Greg Palast: "Obama is a two-faced liar. Aw-RIGHT! "--and a Call to Action

The always-enlightening Greg Palast writes:

Republicans are right. President Barack Obama treated them like dirt, didn't give a damn what they thought about his stimulus package, loaded it with a bunch of programs that will last for years and will never leave the budget, is giving away money disguised as "tax refunds," and is sneaking in huge changes in policy, from schools to health care, using the pretext of an economic emergency.

Way to go, Mr. O! Mr. Down-and-Dirty Chicago pol. Street-fightin' man. Covering over his break-you-face power play with a "we're all post-partisan friends" BS.

And it's about time.

Frankly, I was worried about this guy. Obama's appointing Clinton-droids to the Cabinet, bloated incompetents like Larry Summers as "Economics Czar," made me fear for my country, that we'd gotten another Democrat who wished he were a Republican.

Then came Obama's money bomb. The House bill included $125 billion for schools (TRIPLING federal spending on education - yes!), expanding insurance coverage to the unemployed, making the most progressive change in the tax code in four decades by creating a $500 credit against social security payroll deductions, and so on.

It's as if Obama dug up Ronald Reagan's carcass and put a stake through The Gipper's anti-government heart. Aw-RIGHT!

Finally we have a president who believes that government can be a positive force in people's lives, a president who believes that the transformative powers of government can and should be used to help its citizens, a president who's "a Democrat from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party," as Paul Wellstone used to say. The Repugs say that the Democrats won't listen to their ideas; i.e., the Democrats won't lie down and play dead while the Republicans continue to shit in our faces. Awwww, poor babies! Go choke on your silver spoons.

We have majorities in both chambers, but with the wingnuts in the House telling President Obama to step off, and the wingnuts in the Senate just waiting to hang up the important legislation for the economic recovery, we all need to call our senators and remind them that this plan needs to pass. Over at the Campaign for America's Future, Bernie Horn is calling on all good progressives to call their Senators and remind them that they support President Obama's economic recovery plan:

The word on the street here in Washington is that the right is killing us with phone calls to Congress on the Obama economic recovery plan. One congressperson said the calls are running 100 to 1 against it.

The legislation is now on the Senate floor. If senators perceive that Americans side with Obama in this fight—which several polls say they are—that will strengthen the power of progressives in the debate and we’ll get a good bill. If, on the other hand, senators are only feeling the heat from conservatives, then our advocates will be weakened and we’ll get a lousy bill. That’s just the way things go on Capitol Hill.

Those who worked for the election of Barack Obama and are currently sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how his economic recovery bill turns out—it’s time to stop waiting. Stand up and fight!

That means pick up the telephone and call 202-224-3121 (or use the toll-free service at 866-544-7573). Ask the Capitol operator to transfer you to one of your state’s U.S. senators. When you’re connected, say you’re calling to urge your senator to “support the Obama economic recovery plan and oppose all conservative amendments.” Call back and repeat for your other senator. Then contact everyone you know and urge them to do the same.

To all my readers outside Minnesota, get on the phone and call!

Here in Minnesota, however, we only have one senator at the moment (thanks to that whining snake-in-the-grass Norm Coleman, may a rabid wolverine shit on his new & unpaid-for kitchen floor): Amy Klobuchar, who already supports the Obama plan; but she needs to hear from us, too. The wingnuts are already calling her, between making multiple posts in the Star Tribune comments section and changing their pajama bottoms, so we need to let her hear from the side of the angels. Amy's number in D.C. is 202-224-3244, or toll-free 888-224-9043; her local office's number is 612-727-5220. Let her know that the people of Minnesota support the Obama plan!

Remember what's at stake here. Bernie Horn, again, breaks it down for us:

* $142 billion for a middle-class tax cut
* $47 billion to extend unemployment benefits
* $16 billion to expand food stamps
* $17 billion in one-time payments to low-income Americans
* $26 billion to expand access to health care
* $87 billion to help states pay for Medicaid
* $24 billion to modernized health information technology
* $46 billion to fix bridges and roads
* $80 billion to improve public education
* $19 billion for school construction
* $14 billion to make college more affordable
* $32 billion for clean energy

There's much more. All together, the Obama plan will create or save 3 to 4 million jobs and keep our nation’s economy from sliding into a lengthy and severe recession.

President Obama needs our support. Let's hit those phones, people!