From the N&O today:
I wish I was inspired by President Obama or Representative David Price to qoute them. Instead, here is Representative Raul Grijalva from an interview on DemocracyNow yesterday:
...I think those of us that have stood with the President on so many issues—healthcare without a public option, cap and trade without any real responsibility for companies that pollute our environment, doing more for nutrition but taking it away from food stamps—those have all been tough measures in which many of us have participated in support of the President. Now we’re asked to do one more step. And this compromise is not a compromise. It cuts at the very values that the Democratic Party and progressives stand for. It shifts the disparity of income one more time. And it puts an additional burden on programs that are vital. I think the point that Congressman Holt made about, this is an attack on Social Security. This payroll holiday begins the process of undoing Social Security.
And the idea that the President outlined and the administration outlines, that we take this compromise now and then we’ll hold the Republicans feet to the fire come 2012 on the issue of the estate tax and the issue of the two percent for the wealthiest tax break, that’s not going to happen. What’s going to happen in 2012, we’ll be confronted by the Republicans on two or three matters—one being, let’s make all of these taxes permanent. And what are we going to say at that point, once we’ve already participated in this compromise? And I think that that political potential is there. And the other one is a $900 billion deficit increase. Where is that going to come from? I can just hear the corkling coming from the new majority that’s coming into the House come January and February: "We are not going to increase the debt limit; what we are going to do is find that $900 billion somewhere." And where that somewhere is going to be: Medicare, Social Security, education, healthcare in general and other vital domestic programs. We are setting ourselves up for that fight, as well. My point is, let them own this issue of the wealthy and the tax break...
I highly recommend this article/speech, "Whose Side is the White House On," given on November 20, 2010 at the Harvard Kennedy School, by economist James Galbraith. In it he asks who Obama is really working for, and demands that progressives seek leaders who will fight the good fight..
