Voters dislike “government,” like what it does
Last year, U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) shared a story from one of his town hall meetings. A constituent stood to demand that Congress keep “government out of my Medicare.” Inglis reminded the constituent that government created and runs Medicare, a truth-telling affront which may help explain why Inglis was defeated by a rightwing tea-party type in the Republican primary a few months ago.
In any event, the constituent’s comment illustrates something I’ve long believed: “government” is just a word for those things voters don’t like. A strong “anti-government” sentiment doesn’t really illustrate that voters want to cut those government programs which benefit them. Alaska, which prides itself on its frontier independence, is the nation’s biggest welfare state.
Now, a new poll has shown just how contradictory voter attitudes are about the role of government and just how difficult it will be for Congress to make significant cuts to government spending. From the WaPo:
A new study by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University shows that most Americans who say they want more limited government also call Social Security and Medicare “very important.” They want Washington to be involved in schools and to help reduce poverty. Nearly half want the government to maintain a role in regulating health care.
The study suggests that come January, politicians in both parties will confront a challenging and sometimes contradictory reality about what Americans really think about their government. Although Republicans, and many Democrats, have tried to demonize Washington, they must contend with the fact that most major government programs remain enormously popular, including some that politicians have singled out for stiff criticism. . .
Even as Americans generally hold Washington in low regard, they still like much of the work it does. Support for government action on such issues as national defense, health care and fighting poverty remains high, in some cases just where it was a decade ago.Nearly six in 10 say they want their congressional representatives to fight for additional government spending in their districts to spur job creation; fewer (39 percent) want their member of Congress to cut spending, even if that means not as many local jobs. This is a turnabout from September 1994, when 53 percent said they wanted their representative to battle against spending and 42 percent were on the other side.
This oughtta be interesting.
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315 comments Add your comment
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
October 11th, 2010
7:04 am
They want Washington to be involved in schools and………to maintain a role in regulating health care.
They as in…….dummycrats?
Another day at the AJC, another baseless allegation against Nathan Deal, another vulgarity against the vast majority of the United States, the puppets of the DNC/White House busy themselves trying to influence the coming election-
You’re right, not every Baptist is stupid, not every Catholic priest is a child molester and not every Muslim is waging a jihad against you. Or does that just make too much sense for you tea baggers to fathom?-Urinal
Lying, cheating, stealing, dividing, hating, all in the service of the democrat party, is this what we want for our future?
Bob
October 11th, 2010
7:23 am
Some people want less gov, some people want more. The latter group wants more gov paid for by the first group. People with the sense of responsibility would never invest in a no return, no ownership, no access PONZI. People that could care less, well, they could care less, that is why we will hear of them being on a limited income. They felt it was govs job to handle their retirement, and they got a gov run retirement, limited retirement.
granny godzilla
October 11th, 2010
7:24 am
Oh Whiner! Bless your heart!
Thanks for starting our Monday off with a funny.
Ranting about baseless allegations and vulgarity while calling your opposition dummycrats and quoting a “vent” for heavens sake to support
your line of thinking and assigning the quote to the men’s room fixture you’ve long shown an obscession for!
Did you have a rough weekend? Cause you’re starting off real weak this morning.
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
7:28 am
You’re right, not every Baptist is stupid, not every Catholic priest is a child molester and not every Muslim is waging a jihad against you. Or does that just make too much sense for you tea baggers to fathom?
You drag out a quote from The Vent and attribute it as what—editorial policy?
Moderate Line
October 11th, 2010
7:30 am
People don’t like paying for government programs but they like their services.
I imagine one of the problems for government is their is no direct connection between taxes and the services received. Most products you make a decision for X at a cost $Y and ask is it worth it. With government services that doesn’t happen. Plus the largeness of our govt also creates a disconnect between people and their government. For example, Canada has 30 million people the United States has 10 times that. Our government is larger and hence more bureaucratic.
Tommy Maddox
October 11th, 2010
7:34 am
Folks get mad because they pay and pay and pay into Social Security their entire life only to find that the Government has been borrowing from the piggy bank with no hope of their money being replaced or the specter of their money not being paid back to them.
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
7:43 am
The voting booth is no place to pitch a tantrum. I really don’t see any way back from this abyss of idiocy that’s taken hold of the electorate. Obama is elected by racial fiat and the under 25 set while older voters whine about getting government out of their medicare while they suck the country dry.
It won’t be long folks—enjoy the sunset of the Republic. That’s about all we can do now.
Bubba
October 11th, 2010
7:47 am
Are SS and Medicare “very important?” It’s a very vague question if that’s how it was asked. I don’t think anybody would deny that SS and Medicare are “very important.” I’m opposed to the concept of both of them, but since they’ve taken about $100,000 of my money over the years, I’d say they’re “very important” too.
Peadawg
October 11th, 2010
7:48 am
It’s not that we dislike gov’t. Some of the regulations are good, some are bad. But it’s mainly the entitlement mentality that they’ve created….where’s is peoples’ motivation to do better when the gov’t is paying for everything?
jt
October 11th, 2010
7:49 am
“A new study by ………………………………………………………and Harvard University”
nuff said. Propaganda.
” also call Social Security and Medicare “very important”
Forced participation at the point of a gun IS important. That doesn’t mean we approve.
The tsusami cometh.
I scoop ;>/ You leak :>o
October 11th, 2010
7:52 am
I am not a witch. I’m a PC.
Can you make an idiot of yourself by spending way too much of your life on a blog? Would a wealth-denying Elmer Fudd have trouble with the letter R?
“I’m not witch. I’m you.”
granny godzilla
October 11th, 2010
7:53 am
“Forced participation at the point of a gun IS important”
Morning Melodrama.
Booger Sandwich
October 11th, 2010
7:59 am
Seems dislike of the current inept govt would be a more fitting statement.
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
8:02 am
jt@7:49, Is that your best argument, to cast doubt on the messenger? I haven’t heard of a single retiree rejecting Social Security or Medicare, no matter what they think of government spending.
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
8:03 am
Peadawg@7:48, Is someone forcing retirees to accept Medicare?
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
8:03 am
Aquagirl@7:43, Can you please explain “elected by racial fiat”? Sounds like an oxymoron.
Peadawg
October 11th, 2010
8:05 am
“Peadawg@7:48, Is someone forcing retirees to accept Medicare?”
No(dumb question). Why would they all of a sudden stop accepting free money? That’s the point…where is peoples’ drive these days w/ all the handouts?
Bubba
October 11th, 2010
8:08 am
“I haven’t heard of a single retiree rejecting Social Security or Medicare, no matter what they think of government spending.”
Well, of course not. They’ve been forced to pay into them, haven’t they? Did any of the Democrats who opposed the Bush tax cuts turn them down once they were enacted?
Peadawg
October 11th, 2010
8:09 am
“Did any of the Democrats who opposed the Bush tax cuts turn them down once they were enacted?”
I doubt it.
David S
October 11th, 2010
8:11 am
The fallacy that voters have been conned into believing is that the “services” they wish to have can only be provided by government. The truth is that government is just people, just like companies. There is ABSOLUTELY no service that government provides that a private, competitive free market could not provide better and likely cheaper. More importantly, without a violence-enforced monopoly on service provision, only those services that everyone paid to support with their voluntary exchange of money for serive would go away and if poor performance were the norm with one service provider, others would pick up its customers and do a better job.
Cynthia, you are correct that voters like some of the services that government provides (there are also plenty they would not voluntarily support).
The problem is that government is a monopoly – first on the use of force – and everything derives from that. The same poor performance, abuse of power, corruption, etc. that everyone condemns in supposed private monopolies (there really are none, and any that are close are only that way because of how government has helped them get there), they tollerate in government for some stupid reason.
Government knows that nobody would voluntarily pay for many of the things it does. It also knows that nobody would pay for government provision of a service if a better, cheaper alternative were available. It knows that it could not compete if the playing field were level and it had to actually EARN its money rather than just STEAL it as it has always done.
What voters hate is the MONOPOLY. Government cheerleaders like yourself just don’t get it.
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
8:13 am
CT, I mean “the enormous numbers of African-Americans who voted on the basis of his skin color.” It’s certainly benefited white candidates in the past. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like the one-shot Obama crowd saw his candidacy as a reason to get involved in civic matters, it was way too easy to run like lemmings to the polls and pat themselves on the back.
Georgian
October 11th, 2010
8:14 am
CYNTHIA,
Even though you dont come out and say it, this is a direct slam on the Republican Party for their ideas for getting this country back on track.
Pulitzer = Charmin Extra Soft
October 11th, 2010
8:16 am
Yet another warticle where C. Tucker writes a few paragraphs of nonsense and then shows her copy/paste skills. It’s not the spending that is the problem, it’s the strategy used by Dems that spend. I wonder if the day will come when the Libtard nation will admit that Obama has been a disaster. I admit that Bush was a disaster. The first of the twelve steps is to admit you have a problem. That has always been something that Democrats could never do.
tennisman
October 11th, 2010
8:18 am
How about smart government? That would be a nice start. I get to pay into SS and have the right to earn 1% on my money? The only government that has a chance to work is the local variety because the officials have to live with their constituents. The congress and Senate should only meet in person one month a quarter and require the congressmen to reside in their district the other two months. During those two months work could be done using the advances of modern technology. THis would create more accountability.
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
8:21 am
Georgian@8:14, The Republicans have ideas?
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
8:22 am
Aquagirl@8:13, ninety percent of black voters cast their ballots for Al Gore. Was that because of his skin color?
quod erat demonstrandum
October 11th, 2010
8:24 am
Regarding Social Security – I have been paying for 50 years – thats right I can elect to start drawing on it.
If I had been allowed to invest it myself – even in Savings Bonds – it would be worth more today. I call that a lousy investment – this is the best Congress can offer? I guess it would rob them of another place to rob.
Regarding Medicare – Ever see what happens when you become Medicare eligible? Your regular insurance goes up. What a nice surprise.
Here is another place I and the government disagree – Government employees get pensions. In the real world, pensions are a thing of the past and “Call Balances” are all the rage. The traditional pension was a drain on business (as a long term liability) and Cash Balances are not. I guess the Federal Government doesn’t worry about long term liabilities.
Yes, less Government and less Government intrusion in our lives – Let Government go what it is allowed by the Constitution to do and not what it wants to do.
Justin
October 11th, 2010
8:24 am
Can you picture the government trying ot manage UPS, FedEx, or even a 10 cent lemonade stand ? LOL
Bob
October 11th, 2010
8:25 am
Golly Cynthia, never heard of someone refusing to take their own money ? That is a tired lib line, try asking if we would opt out before we dump in 12.4% of most of our income. That like saying that anyone that complains about the cost of health insurance should not file a claim if they get sick. Could you imagine haw bad SS would be if responsible people would be allowed to opt out of the biggest PONZI scam ever ? And how is it that liberals say this is a pact between generations, I guess it’s like the pact we have made with the debt, we spent it and our grandkids pay it. Usually a pact is enetered into with both parties in agreement, this is no pact.
quod erat demonstrandum
October 11th, 2010
8:26 am
ctucker,
They voted for AlBore because he had a “D” after his name. No other reason, blind devotion to the party that has kept advancement from them.
Roekest
October 11th, 2010
8:26 am
@ ctucker:
“ninety percent of black voters cast their ballots for Al Gore. Was that because of his skin color?”
Yes, and 91% of black voters still support Obama when an overwhelming majority of EVERYBODY ELSE is losing confidence. I’m pretty sure that has to do with skin color. Saying it doesn’t is a bald-faced lie.
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
8:26 am
As much as I wish it weren’t so, I have to agree in part with Aquagirl. The last numbers I saw stated that 90% of blacks approve of Obama’s policies, while only 35-40% of whites approve. It’s realyl easy to just call the whites racist for their disagreement, but that trivializes the issue.
And CT, please don’t fall into this trap of “The Republicans have ideas?” Yes, they do, but because these ideas don’t radically expand government the Democrats have ignored them.
cliff zeider
October 11th, 2010
8:26 am
Hey Cynthia,, Porch monkeys all like big government, they never have to work, just sit on the porch and wait for a hand out. cz
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
8:27 am
I admit that Bush was a disaster.
Brilliant observation there, Captain Hindsight.
Are you always late to every party?
granny godzilla
October 11th, 2010
8:28 am
“the enormous numbers of African-Americans who voted on the basis of his skin color.”…..except for the fact that most African Americans
supported the white female candidate at first…..
granny godzilla
October 11th, 2010
8:30 am
Kamchack
Late to the party and expecting us to think his judgement has improved ….
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
8:30 am
The traditional pension was a drain on
businessexecutive compensation…Fixed your typo.
quod erat demonstrandum
October 11th, 2010
8:34 am
Kamchak,
Sorry – another wrong liberal leftie – go back and take business 101 – it is a liability(debt) on the books – you know – that thing called a general ledger.
lynnie gal
October 11th, 2010
8:35 am
I say, let’s take medicare away from the old people–they make up the bulk of the teabag crowd fighting against healthcare for everybody else. Let’s take social security away from them, too. Let ‘em get a job! Old age is no excuse, deadbeat! While we’re at it, let’s take away police, teachers, firemen, libraries. Who need em? Let’s let the roads and bridges go to hell. Let’s take away money for defense and especially to those awful poor people who just want to take advantage of the rich people claiming they need food, jobs and help when they’re sick. To hell with government! Republicans Rule!
