"Rewarding the base" AKA "The bribes continue..."

[RadiomanATL]

On Monday:

In a speech before the National Press Club (and comments beforehand), AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka insisted that Democrats are "inviting a repeat" of the 1994 midterm elections by instituting a tax on high-end insurance plans as part of their final health care compromise, among other things.

Trumka: Democrats Are Inviting A Repeat Of 1994

Then on Wednesday:

In their latest effort to pass a health care bill by any means necessary, Democrats have struck a "tentative deal" with their big labor allies to exempt union benefits from a tax on high value health care plans, CongressDaily reports.

If this policy is adopted, it would mean that there could be two Americans receiving the exact same benefits, but one American may be taxed and one wouldn't, and the only difference would be one of them being a member of a union. This is unseemly and unfair, even by the standards of Obamacare. It has nothing to do with policy-making. It's simply an outright bribe to a constituency that has contributed handily to Democratic campaigns.

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Report: Dems to Grant Special Exemption to Unions on "Cadillac Tax"

 

[Xenophon]

Funny how the Barry supporters don't want to discuss this.

I wonder why....

 

[The Rabbi]

Obamacare has become a tar baby for the Democrats. Their desperation to pass something--anything-- has led them to pander to the worst impulses of the party, cutting back room deals and empowering and enriching small segments of their base.
The more they do this kind of stuff, the worse they look to the average American. Now even if Obamacare gets defeated they have lost. The damage is done.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Where is Jillian to defend this?

 

[jillian]

Funny how the Barry supporters don't want to discuss this.

I wonder why....

discuss it with whom?

people who haven't stopped whining since november 2009?

or people who would do anything to be obstructive?

 

[RadiomanATL]

Funny how the Barry supporters don't want to discuss this.

I wonder why....

discuss it with whom?

people who haven't stopped whining since november 2009?

or people who would do anything to be obstructive?

How about people like me who just want the bullshit, bribes and non-transparency to stop?

 

[jillian]

Funny how the Barry supporters don't want to discuss this.

I wonder why....

discuss it with whom?

people who haven't stopped whining since november 2009?

or people who would do anything to be obstructive?

How about people like me who just want the bullshit, bribes and non-transparency to stop?

you're better than most. but i still find 99% of the complaints disingenuous. there are things i agree with. things i don't.

still 1,000% better than the prior eight years.

btw...that should have said 2008 in my initial comment.

 

[RadiomanATL]

discuss it with whom?

people who haven't stopped whining since november 2009?

or people who would do anything to be obstructive?

How about people like me who just want the bullshit, bribes and non-transparency to stop?

you're better than most. but i still find 99% of the complaints disingenuous. there are things i agree with. things i don't.

still 1,000% better than the prior eight years.

btw...that should have said 2008 in my initial comment.

I find it the same as the previous 8 years. Almost exactly the same when it comes to tactics, methods, and political bribes.

Unions have replaced Haliburton.

Nebraska has replaced Blackwater.

 

[chanel]

Hey - It's only $60 billion. They can make that up by cutting Medicare. Oh wait... How about taxing the rich.? Oh wait.... What about a tax on Botox? Oh wait...

Jillian I don't pretend to be a lawyer, but this sounds like an "equal protection violation" to me.

 

[jillian]

I find it the same as the previous 8 years. Almost exactly the same when it comes to tactics, methods, and political bribes.

Unions have replaced Haliburton.

Nebraska has replaced Blackwater.

hey, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. but i'm content that military decisions are being made more thoughtfully now. that there's no lunatic cheney pulling the strings. i'm confident that no one's gifting the richest 1% anymore. i'm also confident that future court appointments won't endanger roe v wade and a myriad of other issues like that.

for me one isn't like the other because perhaps many of the issues that matter to me are the right wing wedge issues.

and no, you can't compare Nebraska with mercenary forces who like to use civilians for target practice and whom the goverment then absolves from accountability.

it's that type of rhetoric which makes it appear that things don't change.... false analogies.

 

[RadiomanATL]

and no, you can't compare Nebraska with mercenary forces who like to use civilians for target practice and whom the goverment then absolves from accountability.

it's that type of rhetoric which makes it appear that things don't change.... false analogies.

Both were a reward to heavy political contributors (for one measly vote).

In this regard they are exactly the same.

 

[jillian]

and no, you can't compare Nebraska with mercenary forces who like to use civilians for target practice and whom the goverment then absolves from accountability.

it's that type of rhetoric which makes it appear that things don't change.... false analogies.

Both were a reward to heavy political contributors (for one measly vote).

In this regard they are exactly the same.

but that analogy misses the big picture.

 

[RadiomanATL]

and no, you can't compare Nebraska with mercenary forces who like to use civilians for target practice and whom the goverment then absolves from accountability.

it's that type of rhetoric which makes it appear that things don't change.... false analogies.

Both were a reward to heavy political contributors (for one measly vote).

In this regard they are exactly the same.

but that analogy misses the big picture.

The big picture being that both presidents are/were hurtling us towards something that will be disastrous to the United States?

