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36 Comments

1. John:

   Fred Kessler urging people to support incumbent Democrats, that’s rich. He actively worked against a Democratic member of the State Senate, go as far as recruiting people to run. What a hypocrite.

2. Les Nakamoto:

   Fred Kessler urged people to support incumbent Democrats in these six races. That has nothing to do with what or whom he may or may not have supported in other races.

   Democrats often rightly or wrongly support or oppose other candidates. So do Republicans.

   There is nothing hypocritical about that.

   You just need to make your own decisions about the issues and decide if you want to support the incumbent or the challenger.

   Whatever decision you do make, we just hope that you will support a Democrat.

3. Ms. Allen:

   To use the word fake and democrate in the same sentence is disgrace to all democrate in the world.So you mean to tell me that you have to pay dues in order to rep. democrate. Well I’m here to to say I I’m a democrate not because I paid dues but becaues my mother and Father are democrates. I inheritied that title I was born into a democrate family. I vote democrate. I live in the poorest part of the city and just because I won’t the best for my community, I got to be fake. Listen everyone that reads this there is about 200,000 democrates in Wisconsin,and about 25 precent pay dues. So who’s keeping it real,could it be the Real democrates. I don’t believe for one minute you have to pay some dues in order to rep. democrate or republican it’s your on free will as a human being. I feel sorry for our elder that made this statement becaues they should have known better then that. I will always respect my elders.

4. Ms. Allen:

   We have come to that point where we need our friends to come forward and help us accomplish something great for our families and our community. As a mother of the struggle I know what working hard is .It’s about pushing on for the sake of the familiy.I will not give up. I am going to continue to advocate for the change in our community, with or without your blessing. Let’s changing milwaukee now! CHANGE MILWAUKEE NOW
   Our community, friend and family know that we can do this without the support you bring to this Races. WE ARE YOUNG,BLACK,EDUCATED AND TAUGHT BY THE BESTS meaning you. We all deserve a chances the same chances someone gave you.

5. Les Nakamoto:

   Ms. Allen,

   I believe that you have misunderstood the facts behind this article.

   “Fake Democrats” is referring to Republicans running as Democrats, even though they are clearly being financially supported by Republican interests. That has nothing to do with whether they pay dues or not to the Democratic Party.

   And it is in the best interests of the voters to know whether or not the people they are voting for, are either truly Democrats because of their beliefs and demonstrated by their actions, or only taking on the name in order to fool people into voting for them.

   There are legitimate contenders in the race, who you should note, have not been tagged with the “fake” label.

   And most people who vote for Democrats, don’t belong to the Democratic Party and don’t pay dues. That is not a requirement for you to vote, and it never should be.

   However, if you are an elected official, and you claim to be part of the Democratic Party, and claim to represent the Democratic Party, then you should pay dues to the party from which you derive benefits, and be involved with the Party so you are aware of the work that the Party is doing, and why they are doing it.

   And to correct the information you provided – In 2006, there were 1,136,

   Sort of like a corporation getting tax breaks for being an “American company” and getting no-bid contracts from the U.S. Government, and paying their fair share of taxes for those benefits.

6. Les Nakamoto:

   Sorry, hit the “submit” button instead of clicking on the area I meant to edit.

   To correct the information that had been provided by Ms. Allen – In 2006, there were 1,136,726 votes for Governor Doyle (Democrat) in the Governor’s race.

   In 2004, there were 1,489,504 votes for Kerry (Democrat) in the Presidential race.

   Current dues paying membership in the State of Wisconsin for Democratic members isn’t anywhere near 25%. It’s closer to 1/2 of 1 percent.

   So if there are any questions about why the Democratic Party in Wisconsin doesn’t do more for the voters or candidates – it has a lot more to do with the fact that very few people pay dues to support the work that the Democratic Party does.

   The Party doesn’t expect those that don’t have the money, to pay those dues. That is also why most of the work that is done by the Democratic Party is done by unpaid volunteers.

   They do ask that those that have the money, or benefit from their elected positions as Democrats, to pay the dues. It is only fair that, if you expect benefits, or derive benefit from the Party, you should pay dues.

   According to a study reported by NPR:

   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7180618

   The top 20 percent of the income earners in the United States earned 50% of the income in 2005, and controlled more than 80% of the nation’s wealth.

   Since those individuals are usually Republicans,(you know – the “rich elitists”), they normally support Republican candidates and organizations, so 80% of the population controlling 20% of the remaining wealth (of which nearly 1/3rd to 1/2 vote Republican), doesn’t leave a lot to work with.

7. Bill Stocks:

   Les – That is a bunch of crap. If the Democratic Party is pushing an agenda that a Moderate/Conservative Democrat is not in tune with, then that is their choice. You can’t force the opinion of the very liberal left-wingers on those who are middle of the ground. The problem with both parties is that the extreme conservatives and the liberal left wingers are trying to force the middle-of-the road majority to be one or the other. This is a load of horse crap!

