http://www.easternecho.com It’s Ted Kennedy’s seat no longer. Scott Brown walked into the Lion’s Den and defeated Martha Coakley, spoiling the Democrats’ chance at a filibuster-proof Senate on Tuesday. The Democratic Party would like you to believe that this was an isolated event, but it wasn’t. This election was a referendum on the president and the party he leads. en-us Gryphon 2.3.1-dsw (pewabic)/Foundry5 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:50:24 -0500 webmaster@easternecho.com http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/455 Mr. Weinberg, You make many assumptions that are incorrect. Firstly, the American public are not very smart or intelligent when it comes to government or politics as you insist. Most Americans can’t tell you who their representative in congress is, or who their senators are, let alone state or local representatives. They also do not follow the news in relation to laws that are being debated, what is happening in foreign countries that may effect our country, or truly understanding what is happening with the stock markets and actions of the fed. Your claim that there was no complaining and all kinds of satisfaction with the previous administration is wishful thinking. Once the info on the war in Iraq began to be absorbed by the general public (and it took a while) there was all kinds of complaining on why the war was fought in the first place, since we were told all kinds of reasons by the back-pedaling Bush administration that turned out to be false. Lastly, it’s convenient that you totally ignored the democrat wining the congressional seat in upper state New York that had been held by republicans in the past. How does that sit with your premise that the people are dissatisfied with President Obama and the democrats Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:48:12 -0500 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/455 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/456 Scott Brown won because the Tea Party protests were effective, one year after President Obama was inaugurated the public is already turned against his agenda. These tea parties worked because people saw them in the media and identified with the people there. These were parents, workers and small businessmen. What they did not see at these protests were tie dyed kids in deadlocks banging bongos, clowns on stilts or paper mache effigies being burned. This is why Code Pink, ACORN and other groups could not do jack to “Stop the War”. Mainstream Americans identified with the Tea Partiers and were able to connect with them on a deeper level. Code Pink just and their ilk look like a bunch of clowns. The protest movement had strategy and objectives and knew the methods on how to achieve them. The leaders were out to fulfill a plan not to engage in media stunts like Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan did. The angry people at town halls, were just that angry people over the health care plan. The Tea party movement was not storming into congressional hearings, or camping out in front of the Presidents Vacation home to get media attention. In the end President Obama who was a community organizer for grass roots movements got schooled by one. Democrats one one congressional seat in NY, but they lost governorships in VA and NJ and then Ted Kennedy’s seat, which stalled if not Pres. Obama Health care reform. So far it is 3-1 in favor of the GOP, with more to possibly come. Right now all the election experts are saying the GOP may possibly take back congress. The DEMS right now are scared of if the lose congress but by how much. Pres. Obama by his actions has actually damaged his own party in ways worse that GW Bush could have his own. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:07:50 -0500 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/456 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/458 To Mr.Burnaska, You insist on telling the general public that the tea baggers are just down to earth people who are just dissatisfied with the present administration in Washington, D.C. However, I don’t think it is as simple as you claim, or just a group of interested, innocent, people that are angry at the president and his agenda. Many reporters have found evidence that many of these rallies have been supported by right wing advocates with money and organizers. As I have previously pointed out in other blogs, holding signs comparing President Obama to Hitler or being communistic in his beliefs is over the top, but if you have watched any of these rallies on television that is what you see. If this is the kind of person you want supporting your side of any argument then go for it. I certainly do not want any of these people on my side. When you claim that these tea baggers were not storming into congressional offices for attention, what do you call it when they completely disrupted town hall meetings with shouting down and pushing around other people that were there to try and find out about health care too? Finally, it is not clear yet, but it has been reported that the upcoming Tea Bagger Convention may be folding. From info so far, the costs for attending have gotten out of control. ($349 to attend, $549 to see and hear Ms. Palin, who is reported to be paid $100,000 to speak) So much for the little people that are leading this movement. This grass root movement is just so underwhelming! Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:01:40 -0500 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/458 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/459 There is a difference those right wing organizers stalled if not stopped the pet project of a president who was a community organizer. Pres. Obama got schooled in an area that is supposed to be his expertise. Town Hall meetings are much different than Congressional Hearings, so far what I saw with the Tea Baggers was a much better organized and run movement than lets say Code Pink or Cindy Sheehan. These people at the town halls were that pissed of people dissatisfied with the government, if they were their by the TP’s so what Obama is doing the same thing with his ACORN and Union buddies. As for Health Care, the majority of the public is not behind this bill, it is a 1000 page mess that no one read. It’s also is not helping Pres. Obama that he just seems to not get his message out anymore. He went from running an intelligent and eloquent campaign to a half-baked Chicago Olympic Bid. It is no wonder Brazil won, not like Chicago had a chance anyway. In many ways the Olympics bid was Pres. Obama’s Katrina his WTF moment that had people scratching their heads. In one year after his election, the voters have pretty much turned on him, VA, NJ and now MA. Election anaylists are calling the 2010 election in favor of the GOP. Obama’s biggest problem came from the campaign, he oversold himself and let people use him as a blank canvas paint their own image of who he is. That image is not living up to reality, he became the hot XMAS toy every kid wants, the toy that just does not seem as exciting when you finally get it out of the box. Reagan and Bill Clinton have been compared to rock stars. Obama is a POP star, we have seen what can become of them. Obama was able to win on Charisma and style alone, but come 2012 he is going to have to defend his record. There will be no blame Bush for anything because any problems that exist will be his problems now. So far his favorite line is “I prevented things from being worse”, he was voted on the promised of making things better not less worse. Pres. Obama has talked himself in a corner, I partly blame his advisers who are just saying yes to every brain fart he has instead of giving him advice. Every President, CEO, Celebrity or General needs a close associate that will tell him NO. NO. Mr. President, Health Care can wait people are more worried about jobs. I know If Michael Jackson has a person like this, he would still be alive. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:04:46 -0500 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/459 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/461 Mr. Burnaska, I have never understood people like yourself who are against the union movement in America. What have unions done to everyone that is so bad? Nothing. The only reason people like yourself dislike unions is that they have bargined for better wages and benefits than many other workers that are non-union, and they almost always support democrats because the democratic party supports working class Americans. I also didn’t think the president of our counrty was out of line to personally try and get the Olympics for our country, since the leaders of the other contending countries did the same. Maybe you have forgotten the previous president surrounded himself with no one but yes men. I don’t remember any presidential advisor of President Bush ever saying he was wrong, or that he should say no to a piece of legislation. In fact, President Bush never saw a bill that he didn’t like, since he never vetoed one until the last months of his administration. President Reagan on the other hand was nothing more than a buffoon. He increased the taxes on average Americans by eliminating most of what used to be deductions for the middle class. Deductions for medical and dental expenses, credit card interest, gasoline taxes, to name just a few. He covered this by giving the middle class a tax cut, but the reduction in payroll taxes did not make-up the losses in deductions that were taken away. Another great example of how republicans help the middle class. Yes, the democrats will lose seats in both houses of congress this year, but it is a historical fact that has happened almost all the time in our country’s history, not as you argue from tea baggers and their ilk. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:36:19 -0500 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/461 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/472 When it comes to unions, there are certain jobs where it is beneficial. If you have a job that is dangerous,such as power line workers, miners or fire fighters being in a union is a good idea. If you work a skilled craft that does not work regular steady hours. Such as construction trades or film crews where you work for a few months that are looking for more work. Or you work to develop creative or intellectual properties such as Actors or Writers. Where there are issues with copyrights and trademarks and you need to make sure your work is protected. Film Industry is quite possibly the most crooked run business in this country. Studios will do anything they can to avoid paying anyone the money they deserve. They will go to court and get sued and pay out legal fees for more than what it will take to pay some writer, actor or director the money they should get Lately the labor movement has become bloated and corrupt and not in touch with reality. No HS graduate with minimal skills or dropout is worth $35 and hour on an unskilled job. Should these assembly line workers make peanuts, of course not. Just like bloated A-list Hollywood salaries, it has to be based on what the market can bear. Shouls some drunk whith out a HS diploma make close to a professional wage od a college grduate, NO. Should Will Ferrell make 60 million a picture when He cannot draw and audience. NO either. When a union strong arms a corporation to pay them your “living wage” guess what happens. They shut the plant down and move it overseas where they can get more work for far less. If some A-list actor wants a huge salary and has not had a hit in years, a producer is going to start looking for some younger unknown talent he can pay less. A few years ago the UAW and Ford had egg on their face when WDIV did a I-team report on workers at the Sterling Heights plant. These workers who leaving mid shift and getting drunk at the local bar then coming back to work. Great…and they wonder why public opinion towards Unions are slipping. No high school graduate or dropout equal to someone who graduated a University and has a degree, sorry that is how the marketplace works. Economic Equality does not will never exist. The day you could slide through High School kicking a ball around like the rest of my family members and graduate and get a job at the local plant and work middle class wages is OVER. There is going to be a new middle class in America, due to new needs it will be made up and an educated workforce with BS degrees or training in specific skills at technical or trade schools. Labor movement needs to realize this as well instead of trying to save these useless “dinosaur jobs” for their aging workforce. Some labor unions may be facing extinction as they jobs they represent may no longer exist. one example is the union that represent the workers at the newspaper plants. Newspapers are dying due to the rise of new media. Subscriptions are dropping off fast and even large papers like the NY Times are laying off reporters and staff. May I ask all of you…when was the last time you saw a paperboy in on your street? Or does anyone here old enough to remember a paperboy on you street. The days of an unskilled middle class labor force is over. We cannot not sustain with in the face of global competition. This means kids children are going to have to put down the soccer ball and read a textbook for a change. We have Soccer Moms in the USA, Korea, Japan and China have STUDY MOMS. This is why they crank out far more engineers than we do. As for taxes on the middle class, every president does it Democrat or Republican. Why? sure “taxing the rich” sounds nice in sound bites. While the top wealthiest 10% have more money individually. In a group they do not bring in as much income tax revenue as the middle class. It is numbers plain and simple, there are more middle class so they get taxed more. Same reason every election time all candidates regardless of party, claim to be for the common person or Middle Class. Then when they get elected they bend over for the wealthy special interests. The needs the middle-lower class for numbers, when in power their need the elites for their money. Obama is doing it now, Bank Bailouts, Pandering to Wall Street with favors while trying to act like a populist this is probably why people are growing impatient with him now. Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:50:24 -0500 http://www.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/472