Destroying the D.C. System of Patronage

this is also (10.21 / 14)

on dKos.

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by: thereisnospoon @ Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 20:19:46 PM CDT

shamelssly stolen (0.00 / 0)

cross posted at poac; with your byline and a link back here, thereisnospoon; great fucking job!!!!
hope you dont mind. 

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by: Diane W @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:48:13 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Rome (8.00 / 6)

I cannot help but think that we, living now in the USA, are going down the path of the ancient Romans.

Someone help us all.

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by: zoetrope @ Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 21:00:38 PM CDT

As a Roman of Rome... (0.00 / 0)

I have to say that we did it with much more style!

And now that we have been the greatest empire in the world, much bigger, better, and more beautiful than your little McEmpire, with better people by far than your McPresident (That's like- McDonald's is not food, McPresident is not a president.) We remain a beautiful country, with some of the best food, most beautiful women, and fastest cars in the world!

You see, it is possible to be a recovering imperiaslist;

Just repeat after me:

"Hi, I'm ----- and I'm an imperialist!"

We need IA- Imperialists anonymous!

Where's Caligula now that we need him?

Oh, and by the way- I'm a US citizen and a US Army veteran, enlisted '63.

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by: mrhorrible @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 11:38:33 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

"McEmpire" (0.00 / 0)

Every once in awhile someone comes along and coins a new word that fits better than the original verbiage to that thing to which it is applied. Many times the new word eventually ends up in folklore such as the Urban Dictionary.

Mrhorrible , you are that someone, and "McEmpire" is that word. I humbly curtsy to your eloquence, sir !

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by: yankhadenuf @ Fri Jul 28, 2006 at 20:29:16 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

There is a Spoon after all (7.00 / 2)

Say it ThereIsNoSpoon, say it!

Don't Panic.

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by: fourtytwo @ Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 21:30:46 PM CDT

what if the democrats purpose (6.33 / 3)

is to keep republicans in control? what if it isnt gross incompetence, sleaze, and indifference, but an intentional strategy? i am having a 1984 moment

national shopping boycott April 15 - April 22 www.wearenotbuyingit.org

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by: bluebird of happiness @ Wed Jul 26, 2006 at 22:36:37 PM CDT

I have heard that (6.00 / 3)

theory floated before, bluebird.  I have to say it made me wonder.  It says something that I have doubt and can't say, unequivocally, "no, that couldn't be".

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by: SusanD @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 00:35:56 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

this dichotomy of "philosophies" (8.67 / 6)

absolutely works together.

there are two types of master in slave economies... the benevolent and brutal... the former says to have good workers you need to be nice to them, the other, be cruel, but both types of plantation will fail, the former due to the fact that a taste of freedom will have the slave realizing that having a "good master" does not make you free, and the latter, because death will be like nothing compared to their hate for their oppressor.

These two parties rule together.  That is clear... just as computer programs on your computer run at the same time... they don't really, they have one cpu and they run one at a time, but they "task" back and forther, just as the Democrats and Republicans do with the presidency... but at any given instant, since there are many offices, the republicans and democrats are in power together.

they cooperate on a great many things, a great many!  But they sell the illusion that there is nothing but animosity and separation, each can tell "their constituents" the other side is not letting them improve things, meanwhile they work together on many things.

Is there collusion to actually let the republicans rule?  It doesn't matter.

-pyrrho-

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by: pyrrho @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 01:31:41 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

No. bluebird. You are not having a 1984 moment. You are having a 2006 moment. (9.75 / 4)

It is a good cop/bad cop, Plan A/PlanA Lite world in which we are now living.

Solution?

Plan B.

Do not support this system.

Do not vote for its practitioners.

Do not believe the supporters of its practitioners.

As much as it is possible to do so and still survive, do not buy its goods and do not contribute your own efforts to its success. Do not consume its totally decayed media...not news, not entertainment.

In short...leave it while remaining inside of it.

This is the ONLY vote that counts.

Reduce its sway over you, and simultaneously reduce your complicity in it.

If we could do so to the tune of a grand total of only 10% or 15% across the entire population, I believe that this system would collapse. Maybe even less would do it. There is already a thriving underculture...minorities (especially Hispanic minorities, which cannot be so easily co-opted as others because of language differences) a rapidly growing group of totally disaffected young people and an equally rapidly growing group of REALLY angry working class people. If all of us...the classic "liberal" left (currently the most co-opted of all), minorities, the young, anybody else with some sense...were to pull even 30% or 40% of our efforts out of this system, we couild cause a sea change that woiuld cripple our current rulers.

We cannot vote them out. Hell bluebird, there is really only one party in our two partt system, and the votes THEMSELVES are suspect. But we CAN starve them out.

