Dems know how to make the least of a big opportunity
In a new Washington Post poll, Americans were asked whether they “support or oppose the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that says corporations and unions can spend as much money as they want to help political candidates win elections?”
Eighty percent of Americans opposed the Supreme Court ruling; just 18 percent supported it. And that opposition crossed all partisan lines. Among Democrats, 85 percent opposed the court ruling, as did 76 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of independents.
Congressional Democrats have already begun to push legislation that tries to mitigate the impact of the Citizens’ United ruling, and they’ll no doubt find those poll numbers encouraging. But it’s just so typical — the Democrats have been handed an elephant gun and they’re going to use it to hunt rabbits.
Handed poll numbers like this, Republicans would know what to do with it. They’d point out that the word “corporation” appears nowhere in the Constitution. They’d accuse the court of inventing rights. And they’d draft a constitutional amendment — an “America is for People” amendment — and they’d dare the Democrats to fight it. They’d force the opposition to explain how corporations are people too, and how those poor downtrodden special interests just don’t have enough power.
They’d go for the jugular, in other words.
Democrats think the jugular is that guy who can keep four balls in the air at the same time.
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210 comments Add your comment
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 17th, 2010
5:04 pm
Sniff sniff, corporate media stooge, sniff sniff, just sayin…
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 17th, 2010
5:09 pm
Special Interest groups from Georgia Power lobbied for a couple of nuklar reactors, it certainly wasn’t the Fever Swamp Special Interest Front Organization AJC that did it, and they got handed gads of government cash from obozo, so perhaps corporate media stooge Bookman has a point.
Nah, he’s just whining.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 17th, 2010
5:19 pm
I didn’t realize how much the Kook Lobby got kneecapped by this ruling until I saw the giant collective sob bursted loose from the moonbats.
Think about it, they can’t just buy airtime and launch campaigns like If you enjoy seeing little babies get butchered vote for Nasty Pelosi in 2010, she’ll kill them all!, instead they have to rely on their corporate media stooges like Bookman to demonize those who little babies to live, Religious exremists, eewwww!.
Just sayin….
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 17th, 2010
5:20 pm
who want little babies to live, geez
RW-(the original)
February 17th, 2010
5:21 pm
Interesting that Jay B accurately quoted the question that was asked but then dropped all mention of “unions” as the piece progressed. What this poll really shows is that a blatant misinformation campaign by the media that’s followed up by a poll can still be effective so those of us that aren’t so easily duped need to work harder at getting out the truth.
Tom
February 17th, 2010
5:21 pm
How very damned sad!! No wonder the country continues to spiral downwards into oblivion. But at least we still have heroic blunders being heaped upon civilians in BushDrunk’a War (s) of Insanity.
Hillbilly Deluxe
February 17th, 2010
5:22 pm
I have no idea who the guy is who wrote this article but he makes some interesting points.
http://www.theseminal.com/2009/03/03/the-founding-fathers-did-not-want-large-corporations/
Jay
February 17th, 2010
5:22 pm
The amendment should of course include unions too, RW. I have no problem with that whatsoever.
We gotta deal?
Bud Wiser
February 17th, 2010
5:27 pm
Number of Americans that believe the “porkulus’ worked: 6%
Number of Americans that think Elvis is still alive: 7%
Dumbbells occupying the White House, still spouting lies and garbage that maybe only he and his drooling minions believe? 1 plus staff.
America coming back and replacing this fool and his Party Politik? priceless
Paul
February 17th, 2010
5:30 pm
This is so sad it’s funny. Gets back to my post earlier in the day. Democratic legislators complain to score political points, then do no followup legislation.
Jay points out that even when they think about it, they screw it up. This. Health care reform. The list goes on.
Maybe they should contract out their legislative action?
getalife
February 17th, 2010
5:32 pm
“just 18 percent supported it.”
Nice.
Crazy times.
Chris
February 17th, 2010
5:34 pm
Great post!!! Jay nailed it.
ty webb
February 17th, 2010
5:34 pm
Jay,
so you’re on record as now being against unions in hypothetical situations. Way to take a stand.
