To Speaker Pelosi & Maj. Leader Reid: These are the MOST IMPORTANT appointments you will EVER MAKE:

[Faryn Balyncd]

The Republicans will appoint 6 pit bulls.


We cannot afford to appoint a SINGLE DINO to the bicameral "Super Committee".


The Republicans thrive on conning Democrats into betraying working Americans interests, precisely because in this manner Republicans avoid the political blowback.






The only way to save Social Security and Medicare, and the American middle class, is to defend them vigorously and force the Republicans to do their own dirty work.


As most Americans, including many Republican voters, are with us on these issues, Republican courage will be less than stellar once they see we are not going to do their bidding (and we not take the fall for them when the shit hits the fan, and average American voters realize the extent to which they have been screwed.)







If committed Social Security slashers like Lieberman and Conrad, or undependable wafflers like Schumer, Durbin, and Warner are to be on the "Super Committee", then let them join the Republican caucus and let Mitch McConnell appoint them.


Appointing wafflers to the "Super Committee" will destroy 75 years of progress, the American middle class, the Democratic Party, and our democracy.






We simply can NO LONGER afford to continue the mistakes of the recent past.


For this "Super Committee", e need 6 members of the Democratic caucus TOTALLY committed to defending our Social Compact and our American middle and working class.


Senators like Bernie Sanders, Tom Harkin, Barbara Boxer, Barbara Mikulski. Representatives like John Conyers, Raúl Grijalva, Dennis Kucinich, Peter DeFazio, Emanuel Cleaver.


The large majority of Americans oppose cuts to these vital programs, favor cuts to military spending, and favor ending the historically low tax rates for the plutocrats.






If we do not appoint 6 Democrats willing and able to take on and defeat the Republican pit bulls, we do not deserve, and will soon lose these voters.


Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid, it is time to do what you know is right, regardless of whatever pressure you may receive from the anyone, including the White House.


Your responsibility is to the American people, who have been poorly served in recent developments.






NO DINO's!









:kick:

[Firebrand Gary]

1. I have to agree with this.

[gateley]

2. Let's start e-mailing and calling - let them know we're still

paying attention. I'll e-mail tonight, call tomorrow.

When are they going to begin the process, do you know?

[Mimosa]

3. Excellent suggestion. Great list of Senators, Congress Reps of integrity.

Let's commit to send messages to people with power instead of spending all our energy typing AT each other! :D

[Tunkamerica]

4. Heath Shuler!

Just Kidding!

[rpannier]

6. I wouldn't be surprised

Though running against Pelosi for Minority Leader probably sank him (for anything)

[rpannier]

5. I'm a pessimist

I see Conrad, Tester and McCaskill as part of the committee.
McCaskill and Tester because they're up for re-election next year and their victories are less than 50-50.

[swilton]

32. I don't have the command of details that you do but my

reaction is similar - save your breath....

[dreamnightwind]

7. We need a firewall

around these programs, and it has to be completely solid, because you know the Republicans will be solid in opposition. That's unfortunate, as an honest exploration of the needed reforms by both sides would be a welcome thing.

Our situation requires revenue more than cuts, as cuts will let the air out of this barely floating economy, and the corporations and rich pay way too little in taxes.

Great job of setting the tone we need to adhere to.

So, I don't actually know, do Reid and Pelosi get to make the Democratic appointments? If so, I guess we either call them, and/or call our own reps to pressure them to pressure whoever makes the appointments.

Once the appointments are made, the fate of the committee is largely sealed. There won't be a lot of people changing their minds on this committee, it'll be ideological.

[Faryn Balyncd]

11. Yes,Reid & Pelosi make the Democratic appointments. Link:

http://www.rules.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=445


The joint committee is to be comprised of 12 members appointed by the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and the Speaker and minority leader of the House, who each must appoint three members. The Speaker and the majority leader of the Senate must each appoint one member to serve as Co-Chair from among the members of the joint committee. The members of the joint committee and the Co-Chairs must be appointed within 14 calendar days after enactment of this bill. Members are appointed for the life of the joint committee, and a vacancy must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

[sabrina 1]

8. Who they choose will tell us if they are with the people or

or not. And they badly need to do something to convince people right now, that they are not going to once again, betray their interests.

[Bluebear]

9. I am going to guess that NONE of the eight you mention will be on the committee

Just my fear.

[Kablooie]

10. I don't expect any of your suggested reps assigned.

No one in power has had the guts to actually oppose the GOP so why change now.

Bet it's all dinos.

[Marr]

13. I'll say four DINOs, with a couple of decent reps. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

21. All the repubs need is ONE. Simple majority on THIS committee is fine, you know.

Since they will send ideologues that will NOT listen to reason, nor will they compromise...and we can fully expect that they will remain party faithful, country be damned.
If one vischy Dem is appointed...we lose and we lose EVERYTHING.

[Marr]

26. A good point. I still expect they'd hedge their bets, however.

If you're depending on one rep, he or she could easily become a Lieberman, playing their undue influence for maximum personal advantage. If it were me (and I wanted to push a right wing agenda), I'd make at least three of the reps Blue Dogs.

[OutNow]

12. Great Idea

I just emailed Nancy Pelosi and asked that she name Pete DeFazio to the committee. He's my rep, and he would fight like hell for the programs we need to salvage from this horrible mess. He voted against the deal with no apologies, so I'm sure he's never going to make the short list, but I know he'd do a great job.

[Major Hogwash]

14. I disagree. We should appoint newer Congressmen to those positions.

Because those members need to get some exposure because they will be the future of the Democratic party.

