[diundasmink]

They're living in a fantasy version of the Soviet Union, that's their problem. They didn't learn a thing from that "shellacking" last month.

http://thepage.time.com/2010/12/02/donkey-doozy/

Donkey Doozy

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Democratic Party spirals unidirectionally.

Halperin's Take

Is it hyperbolic to say the Democratic Party is in the midst of a nervous breakdown? I have been covering national politics since 1988, and I don't remember a situation quite like this. The signs of a crack-up are everywhere. Democrats still think they can somehow win a news cycle by demonizing John Boehner. Chuck Schumer goes on the Senate floor and suggests Democrats are getting the same political mileage out of "millionaires tax" that Republicans have gotten over the years from using "death tax." Politico has a story with blind quotes from Hill Democrats who are furious that the White House isn't using some sort of mythical leverage over Republicans to extract concessions in exchange for extending all the Bush tax cuts -- including continuing to try to trade for DADT and the Dream Act (rather than things dealing with jobs). Two members in good standing of the Professional Left -- moveon and the PCCC -- are spending its members' money on TV ads demanding that the president exercise this same mythical leverage to stand up to the GOP.

(Read more: The Democrats' rhetorical failure in the tax debate.)

Democrats are understandably -- and largely justified in being -- frustrated that they lost an election based on Republicans defending tax cuts for the wealthy that are only expiring because of a budget gimmick championed by George Bush -- and based on criticism of their apparent lack of concern over the deficit, by a party that has shown no past or current seriousness about deficit reduction and the hard choices involved. Losing those political fights was as inexplicable as it was hard for the Democrats. Maybe that's why Thursday seemed to have donkeys melting down all over the place.

(Read more: What Rahm Emanuel would say about all the liberal criticism.)

Read more: http://thepage.time.com/2010/12/02/d...#ixzz177FvsXd5

[sensation]

Where do I start, Mr. Halperin? First, my nerves are just fine, thank you. Second, perhaps you should revisit history, say the history of the past 12 months or so. You'll find the rallying cry of those voting Republicans into office in the mid-term was not "Give tax cuts to the rich!" Matter of fact, the GOP voters are just as unhappy with Mr. Boehner's chicken crap as we are.

In a recent CBS poll, when asked if tax cuts should contine for all, continue for households making less than $250k or expire for all, 52% of Republicans voted against giving the richest of the rich tax cuts.

You see, Mr. Halperin, when voters went to the polls last month, one message was clear: No more business as usual. Reduce the debt and deficit and give us jobs. What is the lame duck Congress doing? The same old chicken crap. Unemployment continues to rise, and the Republicans are stomping their feet, insisting on blowing a huge hole in the deficit so that some very rich people can get a tax break that hasn't created the avalance of jobs it promised.

Here's just a sampling of what angry tea partiers are writing on message boards: "If this is what they (the Republicans) plan to do for the next two years they should start looking for a new job!"

Perhaps the GOP should be nervous, Mr. Halperin.