Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Obama's remarks in Rolling Stone chastising liberals:Sure looks premeditated and deliberate. (As opposed to an emotional off-the-cuff remark.) It's lousy politics, at least in terms of getting the base motivated. But it does have two advantages. It sends a message to right-leaning independents that "Obama ruffles the feathers of the left" which might get them to vote Democratic this year. And it's a possible excuse for a bad election night this November: Not our fault, it's the progressives that failed to deliver.
posted by Quiddity at 9/28/2010 08:02:00 PM
6 comments
previously obama made a "punch the hippies" remark at a connecticut dnc fundraiser, a $30,ooo dollar a plate affair. presumably a room filled with wall street players flush with taxpayer provided bonuses.
the administration setting up progressives for ridicule or scorn, in addition to being a fundraising tactic, also mollifies rich people who are complaining about being "vilified" by this administration.
plus corporatist DLCers (aka "pragmatists") have a looong history of bashing and undermining the democratic wing of the democratic party.
george bush: "who cares what you think?"
dick cheney: "so?"
joe biden: "stop whining."
The Democrats are going to lose a lot of seats, and possibly control of Congress. A lot of the blame will rightly go to progressives ("The Jane Hamshers of the left") who are going to stay home because Obama didn't get them everything they wanted five minutes after he finished his inaugural address.
The problem with progressives like you, Quiddity, is that you want everything, and you want it NOW. Politics doesn't work that way. This administration passed the most comprehensive health care reform since LBJ created Medicare and Medicaid. It's full of flaws, to be sure, but the Democrats had to deal with an implacable Republican party and the Blue Dogs in their own party (who don't really care about deficits, but about pleasing their corporate masters.)
It's up to future Congresses to improve upon the Affordable Care Act. That won't happen if progressives sit on their hands and allow the GOP to take over and undo as much of it as they can.
I agree with Obama and Biden. I truly wish you people would stop whining. This isn't the 1960s. LBJ accomplished what he did domestically because back then there were moderate Republicans in Congress with whom he could deal. That species of Republican is now practically extinct. You don't seem to understand that the legislative branch of this government is completely dysfunctional, and the GOP is largely to blame. With Senate Republicans filibustering everything, it's a wonder anything gets done. And now Jim DeMented of South Carolina is threatening to shut it down just because he can. Why aren't you complaining about that?
Obama didn't get them everything they wanted
strawman, demon. cite me sources that demonstrate progs demanding everything they wanted. we are just holding obama to the very standards he set up during the campaign. you can fault us for making the mistake of actually expecting obama to live up to his word. he ran on clean governance and fixing washington, not bribing senators to win their vote. dismiss this as normal horse trading, but obama went above and beyond that when he actually rewarded ben nelson half a million dollars of dnc money to run tv ads attacking the public option. lieberman was rewarded high speed rail for connecticut for blocking the medicare deal that was proposed. obama rewarded corporatist democrats who worked to weaken and block progressive aims. we're not upset that we didn't get everything we wanted, we are upset with the process. one where obama enabled and rewarded obstructionist and corrupt democrats. you can't say you support something, but then act to undermine the very thing you claimed to support!
This administration passed the most comprehensive health care reform since LBJ created Medicare and Medicaid. It's full of flaws, to be sure, but the Democrats had to deal with an implacable Republican party and the Blue Dogs in their own party (who don't really care about deficits, but about pleasing their corporate masters.)
this doesn't explain obama allowing a former wellpoint executive to draft and write healthcare legislation. obama handed off the keys to the insurance lobby. there is no excuse for that. bush was assailed for doing these very things. but we are supposed to sit quiet in the corner and not protest when obama does the same thing. the base is expected to be deaf, blind and mute.
i don't know how comprehensive this thing is. a lot of it was reiterations of already existing law. before healthcare passed, HHS already had the prerogativeto bar insurance from denying treatment due to preexisting condition.
I think it's great that after 8 years of being told that I'm not really an American by Bush and the Republicans, I'm not being told that I not really worth listening to by Obama and the Democrats.
One of the true oddities of American politics: In any given election, the Republican will run against the Democrat--and the Democrat will run against the Democrats as well.
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