8. Ms. Allen:

   Ms. Allen understand (what you) are saying, but to use Fake, Democrat and names in the same line that’s not right no matter how you word it. So until I make it to office, then at that time I will be able to pay dues and support the Democrats party and do the thing we the community deserves. Let’s not forget I am just a Poor signer Mother from the North side of Milwaukee and I am not playing when it comes to the well being of communities! (no matter what you all) say,think or do. We live this Democracy! this is Actuality not Reality. Guns,Gun Shot,Robbery, No Jobs,No Assistants help,
   No Housing, No Money, Drugs Infested, Murders, Rapes, WE ENGEY shutting off our power in the poorest part of the city, even thought,they are a Public held Company on buy we the peoples. Remember you said that I misunderstood what was said however, I Stand on my believes. All of that fancy talk; that most people don’t understand in the article, has noting to do with the communities I’m from and the peoples we know.There is know help because no one cares for us, nor do they care for our children or community well being. The Rich just keep getting Richer off the POOR. It don’t matter who you are Democrat or Republican. This fancy talk has been going on year after year and our children contented to suffer in this violin struggle we are engaged in.Our children contented to go hungry,go to jail in record number and they are drying daily on the streets. The alder are losing they homes and living in fear. Theses you the people I’m fighting Represent,along with those who agree with my views and are willing to join the struggle to Change Milwaukee Now!!

9. Ms. Allen:

   Ms. Allen understand (what you) are saying, but to use Fake, Democrat and names in the same line that’s not right no matter how you word it. So until I make it to office, then at that time I will be able to pay dues and support the Democrats party and do the thing we the community deserves. Let’s not forget I am just a Poor signer Mother from the North side of Milwaukee and I am not playing when it comes to the well being of communities! (no matter what you all) say,think or do. We live this Democracy! this is Actuality not Reality. Guns,Gun Shot,Robbery, No Jobs,No Assistants help,
   No Housing, No Money, Drugs Infested, Murders, Rapists, WE ENEGRY shutting off our power in the poorest part of the city, even thought,they are a Public held Company on by we the peoples. Remember you said that I misunderstood what was said however, I Stand on my believes. All of that fancy talk; that most people don’t understand in the article, has noting to do with the communities I’m from and the peoples we know.There is no help because no one cares for us, nor do they care for our children or community! well being. The Rich just keep getting Richer off the POOR. It don’t matter who you are Democrat or Republican. This fancy talk has been going on year after year and our children contented to suffer in this violent struggle we are engaged in.Our children contented to go hungry,go to jail in record number and they are dying daily on the streets. The alder are losing they homes and living in fear. These are the people I’m fighting to Represent,along with those who agrees with my views and are willing to join the struggle to Change Milwaukee Now!!

10. Les Nakamoto:

    Bill,

    A bunch of crap? Is that the kind of language you “Christian” right wingers have been taught to sling?

    There is nothing to debate if there is proof that someone claiming to be a Democrat is being funded and promoted by a far right wing Republican nutcase like Tom Reynolds. (You certainly can’t consider him to be a moderate/conservative).

    You argue that the problem with both parties is that there are extremists in either party. I certainly agree with you there.

    And you certainly can’t categorize me as a far left wing liberal as much as any of you right wingers would love to.

    I get more flack from the far left for my positions than I ever have from Republicans (at least from those who aren’t really extreme right wingers).

    But you right wingers always claim that, whomever you attack who happens to be a liberal/progressive, is the most liberal in the state/congress/nation – (pick one or all of the above).

    I guess that when an attack works, you guys just use it without thinking, or without even having to think.

    Maybe that is part of the problem.

    And to think that I was concerned about your possibly losing your job if we don’t continue to build oil wells like there is no tomorrow.

    I guess that the openness and concern for one another just doesn’t flow both ways, particularly when you’re expecting it to come from a “compassionate” conservative.

    I guess we all should know better by now.

    I know that the “old wrinkly white haired dude”, as Paris Hilton describes him, certainly doesn’t care about working Americans. He’s the guy that is worth about $100 million (because he married the heir to a Budweiser Beer Distributor fortune), gets to fly around in a private jet (with NO AMERICAN FLAG on it), owns 10 homes, wears $520 loafers, and tells people with mortgage problems to “not take a vacation and get a second job.”

    (Go to Snopes.com to see a picture of Obama’s plane that DOES have an American Flag on it, in the rumors about Obama that were proven frauds, when he was being criticized for it, and then look at the picture of McCain’s plane.)

    McCain is also a vet, who has voted against almost all of the major bills providing GI’s with benefits, even though he gets almost $59,000 annually from his “permanent disability”, while at the same time claiming that he is healthy enough to climb a mountain.

    http://wisc5thcddems.com/McCainsVotingRecord.aspx

    How many vets out there, that are healthy enough to climb a mountain, get $59,000 in full disability pensions – particularly when they are worth $100 million. Who would be that greedy to think that they needed or deserved that, when there are far more worthy and needy vets who aren’t getting ANYTHING? But he wants to keep sending our military to Iraq for 100 years and deny them benefits for at least as long.

