And ask everyone you know to vote for Democrats, too.

Last night I posted a rather scathing screed. I was in a foul mood for various reasons, and I stand by what I said - that neither political party, as a whole, is looking out for working Americans.

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that both parties are the same. The Republicans are much worse. Much, much worse. Incredibly terrible. It'd be nuts to vote for them, or to not work to get Democrats elected.

Some of us are lucky - looks like I'll get to vote for one definite FDR Democrat this fall (Ms. Warren), and another probable Liberal (Mr. Kennedy). And, unless something unexpected happens, I'll grit my teeth and vote for the other people on our party's ticket. I hope that you'll do the same.

And then let's start getting more FDR Democrats on our tickets.

Excelsior!

This might get me tossed off of DU, but it has to be said: both parties work for the 1%. The 99% are speed bumps and rubes.

Democrats working to deregulate banks, cut Social Security, and offshore our industries? Not my Democrats. Not Democrats by any historical measure.

I call bullshit on those that call for timidity and triangulation. We've done that for 18 years - and here we are. Do you like where we are? I don't. I think it sucks, and it needs to stop.

When L.B.J. was told that the Civil Rights Act would be folly to attempt with an obstructionist Congress, did he run off and whine about realism? Fuck no. He said “Well, what the hell’s the presidency for?”, and he got out there and he fought. And he won. For the 99%.

That's what people in our corner do: they get out there and fight. Bare knuckles, teeth bared.

News flash: anyone who says that they're compromising away your life in the name of realism and moderation is not your friend. Don't be their friend, either.

I had been thinking that President Obama has been lax on the financial industry, but I was wrong.

Turns out they're actually terrified of his Administration: in fact, financial fraud has dropped to new lows! See this striking chart of prosecutions of financial institutions for fraud:



Looking at the chart, we see that financial institutions ran wild under Clinton, started getting scared under Bush, and now are absolutely under Obama's thumb - financial fraud is down more than 50% today!



Thanks to ThinkProgress for setting me straight!

rejecting austerity against the 99% as the way forward.

Putting the screws to the non-hyper-wealthy is not only brutal and immoral, it has never ever been demonstrated to work:

How to End This Depression - Paul Krugman

Please rec this post if you've had enough of this austerity bullshit. Until this sickness stops, this depression doesn't stop: it's that simple.

So we need to cut it, but not slash it, for future generations. Obama kept using this cute phraseology after the SOTU, until he got busted by the press:

Briefing room word games: What's a 'slash' versus a 'cut' in Social Security?

Then of course, last summer, during the fully-fake "eat your peas" budget crisis, Obama called for cuts in Social Security and other entitlements:

"We then offered an additional $650 billion in cuts to entitlement programs -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security." - Obama, July 22nd 2011

Offered is bad enough. But demanded? Rep. Conyers: Obama Demanded Social Security Cuts--Not GOP

Obama demanded Social Security cuts. That's awful.

And when we take into account the other maneuverings - Obama's Simpson-Bowles commission, repeated untruths about the original purpose of Social Security, bizarre assumption used by Obama's Social Security Trustees that force pessimistic projections, etc... It's bad, bad stuff.