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I had to take a break from this. The defeatism and lashing out by nearly everyone on every thread was making me angry and when I get that angry, I know I better haul it in for awhile so I don’t get nuts.
I’m gong to try and give some rational perspective here because ultimately, what we are dealing with is a straight up war that is being fought...mostly behind the scenes, and thus far, our evil Conservatives have managed to give harry reid and obama the screaming meemies. THAT is a good thing.
I am going to ask you to recall that it wasn’t that long ago there was a firestorm in the lamestram because Mitch McConnell said his first job priority was to STOP obama and make sure he was a one term president.
Believe it or not, sometimes politicians tell the truth because that is exactly what the House and Senate pubbies have been doing ever since the health care debacle.
obama has been trying to RULE by fiat.
McConnell might very well be one of the best parliamentary strategists there are. He has waltzed circles around reid AND obama and so has Boehner. They have caused a huge meltdown and the dems are reeling from this. They have nowhere to go.
The pubbies might have actually managed to line up enough dem votes in the senate to bring the CCB bill back on to the floor. THAT is why reid suddenly announced there would be NO VOTE on his own bill last evening. HE doesn’t have the votes to pass it and McConnell has utterly refused to “negotiate”” with him.
McConnell’s refusal, even for stalling purposes, tells me that he has some measure of confidence that HE and the pubbies in the Senate are in the catbird seat,
There is NO SUCH thing as a reid, McConnell, Boehner bill. What there IS, is a Mcconnell/Boehner STRATEGY to force the CCB down reid and obama’s throat with some dem help.
What I suspect happened with regard to the TEA Party pubbies in the house, was that Boehner talked to them person to person and ASKED, not demanded, not threatened, that they TRUST him...and they DID. THAT is why he had a comfortable cushion during the House vote.
Several of the TEA Party individuals who I saw interviewed live, refused to discuss what Boehner did say, but to a man, they said he looked them in the eye, treated them with respect, and told them he needed their help. There were no threats. No bribes. Just maybe he told thm the truth...and it’s rather obvious they believed him.
All this dissing and second guessing, and readiness to throw everyone under the bus here just makes no sense if anyone has followed this entire thing closely.
The strategy, short and long, is to STOP obama from doing as much damage as he could when the dems controlled all three houses. And credit needs to be given where credit is due. So far, they have done a masterful job and I am impressed. REALLY impressed, because I wasn’t sure or confident that they could do it. But they have. And I say G-d bless them. They know our entire country and way of life is at stake here. They know that a nod from obama will set the streets on fire. They have had to walk a fugging tightrope and I sit here everyday watching people who sit behind their computers, cluelessly insulting, calling names, armchair tough guys who wouldn’t know how or what to do if their lives depended on it, bashing and trashing the only hope we have right now of making it through to 2012 with as little damage as possible.
Both Boehner and McConnell know we are out here. I think they are BOTH doing the right thing and will DO the right thing, even if they think WE don’t understand or appreciate it. Whatever else anyone thinks, WE have a tradition of patriotism. I am saying we have PATRIOTS working for us right now, and that gives me hope.

“Believe it or not, sometimes politicians tell the truth because that is exactly what the House and Senate pubbies have been doing ever since the health care debacle.
obama has been trying to RULE by fiat.”

“McConnell might very well be one of the best parliamentary strategists there are. He has waltzed circles around reid AND obama and so has Boehner. They have caused a huge meltdown and the dems are reeling from this. They have nowhere to go.”

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I completely disagree with you. Have you forgotten their campaign promise to cut 100 billion from Obama’s huge $3.4 trillion budget? Then it became $81 billion, then 38.5 billion in phantom cuts that Mark Levin clearly demonstrated was really only about 1 billion in real cuts. The GOP also caved on the Planned Parenthood funding as well. All because Reid and McConnell were terrified that WAPO and the Slimes would say nasty things about them if they called Obama’s bluff and the federal government had to shut down for a while.

Now we come to the debt ceiling. The freshmen campaigned on a pledge not to raise the debt ceiling. (this is still Sarah Palin’s position) They compromised by agreeing to one last hike in return for Cut, Cap and Balance, which had some Democrat support. Reid and Obama rejected it out of hand. Instead of waiting for the Democrats to pass something, Boehner came out with his first Bill which was so bad it couldn’t pass. Under pressure he improved it slightly, and then rammed it through just barely only to have 59 Senators (including Jim Demint, Mike Lee and Rand Paul, the best we have)reject it within the hour. Make no mistake about it. When they run for reelection, the TEA Party freshmen will face ads from Democrats accusing them of hypocrisy for promising not to raise the debt ceiling but doing so anyway. It will be “Read my lips” all over again for those who buckled.

I don’t see any hope for a revival of Cut cap and balance. Why would the Dems revive that when they can work off the much more malleable Boehner bill? The Boehner bill will be revived, made much worse and then in a panic passed by the Senate just on the eve of the artificial August 2 deadline. It will be sent over to the House. Boehner will bring it up and it will be passed with near unanimous Democrat support and enough GOP votes (again supplied by Boehner) to get it through.

I think it is great that you are so optimistic,but here is noting about this process or Boehner’s past record (or McConnell’s) that makes me hopeful at all. McConnell’s statement about making Obama a one term President was just rhetoric. McConnell and Reid are both members of the GOP Establishment. If the Choice comes down to another term for Obama or Sarah Palin, they (and the boys on K Street who call the tune) will do all they can to try to ensure that Obama is reelected. They are not coming out and attacking Palin publicly because that would cost them votes. Instead they send out the Laura Ingrahams and Karl Roves and Rich Galens to do their dirty work. They are trying to marginalize and to dispirit the TEA Party, which they fear because they cannot control it.

Make no mistake about it. The GOP Establishment is the problem here. Unfortunately, not enough of the TEA Party freshmen stood firm

As Rush said, we have been played.

MM,I was finally able to get back on FR after a busy day, and found your post 218.

Thank you for explaining your position to me. I ahve also read the remainder of the thread and your additional postings.

This is just what I needed. Things are playing out at an accelerated clip, but your view gives me hope that there is still an Angel in this whirlwind.

I have come off the ledge ;)

Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Now, we have to gird our loins and get back in the fray.