One year later, do you feel betrayed?

[Philosoraptor]

Do you feel our party has betrayed us somewhat? Is this too dramatic of an assessment? Are you steely enough to not feel betrayed anymore, or were you more or less prepared to be betrayed?

Did you get your hopes up last year, only to be disappointed? Or did you not participate in the parade of optimism last November?

Should we hold back any feelings of betrayal and replace them instead with unswerving optimism and unfailing support for our elected employees? Have they worked hard to do the people's business in the last year? Do they deserve our continued financial and civil support, do they deserve our votes?

There are always die hard optimists and jaded pessimists, and everything in between, but its hard not to feel slightly let down, disappointed, dejected, ignored, deflated, rejected and maybe even a little bit betrayed.

[Warpy]

1. I feel betrayed by Pelosi and Ried and by all the Blue Dogs

who have caved on issues trampling our civil liberties. I mostly feel betrayed because habeas corpus has not been restored.

Clearly, Reid and Pelosi don't belong in their positions. They were fine when it came to holding a minority together against an overwhelming majority and the party had no chance. They are far too timid now that they are in the majority party.

In any case, the stupidest tactical blunder of all was when Pelosi announced impeachment was completely out of the question. It should have been kept in the background as a constant threat in order to dry up the ink in the veto pen.

[Horse with no Name]

8. Well said Warpy

I echo your sentiments.

[timtom]

31. Habeas corpus, indeed!

Not to mention HR 1955 and S 1959!

McCarthy had nothing on these assholes.

[Writer]

2. I don't feel betrayed, because I understand that although I'd want...

Congress to accomplish a laundry list of items, that the center of democracy is discussion and compromise, and that I may not always get what I want and it is unrealistic to expect anything more.

As long as the extremist Republicans don't take over Congress again, I'm perfectly fine.

~Writer~

[timtom]

32. I don't mean to beat a drum,

but HR 1955 and S 1959 are way, way beyond "discussion and compromise", and sort of blow the comfort thing out of the water.

[Javaman]

37. Come on, don't you know as long as people can get their

corn syrup soaked stuffer foods, they will be fine if we have to give up a few or a 1000 of our rights?

Stop making sense, don't make me come back there!

[bunkerbuster1]

3. No. I figured the Goopers would stonewall, hold together, filibuster

and they did.

I also figured there were enough Blue Dogs to keep anything serious from happening to the Administration. In short, I didn't expect that Bush and his cabinet would be hauled away in leg irons just because we took the House and (barely) the Senate, and I think it was foolish for anyone to imagine as much.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Betrayed? No. I'm always prepared for politicians to act like politicians.

And, verging on geezerhood, I've learned that "trusting" politicians to do other than work in their own best interests is an exercise in naievete if not stupidity.

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
Thomas Paine

[slackmaster]

5. Not even slightly surprised

A politician is a politician.

[silverojo]

13. And Democrats always bend over to the GOP

So I wasn't surprised either.

[gateley]

6. Disappointed. nt

[Ino]

7. I feel VERY betrayed.

In all fairness, Pelosi did say impeachment was off the table, but I -- like many DUers -- thought that was simply strategy. That she had to say that since she was 3rd in line for presidency, that once investigations began showing all the corruption that she "regretfully" would have to put it back on the table. I was wrong. So I can't say Pelosi betrayed me, but I now take them all at their word. (No longer do I think Hillary is triangulating to make herself more appealing in the general election and once elected, she'll swing left. I must assume she's just as hawkish, just as corporate-friendly as she appears.)

I feel betrayed by John Conyers especially, by my Senator McCaskill, by Leahy, by all the investigations that go absolutely nowhere while they keep funding the war the new Dem majority was supposed to stop and keep giving away our liberties.

I'm deeply disappointed, and angry.

[NightWatcher]

9. betrayed, um, how about screwed? Without so much as a reach-around

[Javaman]

10. Put on your flame suit...

There are some major "Dems can do nothing wrong" blow torches out there today.

[Philosoraptor]

22. No one is infallible.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. I'm neither disappointed nor 'betrayed' by the Democrats. With the slim majorities they hold and

half of the new Congresspeople being 'blue dogs', I'm not sure what most here thought would happen.

[Occam Bandage]

12. Nope.

[RethugAssKicker]

14. NO. I know they were part of the BEAST all the time !

They're all corporate bastards

[MonkeyFunk]

15. Nope

not at all. I understand what's possible and what's not.

[Lerkfish]

34. IMHO, if one does not feel betrayed at this point,

one is either not paying attention or is approving of the status quo.

speaking in generalities, not to this poster in particular.

