Supreme Court turns us all into citizens of Whoville
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United overturned more than a century of precedent and handed corporations the same free-speech rights as people, including the right to spend unlimited amounts of money to elect or defeat candidates for office.
Among most Republican politicians, that news was greeted with glee. However, the GOP grassroots and the Tea Party movement ought to look at that ruling with a great deal more skepticism, because its impact on the issues that matter most to them could be significant.
Take, for example, earmarks.
In the wake of Citizens United, imagine yourself as a congressman confronted by a fly-by-night company back home trying to get a $200 million earmark for some product the Pentagon refuses to buy. Is that congressman going to be more willing or less willing to say no, knowing that the company can now spend freely in an attempt to unseat him? The power of special interests to armtwist Congress for earmarks can’t help but grow significantly as a result of this ruling.
Or how about those Wall Street bigwigs, manipulating Washington at the expense of Main Street and small business?
When big banks want to gut regulations and get the Security and Exchange Commission off their backs, or when they need another big bailout from the taxpayer, what kind of reception will they now get from congressional committees? Wall Street’s already strong grip on Washington will turn into a death grip now that Congress knows those banks can spend millions of dollars trying to defeat or re-elect them.
Moving jobs overseas?
Much of America’s manufacturing base has already been shipped overseas thanks to trade deals that were championed by corporations eager to tap cheap overseas labor. With corporate America now able to threaten or woo candidates directly, is that process likely to slow or accelerate?
Illegal immigration?
Some jobs, like homebuilding, meatpacking and the service industry, can’t easily be shipped overseas to cut labor costs. So the obvious solution is to move that cheap labor here. When the economy improves and employers once again need workers, how diligent will the federal government be about prosecuting companies for hiring illegal immigrants? We already know that workplace enforcement all but ceased in the Bush administration, mainly to please companies that wanted the cheap, docile workforce that illegal immigration provides. Thanks to Citizens United, those companies now have a much larger voice to ensure they get their way. (See, Saxby Chambliss.)
Government waste and the deficit?
When the next farm bill comes up, just to cite an example, will the farm-state politicians who dominate the agriculture committees say no to agribusiness demands for billions in new taxpayer subsidies? The same is true of industries from automaking to Big Pharma to defense. (See. Saxby Chambliss).
Overall, the biggest complaint of the populist tide is that government has grown unresponsive to the needs of the little guy. Is that problem likely to ease or worsen now that corporations have been freed to “speak loudly” by making unlimited campaign expenditures? Citizens United has given special interests a veritable megaphone to “communicate” with national leadership, while in comparison individual citizens are condemned to living in Whoville, where “even though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.’’
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221 comments Add your comment
Matilda
January 26th, 2010
3:50 pm
Dave R, do you think the American middle class would have evolved organically from the industrial revolution without unions? How do you think that would have worked? The good godly business owners would gaze out over their sweatshops at the folks who work 18/7 for next to nothing and say, “America will be a great country one day when these poor schleps can afford to own homes and send their kids to college, so I’m foregoing my Florida winter home to give them all a raise! God Bless America!”
TaxPayer
January 26th, 2010
3:51 pm
I think Congress just needs to view this new ruling as an opportunity. Pass legislation that taxes all corporate expenditures on anything related to political campaigns at about 90%. That should cover the debt and deficit both in no time and the Congressmen will all come out looking like they actually earned their keep for a change. They could even get re-elected without campaigning at that point.
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
3:52 pm
Matilda,
Funny how it’s kind of gone back to that.
Granny Godzilla
January 26th, 2010
3:55 pm
Dave R
Oh, I suspect this SCOTUS ruling will bring some rejoicing…..every time we take down another pol who’s loyalty is not with the American middle class but with Big Oil or Big Pharm…..
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
3:57 pm
Matilda, I’VE thrived without any union help for over 50 years.
Why can’t others?
