I'm reading No Quarter for a change and I came across a "Progressive" who is unhappy with Obama.

Remember how we (meaning, progressives, liberals, Democrats, fair-minded people) got really upset when the Republican majority used all kinds of tricks to get their way? It made us mad. But now, Obama is thinking of using a little procedural trick that would only require 50 votes to get his energy and health care bills passed. Here's some more information on this procedure:

Because they can not be filibustered, budget reconciliations only require 50 votes to pass the Senate. Democrats hold strong majorities in Congress, but still come up short of the 60 votes necessary in the Senate to end debate, which makes it easier for Republicans to block legislation. House rules in comparison make it harder for the minority party to stop bills.

Still, using budget reconciliation to pass policy proposals is controversial, even among some Democrats who believe doing so strains Senate rules and tradition.

He plans to soak (some of) the rich. Carbon taxes will drive energy costs up. And he promises a Civilian Corps (SS) to keep ordinary citizens on the straight and narrow.

Perhaps it is time to rethink your commitment to the Progressive Philosophy. After all the Austrian Corporal was as progressive as they come. And we know how that ended. Or perhaps the Progressive History of the USSR might interest you.

Hayek in The Road to Serfdom explains why progressive politics always ends badly. He wrote it in 1944 when the trajectory was still fresh.

Obama is not an aberration. He is the inevitable end result of Progressive Thought. There is no New Socialist Man. There are just the same greedy bastards. Bad enough in business: but at least there you can set them against each other (you know - competition). The Maker help us when the greedy bastards get unchecked government power.

And we now have the smoothest talking "progressive" greedy bastard we have seen in a long time as head of government with a Congress filled mostly with his minions.

Enjoy.

Cross Posted at Power and Control