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Senator Arlen Specter Becomes a Democrat
Akido37 was one of many readers letting us know that US Sen. Arlen Specter has changed parties to become a Democrat. This gives the Democrats 59 seats in the Senate, and 60 if and when Al Franken gets seated from Minnesota. However, Specter said in his announcement that he will not be an automatic 60th vote for breaking Republican filibusters. While the senator's move seems to have surprised many Republicans, it is understandable to moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who said, "You haven't certainly heard warm encouraging words of how they [Republicans] view moderates. Either you are with us or against us." Specter noted that in his home state of Pennsylvania, 200,000 formerly Republican voters switched party allegiance last year.
...nothing of value was lost or gained.
Doh!
This does pose a dramatic shift in the balance of power. While a lot of votes do go on party lines, often most of what happens is self interest, with politicians doing what is most likely to keep them in office. Specter is just doing a better job of staying with the times rather than any real change in his personal convictions.
The musings of just another geek and his junk.
Specter noted that in his home state of Pennsylvania, 200,000 formerly Republican voters switched party allegiance last year.
So you switched your allegiance cuz it would give u better chance to keep getting elected, Mr. Specter, regardless of your actual political beliefs? (Not that I think either party is that different from the other)
...Specter was a Republican to begin with?
It is believed that it is the very same senator who entered the Republican Senate Caucus emerged 30 years later unscathed, unblemished, eh, in the pristine form, entered the Democratic Senate Caucus. Who would believe such a theory? Senators are not bullets made by Western Case Cartridge Company.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Been having a convo about this for hours over in my JE. Catch up, Slashdot!
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Gee - big surprise. This news comes just a weekend after news that his primary challenger, Pat Toomey, is showing a commanding lead in the polls.
I can see the fnords!
Politicians will do just about anything to keep their job and/or get more power.
While I may support Democrats more than the Republicans, I find the general principle of changing parties mid-term a disgusting and cowardly betrayal of trust.
You were elected as a Republican, for better or for worse. You should either finish your term as one, or if you can no longer consider yourself a Republican, resign. At the next election, feel free to run as a Democrat or whoever the hell you want. But for this term, you should act for the people who elected you. That's the principle of representative democracy.
I'd even accept the compromise of, when one leaves or is kicked out of the party, he/she should have the right to stay as an Independent member until the next election. But joining a party different from the one you were elected under, in the middle of your term, should be outright unconstitutional.
Maybe we should start discussing the latest celebrity news while we're at it.
And all New England Patriots players quietly register as Rep.
This just goes to show that the neo-cons have brought the Republican party to its knees. When are they going to learn. They now have the "fiscal conservative" religion, but there is a lot of doubt whether they can follow through with what they can say.
Fiscal policies aside, their doom was being so darn war driven. Not that the Dems aren't, but they took it to a new level.
Specter would have been smarter to have went independent. Does he really need a party? He has the name recognition.
I had to laugh when I read, "they're becoming more conservative" because that's what Bush was for the last 8 years. It's a little late to be saying you don't like it. He might as well come on the record and say we shouldn't invade Iraq....oops, late on that one too. Switching primaries is an interesting approach. I guess his voting record can or will sink him.
Need to get back to being party of extreme tax and spending cuts.
Stand for something than being a 'less than democrat' party.
Idea - Shut down the government next time in control and FORCE massive spending cuts. Bureaucracy jobs suck up a lot of money and don't produce jobs.
We need to start limiting our cancerous entitlements too.
Get rid of all business taxes and illegal property taxes. Yeah government confiscation of property is against everything that people who fought for freedom of independence. Property laws are in our original constitution. Taxing them and confiscating land is immoral and wrong.
Mother England has been replaced by 'High Taxation. Hidden Socialist Runaway Central government'.
You know, this is a good move for Pennsylvania. Spector has been demonized by his own party for some time now. VERY wierd for a 30 year senator in a party that embraced Ted Stevens so fondly.
One of the important parts of all this is that Democrats agreed not to run a candidate against him in the primaries. The GOP has at least 3 candidates they wanted to run against him in the primaries before he made the switch.
The thing about the GOP that really sucks is that it eats it's own when it loses. Spector is not the only senator who has been castigated by his own party in a state that is becoming more progressive. Don't be surprised to see this happen again in the next 12 months.
M
1. his presence will serve as a brake on more progressive legislation.
2. being a Democrat will prevent the Dems from offering up a more progressive candidate to oppose him had he stayed Republican.
3. He'll likely vote as a "liberal" Republican, ie: with the interests of capital in economics, in the interests of no one in particular (i.e. who ever pays his bills) in social issues.
Good:
1. He'll likely vote with the Dems about 60% of the time.
2. This will force the Republican party (now the property of ignorance and corruption) to be more considerate and thoughtful of their positions.
3. This could lead to someone like Snowe defecting as well, which would really bury the Republican part, possibly for good, as it could split between the Bible Thumping retard faction and the neocon fascist faction, which would work to the benefit of the Democrats.
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
http://tinyurl.com/dlzo96
"My life had got no better, same damn 'Lo sweater. Times is rough and tough like leather," said the senior senator of his 29-year membership with the GOP. "I figured out I went the wrong route. So I got with a sick tight clique and went all out."
Nice to see Change we can all believe in.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
a regional party further marginalizing them selves by moving to the right. Specter had to jump ship because he was going to be challenged in the primary by someone from the far right of the party. He left because the more moderate members of the GOP in Specter's state have seen the handwriting on the wall and have already left the party to either join the Democrats or go Independent.
I may not be a smart man, but I know what an inode is.
Suddenoutbreakofcommonsense tag needed
All your database are belong to U.S.
Oh wait, you aren't joking, you sick nutcase. You actually WANT America to fail. You would rather we are all plunged into poverty and chaos than admit your ideology is broken.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
It's a joke. Who cares? Specter was pretty much a lock on most votes for the Democrats anyway. He was just a way for them to get a Republican to vote with them and then scream about how great they are at "bipartisanship." LOOK! A REPUBLICAN SUPPORTS US! Ignore all the others that stand by their principles. He's been pretty much a schmuck who basically votes to please Philly and Pittsburgh. The rest of us he thinks can all go hang.
He's 79. Have you ever noticed politicians all want you and me to retire by 72 at the latest? But they're supposed to keep getting into office until they're dead? And in some cases afterward? We need to have an age limit on politicians and judges. Over 70 and they should ALL be forced out of office. That's a law that really needs to be passed.