    I guess you would have said next that we shouldn’t be attacking McCain because he was a “moderate”.

    And he is telling people that Obama is the “rich elitist”? Right, the guy with only four suits in his closet and old shoes – who DIDN’T marry a beer baroness, is the rich elitist.

    Maybe that is the reason that poor working class people THINK they are wealthy and vote for tax breaks for the super wealthy, which they themselves never benefit from.

    But you go on believing that “moderate/conservative” Republican politicians really give a “crap” as you like to put it, about working class people like you, who are concerned about losing your job. You’ve seen the evidence for 12 of the last 14 years when Republicans dominated both Houses of the U.S. Congress, until only recently in 2006, when Democrats barely got the majority, but still can’t get important bills passed without Republican cooperation (which ain’t happening).

    The thing that puzzles me is the fact that you would claim to know what is going on in the Democratic Party. That would lead some to believe (erroneously) that you somehow were a member of the Democratic Party, in order to be able to gather enough documentation, or experience to know anything about it, to support your contentions.

    Are you? Have you?

    I didn’t think so.

11. Ms. Allen:

    Bill who are you talking to? I can see we are not on the same page.I have said it ones, I’m going to say it again, Tom Reynolds did my printing for my yard signs etc.I don’t know him like that and besides I don’t judge people because of what someone say. The man has never did nothing to me wrong. It couldn’t be no worst then you all have already done to the peoples. Question What is a right winger liberal? What do left winger mean? By the way I’m Baptist. My advice to you is don’t take it so personal, it ain’t like you got our back or best interest at hand. You need something to talk and write about. A little something to remember Proverbs 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he taketh a city.

12. Bill Stocks:

    Ms. Allen – II Timothy 3:5 You are confusing yourself. I will stop there.

    Les – I have worked for both parties, so I do have insight into both, but you are totally missing the point.
    First – I am not, have not, or ever will be a Tom Reynolds supporter, so looks like I picked the wrong blog to chime in on. However, I will stand by what I said, that the political “agendas” of the leaders of these parties are not in tune with the citizens of this country. How many people have you heard say they are going to have to vote for the “lesser-of-two-evils”? That is why there are cross-over candidates and voters. People like me feel like there are fewer and fewer candidatess who will stand out against the “agendas” and find solutions. That is all I am saying.

    To both of you – as far as being a Christian – that is something I strive for day to day. But unlike the rest of you, I am not perfect.

13. Bill Stocks:

    Bottom line (Romans 3:23) – I am truly sorry for saying the word crap when I vented. I struggle every day to do what is right, and it is difficult, especially when I get irritated with society.

14. Ms. Allen:

    Call me let’s talk 414-419-0241

15. Ms. Allen:

    Bill where are you? I need you to keep me up on my game.

16. Ms. Allen:

    I guess I kept it to real for you all,Bill? well don’t run now and hide your head now, let the games begin.

17. Ms. Allen:

    New way, New life, New beginning Change Milwaukee Now!!

18. Ms. Allen:

    We will feed the people, we will home the people, we will give them job, we will educated the people, we will give the children of theses people the opportunity to higher education, Safe neighborhoods, Schools, Beautiful environment, Hope, Chances One Way One Day.

19. Bill Stocks:

    To my children, who I am afraid for in the near future because of the sin, war, alcoholics, hate, racism, sexual society, pollution, they see everyday, this is not a game. For the mother of 3, who has no job, no father to support, who is living on not even enough to get by, this is not a game. For those who are losing their lives across the water, and just as important in our very country, in our very city, this is not a game. To the people who elect the candidate they believe in, because they are promised change and never get it, this is not a game. Anyone can make promises, but only few can actually keep them. I hope you are one of the keepers. I sure do hope…………

20. Ms. Allen:

    I see we are on the same page, The game is a figure of speech. When I say let the game begin, that means I am ready to take on the world for the peoples, our children, your children, the rights of the people. Bill, you better believe I am a WOMAN of my WORD. My word is bond. All I ever had was my dignity and my Word. You can count on me and my words I will stand by it.I would love to meet you.

21. Bill Stocks:

    Ms. Allen – I still intend to call you, but for now could I please get your e-mail address and full name. Thank you for listening.

22. Bill Stocks:

    Les – Perhaps by pushing each others buttons, we are giving the appearance that we are a bunch of crybabies. That was not my intention. You labeled me and perhaps millions like me, and I don’t like labels. In doing so, I retorted and labeled you incorrectly, as well. There is a lesson somewhere in that.

