Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Keith Olbermann's Special Comment for December 7, 2010.
For all of you who have expressed anger at me for posting Bill Maher's clip on Sunday, or have quickly lashed out at ANYBODY who dares challenge the fact that our President is not living up to the promises that he made in order to get the job that he now appears to be overwhelmed by, what do you say today?
And don't bother telling me all of the good things he has accomplished, I do understand and accept that he has muscled through a lot of important legislation. He has, in fact, almost accomplished more in these first two years than any other President before him has accomplished in two full terms.
However hardly anybody knows it.
Ask yourself, how many American know about the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act? Or the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act? Not very many, I am afraid.
This President abhors conflict and ALWAYS seeks compromise, but he is compromising in the middle of a war. I don't know about everybody else, but I worked on the campaign of a man who I expected to be a warrior. After eight years of the George Bush White House, I wanted to see a pile of neo-con bodies piled up on my television screen (Metaphorically speaking of course.)
And I am not alone. Yesterday's decision may have permanently cost the President the support of his base and it STILL might fail to pass. It is bad enough to compromise your principles in order to make some progress, but quite another to do so and face certain defeat.
So I am interested in your thoughts. You can get mad at me, or frustrated with the President, but please let's try to keep it civil. And no this is NOT an open invitation to simply trash Barack Obama.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No one's mad at you. But Olbermann can get on the same jackass Maher rode in on.
ReplyDeletePeople are mostly just disappointed that Obama doesn't display the lowlife theatrics that are required of public persons in order to give visual interest to the [made up] news these days. He's actually a respectable person doing a competent job against all odds, with purposely limited tools. And by tools, I do mean Republicans who are posing as congresspersons.
I'm still in it for the long haul. It took more than 8 years to fuck us like this- but the second BO seems to slip, everybody comes out of the woodwork.
ReplyDeleteFuck em and fuck you if you abandon your principles so readily. Fuck KO and Maddow for their constant harping. It it's starting to sound like a broken record at MSNBC and the constant tirades are getting me to change my mind on maddow. For awhile I thought she was the best and most elegant of debaters. But now she comes off as an inflexible harpie.
I'm not mad nor frustrated, and I'll wager I'm more "progressive" than most who comment here (I match views with Dennis Kuchinich). I'm an adult and I know how politics work. Nothing happens without compromise. At the end of two Obama terms, I will look back on some of these bills and see how they worked out in the long run. Every day I am grateful that Pres. Obama is in office and not the corporate shills of the GOP working only for the rich. Do I wish we had the Public Option? Yes. Do I wish we were out of Iraq and Afghanistan? Yes. Do I wish we would end the Bush tax cuts now? Yes. Do I think, as a middle-aged adult, that one man can change the whole DC political machine/landscape after taking over from the worst 8-year presidency in our history: not in one term, no. Has any president ever matched my fantasies of immediate policy-changing? No. How many presidents have I voted for who were actually elected: only 3.
ReplyDeleteI have always liked Keith and Rachel but after listening to the RANT of an x-sports announcer I waited for Rachel who I consider to be very intelligent. When I saw that she was going in the same direction I shut her off and waited for the calm and intelligence of Lawrence O'Donnell and was NOT disappointed.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, NO one wanted the President to have to make a deal on this but the fact is, he has never had the support of the whimpy ass Dems in Congress. He has had to fight the party of hell no since day one and then come the tea thugs! If people want to be angry then put your anger where your mouth is. At the gutless dems in Congress who had the power to pass anything. Hold the repubs/teathugs feet to the fire who convinced their sheeple that the rich need the tax cuts because they are the JOB CREATORS! DEMAND that the repubs and the rich Create those jobs! Demand that they Create those jobs here in the USA!
I still like Keith but honestly I am sick and tired of the fickle nature of the Democratic Party and it will be some time before I listen to another childish rant from him!
