Tuesday Open Thread
Welcome to your Tuesday open thread. It’s day #2 of a shortened work week that already feels a hundred years long. What is it about days before a vacation that make every day seem soooo looooong?
Texas Governor Rick Perry sounds like someone who knows he’ll never be president.
With that in mind, don’t be too surprised by his adamant denial of rumors that he might follow in the footsteps of the man he replaced in Austin, George W. Bush, and run for president in 2012. It’s not that Perry doesn’t have ambition, he told Fox’s Chris Wallace yesterday — it’s that he thinks the Governor of Texas will soon be more powerful than the President.
“I think being the governor of a state like Texas…is a more pivotal job in the future,” Perry said when Wallace asked him about running for President. “I do indeed hope that there’s someone in the future that says, ‘I’m going to go to Washington, try to get back to our Constitutional roots and devolve this centralization of government back to the states.’ So why would you want to be up there if the action is down here in the states?”
Oooooookaaaaayyyyy *backs away slowly from the crazy man* You keep hearing about the “D.C. bubble.” When are we going to start talking about the teabagger bubble?
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) blasted Republicans in an interview Monday, arguing that the GOP has taken the side of “foreign central banks” in debates over monetary policy.
“What’s striking to me, frankly … you said that Republicans are criticizing [Federal Reserve Chairman] Ben Bernanke. That’s part of it. The Republicans are joining the Central Bank of China in attacking Bernanke. This is really distressing to me,” he told Bloomberg Television’s Margaret Brennan.
Republicans have recently come out against the Fed’s asset-purchase program because they say it will cause a rise in inflation. Among those who have sent letters of opposition to Bernanke are Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-Ohio) and several Reagan-era economic officials.
Inflation is at its lowest rate in many, many years. Why are Republicans worried about it? Perhaps they should look up some basic numbers before rambling on?
Tags: Open Thread
Can we please get someone other than Barney Frank so represent us? no one other than us progressives have any respect for him at all. Fair or not, that is the reality and we only damage our message by continuously putting him… and everything everyone knows about him.. out as the posterboy for a progressive agenda.
This is country that votes more for american idol than the presidency. No matter what is being said, if you have a debate between Barney Frank and…. oh i dunno… Michelle Bachmann, she will win. Because she is hot (to tbaggers) and he mumbles.
It’s all about optics and packaging, people. They do it so much better.
So, Ben, if the right successfully demonizes a Democrat, we should dump him or her as damaged goods?
Our goals are more important that barney frank’s pride
Way to get your Stockholm Syndrome on, Ben.
Frank’s pride isn’t exactly at issue here. And the kind of people that folks *claim* to admire from Democrats tend to be Harold Ford. Who, for all intents and purposes, might as well be Michele Bachmann without the faux St. John suits.
Standing up for people who reasonably speak for you is the job here — not internalizing the right’s demonization campaigns. They only mount up at the most effective of us in the first place.
Republicans attack Barney Frank for the same reason they attack Nancy Pelosi. They’re scared of them.
I think gay members of the Progressive movement might be a little offended that you are so concerned about “everything everybody knows about him”
He’s not perfect, but he speaks out. We barely have a voice at all, why knock out one of our megaphones?
Its not that he is gay. It’s that he ran a brothel.
I see him as a liability to the cause. It doesnt matter if you believe it is deserved or not… i happen to believe not… American’s reality is never the same thing as the facts, but reality matters more. You can defend barney frank until the end of time, but all the while the entire MSM will be focusing on how ridiculous he sounds and always mention every charge ever leveled at him… not all the good he’s done, or the merrits of what he is arguing for. He no longer proves a net positive and this isnt about feelings. It is about results. Politics is a cold hard mean game and the republicans play it so well because they are heartless bastards. We need to be more heartless.
Frank did not run a brothel. His boyfriend at the time ran an escort service out of Frank’s house without Frank’s knowledge. A claim supported by the police investigation at the time, as well as by an Ethics Panel investigation. (Which means he is guilty of way less than David Vitter or Ensign or even Larry Craig)
But the fact that you persistently maintain the wingnut line on Frank means to me that you aren’t even interested in who your real political supporters might be — just in whether or not wingnuts *like* him.
Political effectiveness vs whether people like you — the signature stupidity of Democrats everywhere.
“You can defend barney frank … [but] … the entire MSM will be focusing on how ridiculous he sounds and always mention every charge ever leveled at him.”
I’m not sure who you think qualifies as “MSM,” but if you’re talking about newspapers, magazines and network news, your claim is demonstrably false. It’s the right wing that constantly levels ad hominem charges and falsely blames him for the economic meltdown, for the basic reason that right-wing bloggers and media are incapable of intellectual honesty.
so you would stick with someone that is constantly and successfuly used as a foil to prevent your agenda from happening? Just because you like the guy personally?
I dont give a crap about Barney Frank. I care about advancing progressive ideas. If at any point someone becomes detrimental to the cause, they should step back.
Im sorry you dont like wha ti have to say, but people need to wake up and accept that if you want to advance your cause in this country, you need to be able to sell it to vapid morons. The right wing has always done this well.
Ok Ben, I’ll bite. Who’s your pick? and if you don’t have a specific name a description of your ideal candidate as “offical progressive spokesman” will suffice.