    As far as oil, it provides energy, that at this point in time, is a necessity for our economy to thrive. While alternate sources are being discovered and explored, we are still a long way off from not being dependent on the oil. Democrats who are against drilling for more, are allowing the gas prices to esculate out of control, thus crippling our economy, perhaps worse than the Republicans.

    I do take it personal that you attacked my character and whether or not I truly have compassion. That should never have been in question. However, don’t confuse compassion with enervation.

    I have not renewed my membership to the Republican Party, and after much thought I don’t intend to. However, I cannot in good faith join the Democratic Party, and one of the big reasons is this post. When you throw around phrases like “fake Democrats” while not admitting there are those who are unsure where they stand ,even though I truly believe some people DO put on a facade, it makes me believe that you are more liberal than even you care to admit. The whole red vs. blue as the only viable option, is getting old and annoying. True progressives and moderates need to step out from under the shadows of the party agendas, and find workable and agreeable solutions, before this country is a shell of what it was. It definitely looks like we are headed down that path of self-destruction already.

23. Ms. Allen:

    What the Hell are you talking about man! Talk to me like I’m four years old.

24. Ms. Allen:

    I never will lable, you I don’t no you.

25. Les Nakamoto:

    Bill,

    First of all, I didn’t label you. I was referring to people who took money from Tom Reynolds (Republican muckracker), who is trying to get Republicans into office fraudulently as Democrats, in opposition to Democrats who are either still in office, or who legitimately are running in the primaries as Democrats. This is a real tactic that has been used by Republicans across the country, whether you acknowledge it or not. And Democrats aren’t willing to put up with it anymore. A few years ago, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin made a change in its endorsement policies, when it reversed its ban of not allowing party units to endorse primary candidates in partisan elections, specifically to address the fact that Republicans were using this tactic to get Republicans elected as Democrats. Democrats should remember that the voting clerk in Florida responsible for the butterfly ballots that cost Al Gore the Presidency, was a REPUBLICAN, who couldn’t get elected as a Republican, so she put her name on the ballot as a Democrat – fraudulently. Hopefully, people will understand and remember this lesson, even if you refuse to acknowledge it.

    Second of all, you were the one who was spitting out the nasty comments rather than having a civil conversation.

    But let’s get back to debating your issues:

    There is no question that oil provides energy. That has never been in contention. However, you and millions of others refuse to recognize that we can save more oil than we can import or get from drilling. The United States uses 25% of the world’s oil (I made an error in my original post when I said that we use 80% of the oil), yet we only have 3% of the world’s oil reserves. We import 70% of the oil we use. DO THE MATH. We can’t make up the 70% that we import by drilling to replace it. It just isn’t going to happen. We use eight times as much oil as we have in known reserves under the ground. We just don’t have enough oil in the ground to replace what we import. That’s why it will take at least until 2030 before any oil drilled will have any significant effect on prices.

    What the oil companies and the Republican shills are pushing for is complete control of all of the offshore leases that were banned from drilling by President Reagan and George H.W. Bush. They have no interest in reducing the price at the pump. Once they have complete control of all the leases, they can drive the prices up as high as they want – and they will. If you think that giving the oil companies everything they want is going to win you points so that they will offer you lower prices, you are very naïve. They’ve been jacking up their prices for record profit year after year after year under the Bush administration, and they have no intent of stopping.

    The Democrats in Congress attempted to get the oil companies to drill in the leases that they already control. 75% of the acreage under their control has not been drilled! 68 million acres of land and water are not being drilled in, even though they own the leases. Some of those leases by the way, were recently reported to have an estimated 600 million barrels in the Gulf Coast. The Republicans blocked that Democratic legislation because they wanted their legislation to go through instead. It had nothing to do with blocking oil drilling completely. The legislation that the Democrats attempted to get passed only said that the oil companies should either drill in the leases that they currently had, or give them up. (Rush Limbaugh and the other talking heads have complained that there is no oil in those leases and that they are stuck in 10 year leases that they can’t get out of. But if that is really the case, then wouldn’t they jump at the chance to get out of those leases? On the other hand, given that they fought the legislation, it would stand to reason that they really don’t want out of the leases, because there really IS oil there.)

    You claim that Democrats are preventing drilling, and that drives up oil prices. Again, Democrats haven’t prevented drilling, they are trying to get the oil companies to drill responsibly, and drill in the areas that they already have leases for. But that isn’t what is driving up prices. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Just like Enron, speculation is what drives up the oil prices. Speculation drove up the oil prices to $147 a barrel, and speculation (because the ploy didn’t work), is also causing the price of oil to drop to as low as $112 a barrel. Today, it was reported that oil went back up again to $116 a barrel on fears that the hurricane season might hit oil rigs and shut down production. (Hurricanes are getting stronger because of global warming, and they are doing more damage, knocking out hundreds of oil rigs and installations from Hurricane Katrina alone, in spite of Republicans who denied any of it ever happened. So keep depending on drilling for and burning oil, that creates more severe hurricanes, so you won’t be able to access the oil for energy, and you won’t have any energy source to depend on to clean up the resulting oil spills. )

    http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/oil-prices-rise-as-hurricane-gustav/137624

    When the price of oil swings up and down that wildly with no actual cost involved that’s SPECULATION. It has nothing to do with actual production levels. During all of this time, no more new drilling rigs put out any new oil, but you still saw swings of $35 a barrel.

