred races.
Vietnameravet
(1,085 posts)Very true and its taken Democrats a hell of a long time to realize that..
DontTreadOnMe
(2,442 posts)and Obama has been "playing nice" as well. On day one, the first thing I would have done as President is take Rush of of Armed Services Radio. The President has the authority to do it... and I would have justified it as "an endangerment to the troops" or un-American".
The Right Wing Media is directly the cause of where stupid America is today. And the Left just sits back and lets it happen.
When I hear someone say Obama is a "Muslim Marxist Facist"... I just shake my head, the Right Wing Media is winning.
Plucketeer
(12,882 posts)I'm SO TIRED of taking it "in the shorts" to be able to argue - WELL after the fact - that our side took the high road. WTF??? If WE'RE on the "high road" - how is it WEW are the ones to get smothered by the landslide of BS???
get the red out
(13,458 posts)No holds barred. While we squandered US lives fighting the Taliban abroad they were festering right at home, Akin was just the one who was stupid enough to let the cat out of the bag in a very direct way. All these religious right medieval morons think the same way. They are sick and tired of women having control over their own lives PERIOD, they want to take back control! They want gay people back in the closet or worse, considering how the religious right here has been lending support for the death penalty for gays in Uganda, those are their true colors showing just like with that idiot Akin.
They may actually not THINK they are waging a war on women because they really think we should be second class citizens, they might actually think they "respect" gay people because they haven't tried to pass any laws here to execute them yet. They might just think they are following their God in a merciful way, they are so brainwashed. And they also think their God rewards GREED! The richer you are the more of God's favor you have.
We are dealing with people who are simply not in reality at all, brainwashed out of what we would consider common human decency and reasoning ability. And there are a SHIT-LOAD of them. Maybe the truth is finally coming out, so many people for so long have said "they all can't really mean that stuff", well, they do mean that stuff.
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)But of course when it is RIGHT religion there is nothing wrong with it.
Tribetime
(4,670 posts)Whatever they can put into a 30 second commercial thats effective they'll do. Damn if its the truth, there are no consequences. The media won't call them out, They are controlled by corporations....I say do whatever we have to do to attack them threefold.
12AngryBorneoWildmen
(536 posts)ann---
(1,933 posts)and all the Dems felt the same way.
daybranch
(1,309 posts)here in Ohio, the dems do. But Obama has his own strategy for getting reelected and that includes playing nice with these republican snakes in order to attract the uneducated young people who want us all to play nice. I do not know what works best but as for me, I call these beasts as I see them and that seems to persuade others to get more enthused.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)off Independent voters, sadly. if he's too nice and doesn't hit back hard enough, he makes the base of party disillusioned.
He can't win for losing. I think he's doing just fine, hitting back and is on the offense.
Because the Republicans have more money, they can run more ads, which makes it appear that Obama/the Democrats aren't fighting back. Not to mention, a complacent, Corporate-controlled media who desperately want a nasty dog fight to ensure a close race. They are not doing their job, calling Romney and Ryan out for their lies, so all we have is Obama's campaign speeches and the few ads that they can afford to run.
In light of all the disadvantages, I still think Obama/the Democrats are giving the Republicans a run for their money. The Republicans have to work harder than they ever have before, and all they have is their fucking money.
ann---
(1,933 posts)The most disappointing thing about Obama, to me, has been his bending over backwards to "compromise" with them all these years and he has gotten little if nothing of his agenda - even when he had a Dem House and Senate for two years. So, yes, I blame the Blue Dog Democrats and Obama for not being more forceful in his dealings with them.
Of course, I don't want him or the Dems to become like the unscrupulous GOP - they are scum. But, there is a way to be strong without being mean. If Obama was strong enough to make the decision to kill bin Laden, he should be strong enough to fight the evil GOP attacks.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure he's not reelected. And the most appalling thing is that Biden recently came out last week and told the media that Republicans told him not to expect any help getting things done. Now, why did Biden reveal this NOW?!!? If he and Obama were told that the Republicans were going to obstruct everything, then why did they continue to try and compromise and work with them? It's so fucking frustrating! And that's what has made a lot of the Democratic base disillusioned and apathetic. Fair or unfair, they blame Obama/the Democrats for "not doing anything." It's not their fault because it was the most productive Congress ever. However, I do think that since Obama made it a priority to work with the Republicans even when they were stabbing him in the back, he will suffer for it at the polls. The American people have yet to hold the Republican party accountable for their blatant obstructionism, their hatred, and their deliberate efforts to ruin economic recovery so that Obama will be blamed. Obama/Biden have to accept some responsibility because they bent over backwards too long trying to appease Republicans rather than doing what was right for the American people. That mistake just may cause them to lose.
We'll see. But we can't give up. We simply can't. We have no choice.
Biden's statement:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/biden-mcconnell-decided-to-withhold-all-cooperation-even-before-we-took-office/2012/08/10/64e9a138-e302-11e1-98e7-89d659f9c106_blog.html
BrooklynBoy
(19 posts)Couldn't have said it better myself. All I can add is that I hope that Obama, if re-elected, takes it to the Republicans while in governing mode the same way he is taking it to them in election mode. Sadly, I have my doubts he will. Gibbs and Axelrod do a very good job of getting you into office, but do a lousy job of advising you on how to get your agenda implemented. I'm well aware of the Republican obstructionism. But, the way to deal with that obstructionism is to fight the good fight, not try to play nice with the bastards whose sole objective is to bring you down, the welfare of the country be damned.
tama
(9,137 posts)What ever they may be, as far as actions speak he chose a pure WS bankster gang for his economic team and has not only decided not to criminally persecute Bush admin but has also stopped others from doing so, to restore any sense of rule of law in US. His de facto politics are part of the establishment, for the establishment - of which the OWS correctly pointed the real rulers. My take is that the whole political system is broken beyond repair in the face of the magnitude of changes we are going through, and there is no hope that any politician can do anything concrete to change it. But also I don't believe in telling anybody not to vote, I voted in last elections in my country, even though I'm antistatist anarchist.
Ineeda
(3,626 posts)Especially when it comes from the left. Here's the facts. Let's see if we can keep them straight for a while:
Democrats did not have a fillibuster-proof majority for two years -- that's a LIE.
January 20, 2009 - After suffering a seizure during Barack Obama's inaugural luncheon, Senator Kennedys health forced him to retreat to Massachusetts.
April 28, 2009 news outlets issued the following report: Republican Sen. Arlen Specter has switched parties, which would give Democrats a filibuster-proof 60 seats.
Despite the fact that the media hailed the party switch of Arlen Specter and claimed it gave Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate, the Minnesota seat still remained vacant. The Senate had 57 Democratic members and 2 Independents. Technically, the Senate was two members short, but I'm counting Senator Kennedy even though he was at home ill because he did cast a vote in June. 59
May 15, 2009 Senator Robert Byrd was admitted to the hospital reducing the number of sitting Senators to 56 Democratic members and 2 Independents. 58
July 7, 2009 Al Franken (D) was sworn in after the election dispute over the Minnesota seat was decided in his favor. Senator Kennedy continued to recuperate at his home in Massachusetts and was unable to cast any more votes; Senator Byrd was still in the hospital. The Senate had 56 sitting Democratic members and 2 Independents. 58
July 21, 2009 Senator Byrd returned to the Senate making the count 59 seats. No Senator Kennedy.
Senator Kennedy died August 25, 2009.
The Kennedy seat was vacant from August 25 - September 24 when Paul G. Kirk was appointed to occupy his seat until the completion of a special election. The swearing-in of Kirk gave the Democrats a 60-seat majority.
Democrats had a 60 seat majority from September 24, 2009 thru February 4, 2010 when Republican Scott Brown got the Kirk/Kennedy seat. 4 months; not 2 years!!
This does not account for the number of days Congress was not even in session during that time. If one subtracts the number of days Congress was out, the time that President Obama had a Democratic majority in Congress is further reduced by more than 30 days, or another full month.
Of a possible 94 legislative days during that period, the Senate was only in session for 67 days, while the House only labored for 54.
Add to the above: Lieberman, Nelson, Landreau, and Lincoln, who may have caucused with the Democrats but they voted with the Republicans.
chollybocker
(3,687 posts)DURHAM D
(32,595 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)That's exactly how we got into this mess.
BrainMann1
(460 posts)You make a good point.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)The old Soap Creek Saloon security motto.
that's pretty much they way I feel about theRW .
no more war
(17 posts)the one out to the left off Bees Cave Road?
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)It had two more incarnations after that.
no more war
(17 posts)I went once to the second one way out north, the parking lot was not as nice.
burnsei sensei
(1,820 posts)The issue is not just whether or not women are to be believed in the context of rape. It is equality before the law-- whose claims shall carry more authority.
For thousands of years, in the situation of rape, while there is a consensus that it's a crime, the power equation between rapist and victim has always favored the rapist.
His claims are more authoritative than hers.
His interests shall be served and protected.
They only happen to be a man and a woman in most instances, not in all.
A child, a boy or girl, can be called a liar just as easily.
It is only in the last decade or so that there has been an attempt, in American or Western law, to address this tendency to favor the claim of the rapist over the victim.
In the rest of the world, the rapist, or rapists, have always been, and for the foreseeable future, shall always be supreme in authority, their claim to innocence is always greater than the victim's claim to his/her body.
