Flicker...you can say what you will about Pelosi, but she IS the speaker of the house. Do you not like her because she is a female? Because she is a liberal? Or because she is from SFO? If she loses her seat in the next election, then someone else from the House Majority will take her place...no big deal. By the way, there is nothing wrong with being a liberal. I'd rather stand next to one of them any day of the week rather than some right wing neo-con nut job. Most liberals that you may meet in your life are good people who care more about helping others, righting injustices, and protecting the environment so as to live in a better world, as opposed to the neo-cons who espouse hate, divisiveness, religious exclusivity, and all non-factual incendiary nonsense spewed forth by the likes of Fox News.
772...thanks for the invite. Yes, I'd be happy to get a beer with you in Omaha if I ever get there. You see, the "Best Management Team in the Industry" (that's what they call themselves everytime they give themselves another bonus) only services that city with RJ's instead of Mainline, but maybe that will change in the future; just one more strike item added to the list. For the record, yes, of course I know Lieberman finally voted for Health Care Reform. But...that was only after Nelson watered it down and then Lieberman watered it down further with all of his nasal whineing. I think the People finally got fed up with the Senate version of the bill being vastly different from the much better House version of the bill and they revolted against this and all the deal making that went on in the Senate, especially amongst the likes of Nelson and Lieberman. Thank you for finally admitting that Republicans hold the record on filibusters. That was the point I was making way back in the first post.
Lear...yes, spending does have to be reigned in. You say in the "next decade or two". I counter that it needs to be reigned in much sooner than that. Spending for the Stimulus was needed. Frankly, I believe it should have been more, but it is what it is. The short term spending that the President is doing now is not because he wants to...it is because he has to. This was the ONLY way to get the economy moving again. Kind of like taking that nasty tasting medicine. It sucks going down but in the end it saves you. The Republicans could offer no better alternative, so the President went with the best option he had. I think the People are sick and tired of hearing Republicans cast stones yet offer up no viable alternatives. What they do offer up is not grounded in fact and completely illogical. When run through the CBO, they say the same thing as well. This was brought to light a number of times when the President met with them last week. Kind of ironic how all the major news stations carried that event Live in its entirety, however when it became crystal clear that the President was clearly winning every challenge thrown at him by the 141 Republicans, Fox News decided to break away and stop broadcasting the event.
I believe that as the economy rebounds, the Bush tax cuts for the rich and the corporations begin to expire, and jobs are created (this is why the President is advocating a major Jobs bill; which guess what, is being obstructed by Republicans just for the sake of trying to derail anything and everything this President does), you will see the money in the Treasury start to come back and the next step of the President's plan will be to start reducing the debt. We can only do that with solid well-paying (hopefully UNION) jobs with a large part of them rooted in the manufacturing sector, sound fiscal and tax policy, and an energy policy that shifts to a green economy via the use (85% or more) of zero emission clean alternative energy.
It took 8 years to get us into this mess. It will take at least 4, and probably more, to get us out. We are 1 year into it. So far, I'd say we're doing pretty good despite all of Mitch McConnell and John Boehner's partisan obstructionism. Just imagine how quickly the country could advance if the Republicans looked at the President as a fellow American trying to do good for the People rather than a political opponent of a different skin color.