Super committee Senate Dems: Murray, Baucus, Kerry

[rankandfile]

$tevie wrote:
This is such nonsense if you think about it. So much effort to try to avoid acting like adults. This Congress really IS the worst.

I agree with Sen. Snowe's quote.

As long as we allow super concentrations of money, much of it unidentified, we're going to get "representation" that doesn't reflect what's best for the nation as a whole.

I'm sure y'all are tired of hearing me say it; however, we have to reclaim ownership of the election process, i.e., voting machines, campaign propaganda, etc., before it will get better.

There is a case winding its way through the courts concerning the hacking of the 2004 Presidential vote in Ohio. Y'all may remember this was the stark anomaly of a 6.7% shift from exit poll compared to actual results (the mention of Kerry reminded me of this).

I won't hijack this thread any further; just chew on this tidbit regarding the "middle man" hacking process:

"...the servers for the computation of the Ohio vote count were in the same basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee that houses servers for the Republican National Committee. The programmers who did the stuff for Ken Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State, who was also co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign, were Republicans who did websites for the Bush administration."

This is a paraphrase quote of several facts. I can provide multiple sources for anyone who might be interested. Google will yield a boatload.

No one has yet been prosecuted. A Republican IT operative who came forward died in a plane crash just before his second deposition.

[Ted King]

Boehner and McConnell have named the Republicans for the committee. They've all taken Norquist's pledge and this is what Norquist himself tweeted about it, ""Boehner and McConnell appoint friends of taxpayers to the 'Debt Super Committee' your wallet is safe," he wrote." These Republicans should be asked repeatedly until they answer whether or not they they are willing to accept more revenues as part of the final agreement. If they all say "No" then the Democrats should just refuse to even start the process until those Republicans agree to put revenues on the table. Let the automatic triggers go into effect - they won't be much worse for entitlements than coming up with $4 trillion in cuts without more revenues, so let the Republicans sweat out letting the Defense Dept. take big automatic cuts built into the agreement until they finally agree to make more revenues part of the package. They shouldn't even start talking to Republicans until they get those Republicans named to the committee to agree that revenues are going to be part of the deal - at an absolute minimum, at least three or four of the Republicans on the committee, anyway.

[Mac1337]

What is it about the liberal vernacular that every so often has to be replaced so as to hide what it really means? Revenues? You mean taxes. Liberals and socialists are progressives, moderates, middle of the roaders, anything but who they really are. Oh, you want more"revenues"? It is easy. Grow the payroll. Don't know who to do it? Well, move over and let someone else in.

[Dennis S]

The Republicans will never ever ever give in on anything and eventually a Democrat will. That's how it works now. Party first.

[Mac1337]

Now I know why Democrats long for the days of Rockefeller, Ford, Michel, Dole, and yes, McCain.

[Gutenberg]

Gosh, and to think that just a little over a year ago we were discussing on this very forum whether the Republicans would be able to recover from the debacle of 2008.

[OWC Jamie]

The party will self-destruct by 2010
fer sure

[Mac1337]

They have overplayed their hand. They mistook their win for a mandate. Wait until the recall elections in Wisconsin.