Crossposted at Progressive Blue
"Ideological riders" on the budget bill...
Democrats are making a very big deal about the Republican "ideological riders" on the budget bill, primarily the Planned Parenthood funding. By focusing on this, they are avoiding having to talk about the elephant in the room -- the fact that they are making huge cuts in discretionary spending (Whatever you do, don't say austerity! Not an approved liberal shiny object!) that are going to cause more suffering for poor and average Americans.
Planned Parenthood is one of the liberal shiny objects. You will be expected to cheer when the Democrats drive a hard bargain and get that funding back for Planned Parenthood! What will they trade away for it? Doesn't matter. You won't notice until it is much too late. But when you get the liberal shiny object back from the brink, you must clap very loudly, and thank your President, your Senators and your Congresspeople and bend over and take all of the other egregious cuts that are helping to unravel a half century's worth of progress.
If you are a Republican, and you want to do slash and burn spending cuts, just grab things like Planned Parenthood and NPR hostage, and the Democrats will agree to austere spending cuts in other areas that people aren't noticing yet, just to get them back. This is all a f'ing game. Both the Democrats and the Republicans play it.
We are stooges if we fall for this. Democrats should tell them to go ahead, cut NPR and Planned Parenthood (yes, I said that,) and then fight against austerity measures, and work on cutting the real pork in the untouchable defense budget and elsewhere, and maybe call Jeffrey Immelt and Bill Daley down the hall and tell them that GE and JP Morgan have to pay some taxes.
Later, they should rally up the big grassroots organizations (where have they been lately, by the way? mmm, veal pen) and both the Dems and the grassroots should make a *huge* deal about the cuts, shaming the Republicans to hell and back. Then they should do something to get the Planned Parenthood and NPR funding back in another way, like tacking it onto an emergency supplemental. That is what the Republicans would do.
But that would require actually working in the best interests of the people. And that would mean they would have to negotiate honestly and openly.
This morning, Joe Scarborough is giving away the message: (paraphrased)
"Are the Democrats really going to shut the government down for Big Bird and abortions? We need jobs, jobs, jobs."
And here is Chuck Schumer on MSNBC this morning too:
"We are on the one yard line but Republicans are making a stand on the issue of women's health."
The Dems have blown it. Liberal shiny objects, aimed at their base (who they regularly try to spin and distract as they are selling them out) are backfiring.
Republicans are winning the messaging game. Again, the "it worked for Bill Clinton" strategy is backfiring in the faces of this f'ing too clever by half administration who fail to notice that:
1) Republicans learn from their mistakes
2) Fifteen years ago the world was entirely different than it is today
3) We are in a Great Recession and for some it is a Great Depression and people need help, not austerity
But Chuck Schumer and other Democrats say this is all about women's health. Liberal shiny object! Wish they had had such convictions during the health care reform debate. Truth is, they are just fine with the austerity measures but they have to try to make you believe that they still care about you.
So they pull out a trusty liberal shiny object! and say that this is their line in the sand. Maybe that way you won't notice the austerity coming your way. But they are working for you and fighting for you! Be ready to clap and thank them!
Update:
Planned Parenthood receives about a third of its money in government grants and contracts ($349.6 million in the 2008 fiscal year). A coalition of national and local pro-life groups have lobbied the federal government to stop funding Planned Parenthood.[34] Federal legislators have also proposed laws that would ban Planned Parenthood from receiving federal money for any purpose.[35] By law, Planned Parenthood cannot allocate any federal funding for abortions
http://en.wikipedia.org/...