BlahBlahBlah
October 11th, 2010
8:36 am
Of course they love big government when they don’t have to pay for it. And with a $1.3 trillion annual deficit and $13 trillion debt, there’s a lot that’s not being paid for.
Let’s see how much they love it when the bill comes due.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
8:37 am
Why am I hearing all the libs whine about cutting medicare? Obamacare is going to get rid of that on it’s own. Remember that $500B in savings from cutting the program that makes obamacare so affordable?
Georgian
October 11th, 2010
8:37 am
Cynthia,
They sure do. Its spelled out in their Pledge to America.
What ideas do Democrats have Cynthia?
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
8:38 am
QED – Remember when arguing economics with liberals that in the liberal mind making a profit is evil. I refer you to the story Neal Boortz is taking flak for (and I don’t care if you love/hate/or don’t care about Boortz). He linked to a story from a college student in Athens who said that Wal Mart was evil because they sold goods for more than it cost to produce said goods.
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
8:39 am
I must be using forbidden phrases since my last post went nowhere. I’ll re-phrase and try again.
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
8:41 am
Sorry – another wrong liberal leftie – go back and take business 101
Yeah, it was such a bad idea that policies like that ushered in the greatest period of middle class growth that this country has witnessed.
But don’t let history get in the way of your
business 101alchemy lessons.coachx
October 11th, 2010
8:41 am
How does this bimbo have a job ?
Is the AJC really that hard up ?
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
8:42 am
I refer you to the story Neal Boortz…
There’s your sign.
granny godzilla
October 11th, 2010
8:43 am
The Pledge to America, written by lobbyists does contain GOP ideas.
The same old GOP ideas that got us into this mess in the first place.
No new and improved. No better formula. No 15% more for the same price.
No BOGO.
Same old, Same old.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
8:43 am
Our government does not want us to invest our own money derived from SS because if we do, that would less that they could abscond with for government waste. This is a cash cow that they can depend on for funding of countless projects that get them re-elected. It’s not so hard to figure out.
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
8:44 am
Okay, Kam, so referring to a story from Boortz, not even something he said but a story he referenced, is bad. Yet blindly quoting Think Progress and Media Matters and MoveOn are okay? The hypocrisy of some people simply boggles the mind.
Straight Talk
October 11th, 2010
8:47 am
Of course all of this problem is the fault of President George Bush…LOL
Georgian
October 11th, 2010
8:47 am
Cynthia,
In reference to your comment to Aquagirl.
You know as well as I do that the voter turnout for Obama among African Americans was much greater than for Gore. As you would remember, African Americans went and registered in the millions just so they could elect an African American. Democrats loved it because that put them in the White House.
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
8:48 am
…so referring to a story from Boortz, not even something he said but a story he referenced, is bad.
Boortz has been doing the same shtick since his days a WRNG, so yeah, I pretty much discount by 100% anything that emits from his pie-hole.
Nice Guy
October 11th, 2010
8:49 am
“I refer you to the story Neal Boortz…There’s your sign.”
What sign is that Kam?
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
8:50 am
OK, ct, your filter wins. Discussing the increased percentage of AA and young voters in 2008 is too much hassle.
Un-real
October 11th, 2010
8:50 am
Aquagirl, seriously are you or have you been living in the ocean or something? Do you honestly think African Americans “enormously” voted on the basis of skin color only, and where did you get those facts from? African Americans have always been involved in civic matters, do you remeber the Civil Rights Movement?
Do you live in the Atlanta area? If so, there should be plenty of reasons and opportunities for you to see involvement of African Americans in civic duties. I could go on, but I think you get my point.
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
8:51 am
What sign is that Kam?
Do Not Enter.
Nice Guy
October 11th, 2010
8:53 am
“Do Not Enter.”
Ah, I see. Lefties preach tolerance and tout their ability to be non-judgmental, but let somebody mention Boortz’s name and suddenly they get their undies in a bunch and tell you “do not enter.” Now I got it.
November
October 11th, 2010
8:53 am
Cynthia, again you’re not telling the whole story, just like your buddy obama……and I’m not capitalizing that name on purpose. The 20% that want bigger government are mostly hispanic, black and poor……they just want more entitlements. That’s poor journalism, sweetie
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
8:55 am
Lefties preach tolerance…
Please show me, specifically, where I have preach tolerance.
Thanks in advance.
fedup_11
October 11th, 2010
8:58 am
Voters like big government eh? Well tax payers don’t. Big difference there. Parasites are a subset of voters; not of taxpayers. As the parasite eats its host, the few remaining tax payers are drained until they can no longer afford big government. Where will the parasites, the determined underachievers then eat? Take a good look at Greece, at Portugal. Their big governments can no longer afford to carry government works and related entitlement beneficiaries. There is NO free luch! Become self-reliant!
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
8:59 am
Un-real, if African Americans return to the polls in equal percentages, then I’ll believe you. When you only feel the impulse to civically involve yourself when the person looks like you—well, call me a skeptic.
BTW I went out and did extra volunteer work as a part of Obama’s “grab a mop” plea. If 3 % of the hopey-changey crowd did the same I might believe them too.
Word Vomit; Buckeyes; Zig Zag; It’s MONDAY Morning in the Palmetto State.
October 11th, 2010
8:59 am
[...] out of my Medicare.” Inglis reminded the constituent that government created and runs Medicare, a truth-telling affront which may help explain why Inglis was defeated by a rightwing tea-party type in the Republican [...]
Mr_B
October 11th, 2010
9:01 am
David:@8:11
Like many of the posters here, you’ve been watching way too many Ronald Reagan re-runs.
Take a deep breath and repeat; “GOVERNMENT is not THE problem, POORLY ADMINISTERED government is A problem.” If you don’t believe it, contemplate a world where a nation would have to rent an armed force to protect it; where every road is a toll road, where anyone can dump anything he wants into his stretch of river, where you get to personally pay for police “protection”and where drug companies get to guess which strain of flu will be predominant this year, and also get to sell you anything that they can put in a bottle, pill, or shot without making sure the stuff won’t really kill you.
The TeaParty approach to governance makes as much sense as the idea that because a few of the kids in my high school don’t graduate on time, we ought to burn the place down.
I Report :-) You Whine :-( mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
October 11th, 2010
9:02 am
Fiorina treats Boxer as an economic illiterate. “There is an enormous difference between the two worlds that have shaped Barbara Boxer and me,” she said at the state GOP convention in August. “I come from the free market, free enterprise system that built up America and made us the greatest and most generous nation on earth. . . . Barbara Boxer is a lifetime politician who comes from the world of government, a world where she spends other people’s money, where productivity is never measured, where results don’t seem to matter, and where problems are not a factor.”
Fiorina gets it.
And Boxer is going to get it, hahahahaha.
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
9:03 am
November, I hope you’re not planning on voting for Nathan Deal, he sure has benefited from the FDIC and government bailout. Can we exchange his family for a hard-working batch of illegal immigrants?
conservative dawg
October 11th, 2010
9:03 am
get rid of social security, medicare, welfare and any other government assistance. privatize all schools and let the parents determine where their kids go to school. if someone needs a handout, put it back in the church or other not for profit organization. people are responsible for themself, not the government!
Road Scholar
October 11th, 2010
9:06 am
Georgian and Granny: The pledge to America doesn’t contain a “plank” to tell the truth and to call out those who don’t esp those from their party! Now that would be an improvement! It is still weak on specifics!
Granny: Good morning! You are out and about early this AM.
???
October 11th, 2010
9:10 am
Big Gubiment is wanted by the people? Only by those who make their living off other people’s hard hard work! Let’s go back to smaller federal government and keep the feds out of our day to day lives! What has happened to personal responsibility? Yuck! Folks, get out there and get a job and live withing your means! Big Gubiment? HOOEY!
Nice Guy
October 11th, 2010
9:11 am
“Do you honestly think African Americans “enormously” voted on the basis of skin color only,”
Yes, I would say there is at least a sliver of truth to that. I mean, Obama’s approval rating is, what, 40% or so.
Nice Guy
October 11th, 2010
9:12 am
Didn’t finsih my thought…
“Yes, I would say there is at least a sliver of truth to that. I mean, Obama’s approval rating is, what, 40% or so. And if you polled the African American community, I bet you’d see a 85-90% approval rating from them.”
Mr_B
October 11th, 2010
9:13 am
Obviously, many here confuse the idea of a goverment that works for all its citizens, and not just those at the top of the economic ladder, as “big.” Government is not required by any natural law to be inefficient, and it shouldn’t be.
CATERDAWG
October 11th, 2010
9:14 am
MS. Tucker, the only people who like big governament are the ones sitting on their butts collecting SS checks and food stamps. They don’t want to work because they think someone owes them something!!!
Steven Q. Stanley
October 11th, 2010
9:15 am
The American voters love Big Government. I will be voting for Libertarian candidates this year including Monds for governor. Why? Because I don’t like Big Government. Who will vote for Republican and democrats claiming they don’t favor more government. Better yet, who will do it with a straight face.
Mike
October 11th, 2010
9:16 am
More of your left wing, liberal babbling CT. It doesn’t even deserve further comment.
Mr_B
October 11th, 2010
9:17 am
As far as SS is concerned, if you’ve paid in,then DUH, “someone owes them something!!!’
Paddy O
October 11th, 2010
9:18 am
The average American is fairly stupid (asuming by average you mean a high school drop out). They also want a whole lot of services, but don’t want to pay. Which is why we shop for the cheapest crap at a retail warehouse – Walmart, that sells 90% of their inventory made in an obviously corrupt foreign country, China. They can not even sell domestically produced raw-hide chews, instead the best is from Brazil & Mexico, most from China. How can you trust anything made in China? However, your expensive cell phone most likely was produced in China – which is why it breaks down after about 3 years.
Jan
October 11th, 2010
9:18 am
Alaska takes the money earned from oil revenue and divides it up among the citizens. Is that welfare? If the “big corporations” kept the money as profits, would that suit you? As far as Medicare, SS and senior citizens, those folks have paid into those programs for this time in their lives. They are not the right people to ask about reducing those programs.
David S pretty much summed it up, No need for me to repeat it.
Nickman
October 11th, 2010
9:19 am
How does the AJC continue to support this blather? As a former small business owner the crushing paperwork and tax requirements imposed by the governmnent at all levels is what stifles our ability to compete on the world stage.
Personally I know what government does for me and I say give me LESS!
barking frog
October 11th, 2010
9:21 am
The government is in the protection business. Sometimes we
must be protected from ourselves. The well intended Aid to
Families with Dependent Children has contributed to the
destruction of many families. Public Housing has turned
some areas into gangland. However many children have
been raised, educated and housed by these programs
and gone on to be meaningful contributors to society.
Since we’re paying, we have the right to some complaining.
Jeremy
October 11th, 2010
9:22 am
Another day of mindlessly trying to defend the indefensible. Good luck with the efforts and keep those blogs coming.
Paddy O
October 11th, 2010
9:22 am
Mr. B is correct. PLus, you must realize that with the high average government bureaucrat salary, and the utterly over pay of our elected officials, the US has created a feudal Elected Nobility, who makes themselves feel better about thier gross avarice by throwing billions of dollars, around the globe, to help the impoverished. Yet, poverty never decreases nor is eliminated. It would be better to do nothing.
John
October 11th, 2010
9:23 am
What would our country look like with the “less government” total free-market, free-enterprise system conservative Republicans claim they want. Get rid of all government agencies and programs. Let private companies provide police protection, fire protection, garbage removal, ect. and have those companies bill those individuals who want the services provided. If you forget to pay a bill and your house catches fire…tough, let it burn. Even if you are a payed up customer, let the police and fire departments waste precious time to verify that you are fully paid. Privatize all schools and parents could pay all costs to educate their children. Get rid of social security insurance and if the stock market crashes and you loose all your investment…tough. Get rid of all government regulations when it employee and consumer protections. Let companies provide unsafe, unhealthy work environments. Let drug companies release unsafe medications that have not been tested.
This list can go on and on…is this what conservative Republicans really want?
Bubba Bob
October 11th, 2010
9:26 am
ctucker,
90% of black voters voted for Gore. Obviously not because of race.
If 90% of whites had voted for McCain would that have been because of race?
Bubba Bob
October 11th, 2010
9:28 am
John,
For police, fire, and other municipal issues it’s different. Those are very local concerns and voters have more say in how the money is spent. I can even get elected locally and have a say in how things are run.
The Feds are a different animal. They are supposed to be very limited by the Constitution so the states have more rights to run their own affairs. That’s been turned around and it’s time to turn it back.
lovelyliz
October 11th, 2010
9:30 am
Modern day tea party is the party of keep the government out of Medicare.
Excessive spending is the other guys fault. As long as our reps are allowing to bring pork home and call it “necessary infrastructure spending”, this will never change
John
October 11th, 2010
9:30 am
@CATERDAWG
“MS. Tucker, the only people who like big governament are the ones sitting on their butts collecting SS checks and food stamps.”
