Fashionable Fascism
I guess bullying power plays are all the vogue as the GOP congressional leadership take their cues from Mr. Compromise up at the White House. The hearing today on the Patriot Act II was abruptly shut down by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. , chairman of the House Judiciary committee, by himself (illegal based on rules of the congress) and Democratic officials had their mikes turned off (childish) while continuing to merely disagree with items in the new bill. That's what seemed to create the whole problem in the first place. The minority party merely had a different opinion than the GOP leadership.
So they shut the hearing down. Without a vote.
That's the first time it's ever happened.
See a pattern here?
Hold few press conferences
Lock out the press by taking only four questions for most press related events, two for the wire services, two for foreign correspondents.
Vote down minority ammendments
Vote down minority opportunity to merely openly debate ammendments on the floor.
Shut out minority party senior representatives from any decision making opportunities on committees.
There's a new playbook, and it's called throw out the playbook. Forget the rules while we're in power, so we can hurt the other team so badly, they can't recover. And if we become the minority party? Put all the rules back.
Well, so far it's working pretty well. Skyrocketing debt, joblessness, no job security, cuts to education, cuts to support for higher education, environmental distress, cuts to Medicaire, and now just for fun, a new nuclear threat in North Korea as the diplomat in the White House has fared so well.
Remember "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country?" That used to be considered the American Way.
Now it's:"If you've retired, you don't have anything to worry about. The third time I've said that. I'll probably say it three more times, see, in my line of work you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kinda catapult the propaganda. -- Truth... Propaganda... Pretty much the same thing as far as Dubya is concerned. A surprisingly candid statement, though... Greece, New York, May 24, 2005" - From www.dubyaspeak.com/
The agenda. Take power, consolodate the wealth, control the wealth, control the power.
And you and I? The voters? We're left paying for it, for all of it, with none of the benefits left because they've cut all our benefits, because they have to control congressional spending, becuase there's a huge defecit, because there's a war.
The new American Way. Get used to it. They're going to make sure it's here for a long time.
Or email Sensenbrenner here and complain your ass off. Before they shut off internet access to the Congress for all non-Republican party members. Link
So they shut the hearing down. Without a vote.
That's the first time it's ever happened.
See a pattern here?
Hold few press conferences
Lock out the press by taking only four questions for most press related events, two for the wire services, two for foreign correspondents.
Vote down minority ammendments
Vote down minority opportunity to merely openly debate ammendments on the floor.
Shut out minority party senior representatives from any decision making opportunities on committees.
There's a new playbook, and it's called throw out the playbook. Forget the rules while we're in power, so we can hurt the other team so badly, they can't recover. And if we become the minority party? Put all the rules back.
Well, so far it's working pretty well. Skyrocketing debt, joblessness, no job security, cuts to education, cuts to support for higher education, environmental distress, cuts to Medicaire, and now just for fun, a new nuclear threat in North Korea as the diplomat in the White House has fared so well.
Remember "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country?" That used to be considered the American Way.
Now it's:"If you've retired, you don't have anything to worry about. The third time I've said that. I'll probably say it three more times, see, in my line of work you gotta keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kinda catapult the propaganda. -- Truth... Propaganda... Pretty much the same thing as far as Dubya is concerned. A surprisingly candid statement, though... Greece, New York, May 24, 2005" - From www.dubyaspeak.com/
The agenda. Take power, consolodate the wealth, control the wealth, control the power.
And you and I? The voters? We're left paying for it, for all of it, with none of the benefits left because they've cut all our benefits, because they have to control congressional spending, becuase there's a huge defecit, because there's a war.
The new American Way. Get used to it. They're going to make sure it's here for a long time.
Or email Sensenbrenner here and complain your ass off. Before they shut off internet access to the Congress for all non-Republican party members. Link
posted by Phil at 1:02 AM
5 Comments:
I don't know where to start I'm so angry and these people don't even rule over me...
Well, not directly.
Well, you've got your own troubles with Blaire, the Downing Street Memo, Labor Party, et. al. By the by, what is the fallout if any of the memo on your side of the ocean? Isn't there an equal level of two faced bullshit and complete mis-use of power? How can Blaire smile his way out of this one? I used to admire him...
In the UK ask most people and they know that he lied about the war and that it was a waste of time and human life. We didn't need the memo to do that. Remember the invasion had a 37% approval rate at it's peak! Millions marched on Westminster, it changed nothing.
Why is he still in power? Because there is no other left wing option in the UK.
*shrug*
I'm always appalled by bullying, and I sent a letter to Sensenbrenner telling him to lead, not dictate. However, every day I'm also becoming alarmed by the lack of vision by the Dems. Where is their plan for Social Security? Where are their ideas for the poor? Where is their dream for this country? We all know Bush toadies to the wealthy, big business and the neo-cons. We all know his popularity is tanking. What we don't know is where do the Democrats want to take us? Their thinking has got to go beyond abortion rights and gay rights.
Cranky, old Howard Dean needs to stop kvetching and needs to start describing their vision for the majority in this country, who don't have jobs, who can't buy a house, who want to retire at 65 with some security, who can't pay their medical bills, who want a decent education for their kids, who want clean air and water, and want to know the planet is not going to hell in a handbasket anytime soon. Is that so damn much to ask? We are not going to take back this country by whining. (If that were the case, I'd be President.)
To summarize: The reason we have such fascists in control now, is because the Democrats aren't leading us anywhere. And the smug arrogant assholes like Sensenbrenner, Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice and DeLay are filling the void.
Boni, good points. I think we do need leadership from the Dems, but it doesn't excuse abuse of power by the right. They're not filling a void - they kicked their way into power in every arena, lying and cheating when convenient, and then cripple the competition financially, in terms of air time and lobbyist control and support, and in terms of once standard legislative cooperation across the aisle. Don't put all that on the Dems. The Dems, like a pruned tree, now have to come back into a fuller bloom which means working twice as hard to get what was once theirs. That will take leadership, cooperation, vision and an equal edge of fierce singlemindedness.
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