TaxPayer
January 26th, 2010
3:58 pm
Matilda
January 26th, 2010
3:50 pm
But think of all the jobs that would be created here. We could all be earning $50/hour. At least that’s what McCain said we needed immigrants for so if we get rid of the immigrants, then we should have tons of these jobs. We wouldn’t even need a minimum wage no more and people would gladly work overtime without even getting time and a half. Think of the money that could be saved. Why, I bet folks would even be glad to pay taxes if they were all getting $50 per hour.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
3:58 pm
“I’VE thrived without any union help for over 50 years.”
Unions built the middle class by pulling wages up for everyone, even those not in a union, becuase everyone had to fight for the same workers. So even if you have not been in a union, you have benefited. And let us not even get into Worker’ comp et al that unions help establish.
Del
January 26th, 2010
3:58 pm
“Here’s the number:713.753.2000″
Thanks Granny I’ll put it in the book.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
3:59 pm
Dave R.,
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-reich26-2009jan26,0,1124419.story
jokerman
January 26th, 2010
4:00 pm
Oh no … Not LA (again) Hows the dude going to while away the hours, and what’s to become of that super cool lap top?
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:00 pm
But Granny, you won’t be able to take down any pol you don’t agree with, because all those big, nasty corporations are going to be brainwashing you with all those terribly effective ads telling you to vote for the “right” candidate.
And because you libs are apparently unable to ignore TV ads when they come on (why else would you be complaining about this ruling) you won’t have any choice but to vote for the corporation’s candidate.
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 26th, 2010
4:03 pm
Unions built the middle class by pulling wages up for everyone, even those not in a union, because everyone had to fight for the same workers.
Amen to that.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:03 pm
jewcowboy, I’ve never taken a dime from worker’s comp, either. And in every job I’ve ever held, I got ahead of my peers because I was willing to work harder and smarter than they were, and I left them behind in the dust. Unions wouldn’t have ever let me do that.
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:04 pm
Dave R.,
” I will forever have a new image of LA in my head.”
So? It’s not all about you – do you alone make up the American middle class?
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:05 pm
Woops wrong quote –
At 4:04 should have been this one:
““I’VE thrived without any union help for over 50 years.””
Followed by:
So? It’s not all about you – do you alone make up the American middle class?
Monsanto Man
January 26th, 2010
4:06 pm
Ha Ha.
You lefties wanted big government, now you will eat it.
As long as we own your silly federal government,
you will continue to eat Monsanto’s genetically engineered seed produce and bovine growth
hormone meat.
Thank you for striving toward a much centralized authority. It is much cheaper and more efficient to deal with.
God save the Fed.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
January 26th, 2010
4:06 pm
Well, looks like Bookman done cut his own throat. Without LA, this blog is going to be down to under 100 posts on anything, even on Sarah. And he’s done damage to education too. Teenagers like LA need to learn things and they can’t do it if they’re banned.
Have a good night everybody.
Granny Godzilla
January 26th, 2010
4:07 pm
Dave R
Keep on thinking that way. Please oh please oh please.
Granny Godzilla
January 26th, 2010
4:18 pm
off topic…..
Remember James O’Keefe, the ‘pimp’ from the tag team of conservative ‘journalists’ who landed a massive blow on ACORN with their hidden camera series of videos showing ACORN employees discussing and advising on how to hide various forms of illegal acts?
Well, O’Keefe just got arrested by the FBI down in New Orleans for his role in a plot to plant wiretaps in the state offices of Sen. Mary Landrieu. That was on federal property. So a big time felony.
Once we heard that O’Keefe got clipped, we wondered whether this was another job for Andrew Breitbart who published O’Keefe’s ACORN videos. Our Christina Bellantoni just got hold of him and he responded: “I need to find information on this. I’m out of the loop on this. I will make my determination then on when to comment.”
FROM TPM
getalife
January 26th, 2010
4:19 pm
I guess the elections will be like Iran’s but they will not announce it too early.
Obama is CEO?