In the end, it is still all about numbers.

Let us reduce theirs until they fall.

I see no other way.

I have been saying this in various ways on the web for going on two years now. Clearly the OTHER tactics are going nowhere. We make little baby steps in places like Connecticut while the Blood For Oil war machine simply rages on in the Middle East.

Where is the beef? The meat? The RESULTS?

The beef is in the WITHOLDING of nourishment.

Starve 'em out.

The country's too fat anyway.

NEWSTRIKE!!!

MEDIASTRIKE!!!

SUV STRIKE!!!

MCDONALD'S STRIKE!!!

VOTESTRIKE!!!

Etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

Or...continue impotently complaining.

It's getting to be crux time. here. The evidence is right on your TV set. Another group of embedded reporters doing amazingly slanted reporting on another set of US-backed war crimes.

Got a better idea?

I don't.

AG

Government is the Entertainment Division of the Military-Industrial Complex.-Frank Zappa

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by: Arthur Gilroy @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 05:19:27 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think there is an implicit compact (9.00 / 4)

Or maybe it's explicit.

The Dems support Bush and the Republicans' policies, especially the important ones - and in exchange, the Republicans don't go after their safe seats. If you look, Lieberman and Feinstein and Boxer, for example, have not been given strong Republican challengers.

At the end of my course on 20th century US history this summer, I explained that here in the 21st century, the most salient political development was the emergence of a Democratic-Republican governing coalition. Think of it as a parliamentary democracy - one party (GOP) holds the positions of power and another party (Dems) backs them with their votes.

The Democratic Party is complicit with everything the Republicans have done; they are accessories to murder, if not worse.

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by: eugene @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:24:50 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

exactly (9.33 / 3)

but on radio talk shows, i hear liberal hosts tearing down any caller who claims there is no difference between gop and dems. sure, there is the obvious difference on some issues. but, it does not take much to get bush to back down on issues. when pelosi spoke out against forcing americans to pay for rescue from lebanon, bush backed down. it's happened before. but, most time dems agree with bush or gop by their inaction and silence and play the "what can we do as a minority party" card. and, boxer and clinton supporting joe. please, what ever happened to standing on principle?

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by: Patriot Daily @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:56:05 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

the only principle (6.00 / 1)

these folks live by is cold hard cash

:)

national shopping boycott April 15 - April 22 www.wearenotbuyingit.org

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by: bluebird of happiness @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 12:58:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Most prominent Democratic politicians today... (7.00 / 4)

would make marvelous 1950s/1960s style Republicans.  The main difference is that prominent Democrats simply do not think in terms of starting preemptive wars simply because of election gains or profit motives.  In other words, Republicans are Corporatists who have totally gone over to the Dark Side.  Most Democrats are also Corporatists, but they have managed to retain some semblance of a soul.

It would be very nice if somebody represented the people, for a change.  Corporations, it seems to me, have a sufficient number of lobbyists and politicians and media outlets looking after their interests. 

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by: grunmann @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:47:10 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

there's people at booman tribune... (9.00 / 1)

that could tell you this.

You're naive if your savior is this cable exec, your hope for him is extreme, you don't even know how "progressive" he is, he has no record. You do not, I think, care how progressive he is, I think you are merely not shy to use the word "progressive" with no definition.

Your entire strategy is "scare em shake em" but you can't even prove they'll be scared and shaken, you have absolutely nothing to go on.

Btw, Kos is libertarian...

-pyrrho-

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by: pyrrho @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 01:34:34 AM CDT

Could you expand on this, pyrrho, (6.00 / 1)

if it wouldn't be too time consuming or inconvenient? I have had my thoughts about this, though I still support Lamont, irrespective of ANY other issue, MERELY because I want Lieberman gone.

And, as I've said before, I think Lamont will lose. Lieberman has, as Spoon calls it, the "Mafia" of the entrenched Democrats behind him -- to say nothing of all that corporate dough and media support.

Still, I'm living in cautious hope.

--7.88, --6.56      If I can't rant, I don't want to be part of your revolution.

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by: Maryscott O'Connor @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:18:01 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I want Lamont to win too (0.00 / 0)

but it's not an earth shattering victory, it's a very specific show of force by certain bloggers... that will claim they "did it".

Lieberman "did it".

But people sling a lot of bullshit about Lamont and how progressive he is.  It all remains to be seen, we don't worry because it's Lieberman for God's sake, we figure... but running against Lieberman doesn't make Lamont "progressive".

Also I am totally tired of the populist bullshit. I don't find it convincing, I'm disgusted.

-pyrrho-

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by: pyrrho @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 18:52:22 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

A good point (9.00 / 1)

We need to be sure that we don't replace bad Dems with other unreliables.