- No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades really cramps his style.
First I am a conservative though not a Republican. I am all for this.
I want the Democrats to have to own what happens the next few years. After all the years of hearing them harp on Bush deficits I want them to have undeniable majority so they are undeniably responsible for the economy busting budgets they are signing off on. I want ownership to be a non question. While there are good people on both sides of the aisle as a whole I think the entire Congress stinks.
Their actions have become the best reason for term limits. Too many of them think themselves as kings and queens, benevolent in their view because they know better and they are better - in their own minds. They game the system ensuring two party rule and the American people are more enamored with American idol personalities and similar : see Obama.
Now we just need Snowe to flip. She is nothing more than a RINO as well. Make them honest - if you vote one way consistently then be willing to take up the mantle of the party you align with. That way when it comes time to swap parties in power you can get outed. The tragedy is that most won't. They have so many connections and so much power from their office that unseating them takes serious criminal acts and even that is not a guarantee they don't get back in.
Its a great day. Now the Democrats have their "majority" and the hot seat is all theirs. The question becomes, do they do to Obama what they did to Clinton? See the flip side is that when one group has a real majority they don't answer to anyone - including the President. After all they no longer need them. It also leads to internal factions which happened to them in the early nineties. That majority benefits and hurts them.
But the key is, they cannot escape the responsibility for the spending spree or legislation. It will give Obama a convincing excuse too for what he signs off. So he can claim its not what he really wants "but the reality of the situation..."
So, awesome, and lol. Can't wait to see all the excuses for doing stuff that people would eviscerate Republicans for doing.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
tl;dr
This is just a case of survival. Specter was down over 20 points in polls regarding the 2010 primaries, and would have certainly not made it to the General Election.
welcomes our new Democratic overlords.
tl;dr version:
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I'm rich and i shouldn't have to have any responsibility for the things i do to others, the environment or economy! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! YOU'RE ALL POOR BECAUSE YOU ALL STINK!"
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
3 parent There are some good concepts in there - like can be found in any philosophy. But as for the book itself, that should be the Cliff's Notes.
That which does not kill us makes us... st
Republicans can't gun for Specter in the primaries any longer. Specter will run in the Democratic primary instead, where Ed Rendell has promised to do everything he can to give Specter a clear field. Pat Toomey of the Club for Growth is now the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination, and he's well to the right of Rick Santorum, who the Pennsylvania electorate overwhelmingly rejected in 2006. A Toomey/Specter matchup is extremely heavily weighted to Specter's favor among the PA general electorate, even if it's weighted the other way among the PA Republican primary crowd.
Long? What do you mean the signature at the bottom of every comment I post on Slashdot is too lo
You are basing your argument on the classical philosophy that a vote, when cast for a person, essentially places trust in that person to serve as he or she sees fit, for the duration of his term.
I call that position bullshit and reject it in principle. I refuse to place unconditional trust in a politician, or be so naive as to believe that he is indeed there to serve his constituency. Politicians will always do what is in their self interest (wow, just like the rest of us). That's why we have the party system, so we have an extra layer of protection. We don't JUST vote for Specter, just like we don't just vote for any Republican. We vote for both. We vote for Specter AS LONG AS he maintains the principles of the party he was running under, in this case, Republican.
Partisanism has lots of problems, but I firmly believe that the extra layer of safeguarding against do-what-I-fuckin-like politicians makes it worthwhile. We don't place unlimited trust in the guy, we only vote for him as long as he maintains integrity to the party under which he ran.
If someone WANTS to run under the platform of "unlimited trust", he should run as Independent. There's a reason why almost nobody gets elected as one.
For those that are not aware:
There has not been a Republican filibuster in this congressional session. There's no indication there would ever be one. Specter was already a vote of the Democrats on the only bill that came close: the Stimulus Bill.
This makes no difference on filibusters. If you think it does, you haven't been paying attention.
This is "yet another Washington insider declares for the party of government."
Arlen Specter is one of the worst, most soul-less, most belief-free individuals in politics. The moment most vividly illustrating what Specter is: prior to the vote on the Military Commissions Act of 2006, he went to the floor of the Senate and said what the bill "seeks to do is set back basic rights by some 900 years" and is "patently unconstitutional on its face." He then proceeded to vote YES on the bill's passage.
I came here for a good argument
"Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, pressed an amendment that would strike a provision from the bill that prohibits terror suspects from challenging their detention in the courts. ''What the bill seeks to do is set back basic rights by some 900 years,'' said Mr. Specter, who traced the ability to challenge one's detention to the Magna Carta"
I'm not happy with Arlen leaving, but I understand it. The thing is, if Arlen ran, the free trading Toomey would win the primary, lose the general election, hoping, vainly, as Republicans have for twenty years, that rank and file laborers will forget that the guys more likely to keep foreign competition out pave their meal ticket more than the guys that talk some Jesus. Were Toomey to beat Arlen in the primary and lose to another Democrat, its very likely that the "sixtieth vote" would follow lock step with card check, national health insurance and carbon trading. Given the extent of the disaster for we right wingers, I'd almost consider it a victory if all the Democrats got was national health insurance. Bush is just the gift that keeps on giving for the left.
I'm a Republican and the GOP's basic problem is that it has utterly forgotten that while the south and west tend to be for free trade, the Northeast leans protectionist. When Republicans remember that, they win. When they forget it, they lose. Mainstream America is already with them on values, but the GOP has a knack of forgetting that in America money matters more than one's attitudes towards gays...
The Republican myth of Reagan the free trader ushering in a wave of prosperity has not served this party well. Reagan was no free trader, although he talked a good game of it. According to the Mises institute, Reagan was the most protectionist president since Hoover. But, we note, he won twice in some of the biggest set of landslides ever. Gipper could do whatever he wanted in Ohio, PA and MI as long as he told the Japanese to go pound sand on imported cars - which he did. Obama did the same thing - and its a testimony to the GOP that he did the same thing that Reagan did - run protectionist.
This is my sig.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry about the existence of this garbage.
Glenn Greanwald says it well:
In my opinion, what the DemocratIC party needs more of isn't warmed-over has-been Republicans but, rather, liberal Democrats who are actually, you know, LIBERAL.
-S
Look .. You don't decide now.. Your insurance company does. Unless you are very wealthy you just go along with them and hope for the best.
So Long and Thanks for all the Fish.
"In other words, if you're not near death, you can't see someone who can actually help you"
Last year I had an earache. I knew I wasn't dying but it was a bit annoying. I phoned the doctor's surgery, they gave me an appointment that evening. I went to see the doc and he checked my ear, gave me a prescription for ear drops which I took to the chemist and it sorted out my minor infection.
Parent's poster is wrong. You don't need to be near death to see somebody who can help you.
Oh these Americans, so over dramatic.
Perhaps that was the problem, I wonder if the American friend went to the local doc and explained "OH MY GOD DOC! I've been sharing a house with a SMOKER, for TWO WHOLE DAYS, I think I've got CANCER, and I AM DYING!". I can imagine a British doc saying "yes yes well calm down, have you had any extreme symptoms? No? well, let me do a check... everything seems in order. How about you ask your friend to stop smoking in the house or perhaps you move to another flat. Get out and take up a little exercise as well."
I think the doctor would be sitting there thinking that if the problem was the guy was living with a smoker, why didn't he move and so solve his problem?
As another poster has noted, we have public health services in the UK but also private doctors, nobody stops you going to a private doctor if you want to pay.
(ok I've been a little jolly in this post and apologies I am sure your friend was in distress and I wish them well... but you did set me up a bit there. You suggest that "health care is something to be earned and not a right" and then complain your friend who'd been living in the UK for only one year couldn't get free specialist treatment. Why didn't he go and pay for a private specialist?).
"Eh. Specter is an old school reagan-ish republican."
There is nothing even remotely "Reagan-ish" about Arlen Specter. The only principle Specter has ever had are the ones that keep Arlen Specter in power. Though it puts the GOP in a painful disadvantage in the Senate, I am well and truly glad to see him gone. Besides the shiny new (D) beside his name, the only difference in Specter is that now he'll have to stab the Republicans in the front.
And Democrats, while you're happy about your new supposedly filibuster proof majority, consider this; if history is any indication, sooner or later you'll need Specter's vote on something. And he'll screw you guys too. When a whore leaves her husband for another man, does she ever really stop being a whore?
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
Senator Specter finally jumped ship to the party he has pretty much been a part of for the last 12 years or so. And, the timing couldn't be more perfect. Senator Specter, who has been a major RINO, was getting his arse handed to him in the polls related to a Republican primary. So, he jumps ship in the hope of retaining his seat. But, it will be to no avail, he will lose his seat next election anyway, sucks to be him.
What part of "News for nerds" is this? I could understand a lot of the Obama stuff because it's reporting the tech related things. But where's the tech angle here?
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Dear god, I read that entire hundred-page speech about ten years ago. I still don't know quite why.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
You obviously have no idea what american health care costs are. Nor did you even specify how the son got hurt.
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
> we only vote for him as long as he maintains integrity to the party under which he ran.
You only vote for somebody if they are loyal to their party? Because elected representatives following their conscience/opinion/interest subverts some fantasy you have that political parties offer some "extra layer of protection?" They've done quite the opposite - they've replaced the three branches of gov't the Constitution established with two branches - republicrats and republicrats.
Besides extra layers of protection, there are other things political parties have in common with diapers. I like the advice of Mark Twain - change them often.
And next election, please re-consider where elected representatives' loyalties should lie.
We have so many laws and regulations now...it is crippling, and all that having majority does, is bring on MORE laws and regulations. We need a 'reset' not more laws, but, that will never happen.
IMHO, the government governs best when it is in gridlock.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
he just wants to keep his job, running as a Dem will give him better odds. If he stayed as a Rep, I don't think he would have gotten the Rep nomination running vs Pat Toomey. Business as usual - its all about the money.
I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
There are nations (eg. Israel) where voters vote for parties. The US is not one of them.
In the US, you vote for a representative, who may choose to associate with one of the Big Two parties. (Originally, there was no concept of parties, but that lasted all of about five seconds.) Once elected, your rep may vote his/her "conscience," regardless of what his or her party lean toward.
At least this way, he's being open. There's no reason he couldn't have kept his nominal Republican status and voted the other way. (Though there are obvious publicity advantages in making an announcement.)
Arlen Specter has been a Democrat all along. He's finally admitted it.
This has everything to do with Arlen's political survival (aka pulling a Lieberman) as he was about to be voted out of office in the Republican primary there.
And I'm not sure that it's a clear cut win for Democrats... Arlen will be an uncertain ally at best, and negates the Democrats ability to run someone really far to the left against Toomey in PA which I'm sure they would have loved to do. So, a mixed bag. Arlen's effectively been a democrat (or at least not a republican) for many years now anyways, so while this is a PR blow to be sure it won't change much as far as senate politics are concerned.
As far as Arlen trying to say the GOP has moved right since Reagan's days? Hogwash, they've moved left and become indistinguishable from Democrats which is why they're being punished by the voters. Arlen's own appeal to Reaganism is offset by a quote from the man himself:
"A political party cannot be all things to all people. It cannot compromise
its fundamental beliefs for political expediency, or simply to swell its
numbers. It is not a social club or fraternity engaged in intramural contests
to accumulate trophies on the mantel over the fireplace...No one can quarrel
with the idea that a political party hopes it can attract a wide following,
but does it do this by forsaking its basic beliefs? By blurring its own image
so as to be indistinguishable from the opposition party?"
Personally, I'm glad Arlen made his selling out official. Republicans may be down and out right now, but the path back does not involve selling out our principles.
K go ahead and mod me down now. :-)
"They used to care for traditions, principles, and institutions."
Rubbish. Republicans are being castigated by guys like you precisely because they refuse to abandon the very things you listed. Because traditions, principles, and institutions aren't progressive.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
No...my doctor decides, the insurance just pays.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I'm puzzled by the Overton Window theory. The way it's presented in some places -- like this one -- the US is an extreme right-wing country. ("far to the right of any objective political spectrum.") I'm not sure what "objective political spectrum" that author means. Is it maybe based on the theoretical extremes of government power (ie. absolute dictatorship/communism vs. absolute anarchy/capitalism), or maybe the historical extremes (pretty similar)? Or a non-objective scale of where we are relative to Finland?
