Democrats Will Try a Hybrid of Old, New Policies

[Cheswick2.0]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42676-2004Feb14?language=printer

<snip>

"I cannot recall a time when there was more consensus on the policy direction we should take," Daschle said. "As you go down the list, on virtually every one of these questions, Democrats believe Republicans are ceding the middle, and we are willing to take it."

Kerry said Bush's strategy of playing to his conservative base to maximize voter turnout among Republicans has brought Democrats together on most issues. "George Bush has helped unify the party," Kerry said in an interview last week.

The result: Voters this year likely will be presented with two clear, but not dramatically different, approaches to solving the nation's domestic problems, ranging from failing schools to soaring drug costs.

Kerry and top Democratic congressional leaders have rejected broad policy changes such as repealing all of Bush's tax cuts and moving too quickly to provide health coverage to every American. "While some wanted everything, there is consensus around repealing those on high income," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Democrats said they will not promote completely undoing two other laws of which they have been highly critical: the No Child Left Behind accountability program for schools and educators; and the Medicare prescription drug plan. "In some places, we have learned lessons," said Kerry, who several times used the word "balanced" to describe the emerging Democratic approach.
<snip>

Oh, so now they aren't going to undo NCLB after voting for it. Any teacher voting for Kerry should be ashamed.

[La_Serpiente]

1. here

On Medicare, Kerry and congressional Democrats support allowing the government to negotiate lower prices with drug companies and permitting the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and other foreign countries. Democrats believe this will quickly lower the cost of drugs for American consumers; Republicans counter that such measures will lead to government price controls that could result in less research.

If you ask me, that is a pretty big change. I can't speculate on the other areas what he would leave the same or change, but this is a big step in the right direction.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Here's the line that got me:

Kerry and top Democratic congressional leaders have rejected broad policy changes such as repealing all of Bush's tax cuts and moving too quickly to provide health coverage to every American.


Just as I suspected.

[w13rd0]

5. Isn't that a relief?

Whew...happy to hear that the Democratic party, with bold visionaries like Dash and Kerry at the helm, will be holding off for another decade or two in fullfilling planks of the party platform. Heck, if they actually got anything done, they might lose the White House, both houses of Congress and control of the judiciary...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. Might hurt yourself if you move too quickly.

Wouldn't want to pull a muscle.

We can wait another 100 years, what's the big hurry?

[w13rd0]

3. you missed the kicker

"The result: Voters this year likely will be presented with two clear, but not dramatically different, approaches to solving the nation's domestic problems..."

Wow, that's JUST what we need. Two clear, but not dramatically different...gee, I'll say. Just as Kerry did with others, adopting their rhetoric and talk, but more "nuanced", it seems he'll be using the same approach that's worked so well for him with Bush.

Gee, that's a relief. Here I was thinking that my opposition to Bush would mean I'd have to oppose his ill-concieved policies. But GOOD NEWS, I don't, I can get the same stupid policies, but with a Democratic "veneer". Oh, joy, i can hardly contain my enthusiasm.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Another jewel:

Kerry, Daschle and Pelosi said they are confident that Democratic liberals, moderates and conservatives will remain so united in their loathing of Bush that the policy disputes that have long divided the party will cease or at least quiet to a whisper. They point to one constant in polling of voters in primaries and caucuses: Democrats across the board are more concerned about electability than ideological purity.

"The political reality of being out of power . . . means people will swallow things they usually wouldn't," said Steve Elmendorf, a senior aide to Kerry.

[w13rd0]

8. Ah...

...so Kerry likes it when we swallow?

[Cheswick2.0]

38. it makes me sick

after the coup in 2000 and the endless caving of democrats, now we get more of the same from out own party. Gag

[Paulie]

4. They never learn do they?

More of the same means less DEMs in power!!! For gods sake, please, stand up and fight!!!! Haven't we learned anything since 2000???? MY GOD!!!!

:mad: :mad: :mad:

[Cheswick2.0]

39. I think they need to replay 2002 about twenty times before they get it

into their dense heads.

[Rose Siding]

9. No surprise but

...these are some compromises that Be-Zell-zebubba himself would approve!

No risky change for these dlc smitten traitors to the base.

snip>
Kerry and top Democratic congressional leaders have rejected...moving too quickly to provide health coverage to every American.

Dodged THAT bullet, didn't we. WHEW!!