    But oil consumption has dropped by as much as 800,000 barrels a day in the United States because of the high fuel prices, and the fact that Americans are switching to more fuel efficient vehicles. Reduced consumption and thus reduced demand, is bringing down the price, because the speculators recognize that they don’t have enough demand to support the high prices.

    We can reduce consumption more, by increasing fuel efficiency. That is a policy that Republicans have blocked for over 30 years. That’s why we have to import Hondas and Toyotas in order to get decent fuel efficiency. They did the job that American auto makers refused to. They provide more than double the fuel efficiency of American autos. You can’t blame Democrats for that. That is the result of Republican policies.

    But the more intelligent choice is to build up alternative sources of energy. GM is now pushing their new Volt that will be able to plug in to recharge its battery overnight (except that they don’t have a battery that can power it yet). Some might remember that GM HAD an electric car, and electric trucks, and so did other auto manufacturers. But they decided to destroy them, instead of continuing to support them only a few years ago. (Now manufacturers are suddenly becoming Green because they can’t sell their gas guzzlers.) Recharging those cars overnight only cost $1 a day to run 40 miles. They didn’t have the range that would meet the needs of all drivers, but for the vast majority of commuters, that was all they needed.

    We have the ability to build alternative fuel sources. We have the technology NOW. The problem is that the Republicans in Congress and in the present and past administrations refused to invest any money to take them from the drawing board to reality. That would have created more jobs, but the Republicans are more interested in destroying Unions than in creating jobs here at home.

    We have the technology for creating renewable biofuels. We just don’t have a President that is willing to support its development.

    We have natural gas resources for cleaner energy, and for alternative vehicles. We just don’t have a President that is willing to support its development.

    We have the ability to build solar furnaces in the Southwestern United States. Once the infrastructure is built, that energy is FREE. We just don’t have a President that is willing to support its development.

    We have the ability to build wind turbines to power more of our electrical needs, and they have been available for decades, but Republicans have opposed them because they claimed that they were too expensive and too “unsightly”. You’ll note that after many years with only a couple of test wind turbines around Fond du Lac, WE Energies finally put up dozens of them. I don’t think they would have done that if they weren’t going to make money off of it. And it is certainly possible to expand their use in other areas of the country. Imagine how many jobs would be created by putting them up all over the country. Each one supplies enough electrical energy to power 200-300 homes, and if you have them on your property, and hooked up to the electric grid, whatever excess it puts out beyond what you use, the electric company has to pay you for it. Jay Leno was talking about how he had one put up on his building that holds his car collection, and got energy tax credits to pay for much of the investment. It worked out so well, that he was planning to put up three more.

    But instead, Republicans forced us to borrow money from China to buy oil from countries that support terrorists for the last thirty years. Isn’t that a brilliant energy plan? (Not to mention National Security).

    McCain recently voted AGAINST a bill that would have taken $13 BILLION in funding that would have gone to oil companies and put it into building those energy alternatives instead. Yet in his hypocrisy, he puts wind mills in his advertising for his “alternative energy plan”, even though he has consistently voted AGAINST alternative energy plans.

    I recognize that we can’t get off of oil immediately, but car companies have the ability to build hybrids to increase fuel efficiency. They can’t sell their gas guzzlers anymore, so they’d better start building hybrids at least as a bridge to alternative fuels. 80 million cars are built every year. I think they have the ability to turn out fuel efficient vehicles that can reduce our dependency on foreign oil. They complained about having to build cars that could get better gas mileage, but as soon as the Democratic Congress was able to pass a new fuel efficiency standard, they managed to get their hybrids out on the showroom floor within a year. Imagine that.

    I acknowledge that there are people who don’t know where they stand. However, most of them don’t know where they stand because they don’t know the issues, or don’t care. This post didn’t label them as fake democrats, and you know that. It was addressing those individuals who fraudulently claim to be Democrats, and run as Democrats, when they are Republicans, supported by Republicans.

    If you really believe what you say about finding workable and viable solutions, then you’d better start looking at the facts, rather than parroting what your right wing talking heads are brainwashing you to believe. Nothing you have argued has actually acknowledged any facts, nor have you included facts in your attempt to find “workable and agreeable solutions.” You don’t offer any solutions, you just expect us all to keep doing the same thing that has put us into this mess in the first place. Your “solution” is the same one that Bush, Cheney, McCain and the Oil Companies are pushing for.