CATERDAWG, why did you only cite these 2 programs. What about public education, fire protection, police protection, garbage removal, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance? These are all government programs we all benefit from.
atlmom
October 11th, 2010
9:30 am
wow, so people want it so they get it? Really? Should I just give my 8 YO child everything he wants because he wants it?
Wow. People want it because they don’t have to pay for it. It’s REALLY SIMPLE. Especially the people who don’t pay income taxes at all. Why *wouldn’t* they want more govt?
The reality is that all these govt programs just make us dependent on the govt. It’s killing our social structure, and killing our economy and killing our ability to do for ourselves. It’s a terrible thing.
Of course, there needs to be something in place for those who *can’t* work. Like people who are quite elderly – but our current social security system is not it. Jeez.
And medicare, again, there’s a reason one would socialize medicine of those who are quite elderly, but the current system isn’t it – it covers too many people, and costs are way high (because everyone is paying for it, not just those over 62).
I could go on.
Obama is over
October 11th, 2010
9:32 am
Cynthia, I must give you credit for rounding up controversial topics to encourage outfield chatter. However sometimes, like this morning, your statements are so far left that you leave educated readers speachless. It is kind of like the Baptist church from Topeka that pickets the funerals of American soldiers with hate filled messages. There may be some element of truth for an extremely small group of people in the message, but the vast majority of the population recognizes that Big government leads to big corruption and big disfunction. Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill is only the most recent example of Washington putting party partisan politics ahead of the best interests of the country. If Granny does not like the way Washington will look after Nov. 2nd with the necessary unwinding of damaging legislation, she can move to North Korea or Cuba. Those governments provide for their citizens and remove individuality and freedom of thought just like she wants.
lovelyliz
October 11th, 2010
9:33 am
Alabama and Georgia are negative tax states meaning they get more from the feds than the states pay into the national coffers.
Russ555
October 11th, 2010
9:33 am
They don’t want to cut the benefits, just cut the taxes. Any cuts in govt expenses anyone in the movement suggests are just a small amount compared to the deficient.
To make a dent, we will have to make major cuts, and raise taxes. No way around it.
Nobody wants to do the heavy lifting. Just talk.
Billybob
October 11th, 2010
9:33 am
Thanks for the Monday morning laugher Tucker. Personal responsibility is the way out of this mess, not ‘big gubment’. We see where ‘big gubment’ takes us. It takes us to a place where we elect a man who says he ‘will lower the sea level’ and all the people who receive ‘gubment’ checks said amen! What do you think about our President libeling conservatives over foreign money Tucker? Presidential…….I think not. Community organizer-ish….OH YEAH!
Josh
October 11th, 2010
9:34 am
I come here every morning to get a good laugh to start my day. I do not even have to read the funnies. Thanks Cynthia for being such a comedian and making my day easier! By the way, quit being dishonest. It gets you know where in life but backwards and it makes you look like a fool.
John
October 11th, 2010
9:34 am
@Bubba Bob,
These are all government programs. Where do you draw the line when calling for less government? We have seen in Tennessee one man’s home burn to the ground while the firemen stood there and watch it burn only because he forgot to pay a $75 bill. What would have happened if someone was trapped in the home? Would it be ok to let someone burn to death if a bill was not paid on time?
Joe
October 11th, 2010
9:34 am
More laughable left wing propaganda polls Tucker…. How do you not realize just how stupid you look putting up this spew as fact? People obviously don’t like Obamacare or the failed stimulus as poll after poll as shown. Unless of course you use your left wing polls that how much people love it…. Face reality Tucker… The folks have resoundingly rejected Obama and his far left agenda and on November 2nd we’ll certainly have proof of that……
Bubba Bob
October 11th, 2010
9:34 am
John,
“public education, fire protection, police protection, garbage removal”
Public education is a state issue, not a federal one. The others are local municipalities. Very different issues.
States have a right to provide education. Local government has a right to offer those services. The problem with the others is that the Feds are over reaching their rights.
Bubba Bob
October 11th, 2010
9:36 am
John,
They are all government programs but the issue is whether the stated government has a constitutional right to offer the program. I’m sure you’ve had a civics and government class and understand the differences in our levels of government.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
9:38 am
Nice Guy- And if you polled the African American community, I bet you’d see a 85-90% approval rating from them.”
Overall 29% strongly approve (42% strongly disapprove). African-American approval continutues to vary between 93-90%.
Un-real
October 11th, 2010
9:39 am
Aquagirl, do you have any African American friends, workers, collegues? If so, spend a few minutes talking with them, hear some intelligent conversation vs. the loonies on some of these posts. Talk face to face with an African American, I think you will gain some much needed insight.
I mean some of these comments are unreal, AA are poor, uneducated and only want more benefits. Wrong, most are hardworking, college educated and home owners that STILL have their homes and not under foreclosure or receiving any government bailout…
atlmom
October 11th, 2010
9:39 am
kayaker: the point of social security was to help out the elderly (NEVER was it supposed to be 100% of one’s income after ‘retirement’ which didn’t even exist back when it was implemented…) – when they were UNABLE to work.
Back when soc sec was enacted, life expectancy was ***65***. So most people didn’t collect, and most people, when they hit 65 were unable to work.
I have NO PROBLEM with helping out people who can’t work, and no problem helping the elderly. This program has, however, turned into a way for the elderly to get gobs of money from the young people – while the young people work and the elderly go and take cruises. My grandmother has been on social security for 40 years. The program was never intended for that. I mean, if she hadn’t started working at 8, I would say that she’s been collecting for longer than her working years (which is coming for many folks, by the way). If you just raise the age at which people can take benefits to 75 or 80, then people have to fund their own ‘retirement’ for a few years, so be it.
Most people who retire CAN work, but why should they. They have a govt check coming, so who cares?
college is a five year party with uncle stupid paying the bills
October 11th, 2010
9:41 am
Come November, Ms. Tucker, the voters will tell you how much they like Big Guv. I suspect there will be a profound rejection of Big Guv at the ballot box, with Democrats going down to a resounding defeat..
Harry Callahan
October 11th, 2010
9:41 am
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
8:03 am
“Is someone forcing retirees to accept Medicare?”
No, but someone is forcing the rest of us to fund it.
Cynthia, do you giggle when you write this crap? Because intelligent people sure as heck laugh out loud when they read it.
atlmom
October 11th, 2010
9:42 am
conservative dog: there is a balance between the idiocy you are spewing and what we have now. no one said we have to get rid of all govt…but govt doesn’t do things better than the private sector.
There are inefficiencies, and programs never ever get unfunded or closed. but some things you don’t want the private sector to do, so you deal with certain things that the govt does poorly. This, however, should be limited. Especially when you have the feds doing it – as they then hold the states hostage…
John
October 11th, 2010
9:42 am
@atlmom
I take it you send your 8 YO child to private school. Otherwise, you’re just being a moocher…mooching off of my hard earned money which I should be allowed to keep. Why should I pay taxes to fund public education when I don’t have any children? Let everyone who have children pay all cost in educating their children. If you can’t afford to bear the full cost of educating your child, that would be tough.
Tray
October 11th, 2010
9:44 am
Very easy discussion here!! The UNEDUCATED want more government because they are unable to take care of themselves and need a mommy to do it for them! The EDUCATED people know that government was the whole problem to begin with, and won’t forget it! Ever seen the movie IDIOCRACY?? I suggest you watch it, because that’s what will happen with Democrats in charge! “Welcome to Costco, We love you”!
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
9:44 am
john- What would have happened if someone was trapped in the home? Would it be ok to let someone burn to death if a bill was not paid on time?
But they weren’t. Common sense does prevail some of the time. As far as the death panels, you’ll have to wait for the full implementation of obamacare. Didn’t you read all the wonderfull things in the bill since they passed it?
seabeau
October 11th, 2010
9:45 am
“MOST PEOPLE” DONT PAY TAXES!!!!
Monica Kaufman
October 11th, 2010
9:46 am
In tonight’s top story, Kamchak asserts that Obama’s poop doesn’t stink, and claims he can scientifically prove it. Film at 11:00.
Billybob
October 11th, 2010
9:46 am
After the 2012 elections, I think I know where the community organizer in chief can gain employment……..at the desk right next to you Tucker. His comments would be even more comical than yours…..because he can ‘lower the sea levels’. My guess is that you believed him too, and still do huh?
atlmom
October 11th, 2010
9:49 am
@john: you make no sense. I pay taxes, and we should all want ALL children to be educated. There is no discussion there. I don’t understand where you get what you are saying from what I wrote.
EVERYONE should want an educated electorate. There shouldn’t even be a discussion. Really. However, our political class clearly doesn’t want educated voters, but that’s another discussion.
Billybob
October 11th, 2010
9:49 am
Any thoughts about our ‘libeling’ President Tucker?
atlmom
October 11th, 2010
9:50 am
@seabeau: that is not true. most people pay taxes. Many people don’t pay INCOME taxes. most people have NO IDEA what they pay in taxes because the govt is very good at hiding it but in everything you buy, there is a tax, even if it’s hidden, and we all pay much more in federal taxes than we even know.
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
9:51 am
Un-real, knock off the patronizing. I don’t live in a klan compound, so STFU. I’d love to deport Nathan Deal’s family in exchange for any random set of real hard-working Americans, for crissakes.
Maybe you should spend a few minutes asking your AA friends why they voted in 2008. Or spend more than 15 seconds of rational thought on the subject.
John
October 11th, 2010
9:54 am
@JKL2
There we go with death panels again. Think about it for a minute. Didn’t we have “death panels” before ObamaCare? Private companies chose who they cover and what they will cover. If you think before ObamaCare that health care was between you and your doctor, you better think again. It’s business people employed by health insurance companies that make decisions on your health care…not doctors. Insurance companies spend millions on going through applications and medical records to try to find any reason for not covering medical cost when those they cover get sick.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
9:57 am
If the federal government could prove to the voter that it is efficient, trustworthy, credible and honest, I don’t think that this present anti-government sentiment would be so strong. This new NSA chief, Donilon, used to be a federal lobbyist and was the right hand man to Franklin Raines at Fannie who split with 190M in company (federal) monies after cooking the books. This kind of credibility gap infuriates the electorate and the trust level for this kind of government stooge is zero. But Jones wouldn’t play the Bozo liberal game so they got rid of him. Government could fu** up a two car funeral and the public knows it. The National Highway fund is in receivership, the postal service is broke, Amtrack can’t seem to make any money, Fannie and Freddie are asking for another 160B in bailout money after making some of the poorest decisions of the century, social security has been robbed of all of it’s funds to pay for insane federal spending and the Dept of Energy, funded in the Carter administration employs 16K people, has a budget of gazillions of our tax dollars and we are more energy dependent than we were then.
This is what the electorate opposes. It just seems that when government gets involved in an undertaking, it comes out inept, fails financially and costs twice as much as originally planned. There are 545 people in our government who guide this country, 435 Congressmen/women, 100 Senators, one President and 9 Supreme Court Justices…… the public doesn’t trust any of them. That’s what we object to, CT.
Tray
October 11th, 2010
9:58 am
HEY-i see a lot of healthcare debate, allow me to end this really quick…
HEALTHCARE IS A PRIVILEDGE, NOT A RIGHT!!! You have to pay for it, and it should NEVER have been gauranteed for anyone!! If you want a 50″ LCD TV, do you get it, or have to work for it?? Same thing here…a hospital is a business, not a welfare retreat!! Doctors work for money, it’s that simple. Find me a doctor that does everythig for free!! They do charity work, but they work for money…you find a doctor where everything is free, I’ll find another man receiving a benefit from the government!
TnGelding
October 11th, 2010
9:58 am
Just shows how stupid most of us truly are. But hey, the Falcons won.
Un-real
October 11th, 2010
9:58 am
Aquagirl, typical, your true colors are showing… STFU, wow, that’s really insightful … Should I stoop to your level, no, I don’t think so …
Pablo
October 11th, 2010
9:58 am
Cynthia:
Government, in all its shapes and forms, is a necessary evil. Some want to keep this necessary evil under control before its grows too large and too intrusive, while others want it to invade all areas of society so it removes the personal responsibility component to their lives.
There are some mandated duties and responsibilities of the government by the Constitution, but our history is full of instances where politicians from all sides have taken advantage of the apathy and the ignorance of the average voter to allow government to grow way beyond what the Constitution allows.
It is incumbent on the voter to really examine what is government doing for (or to) him or her, and then demand, if necessary, from their elected representatives to strictly adhere to Constitutional mandates.
This current government is way to bloated, way too intrusive and way too detached from what it is supposed to be and to do, and it is time to clean house (and senate, and white house…)
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
9:59 am
All of these idiots who want to see cut after cut in government expenditures, are the first ones to cry like little babies when they have to stand in longer lines to get a driver’s license or complain when there aren’t enough state troopers on the road or prisons and prisoners become poorly supervised because of reductions in force and furloughs. You want government cuts, fine, but don’t complain when you can’t get what you need or want as soon as you think you should.
Billybob
October 11th, 2010
10:03 am
John,
The difference is where Obamacare will be taking us. When Obamacare decides ,down the line, that the procedure we need is too expensive, we will then not even be allowed to pay for it ourselves, like we can do right now. Open your eyes because that, my friend, is a death panel. And that is single-payer universal healthcare, which is exactly what Obama has said he wanted and is exactly what Obama has set in motion.