I still don't know what options he had..if he let the tax cuts expire the unemployed would be cut off and taxes would have gone up for everybody. The way the GOP noise machine works it would have been all Obama's fault and unfortunately most of the electorate would have blamed him too. We'll see how it plays out , i believe him when he says he didn't have the votes and he definitely will not have them in January
ReplyDeleteAllow me to clarify that I am NOT walking away from my President. Nor am I advocating that the Democrats encourage anybody to run against him in 2012 (Something that I have heard coming from some surprising progressive voices).
ReplyDeleteI am simply saying that I feel the President needs to stand his ground at some point. I have dealt with bullies my entire life, and the GOP are a bunch of fucking bullies, and I want him to punch them in the nose!
He took them on very effectively in the past, and showed he can eat their lunch for them, he needs to do it again, very publicly, and get his mojo back.
President Obama is in a rock in a hard place. There are behind the scenes secret shenanigans, that the American public and media are not privy to. Before PO, took his oath, he rallied us, the people, to do what we can. If you read some of Jimmy Carter's memoirs, you will get some light on how powerless the presidency really is. It's us, that have to make the change happen. I hope President Obama serves for one term, not because I don't like him, but he is too decent of a person to be in the White House. If he runs again, I will vote for him, because of the fact that he is extremely smart and compassionate. The country needs someone like him, he can lend balance, but there is much more going on that any president of the U.S. is powerless to change... alone... Don't judge him.
ReplyDeleteBy the way I don't like the BS of the progressives and they can kiss my A**! Those in the progressive party who are out to destroy Obama are NO different then the tea thugs!
ReplyDeletehttp://ak-elections2008.blogspot.com/2010/12/where-were-progressives-when.html
I'm disappointed, but I am trying not to too get riled up over one issue. I am pretty sure I would still vote for President Obama over any Republican candidate. However, they won't get any more of my money or my time.
ReplyDeleteI am so disappointed in most of Washington and believe that it is a rich man's private club who will only cater to their own membership. I had high hopes when I voted for Obama and even though I am disappointed by what is happening I know that the alternative candidate would have been a whole lot worse. We now live in the Corporate States of America and the Rich who plunder it.
ReplyDeleteomomma, teutonic13, anonymous 6:12 - I agree with you and am tired of people expecting President Obama to wave a magic wand or sword and make all our troubles disappear.
ReplyDeleteWe have one of the most gifted, intelligent, calm and capable Presidents we have ever had and yet few seem willing to step back and take a long-term view of the change he envisions.
Sure, I want more things to happen more quickly, but that's desire - it's not reality. Change, if it is to last, takes time.
He has to consolidate the changes we have while trying to reach for the change we need.
I don't know about the rest of you, but we cannot afford to see the middle class tax cuts expire. We'd have to borrow money to pay our taxes next year at a time when we are already maxed-out.
Do I despise the greedy, short-term mentality of the GOP - absolutely. Do I believe the tax cuts for the wealthy will create jobs - no, of course not. Do I think the unemployed needed that extension - absolutely. Do I begrudge the trade-offs to help the poor and middle class, yes, but I see that compromise may have been the only way out, short-term.
When you have the GOP creating gridlock, when you have incoming Tea Party scrooges who do not understand the basics of economics, when you have so-called Christians turning their back on suffering of millions of Americans, how else do you make progress but one small step at a time.
I am willing to give President Obama more time. There have not been enough Democrats in Congress have not been working with him to achieve the progressive goals we believed he could achieve.
Until Democratic Senators and Representatives stand with our President, how can we expect him to face down the entire solidified GOP?
I will not vote for President Barack Obama again.
ReplyDeleteDon`t like the INSURANCE bill [it not a Health care bill] he pass.
Keith Olbermann hit it right on the nose.
President Barack Obama needs a back bone and stand up against the Republicans.
President Barack Obama say one thing then do something else.
It make me so mad that I voted for President Barack Obama,
I Wish Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was President.
And where would be be if Obama hadn't compromised? No health care for 30 millions Americans amd no tax cuts for the middle class, which would have doomed the economy even further.