If we've got the various governments of the US confiscating an estimated "30.8% of the nation's income for 2008" [Wikipedia] and providing food, housing, education, pensions, and medicine to millions of people, is that really an extreme ultra-capitalist system? Seems to me that we've got one party that accepts massive government redistribution of wealth but feels guilty about it, and another that does the same but is honest about it. Calling the US political parties "rightist" is weird without making it clear what the scale is supposed to be.
Revive the Constitution.
Proof that by today's definition, both Ronald Reagan and George Bush Senior are Liberals?
Which leads to the question, what is a Liberal?
These are interesting times indeed.
Her lips were softer than a duck's bill, but her quacks
Although Specter says he won't be an auto-60th vote, party leaders will be sure to point out that their backing for the Democratic primary next spring will come with an expectation of support on these votes. The absolute worst thing for this country is for EITHER party to have control of the White House and both branches of Congress with a filibuster-proof majority. Both parties have immensely idiotic ideas, and this just paves the way for them to become law virtually unchecked.
So? You are missing the other 97 thieving liars in your list. I believe that most Senators (particularly after the first term) are thieving liars. The question of which one to vote for, is answered by the one that lies and steals while claiming to hold your banner.
If you can't say what you need to, and very convincingly in under an hour, then you are either not smart enough to do the job or you are just gaming the system. Either one of those alternatives deserves some kind of a formal penalty. If the penalty is not delivered by Congress itself, then certainly something like a non-biased publicly rated report card on their performance and 'ability to negotiate a solution', then subsequently allow them to be voted out of office in the next election. I get rated every year based on my performance, why not them? If you are wasting time then you are not performing your function.
Technically does this really change the capacity for a filibuster, if you assume he will vote exactly the same as before, including votes to end a filibuster?
Obviously changing parties indicates his intention to vote this way, but I am not clear if this has any actual legal reason to change things.
er, oops, I just realized that Clinton pardoned his friends after the election was decided, it must of been one of all those other things that clinton did that pissed people off that made my old boss vote for bush.
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the war room!
Arlan isn't going to suddenly start voting with the Democratic party (yes, he's crossed the lines occasionally). This is all about his own electability in the 2010 campaign. His numbers were looking atrocious in an increasingly hard-right nomination fight. The only chance he had was to become a Democrat and hope that he can take down an incumbent while riding the moderate fence.
This is a similar tactic...in spirit...to what Joe Lieberman did. Screw party identity, use the convention battles to your advantage. Old Arlan doesn't have ME fooled.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
No. Your insurance company tells your doctor what he can and can't decide. Among the options left, he decides. And if they won't pay him, he won't fix you. So, the insurance companies decide. Not you. Not your doctor.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
That's funny, you think Bush was a Conservative.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
This is the beginning of the new realignment. If the GOP continues to alienate Snowe and Collins, they'll lose them too. If the Democrats get larger, they could reach a critical mass which results in more fiscally conservative Republicans, who could do without the religious-right's agenda of social issues, leaving their party for the Democrats. The end result would be the splitting of the Democratic party into the fiscal conservatives and the advocates for social services, with the social issues marginalized.
Social issues might come back into the spotlight, at which point the religious groups could reattach themselves to either side, but until the economy starts booming again, banning gay marriage or overturning Roe vs. Wade will not be high priorities.
I live in the USA.
My health care has nothing to do with my employer. I pay for catastrophic insurance and pay for everything else out of pocket. I'm actually paying less than I did when covered under an employer health insurance plan. Call it the "don't get insurance involved for trivial stuff" bonus. It also makes me shop for doctors who give a cash discount, which happens more and more as they avoid insurance companies. I don't go to the doctor for sniffles, which is a waste of his time, but if I thought it were "free", then I'd go 4+ times a year.
Further, since I pay the bill, I take better care of myself as it impacts my insurance premiums. I've lost 65 lbs in the last year and became more active to keep that weight off. Insurance has dropped $30/month in price. My eating and exercise goals are tied to reducing statistics for common ailments (heart disease, cancers, high blood pressure, skin diseases, etc)
There's an old saying ...
you think health care is expensive now? What until it is "free!"
The point is that there is almost nothing that the government can perform as efficiently as private. But it takes insurance companies to really screw things up!
Finally, I doubt health care has anything to do with life span. Lifestyle does. I drive *everywhere* rather than walking. In the countries with longer lifespans, look at the average food, average activity levels, and culture for multi-generational families living together.
You know, you are right. I actually read Atlas Shrugged and agreed with most of what was in the novel and shed a few tears here and there as well.
But that speech was so long I skipped past it after reading, oh, what 10 paragraphs of it or so?
I plan on getting an audiobook version and listening to it, but I am not sitting down and reading that radio speech from beginning to the end.
You get someone who never forgets he's an ass.
It does seem like the state requiring people to register for parties and only vote in that primary is hurting the Republicans in this instance. If voters could be independent and choose a primary to vote in, I would think Specter could stay a Republican and plenty of moderates would vote for him in the primary over this other guy.
With the scheme as it is, Specter was forced to change to Democrat in order to win the election, and you could even say that he might be forced to do this to prevent a far more left Democrat from winning, thus shifting left actually is good for the right. Even if he does not change any views or votes, the change from R to D has symbolic impact (considering how much talk there is here about it).
So a question is, why are the parties interested in keeping the "register for your party and only vote in that primary" rule.
HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's a good one. Let me guess - you've never had a long term condition, injury or illness that required extensive use of your medical insurance? Believe me - if this ever happens to you, your perception of the issue will change pretty damn fast.
Xenon, where's my money? -Borno
WTF!? is up with Slashdot... aren't there enough political biased based sites out there for people to visit? Why can't we get back to discussing nerd stuff and cut the political slant shit!!
eyes out when reading about politics on slashdot. I mean, really. I haven't seen so many functionally illiterate people in one place since the April 15th fauxtests.
If you feel like I do, reply here.
Like this really matters? democrat or republican, yawn, same thing wearing different colors with the same end game. They get the money and we get hosed. Does anyone truly believe there is a difference between the two? Both parties represent Big Government. I don't want to hear all the hot air saying otherwise. WE get taxed to no end to pay for whatever debacle they are funding. With money being siphoned off to cronies and friendly corporations. Specter turning Demcocrat is a non-issue. Fox news was covering it like it was some news worthy event. He is just another politician thats been playing the game for how many years? Pulling down six figures with a nice medical plan, plus a fat pension. Not to mention whatever monies he gets under the table from his corporate sponsers. It makes me laugh that these clowns come off like they are so respectable, so honourable. All I see is a lying sack of shit in a very nice suit. blech, its all bullshit.
Unitary Executive, not Unitarian! If Bush were a Unitarian executive, he would be far more open minded ^_^.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
And here we see the 'reality' the 'Reality Based' crowd lives in.
> ..believes in the erosion of civil liberties, consolidation of executive power,
> silencing those who dissent, torture,revoking habeous corpus, forced religion,
> racial profiling and exclusion, warmongering, etc...
So let me break down your pitiful rant and take it on a charge at a time.
Erosion of civil liberties? You mean the Patriot Act that Obama DIDN'T renounce once he was the one in the hot seat and would be responsible if something went FOOM!, is that what you are on about? The Patriot Act that DIDN'T actually do most of the things the crazies say it does?
Consolidation of executive power always happens during wartime. As someone who leans Libertarian I find it distasteful but can't see a way around the problem. The only solution is to push hard for a return to normal as soon as the Islamic threat is beat back. Of course this is the first war where the party out of power tried to convince itself we weren't actually at war so they could feel justified in continuing the usual politics of national destruction.
"Silencing those who dissent"? Are you insane or do you just believe if you repeat a lie enough it will become the Truth? Name one dissident who has been silenced. We suffered through eight long years of nothing but loud rancourous dissent that crossed the line to treason more than once. How many AMERICAN CITIZENS did BushHitler put in to gulags? You idiots like to preen and think you are brave patriots speaking truth (or at least truthiness) to power but you are wrong. Try it in a real dictatorship and you can earn some actual Karma. You know, places your type loves to proclaim your love of but never get around to relocating to. Say Cuba for one example, they have thousands locked up but I'm sure they could make room for you.
"torture,revoking habeous corpus"
I won't concede that waterboarding is torture, but even if it is we did it to three, yes three, very high value targets. This isn't like we were torturing POWs in WWII who were mostly just conscripts, these were high ranking officers. Furthermore they aren't protected by the Geneva Conventions so we would have been perfectly within the laws of war to have simply executed them. And I really don't think you even know what a phrase like habeous corpus even means if you think we have been violating it.
"forced religion" Oh really. Example please? Or are you just regurgitating dailykos propaganda?
"racial profiling and exclusion" If only. Or are you suggesting it makes sense to consider a little old black lady travelling with her children as equally a risk as three twenty something middle eastern men two of which are named after their morally challenged prophet? No we shouldn't get too carried away with the racial profiling, but as a practical matter. For example the recent revelations about KSM's plan for an attack on LA was planned to use Asian (but Muslim) probably to avert suspiscion.
"warmongering" You guys have pretty much turned that phrase into a null, much like overuse has made 'bigot' and 'fascist' pretty empty. Especially since you idiots don't even know 'fascist' means you. Go read Goldberg's _Liberal Fascism_, it might just get ya to start questioning some of your assumptions about a great many things.
Democrat delenda est
No need for profanity...
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I'm rich and i shouldn't have to have any responsibility for the things i do to others, the environment or economy!
-Prove that humans co2 emissions cause global warming, while i do agree that POLLUTION is a problem, (i.e. plastic waste, nuclear waste, smog etc...) I do not agree that CO2 emissions are single-handedly going to destroy the world.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! YOU'RE ALL POOR BECAUSE YOU ALL STINK!"
-I make less than 30k/yr raising a son and my wife does not have a job. It is hard, but that is no right for the government to bury my son and my son's sons into higher taxes and big-government bureaucracy in the name of "fairness"
Absolute Power, Corrupts Absolutely.
According to the source article: "Specter as a Democrat would also fundamentally alter the 2010 calculus in Pennsylvania". Also, after 2010 the laws of physics will no longer apply in Pennsylvania.
Arlen Specter always was my favorite Reaper senator. He doesn't put up with much shit from people from either party.
In theory, a switch in the US to Canadian-style health care systems should allow for lower government expenditures...
Really, and what example do you base things on where having the government take over reduces cost?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The GOP's advocacy of an extremist form of corporate capitalism has finally caught up with what is now all that's left of the GOP, right wing extremists.
The "socialism" those right wing extremists keep screaming about is defined by the rest of the world as a MIXED economy. A form of capitalism in which the appetite of corporations to prey on and swallow up small businesses is controlled by social controls established in the form anti-trust legislation, and the worst abuses of employees is controlled by government regulation.
As we have found out the hard way, the only people actually freed by freeing the markets of government intervention/regulation are the thieves who prey on idiots like you, Brian, to let them steal away their money. Con artists will always find marks like you, Brian. Suckers always allow their greed to get them in places con men like ENRON, WorldCom, and Bernie Madoff feed on.
There are no reasonable solutions to be found anywhere in dogmatic extremism.
Your ignorance is absolutely adorable.
I checked out your web page and discovered you're just a commie parasite that feeds from the tit of Redhat.
Your "white box linux" as admitted on your web page is the latest release of Redhat with logos and copyright
notices removed.
Fuck you.
Also, LA SUCKS SHIT.
That's almost never how it works. The minority doesn't provide a check over the majority. It just ensures that the majority is forced to put sufficient levels of pork into bills to get a few crossover votes.
Thankfully, the good thing is that the Democrats are rarely a single voting block. Unlike Republicans who are capable of voting in lockstep, Democrats often have far less uniformity.
Unfortunately that also just means that bills will be laden with pork in order to get those people on board.
The seniority system coupled with the inability to have single purpose bills in congress is the real problem. You need to be there for years before you are capable of bringing bills to the floor for a vote means that the bills that can be voted on will always be ones supported by the old guard.
I personally welcome any event which sidelines the extremists in congress. If Specter switching parties results in fewer Republican extremists with power then I'm all for it. The extremists in the Democratic party will never control the party completely. It's not that sort of party.
Cow Cube
They couldn't give a crap about whether they EVER see another doctor again the rest of their lives.
They only care about their MONEY.
Both the Rs and Ds are corporate owned, no doubt. But if you think there are no substantive differences, you're an idiot.
Yo dawg, I heard you like the Ackermann function, so OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD
How is this at all related to technology? Fucking slashdot's really going down hill lately.
You could at least try to keep the bullshit troll posts on-topic. It's not like there isn't enough flamebait in the tech area.
I actually typed a whole response to this, but I realized when I was done that you're a strawman-building AC troll. John Galt thinks you're a lazy git - and on that, if little else, we agree.
