Republican Obstructionism Measured & Confirmed

Republican obstructionism has finally been quantified, at least to some degree. Former White House insider Ira Shapiro discussed via NPR this week, how the filibuster is used much differently by the Senate minority today than it was decades ago. For those who say... "Oh, there has been partisanship in the past...it's healthy. The Senate has only had a handful of super majorities (60+ seats by one Party) in over 220 years, and they were still able to get things done. The sky isn't falling"- I believe they are misreading current events. This is basically what Congressman Alan Grayson stated recently - that nothing has really changed. Grayson seems to believe that with the American public falling for Right wing propaganda and turning against Democrats - handing the Dems 3 big ominous political losses in a row in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts - legislation is going to move forward as normal. But I have to respectfully disagree with Grayson. It is true that In the past the Senate was able to get things done. If we were in a normal political period, more would certainly get done. But we aren't in normal times politically. As I have been saying for over a year, there has clearly been a change in the level of obstructionist behavior over the last few years, especially after the election of President Barack Obama. There is a clear & deliberate effort to make Obama's Presidency a failure- to weaken his ability to govern and even to delegitimize his Presidency.

Soure: The conservative American Enterprise Institute (even their own numbers show it)

This is part of why the U.S. won't be able to manage and keep up with all of the challenges that it faces in the months and years to come. The U.S. will continue to fall behind the rest of the industrialized world. We have a broken government that will not allow the necessary changes to be made. The structure of the U.S. political system is so bureaucratic & inefficient that it won't be possible to keep up with the nations challenges - challenges that are now compounding because so many old problems have been left unattended. Now those problems (from 20, 30, & 40 years ago) are now creating new problems. And the cycle will continue. Add corruption to the mix and you have a government that is incapable of functioning. Even if the Senate were functioning normally, it wouldn't be able to deal with all of the problems the Country faces. The fundamental structure of the Congress makes it almost impossible to get things done efficiently and effectively.

As long as corporations and other special interests continue to control legislation, and drown out the needs and concerns of everyday citizens, this problem will get worse. Meanwhile, other nations are leaving the U.S. in the dust... from green industry, to manufacturing, to civil engineering & transportation, to education, to infrastructure, to health care, to the economy, and most importantly...to quality of life.

I Registered To Vote Yesterday!

Not only that.... but I also volunteered for the Obama Campaign. I will be working on election day.

I don't think any one of you understands how earth-shattering this development is... I will try to explain and put this in context later. But in short... It goes against my philosophy about American politics...and against everything that I have grown to believe. I'll admit that this is mostly symbolic....and I will return to my beliefs after this election.... but still (even as a symbolic gesture) it represents a sea change for me. It's like the Sun no longer rising in the East.... it's huge!

And hopefully... Missouri will be delivered for Obama on Nov. 4th... in fact i'm more confident it will be. If Obama can go into election night within 1-3% points of McCain, he will have a chance. Obama can lose in most of the States Counties, but can still win the State (narrowly), by winning Kansas City, Jackson County, St. Louis City, and St. Louis County. These areas hold about 3/5ths of the States population, and will provide Obama with tens of thousands of votes. And these areas always deliver their vote totals late... (Missouri is always a tough State for the National Media to call, because they just don't know how the voting is counted here). This is how the last 2 Democratic Governors were elected.... (with vote totals coming in late into the night)....In fact, Senator McCaskill had a Truman/Dewey moment with the national media getting it wrong.

If Obama is down by 50,000-70,000 or so votes before the big metro areas are counted, he may have a chance to win. Our Attorney General, Jay Nixon (who will easily win the Governorship) may also help Obama.... but I have to say... race is a huge issue in this State. When it comes to voting, Missouri is more like Alabama or Georgia than a modern Midwestern State, unfortunately. Split voting is quite common here....(voters choosing a Dem Governor...and a Republican for the Presidency). This year may result in a big split in the voting here in Missouri.

I'll try to explain more about the sea change later...

ONN Report Offers Most Honest Analysis of Election Season Yet :)

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

See, i'm not all gloom and doom. Only when it involves Hillary Clinton, when I think about the direction of the Country, or when it comes to the Republicans & their smear machine. They can suck the life and the hope out of just about anything.

P.S.

May 6th, could be the end of the hostage standoff (Hillary Clinton holding the nation hostage that is), as I had predicted several weeks ago. Whether she gives up then or not may not matter. If she loses both N. Carolina and Indiana on the same night it could be a crushing blow in terms of momentum and could send a message to Superdelegates to make a decisive move to avoid a disaster at the Convention. It would take a very strange miracle for her to win after that. For Clinton to stay in the race after that point can only be seen as malicious....an attempt to do harm to Obama in the General Election. Of course, she has already done this...but after May 6th, it will be as clear as day. But Obama has to somehow win Indiana... a daunting task after the massive Swiftboat attacks.

Hillary The Beast Clinton will easily win West Virginia and Kentucky after her racist campaign efforts and her fearmongering aimed at White blue collar voters. Obama may come back & do well in Oregon (still an unknown...Oregon seemed like a lock for Obama a couple of months ago...but that was before the Swiftboating & race baiting kicked into high gear). The Caucus States of South Dakota and Montana are numerically insignificant either way (Sorry Montana & S. Dakota, lol). Clinton may actually win those Caucuses due to the changing dynamics of the past 6 weeks. But Obama's delegate lead should be big enough to blunt a Clinton win in Puerto Rico.