In American and Western law, there are two levels of interpretation-- that of the written text, and the interpretation that is IMPLIED.
If the rapist cannot manipulate the first, he will certainly try to slip through the second.
We must fight the words and the implications of Ryan, Akin and their ilk mercilessly, constantly, and aggressively.
The Third World is increasingly seen in the decaying commitment to justice in the First.
We have to resuscitate humanism, and a standard of justice that protects women and children. Now.
wilsonbooks
(972 posts)Harry Truman said I don't give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell. Where we fail is not in lying like the republicans do but rather in not having core principals and fighting for them. Harry also said that Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican all the time
Laurian
(2,593 posts)Being strong, resolved and forceful in making our case is what we need to do. We have truth and equality on our side. How can fighting for the things we value with all methods available to us make us like them. I frankly am tired of the handwringing over tactics when the stakes are so enormous.
I've also grown tired of the BS that says "if we fight like they do, we become as bad as them." We will never be as bad as them, as hurtful as them, as heartless and mercenary and malicious as them. And the winners write the history books.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)them to be conciliatory, we can't win.
It is precisely because American voters expect Republicans to be dirty and Democrats to be "bipartisan," we tend to lose. The time we start fighting back, all you hear is the Corporate Media proclaim that "both sides do it" or voters say that that "all politicians are the same."
Rather than hold the Republican Party accountable, the false meme that "both sides do it" will continue to prevail.
That's why Democrats are unfairly expected to be conciliatory. As long as the double standard remains, that's an unfortunately truth.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)public for decades, and the only response we get are "well, ALL politicians lie; they're all the same!" NO THEY'RE NOT!!
see my post #33.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)They've been lying for decades, and yet few call them liars. So claiming the truth does not work when the truth has yet to be used is too much for me.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)Here:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/
Essentially research conducted demonstrates that even when people are confronted with facts that dispute what they believe, they don't soften to the truth, they become even MORE strigent in their original beliefs.
I think this is a common mistake that we liberals/Democrats make. We are convinced that all we need to do is persuade the American people with facts and the truth!! However, I believe that even when we DO tell the truth, there is a large contingent of Americans--enough to determine an election--that will never believe what they see. There are still people who assert that Iraq attacked us on 911 and that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. Even when confronted with Bush's admission that there were no WMD and also admitting that Saddam had no ties with bin Laden, there are people who STILL believe the opposite!!
I respectfully disagree with you. First, I DO believe that we have tried to yell the truth from the rooftops, but are either drowned out by the Corporate Media's allegiance to the Right. Or, because the propaganda is so strong that it is difficult to undo decades of brainwashing that has taken hold of the American psyche. Second, I don't believe that even when confronted with that truth, people's minds will suddenly change. As I'm experiencing on the ground, going door to door in Virginia, even when I show voters the facts about Obamacare or give them a long list of Obama accomplishments, they dispute the truth. Even when I show them VIDEO of Romney lying about welfare and other issues, they're not persuaded.
Propaganda is incredibly effective. We do ourselves a disservice when we wrongly believe that facts will suddenly change the landscape. It requires much more than that.
Beartracks
(12,761 posts)The rightwing media has pre-conditioned its followers to assume anything asserted by liberals is a lie, even when it is demonstrably true. To them, the truth is seen as liberal "spin." The irony is that they have been spun for years to think this way.
======================
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)Beartracks
(12,761 posts)Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)other weekend.
It's going to be tough, but I do think we can pull through.
Hells Liberal
(88 posts)We have to be just as aggressive, just as harsh, just as direct with our truth as they are with their lies.
We don't have to resort to lies, but we have to fight hard and fight well.
socialindependocrat
(1,372 posts)because the British had rules for fighting. They stood in straight lines, out in the open and fired at each other. When others don't play by your rules of engagement you better smarten up and evolve your way of thinking or loose the battle and the war...
Occulus
(20,599 posts)rockingirl
(39 posts)Harry Truman had to deal with several idiots many times over but I question if they were ever as vile, repugnant and numerous as this current bunch is today.
I say we should use everything at our disposal to rid ourselves of them. They will stop at nothing and I'm also tired of all this hand-wringing crap.
MADem
(135,425 posts)livable wages, education, etc.--you know--the essential, basic planks of the Democratic Platform--we will NEVER be like them.
Saying that using the same techniques as your mugger to prevail when you are mugged in a back alley is NOT to say that you are a mugger because you use those techniques.
Such a suggestion is beyond ABSURD.
Hells Liberal
(88 posts)We need to come out slugging. You can't reason with a repub any more than you can reason with the crack head holding a knife to you who's willing to kill you for the few dollars you have in your pocket.
