My Favorite Democrat

[Stevomeo]

This is a summary of a speech Pat Caddell gave Monday night and I think it is terrific. Though I have disgreed with him on many occasions, he is absolutely spot on regarding the political discourse in this country. I couldn't pull up a link to the video but here is a summary of the content.

Tonight, Pat Caddell, committed Democrat and political film consultant, received a standing ovation from a room full of Texas conservatives. Women on the Wall hosted an awards banquet honoring Texas women activists on the eve of the Texas legislature convening in Austin, and Caddell headlined the event.

He perfectly articulated what’s broken in politics today: government no longer operates by the consent of the governed, it’s rigged against the ordinary citizen by lobbyists, special interests, and corruption, and as a Gallop poll announced today, two-thirds of Americans believe Congress cares more about retaining their power, even to the detriment of the country, than they do about serving and preserving the country.

Caddell called such sentiment a “pre-revolutionary condition” and said, “this country is on the verge of an explosion.” He railed against the fiscal cliff deal and the Republicans’ lack of a spine to stand up to the President saying if they were going to cave on the tax hikes, then they should have taken all other bad stuff out of the bill, like the President having sole authority to raise the debt ceiling and all the special interest giveways.

He said the bill had tax breaks for “everyone but the American people.”

At an appearance on Fox News, Caddell didn’t parse words calling the fiscal cliff deal a “raping of the ordinary American.” The former pollster thought the saying posted by James Carville in the Clinton war room codifies it best: “It’s the corruption stupid,” calling out the American press for no longer reporting the news, but purposely controlling the truth to protect the President -- like its silence on Benghazi where four Americans died.

“The media deserted their duty to protect the people from power, not impose power on them,” Caddell criticized and the dereliction of duty doesn’t stop there. “Everyone in Washington is interested in preserving power and privilege. The country can’t survive that system anymore.” Caddell noted that across the board, polling shows 70-75% of Americans hate the political class in Washington.

Caddell touched on four reasons why the Republicans lost the election, one of them being their silence on the Affordable Healthcare Act known as Obamacare. He said Obamacare was shoved down people’s throats which he called a “crime against democracy.”

The number of IRS agents that will be hired to enforce Obamacare is the equivalent of the size of NASA -- 18,000-20,000 new bureaucrats. He noted that no matter what poll you look at, the American people don’t want big government by a margin of 25 points.

“When 51% of the people interviewed in exit polls said they wanted Obamacare repealed, how is it that the guy who passed it is the one who got re-elected?” Caddell asked. Because the Republicans failed to articulate a message that resonated with voters, he contends.

“It’s the most massive disconnect I’ve ever seen in my life,” said an incredulous Caddell.

Corruption and the disconnect between the people and their elected officials crosses party lines and effects every corner of public policy, including transportation.

Here's the part where we conservatives get called names over when we make statements like this.

Caddell encouraged the grassroots to stay the course regardless of what happens in the Speaker’s race. He indicated only force will reform government now. They surely won’t do it themselves. He concluded saying, “They swear an oath to the American people, not to a political party. We need politicians who say ‘I’m an instrument of your will, committed to the American dream,’ not political influence and corruption.”

[pgh69]

He's not a Democrat Steve.

[madmax]

Originally Posted by pgh69

He's not a Democrat Steve.

Not even close:
His analysis on polls and campaign issues often puts him at odds with the current leadership of the Democratic Party. He has been criticized for predicting the downfall of the Democratic party.[8][9] Critics point out that he has defended the Bush administration by arguing that Republicans did not exploit the issue of homosexual marriage in the presidential election of 2004. He also denounced Democrats in the House who voted against the Palm Sunday Compromise, which sought to reinstate Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, as "cold blooded,"[citation needed] and called environmentalism "a conspiracy 'to basically deconstruct capitalism.'"
Caddell is a regular guest on the Fox News Channel, and he is listed as an official 'Fox News Contributor'. This has earned him the label of a "Fox News Democrat" by critics such as liberal opinion magazine Salon.com He has also frequently appeared on the conservative website Ricochet.com discussing politics

[Stevomeo]

Say it isn't so. Still a Democrat, perhaps a "DINO". I knew he was definitely an old school blue dog of sorts. I still believe he was spot on in describing what is wrong in Washington.

[madmax]

Originally Posted by Stevomeo

Say it isn't so. Still a Democrat, perhaps a "DINO". I knew he was definitely an old school blue dog of sorts. I still believe he was spot on in describing what is wrong in Washington.

No, he was a hired pollster and consultant.
I agree with some of what he says, but a lot is just hyper partisan bull.
Example: "The number of IRS agents that will be hired to enforce Obamacare is the equivalent of the size of NASA -- 18,000-20,000 new bureaucrats."

Debunked: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...-new-workers-/

So if he is this full of shit on just one checked "fact" you gotta wonder about the rest.
Due diligence is required.

[Stevomeo]

Originally Posted by madmax

No, he was a hired pollster and consultant.
I agree with some of what he says, but a lot is just hyper partisan bull.
Example: "The number of IRS agents that will be hired to enforce Obamacare is the equivalent of the size of NASA -- 18,000-20,000 new bureaucrats."

Debunked: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-me...-new-workers-/

So if he is this full of shit on just one checked "fact" you gotta wonder about the rest.
Due diligence is required.

I have always preferred the truth over party line BS, and a good reason I like Chris Christy. You pretty much know what you're going to get with the guy.

[pgh69]

Originally Posted by Stevomeo

Say it isn't so. Still a Democrat, perhaps a "DINO". I knew he was definitely an old school blue dog of sorts. I still believe he was spot on in describing what is wrong in Washington.

Again, he's NOT a Democrat. I'm not speaking figuratively...ie., "He may be a Democrat, but he doesn't subscribe to the ideals that our party upholds."

I mean he's NOT a member of the Democratic Party. He was, but left the Democratic Party in 1988. If you want to call him your favorite "former" Democrat, that might be accurate. But, he's not a member of the Democratic Party and hasn't been for about 25 years.

[dumbass]

Originally Posted by pgh69

He's not a Democrat Steve.

He's every bit as much a Democrat as Chuck Hagel is a Republican.

[pgh69]

Originally Posted by dumbass

He's every bit as much a Democrat as Chuck Hagel is a Republican.

OMG, are you being deliberately obtuse?? The basic requirement of being a Democrat, or a Republican for that matter, is that you are a MEMBER of the party. Once the person is a member, you can debate about whether or not that person's views differ from party orthodoxy (ie., w/ Chuck Hagel). BUT, if you aren't a member of the Democratic Party - and Caddell is not a member - then you aren't a Democrat. What's so hard to understand about that?

[madmax]

Originally Posted by dumbass

He's every bit as much a Democrat as Chuck Hagel is a Republican.

Well that says much more about the GOP of today than its says about Hagel.
Eisenhower and Reagan would not be welcome in today's GOP. Look at Olympia Snowe's parting remarks. Another? Dick Lugar. The fact that nuts like Sharron Angle can get the nomination...
The internal self-detruction of the GOP.