Kamchak
February 17th, 2010
5:34 pm
Unions–SQUIRREL
University of Wisconsin communications professor Lew Friedland points out that the nation’s four largest banks would have to allocate a mere one-tenth of one percent of their assets–$6 billion–to counter a campaign in which the whole of the U.S. labor movement spent all of its assets.
Jay
February 17th, 2010
5:36 pm
I’m not against unions, Ty. I just agree they should be included in such an amendment, for the sake of fairness. And it’s not hypothetical at all, or doesn’t need to be.
Jay
February 17th, 2010
5:40 pm
Ty, I also don’t think that card check is a good idea, and have said so on this blog.
ty webb
February 17th, 2010
5:46 pm
jay,
“And it’s not hypothetical at all, or doesn’t need to be.” So this “America is for people” amendment really exists?
TaxPayer
February 17th, 2010
5:47 pm
Well, I certainly cannot picture the Republicans coming out in unison, just saying yes to this supreme court ruling, without at least being forced into it. Force ‘em. Make the twits squirm.
md
February 17th, 2010
5:50 pm
But corporate media is still aok, makes no sense.
Jay
February 17th, 2010
5:50 pm
No, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t.
If someone proposed it, I’d back it. How about you?
TaxPayer
February 17th, 2010
5:51 pm
Maybe they should contract out their legislative action?
To who. The Republicans. They’d just say no because the request came from the Obama administration. If Obama said, “you’re looking good, Republicans,” they’d look in a mirror and say, in unison, “I HATE YOU, I mean, me, I mean, you!”
Jay
February 17th, 2010
5:53 pm
You’re arguing with the Founding Fathers there, MD.
They’re the ones who explicitly guaranteed freedom of the press.
ty webb
February 17th, 2010
5:55 pm
I’m fine with the SC ruling. As for the amendment, I’d have to read it before I could support it or not. By the way, who’s drafting it? The easter bunny, santa claus, leprechauns, or the tooth fairy?
Paul
February 17th, 2010
5:55 pm
TaxPayer
I believe the point was not Republicans would support a legislative change; indeed, Republican Congressional leadership (Sen McCain excepted) largely supported it. The point was, if it was an issue Republicans wanted to go after, they would do so with a focus and deliberateness that would maximize chances of success.
Democratic legislative attempts are a slow-motion train wreck, by comparison.
More’s the pity -
Paul
February 17th, 2010
5:56 pm
TaxPayer
By “Republican Congressional leadership largely supported it” I meant the Court ruling.
RW-(the original)
February 17th, 2010
5:56 pm
We gotta deal?
No we don’t gotta do anything and we also don’t have a deal. I believe in freedom and the Constitution.
md
February 17th, 2010
5:57 pm
Jay, that line was blurred a long time ago, doesn’t make it right.
If, we were talking about press as corporations – then maybe. But GE and others like it are nothing close to a “press” corporation.
If we grant one corporation a voice, then we should grant them all a voice and vice versa.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 17th, 2010
5:57 pm
Even the dullards have figured this out-
CBS/NY Times: Only 6 percent of Americans think the stimulus package has created jobs.
~~~~~
The Founding Fathers also explicitly guaranteed a “right to redress grievances.”
Webster’s Dictionary-
Main Entry: cor·po·ra·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌkȯr-pə-ˈrā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1 a : a group of merchants or traders united in a trade guild b : the municipal authorities of a town or city
2 : a body formed and authorized by law to act as a single person although constituted by one or more persons and legally endowed with various rights and duties including the capacity of succession
3 : an association of employers and employees in a basic industry or of members of a profession organized as an organ of political representation in a corporative state
Paul
February 17th, 2010
5:58 pm
Kamchak
Key word is “assets.” Not profits. Or revenue. Or operating capital. It’s like saying ‘if you spent only ten percent of your assets’ which means you’d have to sell your vehicles, cash out home equity, etc.
