Paul Simon’s American Tune aptly sums up my feelings this morning…

And I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
or driven to its knees
But it’s all right, it’s all right
We’ve lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
we’re traveling on
I wonder what went wrong
I can’t help it, I wonder what went wrong

We’ve been seriously misused.  We elected a president who we thought would at least stand up for the bedrock of Democratic values,  our social safety net.  Instead we got someone who is, at best, a corporatist and lousy negotiator and, at worst, a Republican in disguise.

It’s now up to the the Congressional Democratic Caucus to stand up for those of us who cannot afford lobbyists — or just about anything else these days.

Congressman Raul Grijalva, co-chair of said CPC, posted this petition last night, ready for your signature:

I will not support the debt deal
Stand with Raúl and America’s working families and show your opposition to the debt deal by signing the petition below. 

I oppose any debt deal that trades Americans’ livelihoods to appease the most radical wing of the GOP.

I stand firmly behind successful government programs that guarantee the health and economic well being of the American people.

We must ensure that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are off the chopping block as we work to balance our budget.

I will not stand by idly as millions of working Americans lose out as the GOP gives yet another handout to the wealthy and big corporations.

Nancy Pelosi said last night that she could not commit to this deal; she’d first have to meet with her caucus.  Meetings are going on this morning.  Now is the time to reach out and tell your representatives to do the right thing by the American people.

We’ll obviously deal with this issue on the show this morning. I’ll be joined by Congressman Raul Grijalva, pundit/author/consultant Cliff Schecter, and The Nation’s Ari Berman on his latest piece, “The Rise of the Austerity Hawk Democrats” and how it fits in with this whole mess.

Today’s essential reading courtesy of Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman at the NY Times: The President Surrenders.

***Update***  Links for The White House Fact Sheet on the “Bipartisan Debt Deal” and from Time‘s Swampland blog, “Five Things for Liberals to Like in the Debt Ceiling Deal“.