John
October 11th, 2010
10:03 am
@atlmom
“@john: you make no sense. I pay taxes, and we should all want ALL children to be educated. ”
Exactly atlmon, shouldn’t we ALL want people to have health insurance so they can have access to health care. Should we ALL want insurance programs such as unemployment insurance and social security, or should we ALL want people who become unemployed through no fault of their own to become homeless? Or someone who possibly lost their retirement savings due to fluctuations in the stock market to become homeless?
My whole point, just as this article is, when people call for less government, they only want to get rid of programs which they themselves do not benefit from.
travelingman141
October 11th, 2010
10:05 am
Ok you silly little Tucktard, here’s the real truth. NO, WE DO NOT LIKE BIG GOVERMENT! Riddle me this libtards. How can someone who puts so much in to the system, like a system that is corrupt and ineffective; only to get so little in return? It doesn’t make sense!
Do we really need Social Security, Medicare, and Welfare? The answer is NO! These and other “entitlement” programs do nothing but enslave us! The people who we elect in office know this and will continue to use us to fill their pockets. We the people need to start taking power away from the slime ball politicians, both Democrats and Republicans.
Why? Because they are one and the same!
To quote Mike Church: “What are six federal agencies at the both of the Potomac? A good start…”
Let’s see what’s said…
George W
October 11th, 2010
10:05 am
Once again CT displays her ignorance and left wing views through this blog…Tell me where in the constitution it states that the government is responsible to provide healthcare to all citizens and non-citizens? Good luck with that one.
Time For Honesty
October 11th, 2010
10:07 am
Let’s be candid. Neither Mr. Obama nor Republican leaders are leveling with us. The affects of this deep recession are here to stay for awhile. This deep recession aka Great Depression Lite was worse than all the recent recessions combined. On top of that we have massive housing foreclosures. There is no magic politician from either party who can create policies to place things back on the shelf instantly. The Republicans are favored with an angry and impatient electorate, however. Middle class consumers are the backbone of our economy- not tax cuts skewed upward. Unless middle class consumers somehow go on an extended shopping frenzy not much will change. Middle class consumers now realize they overextended themselves over the last couple of decades, and now they are worried because the great meltdown of 08 scared them to death. I have yet to hear any politician admit the mind boggling amount of capital that has evaporated from not just our economy but world economies over the period 07-09. Both parties do have good intentions and are not to be demonized because we favor one over the. One party glosses over an ugly truth. The other party taps into our kissing cousins-anger and fear-and trots out the one-trick pony, tax cuts. My fellow Americans buckle up. This will be a long and bumpy ride. One party does invoke the middle class often, but is not gaining much traction by doing so. The other party says government should get out of the way. Get out of the way and do what? Without a referee do you honesly expect those who yield financial clout to create and environment whereby they will ensure much flows to the middle class? The chasm between the have- plentys and the have- somes is growing wider and wider. Never in the history of this nation has so much public wealth flowed upward. Unless that is reversed the middle class’s purchasing power will forever shrink.
RevPettibone
October 11th, 2010
10:09 am
Even before Alaska entered into the union, it was turned into a “welfare state” in order for many of the native Americans residing there to get what they needed to exist.
John
October 11th, 2010
10:10 am
@Tray
“HEALTHCARE IS A PRIVILEDGE, NOT A RIGHT!!! ”
Tray, everyone already had access to healthcare…it’s called charity hospitals paid for by tax payers. One of the problems with this is those who do not have insurance goes to emergency rooms when they get sick which cost much more.
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
10:10 am
“MOST PEOPLE” DONT PAY TAXES!!!!
Someone just told a whopper of a lie.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
10:11 am
john- Private companies chose who they cover and what they will cover
Yes, it’s called free enterprise. If you don’t like it, buy better insurance. It’s the government takeover of another industry that is the problem. It’s somehow my responsibility to buy you insurance that is better than my own now.
John
October 11th, 2010
10:14 am
@Billybob
“The difference is where Obamacare will be taking us. When Obamacare decides ,down the line, that the procedure we need is too expensive, we will then not even be allowed to pay for it ourselves, like we can do right now.”
Please point out to me exactly where in the law it states this. Give me the page number and paragraph where I can find it. Do you know where it is written in the law or are you just spewing what Sarah Palin and other Republican politicians have said?
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
10:17 am
Angry- get a driver’s license or complain when there aren’t enough state troopers on the road or prisons
Those are all state and local issues. Has nothing to do with our apologizer in chief wasting $ Trillions.
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
10:18 am
George at 10:01 – “Tell me where in the constitution it states that the government is responsible to provide healthcare to all citizens and non-citizens?”
You have to remember that these people actually believe it is the job of the FEDERAL government to oversee and fund education as well. That’s not in the Constitution either.
But many of them don’t know what’s in the Constitution. Rep. John Conyers cited the “Good and Welfare Clause” as Constitutional justification of ObamaCare. There’s no such thing as the “Good and Welfare Clause.” Pete Stark has said that “The federal government can do most anything in this country,” a statement that is discredited by this little thing called the 10th Amendment.
Shawny
October 11th, 2010
10:19 am
Of course they like what it does. Who doesn’t want a handout?!?
The problem is that no one wants the bill when it comes due, either in higher taxes than necessary or increased debt.
Freebies are great until they really aren’t free.
Un-real
October 11th, 2010
10:20 am
Time for Honesty, well spoken (written) …
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
10:24 am
Oh, look, un-real drops the condescending diversity troll act for the highfalutin’ morally superior troll act. Wow, we’ve never seen that on the internets.
Obama’s imminent smackdown, courtesy of his deserting base—has quite the burr under some folk’s bum. I understand it’s upsetting in a personal way. Have a drink, relax, and wait for the Nathan Deal crowd to bankrupt us. Like I said, not much we can do. Those voters are simply the polar opposites of the Hope ‘n Change crowd. And frankly, they’re a much bigger crowd.
John
October 11th, 2010
10:24 am
“It’s somehow my responsibility to buy you insurance that is better than my own now.”
First, JKL2…you are not buying my insurance. I pay 100% for my insurance. Secondly, health insurance have been known to drop people after they get sick…including for things that is suppose to be covered but they best treatment is possibly considered “experimental” or for other reasons. Of course, if that happens, good luck on finding another company to cover you not that you have a pre-existing condition. Health insurance companies are just like any other company…they want to maximize revenue and minimize expenses.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
10:24 am
Travelingman141—-Many of us don’t consider Social Security and Medicare “entitlements.” “Entitlements,” Hell!! I’ve been paying into them for over 40 years, so they’re mine. I don’t want to leave it up to some Wall Street thief, in cahoots with so-called conservatives, to invest my payments into another money-maker for some greedy broker, who doesn’t bear the impact of any losses of MY money if his/her choice of investments is wrong. If you hate Social Security so much, reach into your wallet and pull out your SS card and tear it up. Then write a letter to the Social Security Administration and tell them you don’t ever want to collect your money when you “retire.”
atlmom
October 11th, 2010
10:24 am
@John: okay , perhaps unemployment ins. should exist, but congress just increased the number of weeks that people can collect it to 99 weeks.
Do you think that’s okay? Is it that if a program is okay, that it should never have anyone say anything bad about any program no matter what the govt does? Don’t you think that’s a little crazy? There are plenty of programs that seem okay, but seriously – the govt keeps way overstepping its grounds. We the people are busy trying to pay for the darn govt, and have been poor in overseeing the govt – so it’s come to this. It’s absurd, but we clearly can’t trust these people to put stops on programs, they only look at it as to how many votes they will get if XXX program exists or is expanded. Should we NEVER question ANYTHING because there might 1% of govt programs working properly?
are there no prisons; are there no workhouses?
October 11th, 2010
10:31 am
you people all complain too much. you don’t know how good you have it.
your greed and envy will ruin your little lives.
Libertarian
October 11th, 2010
10:32 am
@John
The gov’t doesn’t pay for unemployment, employers do in the form of FUTA and SUTA taxes.
“should we ALL want people who become unemployed through no fault of their own to become homeless?”
God forbid they actually SAVE money in case they become unemployed. But I can tell from your posts that you don’t really believe in personal responsibility. Like most liberals your mantra is “the government will take care of me!”
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
10:33 am
Why is it when animals are greedy it’s called “survival of the fittest,” yet when humans are greedy they’re called evil? Don’t you liberals believe in evolution? Should not only the strongest survive?
George W
October 11th, 2010
10:34 am
CT….can you please tell me what you think the job or role of the federal government is?
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
10:34 am
john- you are not buying my insurance
Glad to hear it. Maybe you could just start paying for mine since you’re he11 bent on picking up the tab for an extra 30 million people.
I’ll stick with my original comment. If you want better insurance buy it. If you’re having trouble with your insurance entitlements, sue them. Just leave me out of it.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
10:37 am
JKL2—I know exactly what government-level functions those are. My only point is whether it’s local, state or federal level, there are a lot of cry babies out there who someohow believe government ought to be severely cut. But when they want to access those services and can’t, they bitch and moan about bureaucrats and all other imagined evils. We all have a right (and obligation) to demand that government services are run as effectively and efficiently as possible, but we don’t ahve a right to expect to run at some optimum level if we’ve cut the guts out of it.
quod erat demonstrandum
October 11th, 2010
10:41 am
George W.
It sure isn’t to be a good steward of our tax moneys.
CT I am sure believes everyone should have a living income – whether they work or not.
I am sure that given the money, all lazy bums would turn productive – even those in mid-town
I am confident that CT believes that company making profits are evil and should be eliminated in favor of collectives.
In other words – everything we are not.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
10:42 am
JKL2 — One other note. Did you complain about the trillions being spent by the Bush adminsitration to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when there was no money budgeted for those costs? There was no money on the books for that cost. How about Medicare Part D? Did you complain about the billions that cost us when Bush and the Republican Congress passed that law without any money budgeted for it? I’d love to hear your answer.
are there no prisons; are there no workhouses?
October 11th, 2010
10:42 am
let’s suspend all taxes and all services for one year and see where that gets us. we’ll all be rich.
quod erat demonstrandum
October 11th, 2010
10:43 am
Angry As Hell,
Too much of our taxes are sent to DC and then they redistribute it back to the states – after taking there cut.
If Georgia sends $100 to DC they might get $80 back to fund some federal mandate – It would be cheaper for Georgia to be able to keep it and use it themselves without the federal middle man.
are there no prisons; are there no workhouses?
October 11th, 2010
10:44 am
georgia is a welfare state
are there no prisons; are there no workhouses?
October 11th, 2010
10:44 am
as is all of dixie
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
10:45 am
Oh lordy, the creationists have surfaced. Like it being Monday wasn’t enough….
Tray
October 11th, 2010
10:46 am
@John- Yes, there are charity hospitals; do all the uninsured go there? No, of course not…so that’s a HUGE MUTE POINT! It does not cost more for 1 uninsured person to go to the ER than to cover him/her through Obamacare. My insurance always went up every year just a little, and i was fine with it. This year though…hmmm…a HUGE increase, wonder why? Oh, becaause the Dumbocrats thought they knew what they were doing!
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
10:47 am
Good Grief — You better hope that in your Darwinian theory of society by the strongest, you don’t end up one of the weakest. You may not be so cavalier in offering such a fundamentally insane notion of how societies ought to prosper.
Tray
October 11th, 2010
10:49 am
I swear if you don’t know the difference between THEIR, THERE and THEY’RE, please don’t ever blog again!!!!
John
October 11th, 2010
10:50 am
@atlmom
“perhaps unemployment ins. should exist, but congress just increased the number of weeks that people can collect it to 99 weeks.”
Tell me altmom…how many weeks should it be? Especially when unemployment is so high and it’s through no fault of those who are unemployed. What if it’s several of your neighbors that are unemployed and they are completely cut from unemployment insurance. They all then loose their homes due to foreclosure leaving your neighborhood with many foreclosed, unkept homes. Not only would it be an eyesore but can possibly create other problems as well…not to mention your property possibly losing value.
I am someone, who has been unemployed and benefited from the extensions. While it’s not much especially compared to my income, I was able to hold onto my home. That didn’t just benefit me but it also benefited my neighbors as well.
I never said we should question things but we should also look at the positive and think things clearly of what would happen without some of these programs. And while I am not that naive into thinking there aren’t anyone who would abuse such program, not everyone are moochers as the conservatives try to paint people. Most people aren’t and it gets tiresome and sickening when politicians and others spew that kind of rhetoric. Where have we gone as a society when we don’t look out for our neighbors and feel everyone needs to be completely on their own but as I pointed out, at least some of these programs have benefits we don’t think about.
quod erat demonstrandum
October 11th, 2010
10:51 am
Tray,
Be kind to the lefties – btw it is moot not mute.
hobby
October 11th, 2010
10:52 am
23 DAYS
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
10:52 am
Angry, please don’t confuse creationist babble with anything Darwin said. They’re totally unconnected.
Tray, their are many who would agree with you.
Kamchak's gerbil
October 11th, 2010
10:52 am
John – You can get a job – it just may not be the one you want – but you can always get a job – sounds like you like the gov’t teet.