TaxPayer
February 17th, 2010
5:59 pm
Paul,
I’m quite familiar with the Republican Just say No campaign strategy as well as the inability of the Democrats to take advantage of opportunities that fall in their laps.
James at 15
February 17th, 2010
6:02 pm
“the Democrats have been handed an elephant gun and they’re going to use it to hunt rabbits. They’d go for the jugular, in other words. Democrats think the jugular is that guy who can keep four balls in the air at the same time.”
I think the democrats should juggle with all four rabbits in the air at the same time. Then the GOP would be sorry they ever dared challenge the pro-choicers. One false move against Obama and maybe one of the rabbits don’t feel so good……
Kamchak
February 17th, 2010
6:04 pm
Kamchak
Key word is “assets.” Not profits. Or revenue. Or operating capital. It’s like saying ‘if you spent only ten percent of your assets’ which means you’d have to sell your vehicles, cash out home equity, etc.
What I was going for was an apples to apples comparison, but OK–
To think otherwise is to neglect the reality that one corporation — Goldman Sachs — spends more annually to pay just its top employees than the combined assets of all the nation’s major unions.
Paul
February 17th, 2010
6:04 pm
TaxPayer
Then I didn’t understand why you wrote about how to get the Republicans to Just Say Yes. Nothing the Democrats have tried so far has worked.
Maybe if they figured out what the jugular is -
Christos
February 17th, 2010
6:05 pm
Please do me a favor and kill all talk of a Constitutional Amendment. Especially with the bunch of nitwits that we currently have occupying Congress. I shudder to think of what harm these goons could do to the Constitution if they put their “minds” to it. And I’m speaking of all 535 of them, with the exception of a very rare few.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
February 17th, 2010
6:06 pm
I just accidentally caught an 11 Alive “news” report on the success of the stimulus in Georgia that used video of a bunch of Mexicans working on some road job.
Aahhh, yes, so now I understand which country is getting stimulated.
You know none of them pay taxes, right?
Jay
February 17th, 2010
6:07 pm
and here I took you for a strict constructionist, md.
If they meant freedom of corporations, they would have said so. They guaranteed freedom of the press.
kayaker 71
February 17th, 2010
6:08 pm
I Report,
More people believe that Elvis is still alive than believe that the stimulus is working. And Bozo still maintains that it has averted a Great Depression. God, help us.
Paul
February 17th, 2010
6:08 pm
Kamchak
Dang. I’da thought the Goldman bonuses were more than what union members earn!
It’s just a heckuva lot of bribes floating about. And I feel cheated…. after all that money that gets slipped to Congress, you’d think we’d at least get something good out of it!
md
February 17th, 2010
6:09 pm
Well jay, using the constitution for reference granting the press freedom of speech, the “press” includes corporations, therefore, corporations have free speech.
TaxPayer
February 17th, 2010
6:11 pm
Paul,
The Just Say Yes response would be the expected opposite day response to the Democrats coming out in opposition to the supreme court ruling but doing so would put the Republicans in the unfavorable light of anti-populist, pro Wall Street corner at a very inopportune time — within pre-ADD striking distance of an election.
Curious Observer
February 17th, 2010
6:13 pm
Democrats think the jugular is that guy who can keep four balls in the air at the same time.
Bingo! Handed overwhelming public support for a public option in health insurance, these limp-wristed weaklings allowed the Republican minority to turn the proposal into “government-run health insurance” and “budget-busting legislation.” Handed this same public support for legislation to curb the campaign money from corporations and unions, the same limp-wristed majority will use the support to–wait for it!–do nothing. Given the urging of many Congressional members to take the reconciliation route to passing healthcare reform, the same majority diddles.
The upcoming Congressional elections will convey a message to these confused weaklings. Either use your power or lose it. I want Reid defeated–he’s no leader. I want all the Blue Dogs defeated–if we’re going to have enemies of Democratic initiatives, at least they should wear the Republican label. I’m sick of seeing the Democratic majority do the equivalent of standing on a chair and yelling, “Mouse!”
