Chin up, Progressives. Some good may come of this.

[democrank]

It just might be that a few more citizens are paying attention right now, given the longer lines at the food pantries and the increases in foreclosure auctions. There are a lot of folks out there who listen in stunned disbelief when they hear "leaders" inside the Beltway cite Wall Street statistics like they`re numbers on the right-hand side of a grocery store receipt. These regulars out in the trenches know disconnect when they see it and they know cowardice when they smell it. These regulars are folks that stand on tiptoes to swab out washers at the laundromat or set aside $3.00 each week until they have enough for a new battery for the truck. I know these people. We`re from the same neighborhood. We don`t whine and we don`t stand in our windows...hands clasped...waiting for pink ponies.

I know people with 2,3 part time jobs, I know laid off adults delivering papers. I know people that wouldn`t even dream of spending the extra $1.29 for a box of Christmas candy canes. I know men and women with holes in their shoes and children with no warm winter coat. These are some of the folks Progressives fight for. The folks we keep in our hearts when we`re told to quit whining and support tax cuts for Rush Limbaugh, the Republican blowhard that tells hungry kids in America to go dumpster diving.

The wealthy in this country have plenty of support. A giant chunk of our elected "leaders" make sure of that. They have loopholes designed for them, statues erected for them... whatever it takes to keep the contributions coming in. But, that child pacing the city sidewalk waiting for the shelter to open, that`s a different story. The 52-year old shoe factory worker laid off with a 2-day notice, too bad for him. Wish we could help. Wink, wink. These "leaders" don`t even have to pretend anymore.They`re right out in the open with it. NO HEALTH CARE! NO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS! It`s almost like some kind of sick survival of the fittest game where the needy can drop like flies so long as the folks that matter advance...with a little advantage.

I`m hoping Progressives will work together to find a powerful new voice willing to confront corrupt ways of doing things. I hope that voice will have fewer image-makers and more conviction, less flash and more substance. Some good may come of this. Progressives could turn courage of conviction into a valuable campaign tool and use that to plow open a whole new field. ~PEACE~

[Lint Head]

1. Nothing good can come from this. It's too late. The American dream is dead.

We are totally controlled by corporate fascists backed by GOP traitors!

[polichick]

2. In the sense that it might wake up some people, you're right...

It might also be the thing that inspires a good primary challenger - or even a new party.

It would be very hard for me to vote for Obama again after this idiocy.

[Demeter]

3. It's Going to get a lot worse before it gets better

because all current plans are to ensure that it gets worse.

I'd say the government had a death wish--committing suicide by willfully forcing a revolution.

The only question is timing: revolution in my lifetime? Almost certainly, I'll wager. I'm only 55, of long-living genes. I doubt the present situation can continue for 3 years, let alone 30. This isn't Japan, and we've had 30 years of decline already.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. If Democrats had kept the House would things be any different?

[annabanana]

5. Thank you democrank. It helps me handle the season to remember

that we are on the right side of this. I don't care how much the media shouts. They also must obey the law of gravity and reality will not, in the end, be denied.

[cap]

6. we gotta have heart...

I am not listening to the nay sayers. I'm taking a break around the holidays and then come January I am ready to roll.

We will only get out of this mess if we have heart. Think World War II, there were some awful bleak times before we could see victory. All we had during those bad days was heart.

Remember, we control the Senate, the Presidency, and the Executive Branch. We have to hold each of those branches accountable. There's a lot of hooting and hollering by the Republicans... but at the end of the day, the Executive branch can choose to spend money or not. There's a lot of Republican state legislatures who will need to be bailed out. State Governments are set to go bupkis in 2011. We just to extract our pound of flesh.

The House can allocate spending however it chooses. It just has to ensure that the Executive Branch agrees to spend it.