DISQUS

munjoyfan · 1 year ago

Nasty day here on Munjoy Hill. Ice everywhere, though it's fast turning to slush. Trees down and power out elsewhere in town--being on the water has its benefits as its warmer here. I just don't get why the auto companies don't shut down production of new vehicles for a while. There's too much inventory, and that's what other manufacturers do. They need to triage their design and marketing divisions--those are the ones that are going to go, anyhow. And I still haven't heard that GM has shut down its executive dining rooms. And get real about the unemployment benefits. They don't understand that the rest of the country has no sympathy for people whose unemployment benefits bring them over $50 K a year--that is about twice the average per capita income here in Maine--employed.
Time for a real Hail Mary pass for the companies in the form of taking health care off the table: the federal govt needs to move those retirees onto Medicare, and reduce the age of eligibility for Medicare to 60. That's step one.

Gorgonzola · 1 year ago

We need five million Americans to set aside five dollars a week to create a fund that will finally get rid of the anti-worker, gay-bashing, wiretapping, torturing, constitution plundering, war-mongering, theocratic fascists that have driven our great country to its knees.

paulinfsf · 1 year ago

What was that "Nuclear Option" that those Republicans kept threating to use a couple of years ago, and can't we use it now?

MyVoice · 1 year ago

I thought the term was "Scorched Earth".

bob915 · 1 year ago

Let's add to that list the Reblubs who are barking against the Big Three Loan, who just happen to have Non Union, foreign based auto factories in their states. I know those jobs are American jobs in the end-----but this is a thinly veiled ploy to derail the right to organize

MyVoice · 1 year ago

Taxpayers fund those plants and I heard that there are 18 more plants in the works. More jobs but at taxpayer expense.

gwpriester · 1 year ago

This is where Obama has to put the heat on the republicans. I don't think either Reed or Pelosi have shown any cajones in dealing with the republicans.

Pelosi talks big until the money from the lobbyists starts flowing into her campaign and then she rolls over.

Harry Reed sends out his Give 'em Hell Harry e-mails. But these should be renamed, Give 'em Heck, Harry.

I really think we need stronger less entrenched leaders in both houses.

Deacon_Blues · 1 year ago

"Harry Reid and the rest of the Democrats in the Senate need to show some real leadership over the next few months."

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! I just spewed soda out my nose. You're kidding, right?

aquarius2 · 1 year ago

LOL! I had about the same reaction.

naschkatzehussein · 1 year ago

Me too. When have Harry Reid and the rest of the Democrats shown any leadership?

vkobaya · 1 year ago

There was a time when the Republicans were a decent, honorable, respectable, honest, loyal political party. And waaaaaaaaaaay back then, there the Democratic party also had real leaders, and were capable of standing on their own two feet. What the hell happened to our political parties?

MyVoice · 1 year ago

The UAW singled out the GOP Senators in their press conference this morning. I will wait to see what the MSM writes or reports- will it include the information or glaze over the facts? I hope that they include the Senators in all of the reporting. They need to be held accountable for their actions.

jdw · 1 year ago

" If the GOP Senate leaders want to filibuster everything, let them try. But, they will be exposed."

agreed. i find reid baffling. although dems have gained in the last two congressional elections, it would seem to me that a more aggressive strategy is in order.

wouldn't it be effective, and good politics, to MAKE the goopers filibuster? imagine how that would have looked last night- two weeks before Xmas- filibustering a plan to save the auto companies and their workers! I can't see what the downside of that would be for Reid.

EmGD · 1 year ago

It's always easy to have principles when the other guy is in power. Convenient they just remembered the combination to the safe they had theirs stored in. I bet rule of law becomes important again and filibustering judges is A-Ok. They probably won't learn anything until they have 20 senators, even then they'll probably think "We need to be more conservative. None of us ran as real Republicans."

http://thesebastards.blogspot.com/

James McConnell · 1 year ago

Obama must declare a national emergency and be given virtually dictatorial economic power as was done at the outset of WWII. And the senate should suspend or threaten to suspend the cloture rules as the Republicans did to us. Turnabout is fair play. Filibuster makes no sense in a democracy anyway.

lysias · 1 year ago

After the 1932 election, the Republicans never tried to filibuster anything, as far as I know.

