Again, the thing I like about socialism is that I don't trust industry or the government, so I want them to compete against each other. If, however, you think Congress will be less responsive to your complaints than a private firm whose executives you can't fire, when they can (and often do) monopolize all insurance in your state, that's ridiculous. Perhaps the publics control of government is limited, but its control of monopolies on essential needs is non-existent. About all they can do is demand government intervention when things get bad enough, which is why each time they've done just that in the past twenty years the industry immediately stepped up to convince them things aren't REALLY that bad (or rather that the government version would be worse despite the fact that's not been the case in any country that's tried it. )
I blame the messengers, both the ones peddling falsehood and the ones so ineptly attempting universal public healthcare. That's the issue that got Clinton elected and it's the one he should've jumped on out of the gate (instead of jumping on DADT to appease a partisan niche and alarm nearly everyone else; spend your political capital on something big, while you've still got it. ) It's a lot of what got Obama elected and what HE should've tackled first instead of giving hundreds of billions to people who knowingly made bad loans hoping to enrich themselves with high interest (he spent nearly all his political capital on that, and it worked, but then he was out and where does that leave the country?) I blame the messenger plenty, but saying their ineptness excuses the naked falsehoods proclaimed to defeat the policy is like saying it's OK to steal a car if the door's unlocked.
No one can control the Democratic Party, and that's a large part of the problem. There are just too many diverse views all insisting their way is right to satisfy all of them, and any attempts to enforce discipline are viewed as tyranny by the offended party. Put another way, if they reach out too far to those on the right their base will abandon them (and, again, probably 40% of the disapproval in polling on the Senate healthcare bill was from libs who thought they gave away the store; with them on board again overall approval would likely to from ~40% to ~60%. ) But, yes, the reason they keep failing is because they do such a poor job of things; they've got great ideas and sorry implementation (as opposed to the GOP leadership that has bad ideas and superb implementation. )
And sorry blaming lobbyist is a weak argument. Both times democrats had the biggest bully pulpit in the world and failed to use it. They had open and vocal support form the major news outlets. If they have failed to get their message across you either need to blame the message or the messenger.
I blame the messengers, both the ones peddling falsehood and the ones so ineptly attempting universal public healthcare. That's the issue that got Clinton elected and it's the one he should've jumped on out of the gate (instead of jumping on DADT to appease a partisan niche and alarm nearly everyone else; spend your political capital on something big, while you've still got it. ) It's a lot of what got Obama elected and what HE should've tackled first instead of giving hundreds of billions to people who knowingly made bad loans hoping to enrich themselves with high interest (he spent nearly all his political capital on that, and it worked, but then he was out and where does that leave the country?) I blame the messenger plenty, but saying their ineptness excuses the naked falsehoods proclaimed to defeat the policy is like saying it's OK to steal a car if the door's unlocked.
Did you ever consider that the reason the democrats keep failing is they keep doing such a poor job of things? If they focused on the reforms people want instead of trying to force feed a huge government program that might build the trust they need to get bigger project done. Right now most liberals are pissed that they didn't get the chance to force what they wanted on the country during the little window of power they had but they never thought of trying to open the window wider. Liberals can barely control the democratic party but they think they have the right to dictate to the entire country and seem stunned and angry when they fail again and again.
No one can control the Democratic Party, and that's a large part of the problem. There are just too many diverse views all insisting their way is right to satisfy all of them, and any attempts to enforce discipline are viewed as tyranny by the offended party. Put another way, if they reach out too far to those on the right their base will abandon them (and, again, probably 40% of the disapproval in polling on the Senate healthcare bill was from libs who thought they gave away the store; with them on board again overall approval would likely to from ~40% to ~60%. ) But, yes, the reason they keep failing is because they do such a poor job of things; they've got great ideas and sorry implementation (as opposed to the GOP leadership that has bad ideas and superb implementation. )
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!

LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Why bipartisanship can't work: the expert view
01/02/2010 11:34:58 PM
- 864 Views
And a personal comment
01/02/2010 11:39:28 PM
- 599 Views
Who's to say YOU really know what's happening in Washington, though?
02/02/2010 01:41:20 AM
- 631 Views
not to mention those who mistake knowledge for understanding
02/02/2010 10:41:14 PM
- 444 Views
Even so.
05/02/2010 05:45:54 AM
- 469 Views
Like the NYT?
05/02/2010 02:12:36 PM
- 502 Views
I don't believe the Times has ever conceded bias.
05/02/2010 06:03:02 PM
- 524 Views
and neither does Fox so I am not sure that matters
05/02/2010 06:40:15 PM
- 566 Views
Note that I didn't mention Fox (or anyone, for that matter. )
05/02/2010 07:13:31 PM
- 498 Views
PBS is biased
05/02/2010 07:21:14 PM
- 470 Views
You're entitled to believe that.
05/02/2010 07:31:07 PM
- 600 Views
PBS has an obvious yet undeclared bias so does NPR
09/02/2010 04:47:53 AM
- 433 Views
Even were that true (which I dispute) my statement stands.
09/02/2010 09:50:36 AM
- 545 Views
so they wouldn't be biased becuas it could hurt them but you still argue republicans attack them
09/02/2010 02:19:53 PM
- 507 Views
We have been for some time.
02/02/2010 03:31:10 AM
- 497 Views
I don't think that's the case
03/02/2010 02:59:50 PM
- 476 Views
Universal healthcare was the primary plank in Clintons '92 platform.
04/02/2010 10:02:18 AM
- 460 Views
That does not mean his bare plurality was an endorsement of National Healthcare
04/02/2010 02:09:32 PM
- 589 Views
I don't think he won by default, and that was his primary issue.
05/02/2010 08:09:50 AM
- 601 Views
Re: I don't think he won by default, and that was his primary issue.
05/02/2010 03:52:23 PM
- 558 Views
[insert witty subject line here]
06/02/2010 02:15:21 AM
- 588 Views
Let me break this into multiple replies here
06/02/2010 07:45:36 PM
- 568 Views
'K
08/02/2010 01:22:12 PM
- 551 Views
Probably time to go into 'summary mode'
08/02/2010 07:34:55 PM
- 580 Views
Again, we're back to "how would you prefer to do it?"
09/02/2010 09:42:51 AM
- 605 Views
Any way that works, which currently probably is none
09/02/2010 06:12:41 PM
- 544 Views
I think HDI is more accurate than nothing, though it certainly needs some fine tuning.
10/02/2010 11:03:08 AM
- 594 Views
I'll play a bigger age card since it was my third election to vote in and he won because of Perot
05/02/2010 05:57:04 PM
- 482 Views
Let's put it another way: Why did Dems nominate him instead of, say, Gephardt?
06/02/2010 02:22:04 AM
- 553 Views
you don't get mandates from primaries
08/02/2010 02:12:29 PM
- 452 Views
No, but end of the day more people wanted healthcare than didn't.
08/02/2010 03:09:31 PM
- 464 Views
everyone want health care they just don't want congress runnig it
09/02/2010 04:56:44 AM
- 502 Views
Whom do you prefer?
09/02/2010 10:07:39 AM
- 524 Views
Sorry not a big fan of socialism I hear it big over in Europe though
09/02/2010 02:23:55 PM
- 425 Views
In other words you prefer the system we have; thanks for admitting it.
10/02/2010 10:05:38 AM
- 484 Views

I prefer Thomas Woods Jr's description of bipartisanship
02/02/2010 02:49:06 AM
- 485 Views
If only someone had stood up on 8 December, 1941 and said, "hey, you're not supposed to do stuff!"
02/02/2010 03:28:38 AM
- 634 Views
you're making a good job taking things out of context, Joel
03/02/2010 12:47:57 PM
- 453 Views
Don't speak in absolutes and I won't read absolutes.
04/02/2010 10:08:43 AM
- 470 Views
Some qualifiers can be left unsaid for a clearer message. Or better delivery
04/02/2010 10:26:56 AM
- 453 Views

Qualifiers are clarifying by nature.
04/02/2010 10:49:06 AM
- 586 Views
huh. That does make sense. I know malpractice is a big weight on the the system in the US.
04/02/2010 11:58:37 AM
- 422 Views
Perhaps, but it's hardly the greatest weight, or even in the top three, IMHO.
05/02/2010 05:44:49 AM
- 573 Views
Pearl Harbor would never have happened to a classically liberal nation
05/02/2010 01:33:56 AM
- 477 Views
Wow - that was a dumb statement even for you!
05/02/2010 04:22:59 PM
- 657 Views
I do generally agree, but I think the Washington Naval Conference is too often overlooked.
06/02/2010 02:33:51 AM
- 594 Views
Politicians and pundits should stop calling things that happened in the last decade "unprecedented"
02/02/2010 03:23:27 AM
- 647 Views
Or the democratic party has shifted so far to to the left they can't even get all of the dems
02/02/2010 02:39:14 PM
- 455 Views
You didn't hear all the whining when Bush was in charge with a Republican Congress?
02/02/2010 08:50:05 PM
- 473 Views
I there was plenty of whining going on
02/02/2010 10:36:56 PM
- 399 Views
Is this you conceding that the GOP is being obstructionist?
08/02/2010 01:43:04 PM
- 430 Views
I agree they are obstructing the libs from doing whatever they want
08/02/2010 02:19:13 PM
- 359 Views
They've tried including Republicans in drafting bills.
08/02/2010 03:08:17 PM
- 516 Views
tyring to pcik off one republican is not including republicans
09/02/2010 05:03:44 AM
- 464 Views
So we've gone from "stop being secretive" to "no public meetings" eh?
09/02/2010 11:59:50 AM
- 473 Views
well it was your guy who was up in arms about private meetings
09/02/2010 02:29:34 PM
- 452 Views
Was it? I don't recall any Dem complaining about private meeting on healthcare.
10/02/2010 09:44:56 AM
- 605 Views
most liberals seem to foretting the "rhetoric" that Obama used to get elected
13/02/2010 06:54:34 AM
- 444 Views