Four things the Dems in congress got terribly wrong, and "the left" got very right.

madfloridian

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Wed Dec-03-08 09:23 PM
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Four things the Dems in congress got terribly wrong, and "the left" got very right.

Here are four things that were passed that harmed our country greatly, that are the cause of the financial and moral authority problems unfolding now so quickly. And yes, we need to discuss it because it appears the media and the DC consultants are going to be trying to paint us again as the enemy. We are not. We have been right almost 100% of the way the last 8 years as so many rushed to support Bush's radical agendas.

We are lucky to have a good man now as president come January 20. But winning the White House back won't solve our problem. Changing mindsets in Democrats who are DC insiders is the only way the problem will be solved.

We on "the left" did not vote for this Iraq invasion that has bankrupted our country in the name of oil-grabbing and "spreading Democracy" at the point of a gun. It falls to our new president to figure out how to handle this invasion that was approved of by our former Democratic president.

Bill Clinton expressed support for the Iraq War

Former President Clinton has revealed that he continues to support President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq but chastised the administration over the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison.

"I have repeatedly defended President Bush against the left on Iraq, even though I think he should have waited until the U.N. inspections were over," Clinton said in a Time magazine interview that will hit newsstands Monday, a day before the publication of his book "My Life."

Clinton, who was interviewed Thursday, said he did not believe that Bush went to war in Iraq over oil or for imperialist reasons but out of a genuine belief that large quantities of weapons of mass destruction remained unaccounted for.

...."I want it to have been worth it, even though I didn't agree with the timing of the attack," Clinton said"

His wife during the campaign this year even said we had given Iraqis the gift of freedom

March 24, 2008...the "gift of freedom"

"In the last five years, our soldiers have done everything we asked of them and more. They were asked to remove Saddam Hussein from power and bring him to justice and they did. They were asked to give the Iraqi people the opportunity for free and fair elections and they did. They were asked to give the Iraqi government the space and time for political reconciliation, and they did. So for every American soldier who has made the ultimate sacrifice for this mission, we should imagine carved in stone: 'They gave their life for the greatest gift one can give to a fellow human being, the gift of freedom."

She said this three times before.

I don't believe we gave them the gift of freedom. I think we gave them heartbreak, chaos, many civilian deaths, and a destruction of their infrastructure.

Hubby and I worked long hours and spent much money on calls to plead with our Congress not to back this war. We here at DU knew Saddam was no threat. It is not our fault, it is not my fault that we invaded a country that had not harmed us.

The left as a whole did not support the deregulation that began in the 90s.

That is another reason we are in such trouble financially today as a country. It was not our idea to take the eye off corporations and let them have their merry way with our country as they took our jobs overseas.

Molly Ivins spoke out on this in the 90s.

�AUSTIN - Watch the House pass a bad bill. Watch the Senate make it worse. Watch the banking industry dig its own grave. Watch supposedly smart people set up a financial disaster. Can we see President Clinton veto this mess? Veto, Clinton, veto.

.."In May, the House passed (by one vote) a bill to eliminate barriers between banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies. This sets up financial holding companies that can offer all three types of services simultaneously. The most obvious risk is that a blunder in the insurance or brokerage end of the business could bring down a bank, putting insured deposits at risk. The taxpayers, of course, then wind up with the tab, as we did with the savings-and-loan mess.

.."The purpose of this bill, long sought by the financial industry, is to legalize such mergers as the proposed Citicorp-Travelers Insurance mega-merger. Many experts believe the effect will be the emergence of nine or ten enormous institutions after the consolidation of hundreds of insurance companies, banks and brokerage firms. Even before this consequence comes to pass, it is apparent that the bill will harm consumers. Last week - on a straight party-line vote of 12-10 in the Senate Banking Committee, all the Republicans against all the Democrats - consumer protections were stripped out of the bill�.

There was no veto.

Those of us on "the left" did not cause the bankruptcies and foreclosures that are looming. The ones who chose to vote for the bankruptcy bill are the problem. Our Democrats who are denying help to homeowners are the problem.

That is what Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats in a private meeting in September.

Pelosi's comments

Pelosi told fellow Democrats during a closed-door meeting that the idea of letting judges rewrite mortgages to help bankrupt homeowners avoid foreclosure won't be a part of the emergency legislation. That provision, pushed by several Democrats, would be a deal-breaker for Republicans whose votes are needed to pass the measure, she said, according to lawmakers at the meeting.

The bill that granted retroactive immunity for wiretapping...it may be the final straw that keeps the Bush administration from being investigated and charged with crimes of spying on our citizens.

Coalition of 27 groups opposed the FISA bill

What the bill will do.

The bill would authorize massive warrantless surveillance.

The bill would require no individualized warrant even when an American�s communications clearly are of interest to the government.

The bill would curtail effective judicial review of surveillance.

The bill would grant retroactive immunity for wrongdoing.

The bill would not provide a reasonable sunset.

We on "the left" worked very hard to keep our Democrats from voting for this bill this year. It passed anyway. We were right, they were wrong...again.

The media and the DC Democrats and strategists will continue to paint "the left", the progressives in a bad light. It is what they do.

We have a new president now, who must somehow manage to work through and undo if possible much of the damage done.

He needs those of us on "the left" as a counterpoint to those he will hear from in the bubble of the White House. He's a good man, but he will need us to speak up.