Thursday, March 26, 2009

Conason, spinning the democratic mess

Joe Conason states, writes, " Ever since Election Day 2008, the usual suspects have been hard at work, deflecting responsibility from the Bush administration (and the Republicans in Congress) for the catastrophic effects of conservative policy enacted during the past eight years. Within days after Mr. Obama's victory, as stock prices fell, radio host and ideological commissar Rush Limbaugh exclaimed that we were already in the "Obama recession."

In fact, the economy had been shrinking for nearly a year by then, and the market was responding to bad economic news rather than the election result.
"

Hilariously, Conason ignores which political party has actually controlled both Houses since January of 2007.

And the Democrats have not only just controlled both houses of Congress since 2007, but have almost unlimited power in the house according to democrat Barney Frank, "In the House of Representatives, the majority party has almost unlimited power over the minority party. The majority party owns the committee chairmanships; it controls what bills come to a vote; and it is under no obligation to consider the ideas of the beleaguered minority"

More revealing Frank admits, "Forgotten too is the significant progress that was made after the 2006 elections, when the Republicans in Congress were repudiated by American voters. Ironically, this is the period in which I and my Democratic colleagues actually did possess the magical power needed to make real change in Washington -- we became the majority party. "

That magical power and SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS started in January of 2007, under the democrats, so they were in charge when "the economy had been shrinking for nearly a year by then", and not the Republicans.

And Obama voted for the 700 billion dollar bailout in the fall of 2008. Obama was an active participant in creating the so called "Bush deficit" he whines about inheriting.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

9/11/2001 - Carville: "I hope Bush fails".

Sept. 11, 2001:
Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: "I certainly hope he doesn't succeed."

Carville was joined by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who seemed encouraged by a survey he had just completed that revealed public misgivings about the newly minted president.

"We rush into these focus groups with these doubts that people have about him, and I'm wanting them to turn against him," Greenberg admitted.

The pollster added with a chuckle of disbelief: "They don't want him to fail. I mean, they think it matters if the president of the United States fails."

Nov. 21, 2001:
Mr. Carville goes on to advise Democrats that in order to help "set up the congressional choice for next year" Democrats should characterize Mr. Bush's domestic policies as causing "economic damage, undermining social programs and geared towards big business." Apparently, in Mr. Carville's view, he is being sufficiently patriotic if he says, in essence: "Support our president even though he is a plutocratic parasitic insect that sucks the blood of the working people."

Nov. 30, 2001:
"The bottom line is, this is George Bush's recession," Rep. Nita Lowey, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chief, says in today's edition of USA Today.

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee called the comments of Lowey, D-N.Y., "despicable" and predicted the attack would backfire.

"I think it shows incredibly poor political judgment to attack a president with an 86 percent approval rating," said NRCC communications director Steve Schmidt.

"The economy was in a slowdown in the last days of the Clinton administration, and the slowdown was exacerbated by the Sept. 11 attacks."

Fox News Channel reported tonight that former Clinton strategist James Carville and others planned the negative campaign a month ago.

Nov. 30, 2001:The House Democratic campaign committee is preparing an advertisement for use in targeted House districts spotlighting Republican support for repeal of the alternative minimum tax on corporations, which Democratic lawmakers criticized as a boon for big business.

Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, who heads the Democratic campaign committee, said in an interview with USA Today published on Friday that last month's vote to repeal the tax was ``unpatriotic, inappropriate and wrong'' given rising unemployment.
Lowey said the ad would run in at least three House districts and labeled the recent economic downturn ``George Bush's recession.''
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle questioned the Republican reaction to the ad campaign. ``There is a sensitivity right now in the administration about the Bush economy,'' Daschle said. ``We're in a recession.''

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