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Republican-based democracy: America is a club you can't afford

October 15, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

As the nutball legislation dispensed by the Republican caucus in Madison continues apace, it's good to take the 10,000-foot view and consider what the overall GOP asgenda means for average state residents. When you look over the list, one theme emerges: It's all about money.

If you don't have any money or an insufficient amount of it, you simply are not going to be able to afford the new GOP flavor of democracy. America is rapidly being transformed into an exclusive club, whose members are wealthy and whose dues are paid by the rest of us.

Here's a brief but not totally inclusive rundown exemplifying this bold new GOP world:

Injured by a corporation? Too bad, because you no longer will be able to afford the cost of suing.

Buying a product or service? Risky! You won't be able to complain if something goes wrong, unless you first sign the seller's "compulsory arbitration clause" signing away your remaining rights to sue in court. 

Get sick? You won't be guaranteed paid days off.

The Republican chaos engine

October 14, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

The thing to keep in mind when dealing with modern Republicans is that they depend heavily on two tactics: One of those tactics can best be described as a sophisticated version of the childhood retort: "I know you are, but what am I?" That's the effective GOP response when, for example, critics accurately note that Republican administrations tend to run high deficits and enact tax giveaways for special interests that make those deficits worse.

The second tactic, which is really just a psychological means of dealing with their own hypocrisy, is when Republicans project their own behaviors and motives onto the opposition. In short, Republicans are willful dissemblers but also, deeper down, in denial of their own dysfunction and inadequacy -- and quite willing to fantasize that it's always the other guy's fault. Projection increasingly is the psycho-glue that holds their fractured party and ideology together.

Martin Heinrich Leads All in Campaign Fundraising for U.S. Senate Race in NM

October 14, 2011 by Democracy for N...

At the end of the third quarter, NM-1 Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich has an impressive lead over all other candidates in campaign fundraising for the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. Last Wednesday, Heinrich's campaign released a statement saying that his 3Q report would show him raising more than $650,000 between July 1 and September 30, 2011, with a cash-on-hand total of more than $1.1 million. They also said then that "the impressive total was fueled by 2,596 individuals, 94 percent of whom gave $200 or less."

Today it was revealed that fellow Democratic Senate candidate, State Auditor Hector Balderas, raised about $250,000 in Q3, and has nearly $465,000 in cash on hand.