You see, that’s the real bitch about capitalism. It doesn’t care how you got your money, or even whether you deserve it or not. It only cares that you have plenty of it.

You can describe, quantify and reference all you like, but you still haven’t made me a better offer.
And don’t tell me I need to get a job, ’cause I know you ain’t hiring.

I have described, quantified, and referenced who’s doing most of the “taking” from who in this society, and which directions the forced wealth transfers go. It’s just one of dozens of places you refuse to go.

When the Republicans win the next election, all good progressives will go to their graves believing that if only the Democratic Great Leaps Forward had been allowed to proceed unopposed, we would all live in paradise. I can’t do anything about that. Liberalism is a religious belief.

Anyone who thinks our foreign policy is a glorious success, that Europe’s problem now is insufficient government spending, and that Obamacare is the greatest thing for our economy to come down the pike, proves my point beyond anything else. You do know what Q.E.D. means, right?

As for savagery, I can see for myself which side is breaking things, burning, and attacking people. I can see which side is fielding the real mobs and thugs.

And only one side believes my role in life is to be the property of the State. The “social contract” that mortgages my life and earnings to anyone who can wield enough political power to take them.

You asked me once what I’m afraid of? For starters, a democracy where our leaders have almost limitless power over our lives, and intelligent voters who have declared that the mind has nothing to do with their political ideas.

The old Republican strut about military and international competence sounds pretty lame, now with Bin Laden dead, Jihadism on the ropes and the Clinton foreign policy on the ascendant. “Leading from Behind” apparently gets results.

As for the economy, that assessment primarily depends on who you favor a priori anyway.
The Obama economy may not be in as good a shape as we’d like, but its still in a lot better shape than when the Republicans left it, and it is getting better, no matter how much they deny it. And people who are still working and still paying their mortgage (the majority) at least still have their head above water. They are already showing signs of cold feet over changing horses in mid stream, again.

The GOP is only promising Big Changes, and folks are starting to come to the realization they might just deliver, to our collective despair. The ongoing failure of austerity measures to kick start the European economy is going to be a poor talking point to argue for in a slowly recovering stimulus economy.

The GOP has damaged itself irreparably in a ludicrous campaign for the nomination, one that has divided the party so that even those worthwhile policies they do offer up are now relegated to the despised and diminished “moderates”, while the radical right has only succeeded in terrifying the Independent political center with a campaign of obstruction, bullying and hatred that puts ideological purity over the national welfare. And they have only succeeded in nominating someone they themselves cannot stomach. How can an anti-intellectual party that has botched its own political process be trusted to deal with the subtleties of the real world? North Carolina and West Virginia Democrats are DINOs. Do you really want to cast your lot with hillbilly bigots and religious fanatics?

And finally, Obamacare. If the Conservative campaign to destroy it succeeds, and control of the nation’s health is once again in the hands of the insurance industry and Big Pharma, the inevitable rise in medical costs and the increasing dysfunction in the nation’s health care system will only be blamable on the Right. In fact, from a purely political point of view, a Supreme Court dismantling of Obamacare will be a godsend to the Democrats. They won’t be forced to try to make it work against constant sabotage, and they’ll be able to yell “I told you so” for a generation.

In every other debate dear to conservatives, the increase in production and slowing of consumption of energy, reduction of illegal immigration and increase in deportation of illegals, women’s issues, the Latino vote, there have been ongoing success stories from the Obama administration. And yet, these are precisely where the Republicans have chosen to challenge the incumbent administration.

TB, this election is the last gasp, the last hurrah for jingoism, chauvinism and savagery in this country. They might yet win, its now just a battle betwen our PACs and theirs, but heaven help us all if they do. First they came for the liberals, then for the RINOs, then for the moderates…It will only be a matter of time before they come after you too, TB.

Do you know what’s happening in North Carolina, where the Democratic convention is going to be? The black churches? The polls, particularly of independents? Do you know where gay marriage sits on the list of the average American’s important issues?

Did you see the Wisconsin primary election? Are you watching the Warren race? What’s happening in California?

Good Lord, look at Europe.

I told you about a prisoner getting something like 40 percent of the Democratic presidential primary vote in West Virginia. A protest vote. I even pointed out clearly that it was a closed primary. You sluffed it off, like you sluff off anything that doesn’t fit nicely into your worldview.

A closed primary. Those were registered Democrats voting.

And I’m the one who’s “cocooned?” I seem to be aware of all your political stories, but you don’t seem to be aware of most of mine.

Sure Tom, there is no War Against Women, and the Democrats started Class Warfare. Sigue durmiendo de ese lado. (You go right ahead and continue sleeping on that side of the bed.)

It’s when a group becomes so insular, they no longer effectively have any communication with anyone or anything outside it.

One famous example was the liberal who said “I don’t know how Richard Nixon could have won. I don’t know anybody who voted for him.”

The amazing part of this is that Newsweek honestly thought they were doing Obama a favor.

Your link didn’t work for me, possibly because the double-dash in the address was automatically reformatted into an m-dash. Here it is.