"All these years believing you're the signified monkey, only to find out you're just a big hunk of nobody cares."
This is one of the dumbest things I've ever read on this site. Congratulations, you're officially a retard.
This is off topic, but relates to many of the comments posted here:
American rattle on about Freedom and Liberty - but Americans fail to comprehend that they live in a community. No human is an island. The greater good is better, in the long term. All the fundamental flaws with the USA can be traced to this singular misunderstanding of human society.
Americans living in anonymous Suburbia aren't free. They are the worst kind of prisoner imaginable. Alienated, isolated. Nothing.
Americans have to get it out of their thick heads that by being taxed they're not being robbed. They're paying for the services on which their life depends.
The army
Police
Fire Service
Schools
Healthcare (ideally)
Justice
Social Services
These are what's important in a society. Get rid of poverty, crime goes down. Educate your neighbour, your life is better.
Perhaps applying a Machiavellian approach to social services would do America the world of good. How can helping my neighbour help me?
Specter has been a self serving, arrogant ass for the previous terms, why not this one too. He was going to lose reelection due to supporting the screwulous bill, so he might as well take the chance that he doesn't get primary'd by the dems.
Not news for nerds and completely irrelevant to any readers outside the US
-Prove that humans co2 emissions cause global warming, while i do agree that POLLUTION is a problem, (i.e. plastic waste, nuclear waste, smog etc...) I do not agree that CO2 emissions are single-handedly going to destroy the world.
Pollution affects the environment. Even if you don't believe global warming is caused by Humans, smog and nuclear waste are still bad.
-I make less than 30k/yr raising a son and my wife does not have a job. It is hard, but that is no right for the government to bury my son and my son's sons into higher taxes and big-government bureaucracy in the name of "fairness"
So lower social programs like education and environmental protection, and big business bureaucracy are OK but taxes and big government bureaucracy aren't?
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Most smug handwaving post ever. Pass around to your friends as a little joke!
"You haven't certainly heard warm encouraging words of how they [Republicans] view moderates. Either you are with us or against us."
Like the Democrats aren't equally as bad or WORSE?
Look how they treated Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. You want to talk about moderates. He is one of the few Senators in Washington to vote according to belief and not party.
The Democrats have demonized him, and acted like total !@#$%holes. Regardless of whether you like Lieberman or not, nor agree with his policies or not. You have to at least give him credit where credit is due.
But I think we should hold off on condemning Republicans when Democrats were far far worse to one of their own.
tl;dr
Holy shit was that ever true. I hadn't even realized till now that /. replies had an actual length limit.
Agreed....
Both parties always blame the other..."If only we had all the majority!"
But the Dems had it in the 90's and reneged on most of their promises. The Republicans had it under Bush...and instead of seeing fiscal conservatism & reduced government we saw expansion. (And please, don't blame it on the religious right. Because most of whom I know were not asking for such crap either.)
Now the Democrats have a super-majority. Probably the only thing they'll do is take over private industry and work to eliminate the 2nd Amendment. Everything else will stay status quo...(ie: bigger government, less liberty).
I think I am changing my party affiliation to "Tea Party"
Yes and no. The entire point of a representative is to represent his constituents, not his base. If the majority of the registered voters in his state are now democrat, then why shouldn't he be in the party that the majority of his state identifies with? If he does a poor job of representing them he looses his job, as it should be.
Interesting polls lately state that only 21% of peopled polled would identify themselves as Republican. It appears that the only folks left in the party are the extreme right wing 'base'. They have driven out any of their moderates like Specter. Why can't he be a moderate democrat instead of a moderate republican? For moderates, it's all a shade of gray anyway.
Given the numbers above, I would have to agree with Specter. His party left him.
Nope, not in my experience with my own care, nor was this a factor with any Dr.s I've worked with.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
If this is what you think, then you are probably extremist left-wing yourself. Their platform is more related to the Libertarian platform than any right-wing Republican faction.
As Washington warned, they will start serving themselves rather than the people. A politician will serve the party above the people who elected him. That means the parties run the country, not the representatives, not the people who elected them.
I would be praising him if he had left over ideological differences, if we knew he was tired of being told how to vote and wanted to serve the people, not the party. But it's obvious he only did this to keep his job.
I don't know how many of you have been paying attention for how long, but on the whole politicians are filthy bastards. Left or Right. You can't trust a word that comes out of their mouths. They'll f*ck over anything resembling a principled position if they think it'll give them 2 more points at the poles.
They're incompetent. Their only demonstrated competency is getting elected. They ruin everything they touch.
Left or Right. Doesn't matter. If a national politician is making the government do something, it'll be corrupt and expensive. The campaign promises they tell you are all bullsh*t.
They're not gonna save you. They're not gonna fix your life. The worthless promises they made to you they made to 300 million people. I have a hard time believing anyone can look at national politicians, in general, and not see a pile of incompetent filth.
There is only one conclusion to be drawn, when you understand this:
The Federal Government must be minimized.
(this is often true for local and state politicians as well, but they're much more vulnerable in the polls, or it's much easier to escape their grasp.)
There isn't a person here who won't go on a five minute rant about the fed's incompetence on some pet topic of theirs. Many folks will then turn around and say how they want MORE government in area X.
Are you insane? Can you not see that the same defective processes and incentives that create the absurd behavior in the parts of the government you hate, would be present in the expanded parts of the government that you advocate? Do you somehow think the politicians on subcommittee X and bureaucrats at Agency PDQ would be cut of finer cloth?
What I advocate is how we started: The federal system. You can and should have anything you want as a government in your local states, Constitution and Amendments notwithstanding. If you can convince a majority of your fellow state citizens to vote for it, go for it.
And if you think your state is run by a bunch of idiots, and you can't get enough people to vote your way to change it, then you can leave to a state that suits you better. Or you can decide that your disagreements with your fellow citizens are tolerable, given whatever cost you associate with moving.
You have choice in the proper federal system. You are a free agent.
On the other hand, an over-reaching Federal Government gives you one big idea, right or wrong. You're stuck with it. The details of your life are dictated by a power-mad bunch in Washington that you have essentially no influence over.
There are a very, very few functions that can essentially be done by the Federal Government only. It should serve only those functions. If there is any other way to get a function done besides the federal government, it should be done by those alternates. Town Governments. State Governments. Private Charity. Churches.