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
4:20 pm
Dave R.,
Thank goodness you’ve never been unlucky enough to be in a workplace accident. You are lucky, others…not so much. I hope you never have to use, but you can thank a union if fall off a ladder at work, hurt your back and don’t get tossed out with the trash.
Matilda
January 26th, 2010
4:20 pm
Dave R., I’m so proud of you! I’ll bet your mom is, too. I also work in a field where there are no unions, and have never received workman’s comp or welfare of any kind. (Pat ME on the back now!) But I got that job because I grew up in middle class ‘hood /decent schools and had parents who could help me pay for college… because THEIR parents were able to do the same for them, because hard work was rewarded in their generations by more than just a crust of bread and getting fired when one was too sick to come to work. Just sayin’. Doesn’t mean we’re not SOOOOOO proud of your accomplishments!! *pat pat pat*
Jay
January 26th, 2010
4:23 pm
Just tweeted by Jim Galloway:
‘ACORN’ film-maker arrested by FBI in wiretap plot aimed at U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu. Via New Orleans Times-Picayune. http://bit.ly/arCC79
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
4:23 pm
Dave R.,
I bet you never took a paid vacation or sick day either. Because if you, you’d have to thank a union for that.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:24 pm
No, Bosch, but unlike others on this blog, I can readily admit that I am nothing special in the brains, looks or physical abilities category. But I am loaded with common sense and a work ethic that dwarfs many others in my lifetime. It is about my personal self-worth and a drive to succeed without help from any others. I just refuse to let others define me or my worth.
You seem to embrace the lowest common denominator; I aspire to be the highest and heaven help those that stand in my way of doing so.
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:24 pm
Dave R.,
But, but, I thought you got ahead of everybody ’cause you was so smart?
“You seem to embrace the lowest common denominator;”
You might wanna get your crystal ball serviced – it seems to be broken.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:25 pm
Or, jewcowboy, I could have negotiated those sick and vacation days with my employer when I contracted my services to him or her, couldn’t I? And if they were unwilling to allow me those, I could have just gone to some else who valued my services more and got them to agree, right?
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:27 pm
“who dressed up as employees of a telephone company ”
AND they dressed up and impersonated good phone company folks (who my good daddy happened to be one) – that’s gotta be worth at least life in prison, or should be.
Granny Godzilla
January 26th, 2010
4:30 pm
Dave R
You are completely wrong about Bosch. He’s a hell of a great guy.
Even the pridefull and self righteous have an aroma to their excrement.
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:30 pm
Aw shucks, Mrs. G.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
4:32 pm
Dave R.,
How many sick days and vacations were negotiated in 1890? Hmm…methinks not many.
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:33 pm
Those Chinese folks are taking our pandas – that’s it – grab your pitchforks folks – WE’RE GOING TO THE ZOO!
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:34 pm
Unlike some, Granny, I have no problem being justifiably proud of my accomplishments. There is nothing wrong with pride.
Big Pharma
January 26th, 2010
4:36 pm
Kudos to Monsanto Man.
Centralized authority is better for everyone.
You serfs trust the Barney Frank Fed with your health-care and retirement decisions, what is the big deal about corporation influence?
We know what is best and you will take our happy pills and love it.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:36 pm
jewcowboy, I wouldn’t know. All I can know about is me and what I do in my lifetime. And as long as what I do doesn’t affect someone’s life, liberty or property through the use of force or fraud, I don’t care.
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:36 pm
“All I can know about is me and what I do in my lifetime”
But you have no problem whatsoever being judge and jury to so many others.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
4:37 pm
OSHA was a nice invention. Thank a union for that.
SC Got It Right
January 26th, 2010
4:37 pm
If corporations must be governed by elected officials they should be allowed a voice in the process. Anyone who believes otherwise is not smart enough to understand the ruling….
Normal
January 26th, 2010
4:40 pm
Please read this…
President Obama makes his first State of the Union address tomorrow night, and he’s going to call for us to cap spending on everything EXCEPT the military.1
Getting a grip on the deficit is fine. But spending on war and weapons is the FIRST place we should look to save money, not the LAST. Obama’s priorities are backwards, and there’s something you can do about it.
