US POLITICS SPRING 2011: Let's just call off this country.

That's what Greenwald is arguing -- and taking Dems for granted isn't a strategy, just a given, since he assumes most of us will vote for him without question.

I could post this on a baseball thread, but I'll put it here instead. Ross Douthat wrote a column in response to a piece by baseball writer Bill James:

http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/where-are-the-shakespeares-of-topeka/#more-12581

James's response upon being alerted to this by a reader: "Who or What is Ross Douthat?"

I agree that Obama doesn't have to worry about his base voting for another candidate. His problem is disenchanting his base into not voting for anyone.

...thereby ensuring a solid Republican majority in Congress.

for better or worse thats not going to happen. self-identified liberals still support obama by a wide margin; losing his "base" in the sense of the lefty netroots types might be a problem if he had to go through a primary with hillary again. but he wont!

Or it's entirely possible Obama wins but loses the Senate. Reagan's landslide in '84 didn't flip the House to the GOP.

all i care about right now is, will i get my fucking federal tax refund before the end of April?!?

Doesn't the website tell you? If you filed on a certain date, isn't the direct deposit refund scheduled for a particular pay date?

Maybe I shouldn't pay that big tax bill if there isn't going to be anyone to cash the check.

Or it's entirely possible Obama wins but loses the Senate. Reagan's landslide in '84 didn't flip the House to the GOP.

I think this is unlikely given the GOP governor shenanigans and the impending shutdown. GOP is so fucking stupid and self-destructive (well, just destructive in general) it's really breathtaking to behold.

i file tomorrow or thursday ;_;

(more accurately, my accountant files tomorrow or thursday)

there is a scheduled deposit date -- but if the gov't is shut down, then i dunno if they'll make the deposit

His problem is disenchanting his base into not voting for anyone.

Exactly. When elections are won by slim margins, that silent majority sitting on their hands will matter more and more. But then I guess that's the obvious outcome when huge hunks of the population are more or less extraneous to the national debate.

GOPthe American public is so fucking stupid and self-destructive (well, just destructive in general) it's really breathtaking to behold.

fixed

TurboTax = greatest invention ever.

lol yes

otoh this is the kind of GOP bluff-calling I wish had happened back when the Dems had a congressional majority

xp

Never a good idea to underestimate or insult the public, Eisbaer

Oh shit good point about the shut-down. I need to file that, too.

TurboTax = greatest invention ever.

Yup. A couple hours the first week of February, filed everything for me, got my federal kickback a month ago. (Still waiting on NEW YORK STATE, where I don't even live any more, and which is obviously milking my money for whatever pathetic interest they can squeeze out of it before returning it to me.)

I have TT, it got hung up on some state tax numbers where you have to have your data from LAST year. Can't find the paperwork tbh.

no state taxes here. lol Florida. That's why we get eminences like Rick Scott.

you get what you pay for

the feds wasted no time taking a sizable chunk of my money this year :(

i did a freebie filing thing linked from the IRS website. for someone like me (no deductions) it worked very well. also reminded me of the "making work pay" shot in the arm

All right you bastards, I filed my taxes. Fucking Turbo Tax, all this time I thought I had to find my actual paperwork from last year, and you were STORING the information ALL ALONG but weren't telling me.

i've had to go to an accountant the last few years b/c of all sorts of business deductions (and i want/need to have my hand held by someone i can sue if my ass gets audited a tax professional). before that i used TurboTax myself.

ugh, wisconsin state supreme court election results are still undecided, it looks like. record-breaking turnout, and the gap between the conservative incumbent judge (prosser) and kloppenburg is <600 votes.

And in Washington, I'm guessing Dems will go up from 33 toward 40 billion, because caving will look like an adult compromise to them. The question is whether that will even be enough for Boehner's tea party membership.