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
10:54 am
I swear if you don’t know the difference between
THEIR, THERE and THEY’REMUTE and MOOT, please don’t ever blog again!!!!Fixed your typos.
George W
October 11th, 2010
10:54 am
These political blogs are hilarious.
JDW
October 11th, 2010
10:55 am
I have been listening to this Republican mantra of smaller government, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility etc… Since Reagan. I even bought in thru Bush one. Only problem is that in every case Republican Adminstrations have increased the growth of government, lowered taxes to the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of rest of us and created the largest debt in the history of man. The only time of real prosperity in the last thiry years was the Clinton era which was achieved in spite of Republican influence.
When do we start holding Republicans responsible for this gap in promises and preformance?
StJ
October 11th, 2010
10:55 am
“Is someone forcing retirees to accept Medicare?”
No, but they were forced to pay into it…so why would you not accept benefits that were paid for from one’s wages? That’s like buying health insurance and then not using it when you have to get medical care.
Voters dislike government intrusion into their personal affairs (which has come by the boatload the last couple of years). Government is OK for things that cannot be effectively provided for by individuals or businesses; it should stay out of everything else.
Democrats are all for a totalitarian state (see: China, NKorea, Iran, USSR, et al), which is why they are headed for the door.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
10:57 am
angry- Did you complain about the trillions being spent by the Bush adminsitration to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
Yes, but nearly as much as you do and for different reasons. Money needed to be spent but not necessarily how it was spent.
How about Medicare Part D? Very much so. A useless program Bush took from the Democrats in an effort to appease them. Then of course he gets stabbed in the back for his effort.
TARP. The worst thing he did. Villified by the Democrats right up until they got their hands on the checkbook. Now it was the greatest thing since sliced bread (and everything is still Bush’s fault).
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
10:57 am
QED —-Interesting. And then what does the federal governmnet use to fund, oh let’s say, the Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force? Or how about the Transportation Security Authority (TSA)? How is that funded? Under a specious 10th Amendment argument, if a state chooses not to spend money on TSA functions, am I less entitled to a safe flight than if my flight is leaving from a state which wants to have full TSA functions? Oh, and by the way, who is responsible for monitioring flights across the continental United States? Or American flights leaving the continental United States? All states or just the ones who choose to do so under a specious 10th Amendment claim? Help clarify some of these for me.
George W
October 11th, 2010
10:57 am
JDW…when you start spelling “performance” correctly. haha
Kamchak's gerbil
October 11th, 2010
10:57 am
Kamy – when you finish fixing typos get the PVC.
Jimmy62
October 11th, 2010
10:58 am
Poverty has risen tremendously since government decided to step in and reduce poverty. Anyone wanting government involved in reducing poverty either doesn’t have a clue, refuses to learn from history, or is deliberately pushing policies they know are bad for the country.
And SS has become welfare, which it was never meant to be. Most retirees end up getting more than what they put in plus interest. Of course old people like it, they are being bribed to like it. That doesn’t mean SS is good for our economy or for anyone else. It’s certainly not good for minorities, as SS has become transfer of wealth from the young to the old (who typically already have more money than the young) and from the dark skinned to the light skinned. If that’s not a program that should be considered evil by progressives, I don’t know what is. But you would certainly think the left would be against a program that takes money from black people and gives it to elderly white people.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
11:00 am
JLK2—I’m talking sbout spending money we didn’t have. Dioesn’t it bother you just a wee bit that we’re funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Medicare part D plan on the same kind of borrowed money you complain that Obama and Democrats have used?
Please clarify.
CYNT U MUST KEEP UR JOB
October 11th, 2010
11:01 am
THEY WANT TAXCUTS FOR THE RICH AND MONEY FOR WARS,THEY ARE THE RETHUGLICANS!
MONEY FOR CORPORATIONS AND MONEY FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH!
BUT NO MONEY FOR THE POOR OR ELDERLY!
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:01 am
Angry as hell…..let me ask you a question. History has proven there is one way to recover a hurting economy. Can you tell me what it is?
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:03 am
CYNT….can you tell me why the poor are poor?
jconservative
October 11th, 2010
11:04 am
Nice column Cynthia. Unfortunately too much truth in it for most folks.
This is a socialist country. Has been for decades. Social Security is a socialist measure straight out of the socialist textbook of Otto von Bismarck’s ” ‘Old Age and Disability Insurance Bill of 1889′…financed by a tax on workers,…designed to provide a pension annuity for workers who reached the age of 65 years.”
Under FDR we established Social Security. Under Johnson we established Medicare/Medicade. Under Nixon, Reagan and G W Bush we expanded both programs way beyond their original identity. Now under Obama we have the beginnings of an eventual universal medical care that von Bismarck only dreamed about.
Latest Gallup Poll on the subject shows 70% of Americans saying Government’s top priority should be “creating jobs”.
We, the USA, have become dependent on looking to the government to “fix” every ill. Republicans bitched all summer about Obama not “fixing” the oil leak in the Gulf.
In a couple of weeks we are going to the polls and kick one party out of power in Congress because they did not “fix” unemployment.
Yet a majority of Americans persist in the fiction that the USA is NOT a Socialist society.
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
11:05 am
“How about Medicare Part D? Very much so. A useless program Bush took from the Democrats in an effort to appease them. Then of course he gets stabbed in the back for his effort.”
Is there an award for mental gymnastics? JKL2 really deserves something for this monumental effort.
JDW
October 11th, 2010
11:06 am
George W, as always can’t address the real issue. Want to talk more about the Alabama Nat Guard or spend more time chatting about my iPad typing skills? Neither is relevant to the discussion.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
11:06 am
Jimmy62—- We assume you have factual evidence for your statement that “Poverty has risen tremendously since government decided to step in and reduce poverty.” Is this based on a factual studies and other scholarly research or just your gut feeling?
Please site you evidence.
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:07 am
Jconservative….your comments are comical. The reason the Dems will be kicked out of both houses is because they have not listened to the American people. This government has insisted on pushing on with an agenda that the people did not and do not want.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
11:08 am
George W—–I’ll bet the answer you want to is “lower taxes and reduced spending.”
Boogie Woogie Booger Boy
October 11th, 2010
11:09 am
Kamchak’s gerbil
October 11th, 2010
10:57 am
LOL!
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:10 am
Angry as Hell…….NOPE the answer is WAR! Dont believe look back in history. I am not saying that a bad economy justifies war but it is the truth.
Lower taxes and reduced spending is just common sense.
Dustin
October 11th, 2010
11:12 am
if only kam was a mute- he already is moot. i will diagram the sentence later.
squirrel fixed your typo that is your sign- here we go around the mindless block again
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
11:12 am
JDW @ 10:55 am —- You have said it better than anyone has ever said it on this blog. Republicans have been hiding behind this facade of being fiscal conservatives and family values Christians for decades. They have failed dismally on both accounts.
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
11:14 am
jconservative@11:04, I don’t agree that the US is a “socialist” country, but I agree that American voters want a lot more socialism than they’ll admit. (I had dinner last night with a Parisian friend who is a real socialist. We laughed about conservatives calling Obama a “socialist.”)
Gator Joe
October 11th, 2010
11:14 am
Cynthia,
“Government is the Problem,” Reagan said it, Fox “News” progaganda artists repeatedly support this mindless concept, and those who refuse to question, or think for themselves consume it. Without the essential services, funded by taxes, provided by government, both local and federal, most of the Tea Party bigoted, complainers wouldn’t want to live here.
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel.
October 11th, 2010
11:15 am
This from Time Magazine:
“With the exception of core Obama Administration loyalists, most politically engaged elites have reached the same conclusions: the White House is in over its head, isolated, insular, arrogant and clueless about how to get along with or persuade members of Congress, the media, the business community or working-class voters. This view is held by Fox News pundits, executives and anchors at the major old-media outlets, reporters who cover the White House, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders and governors, many Democratic business people and lawyers who raised big money for Obama in 2008, and even some members of the Administration just beyond the inner circle.”
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
11:15 am
George W.—-I’m going to foward your answer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Congressional Budget office and see if we can get them working on this right away. Wow! All this time. Where have the rest of us been? Golly!
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:16 am
Cythia you are a complete and utter moron.
JDW
October 11th, 2010
11:16 am
Thank you Angry As Hell, love your moniker and share the sentiment
The Leg Lamp is a "major award", much like Cynthia Tucker's Pulitzer and Obama's Nobel.
October 11th, 2010
11:16 am
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
11:14 am
Obama’s not a socialist, he’s just inept.
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:16 am
sorry…..CYNTHIA
Time For Honesty
October 11th, 2010
11:16 am
Aquagirl, people who have a shared history of being locked out and held back showing support for someone who looks like them is a given and a nonissue. What’s your point? Is it to drivel out a little of your bigotry without saying it out loud? Get a life and grow up.
Tray
October 11th, 2010
11:16 am
Yes, i got mute and moot incorrect…can anyone correct this: Obama is a nieve, inexperienced, coward of a leader that doesn’t know his head from his arse.
Correct that! lol
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:18 am
TIME FOR HONESTY……”locked out and held back”….haha that is hilarious. Your name should be “Time for excuses”!!! hahaha
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
11:19 am
angry- Please clarify
Feel free to cut Med D tomorrow. I’m with you. Military spending can be drawn down, but we just can’t leave as you would like us to.
What about all that TARP money sitting around? All you Demwits have been sitting around here laughing that the Republicans want to put it back in the general fund. Let’s keep borrowing money when we already have money sitting in the bank we borrowed and did nothing with. Brilliant!
Liberal Chicks are UGLY
October 11th, 2010
11:20 am
Ug, where do you dig this baseless crap up? Oh, thinkprogress.org, should’ve known. Only people who are dummber than the idiots at thinkprogress are the idiot who believed them.
You drew a conclusion based on polls that do not prove your point. You are a sad crotchty old liberal.
Jimmy62
October 11th, 2010
11:21 am
Angry as hell: I thought it was pretty well known. I’d be happy to look for a citation, but I don’t have the time right now.
BTW, there is a WIDE difference between small/less government, and no government at all. Very few people want to get rid of the government entirely, most of us know that government serves a necessary purpose. I’m tired of being attacked on the grounds that if I am against corporate welfare, for instance, that I also want to get rid of the government’s road building ability or something else that silly.
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:24 am
It is even better when they do not respond and cannot back up their statements. Reps 1 Dems 0
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
11:26 am
Everyone be carefull with George W. Something tells me he’s the overly sensitive type. His frequent use of “hahahahaha” is a bit confusing and strange, but may be indicative of some underlying psychosis, identifying the type of person who is the only one in the room that laughs at his own jokes.
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:30 am
Angry as hell…..that was a great post. It had nothing to do with your comments or a rebuttal to my comments. Shows your true competency with the subject matter. Great job….tard.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
11:30 am
angry- Republicans have been hiding behind this facade of being fiscal conservatives
Something we can agree on. That’s why we have the Tea Party. It’s time to get rid of all the RINO’s that were screwing up the party under Bush. Just hope there is something left to fix by the time obama get’s done.
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:30 am
JKL2….26 months and counting…..tick tock.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
11:36 am
Jimmy62–Okay, so now you’ve got it in for roads? What are we supposed to do, Jimmy62, drive over potholes at 70 mph? Or are we tio continue to sit in gridlock for 1 to 2 hours every night?
As for your not having the time to find a citation, I understand completely. But when you make a categorical statement such as what you made (essentially, government casued poverty), you need to at least have some kind of authoritative study or research ready. (BTW, a quote from Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly or that strange group of people who are referred to as “Freinds of Fox” on Fox News would not qualify as sources of “authoritative study or research.”)
cgatlanta
October 11th, 2010
11:36 am
I say cut Social Security. A thousand bucks a month won’t make me or break me.
Aquagirl
October 11th, 2010
11:40 am
Looks like I hit a little too close to home, Time. At least you’re, uh, honest. Vote for skin color! And I’m the bigot?
If women had turned out in record numbers and gone 90+ % for Hillary Clinton, I’d have no problem saying “gee, maybe it’s the ovaries.” I suppose that makes me sexist.
ctucker
October 11th, 2010
11:40 am
cgatlanta@11:36, Let’s see how many fellow seniors you can get to agree with you. Meanwhile, I’m sure the govt would be pleased to get your check back
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
11:40 am
Jimmy, remember that CT has already exposed the truth about the American voter: we all want more “socialism” than we say. Too many of the politicians and voters in this country have fallen into the “Wilder Publishing” trap, where they say that the Constitution is a product of its time, and does not reflect the same values it would if written today. Of course, as Media Matters reported, when this story broke, people were ignoring the ‘progress’ made in this country. I guess if the Constitution were written today, it would read:
Amendment 1: There shall be no religion
Amendment 2: There shall be no private ownership of guns whatsoever
Amendment 3: There shall be no Armed Forces
Amendment 4: There shall be no privacy
Amendment 5: see Amendment 4
Amendment 6: People are guilty until proven innocent
Amendment 7: As many trials as necessary until the desired outcome is achieved
Amendment 8: define ‘cruel and unusual’
Amendment 9: what does ‘enumeration’ mean, again?
