TEA PARTY Rallies In Washington To Destroy America — President Fiddles

The ignorant know-nothing Teabagger brigades may hold yet another obese, phlegmatic, whitebread rally in our nation's capital to stiffen the spines of the neo-fascists they sent to Congress to bring our nation to its knees. Boehner can't control them; neither can the Chamber of Commerce, aka Dr. Frankenstein. Many of the Teabaggers and their kinfolk rely on the very same programs — Medicare and Social Security — they are now enthusiastically pushing to KILL. They also rely on low interest rates, a tax on everyone when rates rise after default, retirement accounts of various types which will be decimated, and lots of their jobs which will be lost.

The Tea Party rabble represents less than 30 percent of the American people, they can't drive, yet they're driving our America bus to the brink of disaster. Ultimately, this will have been a massive FAIL by President Obama if financial disaster isn't averted. Contrary to the claims of reactionaries in the Idiot Punditocracy, the President's base is abandoning him in droves because we're fed up with all of this "triangulation" between so-called "independents" and the corporations, with nothing but rhetoric concerning the pain felt by the poor, blacks, Latinos, the elderly. How many lines in the sand has President Obama drawn then said, "never mind?" How many times must we to listen to the sickening Fox "News" mantra, "fair" and "balanced?" How many more times must we see the President cave and cave and "compromise" away all of the Democratic Party's cherished values?

Every time I see Valerie Jarrett on the White House lawn I'm reminded of how so not progressive this President is. Jarrett is the ultimate insider's insider, the corporate schmoozer, the Georgetown party lady, the boardroom dealmaker, the "close family friend" who embodies everything — everything — about fake Democrats-in-name-only, and nothing of the Democratic Party's roots, its heart and soul — the people's party — representing those who do not have a voice or a seat at the table. Historically, "close family friends" who are political neophytes and outsiders make lousy advisers.

I will challenge anyone to tell me WHO, in President Obama's inner circle speaks for ordinary citizens, the poor, Latinos, the disadvantaged, seniors. Who: Elizabeth Warren? She's leaving. She's fed up; she can hardly get the President's ear, it seems, without Valerie Jarrett hovering about like a controlling den mother. The last thing the President needs is to be in more of a "bubble" than he is in already. Then there's Bill Daley, White House Chief of Staff, a Jarrett friend and ally, who is the quintessential smooth corporatist Democrat, a favorite of these obstructionist Republicans. The truth is, there is no one inside this White House who represents the people. The shocking statistics of historical highs in income disparity between white America and African Americans and Latinos only serve to underscore how so very neglectful and passive this President and administration have been to the people's suffering and to core Democratic values.

Every time the President speaks out in Bobby Kennedy language, we think maybe, maybe this is the time he will become the President for the poor, for those who are suffering, for seniors. But it's so much cruel talk, considering how hurtful the policies he is pushing will be to those most vulnerable. And each time President Obama assumes the posture of a "negotiator" it seems he insists, unilaterally, on holding the weakest hand and having to beg for crumbs from Republican extremists.

Paul Krugman said, "At this point, we just have to accept it as a fact of life: Obama doesn’t, and maybe can’t, do outrage — no matter how much the situation calls for it ... It turns out, I’m sorry to say, that he wasn’t the one we were waiting for." Steve Benen delved into the surreal politics of Washington, the farcical White House option of a "trigger" for ending the Bush tax cuts. President Obama has said he does not read his critics, as if it's a badge of honor. Well maybe he should — they're far more frank than his yes-man inner circle or protective family friend Valerie Jarrett can be.

The President's penchant for "negotiating" from a position of weakness and timidity is not a negotiation, it's not rational, and it's not an option. It's time to invoke the 14th Amendment, Mr. President. Even Bill Clinton would do it. Or, as President Obama said, "there's always hope."