Congress gets the final vote on how to spend tax dollars. And their reaction to the State of the Union — whether they clap or shout ‘you lie!’ — is an important first barometer of opinion.2
So let’s tell Congress not to clap when Obama proposes spending $100 billion on the war in Afghanistan while freezing spending on everything else.
http://act.truemajorityaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=53
Once you’ve told your members of Congress to not applaud for war, make sure to tune in tomorrow night.
Asking members not to clap may seem like a very small action to stop a very big war. But the reaction to this speech is critical. How Congress reacts, and what they react to, will dominate the news after the speech.3
If we watch closely, this will show who’s with us on ending the war, and who’s still willing to spend more on Afghanistan than on educating our children, fixing health care or creating jobs.
Tell your members of Congress that you’ll be watching, and you’ll thank them not to applaud a war in Afghanistan.
-Matt
Matt Holland
Online Director
TrueMajority / USAction
1 – nytimes.com/2010/01/26/us/politics/26budget.html
2 – usnews.com/articles/news/obama/2010/01/25/state-of-the-union-is-obamas-chance-to-reset-his-presidency.html
3 – cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/26/zelizer.obama.liberals
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Number1ninja
January 26th, 2010
4:41 pm
What, no more LA? C’mon, that tripe was funny. At least NJ came back for a minute. He makes me wish I could still access the research databases from my college without paying for ‘em.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:41 pm
Actually, Bosch, I have every right to judge anyone based on my capacity as a living, breathing human being. But whether I judge someone or not, it doesn’t matter because I have no control over them, nor do I wish to have any. Just as I wish no others to have any control over me.
FrankLeeDarling
January 26th, 2010
4:42 pm
Dave my union doesn’t keep anyone from being competitive the fact that you are not in a union in no way makes you superior
josef nix
January 26th, 2010
4:43 pm
Hello, all! So, LA is MIA. Too bad. He never really got on my nerves the way he did others, though. I agree with Redneck. Jay’s count is going to suffer dreadfully, but I’ll try and take up the slack…
Jay’s column here…rarely do I agree right down the line, but this time I do.
Unions–I hate to think of where we’d have been without them at a crucial time in our history but, like the current Democrats and the GOP before them, they did get too big for their britches in a lot of places. I belong to one and not because, particularly, I support much of what they do, but because of the insurance they offer against the “sue you” element we in education are always under the threat of. Also, the threat of “sue you” carries quite a bit of weight when dealing with the arrogance of the upper level administration. The one time I did need them, they came through and what, had I tried to fight it on my own would have been a lost cause, was taken care of in a matter of minutes with one phone call…so…
Big Insurance
January 26th, 2010
4:44 pm
This centralized authority is best for everyone.
Why negotiate with each state? That is sooo 19th century.
We have progressed past that point and the good people in Washington and our headquarters will fight for your interest.
Do not be alarmed over this silly ruling. Nothing will change.
We have your BEST INTERESTS in mind and we are working with all Federal authorities to bring you citizens a more progressive and fair society.
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:45 pm
Dave R.@ 4:41,
Well that’s Hallmark card and all, but like you said, you have no capacity to know anything about anyone except yourself.
pat
January 26th, 2010
4:46 pm
I want to see cigarrette comercials on TV again…That should be allowed as well according to the constitution.
pat
January 26th, 2010
4:47 pm
Maybe if more people smoked, they wouldn’t be as fat…
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:48 pm
Frank, you tell me that if you were to overachieve and out-work everybody in your company and could get promoted and paid accordingly and without any restrictions, I’d tell you that you were in a union like no other.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
4:51 pm
Dave R.,
Before unions bargained for paid vacation and sick time such things did not exist. No unions would mean any thought of negotiating paid vacation/sick time would be laughed at.
By all employers.
Because they would have no need to offer it to you even if they really wanted you. You would have been labeled a troublemaker and blackballed in your field. No employers would want to open the door to benefits, because after one would come others. But unions forced them to, wheher you want to acknowledge this or not.