FDR's inaugural address of 1933 contained a threat to ask for "broad executive power to wage war against the emergency" of the Depression, if Congress didn't pass his program of legislation. He didn't need to carry out the threat, since Congress did pass his legislation.

doggril · 1 year ago

This feels just like the time the Republicans tried to shut down the federal government by not passing the budget. Heh, that worked well for them.
People are tired of hearings, with Senators wagging their fingers at folks on the other side over a variety of incomprehensible offenses. The 28% dead-enders will love the theater, but the rest of the country will be mightily pissed.
Bring it on Republicans, bring it on.

aquarius2 · 1 year ago

A good start would be getting rid of Harry Reid. I am still pissed that he put in the bailout bill cost of living increases for Federal Judges. Some leadership, not!

texasbob · 1 year ago

Looks like folks got up earlier than I. It does indeed seem that Harry Reid put a small poison pill in the bailout bill by adding crap about raising pay of federal judges.....a provision which could be expected to...and did...piss off one or more Dems. Just to ensure that the thing failed, right Harry? No point taking chances that a Repub or two might favor the bill. What a jerk....right up there with "no impeachment" Pelosi. The problem we face is not just the Repubs, though they are awful, but these idiot Democraps.

scottinsf · 1 year ago

Harry Reid will bow down to every last demand from the Senate repuglicans. Without Bush in office he'll need to kneel in front of somebody.

katiec · 1 year ago

The Democrats need to stop letting the republicans get away with their criminal acts.
The republicans continue on with business as usual, even after they almost destroyed our country. Their egos and self serving tactics are beyond comparison. They are not only trying to destroy the unions, but middle class America.
THEY HAVE TO BE STOPPED.

joelb53 · 1 year ago

The Democratic Party either needs to destroy the GOP, bury it and salt the earth or just get out of the way and let America's progressives fight this battle. If the GOP wants a culture war, we can give them one

bucklerjc · 1 year ago

Just read Spector's floor speach 10:30 last night re: auto bailout. I called his DC office to let them know that even though he is on the right side of of this issue if this deal goes down in flames and the economy folds, he as well as the rest ot the Republicans will pay the consequences in 2010.

lysias · 1 year ago

Specter and the Republicans knew that the bailout would lose out in the vote. So he was allowed to vote his constituents' interests.

If his vote had mattered, he would have voted differently. As he has shown often enough

Rab · 1 year ago

I have confidence that Obama will rip Reids ball out if he doesn't do what he needs to do. Keep in mind all the newly elected democrats who are going to D.C. to do something. Reid will have no choice in the matter because the repugs will force his hand. If not......WTF.

PaulCilwa · 1 year ago

I know this blog devoutly agrees with all things Democrat, but George Bush favors the automaker bailout so there MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT. And the Democrats in Congress haven't done a thing for us progressives since they got there--no repeal of "patriot" act, no repercussions for spying telecoms, no impreachment. So forgive me if I don't get on the bandwagon. Right now, I'm grateful for the Republicans who turned down the bailout, even if their obvious motive is to break the unions. There's SOMETHING else going on. BUSH WANTS IT, so it MUST be wrong!

Troy Adamson · 1 year ago

I am so sick of the republicans trashing the future of our country for some perceived political gain. The democrats are finally moving forward, under the direction of Obama, to represent ALL Americans, not just our party. If the republicans would do the same, we could move forward and become the great country we used to be just a few years ago...

heathwood · 1 year ago

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122903010173099...

Older_Wiser · 1 year ago

Rethugs are trying to crow about the majority of people being against the auto bailout. This presents a large crack in the discussion of labor in this country. When the TARP was enacted, the percentage of people against that was not as great--did people know that the money would be going to corporations that could probably buy the auto industry? Or did it mean that because those were white collar banking jobs they needed to be saved even though those corporations have defrauded the American public?

I just don't understand the underlying beliefs of people in this country about work and why they don't look to their own interests in the first place. Sitting around all day pushing paper really does fry your brain. Most white collar workers don't understand that they have no more autonomy than factory workers--maybe the work is just cleaner and not physically demanding, that's all. Those who shower before work and those who shower after...

vkobaya · 1 year ago

Also an important point that those unionized auto workers are not being paid the massive salaries that the liar's party claims, that is not being paid $50, $60, $70 an hour even including benefits. The benefits are substantial, but the base wages are within reason, under $20 an hour. As for the benefits, the auto companies had the money set aside but then couldn't resist and have been tapping that fund for several decades so the money for benetits that was supposed to set aside, instead is coming out of current revenues, instead of from past revenues even for workers retired for decades. They embezzled the money then are blaming the unions as the bad guys.

RitornaVincitor · 1 year ago

I don't want to hear any more Republicans saying that the California courts overruled the will of the majority when they legalized gay marriage. Not when a minority of 41 GOP Senators can hold the entire country hostage. We weren't hurting anybody. They can't say the same.