    That sure isn’t progressive or moderate, and it certainly has nothing to do with getting out from under partisan party agendas. It only continues the right wing agenda. To argue that they are progressive or moderate is ludicrous.

    Finally, you claim that you won’t join the Democratic Party because of my post. Take responsibility for YOUR actions. Stop blaming others for your failure to do what is right because you claim to feel slighted from some imagined insult and refuse to do your own research.

    You complained about possibly losing your job, making brakes for oil drilling rigs, but you clearly don’t care about the people who have lost their jobs because of a disintegrating economy built on oil, when the oil companies are taking advantage of its monopoly to rake in record profits.

    Talking about being compassionate is very different from actually being compassionate.

    You want a solution? Learn to think, instead of parroting Republican talking points with a simplistic solution that the facts prove won’t work.

    You want to call my posts partisan? I’m pointing out the facts, and you can verify them yourself, if you take the time to research them, instead of listening to partisan talking heads from the right wing, (without researching them either).

    And, by the way, the path to self destruction is one that we have been on for a long time, if you haven’t noticed. The Republicans have put us on that path, and want to continue it with John McCain.

    You fail to acknowledge that Republicans have been in power for a greater percentage of the time (in Congress and in the White House) than Democrats over the past 30 years. Since 1969 we have had five Republican Presidents over 28 years and only two Democratic Presidents for 12 years. And if you want to see what policies have been responsible for recessions and depressions over the last eighty years, here’s the list:

    Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929), and Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), both Republicans – The Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression lasting 43 months.

    Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) Democrat 2 Recessions, 1937-13 months, 1945 – 8 months
    Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) Democrat Recession of (1948-1949) 11 months

    Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) Republican Recession (1957-1958) 8 months, (1960-1961) 10 months

    Richard Nixon (1969-1974) Republican Recession (1969-1970) 11 months

    Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) Republican Recession (1981-1982) 16 months, Recession 1982-1983 caused by tight monetary policy

    George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) Republican Recession (1990-1992) Collapse of junk bond market and credit crunch.

    George W. Bush (2001-Present) Republican Recession (2001-2003), Given the mortgage bust and the repeated drops in the stock market, most people would consider us to be in a prolonged Recession today as well.

    Tally:

    7 Republican Presidents, 11 Recessions – 15 years out of 43 years
    2 Democratic Presidents, 3 Recessions – 3 years out of 20 years

    And let’s not forget that William Jefferson Clinton – Democrat, had the best economic record of any President, adding 23 million new jobs and balancing the budget with a projected federal surplus of over 5 Trillion dollars.

    In eight short years, George W. Bush has reversed that and put us into a 10 Trillion dollar deficit, with the largest increase in Government, and the largest budget deficits in history.

    All of the Republican economic policies have been the same for each Republican President, they just give it different names. McCain promises more of the same.

    Who has the better track record?

    We need solutions. Not excuses.

26. Bill Stocks:

    For starters, I have not or ever will pay attention to the talking heads. I am not a Rush, Sykes, Fox News, or O’Reilly fan or viewer/listener. I was given a book of Rush’s 4 or 5 years ago, but never opened it.

    Second, you are a very intelligent man and I am not. You are also paid to work within an “agenda”, whereas I am not. I am not an elected official. Enough said about that.

    Last – I have had a deal of respect for you, and prior to this post, had never expected to have you attack my character. This does not sit well with me, but once again I only vote based on what makes sense to me. As I increase in knowledge about issues, I will either solidify my opinion, or change it. That is what is so wonderful about not being an elected official. Both parties don’t leave a whole lot of room for change, so I would rather be me than you. A lot of what you have said makes sense, so don’t think what you say is being ignored, but please remember I am a different indvidual than you, and when I think I am hearing a lot of propaganda, I will tell you I think that. That is not the same as attacking your character. So I will let those comments slide. Have a great day!

27. seeger:

    Thanks for this article… i got a flyer from Philip Landowski and was surprised to find he was a registered democrat when i looked him up (given the flyer’s conservative tone).

    This explains it.

28. Bill Stocks:

    http://www.johnmccain.com/informing/news/Speeches/13bc1d97-4ca5-49dd-9805-1297872571ed.htm

29. Bill Stocks:

    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/bipartisan-praise-from-bill-clinton/

30. Les Nakamoto:

    Bill,

    Let’s get a few things clear.

    You obviously have some preset biases and misconceptions about who I am and how I work.

    1.) I am an elected official for the Democratic Party

    2.) I am NOT paid for the work that I do for the Democratic Party, nor am I paid for the posts that I put out on this blog.

    3.) There is no “agenda” that I follow from the Democratic Party. I was elected to do a job and I do it as I see fit based on the evidence that I gather and verify, not based on nonsense from talking heads from either side.

    4.) I get into plenty of arguments with Democrats – probably moreso than with Republicans, and often with Party officials that have a higher rank than I do, but I’m willing to do so if I believe that what they are doing is wrong. So when you attack my character because you claim that I am following an agenda, you do yourself a disservice because you call your own character and judgement into question.