Look at the factory conditions in the U.S. in the 1920’s. Do you honestly believe employers would offer safer conditions, benefits, higher wages if they could get by without doing so? You have a bargaining position because unions made it acceptable to bargain. And Matildas post at 4.20 (hehe) hit the nail on the head. Unions made the middle class and the opprotunities we have today possible.
pat
January 26th, 2010
4:51 pm
Cancel that comment awaiting moderation…
http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/26/news/economy/stimulus_cbo/index.htm?hpt=T1
Oh, look the stimulus is 10% more expensive than previously thought and 0% more effective….What a shock.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:52 pm
Bosch, if that wasn’t one of the insipid comments you’ve ever made, then I don’t know.
I can know about anyone by the way they take care of themselves, by the way they speak, by the way they act, or write, etc. And it all comes down to personal observation.
Jeez.
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 26th, 2010
4:52 pm
Proverbs, Chapter 16, Verse 18.
Matilda
January 26th, 2010
4:53 pm
Oh my… *blush!* DaveR, we’re proud of you and all, but your boasting is starting to give you away. We all know what you have to do to get the REALLY good corner office with “no restrictions.” We really don’t want those details, Hon. We’re Americans, we know darned well that hard work only takes you so far, because guys like you are wiling to “out work” us. *wink wink, ewwwwww!*
Bosch
January 26th, 2010
4:53 pm
Dave R.,
Sorry, but you don’t know.
Your personal observation means absolutely nothing except to youself.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
4:54 pm
I’m just sorry that you lesser mortals don’t have the same capacity I do, Matilda.
Kamchak
January 26th, 2010
4:55 pm
. But I am loaded with common sense and a work ethic that dwarfs many others in my lifetime.
I’ll agree that your loaded with something. Common sense, not so much.
FrankLeeDarling
January 26th, 2010
4:56 pm
Yes Dave all that is possible in my union.I do not work for a company.My union represents a group of independent contractors .
Granny Godzilla
January 26th, 2010
4:57 pm
Wow what an ego!!!
We lesser mortals scoff at it.
Plane Truth
January 26th, 2010
4:59 pm
Whoville? This blog is more like, “Who’s(on first)ville”. I dunno, has anyone ever gotten to third base with Granni? or were they stopped short?
Frankly, I don’t give a damn.
Matilda
January 26th, 2010
4:59 pm
DaveR, if we were ALL as super duper as YOU, then you wouldn’t be super duper anymore, you’d be ordinary, and therefore not worthy of all the pats to your back that you’re directing there. Simple math.
stands for decibels
January 26th, 2010
4:59 pm
So I guess nobody wants to comment on the guy who made his bones dressing like a cartoon-Negro pimp maybe winding up in the Big House?
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:01 pm
If hard work and common sense alone got one ahead, would someone kindly explain George W. Bush.
josef nix
January 26th, 2010
5:03 pm
Mick:
“This Supreme Court is more about ideology than the people, when will it end?”
Strictly speaking, it is. The ideology being the Constitution and the Supreme Court being the final arbiter as to the constitutionality of the law at hand…a lot has been said about the Dred Scott Decision, but a much more interesting one, to me anyway, was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It was crafted by Philip Phillips, considered by his peers to be the most knowledgeable man of the mid 19th Century on the Constitution. Phillips would write later that he was fully aware at the time that it would bring the sectional conflict to probably schism, but that, constitutionally…he was equally opposed to secession for constitutional reasons and, though he followed his wife into exile following when she was deported South and stood by her side through her travails as a political prisoner of war, he turned down all offers of high posts in the C*nfederate government because it claimed secession was constitutional–had it called itself “revolution” he would have joined with no qualms.
This is what is at work with the Supreme Court. Emotions and personal beliefs are not at issue. The interpretation of the Constitution is. This current court has ruled, and that’s that. What you, I or anyone else thinks about it is immaterial. That’s the way it is.
Jay
January 26th, 2010
5:04 pm
Here’s the FBI statement on the attempted wiretap:
http://neworleans.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/no012610.htm
Kamchak
January 26th, 2010
5:06 pm
So I guess nobody wants to comment on the guy who made his bones dressing like a cartoon-Negro pimp maybe winding up in the Big House?
The money behind “independent film-maker” James O’Keefe.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
5:08 pm
Could be worse, Kamchak.
He could have received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
TaxPayer
January 26th, 2010
5:09 pm
I’m just sorry that you lesser mortals don’t have the same capacity I do
Looks like old Dave R’s cracks are opening up. Better fill ‘em with some silicone sealant.
TaxPayer
January 26th, 2010
5:10 pm
Vengeance is mine sayeth the ACORN. I think we are now blessed with one less nut on the streets.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:12 pm
Hey josef nix,
I saw your post the other day, and didn’t have time to respond.
Just pushing along here.
Know anyone who wants a 2 br/1ba flat in Holland Park in a 1870’s building?
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
5:13 pm
Sorry, TaxCheat (and others), but there are some of out here who can make our way in life without any of your help or of the government’s and we’d just wish you’d stop trying to make your way of life and others by forcing us to contribute.
Sorry if you can’t handle an independent, successful person doing so without help.
FrankLeeDarling
January 26th, 2010
5:13 pm
All I got to say is have fun in lockup Mr.O’Keefe.
Big Union
January 26th, 2010
5:13 pm
It is ridiculous to think that an individual could name the price of his labor.
In our centalized authoratarian progressive society, an individual can not possibly fathom the correct price considering all of the factors and the unequality of our developing society.
We have men in Washington who know best.
This sad individualistic proclivity should be reserved for non-union bitter clingers and anachronistic knuckle-draggers. An individual has no place in our progressive society. It is a TEAM.
Remember, our Federal government and the Union remain devoted to delivering the citizens a better, more fair and equatable life.
TaxPayer
January 26th, 2010
5:18 pm
Poor Dave R actually thinks he made it through life without any help. Probly wearin’ a coonskin hat whilst sittin’ there tryin’ to churn out those smoke signals at 4G speeds. Republicans! What are they home schoolin’ them with these days.
Matilda
January 26th, 2010
5:18 pm
OMG, the hubris!
Sorry DaveR, but unless you are so special you can crank US currency out of your own behind, then you did not make your way in life all by yourself. You made your way because you live in the United States of America, where we have — for the most part — clean water, public schools, an infrastructure that fosters business, and a populace that’s healthy enough to work and earn a wage that enables them to buy the goods and services, the profits of which make their way into your pocket in the form of a paycheck. You did NOT do that all by yourself, unless, like I said, you have a MAGIC A** that cranks cash. If so, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let us watch!!
Bottom line, you’re born in Haiti, you don’t have *bleeeep!*
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:19 pm
Yes, Dave R., we know you were born in a tar-paper shack with no advantages at all and no help from anyone. Congratulations on your success story.
Dusty
January 26th, 2010
5:22 pm
Well, LA is gone. No surprise there.
LA outwitted and out classed every complaining liberal blogger here. You can tell who they are because they are still here rejoicing about it He “knocked the socks” off of lousy liberal pettiness and there is plenty available here..
He was called unlovely names by liberals and not one of them went on vacation or anywhere else.
Thus you have the Bookman code of honor for blogs. All lib commentors=ok. All conservative commentors= one slip or less and you are gone!! .
Ok OK I confess. Bush made me say it!! How’s that? Good enough?
Perfidy! Thy name is far left lib!!
.
Dunwoody Mike
January 26th, 2010
5:25 pm
Dave R.,
So I guess you didn’t go to a public school, use public roads, utilities, the Internet, or anything else that was developed through government spending.