Gorgonzola · 1 year ago

Senator Jim Bunning who already sold his soul to the Japanese while selling out American workers is planning to triple dip. He is traveling Sunday to Detroit to sell his autograph for $35.00 a pop. I expect the people there will give him the kind of welcome he deserves.

existenz · 1 year ago

I don't think the Republicans will be wanting to get all uppity about Clinton's pardons in late January. Are they forgetting that Bush is about to unload a whole ton of pardons to the crooks in his White House? The Senate should be holding hearings on that, not talking about Marc Rich.

If the Dems could allow Ashcroft and Gonzales to get approved, the GOP could damn well allow Eric Holder to be approved. Oh, and since when does the minority have any say in when these hearings start? That should be Leahy's call, plain and simple.

munjoyfan · 1 year ago

What's going on right now is a bargaining stalemate. I am hoping the UAW is cooking up a dramatic, visionary plan it will unveil early next week, to call the balking Senators' bluff. Also the appointment of a mediator is needed--the Republicans have no right to be at the bargaining table with the UAW. This really calls for a Jimmy Carter, or a George Mitchell--Jack Walsh as auto czar (chainsaw Jack) can come later. And yeah, that troll Wagoner has to go. He's a lifer. I am sure he can live quite well off his investments. I believe the UAW is an untapped resource: look what they did with Saturn. And look how Wagoner and his trolls killed Saturn.
I am sorry about the suppliers, but many if not most of them can shift with support to manufacturing energy smart devices and equipment---why are solar panels so outrageously expensive--everyone I know wants to install one for hot water, but the payback period is just too long. In addition, every school in the country needs a new furnace and new "smart" light and heat controls. Finally, we need "local" electricity generation--the day of the megagrids is over. The lessons from the 70's and subsequent unraveling of the energy efficiency movement is that govt needs to help it in exactly the same way it helps farmers. Small entrepreneurs need marketing help (not just how to advertise, but the actual creation of markets), they need cheap financing, and they need training. Think about the possibilities if the auto industry started thinking of itself as the transportation industry: smart speed controls in cars and on highways and in every tractor trailer truck, new rail cars for Amtrak, an integrated multimodal transportation--how about something like that European plan for continent-wide battery charging stations for electric cars.

Yesterday, when I checked on the progress of the stock I bought in Honda a couple of weeks ago (doing very well, thank you) I was stunned by their website. They are already leasing fuel cell vehicles in the US and elsewhere; they are developing mobility devices for individuals with impairment, and their corporate philosophy is very appealing. GM's website clearly represents the past, muscle cars, power, speed...no corporate philosophy statement.

I'm an optimist, and I'd like to point out that there is no talk of drilling for more oil right now.

Older_Wiser · 1 year ago

Honda announced today that it is cutting production in the US. It's not just American cars...demand is down all over the place. But I agree with what you said. But you should realize too, that GM makes military and other vehicles as well--something I'm not sure foreign companies should engage in.

Rollah · 1 year ago

Others below have said more or less the same thing: Reid is no leader. Leadership requires accountability.

FunMe · 1 year ago

When is REID going to be booted out?

And what about PELOSI?

Those 2 clowns have accomplished so little - we here do more for America than they do. All they care in their actions is how it is going to benefit them.

Are they going to be still the "leaders" in 2009?

Harper · 1 year ago

Obama should nominate Fitzgerald. He will FRY the neocon criminals' asses. And given the latest Blogo hilarity, they can hardly accuse Fitzgerald of partisanship.

james k. sayre · 1 year ago

Republicans are traitors. Republican Senators are economic traitors to American workers.Republicans Senators are whoring for foreign corporate greed. Republicans want to force American workers's wages down to serfdom levels, not seen since medieval times. Republicans are singing, "let's go serfing." Will McCain join in?

vkobaya · 1 year ago

Democrats need to shut them down.

Dreeeaaaammm! Dream, dream, dream! DrrreEEeaaAAaaammmMMMmmm!

Freddie · 1 year ago

The whole thing smells rotten to me. All day long it's non-stop blather about the automakers instead of what it should be about -- the criminal mismanagement by Treasury and the Fed of taxpayer money for financial industry moguls. Republicans can kill two birds with this one stone: 1) divert the conversation away from the serious stuff (the trillions going to the finance industry haves without due oversight and proper consideration) and if they're lucky, knock off the hated unions that helped the middle class come into existence.

paulbe · 1 year ago

Democrats won't shut them down. This site still harbours a "Good guy/Bad Guy" view of politics. Its way beyond that now. The Dems won't shut them down, you the people have to do it.

cwzilla · 1 year ago

Hahahahaha asking harry reid and the dems to actually stand up to the rethugs is like asking bush to take resposibility for the damage he has wrought on this country it aint gonna happen