[babylonsister]

16. Yes. nt

[Mike03]

17. Very Disappointed

Not betrayed. I do understand what is possible and what is impossible, but I'm not upset because they failed, but because of what they haven't even attempted. In some cases, they haven't even spoken out when handed golden opportunities to eviscerate this administration.

ON EDIT: BTW, It took me a very long time to get to this point. I kept hoping and hoping, but getting pissed and more pissed.

[Selatius]

18. No. I expected this level of performance. Is that a bad commentary on the Democratic leadership? n/t

[Mike03]

19. Yes, it is sad, but obviously you have some insight.

That has to be respected and admired.

But where do we go next, short of nihilism?

[brentspeak]

20. So, when the Democrats blocked Bush from making his recess appointments

you felt "betrayed"?

What about when the Democrats denied Bush from getting his fast-track trade negotiation authority? That must have been a gut-blow to you!

Or when practically the entire Bush Justice Department staff was forced to resign in the wake of Pat Leahy's Senate Judicial Committee hearings? Treachery, right?

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[Frogger]

21. Absolutely

I don't care about the impeachment. I never figured that that was ever going to happen.

But what about the troops??

[cali]

23. Disappointed more than betrayed

and that's chiefly in the leadership, who I don't think have served us well. But I never had the pie-in-the-sky outlook that once the dems took over, everything would be fine. I understand exactly how narrow the majority in the Senate is, and how it works.

[deacon]

24. I think 'betrayed' is very appropriate. All bullshit talk and no action from Pelosi.

[Perry Logan]

25. The truth is, many DUers like to feel betrayed. The media takes advantage of this to keep us divided

Quick proof that we haven't been betrayed.

"President Bush's success rating in the Democratic-controlled House has fallen this year to a half-century low, and he prevailed on only 14 percent of the 76 roll call votes on which he took a clear position.

"So far this year, Democrats have backed the majority position of their caucus 91 percent of the time on average on such votes. That marks the highest Democratic unity score in 51 years."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1728952&mesg_id=1728952
http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002576765.html

Don't let the media rhetoric fool you. The Democrats have acquitted themselves quite well--especially given their bare majority in both houses, and a relentlessly obstructionist Republican minority.

[Joe Fields]

41. Okay people, Perry called it. So now I'm asking all of you....

Just how many of you LIKE feeling betrayed?

:puke:

[GalleryGod]

26. Nope.

eom

[Solly Mack]

27. No...just disgusted by it all

[tnlefty]

35. LOL! I just love that elf!

Thanks for a laugh to provide a break as I also feel disgusted most of the time.

[Solly Mack]

36. You're welcome!!! I couldn't resist his obvious charm :)

[Marrah_G]

28. No- Not betrayed-- frustrated sometimes

I was under no illusions that a slim margin of victory was going to suddenly allow the us to sweep through Washington. I think we are still better off then if the Pukes had kept the majority.

[mmonk]

29. Yes.

[timtom]

30. Three months later I felt betrayed!

n/t

[readmoreoften]

33. Betrayed, disgusted... either/or. (nt)

[LanternWaste]

38. I have neither absolute optimism nor absolute pessimism.

No, I don't feel betrayed. I do however, feel like there's a huge amount of political machinations going on that I'm not privy to-- deals being made in smoke filled rooms deep in the bowels of the Congressional building and so forth.

Deals that work for us in the long run, but on their face look like caving Democrats. Part of me thinks that the departure of Rove was part and parcel of these...accommodations.

I have neither absolute optimism nor absolute pessimism. Disappointment some days, elated glee on others...

[Lerkfish]

40. oh yeah, the "long range secret plans in the smoke filled rooms" thing

we were told that way back when the gang of fourteen made a devil's bargain to not filibuster. We were told we were keeping our powder dry, we were told there secret things going on in the background.

well, I DO believe there are long range secret plans in smoke-filled rooms, I just don't think they're plans for anything but perpetuating the status quo.

I"m afraid, after all this time, what looks like a caving democrat, is in fact, a caving democrat.

[earth mom]

39. WOO HOO Philosoraptor is back!

:woohoo:

I'm so glad that you are back!

:hi:



And in answer to your question, I've felt betrayed for YEARS.

I knew they were selling us out when Pelosi took Impeachment off the table, but I thought it was best to wait until a bit and see what would happen.

When nothing did, I knew that my gut feeling wasn't wrong and that those bastards sold us all out AGAIN.

The elected officials who choose not to Impeach are ALL COMPLICIT & have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS. :puke: