National

The most obvious is that the Bush/Cheney years were such an unmitigated fiasco that they left a black hole in their wake from which no leadership could emerge. Anyone with any experience was discredited. The more of an expert you wanted to be on the economy or foreign policy, the more of a dunce you looked like to all sentient human beings. In any case, there was no heir apparent and McCain and Romney fell flat on their faces. What we got instead of leadership was a collective primal cry of pain and blame shifting that manifested itself in the modern Know-Nothing Tea Party Movement and Mitch McConnell’s strategy of maximal nihilistic opposition. But this only explains the reason that no one could emerge with any credibility. That the Republican Establishment is back with another Bush tells you just how empty the legitimate well of talent had become.

“With a final House showdown coming on Friday on President Obama’s push for accelerated power to pursue a sweeping trade agreement, the vote brokering has begun — and it is all tilting to the right. The legislative changes clearly show the fate of the president’s expanded trade-negotiating power rests with Republicans, not Democrats, even more so because Republicans have blocked provisions favored by pro-trade Democrats.”

It is a formidable task to nudge the juggernaut [i.e. the United States] leftward where there is both an uncompromising, obstructive right-wing Republican Party and a sect of the Democratic Party beholden to the plutocracy. It is even more difficult when the citizenry, the poor and the middle-class, have been so beaten down that they no longer feel their worth and they no longer feel they can make a difference. Well, the president has done his part sans TPP and a few other missteps. The next president must be someone who will unabashedly effect liberal policies, progressive policies. Going forward, it is time to ensure that the cleaver is used against the plutocracy, and it is time to ensure the planted seeds are fertilized and grow. [...] Obamacare must morph into Medicare for all (single payer). Social Security must be expanded by taxing all income, wages and capital gains, equally. The federal minimum wage must be increased to what it would have been if it kept up with inflation with an earned productivity benefit added. The defense budget must be retooled away from a corrupt military industrial complex to serve our true defense needs. The entire American infrastructure must be rebuilt. Where the private sector is derelict in maintenance and build-out of critical infrastructure, the government must intervene (universal wi-fi access, electrical grid, etc.).

I want to thank all of you that showed up yesterday to stand up for the Biden family and all the Delawareans who came to pay their respects to Beau and his family. Your decision to peacefully stand up to protect the Biden family from the hateful words and signs that those nitwits from Westboro Church were displaying shows the class and respect that we feel should be shown when a family and state is mourning their loss. I know the Biden family is not in a position to comment on what you did yesterday but, I would like to say thank you for standing up for all of us. With the exception of the spilled coffee, you pulled off a victory over hate and ignorance. By the way, if that gentleman is found guilty I would like to pay his fine.