confuseddemocrat's Comments (213)

“Under Reagan, marginal tax rates for the wealthy were reduced however payroll taxes (which affect workers) were raised and several tax deductions which help the poor and working classes were eliminated.

In short Reagan economic policies coupled with his "union" busting practices decimated the working class. It is Reagan policies that have led to the erosion of the middle class.

Furthermore, the recession ended in part because fuel prices began to recede. Any gains made by Reagan came through the creation of economic bubbles. Reagan started this trend of bubble economies by weakening many of the regulations instituted by FDR to prevent market collapses.­.....

Notice that after ascension of Reagan we have had at least three market collapses.­...

Before Reagan the last market collapse was in 1928”

“You are being too over confident.­.....

someone like Bob McDonnell from VA might be a formidable dark horse opponent

I should caution you to remember that Obama was an unknown 3 years ago and it was a forgone conclusion (by the experts) that Hillary was going to be the 2008 democratic nominee”

“The problem has always been prioritiza­tion....As I have been writing for weeks.....­.two main issues got the president elected

1) Palin Debacle

2) September 2008...whe­n the economy fell off the cliff

Obama misread his mandate...­.it was not health care reform or environmental issues....

it was the economy...­.there mere fact that that this administration remains out of sync with the voters is disturbing and suggest a level of tone-deafn­ess...

If it continues.­....it will bring down the Dems ..........­.........”

“Actually it is the Jobs issue which will limit prospects for continued Democratic domination of congress as well as for an Obama second term”

“x2”

“My question is why wasn't the Job summit announced on Jan 21, 2009 as oppose to 10 months into his tenure”

“First of all ...The Hyde amendment prevents federal subsidy of abortions

Stupak prevents you from using your money to purchase HC which can cover abortion services..­.....this is discrimina­tory......­..........­..”

“Years of GOP playing lip service to pro-life forces and then promptly drop the topic as soon as elected,

Only to have the party of "prochoice" and those feckless blue dog democrats come up with a back door means to essentially ban pro-choice rights....­..........

Just don't get it......”

“Lie #11...Book is a best seller and that the books were pre-purchased by 'Millions and millions of Americans"

In truth many of these right-wing books are bought in bulk by conservative think tanks and groups to force the book onto the the best seller list.....a propaganda ploy

Then these books are given away for free when people buy magazines, buy tea shirts, call radio stations or attend rallies...­.”

“keep voting ..........­....as well as continuing to stock up on pitchforks, tar and feathers”

“Yes representative of the corporations and the wealthy elite.....­..........­.....”

“Your comments are spot on....ther­e is a disconnect among progressives regarding the sentiments and feelings of the general public about healthcare reform...

As stated previously, the bread and butter issue is jobs and the longer the Dems stay on HC without addressing the economy...­the more likely they will be punished in 2010 and 2012......

With regards to HC reform, the stark reality is that there are not enough "millionaires" to finance healthcare reform...

And even if there were...you can guarantee that some politician has already embedded or will include some provision which creates loopholes so that the wealthy can evade the surcharges­...

Hence in order to fund this program, the criteria for being "wealthy" will have to be lowered and the costs will have to fall disproportionately onto the shrinking middle class and the ever increasing working poor classes

Moreover if reports are true about the $750 fine being levied on employers who don't offer coverage, I fear this will actually encourage some employers into opting out of providing healthcare to their employees (since many pay more to provide coverage) further devastating middle/working class families

So like you, I don't see how this bill will lead to the creation of generations of loyal voters who are enthralled with the Democratic party”

“And of course his Christian superior officers and colleagues who also saw warning signs don't share any responsibi­lity......­..........­.....”

“One of thing that bothered me yesterday was all those conservative AM radio hosts who used this unfortunate event to promulgate hate-filled pronouncements about individuals who follow Islam as well as about the Islamic faith

And of course after their rants, they immediately and predictably chastised the Muslim community for not apologizing loudly and often enough. Even some posts here (while sympathetic) still want Muslims to come out publicly and speak out against this atrocity. I understand the point is to try to convince the public not to fear Islam.

However, I feel when we continuously make demands that Muslims condemn any acts of violence that was perpetrated by someone who claims to follow Islam, we do a disservice to that community because we are indirectly (unconsciously) supporting the supposition that Muslims are fanatical terrorists­.....

We don't ask this of any Christian organization when members commit horrific acts ..., and thus we should not demand such from the American Islamic communitie­s.....

We should use this event to embrace the Muslim community and demonstrate to them, that we (non-muslims) understand that this act of violence was committed by an extremely disturbed person and is not an indictment on any religious faith”

“Your article is spot on.

The Dems and Obama are in a very precarious condition.­....and their attempts to minimize these disturbing trends such as the rising populist anger over the bailouts, Wall Street's lack of accountability and the uneven effects of this so-called economy recovery is not helping their cause among independents or many in the Democratic base

Had Obama put forth aggressive policies to help struggling homeowners and had he pushed an aggressive jobs creation and training bills, a vigorous infrastructure enhancement program and offered financial reforms that enforced anti-trust laws, ensured consumer protections, provided easy credit and capital to small businesses and punished those who destroyed the economy then:

1) He could have called the GOP on their obstructionism by demonstrating that they (GOP) are more than willing to allow millions to suffer the indignity of unemployment and financial collapse..­...

2) He would not be have viewed as a corporate shill who is more interested in Wall street well being than mainstreet's woes.....

3) He could have created a real HC reform bill with a single payer clause rather than weak public option (with trigger) that will cover 2-3% of the population

Lastly, the Dems treatment of ACORN is scandalous­....and their abandonment of this organization will impede their ability to mobilize traditional Dem voters in upcoming elections.­.

I just can't quite comprehend why Dems were so willing (so quickly) to abandon their populist ideals and constituents”

“how much time to the jobless and those who are in foreclosure have?”

“the problem is that Obama is not passing legislation that is consistent with democratic ideology..­...he is playing games with the repubs to water down bills only to have the Repubs vote against it AND he is ignoring the well being of the grass-roots

Except for the bush-league politics and an inability to make decisions and stand by those conviction­s...he really is no different from the GOP (with regards to policies)”

“How can one undo Bush policies while continuing to perpetuate them?”

“thank you...

many have become so enchanted and enraptured by the cult of personality, that they have been more than willing to accept minor policy changes and then declare them earth shattering victories while ignoring the administration's refusal to reverse the economic policies and the odious unconstitutional human right practices of the Bush administration

And don't get me started on the outright inability to institute aggressive policies to assist the unemployed and underemployed as well as hurting homeowners and retirees who have been decimated by the unethical practices of Wall street, the financials and the housing industry”

“Finally someone has the guts to say it ...Obama's biggest miscalculation was tackling the healthcare reform first ...... BRAVO

Had Obama put forth aggressive policies to help struggling homeowners and had he pushed an aggressive jobs creation bill, a jobs training bill and a financial reform bill that ensured consumer protections, provided easy credit and capital to small businesses and punished those who destroyed the economy then:

1) he could have called the GOP on their obstructionism by demonstrating that they (GOP) are more willing to allow millions to suffer the indignity of unemployment and financial collapse..­...

2) Americans would have viewed Obama as not being a corporate shill and as being more interested in Wall street than mainstreet­.....

And only after that, would Americans be more amenable to HC reform because the argument could have been framed that health care reform was/is part of an overall strategy to bolster the American middle and working classes”

“And ironically many of those who benefited from Obama's largess with regards to treatment of the Banksters are openly supporting the Republicans (ostensibly because of Obama' s scant "criticism" of executive pay

The GOP is now out raising the Dems once more”

“truthfully, Obama was never against the establishm­ent...he just wanted to be a major part of it........­..”

“you are on a roll now ...fanned and faved”

“this would be funny if it wasn't so true

Rather than fighting against "government takeover" of the Banking system (as the GOP likes to say)

We should be fighting against the Banking Takeover of the Government”

“fanned”