Amendment 10: powers delegated to the states are hereby claimed as powers of the federal government
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:40 am
Angry as Hell….just because you dont agree with what they say doesnt mean that Fox News is to a reference that can be used. Much of what they say is MUCH more supported than anything said on this blog…including the comments barfed out by Cynthia. Isn’t Fox News the #1 news channel these days?? Hmmmm I wonder why???
JDW
October 11th, 2010
11:51 am
George W wrote,
Isn’t Fox News the #1 news channel these days?
Yeah and feeding Christians to the lions was the top rated “program” in Rome…just goes to prove the mob is always right…aren’t they?
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:53 am
JDW….your response is baseless. Once again. Go back to your coloring books and paint by numbers.
Betty
October 11th, 2010
11:55 am
Everyone wants a cut in government speding as long as the cuts do not affect them. Americans need to grow up and realize that nothing is free. You want less government spending, fine, sent a list to your congress persons and let them know what problems you can do without.
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:56 am
Betty….ok let’s start with food stamps. Then we can move on to immigration spending. Then we can go to welfare. Do I need to go much further?
JDW
October 11th, 2010
11:59 am
George W
October 11th, 2010
11:53 am
JDW….your response is baseless. Once again. Go back to your coloring books and paint by numbers.
Nice response, again a wonderful use of mis direction! Republican textbook, if you can’t refute the argument change the subject…if you can be rude while doing so all the better.
George W
October 11th, 2010
12:00 pm
You are the one that referred back to Rome….Make a relevant comment and I will stay on task as well.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
12:01 pm
George W –You are absolutely correct that Fox News is #1 in the ratings game. For some of us, all that proves is how stupid and poorly read the American public is. See, Sean Hannity has managed to sell himself to you and others as a journalist. He dropped out of college and didn’t persue a degree in journalism. Yet, you’ll hear him refer to himself as a news source and talk about his “journalistic responsibilities.” I could go on and on about a number of the other regular personalities on Fox News. Did you ever notice that all the women commentators on Fox News (like those “ladies” that are on Fox and Friends) have a penchant for wearing some pretty short skirts. Do you think that might account for some of the high ratings? I think so. I have never noticed it on any other of the cable or broadcast news stations that wearing a short skirt qualified a woman to be taken seriously as a journalist.
But what do I know.
cosby
October 11th, 2010
12:03 pm
Washington Post, Harvard?? Now that is two (2) polls you can trust. No, my on poll wants the Government very limits. Social Security privitized, Schools turned back to the parents, Government programs that are run wastefully dismateled. But noooo..lets take a different approach as per the Washington Post and Harvard….By the way, the Government has been in health care for years and all you have to do is watch TV at the prescription drug ads, of which the cost of the drugs to the consumer is protected by, guess who…the Government..need I say more.
JDW
October 11th, 2010
12:07 pm
George W
You are the one that referred back to Rome….Make a relevant comment and I will stay on task as well.
Rome is the perfect analogy…those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it…as Republicans prove everyday
my$in1stplace
October 11th, 2010
12:08 pm
Arguing that social security is like welfare is like saying getting money out of your savings is welfare. It is youi money, kind of. That is far different than participating in a program, like WIC, Medicaid and on and on and on, that you NEVER put into. Of course people who get help from gumment programs want the money to continue to flow, but does that make it right?
George W
October 11th, 2010
12:08 pm
Angry as Hell….I do not agree with some of what folks like Hannity, Beck or Limbaugh. However much of what they say is accurate (in my view). There is a reason why the Republican networks thrive on both radio and tv and there is a lack of support for Dem networks like CNN or TalkAmerica.
God bless Hannity if he has a lack of education in the field that he is an expert in. That shows the tenacity of the American worker and the opportunity to succeed in this country.
As far as the skirt comment goes….I cannot say if I agree or disagree with your comment. I have honestly never noticed it. It may be for ratings. I have never been negative about a pretty woman wearing a short skirt.
George W
October 11th, 2010
12:09 pm
JDW….you said it perfectly!! Analogy…..
Jimmy62
October 11th, 2010
12:13 pm
Angry as hell: You further demonstrate my point in your lack of understanding of what I wrote. The point I was making is that wanting lesser/smaller government does not mean I want no government, and that I fully realize certain things like road building are a good use for a government, while other things like picking winners and losers in industries (which is what happens when the government, as an example, bails out some banks, but not others, and leaves the banks that didn’t need bailouts and didn’t receive them at a competitive disadvantage, it’s hard to overcome your competitors being given free money) are a really bad use of government that creates bad economic conditions.
mikefrga
October 11th, 2010
12:14 pm
George W @11:56
start with immigration and food stamps, welfare will fall. The sad thing is a loss of even a fairly low paid construction job to illegal immigration helped cause the continued slide in the American workers lifestyle. Add to that the continual increase of H1B visa holders allowed to work here, along with American companies offshoring maufacturing, IT, etc..and we have a nice recipe brewing to become a third world country ourselves.
JDW
October 11th, 2010
12:15 pm
George W
October 11th, 2010
12:09 pm
JDW….you said it perfectly!! Analogy…..
Glad you agree, though I am pretty sure you don’t you still don’t get it
Now to the original question…how long before we hold Republican’s responsible for the 30 year track record of poor performance?
cgatlanta
October 11th, 2010
12:15 pm
CT, I walk the walk as well.
Years back I was let go from a job. My mother said, “you should apply for unemployment”. I said, “I don’t take handouts”.
I left South Florida shortly after for a job I found in Wyoming.
Believe it or not, there are people out there that can fend for themselves.
George W
October 11th, 2010
12:15 pm
mikefrga…..agree 100%
George W
October 11th, 2010
12:16 pm
JDW…lack of performance where??? Reagan was a lack of performance??? That is interesting. Please tell me how Carter made the economy better at that time?
Boogie Woogie Booger Boy
October 11th, 2010
12:17 pm
Based on Fridays dismal yet expected unemployment number results, I hereby Officially declare Obamania over.
George W
October 11th, 2010
12:18 pm
Boogie Woogie….I hope you are right.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
12:26 pm
George W—–You bet George W, and pigs can fly…
Christina Jeffrey
October 11th, 2010
12:28 pm
Hmmmm…..was this also the Townhall meeting in Mauldin where Bob got in an argument with a lady who was concerned about something on page 473 (Maybe it was p. 417 – I am recalling the page number from memory.)
She had a copy of the page in her hand; before her question, he had told the crowd that he had not read the bill but was going to. What arrogance! That’s why he lost!
willie lynch
October 11th, 2010
12:28 pm
Imagine what would have happened to the SS monies had the republicans been able to privatize SS. Imagine these same slick talking derivitive salesmen pitching all those seniors on the “can’t loose” housing market. It’s bad enough people had to watch their 401k’s dwindle to almost nothing, to have lost the SS safety net would have placed more people on the poverty rolls.
I just don’t see the benefits of privatization of this particular program. Sure you can put the money in the bank while they pay you 1.5% on your savings and loan it to you at 6% or higher. Sure you could create a bigger market for the financial sharks who have already reaped billions in fees for services you could provide yourself. And yeah you can get educated and invest your own money but digesting that information and developing the sophistication takes time which most senoirs don’t have.
So realistically, it’s nice to pay lip service to this hodgepodge of information but it’s really a waste of time. I do my own investing with the extra that I have I can’t imagine how it would be to be 70 years old trying to figure out if this 25 year old kid will get me the best ROI, and most of us here can’t either. The government for all it’s faults provides my grandparents with security and peace of mind and I hope to have that same benefit when I get old.
The real clamouring should be keep your hands off my SS which has been funded for years to come if left alone.
Christina Jeffrey
October 11th, 2010
12:32 pm
P.S. Bob Inglis was defeated because he insulted his constituents, not because they were stupid.
willie lynch
October 11th, 2010
12:35 pm
Jimmy62,
“which is what happens when the government, as an example, bails out some banks, but not others, and leaves the banks that didn’t need bailouts and didn’t receive them at a competitive disadvantage, it’s hard to overcome your competitors being given free money”
When your competitors have an advantage? Sounds like you are in favor of affirmitve action.
John
October 11th, 2010
12:35 pm
For those arguing for Fox News, even Ruport Murdock, who owns Fox News, does not agree with all of what Fox News stands for.
JDW
October 11th, 2010
12:41 pm
George W, Cynthia feels the need to moderate my response to your question on Reagan. I am sure she will post it shortly
HDB
October 11th, 2010
12:43 pm
Nice Guy
October 11th, 2010
9:11 am
“Do you honestly think African Americans “enormously” voted on the basis of skin color only,”
Yes, I would say there is at least a sliver of truth to that. I mean, Obama’s approval rating is, what, 40% or so.
Beg to differ; the preponderance of people of color that I know were SICK AND TIRED of Republican policies that hurt them economically!!
Bubba Bob October 11th, 2010
9:26 am
“ctucker,
90% of black voters voted for Gore. Obviously not because of race.
If 90% of whites had voted for McCain would that have been because of race?”
Lest you forget, prior to 2008, 100% of white people voted for a white candidate…..and 100% of the American populace voted for a white candidate; is that because of race???
Betsy
October 11th, 2010
12:47 pm
There’s no way to lump all “Voters” together in one mindset. Do I, a voter and a hard-working, self-supporting, tax-paying citizen, like what the government does? Do I like that they are giving money hand over fist to people who are not even legal citizens of this country? Do I like that they concocted a “health care” plan that benefits few and hurts many? Do I like that our president remains as partisan as can be, and downplays America’s significance in the world, in fact is downright ashamed of America? Do I like that Congress has lost the meaning of “representation” for its only sake? Do I like that my taxes will continue to go up while half the country’s citizens pay nothing?
Think again, Ms Tucker, before you spout off what YOU think voters want.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
12:53 pm
angry- Fox News (like those “ladies” that are on Fox and Friends) have a penchant for wearing some pretty short skirts
Nobody wants to see Hillary or Rachal Maddow’s legs. Former Ms. America Gretchen Carlson et al, on the other hand, still has something to show off. I thought you libs were able to compartmentalize work and sex? Sorry if you require a newscaster to look like Beulah the East German weight lifter to report your news.
Barbara Walters seemed to have done pretty well for someone who admitted using sex to advance her career (not thta Fox’s women have done that).
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
1:00 pm
JKL2—I’m glad you’re admitting that the “ladies” on Fox News with the short skirts are vapid and not to be taken as serious professionals. You know , they make desks which would permit the audience to actually listen to the brilliant commentary issued from these ladies. But, hey, ratings are what counts and every little bit helps.
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
1:01 pm
HDB @ 12:43 –
“Lest you forget, prior to 2008, 100% of white people voted for a white candidate…..and 100% of the American populace voted for a white candidate; is that because of race???”
Actually, in 1872, Victoria Woodhull (a woman) ran for President with Frederick Douglass (a black man) as the vice-presidential candidate for the Equal Rights party. Douglass was not informed until later that he had been nominated, and never actively campaigned, but I imagine someone somewhere had to have cast a vote for them.
travelingman141
October 11th, 2010
1:02 pm
@ Angry- “I’ve been paying into them for over 40 years, so they’re mine.” Guess what, when I do retire I will not get a penny of it because the scam called Social Security has been mismanaged since day one and I’ve been paying for it just like you have. Therefore, it will be up to me, to take care of myself and family.
Angry bow down and kiss the ring!
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
1:03 pm
willie- I do my own investing
So you wouldn’t be against taking 4% of those SS dollars to put in the market if it would double your income at retirement? Oh, the shame of those Republicans for wanting something better for you.
atlmom
October 11th, 2010
1:08 pm
Actually, wrt social security – it IS NOT your money. What you pay in goes to seniors CURRENTLY.
The point of the program was to help those who are too old to work not be living on the streets. So what you pay in has nothing to do with what you get out. What you get out comes from people who are working TODAY.
So, yes, it’s considered welfare. But the point is what type of society do you want to live in? One that kicks the elderly who *can’t work* out on the street, or one that has a little compassion?
Barbara
October 11th, 2010
1:09 pm
People want there to be limits on government. The statement that “a government capable of giving you everything you want is capable of taking all you have” resonates with the public. Many people don’t trust the power of the state and are deeply uncomfortable with the uncontrolled expansion of federal power, reach and and spending under Obama and the progressives. When we hear the Obmacrats deride the limts of the constitution, we are deeply worried.
This is not the same thing as wanting to eliminate mediacare or stop paying for police. Only a fool or a partisan would suggest otherwise. Many Americans just dislike the disdain that Obama and his party have for our concerns and perspective. He seems so arrogant and out of touch. Can we trust him?
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
1:10 pm
travelingman141—-I’m not relying exclusively on Social Security to pay for my retirement. I’ve been busy taking care of that, as well. But I’ll be damned if I’ll say I want to see the system abolished because a few people on the far right don’t like it or try to make the case that it’s illegal. Go tell everyone whose paid into it that
in your opinion it ought to be stopped. See what recation you get. You’ll be lucky to leave with your head on your shoulders.
I don’t kiss anyone’s ring. Least of all a bunch of Tea party and right wing nut jobs.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
1:13 pm
angry- vapid and not to be taken as serious
I think that is more a description of yourself. Carlson graduated with honors from Stanford and studied abroad at Oxford (even though I doubt she never protested the US or smoked dope while she was there).