If I were Obama... I would publicly offer Clinton a 45%-55% split on Michigan and Florida. That would be hard for her to refuse. That would probably earn Obama the nomination outright. It would put Clinton in an awkward & almost impossible position. If she says no... she looks like an ass to the World and all of her arguments would be shot to Hell. If she accepts, she allows Obama to have a clear victory, and all of her arguments would be shot to Hell.

A Discussion With Dr. Cornel West

Dr. Cornel West talked about American society, race, politics and class, at a recent event hosted by the New York Times. He was interviewed by columnist Frank Rich.

This event took place earlier this month, and was part of the New York Times Arts and Leisure Weekend, held at The Times Center. The program runs for approximately 1 hour.

Watch Streaming Video

Watch Here (video is in two parts, and will automatically switch over from beginning segment to the main video. Allow video to load).

I'm not too happy with Dr. West's recent efforts to fraternize with organizations like BET and the rest of the Black elite. These are organizations that have not been working in the best interests of Black Americans....not even in the interests of helping the image of Black Americans. This is interesting considering the fact that Dr. West is known for his criticism of the likes of BET.

He has gone down several notches on my list of the few major Black figures and scholars who I respect. But (as of right now) he is still someone who I enjoy listening to. He is one of the few major Black figures who is offering a positive, thoughtful message about the issues that the Country faces, and especially the issues facing Black Americans.

The Aftermath of the Iowa Caucus - Americas Broken System

I see the Obama win in Iowa as the Democrats worst nightmare coming true. A Trainwreck in the making.

The corporate media will still act as if Edwards doesn't exist. He will continue to face a media Blackout. The networks will continue to spin the election as a Obama/Clinton contest. Why? Because it is good for their ratings. That has been one of the motivations behind the whole Obama/Clinton nonsense all along. This has been a media driven election for Obama and Clinton. Neither candidate belongs anywhere near the top tier. But they were placed there by corporations who decided that this was what the political landscape should look like.

The fact is... Obama & Clinton are 2 of the least electable candidates that Democrats have to offer (among the serious candidates/not counting Gravel or Kucinich).

Who owns the big media? The same kinds of corporations that John Edwards says he wants to stand up to. So that is another factor in this race.

There is no way that Obama can match a top Republican in a General election. He is not the best Democrat for winning Purple States. And he will get nothing in the South. Yes, he won in Iowa...but that does not translate into victory in a General Election where there will be 50 separate and unequal contests taking place. And keep in mind, this will be after the Republican political/media machine gets done with him.

In fact, Obama would struggle just to hold on to States that Democrats won in the last 2 elections...such as Pennsylvania.

In short, the Democrats are once again headed for a Trainwreck.... with either Obama or Clinton.

It's sad to see this happening to Edwards...who would make a great President. Edwards may be finished soon, because so much was riding on Iowa. His campaign may have been doomed before it had a chance to get started, because the media made a concerted effort to take him out of the mix from the beginning. He never got a fair shot. This fundamentally flawed American election system needs to be overhauled. The allocation of media time to candidates, etc all must be regulated if this Country wants to have anything resembling free and fair elections. Media steering should be stopped and public polling before elections should be regulated or eliminated altogether.

It is a miracle that this man was able to come in second place with 30% under the circumstances....with no media coverage to speak of (until very late), and without the big money. Such a good showing under those conditions is an sign of his strength.

But because of the media blackout, he will probably not be able to rise in the polls in New Hampshire in such a short period of time, at least not enough to be competitive there. This is why equal & balanced media coverage is so important for candidates.

This just reaffirms my disgust and disinchantment with the American election process.... the structure of the political system itself is undemocratic at its core.
And this also reaffirms my long held belief that the media is the most powerful institution in the Country and plays too large a role in influencing American Elections. For one thing, the media sets the agenda for the people, and frames the debate. It's supposed to be the other way around... the people are supposed to set the agenda and frame the debate in an election year. But in this Country the media decides these things. And it also decides who the favorite candidates are going to be (by favoring certain candidates over others)...steering Americans like sheep (because intellectually lazy Americans allow this to happen).

This is why I don't bother participating. I have always hated this undemocratic system of politics. The American Election system & political system itself are so fundamentally broken.

Obama's "victory" doesn't give me "hope" at all... It actually does a lot to confirm my beliefs about the flawed electoral system in this country. And it doesn't make me excited at all about ever participating in the American system. My cynicism & skepticism about American politics has only increased....not decreased. I see more of our so-called Democracy slipping away with each election cycle.

Until there is a serious move towards election reform- which will never happen in this Country- I will never be excited about American politics. I have never been inclined to even register to vote, let alone take part in the actual ceremony. The motivation is just not there. And this current election cycle is an example of why I don't participate. And I hate when imbeciles try to tell me to vote for the sake of voting, that I should vote because i'm Black and that I need to exercise the right....EXERCISE THE RIGHT TO DO WHAT??????? The "Black" reasoning is the dumbest of all... it usually makes me want to scream. Voting in this Country has become ceremonial. Because the system that people are voting in IS NOT Democratic. That's like telling a person in Russia or Pakistan that they should go and vote so that they can exercise their right to do so. That logic has never made sense to me and it never will.

I won't spend much time or effort covering the rest of the 2008 election ceremony.... I will only make a half-assed effort. Because the election is a farce (as usual). But I will cover it for info-tainment purposes.

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A Daily Kos Entry That Sums Up My View

Karl Rove Is Laughing His Ass Off Right Now

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