And BEST of ALL...a built in TURNOUT suppressor!

snip>
The result: Voters this year likely will be presented with two clear, but not dramatically different, approaches to solving the nation's domestic problems...

Mission Accomplished!

They have here, in their girlish wisdom, decided to let Junior's Radical Legacy stand...With a little bit of TWEAKING!

snip>
Democrats said they will not promote completely undoing two other laws of which they have been highly critical: the No Child Left Behind accountability program for schools and educators; and the Medicare prescription drug plan. "In some places, we have learned lessons," said Kerry, who several times used the word "balanced" to describe the emerging Democratic approach.

The CBC CAN'T be in line with this! No HC "too quickly"? No, for GOD'S sake, make sure we don't get what we're DESPERATE for right away! It wouldn't be PRUDENT, would it? Why would we ever want to actually give the people what they need?

The CBC has consistently stood for what I consider to be the real values of the party base. Would they REALLY cave on Kerry's agenda as revealed in this article?

All the thievery of Dean's mssg that they KNEW would resonate with voters is here being invalidated. They have their media momentum and no longer need any PRINCIPLES.

Out loud. OUT LOUD they tell us how it will be without any chance to have what even his own supporters led US to believe they expected! We've already been told not to expect ANYTHING to be different but the name on the stationery

[BuelahWitch]

22. Hmmmm, sounds like Bush-lite to me

And who coined that phrase? I can't remember...oh, wait, it was that BAD BAD Man from Vermont, wasn't it?

Bad Gov. Dean! Telling the truth! Shame on YOU!
:spank:

[pezcore64]

28. LOL

I was thinking the same exact thing and was on my way to go post that I thought that way.
Definitely Bush Lite!!
Here we go again guys, gonna be yanked around by the establishment like the lil fickle whores we are. hooray!
I cant wait!


GO DEAN!!!

[w4rma]

10. "...will not promote completely undoing two other laws..."

IMHO, it would be best to find specifics before criticizing this decision. It may be an extremely good decision as there may be parts of the bills that would work very well if not for other parts of the bills.

[madfloridian]

11. We will swallow things we ordinarily would not? Kerry aide.

QUOTE: ....""The political reality of being out of power . . . means people will swallow things they usually wouldn't," said Steve Elmendorf, a senior aide to Kerry.

[Rose Siding]

12. But WHY?

He's polling AHEAD of Bush already! Why make all these compromises NOW?

[Mairead]

33. "Why make all these compromises NOW?"

Because for the DLC they're not compromises, they're GOALS!

[Cheswick2.0]

40. because those compromises are what the special interest money buys

It isn't even about votes. Those they can manufacture. It is about big money special interests.

[funky_bug]

13. Please do your research on NCLB before you tell me I should be ashamed

NCLB was a Bush-Kennedy effort. Remember that NCLB was partly OURS. We just didn't know that Bush wasn't going to fund it.

Kerry is not going to undo NCLB, but he is going to work toward funding the mandates. That’s why he's proposing a new ‘Education Trust Fund’ that means fully funding education, no questions asked. As for these bullshit tests, Kerry is against those too. He believes the "one size fits all" tests need to go bye bye, now! He thinks they've done nothing but make our schools test-prep institutions, and he is going to address the ways in which these tests are being used to punish and reward schools. Also, he has stated there will be NO MORE UNFUNDED MANDATES COMING OUT OF HIS ADMINISTRATION.

I've worked in education for five years, and I'm back in school now, working toward my certification in education. I'm a future teacher, and I'd thank you NOT to make judgements on my conscience... especially when you clearly have NOT done your research.

[Rose Siding]

14. Research is a good idea

My mother's been a successful and beloved teacher for 35 years and she has only criticism for the bill. She hasn't written an essay but this 27 year teacher has. You might be interested

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=37&ItemID=4851

snip>
Here's why I think NCLB is hoax:
1. The massive increase in testing that NCLB will impose on schools will hurt their educational performance, not improve it.

2. The funding for NCLB does not come anywhere near the levels that would be needed to reach even the narrow and dubious goal of producing 100% passing rates on state tests for all students by 2014.

3. The mandate that NCLB imposes on schools to eliminate inequality in test scores among all student groups within 12 years is a mandate that is placed on no other social institution, and reflects the hypocrisy at the heart of the law.