I’m glad to hear obama nominated you Clothing Czar to protect us. Since they usually pick their own wardrobes, I doubt they have any problems with what they wear on screen. Now go back to your book burning.
A Voice
October 11th, 2010
1:15 pm
Why is Cynthia always anti-Medicare? Yet she never attacks Medicaid! Same ol’song from CT!
willie lynch
October 11th, 2010
1:16 pm
JKL2,
I have no problem investing money. The maket is up and so am I. My experience in investing has come from spending a good deal of time watching performance and studying investment information. I don’t think any of this is beyond the scope of seniors but many will pay the fees associated with someone else handling their investment interests. Like it or not this money that they have paid into SS and are looking for a return on should not be gambled with. When you are at a point in your life where you can no longer do the things a younger person can and frankly you have worked for the right to retire and collect this money, you should be able to do so without the possibility of it going up in some hairbrained scheme.
If a person wants to cash their SS check and put some into an investment vehicle then more power to them. But to put that money into the hands of 2nd parties to dispense to the receivers is a bad idea. Call it what you want but in my opinion SS should be handled the way it’s been to this point.
marley
October 11th, 2010
1:17 pm
100% of inbred racists vote Republican!
Jack
October 11th, 2010
1:22 pm
I’ve said it before: Social Security wouldn’t be in trouble if the EIC was eliminated.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
1:24 pm
willie-cash their SS check and put some into an investment vehicle
You want people to start investing after they retire? The whole purpose of investing is to let the interest work for you. SS is not an investment as it makes virtually nothing sitting in the treasury. That’s how 4% can more than double your 96% from the general fund.
It really seems like you agree but have been hit over the head with the Demwit boogie-man stick too many times.
marley
October 11th, 2010
1:26 pm
Deport bigoted neocons…
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
1:26 pm
JKL2—I didn’t know that only you or fellow bloggers are entitled to an opinion and that standing up for Fox News and its so-called “journalists” can’t be challenged. That’s the kind of America people like you want.
As a Vietnam veteran, I never protested the U.S. government either. I never went to Stanford or studied abroad, but I did go to college and graduate on my own nickle and paid my own way through out my life. I don’t burn books. That’s the kind of act normally associated with right wing nut jobs like Nazis or left wing Bolsheviks.
And, in the end, I don’t really care what Carlson wears on her little show or what she has to say because I don’t watch that network very often. But if shje lives another 200 years, a journalsit she’ll never be.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
1:28 pm
CT,
You are not 65 yet but when you turn 65, will you decline to accept Medicare payments? Will you file for social security or decline the money? You mentioned in your title that we ” like what government does”. That’s about as untrue as anything you have said in the last 6 mos.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
1:30 pm
marley-
100% of dead, illegal alien, felon, environmental, socialist/communist, uneducated, athiest, unwed parent, welfare recipients vote Democrat!
stands for decibels
October 11th, 2010
1:30 pm
And Boxer is going to get it, hahahahaha.
You’re right. Boxer is going to be re-elected.
Rockerbabe
October 11th, 2010
1:34 pm
Bubba: I’ll bet you’ll sign up for your SS and Medicare the very moment you are eligible. . .all of you do, despite all of the griping about everything and nothing?
willie lynch
October 11th, 2010
1:34 pm
My point was more to those who are receiving the benefits now and their ability to navigate that terrain.
It sounds like you have a great deal of confidence in the markets, do you feel SS is better off privatized? Why?
stands for decibels
October 11th, 2010
1:35 pm
Call it what you want but in my opinion SS should be handled the way it’s been to this point.
Don’t worry, it will be. Goopers will pout and complain but ultimately they ain’t doing diddly to it over Obama’s veto.
They couldn’t even get off the dime after Bush had been re-elected, and they had 55 Senate and 232 House seats.
Good Grief
October 11th, 2010
1:35 pm
Angry at 1:26 – “That’s the kind of act normally associated with right wing nut jobs like Nazis or left wing Bolsheviks.” You do know that the Nazi Party was the German Socialist Party, right? How many conservative or right-wing Socialist do you know?
Rockerbabe
October 11th, 2010
1:36 pm
JKL2: most people I know work for a living, take care of their families, pay their taxes, go to church on Sunday and vote Democratic.
Stop denigrading folks you know little about; obviously, you are not in the same class of folks I belong to. . .thank god!
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:37 pm
Stands for Decibles…..But it is broke how much longer do you expect it to survive with no money?
Kamchak's gerbil
October 11th, 2010
1:37 pm
Angry – Just what kind of America do people like you want?
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:37 pm
Rockerbabe….love your name but I am not sure I agree with your logic.
stands for decibels
October 11th, 2010
1:38 pm
Stands for Decibles…..But it is broke
No, it’s not. It has been self-financed responsibly throughout its lifetime.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
1:38 pm
Bozo and the gang are desperate. Accusing the GOP of financing campaigns with foreign money. Imagine that. Even Bob Schieffer, after Axlerod had presented his case, said, “Is that all you’ve got?” Even the NYT and the Washington Post admit that there is little to no evidence that this has occurred. Times are getting worse for Bozo and the gang. Turning to desperate measures in attempt to save their behinds. 22 days and counting.
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:41 pm
stands for decibles???? WHere in the world do you get that information. The truth is that our government has been borrowing money to pay for SS.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
1:41 pm
angry- That’s the kind of America people like you want.
Thanks for your service. I thought you were fighting for freedom, not the liberal’s right to censor anything they don’t agree with (fox/talk radio). If you didn’t notice, all those people you love in congress are the same one’s who were protesting you back in the 60’s/70’s.
If you can’t concentrate on what they are saying because their legs are exposed, I’m guessing the problem is yours not theirs. Maybe we should put all newscasters in burka’s? Would that make them more credible for you?
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:44 pm
JKL2……..I love it!
HDB
October 11th, 2010
1:44 pm
kayaker 71 October 11th, 2010
1:38 pm
The question is: How does anyone KNOW?? Just because the Supreme Court says it doesn’t happen doesn’t MEAN it doesn’t happen!! The Chamber of Commerce’s ability to mix its domestic and international funding sources allows such a possibility!! How about complete campaign DISCLOSURE???
Scout
October 11th, 2010
1:45 pm
You’ve seen it before …………. I’ll post it again:
“The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen” Author Unknown
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:47 pm
Scout….very very true.
stands for decibels
October 11th, 2010
1:48 pm
Gee Duh @ 1.44, here’s where you should be getting your information, not from fright-wing radio, about SS and solvency.
long story short, in the midst of a horrific recession it ran a bit in the red this year. As opposed to the rest of the federal budget. It will likely be back in the black very soon, and is projected to be in the black for several decades. It needs rather modest tweaking to make it solvent.
I’m thinking that nobody save for the wingnuttisphere is stupid enough to fall for the notion that the only way we can balance the budget is to screw SS recipients, no matter how much Alan Simpson wants to drool about teats and such.
Anyway, gotta run. Cynthia, have fun with the Elder Hostiles hanging out here.
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:50 pm
STands for decibels….LAST QUESTION….where does the money come from to fund Social Security? Where is it going to come from in the next 10 years when all of the baby boomers start withdrawing from the system.
I do not think it should go away but it should DEFINATELY be privitized.
lennon
October 11th, 2010
1:51 pm
Where did all the compassionate conservatives go?
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:52 pm
Lennon….I am here….
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
1:52 pm
The original proposals for “privatizing” social security included a provision that made it optional as to whether or not you would participate. If you chose not to participate, things would go on as always. Or you could invest on a partial basis with the basics staying pretty much the same. But think what a cut that would make to the federal government not to have those billions coming in for the Congress’s insane spending. The system is broke and the biggest boondoggle in the history of this country was when the original trust fund was absconded by our politicians to spend as they wish. Your Congress at work.
Dick Hertz
October 11th, 2010
1:54 pm
DavidS is exactly the problem of the religion of the Market or the joys of post-modern Mammon worship. I can present hundreds of cases in our everyday life where private firms have been given the role of providing services to the public and it costs far more than government provision of those services.
Halliburton. Xe Services. Privatized and charter schools. Private hospitals vs. public and teaching hospitals. Amtrak. Airports. Air traffic control. Electricity. Highways. In every case when a public service is privatized the costs paid by the public through taxation and the levying of user fees or fee increases substantially. Medicare has an overhead of three percent. Health insurance has overhead of 28 to 43 percent according to Kaiser Permanente, which means that 97 percent of government health insurance money goes to health promotion, while a fourth to nearly a half in private industry goes to private jets, ads, golf, and paying lawyers. The incentives for private health are to deny claims and coverage to keep the money. Privatized electricity is best remembered in California by the trader who was “XXXXing Aunt Susie” by manipulating power prices and availability. Public utilities did not black out and only when they were forced to buy power from the private grid were their prices increased, while private utilities yo-yo’d out of control. Privatized highways and water systems have each resulted in at least a doubling of tolls, fees, and costs.
Government is our only defense against corporations that depend on government for their existence, and that is why it is worth so much money in lobbying and graft for corporations to influence the government and the people through propaganda and lies. Until we relearn the lessons of the Progressive and New Deal eras, we will continue to be robbed and abused by corporations using captive government agencies to harm us all. The market, like nuclear power, can in the right hands help us all but in the wrong hands can devastate us all.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
1:55 pm
HDB,
“Complete campaign disclosure?” What fantasy land do you live in?
George W
October 11th, 2010
1:59 pm
Dick Hertz….That is right…”big bad evil american corporations”. You better make sure you lock your door tonight when you go to sleep so that they dont come get you! ha
lennon
October 11th, 2010
1:59 pm
Hold me close, George W!
HDB
October 11th, 2010
2:02 pm
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
1:55 pm
HDB,
“Complete campaign disclosure?” What fantasy land do you live in?
Whoever runs on a platform of complete campaign disclosure gets closer to getting my vote! At least, we knew that the Obama campaign was funded by small donations…along with that of Wall Street; presently, we don’t know WHO is funding the midterms…..and what influence they are putting on the electorate!!
DebbieDoRight
October 11th, 2010
2:03 pm
georgian:You know as well as I do that the voter turnout for Obama among African Americans was much greater than for Gore. As you would remember, African Americans went and registered in the millions just so they could elect an African American. Democrats loved it because that put them in the White House.
So what?
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
2:03 pm
HDB,
The idea of Bozo accusing the Chamber of Commerce of using foreign money to finance political campaigns without proof is grasping at straws. It is sort of like the NYT accusing John McCain of porking one of his campaign aids or like Dan Rather knowingly falsifying the Bush military flap. Desperate measures for desperate times.
Kamchak's gerbil
October 11th, 2010
2:03 pm
Stop paying welfare to everyone – and I mean everyone.
Get a job and get off the gov’t teet.
lennon
October 11th, 2010
2:03 pm
If only we could live the words of a great American patriot, Rodney King, “can’t we all just get along.”
AmVet
October 11th, 2010
2:04 pm
Dick, excellent fact filled post. And good analysis.
In other words, the exact antithesis of the response at 1:59…
marley
October 11th, 2010
2:05 pm
100% of the klu klux klan votes Republican….
AmVet
October 11th, 2010
2:08 pm
“The idea of Bozo accusing the Chamber of Commerce of using foreign money to finance political campaigns without proof is grasping at straws.”
Agreed,
And silly, since that organization – staffed with policy specialists, lobbyists and lawyers which spends more money than any other lobbying organization on the planet – has an endless plethora of real sins to indict…
John
October 11th, 2010
2:11 pm
@kayaker 71
““Complete campaign disclosure?” What fantasy land do you live in?”
No sure about you kayaker71 but if there are foreigners, whether it’s foreign corporation, foreign governments or terrorist that are trying to buy our country through campaign contributions, I as an American citizen would want to know. I would think every American whether they be Democrat, Republican or Independent would want to know. I find it strange how the building of an Islamic center near Ground Zero caused so much of an uproar but the possibility of foreign groups buying our elections would not cause the same uproar. Think about it, it could be Islamic terrorist organizations that could fund campaigns and we would not know about it since there is no disclosure.
Scout
October 11th, 2010
2:11 pm
George W. :
The “states” have basically become the “counties” of the federal government.
It was never intended to be that way and to get there a multitude of Supreme Court rulings over the years have prostituted the Constitution.
We are not the “United States of America” we are the “Federal Government of America”.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
2:12 pm
HDB,
Small contributions indeed. Bozo and his minions had a total of 388,283,755 dollars of coded contributions in the 2008 campaign. Among the biggest of his contributors was the Univ of Cal at 1,591,395 dollars. There were twenty other corporations, trusts, PACs, that donated at least 1/2 million dollars. BP donated 15.9M dollars to the democrats, most of it going to Bozo’s campaign. Must I remind you that BP is a foreign company based in the UK.
Scout
October 11th, 2010
2:13 pm
marley :
I doubt that figure of 100% but up through the 1960’s at least the KKK voted Dixie Democrat.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
2:15 pm
john- if there are foreigners, whether it’s foreign corporation, foreign governments or terrorist that are trying to buy our country through campaign contributions
George Soros says “What”?
HDB
October 11th, 2010
2:19 pm
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
2:03 pm
The question isn’t if Obama is grasping at straws; the question is: Is there a semblance of TRUTH in the accusation?? If there is…..disclose your funding sources so that the t ruth be really known!!