MADem
(135,425 posts)that's just self-preservation, a natural human instinct.
We didn't come looking for a fight--we came looking for a reasoned debate and we found ourselves in the middle of a low down and dirty brawl.
Since they insist on playing it that way, bring it on! We have every right to defend ourselves!
calimary
(80,693 posts)And you're quite correct about the bad guys. I call them the bad guys because THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE.
We DO need to come out slugging. We need to hit 'em while they're still lacing their gloves on. We need to hit 'em and sabotage the water bottle they're drinking from. We DO need to fight dirty. Because it's all about winning. When you willingly participate in mud-wrestling, you can't suddenly go pantiwaist and worry about getting your face and your clothes dirty. Because that's the nature of the game you are willingly getting into. When you have to face a gunfight, only a naive idiot would arm him/herself with a feather duster.
Let's not kid ourselves here. This is a mean nasty business. It's no place for the meek and kind-hearted. They're assholes. So we need to be BIGGER assholes. Besides, it's the only language they know so you might as well speak to them in ways they understand.
And it's quite instructive to see ol' mittski whining and the GOP complaining about how mean and nasty those mean ol' nasty Democrats are being. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. That proves something very conclusively: they ARE bullies. They don't know what to do when their rough stuff is returned to them. Bullies can only succeed if they have somebody who can be bullied. Otherwise, they're nothing. Without that, they're NOTHING. And guess what they do? Whine. Which is what we're seeing now with these shameless displays from the GOP.
I've been saying this for a long time:
Taste of their own medicine. See how they like it.
Hells Liberal
(88 posts)calimary
(80,693 posts)We are NOT like them. And taking a page from their Playbook From Hell does NOT make us like them, especially if we use those techniques - TO WIN.
I have been known to tell people "actually, YES. I DO want to be like them. EXACTLY like them. Because they win. They cheat, they fight dirty, they rig the game - and it helps them win. And I WANT TO WIN.
Winning, in politics, is EVERYTHING. It's the ONLY thing.
If you don't win, you don't get to govern.
If you don't win, you don't get to set the agenda.
If you don't win, you don't get the bully pulpit.
If you don't win, you don't have a chance, seriously, to effect true and meaningful change.
If you don't win, you don't get to drive the debate.
If you don't win, you don't get to initiate the programs and policies, and/or discussion about same.
If you don't win, you're just so much gum on the bottom of somebody's shoes. And you don't get to chair the committees and you don't get to make or change the rules and you don't get to frame the issues.
I'm as Machiavellian as the next guy. And I want to WIN.
Winning is THE ONLY THING. It's all there is, and all that matters. There's plenty of time AFTER you win to talk about ethics and morals and uplift the debate and the language and reset the game clock and the rules. And you can't do that if you don't win.
MADem
(135,425 posts)yardwork
(61,408 posts)That comment - how dare he??? - sent me over the edge from anger into white hot rage.
Guess what? I don't give a flying fuck if these assholes in Congress pray for their victims or not. They can take their sanctimonious fake piety and shove it where the sun don't shine. I've heard some fucking idiot say that he will "pray for" the people he's abusing, stripping of rights, and treating like dirt for the last. fucking. time.
Laurian
(2,593 posts)realizing that a young woman experiencing the same horror today would be treated no better than I was has caused me to be enraged and depressed since Akin's statements came to light. No progress or enlightenment in 45 years? What will it take for women to be treated well?
yardwork
(61,408 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)how ignorant, how absolutely fucking useless, you shitbird. May as well stand on your head and stack marbles for "them" for all the good "prayer" will do. Talking to imaginary beings is just about the most useless fucking thing the human mind ever invented. Thinking it will accomplish anything is the second most useless thing.
I am so sick of these drooling morons and their blighted and retarded (there is no other word for it) "world view" I no longer have descriptive terms for it. Is there no way to gather these evolutionary throwbacks together and ship them to someplace where the only damage they will do is to each other? There has to be an uninhabited island somewhere on the vastness of the earth.
Fundamentalist religion of any kind is the greatest threat to the long term survival of humanity.
burnsei sensei
(1,820 posts)His political career is shot . . . right in its sorry head.
calimary
(80,693 posts)RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)AlinPA
(15,071 posts)AlinPA
(15,071 posts)uponit7771
(90,225 posts)...stomp conservatives with their own records
Mosaic
(1,451 posts)From FDR to Reagan. We should be able to repeat that. Some of us might have to really go underground, in total secrecy, but I'm sure we can create the society we dream of.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Too dry. Sorry!
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)that nothing can be done, people stay come. They don't vote. They become disillusioned. They claim that they HATE politics and all politicians...
...MEANWHILE...