 

[jillian]

Both were a reward to heavy political contributors (for one measly vote).

In this regard they are exactly the same.

but that analogy misses the big picture.

The big picture being that both presidents are/were hurtling us towards something that will be disastrous to the United States?

the big picture is that for eight years we had someone in office who was the only person in recorded history to cut taxes during wartime.

you act as if no politicians have ever done anything for their "base". they do. that's life. you want to stop that, make elections public funded and don't allow people to raise or use their own money to run for office.

you have to look underneath and see if the specifics of what they do benefits anyone or hurts anyone.

 

[RadiomanATL]

but that analogy misses the big picture.

The big picture being that both presidents are/were hurtling us towards something that will be disastrous to the United States?

the big picture is that for eight years we had someone in office who was the only person in recorded history to cut taxes during wartime.

You mean the big picture that now we have a president who is spending money and racking up debt faster than any other in history?


C'mon Jillian. They're both from the same coin. Bush was heads, Obama is tails (heads...tails...there's a Clinton joke in there somewhere)

 

[jillian]

The big picture being that both presidents are/were hurtling us towards something that will be disastrous to the United States?

the big picture is that for eight years we had someone in office who was the only person in recorded history to cut taxes during wartime.

You mean the big picture that now we have a president who is spending money and racking up debt faster than any other in history?


C'mon Jillian. They're both from the same coin. Bush was heads, Obama is tails (heads...tails...there's a Clinton joke in there somewhere)

cute... i loved bill, btw. he had his flaws, but i felt very comfortable with him as president. i did... sorry.

i don't see them as being cut from the same cloth at all. i tend to believe the economists who say government really didn't have a choice because of the damage that had been done.

plus, i really don't have a lot of patience for the 'starve govenment til you can drown it in the bathtub' type of politics that seems to be supported by most of the people who oppose obama from nov. 2008 and haven't stopped the drumbeat since.

like i said, i have my disagreements... some big, some not so big. but not enough to support any party that would allow palin near the nuclear button.

so what would you do if you felt that way? support the people running the show and try to make sure what they do succeeds? or work to sabotage the people you see as semi-sane?

 

[Conspiracist]

but that analogy misses the big picture.

The big picture being that both presidents are/were hurtling us towards something that will be disastrous to the United States?

the big picture is that for eight years we had someone in office who was the only person in recorded history to cut taxes during wartime.

you act as if no politicians have ever done anything for their "base". they do. that's life. you want to stop that, make elections public funded and don't allow people to raise or use their own money to run for office.

you have to look underneath and see if the specifics of what they do benefits anyone or hurts anyone.

Okay, but just because it has happened before does not make it right. Like saying this isn't the first armed robbery to ever take place so no big deal. This is total unfairness to non union members and their insurance providers. It reminds me of Wallstreet cats stepping on the little guy. "When we step on them they don't scream that loud so no big deal".

 

[chanel]

Compare the "freedoms" or lack thereof in socialist countries, and then say that authoritarianism is not a component of socialism. And that's where we're headed. Fast.

 

[RadiomanATL]

the big picture is that for eight years we had someone in office who was the only person in recorded history to cut taxes during wartime.

You mean the big picture that now we have a president who is spending money and racking up debt faster than any other in history?


C'mon Jillian. They're both from the same coin. Bush was heads, Obama is tails (heads...tails...there's a Clinton joke in there somewhere)

cute... i loved bill, btw. he had his flaws, but i felt very comfortable with him as president. i did... sorry.

i don't see them as being cut from the same cloth at all. i tend to believe the economists who say government really didn't have a choice because of the damage that had been done.

plus, i really don't have a lot of patience for the 'starve govenment til you can drown it in the bathtub' type of politics that seems to be supported by most of the people who oppose obama from nov. 2008 and haven't stopped the drumbeat since.

like i said, i have my disagreements... some big, some not so big. but not enough to support any party that would allow palin near the nuclear button.

so what would you do if you felt that way? support the people running the show and try to make sure what they do succeeds? or work to sabotage the people you see as semi-sane?

Bill was *almost* the right president at the right time in history. If he coulda just kept his pecker in his pants he mighta done better.

Starve the government? How about just put it on a sensible diet? Right now it needs gastric bypass surgery.

Palin? Hell to the naw. That looney women doesn't need to be in any position of national power.

support the people running the show and try to make sure what they do succeeds? or work to sabotage the people you see as semi-sane?

I don't believe it is such a binary choice. How about hold the people in power accountable and scream like crazy when they start pulling the same old stunts. If they refuse to listen, time for someone else to give it a shot.

 

[Xenophon]

Funny how the Barry supporters don't want to discuss this.

I wonder why....

discuss it with whom?

people who haven't stopped whining since november 2009?

or people who would do anything to be obstructive?

No, that 'change we can believe in' was, is, and always will be a massive fraud perpetuated on the American public by the liar in chief and his cabal of tax and spend morons in the house and senate.

Dems proved my long standing contention that both parties are the same, self serving bloodsuckers who lie and cheat us to hold on to power.