Lieberman and Jeffords both caucused with Democrats while claiming to be Independents. Their claim to be Independents has a great deal less force to it.

Most Democrats consider Lieberman in the same way Republicans considered Specter: one of ours, sort of and for what it’s worth. Neither one represents/represented the party as a whole.

Also, please update your list to include Lieberman in the “Independent” column. It’s only been that way for three years now, and that’s just counting the time he made it official.

He’s been caucusing with the Democrats all that time.

It’s too bad there isn’t a conservative party for you to vote for. Also, please update your list to include Lieberman in the “Independent” column. It’s only been that way for three years now, and that’s just counting the time he made it official. And do you really think people voted for Murtha, Reid, Pelosi, and Dodd for their cool image? I think your theory regarding voting habits needs work.

Thanks Moderates, I am looking forward to seeing how the middle-of-the road works out for you, your family, your health care, your financial freedom, and your security.

I am all for Individual Liberty which is why I am an unabashed Conservative however it appears Moderates rather prefer quasi-serfdom just because the slave masters appear really cool.

Government spending, no matter how much we wish to complain about it, is only a portion of the economy as a whole. Long and short term debts are what make the whole thing hum along for government, businesses large and small, and certainly for individuals. Consumer and corporate saving is what allows the government (and business) to borrow. But consumers were getting so addicted to credit while governments were getting so addicted to spending, so it all led to part of the economic quagmire we’re in today. Businesses didn’t really help themselves, but put themselves into that position of helplessness by growing too fast. Consumer debt soared. Government debt rocketed. And the enabling lenders only recently started to wonder if it could be sustained, and they finally decided it couldn’t. End result: we’re broke.

And now that we’re here, the government actions become much more important. They were before, but in the recent days of “Everybody is happy! Look at the financing on that!” consumers forgot and business was only too happy to let us do so. The government’s choices are: reduce government spending (hahahahaha!), raise taxes (haha!), raise interest rates (blame the market forces!), or reduce the value of our currency (blame China!) We are so fucked.

If the lenders cut you off you have to pay down the debt before you can borrow again which takes years. And its a very lower standard of living you are under for those years.

We are in the interest raising stage now. Pray we do not get into the default stage or the cutting off stage.

I just listened to Krugman talk for 58 minutes. He says he doesnt know why the depression did not return after World War II ended. Doh? I wouldve thought the reconstruction would have been obvious. For a straight forward analogy between then and now, we’d have to burn the country to the ground, and then rebuild, stooopeeed!

Drudge is against Obama.

We know that. And because he doesn’t hide that fact we also know…

Therefore everything is written as to make Obama look bad.

…and take it into account.

Judging from your command of English, I’m pretty sure you’ve had to deal with biased media before this. At least Drudge is up front about it.

The question is: Is there going to be anything worth being President of, when he leaves?

Tax receipts, from top to bottom, are falling off a cliff. Debts (like savings!) are compounded, so each additional 100 or 200 billion in debt explodes into a subsequent additional trillion or so, in fifty years. So the bond market (not owned by Obama, yet) will drive interest rates up (more compounding!) and, eventually, the Emperor will have no clothes… the whole impossible utopia to be provided for the takers from the fruits of the givers, will collapse.

And having lost two American icons – the car, cruising down Route 66 to the American Dream; and the dollar, as the world’s currency, Obama might not be quite as popular as he is now……

The banks are asking to pay back the TARP money. They don’t want to be subject to any conditions that come with that money as they claim it’s bad for business.

Try again.

That’s because the gov’t doesn’t actually CREATE anything.

All it does is take money out of the relatively efficient private sector in the form of taxes, then put that money into the relatively inefficient public sector (famous for $9000 hammers, bridges to nowhere, non-service airports subsidized by public funds, $200,000 Air force one photo ops, etc).

For the most part, the gov’t provides no goods and/or services with the tax money, and to the extent that it does, these are generally LESS efficient than the private sector counterparts, as there is no competition or market pressure and far less oversight.

In short, the whole PREMISE of the “spendulus” is a fraud. Its a massive expansion of gov’t, designed to suck money away from the productive (via taxes) and use it to reward various political constituencies.

And of course like all massive gov’t programs everywhere since the inception of gov’t the spendulus will be (and already is) fraught with waste, abuse, and out-and-out corruption.