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But he’s also making a run at capitulator of the year. Fallout continues one day after the White House proposed turning the austerity knives on Social Security Insurance in their latest “fiscal cliff” proposal. To make matters worse, Democratic leaders in the House signed on to the President’s proposal, while at the same time acknowledging there is “understandable resistance.” Founder of the DailyKos, Markos Moulitsas, weighed on the latest White House offer saying, “Capitulation is never a strength. A deal will obviously require concessions by the president, but you make those to FINISH the deal, not in the middle of negotiations, and not until after you've branded the opposition with the concessions they're demanding.”

But once again, another negotiation on Capitol Hill has been completely on Republican grounds. Our lawmakers are debating just how many wealthy people will get a tax cut, and how hard seniors and the poor will get hit with cuts to insurance programs like Medicare and Social Security. Yet, no one is talking about progressive reforms, like a financial transaction tax on Wall Street, a single-payer health care system to reduce healthcare spending and the deficit, breaking up the big banks, raising the minimum wage, and making hedgefund managers and vulture capitalists like Mitt Romney pay their fair share in taxes.

To see just how progressive institutions across America have been damaged by thirty years of Reaganomics and union-busting, one doesn’t have to look much farther than the current ludicrous debate on Capitol Hill. The progressive counter-balance in America has been damaged, and now all we have is center-right Republicans debating far-right Republicans – and neither side seems to give a damn about the Middle Class.

We have a lot of work left to do.

Listen to The Thom Hartmann Program Monday through Friday 3 PM to 6 PM on WWRL 1600.