    Finally, you may disagree with my ideas about alternative energy, but you fail to recognize that many of those same ideas are shared by T. Boone Pickens, an oilman, a Republican, and one of the money men behind the Swiftboat attacks against John Kerry.

    If I was truly as liberal and set to an “agenda” as you claim, then I don’t think that I would ever be in agreement in any way, shape, or form with someone behind the Swiftboat attacks.

    I don’t like what T. Boone Pickens did, but I look at the facts, and if and when the facts are accurate, even if it comes from a Republican, I will agree with them, and I will disagree with a Democrat if they are wrong. (And if you knew anything about me, you would know that that is true.)

    You aren’t only NOT willing to do that, but you use your prejudice and biases to excuse your attacks, rather than do your research to make an intelligent decision.

    And that is why I would much rather be me than you.

    By the way. By claiming that what I wrote was an “agenda” and “crap”, you attacked my character, but you can’t handle having your own character questioned, because you made such an unsupported attack.

    Why is that? Why are you allowed, by your own standards, to not have your character questioned, even when you attack others?

    When you come up with a real answer to that, then maybe you might have some understanding as to the difference between who each of us are.

31. Les Nakamoto:

    Bill,

    In response to the propaganda that you linked to regarding McCain’s “Energy Policy”.

    You do understand that John McCain was AGAINST drilling offshore and FOR the offshore drilling ban, UNTIL he received $2 million from the oil companies in campaign donations, don’t you?

    You do understand that McCain has voted AGAINST alternative energy bills 25 times, don’t you? Those are the same bills that proposed the same ideas that McCain claims he is FOR now.

    Action talks louder than words. McCain doesn’t walk the talk. He just talks – and switches his mind depending on who he is talking to.

    I thought you said you didn’t believe propaganda.

32. Bill Stocks:

    Les – Not all candidates (or people for that matter) that change their mind/stance on issues are fakes. Not all party jumpers are fakes. That is what I think is a bunch of “crap”. You know this, yet you wrote the post without stating that. That is not an attack on your character, it is me calling you out on your “spin”, that it seems you put on the information. While there are “fake” Democrats, not all that you listed are that. You know this, and you know who they are, yet you still posted it to your advantage. That is what I called “crap”.
    on the energy note – Sometimes issues have more than one position and are not a clear-cut as one would hope. I, for one, see the necessity for off-shore drilling, while i think it is also imperative and essential that we explore more effective ways to keep from being dependent on the oil. You said that you see that as well, so why are we debating something we agree on. Sure – Obama and the Democrats may be a bit more environment-friendly, but McCain understands the need, and is willing to address it.

    I am glad to see that you take pride in what you do, but to come out like a grizzly bear, because someone takes you to task, is a bit much. Perhaps you only see the incorrect assumptions that I made and do apologize for, and have ignored your own incorrect assumption about me. I only hope to put this post and blog behind me, for now it is time for me to focus my energies in other areas, for it appears debating politics is not for me. Sorry for the inconvenience and the perspective that we obviously do not share as much as we both would like. God bless you and Watchdog. Goodbye.

33. Les Nakamoto:

    Bill,

    Apparently you didn’t read my post. I DID indicate who was taking money from Reynolds and I DID indicate that those who were not, were considered legitimate candidates for office. So, if that was your contention, then your premise behind your argument is invalid.

    And as far as your belief that John McCain “sees” the need for drilling and Democrats don’t:

    Again, Democrats have attempted to get Oil companies to drill in the areas that they already have leases for, and they already have oil on. Oil companies have refused to do so, and are only making up this argument so that they can have a monopoly on all the land surrounding the United States. They are also using this false argument to gain advantage in the elections because they fraudulently blame Democrats for the high fuel prices.

    Who controls the fuel prices and the price of oil? It is the people who HAVE the oil and who trade speculatively on the commodities markets. Democrats are trying to control the speculation, so that the prices don’t go out of control. Republicans want complete deregulation. (That’s what Republican Governor Pete Wilson did for Enron before he left office. But Democratic Governor “Gray” Davis, ended up getting the blame for it, and Arnold Schwartzenegger got elected because people wanted change – even though Arnold’s senior advisor was – Pete Wilson – the guy who created the mess in the first place.)

    That scheme worked with Enron and California, and the GOP is hoping that the same scheme will work for the entire United States.

    Given that oil companies have been giving the citizens of the United States the shaft while they get exorbitant profits (($51.5 Billion last quarter – out of about $82 Billion in revenues, (almost 63% of revenues were PROFIT) an increase in profits by about 40% over the previous quarter)), don’t you think that Congress should rein in Big Oil’s policies and prevent them from having a complete monopoly over the next ten years over all of the offshore sites surrounding the entire United States, when someone else might be able to offer America a better deal?

