Tag Archives: conservatives

Conservatives Plan to Spend Mega Millions to Win Congressional Lottery

Posted on August 28th, 2010 | Comments Off on Conservatives Plan to Spend Mega Millions to Win Congressional Lottery

Conservatives are betting heavily that they can bring back their nefarious philosophy of corporate control of America by spending mega millions of dollars this year to convince conservatives and independents to get out and vote for right wing candidates to help takeover the US House and Senate. Think Progress reports that right wing spending for the November Election will drastically rise to around $400 million.

Under such well known previous players like the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association are also all American sounding names like Americans for Job Security and Americans for Prosperity.

The Citizens United Supreme Court decision and Tea Party fanaticism and continuing libertarian ideals and free market advocates are all contributing factors stirring up a whirlwind of right wing dollars. Also contributing and giving these fanatics hope are polls that suggest the waning of the  idealism and fervor of new voters and others that helped to elect Obama and put Democrats in control over the last several national elections. They are hoping these Democrats and independents don’t make the effort to vote this year.

All I can say is WAKE UP to those that thought electing Obama was the end of the need to fight for the future. Wake Up to the reality that what we won is in danger of being lost.  Wake up to the realization that despite all the problems inherited from Bush and the Republicans that much progress has been made for a better future.  Maybe its not all you wanted but it is a hell of a lot considering where we were.

I say to those not yet energized to vote this year  – Are you willing to just roll over and play dead and ignore the damage to our future that this right wing fanaticism and greed will bring to us all? I hope not. I urge you to get engaged in this year’s elections and help battle off the attempt by the right wing to bring back the Bush/Cheney/Rove corporate greed machine that puts profit over people lives and dreams and hopes for a better future.

This election year is too important to sit out! Vote and urge your family and friends to vote. Give money to candidates you support and volunteer for their campaigns.

To give an idea of the magnitude and scope of the spending by conservatives here is the list of right wing groups and their proposed spending as tabulated by Think Progress. Do you really want these folks back in charge?

– Chamber of Commerce has pledged to spend $75 million

– American Crossroads has pledged to spend $52 million

– Americans for Prosperity has pledged to spend $45 million

– Republican State Leadership Committee has pledged to spend $40 million

– American Action Network has pledged to spend $25 million

– American Future Fund has pledged to spend up to $25 million

– Club for Growth has pledged to spend at least $24 million

– National Republican Trust PAC has pledged to spend at least $20 million

– An unnamed health insurance industry coalition has pledged to spend $20 million

– National Rifle Association has pledged to spend $20 million

– Faith and Freedom Coalition has pledged to spend $11 million

– FreedomWorks has pledged to spend $10 million

– Americans for Job Security has pledged to spend $10 million

– Susan B. Anthony List has pledged to spend $6 million

– Our Country Deserves Better (Tea Party Express) has already spent $5 million

– Tax Relief Coalition has already spent $4 million

– Republican Majority Campaign has pledged to spend $3 million

– Campaign for Working Families has pledged to spend $2 million

– Heritage Action for America has pledged to spend $1 million

– Financial Services Roundtable has already spent $0.5 million

– Family Research Council has raised $0.5 million

– Citizens United Political Victory Fund has pledged to spend $0.2 million

TOTAL: $399.2 million

Comments Off on Conservatives Plan to Spend Mega Millions to Win Congressional Lottery

Posted in Congress, Democrats, Elections, Republicans

Tagged , , ,

Activist Supreme Court Rules for Corporate Domination of Campaigns

Posted on January 21st, 2010 | Comments Off on Activist Supreme Court Rules for Corporate Domination of Campaigns

The US Supreme Court today opened the corporate floodgates to unlimited spending on political campaigns by repealing key sections of the McCain Feingold Bill that placed limits on corporate and labor spending in national elections.

The decision makes a mockery of conservatives decrying judicial activism because the Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 vote reached beyond the initial case to review several recent Supreme Court decisions and overturn them. The decision enhances the influence of corporations and labor unions by equating money with free speech. The ability of corporations to spend money greatly exceeds that of labor unions.

Unfortunately we are not all equal in the amount of money we have so the decision further diminishes the influence of most voters to affect the outcome of elections. The conservatives on the US Supreme court ruled in favor of corporate paid speech over individual free speech and a fair playing field for political dialogue. They shifted the advantage to moneyed interest to dominate political campaign.  This is not free speech, this is handicapping elections in favor of corporations and  business. This is what you get with conservatives controlling the US Supreme Court as the result of appointments by Republican Presidents and points to the extreme importance of who is President and who they  nominate to the US Supreme Court.

Obama in the White House will make a big difference in any future Justices appointed. While Democrats were caught snoozing in Massachusetts, allowing Republican to snatch the 60th vote needed to stop the filibuster; they now need to work harder to be organized and oppose any further erosion of Democratic support. A goal should be to get that filibuster proof majority back in the US Senate.

This Supreme Court decision is just another example of how a right wing conservative agenda is bad for America and its citizens. Corporations are not equal to citizens. There is an extreme danger in this ruling that money will be a more decisive factor in future elections  than issues. Money buys exposure.  Unfortunately the Supreme Court ruled against  restraining special moneyed interests from dominating the political discourse. Democracy unfortunately is the victim and voters will suffer as a result.