4. The sanctions that NCLB imposes on schools that don't meet its test score targets will hurt poor schools and poor communities most.

5. The transfer and choice provisions of NCLB will create chaos and produce greater inequality within the public system without increasing the capacity of receiving schools to deliver better educational services.

6. These same transfer and choice provisions will not give low-income parents any more control over school bureaucracies than food stamps give them over the supermarkets.

7. The provisions about using scientifically-based instructional practices are neither scientifically valid nor educationally sound and will harmfully impact classrooms in what may be the single most important instructional area, the teaching of reading.

8. The supplemental tutorial provisions of NCLB will channel public funds to private companies for ideological and political reasons, not sound educational ones.

9. NCLB is part of a larger political and ideological effort to privatize social programs, reduce the public sector, and ultimately replace local control of institutions like schools with marketplace reforms that substitute commercial relations between customers for democratic relations between citizens.

10. NCLB moves control over curriculum and instructional issues away from teachers, classrooms, schools and local districts where it should be, and puts it in the hands of state and federal education bureaucracies and politicians. It represents the single biggest assault on local control of schools in the history of federal education policy.

OK, that's ten: But frankly this law is so bad, I needed 11, so here's #11 on my top ten list of reasons why NCLB is a fraud:

11. NCLB includes provisions that try to push prayer, military recruiters, and homophobia into schools while pushing multiculturalism, teacher innovation, and creative curriculum reform out.

[funky_bug]

16. Currently, it's a farce

But to smack down on Kerry for something Bush is doing, does not translate. Those positions you state, which I agree with, are being addressed by the Kerry camp. I don't deny that currently, NCLB stinks. I will deny that Kerry is going to let it continue as is. I can't blame Kerry for something Bush did. It doesn't translate. If I ground my son, because my daugther didn't clean her room, that's illogical. I'm willing to believe that when Kerry says he'll fund it and fix it, he will. Why? Because Bush in office has already proven he WON'T. I'm willing to give someone else a chance to fix it. One of the things that threw me to my feet during the FL convention, was when Clark said, "As for No Child Left Behind, I'm going to take care of it." He never said he's re-invent the wheel, and I believe that's the best way to fix it... re-inventing the wheel will only take longer to get things that are wrong NOW, fixed for the future.

[ozone_man]

26. It's unfixable.

It has to be eliminated. This was a great essay by this long time teacher from NJ. I think most teachers will agree, that it is a total failure and there is no way to fix it. One of Kennedy's mistakes.

[funky_bug]

29. I respectfully disagree, and am looking forward to change. eom

[Cheswick2.0]

41. wrong

Not a single teacher I know would agree with you.

[funky_bug]

46. Sounds like Drudge

"My un-named sources say..."

Sorry, but I work for a very large school district, and many teachers I know want change the best way we can have it.... and all agree that funding comes first.

You can lobby for re-inventing the wheel if you want to, but I'm not waiting for proper funding while the dems and repugs battle it out on Capitol Hill. I suppose you've forgotten how well radical change is received? Anyone remember Clinton and his health-care proposal? No? That's because that radical change sunk like a rock when it went before the senate.

I will not stand for other people telling me how I should feel and think, and I will not stay quiet while my judgements are being lessened because someone disagrees with them. MY opinions are formed by my experiences, not by someone's avatar.

[Cheswick2.0]

36. it certainly does translate since Kerry voted for it and will not

significantly change it.

[drfemoe]

19. It's all about the TESTS

That's what the law is ABOUT - TESTING. What is left once you remove the TESTS??

[w4rma]

31. I agree. That standardized testing crap needs to go. (n/t)

[cosmicdot]

23. is NCLB the direction American Education needs to be going?

what is considered 'good'? what would be kept?

how is Kerry's camp currently addressing this? is it in his speeches? think-tanking it? Will we know now or later what the hybrid will look like ... or is it already a hybrid?

I really don't know.


Senator Edward M. Kennedy

One of our top priorities in the 107th Congress and beyond is to see that America has the best public schools in the world. We must set high standards for our schools and do everything we can to help school children meet them. It is perhaps the best investment we can make in the future of our children and our nation.

To achieve this, we must start by putting a qualified teacher in every classroom. Given the challenges of increasing teacher retirements and record-breaking school enrollments, we must recruit and train hundreds of thousands of new qualified teachers in the coming years. At the same time, to maximize student potential, we must work to reduce class size -- especially in the early grades -- so every child can get the attention and instruction they need to develop and prosper.