I guess you like living in a tent (that you made yourself, of course) in a empty field somewhere.
josef nix
January 26th, 2010
5:26 pm
jewcowboy–
Don’t know anyone looking for a flat, but maybe USinUk might…
Keep your chin up, though…you know he would have wanted you to,,,
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:29 pm
I’m always quite surprised at all of the republican/conservatives self made people that ascended from abject poverty to make a success of themselve with no help from anyone or anything.
Of course, when you did a little deeper that abject poverty is defined as having to go Woodward instead of Andover.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
5:32 pm
Yeah, Dunwoody and Matilda, I used “public” schools and roads, but I paid for them as well.
But that juvenile argument doesn’t pass the smell test, except when libs want to point out all the wonderful things that enabled so many others that could have never possibly have gotten ahead in life without them.
It doesn’t matter what was around. There is nothing, repeat, nothing that can keep me from achieving anything I want in life. If the roads weren’t there, I would have found a way to get ahead without them. If the schools weren’t there, I’d find a way to learn without them.
You libs can’t conceive of anyone who has the gall to get ahead on their own. Everyone should be beholden to someone or to the government, because a person just isn’t good enough to make it on their own anymore.
A pox on you all.
Number1ninja
January 26th, 2010
5:33 pm
“Bottom line, you’re born in Haiti, you don’t have *bleeeep!*”
Didn’t you know, those places are utopias according to jt, it’s just the liberal media showing those pictures of twelve year olds who have to strap on a gun to feed their family in Somailia.
Number1ninja
January 26th, 2010
5:36 pm
Bottom line, when you enjoy a higher standard of living than almost the entirety of human history, pay less for it than even your parents did, and are STILL complaining about “oppressive taxes”, you are a selfish child, not some idealistic crusader.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:38 pm
Dusty,
My issue with LA was that he most times presented opinion as fact, then personally insulted one when they asked more documentary evidence proving said opinion as fact.
If that is one’s idea of class, they really should look up the definition in the dictionary.
FrankLeeDarling
January 26th, 2010
5:39 pm
I think a more qualified union member took Dave R’s job ,
either that or he’s really Chuck Norris
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
5:43 pm
And you know what, Frank? No one has ever taken a job away from me either.
And I’ve never worked in a union, and never will.
AmVet
January 26th, 2010
5:44 pm
Suxtobeus needs to be water boarded, preferably publicly, with the runoff from a sugar processing plant.
Granny, thanks for that link to “Legalize Democracy”. I forwarded it on to several others with the recommendation that they too forward it on.
As little as a year ago I honestly wondered if I was alone, relatively speaking, and you know whatting in the wind, on this issue of the criminal corporate ownership of our country. It would appear that “we the people” are finally gaining some traction.
But understand clearly my friends, that these legalized thieves and quasi-fascists will NOT just give up their ill-gotten power, stolen assets and looted wealth reasonably. It will have to be taken from them on behalf of the sovereign people. And at long last economic justice will have to be employed.
But I would almost guarantee the armies of K Street flunkies are already planning great revival meetings and will now double down on their suitcases of dirty money in an attempt to prevent this usurpation by non-corporate entities.
But “cutting deals” with BIG Pharma and BIG insurance, via health care “reform” and BIG, BIG, BIG Oil via Cap & Trade, demonstrates beyond doubt to me that the current crop of men in DC have not the guts or spines to even try to stand up to them and fight for the nation.
I pray to some unknown deity that it is not already too late to forestall the Republic, as Lincoln prophesied, from being destroyed by enthroned corporations and the money powers…
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:45 pm
Josef nix,
Thanks. One step at a time ya know? Just joking about the flat. mr. nonjewcowboy’s firm is handling the sale and agreed to make up any net difference is they sell it for less and pass along any additonal profit if its made (not very likely considering we’ve owned it for less than 2 months)
Taxes are going to awful though. Yet another “gay” tax.
marc christophe
January 26th, 2010
5:46 pm
A primary difference between liberals and conservatives is that conservatives give people credit for having brains and free will, while liberals look at people (other than themselves) as “leaves in the stream” who are incapable of self-directed action. Thus, Mr. Bookman believes that the great unwashed will now be herded like sheep while nasty old corporations tell them what to think. Bookman, therefore, looks to the beneficent hand of the central government to protect us from impure thoughts.