The problem with arguments like this(and anon’s primary 2012 argument)is that we shun imperfect or incremental progress for some unknown, perfect “other” that doesn’t really exist. I mean if we’ve got a person, sure push them to the front of the line. I’ll get on that train. But I’d rather an imperfect voice than no voice at all while we’re waiting.
yeah geezer, it sucks. It isnt fair and it pisses me off. But i can either stay pissed off, push the boulder up the hill and watch this country fall into the hands of Sarah Palin…. OR we can fight them on their terms. We have the better ideas and philosophies. They will never play fair. All playing fair will get us is president palin. We need to play dirty. Character assassinations, throwing our own politicians under the bus when they become a liability… We can wash the filth off at the end of the day in our showers that we know contain no carcinogens because in the end, we will have prevailed.
Politicians should be thought of, and treated like temporary workers. If they become a liability, you cut your losses and move on. In this game, loyalty is never rewarded.
to V,
Anthony Weiner
constantly and successfuly used as a foil to prevent your agenda from happening?
Need a detailed list of what Barney Frank has been used to prevent. *Detailed* as in specific list of legislation, pls.
Good choice Ben.
So what do you suggest we do as progressives to achieve putting Anthony more on the map than he is? He’s already all over MSNBC, he’s gone viral a few times for floor speeches. I’ll get on your train, but where are we going?
Our Own Rob Tornoe taking a star turn in the Huffington Post!
Congrats, Rob!
V, i think the path needs to be cleared for fresh talent like Congressman Weiner. That must include the “old guard” stepping back. People will get behind him if he is allowed by the Democratic establishment to be a leader. He is also way too politically savvy to buck the establishment, so unless the powers that be in the DNC see that it is time to call up the star AAA guy, he will just be another Alan Grayson type.
Tonight at 7:00 Comcast, Democracynow.org. Wendell Potter and Michael Moore, how the insurance companies lobbyied against SICKO and single payer health care. It was all those front groups where the righties got their pro insurance company talking points.
Said Cassandra:
“Frank did not run a brothel. His boyfriend at the time ran an escort service out of Frank’s house without Frank’s knowledge.”
Wow, I did not know about that. Kinda funny. I guess it’s better than Frank’s boyfriend being a lobbyist for DADT.
“guess it’s better than Frank’s boyfriend being a lobbyist for DADT.”
how is that a scandal? A gay man is involved with another gay man who thinks gay men should be allowed to serve their country…. are you a Palin child or something?
@Ben – better keep your eyes averted at the urinal:the baggers dont want to be “Tea Bagged”
http://www.delawarepolitics.net/the-next-big-coverup-gay-assaults/comment-page-1/#comment-41147
this blurb from DP:
Rick:
‘Gay bashing?’ A misnomer. Gay bashing is what happens when a queer tries to take a peek at the urinal.
David Anderson:
Yeah, we have to be careful here. They are monitoring us. Hate crimes are a one way street
Rick:
Peeping-Toms are criminals, queer or otherwise.
I don’t encourage violence; I don’t submit to assault, either.
This from the dude that wanted to round up Hispanics with shotguns? and not a peep about “Gay bashing” being morally wrong?
so Everyone!! – if you find yourself next to Rick at a Urinal, if he is sober enough to stand up, hold his pecker (if he can find it) and pee in the right direction- make sure you DO NOT glance his way to make sure he’s not peeing on your leg – then tells you its raining…..
because looking at his pecker (if you cn see it) is, according to him, assault.
Comment by Socialistic Ben @ 2:59 pm:
“It’s not that he is gay. It’s that he ran a brothel.”
SB,
This thread began with Franks’ position on Federal Reserve monetary policy and you steer it to his boyfriend’s 10 year old sex scandal.
It’s CL(inton)(p)ENIS all over again.
Why are you right-wingers so obsessed with what everyone else’s genitals are doing?
Im sorry you cant handle the fact that so much of america is SO homophobic that a congressman in Mass. can be used against democratic candidates in Kansas.
Thats. The. Way. It. Is.
Keep in mind … i am also disgusted that this is how it is…. sometimes you just have to accept reality and adapt.
to beat a teabagger, you have you think like a teabagger
SB,
You think like a teabagger because you are a teabagger.
i promise you i am not.
Hey, here’s a picture of pandora going through airport security:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/pandora.jpg
Someone sure knows how to hijack a thread.
“The Republicans are joining the Central Bank of China in attacking Bernanke.” That sentence was the point of the post, but whatever. Chase your trolls. They get off on it.
You can’t hijack an open thread. It is impossible. The means for doing it are outside anything known in the universe.
We’ll have to agree to disagree.
You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.
I guess the way to “hijack an open thread” is to declare a topic off-limits.
Jeez. Are you really this stupid? The way you do it is to turn the conversation to something tangential to the main point of the post.
The wire monkey mother says that the housekeeper showed young George the jar-fetus-brother.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFuuV1DSlR4&feature=player_embedded
That family is all class. Throw the housekeeper under the bus? Sure…why not?
jason330–Please define the “main point” of an open thread?
I thought the main point of the “open” thread was that it was OPEN to somewhat random thoughts, ideas, musings, what have you.
That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Look it up. What am I ? Your mom?