I don't care which, really. Because you have a choice, and I have a choice, when the role of the federal government is limited. When there is no limit, YOU ARE STUCK with whatever bright idea those 535-ish chuckle heads in Washington come up with.
Oh, and if your bright idea X has been tried on the state level and failed, it wasn't because you lacked the power and money to properly implement your idea. It's because it was a bad idea. More money and power will only amplify the failure and trap us all.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
Specter will be 80 years old come the 2010 election. At that point he'll be 18 years past SS retirement age. He is completely ineffective as a Senator. He's been nothing but a puppet for years since his mind fell apart long ago. He should have retired long ago and given younger blood a chance to represent the state. He damn well should have retired this week instead of switching parties. This musical chairs act should tip off the entire state that he's merely power hungry and cares nothing about doing the work of his constituents. I'd vote against him because of the party switch, were I a Pennsylvanian.
80 years old and switching parties merely to hang onto his job. He's got plenty of money. It's all about maintaining his "power". He needs to go. I hope the folks of the state come to their senses and boot this old fart out in 2010 regardless of party affiliation.
You and the person you replied to need to stop drinking the Kool-aid.
Your woeful ignorance of the transgressions committed under the Patriot Act, and of the US Citizens unlawfully imprisoned by Bush, is only matched by your partisan mania.
I weep for my country when I think that God is just.
I read Atlas Shrugged twice, but I still haven't read that speech. I think the book is an entertaining read because it is such a patently ridiculous and long winded straw man, but this chapter is just unbearable.
-I make less than 30k/yr raising a son and my wife does not have a job. It is hard, but that is no right for the government to bury my son and my son's sons into higher taxes and big-government bureaucracy in the name of "fairness"
Then quit bitching about it and make your wife a sexy craigslist profile and then put her ass on the streets. Shuttle her from customer to customer and smack the boy if he asks what mommy does for a living. You'll earn enough to send the boy to college if he dosen't an hero before age 18.
"You can never depend on the economy, but you can always depend on vice stocks."
-- Fortune Magazine
I live in PA and I also voted democratic in the last election. Having said that and without getting into the whole republican vs democrat debate ...
This guy has been a republican for 30 years and now he suddenly decides 'nevermind, im a democrat'
He could have waited till the end of his term to switch parties, that would at least be fair for the people that re-elected him in the first place..
it sounds like he just wants to get re-elected and he suddenly realized that there is no way he'd hold his seat as a republican, and an even
smaller chance he'd hold it as an independant.
how can we trust a politician to stand by his word, when he cant even stand by his party ...
whether or not your republican or democrat, make a stand and stand by it.
I wouldn't vote for him again out of principal
in any case, i also believe that it would serve our country well, if the senate and house also had a 2 term limit. it's nice to have new ideas
every now and then....
just my $0.02
programmer (noun): A multi-cellular organism that converts caffeine into code (see also 'geek')
He's not going to make any money if he keeps giving away copies of Atlas Shrugged like that.
I know, it should be underlined, but I can't for the life of me make the underline tag work. I'm not very good at HTML
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling a pig in the mud. After a while, you realize the engineer enjoys it.
The 'demonizing' would seem to be a natural by-product of a little thing like him supporting the other party's candidate for president, don't you think? Not to mention spending the preceding six years loudly refusing to investigate the failures of the Bush administration, voting to confirm Bush's hard-rightist judicial appointments like Alito and Roberts, and opposing large sections of the Democratic platform. And yet somehow they still 'demonized' him all the way into getting to keep his committee chairmanship after all that once Democrats took the majority. So harsh!
Long? What do you mean the signature at the bottom of every comment I post on Slashdot is too lo
> Europe is hardly hell on earth
Looked at their tax rates lately? More importantly have you looked at their birth rate? Europe is dead, twenty or thirty years from now there won't be enough of them left to hold back the barbarian hordes they are growing in their slums. It's math and it's ugly. If they faced up to the problem NOW and started giving massive subsidies to encourage breeding they might could save themselves but it isn't a sure thing. If they also deported every non-citizen in those slums the odds might come up to even. And with every day of inaction the odds get just a little longer. Not that it matters since the typical European has lost the will to even try to defend himself or his civilization. And that's just defending on the field of ideas, actual physical action is something only the street gangs know about. In Paris it is a good night if the roving bands of barbarians only burn a dozen cars, it only becomes a story when the number goes up to the hundreds.
But even now most of Europe is low economic growth and slowing, increasing political cleansing and loss of liberty and with the current downturn their welfare states are coming apart at the seams. As Lady Thatcher is claimed to have said, "Eventually you run out of other people's money to spend." And sooner than most people think we too will run out of other people's money to loot. Probably when China decides to stop buying our debt instruments.
Democrat delenda est
In my paperback copy, it was 120 pages. I read the first 10.
Hello little man. I will destroy you!
While I applaud Mr Specter's apparent inclination toward good judgment, this seems to be the latest in what has become a disturbing trend. As the last of the sensible say "to Hell with the republican party," this leaves the most extreme to run half of our country's major political parties. While I've heard talk about a possible third party emerging out of this political turmoil, in 2012 we will most likely be faced with the decision between a republican or a democrat. The recent exodus of moderates from the republican party leaves only the profoundly stupid and the religious zealots (though these two categories are far from being mutually exclusive) to chose 50% of our realistic presidential candidates. This shouldn't sit well with anyone. I say that a push must be made to register reasonable people in the republican party in hopes of moderating what is currently a juggernaut of poor judgment.
Perhaps losing a war would be GOOD for the US.
For twelve years, you have been asking: Who is John Galt?
Where's the equivalent of the RIAA for books? I want to report a violation. Can't have any parasites or thieves steal an honest womans hard work like that.
We should only do things that protect and spin things in the interests of our country.
Are you saying that the killings in Iraq are a PR move?
I can't believe that---there are so many things wrong with that. So if not that, could you please explain what it means?
