Jim Lampley: The Emerging Democratic Majority

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/jim-lampley/the-emerging-democratic-m_1038.html

I find myself reciting three words in response to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's "Nuclear Option": bring it on!!

It's excruciating on a day-to-day basis to have to endure the social divisiveness, elitist arrogance and blatant media control of creeping fascism in America. But each step in the neoconservative push to remake the country in their prescribed image plays a little further into the hands of reasonable progressive political thought. Five years ago I began telling my friends that George W. Bush and company would provide the greatest stimulus to liberal momentum since 1968. Now they are following the script perfectly, substantiating and confirming all my eager expectations about backlash.

The Republicans seem to believe they are on the verge of solidifying an empire here, an empire built on subsidy and protection for the rich balanced by casual contempt for middle-class working Americans. They've spent five years rigging the machinery of politics and distracting attention from their raid on the Treasury by focusing public attention on issues of personal morality. And on the surface, it has worked. But beneath the surface, they have no real foundation, as a variety of statistical indicators show.

Start with Bush's approval rating, below fifty percent in the days before the election, persistently below fifty percent ever since. The public demonstrated in opinion polling that it was overwhelmingly opposed to Congressional and judicial intervention in the Terri Schiavo right-to-die case, but the Tom Delays and Bill Frists of the world ignored that feedback. The Iraq War continues to show its true colors, to the increasing discontent and impatience of the voters, but the Bush Administration has no exit plan and will clearly still be mired in this futile effort to establish "democracy" when the next election rolls around. The historic budget deficit grows each day, but the Administration doggedly insists tax revenues will grow to shorten it up-- yeah, sure they will. The Administration and Capitol Hill "leadership" continue to obsess about privatizing Social Security and packing the courts with oligarchist jurists, while the public asks in overwhelming majority for attention to be paid to jobs, economic breadth, reduction of healthcare costs, a legitimate energy policy and an end to the no-win war.

[Nothing Without Hope]

1. Go Jim Lampley! He got my attention first with his article on how Bush

stole the election:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/2005/05/biggest-story-of-our-live.html

He wrote additional installments on this subject later, as he got encouragement from Rep. Conyers and utterly refuted an attempt to defend Bush's legitimacy by Byron York.

Thanks for this new installment - and let's hope what he says is widely heard.

[bleever]

Hi Hope! And don't you think this deserves a nomination?

I knew that you did.

:hi:

[Nothing Without Hope]

7. Hey, bleev! Yeah it does deserve both a recommendation and your

super-rare ... tripe? (LOL - "tripe" does seem a logical progression from dupe, sort of)

:toast:

[bleever]

5. dupe (But it was worth it.)

[bleever]

6. Wow! The rare double dupe. But Lampley deserves it.

[vince3]

29. Lampley's Huffington Piece

His column about the stolen election of 2004 says a lot. It tells me that people are becoming aware that it was stolen and rigged. More people are waking up all the time. All Bush needs, given all of his other problems, is for people to realize that he has never been elected. I have sent Lampley's crooked election column to everyone I know. The election fraud truth of 2004, and the fact that Bush has never been elected, are gaining momentum.

[Nothing Without Hope]

33. Yes, that was a great piece. And there were more in the series.

Here's a later (May 13) Lampley piece on the 2004 election fraud, with links to other ones, including those of Conyers and York:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/jim-lampley/to-byron-york-and-other-o.html

He does some very fine rebuttal work here. And the title is telling as well: To Byron York and Other Ostriches

[Trajan]

2. Three Cheers to Jim and Bree ....

He is fuckin AWESOME .....

This must be his second piece, because it is dated today, and I am pretty sure he wrote something last week as well ...

He was a Southern California anchorman in the 80's, and revealed no particular political color then .... but he is firing with BOTH barrels now ! ...

HURRAY for Jim and Bree Lampley ..... and thanks ....

[RamboLiberal]

3. He had one yesterday on the Newsweek flap

Roger L. Simon's rebuke of Newsweek in the wake of the magazine's admission of error in the case of the flushed Koran report comes off more as a cheap shot than a knockout punch. Simon writes as if the too highly-regarded "anonymous source" is a journalistic franchise of the left, a story tool never employed by media supporters of Pax Americana true belief. Nonsense. Regardless of your opinion of the efficacy of anonymously-sourced information, you'd tie yourself in knots trying to prove substantively that it has been used more frequently or flagrantly by either side. It is what it is.

In laying responsibility for large-scale rioting and fourteen attendant deaths at the hands of the magazine and its reporters, Simon conveniently ignores that reports of Koran desecration at Guantanamo had first appeared in 2004, in newspapers both in the United Kingdom and Russia, as well as on the Qatar-based television network Al Jazeera. Newsweek didn't run the story, actually a look-ahead to a future story which included the Koran detail, until reporters who had been diligently covering the story for months were motivated by what they describe as a high-level government source.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/jim-lampley/to-roger-l-simon-the-re_966.html

[driver8]

13. I always liked Jim Lampley as an announcer...

I never knew he had such liberal political views.

Way to go Jim and Bree!!!

[von Staufenberg]

23. Oh, man, kudos to your sig!!!

Sorry for the diversion, but I just gotta say I love the DEVO 'toon. The boys from Akron have long been personal favorites, and their take on the state of mankind in the '70s-'80s is becoming more prescient than ever.
We're all DEVO!

[bleever]

4. Super-kick, and nominated.

Jim Lampley, I kiss you!

Unless you'd rather I shake your hand, with an optional manly pat on the back.


:thumbsup:

[gumby]

8. Lampley screamed that the last election was stolen.

Now he openly acknowledges the "fascism" that is overtaking this country.

But...but....but.... if the fascists can steal any election they want, how is anything going to change? Huh?

[GetTheRightVote]

9. I double kiss him, yes, bring it on, we are waiting to serve up justice

after repubs set their own trap.

:kick:

[glitch]

10. We've got some great guys on our side.

Folks with smarts and guts. Talking about Jim Lampley, Bill Moyers, Mark Crispin Miller, Greg Palast, Arianna Huffington, Amy Goodman, Thom Hartmann, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Mike Papantonio, Paul Krugman, Frank Rich, Bob Herbert, Robert Scheer. Just a few of my favs off the top of my head. Many, many more. George Galloway.

Doesn't take any guts at all to suck up to thugs in power. Talking about you Charlie Rose. Just cuz I saw some posts about your show on Galloway just now and so your name springs to mind. Don't have time or desire to list all the others. Dennis Miller.

[inchhigh]

18. You know - I admire some of these guy so much....

I almost hate them out of envy. Lamply, man, a fiery Liberal making a living in sports broadcasting.

THAT WAS MY DREAM!

Now that he's successful, he's just shovin' it in my face that he made it without sucking up to the pukes.

THAT WAS MY EXCUSE FOR NOT MAKING IT!

Stupid Lamply!

What's my excuse now?

[hangloose]

11. kick brother kick

[Tigress DEM]

12. Can we get 1-7 million out to protest at all State Capitals on July 4th?

You know shoot for at least 10,000 at each State Capital on July 4th 2005 - A Stand For Democracy Rally or something?

I'm thinking we have the numbers, but we have to show the media that we have the numbers by all getting out at the same time and being an unmistakable presence.

How about a "Million DEM March" in every state big enough to pull the numbers?

Ecuador toppled their prez with 15,000. I just want to get the truth out and show people that WE ARE HERE and We're NOT GOING Away.

Oh and get the vote system resolved to make certain that every vote counts and is counted.


PAPER TRAIL!!!

[oxbow]

14. DCs nuts already on the 4th

pick another day and it might work

[Griffy]

26. DC is mostly Dem.. we could get many to join a march.. though,,,

permits may be impossible... but isnt the 3rd a sunday? .. we need a massive protest in DC... million plus... and then we STAY to demand truth from media!

[Tigress DEM]

30. Unday July 3rd sounds like a good idea, but it would still be same issue

Since the 4th is on a Monday most places will probably do the big parties on the weekend.

Still I'm thinking a big holiday, and our standing up to oppression on our Independence Day is symbolic to me, BECAUSE everyone will be out. We can NEED to be seen by Joe Q Public who thinks there are only a small minority of people pissing and moaning about insignificant issues. I think some major handing out of REAL news reports - Truth Out, Reporters Without Borders, INDY reports etc...

I'm thinking of going to see Al Franken at the DFL Caucus on June 11th here in Minnesota at the U of M. $50 bucks a pop, but with the way the rethugs are tripping over themselves even Leno is unable to resist the comedy of it, so I expect Al will be informative AND entertaining.

[minkyboodle]

15. gotta love it

I've enjoyed Lamps on HBO fights for years but who knew he was such a fiery liberal howitzer.. Good on you Jim and enjoy the fights!

[Coexist]

16. kick - I really like the Huffington Post, btw...

[spooky3]

17. Can you imagine the flak he's getting from his fellow sports

media people, who tend to be very conservative rich-white-male (etc.) types?

GO JIM!

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[inchhigh]

25. I didn't...I didn't feed the animals.......whoops!

"So the lack of the ability to filibuster judicial nominees who have for the entire life of the Senate been given an up or down vote is somehow removed the voice of the minority party? "
my emphasis

Such claims, however, are at odds with the record of the successful 1968 GOP-led filibuster against President Lyndon B. Johnson's nomination of Abe Fortas to be chief justice of the United States. "Fortas Debate Opens with a Filibuster," a Page One Washington Post story declared on Sept. 26, 1968.


From WaPo:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45149-2005Mar17.html

[Boo Boo]

20. Lampley... Who knew?

I love this guy! :applause:

OTOH, this piece does nothing to address the most important question that now faces DU-ers: Which one of us is Lampley?


:kick:

[Zorbuddha]

21. Lead the charge, Jim...

ROCK ON

[GoSolar]

22. Wow!

Love ya Mr. Lampley! Keep speaking out!

[Thirsty]

24. Gumby makes the obvious point

How will the majority ever be heard without honest elections?

[Tigress DEM]

31. As a last resort, we put together a Constitutional Convention...

As citizens we have the right to get together this way and we could put out our own 4th branch of government if need be. A citizens oversight committee for the voting issue and we could even draft and approve legislation ourselves. I think it has a sour taste in most people's mouths though because if I remember correctly the only other time it was used was to establish prohibition.

I would say we put together a list of the damage done by this administration, we put back the teeth in the watchdog positions and kick out the appointees who are inappropriate for their jobs, as well as judges who don't meet the impartiallity lithmus tests - they can have beliefs - they just can't impose their judgements based on anything but the law, put together a citizen's mandate for the prosecution of the war criminals at the top who authorised violating the Geneva Convention, prosecute those war profiteers who made their money through clandestine government contracts, roll back the insane tax cuts to the rich and empower the IRS to go and get the money back from anyone who has cheated America out of $1 million or more before they audit any more people at the bottom or middle of the tax scale.

[newyawker99]

34. Hi Thirsty!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Vyan]

27. Revenge will be Sweet

Some months ago I wrote of "Revenge" for what the neo-cons are doing to this country. The plundering of our Treasury, destruction of our schools and ecology. turning journalism into mindless tabloid talking-heads - at a certain point, people will begin to recognize what is going on and wake up. At a certain point, even lifelong Republicans will eventually hear and see somethign so eggregious they'll find themselves in doing a spittake of the administrations latest batch of Elephantine Kool-aid.

I think it's important that this Revolution of political thought occurs across the Democratic/Republican divide. It needs to happen on a bi-partisan basis, or else it will be seen merely as a Democratic Power-Grab in retaliation for the current political success of the neo-cons.

Neo-cons and their blindly faithful supporters, are fond of saying that their opposition among Democrats (as well as other Republicans such as Chris Shays or Chuch Hagel), have no ideas and no ideals - but sometimes what you stand for is defined by what you stand against.

If you stand against the bankrupting of the nation - you should stand with us. If you stand against taking healthcare away from our veterans and soldiers, you should stand with us. If you stand against the curruption of the media and the fearmongering of the populace, the corporatization of our elections, the politicization of our churches and the slow decent of much of our populace, but native born and immigrant, into endless debt and wage-slavery - Republican, Democratic or Independant...you should stand with us, and against the neo-con agenda.

It's clear that the neo-cons in Congress and Administration have lost all sense of proportion and propriety. They are not going to stop, each and every week something more and more outrageous and eggressious occurs. The Schiavo Fiasco, Bolton Disaster, and now the Nuclear Option. At a certain point - sometime soon - the danger of this continued insanity will become abundantly clear to the vast majority of Americans, they'll be angry and they'll demand a change.

We need to be ready.

Vyan

[yurbud]

28. Will Dems blow it like they did after Newt implosion?

Again and again, the GOP overplays their hand and loses public support, but the Dems fail to hold them accountable for their lies and crimes. From the October Surprise, to Iran Contra, the Contract with America, and the impeachment of Clinton on trivial grounds, the Republicans have put their head on the chopping block and instead of swinging the axe, the Dems have given them a hug instead.

And in exchange for the hug, they get a knee in the groin.

We need to infiltrate the Dems and demand clean money, clean elections, and a fair media because they will not automatically do it if they regain the majority.

Right now, there are two pro-business parties. One is paid to do the dirty work, and the other is paid to simply be silent.

[Tigress DEM]

32. The party itself isn't the issue

It's like a stately old house in disrepair, it's the current occupants that are squabbling too much to do what needs to be done all the time. Still they are only tennants - the real owners of the DEM party is WE the People. WE got our problems too. We need to have the courage and perservance to hold our leaders accountable to the truth no matter how much they'd rather believe the lies.

The internet it a great tool. Most monarchs and national leaders had no qualms about having affairs until Clinton & Monica shared a cigar in the oval office. They still have affairs, but they are wary and will do things to tow the line and get the job done, even if it's because they want to balance out how awful their private stuff is.