    Those profits, making up almost two thirds of what they raked in, are being ignored by the people being brainwashed, because people don’t understand the difference between what the independent gas station earns in profits (a few pennies a gallon), versus what the big oil companies rake in, in profits, when they sell the oil to the gas stations.

    The oil companies make their profits before the retail customer ever sees the fuel.

    Most people are arguing that the retail gas stations don’t make much profit, and that the state and federal taxes on the fuel are higher than what the gas stations make in profit. That part is true, but it has nothing to do with the huge profits that the oil companies have already taken before the fuel ever gets to the gas station in the first place. It is a “clearinghouse” type operation. Most large retail chains operate the same way. They sell to the retailers and make their profits before it even gets to the retail outlet, so they don’t care how little a profit they make at the retail outlet – they already got theirs.

    And if the amount of oil available to the U.S. needs to increase in order for the price of oil to drop, then why is it that “American” oil companies are still shipping their oil overseas to Asia (because they can get more money for it there)?

    Shouldn’t they be patriotic and keep the oil here, where their own country needs it? Isn’t that in our national security interest?

    Shouldn’t Bush have signed an Executive order to keep “American” companies from exporting resources crucial to our economic and national security? They ban the export of high tech software – Why is oil different? Wouldn’t that have reduced prices? Wouldn’t that have reduced the need to import oil from countries that don’t like us?

    Why didn’t Bush take those steps? Keeping oil that we already have, would have had a much more immediate effect on oil prices than drilling for new oil that hasn’t been found yet. Don’t you think?

    And, quite frankly, McCain doesn’t see the need for drilling, when he changed his position on offshore oil drilling from being for the ban, to being against it, after being given $2 million in donations from the oil industry. He sees the money the Oil industry is giving him.

    Big difference.

    And if you really wanted to debate the issues, I would have thought that you would have brought facts and documentation to the table. You haven’t.

    All you have done was to bring your own biases and opinions, that aren’t supported by the facts.

    Unfortunately, this is typical of the debate that liberals/progressives have with conservatives/neocons all the time.

    We bring facts and science, you bring biases and voodoo economics.

    There is nothing partisan about what I presented. It was a statement of facts, much of it bipartisan. People can do their own research and verify them on their own.

    You on the other hand, only presented your own opinions and started by attacking me personally, and then posted links to more propaganda. That is also a common strategy used by Republicans/Neocons.

    That is what we are seeing in the campaign for the office of President of the United States. Obama uses facts, builds up his supporters, and presents his plans, and he has his plans available on his website: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

    Yet, McCain, using Karl Rove, to run his campaign strategy, (the same Karl Rove who derailed his run for president in 2000 with the “illegitimate black baby” rumors, and the same tactics that McCain spoke against), is using Karl Rove’s tactics today.

    His “plans” aren’t his, and they go against everything he has ever voted for, (or are for everything he has ever voted against).

    McCain’s supporters repeatedly claim that Obama has no plans (a common attack theme – unsubstantiated, totally untrue, but people believe it without investigating it.)

    And because McCain has nothing to stand on with his own record or with his real agenda, he makes up his own record, falling back on his “war hero” status, whenever asked to explain something he doesn’t want to talk about. He even has his wife trying to look like a housewife, putting recipes out on their website that Cindy claims are old family recipes, but which were actually downloaded off of the Food Network.

    Everything Republicans/neocons have done has been to attack Obama’s credibility and his character, rather than to debate the real issues and support their real agendas. Just as you have done in your “debate” with me.

    I hope that the majority of Americans can see though this charade that Republicans pull every election, and vote them out of power, even though you refuse to.

    Supporting McSame, whose views shift with the winds and with the amount of campaign contributions he receives from lobbyists, (and are today completely the opposite of what he gained his “Maverick” reputation with), only digs us deeper into the hole.

    It is also very clear that the only time that Republicans/Neocons are open to “debating” any issues are when they are completely out of power and can’t stand in the way of real progress.

    God Bless All of Us. Because we are going to need it, in order to get out of the mess that the Republicans/Neocons got us into.

34. Ms. Allen:

    Look Bill, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t care about nothing in your post, this do not concern we the the poor people. You are just blogging to see your self talk. This isn’t help to me. So stop making it seem, like we are battling over politics. I am just trying step up to the plate for we the peoples, that’s my thing, not dilling, or parties or none of that. Someone else made them bad decision that’s costing (We the people) hell. That’s what happen when you think you know everything. No one is willing to listen nor learn something new.

35. Jim McGuigan:

    seeger,

    In Wisconsin you do not register as either a Republican or a Democrat. This gives the illusion that people are non-partisan and allows media members here to pretend that they are impartial despite their obvious republican leanings.

36. Bill Stocks:

    Ms. Allen – My last few posts, after I asked for your e-mail, were directed at Mr. Nakamoto, not you.