My question to Mr. Bookman is just what proof does he have that McCain Feingold has protected us from “impure speech” or undue corporate ingluence on our politicians? Isn’t Bookman the same guy who worried about oil company lobbyists and Haliburton etc.? As for 100 years of precedent, the claim that the Court has reversed 100 years of controlling precedent is simply not the truth. I have read the opinion and it does nothing of the kind. Need I remind you that McCain Feingold is not a 100-year old law?
While liberals may tremble over the free exchange of political ideas in a public forum (putting Bookman in line with Marx, Stalin, Lenin, Castro et al), I like the notion that a politician will now be “publicly” backed by corporate money (with full disclosure to voters) rather than dirty “secret money” that is not disclosed to the voters as we had prior to now. I like my crooks exposed to public view..thank you very much.
By the way, Bookman conveniently fails to mention that this lawsuit started when the Democrat-controlled FEC suppressed a movie critical of Hillary Clinton while taking no action against Michael Moore’s tripe-laden Fahrenheit 9-11. It is also interesting how George Soros and his MoveOn.org. used secret corporate money to help Democrats but businesses seeking to support American candidates were restricted.
The bottom line is that America does not need liberals acting as the gatekeepers of political speech.
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
5:52 pm
Actually, AmVet, you ARE pretty much alone in your hatred of everything.
But on this issue, “you the people” have pretty much been shut down by the Supreme Court.
And that’s the name of that tune.
Jefferson
January 26th, 2010
5:53 pm
The problem with most R’s is they think they know it all. The problem with D’s is they think everyone should know it all. The problem is know it alls.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:54 pm
Marc,
Yes, that must be it. Liberals hate free speech. That is why the ACLU enjoys such huge Republican support.
TaxPayer
January 26th, 2010
5:55 pm
A pox on you all.
hehehe hahahaha HEHEHEHE HAHAHAHA hack hack cough cough ugh what’s happening it’s the pox and it done got us all.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
5:58 pm
Republicans always love free speech. Just like the way they let anyone into McCain/Palin rally’s and anywhere Bush would speak. They would never have thought to limit the crowds to just supporters. Ever.
Number1ninja
January 26th, 2010
6:00 pm
Yeah Marc, which is why the ban was started by Teddy Roosevelt in the first place. This is about money drowning out the others’ voices before they even hit the stage.
“The bottom line is that America does not need liberals acting as the gatekeepers of political speech.”
Which is the very antithesis of liberalism. What TR was doing was stopping individuals, who already had a very loud voice, a vehicle to gain even more undue influence. So differing opinions CAN be heard. Are you a snake oil salesmen or one of their cultists?
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
6:00 pm
Jefferson,
Very well said.
TGT
January 26th, 2010
6:01 pm
I would rather live in “Whoville” than on Barack’s Big Rock Candy Mountain.
md
January 26th, 2010
6:02 pm
Jay’s just mad because now all the other corporations will have equal footing with his corporation – the AJC.
Why do media outlets believe they should be the only corporations allowed a voice?
The ultimate conflict of interest.
jewcowboy
January 26th, 2010
6:03 pm
Didn’t Horton hear a who?
Dave R.
January 26th, 2010
6:03 pm
jewcowboy, please. You know very well that both parties limit their rallies to supporters. Has nothing to do with just Republicans or just Democrats.
Dusty
January 26th, 2010
6:05 pm
jewcowboy,
I don’t think you read too many of LA’s comebacks. Your usual friends here made the same repetitious superfluous remarks they make every day and LA called them on it. They hated it. Just like you. Anybody who questions the liberal line is without reason or class (and I don’t have to look up class to know what it means, thank you.)
Perhaps you would like to remind us of the “awful” things LA posted because I did not see them. But I read liberal insults by the dozen.