Surely it is time to fight for something.

[joshcryer]

Vigorously. By failing to run and vote for progressive candidates over the past few decades, we now are faced with a Republican and corporate Congress along with an ultra bi-partisan President, who is going to be signing into law a measure that goes beyond anything the Bush Family Evil Empire ever conceived. We have an ultra bi-partisan Democratic President who will sign anything, it appears, to get stuff done, even going so far as sign into law something that self-admitted must be modified in the future for it to be interpreted constitutionally.

We are told that we must reject this President and Democratic Party members, indeed, not vote for them, because they are no different than Republicans and it only delays the country going to hell. The trouble is, the country has gone to hell already because we ignored that the ultra bi-partisan President we elected into office is dictated by the corporate Congress we gave him because we decided the faster the country goes to hell, the better off we are. Ultimately, if we reject the President and other candidates who are running, and don't fight for something, then we're going to wind up with either an ultra bi-partisan President who has a even more heavily corporate Congress (bad), or possibly even an even more right wing President with a right wing and even more corporate Congress (worse).

So surely it is time to fight for something. Now, immediately, fight. The faster we build our base, the larger the base, the more progressive the base, the more likely that we prevent catastrophe from happening. People are suffering now, and they will suffer in the future. The only reasonable way to prevent this suffering and to push progressive ideals is to fight for it, otherwise it will be lost in the myriad of systems that attempt to replace the tyrannical system we have in place, which can go either way. It takes decades to build a social safety net, but only a term or two to destroy those safety nets. The American people, no, the world does not deserve the corporate plutocrats in power anymore. An ultra bi-partisan President, with a progressive Congress, will be remiss to veto progressive change.

[tabatha]

1. Exactly.

The more Democrats in Congress, the easier for the Democratic President to do the job right. If the votes are not there, his hands are tied.

[dkf]

2. I'm just hoping we survive the European financial mess okay.

[patrice]

3. Check out HR 676 Expanded & Improved Medicare for All

[joshcryer]

4. +1, we have 20% of the votes *already* to pass it, probably more.

Can we really be so defeatist and pretend that we can't get it passed?

[ellisonz]

5. Fight Republicans.

Tooth and nail.

[TheKentuckian]

6. Ultra bipartisan my ass.

"Ultra" away from authoritarian and toward socialism gets about as eXtRRREME a tad to the left of Bob Dole on the initial idea and negotiates down from there fully prepared to take whatever, including a near polar opposite outcome.

Is Congress an even bigger problem? Sure, but my rep leans toward the least of the problem, neither Senate seat is up, and the party (including many of the rank and file) absolutely repress primary candidates, even the tokens such as the insiders will allow or those with personal wealth they want to throw in to fighting the machine; a media that will try to destroy, discredit, or ignore them into oblivion, the huge piles of money that doesn't come flowing for strong oversight, economic justice, accountability for power, reining in the military, protecting the enviroment, ending the absurdly profitable drug war, insuring the civil rights of all, ending corporate personhood, expanding and building upon civil liberties rather than curtailing them, shutting down private prisons, prioritizing public education, breaking up the too big to fail banks, and all the things that need doing for regular people down the line to have a chance to grow and live makes it a substantial struggle.

You match that with really having next to nothing to build from, we don't have twenty good Senators, maybe not ten, and when it really counts with some heinous bullshit coming down the pipe there are not five and that accounts for Sanders and from a big picture standpoint you deal with what you can get a grip on and what you have some control over.

[joshcryer]

9. An ultra bi-partisan, or a "post-partisan" will say one thing, make his concessions known...

...reach across the isle, and then allow the concessions to happen, very likely more than was desired. That's what it means, ultimately. It means basically taking the BS just to get stuff passed, even if it hurts in the long run, which is what a lot of this stuff is doing.

For you it doesn't appear to be much of an issue. I can't tell you who to vote for. I can only urge you to make sure that we are able to actually keep the concessions from even coming up. No more concessions, no more corporate freebies. Always progress. Anything else is a defeatist excuse.

[ClassWarrior]

7. Believe me, I intend to. Therefore, I won't be volunteering for Obama this time...

...the way I did in '08. Instead, I'll be campaigning to elect a very progressive candidate with an excellent chance of success to the U.S. Senate.

NGU.

[ClassWarrior]

10. .