MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
Dan Friedman in the National Journal. To state what seems obvious to me, anyway: If Senate Democrats drop this ball they'll be undercutting at least Obama, and possibly other Senate and House Democratic candidates running for election next year, just at the time Obama has finally woken up and is trying to do something about the jobs issue over the past few weeks.
Time to stand and deliver, Senate Dems. Our nation turns its under-employed eyes to you.
I'm wondering if part of the back story on this, accounting for why McConnell appears willing to allow an up or down vote on this, is a few Republicans Senate incumbents up next year whispering into McConnell's ear not to count on them to vote to block this jobs bill? Not this time, not now. Washington feeling a little heat from the ungrateful and disgruntled masses to do something real on jobs, such as to penetrate even some Republican senatorial sensibilities? A wee wee bit? Maybe?
Nah. Probably just McConnell seeing a great opportunity to embarrass the Democrats by letting them undercut themselves on one of their best potential issues to run on, and message opportunities, for next year. That's a gift that's kept giving, year after year, for the GOP.
Someone just slap me on the tush if I'm being too cynical. Pass the damn bill, Dems. Now. Before McConnell changes his mind.
Comments
An account of Obama out stumping for a vote on the jobs bill, by AP's Julie Pace:
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-knocks-gop-leader-says-gop-blocks-jobs-192047956.html
Obama:
Here is this article's version of McConnell's actions on the bill:
Not enough votes to pass in the Senate? Who among the Dems won't vote for it? And why not?
No up-or-down vote is squarely on the House GOP leadership then. I hope Obama keeps reminding the public of this, over and over again. And that the Senate Dems will move quickly and get their act together on this.
by AmericanDreamer on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 9:34pm
You are right to by cynical. I am really pissed at the possibility that Dems will shoot themselves in the foot again.
by Oxy Mora on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 10:06pm
The democrats keep saying "vote for the democrat, that way we'll get what we need"
Give the president a congress full of Democrats.
We got em and they still screw us over.
by Resistance on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 1:46am
Obama is pushing for something important and worthwhile here. He's doing what many of us have been begging him to do on issue after issue: he's out making the case as forcefully as he knows how to the public. The Senate Dems need to come through. And the public, if it wants this to pass, needs to give Eric Cantor an earful--as in phone calls can't get through to his office because there are so many calls in protesting his stance on this, or the Capitol mailroom has to rent a dozen extra carts just to get the mail to Cantor's office.
If a President who has disappointed progressives repeatedly gives his all for something they passionately support, will those who long since gave up on him notice? If an elected official plants a progressive tree in the forest when no one else is there to see it, did it happen?
My hope--perhaps a vain one--is that disaffected progressives will find it within themselves to notice and even help support good things he (and maybe his Congressional party) does, and not only the bad. For those who are no longer open to Obama as someone they could possibly ever think a positive thought about going forward, is it possible emotionally to make this about the 400,000 teachers and other school employees who could well lose their jobs if opponents block this bill, instead of all about and only about Obama? For once?
Some advising Obama, and perhaps Obama himself, clearly have harbored considerable skepticism that even if this White House lays full out for something progressive activists want, too many of the latter won't notice or won't care, and in any case won't do much to help him. Reading comments from some in the blogosphere, here and elsewhere, I can see why they'd think that. Are we going to prove those who are skeptical about whether progressive activists and citizens will stand up and be counted--by advocating with passion and commitment and smarts the way we want our President to--right?
This particular proposal is pro-middle class, pro-public education, pro-student, and will reduce the unemployment rate from what it will be otherwise by a non-trivial amount. And even if it fails will give not just Obama but progressive candidates for Congress next year a solid issue to campaign on if the Republicans can be forced to block it or vote it down outright.
When does it get much more unambiguous than this for progressives when we're talking about legislative proposals that can do something meaningful to help this sick economy and vote for the future by supporting our kids and their teachers?
by AmericanDreamer on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 12:47pm
The question Eric Cantor needs to answer to the public is why he won't allow an up or down vote on the President's jobs bill?
If the Republicans are going to flip the bird to an estimated 300,000-400,000 teachers and other public education employees who will otherwise lose their jobs, because of the GOP's movement libertarian commitments to radical upward income and wealth redistribution, they should have the decency and the courage to say so, to the educators and to the parents of public school children who will see class sizes go up, classes not offered, services not provided on account of these looming budget cuts.
I don't know--does the Cantor crowd even bother to say they want a middle class any more?
The truth is that Cantor and his Republican House majority fully intend to block that vote because a) they don't want to go on record publicly voting either yes or no and b) they can.
The first makes them cowards. The second makes them corrupt.
Own it, Eric.
by AmericanDreamer on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 7:22am
The latest on the situation in the Senate:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/senate-democrats-rewriting-obamas-jobs-bill-14670019
Senator Shumer has a valid point on this dispute about who counts as "rich" for purposes of increasing taxes, but this can't be allowed to keep this legislation from coming up for a vote soon. Set the bar at $500,000, as a compromise between the $250K now, and the $1 million Shumer wants. Make up the lost revenue from the uber wealthy, say $10 million and up.
by AmericanDreamer on Wed, 10/05/2011 - 1:45pm
"Defiant Obama challenges GOP on jobs bill", Ben Feller, Associated Press, less than an hour ago:
http://news.yahoo.com/defiant-obama-challenges-gop-jobs-bill-160959024.html
Comments by Obama referencing the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators were noted in the article as well:
by AmericanDreamer on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 2:54pm
"..people run them out of town". Hmnn. I agreed with that narrative some time ago, but he's a couple of months early.
by Oxy Mora on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 3:19pm
And I thought his press conference was excellent. I really liked the language, the "put" to Republicans.
by Oxy Mora on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 3:26pm
A couple of months early--hmm...maybe. My reaction was to wonder if he is more than a couple of months late, whether too many of those who looked to him with hope have tuned him out for good, and can't hear him or recognize or acknowledge or support him on anything good he's trying to do. Another reaction I had is that it may not just be Congress that the voters throw out if Congress does not act boldly and quickly, but him as well. I don't know how indicative are the comments of some at dag of broader sentiment among the voters. If they are, he may be too late and may be out of time to get himself in tune with public opinion and find a way to ride what looks like a rising tide of public anger at Washington that, who knows?, could sweep a whole lot of incumbents of both parties out next November.
by AmericanDreamer on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 3:30pm
The pundits are tearing him up for being too timid at the press conference. No "passion", etc. I think it all depends at decision time when one is faced with a Rick Perry, or a Romney/Bachmann ticket.
by Oxy Mora on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 5:35pm