The Republicans get their base out to vote. The Republicans run the most right wing nutcases for elected judgeships, local and state offices, school boards, dog catcher... until one day we wake up and Republicans control every aspect and every facet of government! Every office--local, state, and federal!! They say that they hate government, but they control every ounce of it while Democrats are left shaking their collective heads.
...MEANWHILE...
We Democrats act shocked and surprised when age-old arguments like birth control, citizenship, and civil rights are revised by the Republicans. While Democrats are asleep at the wheel, convinced that Americans will be persuaded by "facts" and "the truth," Republicans are working hard to get their people to the polls. While the average American is brashwashed by decades of anti-government propaganda--regardless of political stripe--the Republican Party is grooming religious wingnuts for political office at all levels.
We have a lot of work to do to undo the psychological damage that decades of Republican propaganda has done to the American psyche and to this country.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)passion, not reason got me my civil rights, which are under attack again and my right to vote, which are under attack again. Yes Manny it does work in the real world.
stupidicus
(2,570 posts)that's been my pov for almost 40 years now.
turning the other cheek to rightwingnuts has always been nothing more than an invitation for them to try to slap them off.
Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)the namby pamby, "hope it all works out the way we want because we can't work harder than watching Rachel and O'Donnell", thought process brought us 8 years of Bush. Those 8 years cannot be undone. It's going to take 16 yeas to fix. There is no way, we can afford to be complacent and assume the rest of the nation is going to carry Obama back for another 4 years. We are the nation, we must rely on ourselves to do something. We must all ignore the possibility that there is someone else that "maybe can stomp the neighbrhoods"...it's up to US.
JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)If they are going to lie, we have to tell bigger lies. If they are going to be morally repugnant, we have to be even more morally repugnant. If they are going to cheat, we have to cheat bigger.
We have to be the biggest liars, have the worst morals, and be the most massive cheaters in the history of the United States, so that... Wait, so that what?
So that we can be the most honest, most moral, least corrupt party even to be in office?
We are going to save lives? We are going to be the good guys, but we are going to get there by being liars, cheaters and morally repugnant? News flash, you can't get to heaven by travelling the road to hell. When you act in that manner you become a different person. I want no part of a party that will use those methods to obtain power, no matter what it claims its objectevies are.
MADem
(135,425 posts)We don't have to cheat or be morally repugnant, either. All we have to do is take the fucking gloves off. Screw the Nice Guy approach. Call the people who say assholish things assholes. Call miserable little fuckers fuckers. Call liars liars, call cheats cheats. Enough of this "Difference of opinion" shit--they are wrong, we are right and that's all there is to it.
Children should not go to bed hungry and poorly educated. Women deserve health care. EVERYONE deserves health care. People should be able to live with dignity and comfort into their old age until they die. The rich should not be allowed to get richer while the poor get poorer. Everyone should be able to find work, and the goddamn laborer is worthy of his or her hire.
This shit is basic and we need to start pounding the podium when we talk about it.
So if you can't handle calling a shitbird a shitbird, telling scum they are scum, step aside and leave it to those of us who can manage to raise our voices and get our hands dirty.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)rocktivity
(44,555 posts)and Obama seems to have figured it out just in time.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021104728
rocktivity
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)calimary
(80,693 posts)Like your fighter smilie, rocktivity!
randome
(34,845 posts)But don't let your emotions rule or you will make mistakes. Fight back and fight dirty but stay true.
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)I'm so glad you have woken up. Welcome comrade. We need all the soldiers we can get in this war, it has been, and shall be a long and hard hitting one. I only hope you can stomach it.
Take this from someone who's been fighting for more than 40 years.
A lot of my inspiration comes from my friend who's 93, and still goes to marches, though not as much as he did in the past.
He was brought up on charges of "unamerican activity" back in the 50s. He's fought for equality for longer than I have been alive. He still sings, and plays that darn banjo. If he can still fight, so can I, so can you, so can all of us who want justice.
TBF
(31,919 posts)extremely fed up. I am done being nice and making excuses for idiots. Done being "tolerant and respectful" while people are dying.
SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)alfredo
(60,065 posts)We need to keep on this, stick the blade in and twist it.
Don't drop out Akin, stay in to spite the party.
rethugs are throwing him under the bus and, with their base at least, will come up smelling like roses,not the dogshit they are. it's all a game with them, let's see how many people we can fool into voting for us this time and/or how many votes we can steal from the diebold machines. They're sheep, they'll follow. Keep biting em in the ass, at least they will know, NOT ALL ARE SHEEPLE!!!!
alfredo
(60,065 posts)in disarray. Let's hope they have to leave town early to beat the impending hurricane.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)alfredo
(60,065 posts)goclark
(30,404 posts)It's now or never!
you got my vote. War? YES!!!!
