NYT: The New Republican Landscape

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/opinion/18mon1.html?_r=1

The New Republican Landscape
Published: April 17, 2011


Six months after voters sent Republicans in large numbers to Congress and many statehouses, it is possible to see the full landscape of destruction that their policies would cause — much of which has already begun. If it was not clear before, it is obvious now that the party is fully engaged in a project to dismantle the foundations of the New Deal and the Great Society, and to liberate business and the rich from the inconveniences of oversight and taxes.

snip//

The mania for blindly cutting has also spread to statehouses, many with new Republican governors and legislatures. Several states have cut their unemployment benefits below the standard 26 weeks. Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona has proposed removing 138,000 people from Medicaid. Many recession-battered states, including some led by Democrats, have been forced to cut other services because Republicans have made it so politically difficult to raise taxes. Education, mental health and juvenile justice funds have been particular targets.

In Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Maine and Florida, Republican governors have used the smokescreen of a poor economy to pursue a long-held conservative goal of destroying public and private unions. This has nothing to do with creating jobs, of course, and it has shocked many blue-collar voters who are suddenly second-guessing their support for Republicans last November. Several states are also adopting Arizona-style anti-immigrant laws.

President Obama, after staying in the shadows too long, is starting to illuminate the serious damage that Republicans are doing. Their vision, he said last week, “is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America.” Other Democrats are also beginning to stand up and reject these ideas, having been cowed for months by the electoral wave. Their newfound confidence will give voters a clearer view of this bare and pessimistic landscape.

[polichick]

1. If Republican voters don't get it now, they never will.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

12. i think many of the non-thinkers wont really see it until the GOP owned "news" media

Is liberated from the Corporatists.

Too many people swallow the spew without question.

[totodeinhere]

14. A lot of them do get it, and what is happening now is exactly what they want and what they voted for

A lot of Republicans I know would be just fine with cutting back unemployment benefits, kicking people off from Medicaid, etc. That's what they voted for and now their politicians are giving them what they want. And many Republican voters also hate unions and are just fine with the effort to bust public employee unions.

So I don't think it's a case of stupid voters voting for something without realizing the consequences. They knew exactly what they were doing and that's the really scary part.

[sellitman]

2. The real question is will Congress Impeach Obama for by-passing them over Libya.

I agree with Kucinich

[babylonsister]

3. So you think he should be impeached. Terrific.

:eyes:

[sellitman]

11. We are involved in yet another War and Congess didn't authorize it

That is grounds for Impeachment.

Like it or not.

[JoePhilly]

4. The real answer is no.

Dennis likes to pout. Makes him feel important.

[vaberella]

7. Especially when Fox Noise invites him over so they can have a bitching party. n/t

[emulatorloo]

5. and the teabags n/t

[vaberella]

6. Where have you been? That bill was destroyed in the Senate. EPIC FAIL.

That's old news. This happened a month ago. Not to mention Obama did no impeachable offense, so...

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. You mean this Kucinich?

Kucinich’s UFO sighting written in star’s book

"Installing a Secretary of Peace may not be presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich’s most unusual proposal now that his pal Shirley MacLaine has outed him for having a close encounter with a UFO, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

In her new book, “Sage-Ing While Age-Ing,” the actress recalls the Ohio congressman standing on the balcony of her Washington state home when “he saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent, and observing him. It hovered, soundless, for 10 minutes or so, and sped away with a speed he couldn’t comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/view.bg?articleid=1040089

That one? :shrug:

[JoePhilly]

8. The GOP is doing an impersonation of Saddam Hussein after

Gulf war #1.

They know that their time in power is short, so they are burning the oil fields.

They are going to do as much damage as possible on their way out.

[paparush]

10. The Republican Tsunami - Leaving a swath of devastation in their wake.

[maxrandb]

13. Don't worry! It's all part of the plan.

This draconian Republican rule is all part of the "message" Progressives sent to President Obama by staying home last November.

Besides, just like some said when Bush was handed the keys to the nation..."How much harm can they really do"?

Maybe....JUST MAYBE...staying home was the wrong thing to do, but it's too late now. Complaining now is like putting the condom on after you've had sex.