TaxPayer
February 17th, 2010
6:14 pm
God, help us.
Pray for your own soul if you think you need it.
getalife
February 17th, 2010
6:15 pm
“Lobby Firm Tells Clients How To Sway Elections While Avoiding ‘Public Scrutiny’”
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/lobby_firm_tells_clients_how_to_sway_elections_whi.php?ref=fpblg
Geez.
kayaker 71
February 17th, 2010
6:19 pm
If politicians were honest, reliable, dependable elected officials, we could open the coffers and give money to support their efforts for a better America. But we have people like John Murtha, that jerk named Foley, Chuck Shumer,Barney Frank, Cold Cash Jefferson, the guy tapping his foot in the toilet, Cynthia McKinney, John Edwards, John Kerry and a host of others with not a dime of credibility and crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Giving these people unlimited funds to perpetuate their career is not only a bad idea, it is economic suicide. And who suffers?….. the electorate who put their faith in the system. The SYSTEM HAS FAILED US, Washington, and we are still going to give unlimited legal bribes to these crooks that seem to think that they have a better outlook of what America should be than it’s citizens? Common sense? Where have you gone??
Paul
February 17th, 2010
6:22 pm
Taxpayer 6:11
All the more frustrating there’s an election within striking distance – and this is one issue that may help redeem Democrats in the eyes of the voters.
“Just Say Yes.” Now there’s a campaign sound bite. Gets back to the principle of raising kids (I know a lot of Republicans will come unglued at the example). when attempting to change behavior, people respond better to a positive statement of expected behavior than a negative recitation of past behavior.
Democrats spend a lot of time emphasizing the negative in their opponents. Perhaps if they emphasized the positive outcomes they expect for the good of the country… if may not produce much in the way of Republican Congressional change, but it may resonate better with the public, who is sick of the same old political language.
N-GA
February 17th, 2010
6:24 pm
Politicians are the crows and financial industry executives are the vultures feeding off the carcass that was the United States of America. It’s too bad that the compassion, morality and spirit of the finest country in the world couldn’t have been transplanted ante mortem.
jt
February 17th, 2010
6:24 pm
In a real Republic,
political donations are irrelevant.
You cannot legislate morality. You can only make more laws that adversely affects liberty and freedom.
Just repudiate it.
Jenifer
February 17th, 2010
7:11 pm
It’s time the Democrats take the hypocrite republicants to task for their blatant lies. (Al Franken, Alan Grayson, and Anthony Weiner can’t do it alone.)
Make republicants go on public record about where they really stand on the issues that affect ordinary people.
The Party of the Rich has nothing but contempt for the working class.
Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy believe bribery and influence peddling are 1st Amendment rights. Better Living Through Fascism.
Tax the Rich –
they can afford it but simply don’t want to pay their fair share.
Pogo
February 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
As far as the topic, Jay implies that the Democrats are immune from those evil Corporate campaign dollars and he throws in the unions contribution to that party as some equivocal caveat to those opposed to dollars buying campaigns to show kind of sad impartiality. The bottom line is the democrats are bought out just as much as the republicans and they are bought by banks or corporations or unions or whomever will throw money their way. They are not particular about who they get their dollars from. How in the hell are democrats supposed to make political fodder out of the SCOTUS ruling when they are just as guilty of partaking in it? The illusion of the democrats being the party of the people is long gone. Only a fool, and admittingly there are a lot of them as evidenced by this blog, believe that is the case.
On another note, the “Baptists” were released today in Haiti with no charges. I guess certain boorish/non-productive persons here will have to find another topic to bash religion with.
Paul
February 17th, 2010
7:23 pm
Jenifer 7:11
So Democrats will jump to accept this?
“House Republicans are taking a page from the president’s playbook by challenging Democrats to a televised debate about job creation.”
“The top two Republicans in the House sent a letter Wednesday daring their counterparts — Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer — to engage in a public discussion over ways Congress can provide a boost to the economy.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33081.html