First off....Specter is not a Moderate, he IS a Liberal. The center has not moved that far to the left yet, though it is working on it. Next, those complaining about the medical bills, the people you keep voting in are the ones who caused the problems and are the ones now promising to fix the problems they created. Right. I have a bridge in NY I'll sell you too. These people get major contributions from insurance companies and supporting agencies to keep things a mess. Coupled with the over regulation, overdone paperwork and craziness such as HIPPA, it is already mostly socialized and getting more so. Just like the payroll taxes you "pay". You don't see the money, you don't see the bill and you are told all will be fine. e.g. My doctor said I needed an oxygen concentrator. The doctor wrote me a prescription for it, the insurance company ordered and paid thir 80%. My 20% was over $800! A little research revealed a new concentrator plus shipping was only $650. $650!?!? Yep....$650. The medical provider billed my insurance $4,000 for the machine! Heck of a markup. When I contacted the insurance rep, presented the documentation and expressed my concerns, he just shrugged his shoulders and looked at me weird. I have seen $20 canes be billed for $500. I have seen 10 cent filters go for $20 to $50 a piece. It is not only allowed by the current system, but encouraged. So, the next time you go to the polls to vote, consider what you current rep or senator, state, local and federal, has done TO you, not what they promise (lie) for the future.
First the ignorance and bigoted nonsense expressed in 99% of the posts here is saddening.
The loss of a filibuster isn't going to result in run-away 1-sided legislation. The reason is the President, who has to run for re-election needs swing votes next election and will not want to come off as a party tool this year.
If Republicans were to try and use a filibuster and the democrats locked them out that would be, in several states, political suicide losing far too many moderates. They'd lose their super majority quickly if they tried to "crush the enemy" which is nonsense. Democrats and Republican represenatives get along just fine, they have differing political ideologies is all. It's considerably more civil then the news makes it out to be.
Either way my question is this: Who, in their right mind, feels confortable giving a legislature, regardless of which party, that kind of power when they have an over all approval rating lower then 20%?
Out of 100 people 80 don't like the democrats or republicans in the legislature. Who finds this super majority a good idea? The 20% that do approve of their job?
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
The average age of Senators in the 109th. Congress is 60.4 years, the oldest in history I believe also we need to put term limits on the senate and house. these people have been ruling the country for more then there fair share of time. we need to get some younger people in office who have been living in real society rather then the ones who have living in the world called Washington D.C. .... our founding fathers didn't have degrees in politics and neither should the 110th congress they should be problems solvers from various jobs around the country. We need people who will listen the the voices the nation the "people" and not the ones looking to get some extra pork on the side. WE THE PEOPLE RULE THIS LAND NOT THE GOVERMENT AND WE NEED TO REMIND WASHINGTON THAT.
Die off any day now. Spare yourselves the indignity of a drawn-out party collapse. Reaping what you sow much?
Senator Specter is an excellent example of why we need term limits in D.C. This guy has been in the Senate for nearly 30 years. Since before Reagan was in Office. To keep is plush job, he looked at the poll numbers (they all do), and decided he needed to jump ship because he would lose the primary to his challenger.
He's almost 80. Why not retire and let the field be leveled for new people? Does he really think he's THAT important? Is he going to be THAT effective when he's 84/85?
I'm just fed up with all this. All of them. People who have been in the same position since before I was born (Joe Biden, I'm talking to YOU). I think they should be REQUIRED to leave office after 2 Senate terms (12 years).
It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
I moderate therefore I rule!
--
For a price you can buy his vote. He wants to be re-elected and will accept campaign donations. So his vote should be fairly cheap...
n/t
Historically, the USA's CIA helped put half those dictators in power (Somoza, Noriega, and the Argentine juntas are the most notable examples), and thus often fueled the political discontent with the right wing oligarchies and crony capitalism, putting the other left-wing half of the dictators into power. The drugs-fueled corruption and thugs is due to your providing a great capitalistic opportunity for feeding unmet demand with drug prohibition in the US (rather than taking steps to control demand through education, rehabilitation, and other more effective approaches). Crushing poverty is a less clear cut problem, although the USA maintaining puppet SAm dictators that supported American economic imperialism by companies like the United Fruit Company (where the term banana republic originates from) was almost certainly a significant factor in maintaining pseudo-feudal power structures and an uneducated populace. A crushing debt load and deliberate minimal investment in infrastructure by previous US-backed right-wing SAm governments isn't going to be fixed overnight. Laying those problems at the feet of current left wing governments in SAm is dishonest.
If you'd picked African countries like Zimbabwe, where crony socialism (often tied to or poorly hiding racist and tribal conflicts) destroyed the few functioning economies, then you'd have been on a somewhat stronger footing.
I think this story is a clear indication that we need term limits in congress. When people do things just so they can continue to get elected for a position in which they represent the people of a state, it seems that they are really only representing one person (themself) and one interest (a job of representation and a paycheck). Everyone in congress should have a real job outside of congress. There should not be a job title called politician or a career called politics.
You probably also think that having good stable communities is a good thing. So by the same (lack of) logic, you must be a communist.
You're the only one dancing. You really can't stand to not get 'the last word.' That happened a while ago, like I said, you are talking to yourself. Nobody here but you and me.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
What are you hoping to accomplish here? As for me, well, first I was amused. Then annoyed. Then amazed. Then amused again, and now I'm just curious how long your obsession is going to last.
You do know you are espousing a VERY minority position, right? A small minority of Americans believe what you believe. Most Americans ADORE FDR and believe he did the right thing. YEah, 'propaganda.' Hahaha, good excuse. Keep on spinning, you loon.
Me, I think FDR didn't do enough. He had the fat-cat capitalists over a barrel, he could have nationalized everything. But FDR was a centrist, not a left winger like me. Obama is a centrist, too, not a socialist, so never fear, he won't change the 'free' market system.
I know you why you want to get rid of government. You think you are better than other people, and it is your right, as a superior being, to profit from those less gifted than you. You want to get rid of anything standing in the way of you dominating others and telling them what to do. You hate freedom, and you know that the government protects the freedoms of the powerless, and you HATE that, don't you?
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Spector's move is prudent.
The Obama Justice Depto will abdicate on criminal prosecution of Buch, Rice, Romsfeld, Tenet, Ashcrof/"the Tex-Mex Twerp", Cheney and a hord of other missanthrops and the Democratic leadership of the time, and all the Republicans in DC followed by execution by hanging 'till dead.
The EU states and UN will go forward with criminal prosecutions followed by execution of Bush and "the hoolegans" on their terms with hangings on their soil.
At least had the DOJ done the nasty, Bush could have hanged on a lovely gallows erected on the Capital Mall, live on Prime-time with CNN.
Now, his remains, after execution will likely be dangled from a street pole in Belgrade, where passers-by can leave a funny on them, and later ground-up and burned.
History will record George Walker Bush as the most hated human to ever have lived.