Don't put someone like Kerry on this committee because he is needed elsewhere.
He's too fucking effective to put on that committee.
I wouldn't waste putting any of my "aces" on that crap committee.
Maybe you guys don't like Kerry, but I wouldn't select any of my really effective. great Democratic Congressmen to be on that committee.

All we need are some new Congressmen, ones who can "just say no" - there's another Reagan reference, hope that makes you fucking happy, Obama.
All they need to do is say no all the time, the way the Republicans did in the regular Congress, and cause this stupid, ridiculous star chamber idea to fail miserably.

This committee abrogates the Constitutional duty the other Congressmen have to do their jobs in Congress.
That's all it does --- it makes these 12 members of Congress 10 times more powerful than anyone else's Representatives and Senators --- and the Contitution does NOT allow for this kind of shit!!

Make no mistake about it, this committee is just another device the Republicans are using in the game.
They are playing a game of strip poker.
To see what other benefits they can strip from the American people.

As a Democrat, what I am saying is - my party did NOT work for the last 80 years to get us the sort of programs we have today - only to give them away to a Gang of 12.
That's not how it works, folks.

And by not allowing for amendments to the bills that come from that Committee, the other Congressmen are less than zero.
They have no input into the process.
This star chamber idea is so fucking bad, it isn't even funny.

[politicasista]

37. No, they threw him under the bus a long time ago

for supporting a black president.

[dmosh42]

15. This whole idea is a farce, with failure being the target...

Before it even starts, 'prune-face' McConnell said his appointees will only go for cuts. Meaning don't expect any 'balanced' results like revenue, or making the tax code fair. It must have been an Obama idea, which is more about bullshitting the public then concrete results.

[SusanaMontana41]

16. That sounds about right.

>sigh<

[Horse with no Name]

23. He's already crowed this

There will be NO revenue coming from this committee. They have their marching orders.
He also said that he expects to get more cuts than they could have ever thought possible.

I saw it on Ed (I think) the other night.

[SteveM]

30. GOP: forged, locked-in, hard-line, in-charge, successful. nt

[SteveM]

31. Trouble is, the "Super Committee" is a perfect example of Democratic failure...

They can't (or more precisely won't) confront the Far Right, and get around even the need for leadership by appointing yet another group perform the unseemly, rather smelly "acquiescence," in the after-hours, locked-door pool room.

The Democratic Party and its "leaders" can't give in fast or far enough to the GOPer. They have to have a COMMITTEE figure out the bottleneck!

[mmonk]

17. I agree. We need people we know will defend what we have left.

No "reform" eager beavers on our side of the dial or that will be disastrous for the party already viewed as weak.

[cableman24]

18. I wish Pelosi was still speaker.

[kenny blankenship]

19. Oh but, they will have to "work with" their "Republican colleagues"

in order for "anything to get done."

So the Democratic appointees will be at least five "reasonable, responsible, and experienced legislators, who are interested in finding the common ground, and a bipartisan solution."

[Horse with no Name]

20. K&R. Will email them after I post this.

However, the thought of the wafflers themselves not appointing wafflers is very frightening.

These will be PLUM spots...with the potential for millions of special interest money to be filtered in.

Perhaps a loyalty oath to the country should be included as well...that ANY politician on this committee forfeits ANY right to ANY special interest money, jobs or other favors that relate to ANY legislation that comes out of that committee for the next 10 years. That might back the grifters off of wanting to participate. Who knows?

I fear for our country. I KNOW the repubs will NOT compromise, nor will they negotiate, nor will they be reasonable. They will be hatchet men. They have already said that they will NOT raise revenues in this committee, so basically WE aren't going to get anything EXTRA out of it--we are just going to try to hang on like hell to what we have and we simply CANNOT have anyone on that committee that is willing to sell us out.

That being said also...I will throw my nomination for Lloyd Doggett in. I worry about Conyers...he promised us some investigations once upon a time that never happened. I still remember that.:(

[BlueJac]

22. Fuck the Super Committee..........

It will be stacked with teabaggers vs ringwing Dems

[abelenkpe]

24. K&R nt

[ElsewheresDaughter]

25. fire both of these bastids!

[emsimon33]

27. PLEASE!!!!!! Don't let one of them be Warner from Virginia--a real DINO!

[placton]

28. trust me

there will be AT LEAST 5 DINO'S selected

[SteveM]

29. Reid is correct, especially about the politics involved...

If Obama-centrists are what the "Democrats" appoint, I believe the tipping point will be reached whereby the Democratic Party will shrink into a British-type "Liberal Party," only there won't be anything like a Labour Party. Barring that, there is the possibility that the Party will undergo a massive revolt and reconstruction resulting in the installation of progressives throughout the Party. There is talk about that already.

One minor quibble:

"The Republicans thrive on conning Democrats into betraying working Americans interests,..."

There is no "conning." The GOP is wide open about it; after all, a bully must have an audience to demonstrate his/her superior power (and continuing success). The Republicans never pass up an opportunity to back-down and out nut-hussle a Democrat. In public.

[robinlynne]

33. Good luck with this. We lost already. (They won't). theya re nto going to put Elizabeth Warren

in the mix, or anyone who thinks like her.... they are too "adult".

[shanti]

36. exactly

as long as one out of the dem's six choices is a dino, we are screwed. i think we will be screwed :shrug:

[Ignis]

34. K&R

:kick:

[WillyT]

35. K... Too Late To Rec !!!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

:hi:

:kick: