Democrats still blaming Bush

In this CNN video, former Speaker Pelosi blames Dubya for the Democrats' loss of the House in the 2010 election.

Two years into a totally Democrat administration in Washington DC, is this just sour grapes, or does she have a point?

If she has a point, just how much time must pass before you can no longer blame past administrations for current messes?

For example, one of the causes of our current economic mess is the meltdown in the sub-prime mortgage market. The root cause of this meltdown were policy changes enacted during the Clinton administration.

Granted, the administration of Bush the Younger didn't do much of anything to fix things during his 8 years in the White House, and he isn't free of blame for screwing other things up, but is it fair to lay the blame totally on him?


Personally, I say that no past administration is blameless, and that we should concentrate on fixing mistakes in policy rather than throwing blame around at the other guy to try to make political hay. Both of the major parties are at fault.

Discuss?

Edit: Yes, I know we will likely not agree on what the various mistakes in policy are, nor will we agree on which route is best to fix them. I am more interested in discussing the 'blame' issue here. Surely we can leave the flame-wars over the policies themselves to other threads.

try an actual news station.

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Janice

try an actual news station.

Point out the bias in this news clip for me.

There are lots of people that cry bias on these things, because the media that is being accused of the bias broadcasts things that tend to disagree with the people's biases.

There really is no such thing anymore as an 'actual news station'. They are all biased, towards one side or the other.

Fox tends to be biased towards the right. MSNBC tends to be biased towards the left. CNN tends to be biased towards whatever they think will be best for their ratings at the moment.

The 'news' business isn't about news anymore. It is about entertainment, and about promoting an agenda. They are all guilty of it, not just Fox.

It is a sad commentary on things when the 'hardest', least biased news available is the obituary section of your local town newspaper (if you still have one, that is).

Faux news is just that. Faux news. There is nothing unslanting. It does not "tend to be" more conservative. It is in lock step with the extreme right party line. It effectively "invented" the tea parties.

I do not consider it even news. It lacks any journalistic integraty.

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Janice

Faux news is just that. Faux news. There is nothing unslanting. It does not "tend to be" more conservative. It is in lock step with the extreme right party line. It effectively "invented" the tea parties.

I do not consider it even news. It lacks any journalistic integraty.

I don't consider ANY of them news. They ALL lack any journalistic integrity.

Don't be down on just Fox News (you call them faux news, I call them fox spews) for promoting the 'extreme right party line'. They ALL promote a party line and pursue ratings, which are things that a 'news organization' with any hope of journalistic integrity would not do... ever...

Democrats still blaming Bush

In this CNN video, former Speaker Pelosi blames Dubya for the Democrats' loss of the House in the 2010 election.

Two years into a totally Democrat administration in Washington DC, is this just sour grapes, or does she have a point?

If she has a point, just how much time must pass before you can no longer blame past administrations for current messes?

For example, one of the causes of our current economic mess is the meltdown in the sub-prime mortgage market. The root cause of this meltdown were policy changes enacted during the Clinton administration.

Granted, the administration of Bush the Younger didn't do much of anything to fix things during his 8 years in the White House, and he isn't free of blame for screwing other things up, but is it fair to lay the blame totally on him?


Personally, I say that no past administration is blameless, and that we should concentrate on fixing mistakes in policy rather than throwing blame around at the other guy to try to make political hay. Both of the major parties are at fault.

Discuss?

Edit: Yes, I know we will likely not agree on what the various mistakes in policy are, nor will we agree on which route is best to fix them. I am more interested in discussing the 'blame' issue here. Surely we can leave the flame-wars over the policies themselves to other threads.

When I watched Obama being sworn in I felt sorry for him. Any presidency following the balls up Bush made was going to be a poisoned chalice. You simply can't fix such a huge mess in one term, let alone 2 years.

I worked in Government for 5 years and know full well how long it takes to turn something about and start to see results. You won't know the real effects of Obama's presidency until after he's gone.

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Reality Internet Personality

Faux news is just that. Faux news. There is nothing unslanting. It does not "tend to be" more conservative. It is in lock step with the extreme right party line. It effectively "invented" the tea parties.

I do not consider it even news. It lacks any journalistic integraty.

I agree there is no journalism in Faux news. But I disagree totally that it is in lock step with the tea party types. Faux news is in lock step with Rupert Murdoch's personal views modified by his desire to make the most cash. Basically no different than Randolph Hearst's papers when he was king.

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When I watched Obama being sworn in I felt sorry for him. Any presidency following the balls up Bush made was going to be a poisoned chalice. You simply can't fix such a huge mess in one term, let alone 2 years.

I worked in Government for 5 years and know full well how long it takes to turn something about and start to see results. You won't know the real effects of Obama's presidency until after he's gone.

I am very well aware of how long it takes to 'turn things around', and how long it takes for the real problems behind bad policy to become apparent. Without question, we are still suffering from various bad policies of Carter, for instance. And a case can be made that we are still suffering from bad policy from each and every president all the way back to Washington, though they will not likely be accepted by both the right and the left at the same time.

As far as the current mess goes there is more than enough blame to go around on politicians on all sides. Why waste our time and energy on the partisan animosity of the blame game? It is going to be tough enough to identify the root issues causing the problems of today and tomorrow and agree on what to do about them (for the agendas of both parties likely won't be compatible with what really needs to be done). Just pointing at Bush and saying 'it is all HIS fault' solves nothing.

Lets blame Bush.

Who filled the seats in the Supreme court with very very very conservative Judges... Bush. Who rolled over expecting to receive the same treatment from across the aisle... Dumbarcats. It's pretty clear from the number of federal judges seated during the first 2 years of Obamas Presidency that the Repugnicans intend to stall appointments until(they hope) they get a Republican in office then flood the fed with conservative appointments... now back on Point. Why was the Supreme Court choices so important? Because they allowed their brethren to flood the coffers of Republican candidates with money from corporations and other unacknowledged sources so that the election races became more of a money shot than an election cycle. As a first test of shooting down McCain/Feingold this election cycle was a prime example of how 3rd world countries operate elections. Again, the Economy. this was Bush's fault and as much as the denialists that screamed that Obama was failing America also forgot that the Bottom dropped out of this ride about 4 years ago. After the multitude of debt ceiling extensions which the REpublicans in the Senate and House had no problem passing during the Bush years but are suddenly chilled by the supposed unbridled spending that occurs in a severe recession.
Hell Yes he's to blame. Start 2 wars and instead of raising taxes to pay for them he tell us the rich are getting tax cuts and we should go shopping. Sound fiscal policy my butt.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Democrats still blame Bush

At least they focus on the recent past while the republicans are still squawking about Roosevelt. LOL

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

I still think Madison was wrong but who do I complain to now!!!

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Iraqi: I'm proud my WMD lies led to war in Iraq
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_iraq_curveball

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Lets blame Bush.

Who filled the seats in the Supreme court with very very very conservative Judges... Bush. Who rolled over expecting to receive the same treatment from across the aisle... Dumbarcats. It's pretty clear from the number of federal judges seated during the first 2 years of Obamas Presidency that the Repugnicans intend to stall appointments until(they hope) they get a Republican in office then flood the fed with conservative appointments... now back on Point. Why was the Supreme Court choices so important? Because they allowed their brethren to flood the coffers of Republican candidates with money from corporations and other unacknowledged sources so that the election races became more of a money shot than an election cycle. As a first test of shooting down McCain/Feingold this election cycle was a prime example of how 3rd world countries operate elections. Again, the Economy. this was Bush's fault and as much as the denialists that screamed that Obama was failing America also forgot that the Bottom dropped out of this ride about 4 years ago. After the multitude of debt ceiling extensions which the REpublicans in the Senate and House had no problem passing during the Bush years but are suddenly chilled by the supposed unbridled spending that occurs in a severe recession.
Hell Yes he's to blame. Start 2 wars and instead of raising taxes to pay for them he tell us the rich are getting tax cuts and we should go shopping. Sound fiscal policy my butt.

Anudder work of fiction. But I must say, it's entertaining!

Faux news is just that. Faux news. There is nothing unslanting. It does not "tend to be" more conservative. It is in lock step with the extreme right party line. It effectively "invented" the tea parties.

I do not consider it even news. It lacks any journalistic integraty.

Speaking of integrity...




By Examiner Staff Writer

Created Aug 27 2010
Obama, Democrats got 88 percent of 2008 contributions by TV network execs, writers, reporters


Senior executives, on-air personalities, producers, reporters, editors, writers and other self-identifying employees of ABC, CBS and NBC contributed more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and campaign committees in 2008, according to an analysis by The Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Democratic total of $1,020,816 was given by 1,160 employees of the three major broadcast television networks, with an average contribution of $880.

By contrast, only 193 of the employees contributed to Republican candidates and campaign committees, for a total of $142,863. The average Republican contribution was $744.

Disclosure of the heavily Democratic contributions by influential employees of the three major broadcast networks follows on the heels of controversy last week when it was learned that media baron Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. contributed $1 million to the Republican Governors Association.

The News Corp. donation prompted Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association and son of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, to demand in a letter to Fox News chairman Roger Ailes that the cable news outlet include a disclaimer in its coverage of gubernatorial campaigns. Fox News is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

The data on contributions by broadcast network employees was compiled by CRP at the request of The Examiner and included all 2008 contributions by individuals who identified their employer as one of the three networks or subsidiaries. The data does not include contributions by employees of the three networks who did not identify their employer.

The CRP is the organization behind OpenSecrets.org, the web site that for more than a decade has put campaign finance data within reach of anybody with an Internet connection.

President Obama received 710 such contributions worth a total of $461,898, for an average contribution of $651 from the network employees. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain received only 39 contributions totaling $26,926, for an average donation of $709.

Ninety-six contributions by broadcast network employees to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senate and House campaign committees totaled $217,881.

Thirty-eight contributions by broadcast network employees to the Republican National Committee and the Republican Senate and House campaign committees totaled $23,805.

Among the individuals in the data are ABC News president Lloyd Braun, who contributed $1,000 to the Our Common Values PAC, which is associated with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and ABC Radio Networks president Jim Robinson, who gave $250 to GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Other individual givers found in the data include ABC reporters Sarah Amos, who gave $1,285 to Democratic presidential aspirant Bill Richardson, Clarisa Ward, who gave $500 to President Obama, and Kristina Wong, who gave $400 to the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Notable contributors found in the CBS data include "journalist" Seth Davis, who gave $2,750 to Obama, CBS Corporation vice president and editor-in-chief Jane Goldman, who contributed $250 to Obama, CBS Radio "host" Mike Omeara, who gave $1,471 to Obama, and "journalist" Beverly Williams, who donated $200 to Obama.

Among NBC contributors were Saturday Night Live producer Jeffrey Ross, who contributed $500 to Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CN, former NBC Today Show weatherman Willard Scott. who gave $500 to the Republican National Committee, NBC Universal CFO Jennifer Cabalquinto, whose donations to Obama totaled $1,200, and NBC Universal "editor" David Mack, with $250 to Obama and $2,300 McCain.

UPDATE: Some corrections for the ABC data

David Ford, a spokesman for ABC News tells me that Lloyd Braun is not and has never been president of ABC News. A quick check with the Center for Responsive Politics, which compiled the raw data on which my story above was based, turned up a copy of the original FEC form from which the $1,000 contribution to Our Common Values PAC was taken.

Interested readers can see the same source document by going here on the FEC web site and doing a search on "Braun, Lloyd." Go to the sixth contribution down and click on document 27990431854. Scroll down a bit and there you are.

Ford also pointed me to this TVNewser item last year on the $500 contribution by Clarisa Ward, who claimed she was not aware of ABC's long-standing policy against partisan political contributions by ABC News employees. Ford said the policy remains in force and is "strictly enforced."

Nobody from CBS or NBC has raised questions about the above data.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/print/blogs/beltway-confidential/obama-democrats-got-88-percent-2008-contributions-tv-network-execs-writers

Faux news is just that. Faux news. There is nothing unslanting. It does not "tend to be" more conservative. It is in lock step with the extreme right party line. It effectively "invented" the tea parties.

I do not consider it even news. It lacks any journalistic integraty.

Speaking of integrity...




By Examiner Staff Writer

Created Aug 27 2010
Obama, Democrats got 88 percent of 2008 contributions by TV network execs, writers, reporters


Senior executives, on-air personalities, producers, reporters, editors, writers and other self-identifying employees of ABC, CBS and NBC contributed more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and campaign committees in 2008, according to an analysis by The Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Democratic total of $1,020,816 was given by 1,160 employees of the three major broadcast television networks, with an average contribution of $880.

By contrast, only 193 of the employees contributed to Republican candidates and campaign committees, for a total of $142,863. The average Republican contribution was $744.

Disclosure of the heavily Democratic contributions by influential employees of the three major broadcast networks follows on the heels of controversy last week when it was learned that media baron Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. contributed $1 million to the Republican Governors Association.

The News Corp. donation prompted Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association and son of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, to demand in a letter to Fox News chairman Roger Ailes that the cable news outlet include a disclaimer in its coverage of gubernatorial campaigns. Fox News is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

The data on contributions by broadcast network employees was compiled by CRP at the request of The Examiner and included all 2008 contributions by individuals who identified their employer as one of the three networks or subsidiaries. The data does not include contributions by employees of the three networks who did not identify their employer.

The CRP is the organization behind OpenSecrets.org, the web site that for more than a decade has put campaign finance data within reach of anybody with an Internet connection.

President Obama received 710 such contributions worth a total of $461,898, for an average contribution of $651 from the network employees. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain received only 39 contributions totaling $26,926, for an average donation of $709.

Ninety-six contributions by broadcast network employees to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senate and House campaign committees totaled $217,881.

Thirty-eight contributions by broadcast network employees to the Republican National Committee and the Republican Senate and House campaign committees totaled $23,805.

Among the individuals in the data are ABC News president Lloyd Braun, who contributed $1,000 to the Our Common Values PAC, which is associated with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and ABC Radio Networks president Jim Robinson, who gave $250 to GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Other individual givers found in the data include ABC reporters Sarah Amos, who gave $1,285 to Democratic presidential aspirant Bill Richardson, Clarisa Ward, who gave $500 to President Obama, and Kristina Wong, who gave $400 to the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Notable contributors found in the CBS data include "journalist" Seth Davis, who gave $2,750 to Obama, CBS Corporation vice president and editor-in-chief Jane Goldman, who contributed $250 to Obama, CBS Radio "host" Mike Omeara, who gave $1,471 to Obama, and "journalist" Beverly Williams, who donated $200 to Obama.

Among NBC contributors were Saturday Night Live producer Jeffrey Ross, who contributed $500 to Sen. Chris Dodd, D-CN, former NBC Today Show weatherman Willard Scott. who gave $500 to the Republican National Committee, NBC Universal CFO Jennifer Cabalquinto, whose donations to Obama totaled $1,200, and NBC Universal "editor" David Mack, with $250 to Obama and $2,300 McCain.

UPDATE: Some corrections for the ABC data

David Ford, a spokesman for ABC News tells me that Lloyd Braun is not and has never been president of ABC News. A quick check with the Center for Responsive Politics, which compiled the raw data on which my story above was based, turned up a copy of the original FEC form from which the $1,000 contribution to Our Common Values PAC was taken.

Interested readers can see the same source document by going here on the FEC web site and doing a search on "Braun, Lloyd." Go to the sixth contribution down and click on document 27990431854. Scroll down a bit and there you are.

Ford also pointed me to this TVNewser item last year on the $500 contribution by Clarisa Ward, who claimed she was not aware of ABC's long-standing policy against partisan political contributions by ABC News employees. Ford said the policy remains in force and is "strictly enforced."

Nobody from CBS or NBC has raised questions about the above data.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/print/blogs/beltway-confidential/obama-democrats-got-88-percent-2008-contributions-tv-network-execs-writers

Anudder work of fiction. But I must say, it's entertaining!

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