There is a small group of members here that, I have to say, I'm am thoroughly disappointed in. The first two years of President Obama's presidency, he had to fight the "proud party of no". Now he has to fight a majority of rethugs in the congress who extort our base by threatening the unemployed and the life of social programs that millions of Americans desperately need. There's a saying: "It's hard to drain the swamp when you're up to your ass in alligators". Well, President Obama is up to his ass in teabaggers plus rethugs who are terrified of them.

I've read posts stating they have given up, will not vote again, will vote for another candidate other than Obama but not a rethug (throw THAT vote away).

If anything, what has happened since President Obama took office should empower his base. He may be president, but he is still only one man, with the help of loyal Democratic congressmen and senators, fighting the evil right and traitorous Blue Dog Democrats. We have seen just how ruthless the opposition is. Instead of throwing in the towel and crying over spilt milk, we should be mad as hell and ACTING like it. If we let what is happening weaken us, we are doomed. We are only as strong as our weakest link, and I see some weak links here.

We need some good ideas from some of our more savvy members on what we should do to fight harder. Ideas for email campaigns and other ways to get the word out and encourage voters.

Take advantage of email addresses for the president, your congressmen, and your senators and tell them what you want.

I sure as hell am NOT going to let a bunch of millionaires, billionaires, and right wing wackos take me down without a fight.

we HAVE to vote a straight Democratic ticket. Throwing away your vote on people you know don't have a chance in hell of winning is like voting for a rethug. We've got to start now in donations (no matter how small) and getting the word out to as many people as we can. If we don't start standing up for our party we are going to end up in a minority phase that we may never recover from.

Obama made the effort, but he wasn't counting on Blue Dog Democrats (traitors to their party) and teabaggers who delight in trying to throw Americans under the bus just to prove a point. If we want Obama to do better, we have to do better by voting and encouraging everyone we know to vote through conversations and emails. If you find an article that boosts the Democratic agenda or shows up the rethug agenda, send it to everyone in your email address book end it with "Pass it on!" If we want our country to be all it can be, we have to fight for it. We can't just sit around hoping for change and then complaining when we don't get it.

felt like America since bush/chaney took office. The middle class has been thrown under the bus to please big corporations and the wealthy. I'm really afraid we have lost so much that we may never get it back. People are being brain washed by right wing celebrities and go to the polls with misinformation. I can only hope that, in the next two years, the repubs and the teabaggers will take so much away from those who voted them in, that they will finally start voting for the party that is trying so hard to look after their best interests.

I told myself that I would go on a news blackout once the new congress was seated. But then I heard a spokesman for the teabaggers on TV stating that they would not compromise with the Dems or the repubs. And I thought, WOW - this is going to get good. I wouldn't take out the possibility of an out and out fist fight or two breaking out in congress. Heck! I wouldn't want to miss THAT.

Before the election I heard on several news networks that the teabaggers would be the destruction of the republican party. In the next two years, little will be accomplished that will help 97% of Americans. But I see a lot being done that will degrade the republican party even more than they degrade themselves.

How can I stop watching the news. It's going to be like a soap opera that will just keep on giving and giving.

know what you expect of him.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact /

Let's tell him we want him to fight those hateful repubs.

Let's tell him we want him to stand up, put his chin up, and tell them that he is the President and they are just congressmen.

Let's tell him that we want him to get as many bills passed that will help the middle class (97% of the country) before the next congress is seated.

If he is feeling a little beat up now, perhaps enough of us showing that we stand behind him will buck him up, so to speak, and let him know that we don't want a compromising president. We want a president who will come out swinging to get things done for us.

If we can contact people because Keith Olbermann was suspended, why can't we do the same thing to fight for President Obama and give him the support he needs right now?

our credit cards every month and only use them in emergencies like car repairs, vet bills, etc. We have one card that we got through our credit union. If we do have to leave a balance on our card, at least most of it goes to the credit union instead of Wall Street. Since we don't use our credit card every month, we can pay cash for what we want. We find a bit of joy in knowing that those greedy jerks on Wall St. won't get any more of our money than need be. I wonder how many others have done what we have as a small protest against "too big to fail" banks.

country what it would be like if the right wing conservatives had complete control of the government. This will be a rude awakening for them. I hope it does not happen, but I see someone innocent being badly injured or even killed because of this. It's hard to believe there are some people in our country who are that damn stupid.

It's the Democrats who improve education, and health care,etc. It's the Republicans who take money out of educational programs, who don't want health care for everyone, and who want to get rid of Social Security. I've always seen the Democrats as the builders of our country and the Republicans as the spoilers.

When I try to visualize what this country would be like if the Republicans got their way in everything, it wouldn't be The United States of America anymore. It would be a rundown wasteland. I don't get why Republican voters don't get that. They shoot themselves in the foot (with the guns they keep toting around) every time they vote for a rethug.

when American companies do not bring back jobs, that they have sent to other countries, when our economy is so bad and so many people are unemployed? If every company would bring back enough of these jobs to put Americans back to work, they would still profit by putting more money into the pockets of Americans, who would then buy the products made.

Is what I think of as "common sense" too simple minded? How greedy do these companies have to be to justify watching their own country falter because of that greed? Has greed become more valuable than love of country?

is one of our greatest American classic novels. It's the reading of books like these that encourage teens, who are on their way to adulthood, to think and reason for themselves. As a former teacher, I've always hated "do not read" lists. Let the reader judge for themselves. There is no law that states that if you start reading a book you don't like, you don't agree with, or it disturbs you in some way that you can't just close the book and not finish it. It's like TV. If you don't like what's on, change the channel.

stand up for the Democratic platform, then he is a traitor to the party. If a politician only believes in some of the things in that platform, then he/she should run as an independent. It is deceitful to take Democratic campaign money and then vote against the party values.

the news on any network, it sounds bad for us. I keep wondering why we don't hear more positive things about our party. Where are our cheer leaders? The rethugs have Palin. Who is ours? I'd like to see some TV ads that praise the Democratic Party and tells what we stand for and what our goals are. Something to dispute the lies and twisted truths that the other side keep brainwashing their followers with.

If the Democratic Party doesn't start standing up for itself better, we could lose more seats in the next election than we can afford. If only we could get a public option in place before the election. I really think that could help.

I don't want to get too confident. I never thought bush/cheney would win a second term, and look what happened.

The shortage of bees is a big concern. We can help them out by planting blue and yellow flowers. These colors attract them and will help raise their number. So, when you go to pick out your summer flowers for your flower bed, go for the blue and yellow.

http://lifeonthebalcony.com/bees-favorite-... /

are working tirelessly to find loop holes to get around the restrictions in the HCR. They are planning on raising rates as high as possible while they can. Our lives mean nothing to these people. This is a game to them. The only way to beat them is with a public option. Why is our government dragging their feet on this? A public option would save lives, make life better for most Americans, and save money that could go on the deficit. So what's the problem? If it takes much longer, our country will fail beyond repair.

Second, I always vote a straight Democratic ticket because I know we have to have the majority. Of course, I would like every Democrat who is elected to stand up for the Democratic party platform, but I have to be realistic and realize that some take issue with at least one item on that platform. I have to hope that there will always be enough Democratic votes to win the Democratic agenda.

Third, if I didn't vote for a Democratic, who would I vote for? I would leave the voting booth gagging if I ever voted for a repub and I couldn't just skip over one candidate.

If we are going to get this country straightened out, we have to vote and always keep our numbers higher in the Congress and the Senate.