I forget, is Turbo Tax free? (I know, nothing is)

"disappointing [sic], jaded supporters"

I don't think "jaded" and its connotation of arrogance applies here. No matter that ever exopecting him to be more than a corporatist was a pipe dream, when the prez has thrown your interests in the shitcan on a steady basis and you have little recourse, disappointment and/or disgust is bound to follow.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/04/963244/-Budget-Battle-Royale!

I never expected him to be more than a corporatist - it's the 21st century, we're all corporatists - but I admit I did not expect him to to shitcan (or at least express ambivalence or indifference toward) my interests. Especially when he had such momentum and common sense on his side. Extending the Bush cuts was a final straw for me. Broke my heart. I concede the realities of congress and numbers, but he never really seemed to make much effort to thwart such a prima facia bad vote. Instead of all the passive aggressive dithering, Obama should have lead the charge *demanding* the Bush tax cuts be rolled back, for the sake of the country/future/budget/children. But no, he rolled over and emboldened the opposition even further, while allowing the up-is-down debate to further confuse/turn off an even more hypocritical, selfish, ignorant population.

Obama should have lead the charge *demanding* the Bush tax cuts be rolled back, for the sake of the country/future/budget/children.

^^^ this, x 1,000,000.

Come on, its not like the super rich 'job creator' class have let us down in any significant way over the past few years... j/k

You just have to give them a chance, man. Once the tax refunds start rolling in ...

x-post--you have to pay for turbo tax but sometimes you can get a reimbursement or deduct it as an expense.

I've never understood why Democrats haven't run with "fairness" as a meme

Because "fair" means "equitable" means "wealth redistribution" which means "pinko."

Man somebody ate his Cynic-os today.

Frankly, I'm just happy a local tax referendum was passed yesterday to bolster the school budget for the first time in decades. 55% to 44% or so.

To be fair all UK parties ran on fairness in the last few elections and the distribution of impact from the crisis and recession is much the same.

"Fairness" .. "fat cats doin favors for their friends" .. this stuff should be easy. I know everybody has bought into David Brooks' contention that Americans all imagine themselves as pre-millionaires, but I think those days are done, (if they ever even existed as a legitimate mass phenomenon, which I doubt).

Ed sure, every catchphrase can be deployed cynically or hypocritically but the fact that everyone in the UK wanted a piece of "fairness" proves its potency

The point is more that boehner could come out and call tax cuts fair, call cutting medicare and social security fair. (Fair distribution of limited resources or somesuch)

Chuckie Schumer halfheartedly floated the "fairness" of letting the Bush tax cuts expire for millionaires only around January (or December?), and it went nowhere. cuz it's hard to live on a million.

Americans all imagine themselves as pre-millionaires, but I think those days are done

But see, it's just that easy! Campaign that the fat cats are *preventing* you from becoming a millionaire due to their selfishness and greed.

Paul Ryan to seniors: drop dead

all this haggling over 33-40 billion dollars is some weak theater. 40 billion is fucking chump change.

Meyerson in the Washington Post describes Ryan's proposal as an attempt to "repeal the 20th century"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/whos-hurt-by-paul-ryans-budget-proposal/2011/04/05/AFfP7PlC_story.html

national problem: it's getting really expensive to provide government services, especially health care for the elderly.

ryan solution: don't!

let's just turn them into paste

the fix was in from the get-go with Barry (tip-off to ILXors should've been gabbneb's shameless man-crush on him). the Dems don't run on "fairness" b/c that'll mean they get less money from gay agnostic hedge-funders of color (who'd go GOP for tax/economic reasons if the GOP weren't so homophobic, ignorant and bigoted).

That's a pretty good way to put it. I become more & more fascinated by the moral conditions that were in place in order to support the New Deal & then the Great Society, and what kind of moral slippage we've had since then to make so many people think that we should dismantle those accomplishments. Or at least: there's been such a moral slippage amongst our elite; the general populace still favors a generous welfare state.

My own view is that the accelerating decline of religious belief amongst elites will further propel the dismantling of the welfare state in the USA.

xp to the Post article post