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Bullshit. If you're talking about the American people, the political will is there in spades. But thanks to gerrymandering and the filibuster, their voices been
by alexqgb 14y ago
Bullshit. If you're talking about the American people, the political will is there in spades. But thanks to gerrymandering and the filibuster, their voices been successfully nullified. The GOP holds the House by a wide majority, even though their members in it received fewer votes than the "minority" in opposition. And while the GOP has a numerical minority in the Senate, they still control the chamber since it (alone in the developed world) runs on a self-imposed Supermajority rule, not a simple majority.
These two departures from basic democratic control have freed the legislative body from proper accountability to the people, rendering the will of the people increasingly irrelevant to the operations of the government. Saying political will "is just not there" like this is some sad but immutable fact of life ignores the reality of the situation: America has suffered an unofficial coup. We are now suffering under an intrinsically illegitimate government that preserves its power thanks to very clear, very precise structural problems that have been magnified enough to effectively hinder the legitimate will of the people.
These are facts, and they are neither debatable nor acceptable. The situation must resolve itself and it must do so in favor of the people.
- tokipin 14y agorelated: http://www.fairvote.org/electoral-college-chaos-how-republicans-could-put-a-lock-on-the-presidency http://www.fairvote.org/electoral-college-chaos-how-republic... http://rslc.com/_blog/News/post/REDMAP_2012_Summary_Report http://rslc.com/_blog/News/post/REDMAP_2012_Summary_Report
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- yummyfajitas 14y agoVote totals for the bailout: Aye: 171 D, 91 R. Nay: 63 D, 108 R. http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h1424/show http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h1424/show Why are you complaining about the GOP holding the house? Based on their votes, they seem to be the party of letting banks pay for their mistakes.
- alexqgb 14y agoWhy are you citing a vote from 2008 in reference to the Congress that was just elected in 2012?
- yummyfajitas 14y agoI cited it because I don't believe the Republican position has changed. Do you disagree? Perhaps Republicans hate the Tea Party so much that they decided to support bailouts just to spite them?
- alexqgb 14y agoUm, the Bailout Bill was signed by George W. Bush - a Republican approving the work of his own cabinet. The bailout wasn't the issue, by the way. Faced with a catastrophic crisis, propping up a criminal enterprise that we are utterly dependent upon is very much a lesser of two evils choice. The real problem is with sparing these bastards from even a hint of prosecution after the fact. If you want a more accurate view of where the GOP stands today, consider Eric Cantor (i.e. their leadership) who actively courted Wall Street during the election, promising that the Republicans would provide "better service" and getting a highly disproportionate of the bribes (ahem) contributions in return. And don't get me started on Elizabeth Warren. She was actively and articulately opposed to the criminal class that's developed in banking. And the agency she designed (the CPFB) was the target for the most vitriolic rage that the House Republicans have managed to date, and that's saying something, given who we're dealing with.
- yummyfajitas 14y agoI didn't say opposition to bailouts was unanimous among Republicans, merely that the majority opposed them. As for "criminal enterprise" and "prosecution", could you remind me what crime was committed, and by whom? Last I checked, taking a long position on housing (the cause of the crisis) wasn't a crime. If it was, we need to jail every homeowner. Keeping Elizabeth Warren out of the public policy arena is a fantastic move. She is driven primarily by ideology, and displays a remarkable ability to state correct facts in a manner that misleads reporters and the public. See, for example, her nonsensical claims that medical costs cause millions of bankruptcies, or her confusing presentation of data in the "Two Income Trap" which obscures the fact that the primary cause of the two income trap is taxes.