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)Hells Liberal
(88 posts)This is what I've been saying for 30 years! Unfortunately, too many of our fellow Democrats, liberals and progressives are elitist.
They are elitist in that they think that fighting back hard is "stepping down to their level."
Where I come from, when you give back to a common bully what he's been giving to you, that's not "stepping down to their level," it's self defense. When someone takes a swing at me, whether a literal one or a verbal one, I: hit back; hit back hard; and I don't stop hitting back until he's either a bloody pulp or until he says "uncle." And even then, I don't take my eye off him.
kpete
(71,898 posts)and SO very proud of that.
welcome to you Hells Liberal
we need you in this fight
VOTE & tell everyone you know to vote
the only way to win - is to show NO Mercy
& take this country back to
WE THE PEOPLE
every BROTHER & SISTER!!!
peace, kpete
Hells Liberal
(88 posts)We need all the progressive bro's and sis's in this fight. Glad to have you watchin' my back.
kpete
(71,898 posts)peace to you
Hells Liberal
kp
Bake
(21,977 posts)The Thugs have shown they will do and say whatever it takes to win. We don't need to lie or cheat, but screw the so called high road! We need to tell the ugly truth about the Repigs! And we cannot let them suppress the vote!
Bake
OneAngryDemocrat
(2,060 posts)If you've had enough of the thuggish tactics of the Tea Baggers and their corporate sponsors, you need to enlist wih the Rockford Sons of Liberty, on facebook, @ https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/RockfordSOL/
See you in the streets, fellow patriots!
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)I agree with your sentiment about seething. Yes, I've known well, too, that the Republicans hate women. But I'm madder than hell right now because of the WOMEN that I know who cannot see that when, as you state above, it is happening right out in the open! Right in front of their eyes and they just ignore it.
It is time for the Democratic party to stand toe-to-toe with the Republican hatemongers. The Republicans always go negative and tell lies. And Democrats cannot win against them by sitting idly by and hoping that the voters will figure things out. Some of the voters (obviously) are either just too stupid or too disconnected to think!
I like the current trend that I'm seeing in the Democratic responses! I think it shows some backbone! And I hope to see more of the same.
qb
(5,924 posts)(figuratively speaking)...
Do whatever it takes to knock them off balance, and kick the shit out of them when they're down.
gordianot
(15,226 posts)Gone is the third rail of death attack Social Security openly without fear of political consequence.
Lie and change your position within a few hours when you previously lied from years, months then days.
Revive voter suppression on a scale that would take away the breath away from the advocates of Jim Crow to include anyone you dislike or categorize.
You no longer have to hide that you are going to favor the wealthy they own the underclass.
In one way this is refreshing they are becoming more visible.
mick063
(2,424 posts)This is the first year I have ever donated money to political campaign.
When feet are beating the street and checks are being written, the rage is real.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)in all races everywhere, need to hook this around the Repukes' necks like a burning tire necklace! Make them try to deny their misogynist agenda.
Repuke benighted stupidity is even being ridiculed in the French media--they're showing Akin's infamous interview.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)It is a mistake to seek Common Ground or Bi-Partisan Approval with extremists.
"Compromise" may be possible, but ONLY if we get something equally as valuable
in return.
Moving Ever-to-the-Right in exchange for a handful of Beans (minor "political victories" is Capitulation.
I have a hard time considering compromise with Centrist Democrats,
impossible with today's Republicans.
Dig IN and FIGHT.
Among these are:
*The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
*The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
*The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
*The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
*The right of every family to a decent home;
*The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
*The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
*The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being."-- FDR
Please note that FDR stipulated the above values as Basic Human Rights to be protected BY our Government of The People,
and NOT Commodities to be sold to Americans by private For Profit Corporations.
Anything that moves away from the above traditional Democratic Values as expressed by FDR
is DEFEAT, Failure, and Surrender.
---bvar22
a mainstream Center FDR/LBJ Working Class Democrat
You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.
[font size=5 color=green]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
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Uncle Joe
(58,107 posts)Thanks for the thread, kpete.
wyldwolf
(43,865 posts)villager
(26,001 posts)Or even, really, with the obviousness of the "lone nut" assassinations being played out in front of us.
patrice
(47,992 posts)CakeGrrl
(10,611 posts)riverbendviewgal
(4,251 posts)time to call them out in front of others.
grasswire
(50,130 posts)That's all the motto needed.
Not going back.
Women even by themselves can change the world, if they will stand together.
Not going back.