Comments Off on Activist Supreme Court Rules for Corporate Domination of Campaigns

Posted in Congress, Democrats, Elections, Obama

Tagged , , , ,

Republican Naysayers Present Challenge to Democrats on Health Care Reform

Posted on August 7th, 2009 | Comments Off on Republican Naysayers Present Challenge to Democrats on Health Care Reform

Politics is a rough and tumble contact sport and health care reform is no exception. Republicans and conservatives are rallying their right wing base and trying to change the outcome by confrontational tactics. Do Democrats and Progressives have what it takes to fight back? Do they have the tenacity to engage and fight to the finish? Questions like these are relevant and vital to the outcome of health care reform in Congress.

The basic question is whether Democrats and health care advocates going to roll over and let a few rabid naysayers determine the outcome of health care reform. If they do, then they are only fair weather advocates that ignore a vital fact in any type of reform effort. You must stick in the fight to the finish and you must engage the opposition at every turn.

It’s not surprising that the battle is turning nasty and confrontational because huge amounts of money are involved. It’s a continuation of the election in that it pits so called free market advocates against those that believe in fair play and regulation. Republicans and conservatives are also fighting to continue their dominance of a style of politics that is not based on fact but rather emotion and division. If conservatives can divide the American public by their “in your face” tactics, they will stop health care reform and much more.

The conservative’s goal is to negate the last election by having Obama lose a major policy battle. Democrats and Progressives and Independents who want to see change need to engage now and remain engaged. They need to e-mail and call their elected representatives and voice strong support for health care reform that includes a public option and coverage for all and that reduces health care costs.

You can also contribute to efforts like those of MoveOn.org which is trying to mobilize the public in support of the Democrats Health Care Reform proposals.

As MoveOn.org notes in an e-mail sent today:

“It’s getting ugly out there.

All across the country, right-wing extremists are disrupting congressional town-hall meetings with venomous attacks on President Obama’s plans for health care and clean energy.

Last night in Tampa, Florida, a town hall meeting erupted into violence, with the police being called to break up fist fights and shoving matches.

A Texas Democrat was shouted down by right-wing hecklers, many of whom admitted they didn’t even live in his district.

One North Carolina representative announced he wouldn’t be holding any town-hall meetings after his office began receiving death threats.

And in Maryland, protesters hung a Democratic congressman in effigy to oppose health-care reform.

We’ve got a plan to fight back against these radical right-wingers. We’ve hired skilled grassroots organizers who are working with thousands of local volunteers to show Congress that ordinary Americans continue to support President Obama’s agenda for change. And we’re building new online tools to track events across the country and make sure MoveOn members turn out at each one. “
You can make a contribution to MoveOn.org to help by clicking here:

Make contribution to MoveOn.org

Comments Off on Republican Naysayers Present Challenge to Democrats on Health Care Reform

Posted in Congress, Democrats, Elections, Obama, Republicans

Tagged , , ,

Dirty Dog New York Times and Free Press are Traitors!

Posted on July 3rd, 2006 | Comments Off on Dirty Dog New York Times and Free Press are Traitors!

The right wing Republican Noise Machine has jumped into hyperdrive this last week. The hysteria is foaming. Like the rapist accusing his victim, they have mounted an assault on the New York Times that explodes with venom and war time hysteria. They are attaching the very idea of a free press as unpatriotic.

Several others have done excellent posts on the issue and I recommend them to you.

Dave Neiwert of Orcinus – The Drums of Elimination

“Documenting the mounting drumbeat of eliminationist rhetoric from the American right has long been a staple of this blog. But even I have to shake my head in wonder at the turn of events this past week — most of it in the wake of the New York Times’ publication of stories detailing the Bush administration’s use of banking data in its search for terrorists.The upshot has been a significant escalation in this rhetoric, coming not just from the usual rabid quarters but coming over the national airwaves from figures who supposedly represent mainstream conservatism — and it is aimed not just at the usual “liberal” targets, but at the entire institution of the free press.”

Paul Waldman at Media Matters – “A Declaration of War”

“This week, the conservatives declared war.
Not on The New York Times.
Not even on the media in general. No, this week the entire conservative movement — from the White House to Republicans in Congress to Fox News to right-wing talk radio to conservative magazines — declared war on the very idea of an independent press.
They declared war on the idea that journalists have not just the right but the obligation to hold those in power accountable for their actions. They declared war on the idea that journalists, not the government and not a political party, get to decide what appears in the press. They declared war on the idea that the public has a right to know what the government is doing in our name.”
This is a profound threat to our democracy, and we underestimate it at our peril.

Glenn Greenwood at Unclaimed Territory – “Conservative Pundits reveal murdeous plot by the Travel Section of the NY Times”

“I learned today from Michelle Malkin, Powerline’s John Hinderaker, Red State, and David Horowitz, among others, that The New York Times not only wants to help Al Qaeda launch terrorist attacks on the United States, but that newspaper also want to do everything possible to enable The Terrorists to ssassinate Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld. That is the conclusion which these sober leaders of “conservative” punditry drew after reading

this article in the Times’ Travel section, which features the tiny, charming village of St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where both Cheney and Rumsfeld have vacation homes.”

Comments Off on Dirty Dog New York Times and Free Press are Traitors!

Posted in free speech, Republicans

Tagged , ,