Isn’t it amazing just how hapless they are at this stuff?

So sayeth Dylan Ratigan. Dylan’s right.

You know, t4h, Gibbs saying it’s “silliness” is hardly anything that moves Republicans. Whining that this is what’s wrong with this town isn’t exactly a talking point WITH TEETH. If something with bite comes out of the White House post it. Otherwise, I’m not impressed.

http://ssomail.charter.net/do/mail/message/view?msgId=INBOXDELIM47048&l=en-US&v=ssomail

“I can guarantee you that if a Democratic Senator had tried to pull a stunt like Shelby’s there would be a line of Republican Senators on news shows denouncing the move as un-American because he was holding up giving the President the tools he need to fight the war on terror.”

Absolutely. Agreed 100%. Just wrote a post on that very subject. The Dems just don’t seem to have the infrastructure or the know-how to do something as simple as this.

As for hypocrisy, well that’s one thing the Repugs don’t every worry about, and it doesn’t seem to bother them if the Independents care.

My point is that there is nothing wrong with calling them out, but it would be a lot more effective to do less talking and more acting.

Lets go back to Shelby for a sec: Want Shelby to release those holds? There has to be some weapon in the Majority leader’s arsenal that can be deployed to have Shelby by the short and curlies before he knew what was happening. Instead of treating him as my good friend from Alabama, do an LBJ on him. Instead of this “reaching across the aisle” BS move his office (I don’t know). Start playing hardball, make his life miserable.

I think we talk too much. And act too little.

Granted, democrats are not good at Terror-porn and you are certainly right that nothing fires up their base like some good ol sticking it to Obama. That being said, hypocrisy is hypocrisy, and if independents can’t see that then there isn’t much hope anyway.

You raise very good points, but after watching this play out for some time now I think the situation has become quite . . . well . . . tricky.

Republican obstructionism plays VERY WELL with the Republican base. The more vocal Dems are about it, the more we enhance Republican fortunes and the more impotent we appear to the INDEPENDENTS we are hoping to attract.
You are correct, I think when you say that most people want the President and the congress to succeed, and most don’t know of Republican lies, and Republican obstruction. We on the extremes know.

So, why parade it? Why not just deal with our own problems? Just think we could even be as dirty as they are and no one would even know or care.

I think people are interested in results. All they want us to do is to get things done.

Yep, Warner and Webb are very different eggs than the Shelby crew, LL.

Good one, GaBuck, and right on, as it is “terror porn.” Collins was creamed by Maddow.

… instead of constantly begging for cooperation, which the Dems will NEVER get.

AMEN, Ramsgate.

Doesn’t bother me Taylor I think Shelby’s a prick too!

Just the optic of Susan Collins out there gamely trying to put a straight face on ridiculous, easily refutable talking points (and failing miserably) shows you that the Republicans intend to make national security a factor in the 2010 elections. Collins, hardly a war hawk, proves they are all in. It might be a good idea though to stick with a true believer in the future, like Lindsay Graham.

Shelby’s hold should be manna from heaven for the Democrats. its a perfect example of republican obstructionism, coupled with a petty earmark (hilarious given that his colleague Mr. DeMint is calling for an end to all earmarks) request. I’d like to believe that Democratic senators will fill up the airwaves condemning Mr. Shelby and demanding that holds on this administration appointments be stopped. I would counter that the real national Security issue here is that Republicans stonewalling is making us less safe.

As to whether or not the public is for slowing down the Democrats, I think the opposite is true. I think most people want to see this President and this congress succeed, and their main problem is that they aren’t aware of the mendacious, and oftentimes petty impediments the opposition party puts in place. hopefully this will be a teachable moment

Hope all you want LL, Obama is NEVER going to lose his cool. Worse, he’s painting himself deeper into a corner because every single day he keeps calling for more and more civility. Rodney King to the 5000 power by now. No one fears him, so these people even people within his own party trample on him with impunity.

In addition, there are no surrogates who call these people out. What the hell Tim Kaine does I have no idea. If someone said or did anything about Bush, it was like touching a hornet’s nest — Repugs came from all sides to attack the culprit. No so Obama, he’s on his own. Why doesn’t Durbin, Reid, Dodd, protect other Democrats. The Republican party has changed. McCain is NOT the same John McCain who ran against Bush.

Stupidly, the Democrats believe in collegiality; while the Repugs seem themselves as gang members. Naively, Dodd might be tighter with say Shelby and would protect him from a Franken. Shelby on the other hand would never do the same for Dodd. The Repugs are single minded. The Dems are naive.

Also, instead of constantly begging for cooperation, which the Dems will NEVER get. Indeed, the more they beg the stronger it makes the Repugs look and feel; I think the Dems should begin to think of ways to punish the SOB’s. When they feel pain then they will talk.

In other words, stop begging, bitching, whining, and complaining, and fight back.

See you later.

Obama isn’t usually into jumping into Senate skirmishes, not his style. But raising the temp on Shelby is a good thing. That’s why he made sure to cloak it in “national security,” to give people pause. Frankly, Shelby’s a prick, always has been.