Aviation Pro
(12,052 posts)....now how do you execute this war? You let no outrage go unchallenged. Some fuckwit opens his (it's 99% sure bet that it is a 'his') fucking pie holster and starts spouting off about the President in the middle of a public place for no good reason, confront him; use the words 'fuck,' 'motherfucker,' and 'c**ksucker' in conjunction with Romney, Ryan, Boehner, Akins, etc in a not indoor voice; don't try to reason with him, embarass and belittle him and, trust me, they will back down from confrontation. I've done this on more than one occasion and not once has a single motherfucker had the fucking gonads to ask me to step outside (and believe me, I sometimes wish they would).
Believe me, there are silent Democrats who will applaud you after shutting these shitstains down.
Forward.
JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)graywarrior
(59,440 posts)defacto7
(13,485 posts)Those that do, win...
Those that don't, die!
If you want to be the adult in the room, one tries to stick to the facts and the point. The problem is... they facts are crazy! The points are bazaar! Nothing seems to be rational. I mean... separation of church and state used to be a given. Now it's being trashed for a theocratic state. What the hell is that? and Mitt R. is going to get his insight as president from his Mormon magic hat and magic glasses?
On my blog I end many of my posts with the words, "The Anschluß IS coming", as a stern warning based on the takeover of Austria by Nazi Germany where they just let him take over because they didn't want to muss up their pretty lives.
Someone on NPR comments told me and other liberals to "just shut up". All I said was NEVER!.
demwing
(16,916 posts)how does one wage war?
demwing
(16,916 posts)Last edited Tue Aug 21, 2012, 09:04 PM - Edit history (1)
I am in full agreement, and want to know what one does in a political war?
Do we just hit the streets and phone banks like we've done every election?
Somehow, it seems as if being "at war" requires a more significant sacrifice.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)who constantly belly ache about Obama and what he might do sometimes in the future that will displease them, I think they should be shown the door and allowed to return after the elections.
There is such a battle to be fought out there against these filthy animal throwback neandrathal repugs, it's just astounding there are too many here whose energy is spent on whittling away at the President's integrity (he's such a big liar, you see, he really works for bankers and wall streets shit-talk).
demwing
(16,916 posts)How is it relevant to KPete's post?
DonCoquixote
(13,615 posts)And no, we do not have to lie like they do. Sadly, they have given us material that is more fantastic than most lies, Akin being one of the milder examples. However, because the media machine will take anything we say and make it ten times worse than it is, we have been timid. Obama himself has been timid, leaning on advisers because he knows that whenever he give the GOP a light rebuke, the MSM plays the "scary black man"music people have in their head. However, we need to realize that if people want to believe that, they will, and the only thing they will respect is the fact that if they attack us, they will be hit back.
Elfin Yeti
(740 posts)... so have I but I found something to help... really, check this out, it's brilliant!
brutus smith
(685 posts)Facts and right wingnuts can never be in the same sentence. If one of their right wing puppet masters didn't say it, well, in their minds it can't be true. When they start spreading their feces that they heard from limpballs and others, smack 'em down and smack 'em down hard. They like the Authoritarian figure.
allan01
(1,950 posts)mad as hell and wont take it any mo.
Politicub
(12,163 posts)This is a zero sum game, and I don't have the time or inclination to give in one inch.
If any dems are not on board by now, they are not paying attention.
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)Too many people that call themselves Democrats don't realize how to the Right the party has aligned itself. Us older men and women, who call ourselves Democrats might have a clue .. but business as usual ain't gonna get it. Nope, this is a war against Fascism, Corporate control over every aspect of our lives. So much so that people have become complacent in that that's how life in the U.S. is suppose to be. The ideology of the Right is destroying this country .. brought on by His Royal Highness, B actor, Ronald Reagan. Romney is nothing more than another puppet, like W, ready to take his marching orders from the Pentagon, the Kochs, the NRA, Wall Street.
We can't let this happen. We have to a least take a deep breath and try to get Obama reelected. Which I am almost sure we can do in spite of all the obstacles like voter ID laws and the manipulation of computerized voting machines (who are we kidding on that issue?). If we get out in enormous numbers Obama will win. Then we have to twist his arm, as well as the people who represent us, to get the legislation we need to save our country. These Repugs are not going away any time soon. The war will continue .. for many years to come. I hope we can combat them. There are so many possibilities for this country, but they will never exist until we Peducate people about the lies that the Right persist on telling them.
First on the Progressive agenda: Overturn Citizens United.
Second: Campaign finance reform .. drastically reformed.
DaveJ
(5,023 posts)The least of my concerns is that Obama is a little on the conservative side.
Trouble is many in people apparently are nutcases in some way.
Look at the deranged idiots out there... this very limited list:
1) People who think welfare is unnecessary, even for kids
2) Tea Partiers who think government is unnecessary
3) People who want to outlaw planned pregnancy
4) Birthers
5) People who are fine with others being uninsured
6) You know white supremacists are voting R and not D
7) People who want THEIR taxes raised before billionaires
8) War mongers are going to vote R, not D
9) Xenophobes
10) People with no concern about the environment
11) People who think oil is limitless
12) Those who think the fire dept should be optional
13) People who cannot tolerate non-Chistians
14) Those who cannot tolerate others' sexuality
15) People who think building a border wall is going to solve anything
16) People stupid enough to think billionaires give a crap about them
17) Those who would defund NASA
18) Those who would defund all other gov funded science
19) Those who think the Earth is 10,000 years old!!!
20) People who want minimum wage revoked
These are STUPID ASS PEOPLE. How do we compete with the fact that mentally deranged people are among us, and it is statistically probably that any one person believes in one of these things? Democracy means these nutcases can pick our government. I'm really freaking out, even if we win, just being surrounded by these lowlifes is sort of a bummer.
Mentioning this to a (stupid) Republican, a Republican would think I'm trying to argue. I'm not. I'm simply stating fact. They have support from all these demographics. It's not an argument, just simple math. And it serves as a reminder that many of us are just barely evolved from the primordial mud.
kardonb
(777 posts)Kpete , I feel exactly as you do , I am an 80 year old woman , and in all my life , I have never been so outraged as I am now about the republican party's view of women in our society . Their total disregard for our rights and abusive views of our bodies is intolerable . WE WILL VOTE and it will NOT be for this troglodite bun ch of ignoramuses .
polichick
(37,152 posts)k&r
Firebrand Gary
(5,044 posts)Canuckistanian
(42,290 posts)And one thing this whole episode has shown -is that apolitical people are now sitting up and paying attention to how radical the whole GOP has become.
AlinPA
(15,071 posts)LarryNM
(493 posts)Remember
(32 posts)Long time overdue to get nasty. The stakes are too high to play nice. Even when our own Democrats betray us we should hammer them to what the Democratic party is. We are the little guys that make this nation what the rest of world wants when they come here. Give me FDR or JFK.
DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)Paladin
(28,202 posts)Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Last edited Tue Aug 21, 2012, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)
as long as our so-called representatives are weak "centrists" who won't even do anything about millions of Americans having their vote taken away, and the radio is ruled by psychotic radicals. Unless this poster has a plan to start forcibly taking back the airwaves, his rant is just like all of the other worthless vanity posts we see every day
realFedUp
(25,053 posts)kpete, you've been around as long as I have and you are just now declaring war?
C'mon...we had 8 years of Bush/Cheney lies and crimes against this country and now you are fed up?
Are we still shocked by Republicans? I don't think so and have put them in the idiot box long ago, uncharged with injustice and treason against this country and its peoples.
Nothing would shock me anymore...even stupid Akin's neanderthol beliefs...I actually think Republicans must be constructed differently...I can't find a reason that makes any logical sense for their idiocy. I can understand political pandering, rural fear not to fit in, but with some Republican relatives, I still shake my head.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)"I actually think Republicans must be constructed differently...I can't find a reason that makes any logical sense for their idiocy. "
Religious visions of grandeur... leads to need for power in the name of their god... Some find religion useful to and end even if they don't believe from which come the sociopaths where their ends justify the means.
Control mechanism to achieve these goals...
Control of Education (dumb down the public)
Make emptiness and neediness in the masses
Fill that emptiness with the hope that only they can supply
Vilify or pervert all reason and science and supplant their ideology of wealth and power
All wealth flows up, all neediness flows down
Finally, nothing matters any more because the end of the world is nigh to the religious who expect a war that brings on eternity for the good and hell for the rest. And to those who only use religion, time to cull humanity, and the future is theirs for their offspring with millions fewer to share the spoils with.
Kind of a grim picture and I almost believe it now.
Liberalman777
(35 posts)I hope people are to pissed off as Hell by Nov. to vote! Get out and VOTE!
defacto7
(13,485 posts)and I mean all the methods and those in charge of ballots.
The only thing we have as a strategy is a mass voter turn out that no fraud can touch. To those who are in voter ID change states, get on the street or find a group committed to helping to get voter ID to those who need it. Get people to vote who otherwise would not. Slap the apathy out of those who have given up. And slap some sense into those who think that being "individual" is the righteous thing to do by not voting for MR or Obama, I.E. write ins or independents.
It's not that my vote counts, it's how many people I can get to vote that counts.
Mild Wind
(2 posts)Arctic Dave
(13,812 posts)I figured this was appropriate since we are talking "war" talk.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)will be right there next to the women.
tavalon
(27,985 posts)But Akin is actually yet another Republican gift that keeps on giving. At first I was, understandably furious, but with some consideration, I decided to send him a thank you letter. Here it is:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021177175