FINAL THOUGHT ON THE MASSACHUSETTS VOTE

OK, this should be the last post on yesterday's election in Massachusetts.

First, I like these quotes from Yves Smith. They mirror my blog comments from last night and this morning.

He [President Obama] clearly doesn’t get it ...

Mr. President, the American people have core values, and they don’t encompass political cronyism and tolerance of fraud and corruption ...

When Obama continued the Bush/Paulson moves on the bank bailouts, that was the beginning of the end of his “change” Presidency ...

The President expended so much political capital and goodwill placating the likes of Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein. Now that they’ve got their government checks, they can do whatever they like and continue to poison the polity ...

For those of you unfamiliar with the two clowns in the last quote, here's a score card.

ON THE ECONOMIC (BAILOUT) SIDE
Jamie Dimon is CEO of bailed out JP Morgan ($45 billion) and once famously said that "we should teach the American people, you're supposed to meet your obligations."  Dimon made the deal of the century by scamming the Obama administration American taxpayer, and is worth about $1.7 billion.

Oh, and he apparently can't hold his own umbrella.

Lloyd Blankfein is CEO of bailed out Goldman Sachs, and made $56 million the year before the market collapsed, which included a $26 million bonus. He's famous for saying (a year into the market collapse) that as a banker he's doing "God's work."  No word on whether he holds his own umbrella.

ON THE POLITICAL SIDE
On the political side, one thing is clear: Democrats need to grow a pair.

Specifically, they need to stop wondering what to do about a Republican filibuster in the Senate. Democrats still have 59 votes out of 100. It takes 51 votes to pass legislation in the Senate. President Bush would have made himself emperor with 59 Republican Senators.

As I've said on air many times, the Democrats should craft their own policy and then force the Republicans to filibuster every one of them. Then leave it up to the Republicans to explain their obstructionism to the American public. Seriously. Break up the health care bill into 25 small bills, if you must. Then strip out all of the crap the Republicans and fake Democrats (i.e. Senators Lieberman and Nelson) wanted. Then let the games begin. If that doesn't work, go to reconciliation. That takes only 51 votes too.

Finally, do something for Joe Six-Pack. Three things stick out. An immediate payroll tax cut, spend hundreds of billions on infrastructure projects, and then go after Wall Street. 

- Mark