In order to provide the setting for world-class students and teachers, we must immediately provide greater resources to repair, expand and modernize our nation's crumbling school buildings and turn them into first-rate educational facilities. We simply cannot expect 21st century students to learn and thrive in 19-century buildings. Instead, we need to develop programs that allow all schools and students access to computers, the Internet and the best educational technology available. We'll work hard to provide the funding, tax incentives, and community partnerships to help states and school districts meet their school construction and technology priorities. And we'll continue to learn valuable lessons from innovative charter schools, which show promise in raising performance and standards for all our schools.

To plant the early seeds of success in school, we need to dramatically improve child literacy, the gateway to all future learning. We will propose to have every child reading well by the third grade, and we'll work with schools and parents to achieve that goal. We'll be putting a new emphasis on affordable, quality child care, to meet the needs of kids and parents alike, as well as after-school programs to provide school-age children constructive alternatives that keep kids off the streets, away from drugs, and out of trouble.

Moreover, since higher education is as important as ever as workers gear up to compete in the new global economy of the 21st century, we'll continue to work hard to ensure that every qualified individual has access to an affordable college education, focusing on improving financial aid and loan programs. This will target the neediest students with the greatest assistance.

http://kennedy.senate.gov/index_high.html

[Cheswick2.0]

34. I know what NCLB is and it is a horrendous piece of legislation

Kennedy should be ashamed allowing this to pass. The problem with it is not just that it is an unfunded mandate, though that is bad enough. The problem with it is that is making the problems in education worse. It is punitive and counter-productive.

FYI, I am in my last semester of getting a TEACHING DEGREE. I live in Pennsylvania a state with some of the highest standards for teachers in the country. I taught last fall and I will be teaching again this spring. All of my instructors have been or are teachers, principals and even superintendents of public schools. Not one of them thinks NCLB should be allowed to stay in place.

Perhaps where you are getting your Certificate they don't understand the real problems with NCLB or are too chicken to talk about it. I would recommend you comming here to Pa. Where we know what a dog it is.

[HFishbine]

15. It's 2002

all over again. As a great thinker once said, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me again, won't get fooled again." Looks like some lessons are harder to learn than one might have thought.

[cosmicdot]

17. "balanced" ... is that 3rd Way jargon?

balanced would involve more people-citizen needs ... right? since
corporate america is the heavy on the down-side of the see-saw .....

no ... I think corporate america and all its power, influence, and destruction is what is meant by "balanced"

progress going forward at a snail's pace (and, a snail is always subject to someone's foot coming down ... sometimes they are hard to see - as is progress)

Beware of 'Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos'.

[Southsideirish]

18. This is what inspired Howard Dean to run. He was right after all.

The leaders of the Democratic party will be the ruination of it.

[drfemoe]

20. Now that would something to Rejoice ....... .. nt

[drfemoe]

21. Two Party System

Republican Right and Republican Center .. step right up and cast your vote.

Democrats believe Republicans are ceding the middle, and we are willing to take it

[babzilla]

24. our "bold" democratic leaders have arrived at a consensus

apparently the winning strategy will be to settle for not half a loaf, but the crumbs from half a loaf.

I can't wait to see the real progress that is bound to come out of this "policy direction".

In a nod to the party's more conservative members, especially those in the South, Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said there is broad agreement to play down gun control and other cultural issues.

"I cannot recall a time when there was more consensus on the policy direction we should take," Daschle said. "As you go down the list, on virtually every one of these questions, Democrats believe Republicans are ceding the middle, and we are willing to take it."

Rest assured our bold democratic leaders are willing to take whatever the republicans are willing to cede. Way to go on the offensive Tom.

Kerry and top Democratic congressional leaders have rejected broad policy changes such as repealing all of Bush's tax cuts and moving too quickly to provide health coverage to every American. "While some wanted everything, there is consensus around repealing those on high income," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

We have reached a consensus that we will boldly take no stand, that the party will reject broad policy changes.

What a relief, surely the status quo will continue to serve us well.

[Cheswick2.0]

42. weve reached a consensus that even those who disagree that we have

reached a consensus are in actuallity in consensus with us whether they like it or not.

[babzilla]

47. I cannot recall a time when there was more consensus

to reject broad policy change in the name of consensus.

