Idiocy from Democrats. President Obama has nominated a third Republican for a Cabinet post, this one Secretary of Commerce. This nomination is thrice bizarre. First, a Democrat who was brought into office on a wave of public disgust with the Republicans, nominated a Republican who is not sympathetic with the very thrust of the new Administration. Second, the particular nominee, Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, in 1995 voted to abolish the department he has been nominated to head! What the hell is Obama thinking? And third, the Democratic governor of New Hampshire has agreed to replace Judd with another Republican! This is an astonishing bit of stupidity, because it puts a filibuster-proof Senate majority beyond reach, willfully empowering Republicans to block the people's business.
+
That is inexcusable betrayal of the public. The Obama Administration continues the course of vile betrayal that candidate Obama established midway thru his campaign. He was elected to change EVERYTHING about Washington and bring a clean sweep, out with the old, in with the new, but is instead betraying the people who voted for him to try to pacify the people who voted against him. That is insane.
+
Moreover, this attempt at bipartisanship hasn't worked. Must we really add "yet"? Or are the Republicans going to become not more malleable and cooperative due to Obama's outreach to them, but, sensing weakness of will, just the opposite: aggressive and militantly adamant in making absolutely no compromise with the Republican "principles" that have nearly destroyed the United States — and the world economy to boot?
+
Let's be plain: Republicans are enemies of society. There are no good Republicans, any more than there are decent Ku Klux Klansmen. No decent person belongs to an indecent organization. Republicans must not be pampered and given more power than the people want them to have. They must be forced to be constructive, or they should be systematically shunned and shut completely out of power. Every amendment they offer that does not accord with Democratic principles should be crushed. Any filibuster they try to mount should be smashed. Just keep whatever item it is on the agenda until it is passed, if it takes a month and a half and sends all Republicans involved in the filibuster to the hospital for exhaustion.
+
Indeed, the filibuster as an institution should be ABOLISHED, now and forever. Make THAT the highest item on the Senatorial agenda: to destroy that insane, absurd, antidemocratic institution that no other democracy has ever had. The minority must never be given the right to veto the majority in ordinary legislation. We're not talking here of a Constitutional amendment that would erode fundamental rights. We're talking about ordinary legislation being vetoed by a militant minority that does not respect the right of the people to legislate as they damned well please.
+
When you are strong, because the people want you to be strong, so gave you a strong mandate for change, it is foolish to be weak and let the enemies of change hamstring your program. Is there an iron fist inside Obama's velvet glove? Or is he just a weakling in a job that demands strength?
+
(The current U.S. military death toll in Iraq, according to the website "Iraq Coalition Casualties", is 4,237 — for Israel.)