About last night… yes, it’s a big setback for progressives. But keep in mind, this is the third election in a row where voters kicked a political party out of power. The Democrats’ problem wasn’t so much how they wielded power, but simply the fact that they were the party in power. So don’t tell me about any Republican wave. Didn’t we just have a Democratic wave, after the last Republican wave, which followed the previous Democratic wave? The big problem is that this last wave brought in some things slimier than what the waves in the Gulf of Mexico brought in after the BP oil spill. The GOP captured the House. Well, at least Americans have gotten used to losing their houses to greedy bigwigs over the past few years. Well guys, the House is yours. That’s only fair—you paid for it. Well, to be more accurate, undisclosed donors bought it for you. John Boehner cried during his victory speech. I think I can safely say that a lot of people were crying along with him. Dry your eyes, John. If the rest of us are confident that we can get through this, I’m sure you can too. Boehner sobbed “I’ve spent my whole life chasing the American dream.” Yeah, so you could tackle it to the ground. Luckily, so far the American dream has managed to out run you. The good news is that the Democrats held on in the Senate, despite Republican gains. The bad news is that the Republicans had pretty much managed to render the Senate impotent with the seats they already had. Great. We have a majority in the house of Congress where a majority isn’t enough. Harry Reid always seems to find a way to win. This year, that way was Sharron Angle. Reid had a strong showing among Latino voters, or as Sharron Angle refers to them, Asian voters. Memorable moments: Carl Paladino wielded a baseball bat during his concession speech! What exactly was he conceding—that he was in fact a dangerous lunatic? Chris Coons beat Christine O’Donnell by 17 percentage points. I guess if you’re abstinent, that’s about the only way you’re going to experience a damn good thumping. “I’m not a witch.” You’re not a Senator either, sweetie. Go on over to Fox News and fill out your new hire papers. Where do we go from here moving forward? Let’s fight to make sure it’s forward.Thom's blog
This is the End of the Republican Party
Whoever is saying that last night was the demise of the Democratic party - they're wrong! In reality, it's the end of the Republican party. As the money in this election points out, the party of (old republicans) is now the party of (CEOs). So how much does it cost to buy the House of Representatives? Try over $300 million dollars - $123 million of which came from anonymous donors. That's how much money was funneled into this year's elections by outside groups. In a full assault on our democracy, the Chamber of Commerce and its big business associates rained down millions in hit pieces to knock off Democrats around the country. Also in the game, Super PACs - or front groups for billionaires - like Karl Rove's "American Crossroads" and Norm Coleman's "American Action Network" tossed in over a hundred million dollars to ensure that Republican corporate puppets are elected to Congress.
The puppets now control the House with a likely 50-seat majority. And now in power, they have to live up to their end of the deal - legislate on behalf of billionaires like the Koch brother who want massive tax breaks, freedom to ship jobs overseas, and freedom to irreparably pollute our environment - in other words, freedom to finish off the dismantling of the middle class. Corporations were successful in knocking out good guys like Russ Feingold in Wisconsin, Alan Grayson in Florida, and Tom Perriello in Virginia - replacing them in each case with millionaires who adamantly oppose middle class policies like raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment insurance - millionaires who have promised to sell their votes in Congress to the highest bidder.
What does this Congress look like when it's bought and paid for by big business? Look no further than Rand Paul in Kentucky who made these comments this morning, "there are no rich. There are no middle class. There are no poor...We all either work for rich people or we sell stuff to rich people. So just punishing rich people is as bad for the economy as punishing anyone..." He practically spelled it out for us. Not since 1906 has our country witnessed this type of special interest subversion of our democracy. Back then, it only took 2 years to neuter the fat cat CEO's and keep them out of politics when Teddy Roosevelt worked to get the 1907 Tillman Act passed out of Congress - an act that stopped corporations from messing around in American politics. Now, over 100 years later and a Supreme Court decision in Citizens United - our country has regressed back to the age of the robber barons of the late 19th century.
http://thomhartmann.com/
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