I can't wait to race down to the polling place to vote for this overwhelmingly appealing consensus to do nothing much.

Somebody hold me back, I have worked myself up into a pique of enthusiasm.

I can barely contain myself when our bold democratic leaders entice me with this consensual hybrid of pap.

"Kerry, Daschle and Pelosi said they are confident that Democratic liberals, moderates and conservatives will remain so united in their loathing of Bush that the policy disputes that have long divided the party will cease or at least quiet to a whisper."

From a scream to a whisper, and all is well on K street. yearggh.

[goobergunch]

25. This article shoots a hole in the argument that there are big differences

between the parties.

Voters this year likely will be presented with two clear, but not dramatically different, approaches to solving the nation's domestic problems....

Kerry and top Democratic congressional leaders have rejected broad policy changes....

I'll endorse Kerry if he's the nominee...and won't do anything else to support him. This milquetoast approach by the Democrats lost in 2002 and may do so again in 2004.

[slinkerwink]

27. that's why it's going to be a choice between the lesser of two evils AGAIN

[cryofan]

54. Are we STILL pretending that Dean is some sort of Liberal?

I thought Dean supporters had dropped that pretense back when he becaome the frontrunner?

Do I have to repost Dean's own words that show him to be a centrist at best and a RightWinger at worst? I guess I do....

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Most of the Democrats in the legislature rebelled against Dean over the budget cuts, and he ended up depending on Republican votes to pass most of his proposals. At the time, a local Vermont newspaper wrote, "The biggest items on Dean’s agenda for next year are likely to provoke more opposition from the Democrats than the Republicans. Nevertheless, Dean said he feels no particular pressure to deliver the goods to his party or to promote the Democratic agenda."15

In the mid-1990s, Dean even aligned himself with the likes of Republican Newt Gingrich on his stance on cutting Medicare. He opined at the time, "The way to balance the budget is for Congress to cut Social Security, move the retirement age to 70, cut defense, Medicare and veterans pensions, while the states cut everything else."16
....
The Rutland Herald described how one protestor, Henrietta Jordan of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, "said it would be much fairer to raise taxes on people with expensive homes and cars, children in private school and a housekeeper at home than to cut programs that helped the 66,000 Vermonters living with disabilities."17 Dean responded callously, brushing off the pleas of Vermont’s most vulnerable by saying, "This seems like sort of the last gasp of the left here."18"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


The rest of this article is here:
http://www.isreview.org/issues/32/dean.shtml

Well?

[Rose Siding]

This is why Dean was so eagerly welcomed

He offered an alternative to just this kind of wimpy compromise. This is the very reason no one respects or trusts politicians or the govt.

[babzilla]

32. This is also why Dean was so eagerly pummeled

by the middling consensus brigade.

A nuanced hybrid approach is far less taxing than actually standing up for Democratic principles. After all, we must consider what the conservatives will say.

Under the radar we stand, united in consensus, merrily we follow the trail of half a loaf breadcrumbs left for us in the forest of what the republicans deign to cede to us.

The democratic leadership says we'll take anything we can get, we are the minority party in congress and there we will remain, forever and ever amen. Opposition party? Fugidaboudit, that will get you precisely nowhere in McAuliffeland.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Cheswick2.0]

45. grovelbot, thanks for weighing in on this issue

as usual you are boldly on task and on message.

[killbotfactory]

35. I guess the backbone transplant was temporary

Just what I thought. Don't rock the boat.

[madfloridian]

37. Same song, 2nd verse, could get better....but won't.

:shrug:

[Cheswick2.0]

44. well the teacher unions that endorsed Kerry have inspired me

After I have tenure, I plan to take the union movement to a higher level. Obviously the leadership within the Teachers unions needs to change.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

57. It's the new dissolvable backbone.

Just expose to mild pressure and *poof*.

[goobergunch]

43. kick

:kick:

[babzilla]

48. calling all Kerry supporters

Do you agree with this "balanced" consensus approach?
What say you? Can this truly be the path to victory?

Should we rely on Bush to unify the democratic party? Is this an example of the strong leadership qualities that we should expect from a Kerry candidacy?

Kerry said Bush's strategy of playing to his conservative base to maximize voter turnout among Republicans has brought Democrats together on most issues. "George Bush has helped unify the party," Kerry said in an interview last week.

[ibegurpard]

49. kick

eom

[liberalpragmatist]

50. This Article Misrepresents the Democratic Platform

If you actually read the whole article, it seems to me like there are some pretty significant differences between the two platforms. Though the article says that the choices will be "clear" but not "dramatically different" they offer no real evidence.

The article emphasizes the fact that the favored approach is not a complete repeal of NCLB and the Bush Tax Cuts, but if you read the whole articleyou find significant differences that will be spelled out. Plus it completely ignores other important planks, such as security, PATRIOT Act (Kerry favors a repeal), and the Environment:

"Democrats will promote significant modifications to the education and Medicare laws that would affect the lives of Americans in direct ways.

On Medicare, Kerry and congressional Democrats support allowing the government to negotiate lower prices with drug companies and permitting the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and other foreign countries. Democrats believe this will quickly lower the cost of drugs for American consumers; Republicans counter that such measures will lead to government price controls that could result in less research.

On education, Kerry and congressional Democrats want to maintain the tough accountability standards of the new law but provide states and schools greater flexibility to meet them and, most significantly, provide a big funding increase: as much as $6 billion or more annually on top of Bush's record-high spending on education. Bush supports a more modest increase and maintaining the law as is."

(snip)

"Now, Kerry and congressional Democrats are mostly unified behind a plan to repeal the Bush tax cuts for those making $200,000 or more a year, which would result in higher income tax rates and bigger tax bills on dividends and estates for those wage earners. They will oppose Bush's plan to make permanent the tax cuts enacted under his watch. For budgetary reasons, many of the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the decade."

(snip)

"Once the nomination is secured, Kerry plans to roll out a fairly long list of middle-class tax cuts he would enact as president, a top adviser said, including tax breaks for college, after-school programs, small business and health care.

The trick, Kerry's advisers say, is to fit these tax cuts into a budget that also includes a major expansion of federal health insurance programs, which will be the featured item of the Democratic domestic agenda."

(snip)

"Kerry's solution: Increase federal spending on children's health insurance programs and open the federal employees health insurance programs to the public. The Kerry plan, which would cover about six of every 10 uninsured Americans, carries a price tag of $890 billion over 10 years."

Check out Kerry's full health care plan, which is actually quite similar to Dean's:

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/healthcare/

[goobergunch]

52. I'm sure the 40% of uninsured Americans that don't get covered by Kerry

are reassured by this.

[babzilla]

53. Significant differences in what they say, not how they vote.

"On Medicare, Kerry and congressional Democrats support allowing the government to negotiate lower prices with drug companies and permitting the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and other foreign countries. Democrats believe this will quickly lower the cost of drugs for American consumers; Republicans counter that such measures will lead to government price controls that could result in less research."

If the congressional Democrats truly supported this, why did they capitulate to the republican's Medicare bill that specifically disallows medicare from negotiating with drug companies and specifically disallows importation of prescription drugs?


On education, Kerry and congressional Democrats want to maintain the tough accountability standards of the new law but provide states and schools greater flexibility to meet them and, most significantly, provide a big funding increase: as much as $6 billion or more annually on top of Bush's record-high spending on education. Bush supports a more modest increase and maintaining the law as is."

Tough accountability with greater flexibility? That sounds exactly like the line used to promote union busting in the Dept. of Homeland Security, no thanks.

Bush has a record-high spending on education? Do tell.

No surprise that the party that settles for what they can get are the party that has no voice.

I am sick of it, and have no healthcare insurance while my blood pressure rises by the day. Thanks for nothing congressional "leaders".

[Rose Siding]

55. Notice health care isn't off the table, just not "right away"

Why not wait? 50 or 60 years of waiting so patiently isn't quite long enough.

[Tinoire]

51. Thank you Cheswick! Another thread book-marked to read when I get home

tonight. Wish I had time now. Just wanted to say thank you for fighting the good fight! It's threads like yours that are keeping me sane today.

Peace

[Forkboy]

56. I'm getting that warm and fuzzy feeling again

either that or I'm gonna be sick.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

58. See the future kick.

:kick:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

59. "balanced..emerging Democratic apporach." = Flavored Jell-O.

Step RIGHT up folks for the Emerging Pablum Approach. We don't want to "move too quickly" to provide universal health care. It might piss off some of those patriotic HMO's.

The election is turning into another DLC sponsered nightmare of Tweedle Dee vs Tweedle Dummy.