But, maybe I'm caught up in the moment, I really like the idea of knocking off Lieberman. His defeat would send a signal to all the other appeasers and collaborators that their time is up, they must change and start defending us or lose their jobs. I would also have to believe that a successful Lamont campaign would show others that it is possible to do this in other states, and 2008 would see a much bigger number of progressive challengers to the DC Dems, with a new and larger network of resources to support them.

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by: eugene @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:27:57 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I love the idea of knocking off Lieberman (0.00 / 0)

I don't like the idea of using populist bullshit and the word "progressive" with no definition to pump up the whole thing as the power of the libertarian blogosphere.


-pyrrho-

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by: pyrrho @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 18:53:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Raybin beat me to this (9.40 / 5)

Or at least to promoting this, by mere seconds.

I am in love with this diary. It explains the problem in very clear terms - the DC Dems are more concerned with protecting their own positions of power than doing their jobs and upholding their oaths of office. They have systematically caved in to the Republicans on every issue, especially lately, when the GOP seems bent on ramming as much legislation through Congress as possible.

Just as with Iraq in 2002, the Dems today think that if they just hang on and let whatever the GOP wants pass, they'll win in November. I suspect it will be just as mistaken today as it was 4 years ago.

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by: eugene @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:19:14 AM CDT

It's interesting (9.40 / 5)

The Repubs have stepped up the Congressional machine in recent weeks, which to me signfies a fear that they will lose Congress in November and want to pass as much of their insane shit as possible while there's still time.

On the other hand, Dems have been doing nothing to block or even moderately impede most of this nonsense, again blowing an opportunity to draw clear and distinct lines between the parties, which to my eye has been the biggest complaint leveled by the voters for years and years.  How many times have we all heard and read something along the lines of "Democrats don't have bad ideas, but they don't stand for nothin'."  I know I have many times. 

I guess that's just a long winded way of saying "eugene is right"  I think pyrrho's concerns are valid--i.e., "How different is Ned Lamont, really" but at this point I think that's almost beside the point.  Anyone from outside the D.C. power structure deserves a shot at this point.

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present...As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

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by: Raybin @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:23:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

No single post (7.50 / 2)

has made more blinding light going off sense to me than this one in YEARS.

Its all about the "Me Next?" fear, the but for the grace duping of God voters go I!

Master of the totally obvious, why the fuck haven't I equated all this before.  Shit.

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by: Diane W @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:27:02 AM CDT

Meanwhile, In WA. SAVE MARIA (9.50 / 2)

Save the Seat! Get a Dem Senate! Look Out For The Fascist!

I went to a Coordinated Campaign office in Seattle to see if I could those doorknob hanger thingies I'd read / heard about for the Big Canvass Reunion - Rewhatever this Sat.

The "Coordinated Campaign" is an Orwellian disquise for Re-Elect Maria Cantwell, cuz Cantwell is such a crappy crappy Dem that her name in WA inspires ... yawn ... what was I talking about?

Anyway, I got to have the Grand Stratergery Du Joiur explained to me by some chipper hard working white 20 something college girl, AND

Amazing Amazing !!

it was the same ol same ol shit strategy 'deployed' by I don't know how many other Coordinated Campaigns since ... 198X? of push all the time, push all the volunteer hours and push all the MONEY to the beast at the top of the ticket, cuz that is going to magically connect the little people in the precincts, and make this moribund dead fu$$$ing consultant class party something important to all the local communities of citizens... choke, gag.

(I can't tell you the specifics of the Grand Stratergery, as we are lacking a Cone of Silence, AND, it can't fall into Enemy Hands !)

Great thing about this kind of stratergery is that it benefits the puppet masters at the top - the Terry McAulliffe wanna-bees, ALL the while using and abusing my and your neighbors, and that infinite supply of 20 something chipper college kid campaign workers.

It also REALLY cleans up the pimp-for-money-databases !! (... or, is that just part of benefitting the fu$$$ing scum at the top of these Coordinated Campaign ponzi schemes?)

I had read / heard months ago that Cantwell had hired some of the lame ass fu$$$s of Kerry's greatest loser campaign

(BTW - the internet is actally PUBLIC, so, when you call people "lame ass f$$cks of the greatest loser campaign" one of the lame ass f$$$s MIGHT read it!!!)

Anyway, I got my doorknobie thingies, I am going to write my reco-list of summer /fall campaign stuff, copy it at my expense, and staple it to the door hanger thingies which I'll then hand out in my precinct.

I will NOT be recommending the Coordinated Campaign on my reco-list, BUT, I've leafletted my neighbors at least twice telling them that I didn't give a hoot about the CC.  (and they should run against me if they don't like me)

BTW, I ONLY got into this Dem party shit cuz of asshole's collapse in 2004, and I thought that MAYBE we'd be finally able to clean house.

The local CC crap, the clear the decks for Holy Joe shit in Conneticut ... there is going to be a few years before the spawn of the McAulliffe-ites are all going to be where they belong - nuetered and in retirement.

rmm.

Grassroots Organizing By The Community, For The Community, NOT for the "Leaders" http://www.liemail.com/BambooGrassroots.html

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by: rmdBosSea @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:57:54 AM CDT

A Clean Sweep for a Clean Slate (11.00 / 1)

Vote against every sitting politician and it won't matter who wins. They will lose. You can do that in 103 days. And if they don't get the message this time they will get it in spades in 2008 when it all goes on the line. Peace

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by: imhotep @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 10:59:48 AM CDT

Ned Lamont on the issues (9.25 / 4)

Here's a link to where Ned Lamont stands on some of the issues. 

Ned Lamont On The Issues

I don't have much to say, I've given up on the Democratic Party, they are dead to me, they can't be trusted or believed, they have no position outside of being elected and/or reelected.  They don't give a shit about us, their base or what America stands for. 

I do, however, think it's important to know where candidates stand on the issues for those who are going to vote in November. 

 

I will not die an unlived life. Fuck em, I will not live in fear, I will live out loud and on the record.  

Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)  

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by: caliberal @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 11:38:29 AM CDT

stolen reply: (11.00 / 1)

From Sky of Mind:

recall the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Recall the riots that took place, and why they (we) were protesting the Democrats!

Even in the face of this, the Democrats nominated Humphry, when everybody knew McCarthy was the anti-war candidate! This is why they (we) protested. The Democrats had AGAIN chosen to placate the corporatists. McCarthy might actually have beaten Nixon. But Humphry never had a chance. (Shades on J Kerry?) The Military Industrial Complex had nothing to worry bout from the Democrats!

Histories lessons have been completely and utterly forgotten, this was central to the Neo-con Republican plan!
and now we are doomed to repeat them!

food for thought huh>???

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by: Diane W @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 20:04:13 PM CDT

Lessons Not Learned (6.00 / 1)

Recall the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Recall the riots that took place, and why they (we) were protesting the Democrats?

Even in the face of this, the Democrats nominated Humphry, even though everybody knew McCarthy was the anti-war candidate and was the peoples choice! This is why they (we) protested in Chicago and go so beat up for it. Why Mayor Daily looked like such the goon that he was! The Democrats had AGAIN chosen to placate the corporatists. McCarthy might actually have beaten Nixon. But Humphry never had a chance against Nixon, and that's just the way they wanted it. (Shades of J Kerry in 04?) The Military Industrial Complex had nothing to worry bout from the Democrats, and still doesn't!

Histories lessons have been completely and utterly forgotten, and this was central to the Neo-con Republican plan!
And now, again we are doomed to repeat them!

http://oldamericance...

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by: Sky of Mind @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 20:53:23 PM CDT

The American Multiple Party Political System (10.50 / 2)

In America today, most Americans believe we have two main political parties. And officially we do. However, the official doesn't keep pace with the reality.

The fact is there are at least 4 major political parties IN PLAY today in the US.  These are...

The Red Republicans. Good old fashioned conservatives. The social and economic Conservatives most all of us have begun to actually miss seeing in action in the US political arena!

The Black Republicans. Those Neo-con ass holes that have hijacked the Republican party. Those neo-cons who are at the nexus of everything bad in America today.

The Blue Democrats  That hand full of brave Progressive Americans.  Conyers, Murray, Feingold, Sweitzer, Dean, and even Gore. The list goes on. Everyone of them American Hero's

And last, but by no means least, The RED Democrats.  In essence, every member of the DLC. These are Conservative Democrats. Neo-con and Neo-Lib Democrats. These are corporatists of the Nth degree.

The 4 American Political Parties.

The Red Republicans, Old fashioned conservatives.
The Black Republicans, The Neo-cons and Bushits!
The Blue Democrats. Our Progressive Hero's.
The Red Democrats.  These are the Neo-conservatives and Neo-Liberals of the Democratic poarty.

  As bad as, if not worse than the neo-conservatives.
At least a Neo-con doesn't claim to be a friend of the Liberals, while he's screwing you dry!

Know who your enemy really is. 
Even those who claim to be your friend.

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by: Sky of Mind @ Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 21:15:29 PM CDT

Welcome Sky (9.00 / 1)

Great first (well kinda 2nd, oh redundant one) post!!!

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by: Diane W @ Fri Jul 28, 2006 at 07:23:37 AM CDT

[ Parent ]