Politics and The Art of

Blackmail Compromise in action!

So the rich get their tax cuts extended, but is that all there is to the story? Not likely. No, I suspect a lot of backroom hardball is behind Obama's allowing the tax cut extensions even though he was heartily against them.

Here's how I see it:

Through the art of blackmail bargaining, the Republicans got:

1. The money for themselves (after all, they're part of the 'rich' that benefited), their friends and their rich contributors thanks to the tax cut extension
2. And the murder of the Dream Act killed

Both of the above were their two biggies (God forbid the richest should lose more of their riches - OR - that any illegal immigrants should be allowed relief in the form of citizenship) and all they had to do - was what they'd planned to do all along:

1. Vote to extend Unemployment benefits
2. Vote to repeal DADT

Am I happy?

Not so much. I'm no longer a Democrat (remember, I'm now a member of the new Common Sense Party (or CSP) and as such, I supported:

1. The end to the tax cut for the richest (which, with its extension, will now add $700 billion to the Nation's debt)
2. The much needed extension of unemployment benefits (which is NOT an entitlement, nor something given to lazy people who don't want to work, but rather something desperately needed due to our tanked economy and an unemployment rate that's now 9.6 compared to 4.9 of just a year ago)
3. The Dream Act, which was an excellent stepping stone to real Immigration reform, not to mention demonstrating the fact that America has a heart (in case you're not sure, the Dream Act provided legal residency to young people who came to the United States illegally before age 16 but have since graduated from high school, completed two years of college - or military service - and had no criminal record) and its death kills any chance for real Immigration Reform for Obama - including reforms that would have made even Republicans happy.
4. Yep, strong supporter of repealing DADT as previous posts have shown.

IMHO, none of the above are brain-stretchers. None of them should have been points of contention but rather obvious answers to real problems. And you know what's even worse? The fact that I suspect Obama also gave up the 911 First Responders bill in order to get 2 out 4 of the above, which means in reality, by succumbing to blackmail bargaining, he lost three key items in order to gain two. That's beginners politics as opposed to the strong, experienced politics we need. But America could have had all four of the above plus the First Responders Bill (check out the Daily Show (video 1) to find out more about the bill, including video 2) thanks to a little something called 'budget reconciliation' - a tool that's been used very effectively in the past to by-pass the filibuster when cloture was impossible due to not having the necessary 60 votes (as happened with the addition of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate).

PS: If you're angry about the death of the First Responders Bill, you can help by being part of the largest 'retweet' in the nation. Go here and retweet the 14th tweet down, which reads: "make this the biggest national retweet ever! Demand the James Zadroga 9/11 Health Bill be passed before 12/31/10! NO MORE FILIBUSTERS!"

Today, everyone is talking about - and cheering - the repeal of DADT - and yet, the First Responders to 911 are dying and we're doing nothing about it but giving them the flim-flam. Vets (especially Desert Storm vets) have already been through this; the whole ignoring the cancers and other ailments that were a direct result of being exposed to toxins during Desert Storm and, yet, not a peep from anyone but Jon Stewart about the death of this critically needed bill.


YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT - you can retweet it, then start calling, emailing and writing your Congressperson - and get your friends to do the same. NOW.