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
2:24 pm
Bozo’s gripe is against the Chamber of Commerce, which he accuses of using foreign money donated to fund Republicans in the midterm elections. Did Bozo not use a substantial amount of documented and proven foreign money, donated by BP, for his campaign? These contributions to Bozo are not new. During Bozo’s single year in the Senate, BP donated over 77K to his campaign fund. Pot, meet kettle.
HDB
October 11th, 2010
2:24 pm
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
2:12 pm
….from Opensecrets.org……
Individual contributions $656,357,572 88%
PAC contributions $1,830 0%
Candidate self-financing $0 0%
Federal Funds $0 0%
Other $88,626,223 12%
Might be….JUST a bit outside….
Jimmy62
October 11th, 2010
2:31 pm
John: Obama accepted donations paid for on anonymous foreign credit cards all through his campaign. Some of us thought that was a bad idea and said so and were dismissed. Now all of the sudden Obama thinks it’s a bad thing. But somehow I don’t think he’ll be criticizing himself for it, or returning all those donations.
Obama: Bought and paid for by foreign terrorists. You can’t prove it’s not true, since the donation were anonymous.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
2:36 pm
HDB,
The issue here is where the money came from. As far as individual contributions, as long as the contribution is made by credit card and the amount is under $200, it does not have to a coded contribution. Wonder how much of that 656M in individual contributions came from foreign contributors? Bozo is accusing the Chamber without having proof to back up his accusations. In essence, so am I . In truth, we really do not know. But it is a desperation move on his part wouldn’t you say, especially in light of how much foreign money that he has accepted over the last three years?
John
October 11th, 2010
2:38 pm
“Did Bozo not use a substantial amount of documented and proven foreign money, donated by BP, for his campaign? These contributions to Bozo are not new. During Bozo’s single year in the Senate, BP donated over 77K to his campaign fund.”
And you know that how, kayaker 71? Could it be he disclosed his funding to the American people and allowed them to come to their own conclusions. It’s about disclosure…and letting the American people who is funding campaign ads. Republicans are running campaigns that even the candidates don’t know is funding these ads. Since it’s not disclosed, think about any potential embarrassment it could be to a candidate if the funding sources are made public and it’s some terrorist organization or foreign government. If I were a candidate, I definitely would want to know who is funding ads in support of my candidacy.
Angry As Hell
October 11th, 2010
2:42 pm
JKL2—-You don’t know who in Congress I like or dislike. You paint me with a broad brush and think you’re being cute. Did you serve this country with 4 years of your life? How about your buddy George W? Did y’all put your fat in the fire, or leave it up to a relatively small number of us to do the job for you? I only ask that question because so many people who are pro-war and who want to kick someone foreigner’s a$$ talk real tough, but can’t find their way to a local military recruiting office. That’s why I dislike so much cowards like Dick Cheney who made sure he held a student deferment from the draft when he attended college, and then when, as vice president, he was asked why he didn’t volunteer for military service during the Vietnam War, he stated, “I had more important things to do.” I can guarantee you that the 58,000-plus heroes whose names are etched on the Vietnam Wall had pretty important things they wanted to do with their lives if they could home in one piece.
I beieve in small, but workable government. I believe the government should stay out of my home and bedroom and not tell me or my wife or my daughter what they can or should do with their bodies. I do not believe that government should dictate to me what religion I ought to believe in and should not crticize or snoop on my neighbors who may believe in a different type of Supreme Being than me or not believe in a Supreme Being of any kind. I do NOT believe in Sharia Law or the law of any religion that would punish anyone for not believing in what the theocracy dictates. I believe the number one responsibility of government is to protect its citizens — that protection is not just limited to protection from criminals or in times of war, but also includes protection from those who would poison the food my family and I eat and the air we breathe. I also believe that citizens have a right to protect themselves within th elaw. I believe in the capitalist system, but do not believe that business should be given total, unlimited control over what products or service they sell to the public. I believe that most business leaders are honest, but I also know that some are thieves and ought to be behind bars.
Those are some of the things I believe in and the things for which I defended this country many years ago when I was a very young man. So, don’t feel compelled to fill in any blanks you think exist in that list. I’m not that complicated. And if you can’t live with any of that, I don’t really care, because I owe no one in this country an expalanation or justification for those things.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
2:46 pm
John,
Maybe you would be an ethical politician. Source of statistics, Politico and Open Secrets.org. We all know that politicians lie no make what party. But to openly accuse someone of something this important without proof is really a stretch. Again, even the NYT and Washington Post criticized the WH for their actions.
AmVet
October 11th, 2010
2:50 pm
The facts are that the US Chamber of Commerce is little more than water carriers for the Republican Party and their imperious pals on Wall Street.
They pretend to represent small businesses in America, but take a guess who is on the board of directors?
Fat cats from Cousins Properties, Edward Jones, Caterpillar, Alcoa, Dow Chemical, Charles Schwab, AT&T, and Pfizer.
They are anti-environmental, pro-offshore drilling, pro-ANWR drilling, anti-minimum wage, anti-union, pro-corporate globalization/free trade and anti-campaign finance reform.
It spent $91.7 million on lobbying in 2008, and $144.5 million in 2009, up from $18.7 million in 2000. The Chamber’s lobbying expenditures in 2009 were five times as high as the next highest spender: Exxon Mobil, at $27.4 million. The Chamber had more than 150 lobbyists from 25 different firms working on its behalf in 2009. The major issues that it advocated on were in the categories of torts, government issues, finance, banking and taxes.
In the 2008 election cycle, aggressive ads paid for by the USCC attacked a number of Democratic congressional candidates (such as Minnesota’s DFL Senate candidate Al Franken) and supported a number of Republican candidates including John Sununu, Gordon Smith, Roger Wicker, Saxby Chambliss and Elizabeth Dole.
During the 2010 campaign cycle, the chamber said it planned to directly spend $75 million, reported to be mostly aimed at defeating Democrats. That year, the Chamber’s PAC also gave $29,000 (89%) to Republican candidates and $3,500 (11%) to Democratic candidates.
And to show you just how awful their anti-worker, pro-corporation mentality is the motto of the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce is, “Businesses are citizens too!”.
No wonder we the people are well and royally screwed…
John
October 11th, 2010
3:02 pm
@kayaker 71
“But to openly accuse someone of something this important without proof is really a stretch. ”
The Chamber of Commerce admits it takes in money from foreign corporations and since it as a 501(c)(6) organization under tax law, it doesn’t have to disclose its donors. The Chamber of Commerce claims to have internal controls to prevent any foreign money being used in illegal ways; however, the Chamber will not even disclose what those internal controls are. So the question becomes what are these internal controls and are these controls sufficient to ensure foreign money is not being used.
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
3:07 pm
angry-
26 yrs and wearing a lovely green pixalated ribstop outfit as we speak. I guess you know where to put that broad brush now. At least Cheney wasn’t protesting like the Clintons.
-not tell me or my wife or my daughter what they can or should do with their bodies. Unlike your newscasters who must be fully clothed and hidden behind desks…maybe only men should be newscasters?
-criticize or snoop on my neighbors. Obama has taken the Patriot Act well past anything the Republicans thought of in your worst nightmares. Where’s all the outrage?
-I believe the number one responsibility of government is to protect its citizens. Border protection should be a priority then. Instead our attourney general is trying to sue a state for protecting it’s own border.
Maybe some post-stress counseling would do you some good. George W had his faults in being a RINO and trying to appease the Demwits. Now we are all supposed to believe things are getting better because the apologizer in chief is expanding the worst programs Bush had to offer. Bill Mauher is a comedian like Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert. Maybe you should trying to get your news from a more credible source instead of complaining about Gretchen’s legs.
TGT
October 11th, 2010
3:11 pm
What happened to the new thread?
Did someone not approve of Ms. Tucker’s name calling, or did she just not want to discuss real science and scientists?
JKL2
October 11th, 2010
3:17 pm
AmVet- their imperious pals on Wall Street
Goldman Sachs is a Democrat organization. Might want to be careful who you are throwing stones at. I gurarentee nobody on capital hill wants full disclosure.
-pro-offshore drilling. Good thing Mexico is picking up our slack by drilling in the Gulf for us. –pro-ANWR drilling. Drill, Baby, Drill!!! We all know how terrible that pipeline has been for the ecology. Wouldn’t want to drill on .00002% of an uninhabited ice cube to find some oil. How’s that Dept of Energy working out for you? You Know, the one Carter created to end our dependance on foreign oil.
kayaker 71
October 11th, 2010
3:26 pm
In the 2008 campaign, 88% of political contributions made by TV Network Execs, writers, reporters, etc were made to the Democratic party. 1160 employees gave 1,020,816 dollars to the Democrats, 193 employees gave 142,863 dollars to the Republicans. Bias? Nah!!
AmVet
October 11th, 2010
3:45 pm
Don’t you mean Spill, Baby Spill?
The DEA? Pretty much the same as the MMS, that was bribed by and worked FOR BP.
How well did that needless, utterly preventable DeepWater Horizon debacle work out for you?
On second thought, why would you care that they took insane short cuts and blatantly disregarded basic safety measures so as to make a few more pieces of silver?
Let me rephrase, how well did that work out for those eleven families and the millions of impacted people along the Gulf of Mexico?
You will NEVER stop shucking and grinning for them, all simply because you irrationally hate Uncle Sam. No matter that these banksters, casino capitalists and innumerable white collar criminals brought this greatest of nations to within an eyelash of *complete* ruin barely twenty months ago.
All because of a “sustained orgy of greed and reckless behavior”. And a complicit government, funded by mountains of dirty corporate money, that was paid to look the other way.
And to this day, look around cowboy. The aftermath is devastating. Millions of American families who worked hard, played by the rules and trusted these Titans of Malfeasance and Criminal Negligence, who hide behind that giant American flag on Wall Street are now back to square one. No jobs, no careers, no industries and no real opportunities, unless they move to India.
So don’t b*tch about anything. You cons have gotten exactly what you’ve worked thirty years for. Multi-nationals with no allegiance to this country, who operate with near total impunity, and virtually nobody keeping an eye on them. No matter how much death and destruction they cause. Bush made sure that he took the federal cops off of the beat early in his first administration. And lordknows he was not the first POTUS to help implement the corporate destruction of capitalism.
Just as you advocated and still do – Let the free market police itself.
Again I ask you, how has that letting the foxes guard the American hen house worked out for us?
You want the answer? (Of course not.)
A massive, decades long corporate crime wave that would take pages and pages to even begin documenting. And you pro-crime, fiscally irresponsible non-conservative conservatives give ALL of it a free pass. Hell you don’t even have the _____ to acknowledge it!
So again I say we the people are well and royally screwed and our blood-soaked and sacred sovereignty has been sold off to the highest bidder – no matter if on Wall Street or in Beijing.
The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace, and conspire against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption will follow and the money power of the country will endeavor and prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated into a few hands and the republic is destroyed. ~(Mis?)Attributed to Abraham Lincoln, 1865
But whoever wrote is was a genius…
Kamchak
October 11th, 2010
4:31 pm
Tray
October 11th, 2010
11:16 am
Yes, i got mute and moot incorrect…can anyone correct this: Obama is a
nievenaive, inexperienced, coward of a leader that doesn’t know his head from his arse.Correct that! lol
Like shooting fish in a barrel
CYNT U MUST KEEP UR JOB
October 11th, 2010
4:37 pm
JUST LIKE THE EVIL REDNECKS THAT SAID MAX CLELAND WAS A TERRORIST!
POT MEET KETTLE!
ODDOWL
October 12th, 2010
3:54 am
The Federal Government is the agency of last resort. The Government steps in when the private sector fail or they provide and administer services that are not provided by the private sector. The American people didn’t have social security, medicare, medicaid, food stamps, veterans medical care and pensions etc, etc, etc. Has anyone learned about “Hoovervilles” tent cities erected near the White House by WW- l veterans who demanded pensions from the Governement. Hoover ordered the military to attack the veterans, drive them out of Wash. and dismantle the tent cities. The naive, ignorant, gullible people have been brainwashed and indoctrinated by the extreme right wing Republican Tea Party politicians with hatred and distrust of the Governement, Hatred of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, hatred of America. The Republican Tea Party politicians are the problem. If we get rid the Republican Tea Party politicians, we can get rid of the problem.
Charles
October 12th, 2010
5:28 am
The masses are asses.
Rick H.
October 12th, 2010
8:25 am
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Rick
October 12th, 2010
9:54 am
Sure, socialism is very popular among the freeloaders and deadbeats who don’t care about freedom, as long as they get the handouts. They have no responsibilities, face no consequences for their irresponsibility. They don’t have to pay taxes, meet a payroll, raise a family. Nanny government takes care of all that for them. They should have their own country, take their government with them, and let taxpayers have their own country with a limited government that does what it’s supposed to do, and only what it’s supposed to do: protect our freedom.
mickeymat
October 12th, 2010
10:35 am
When Cynthia Tucker “left” the AJC, some of us thought perhaps there was hope for the newspaper. But now, like Dracula she is back all too often driving a stake through the heart of a “has been” publication leaving it hanging by a thread.