ReplyDeleteCompromisers are not weak. It takes leadership to compromise.
I am a liberal, but I am disappointed with the liberal base today. Those liberals who take the HuffPo's writing and criticisms as the Bible are just as bad as the Faux News viewers who do not question what they read.
I'm still of the opinion that our President is 5 or 6 steps ahead of the republicans.
ReplyDeleteHe is doing what he MUST do to get us out of the mess Bush made. However, I truly believe that he is setting the stage for a grand smack-down in the next two years.
I have not given up. In fact I'm even more impressed with him. I also agree that Olbermann, Maher and Maddow are doing him a disservice by not having his bk.
Just one more thought: Gryphen wrote, "After eight years of the George Bush White House, I wanted to see a pile of neo-con bodies piled up on my television screen (Metaphorically speaking of course.)"
ReplyDeleteAnd how exactly was Obama supposed to accomplish this. Yes, he had a majority in Congress, but he did not have the votes to pass anything he wanted. The Blue Dog Democrats prevented that.
Unlike the GOP, which has purged any "RINOs" from their party, the Democrats tent is still large. And I think that it a good thing.
You can add Ed Schultz as one who has been coming down hard on President Obama too, too often lately.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of the MSNBC prime time pundits giving the Fox crowd fuel to spark their own agenda to destroy this president.
If this is how the execs at MSNBC thinks they'll get higher ratings, they are sadly mistaken. CNN is looking better as a place to watch the political media circus.
Liberals are beginning to act like disappointed children who didn't get their dessert even though they ate most of their supper.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we are disappointed that many of our goals remain out of reach, and we are tired of waiting for our reward after working and believing for so long.
However, maybe it's time we realized that there is still work for us to do. We still have to clean our plates, clear the table, and do all the tedious chores it takes to put things in better order before we start demanding more.
We didn't turn out in the numbers we needed to in November. We let ourselves down. We didn't get McAdams voted in though we knew he was the best candidate. We allowed several nitwits to get into office like Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and others. We even enabled scum like McCain, DeMint (mind you, he had to competition really), and others to stay in office. What do you expect?
We turned over the House to the GOP and Tea Party, and didn't keep oust enough Republicans in the Senate to empower real change.
So, just who is to blame for what's going on? We all are - Independents, moderate Republicans, Democrats and our President.
If Obama has failed us, it is because we have failed him. How can we expect him to keep up the fire if we shirk our responsibilities? He needs us as much as we need him - but we as a group sat on our butts and let the scavengers take the day. I accept my failures to get involved enough - though I wrote, called, blogged, and voted, but so many others did so much less and are now are screaming at our President as he makes tough choices just to keep us from going under (again).
Buck up people. The fight wasn't won in 2008 and we got our noses bloodied in 2010, but we shouldn't start feeding on each other. We should be regrouping and fighting the good fights now until we can turn the tide back in our favor in 2012.
What Teutonic13 said. . .
ReplyDeleteI voted for Obama, and still support him. Keeping the tax cuts was hugely wrong for a variety of reason. For me, the main one being that it adds more dept. I am part of the "rich" that is benefiting from this, and I still think it was wrong. We are in a heap of trouble, and we need to realize that these tax cuts helped get us into the mess we are in. I worry about the middle class and poor. We all need to realize that things can't go on as before, if we want to keep our country strong. We all need to do our part.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to think -- perhaps the tax cuts should be allowed to expire. First the wars for oil -- that were never paid for. Back during World War II, the American people worked together, sacrificed together, found ways to save money, energy, and came together in so many ways for a common cause. Now the rich want more and more and more. Except for the very poor, the rest of us (and even those on fixed incomes) could find ways to live with higher taxes. Americans have done it before and some day, some way, ordinary Americans will have to do it again. Many wealthy Americans are certainly not going to contribute any more than they are forced to -- they continue to find ways to manipulate and gerrymander the results they want. Thankfully, there are those who would gladly pay higher taxes, but unfortunately, they seem to be in the minority.
ReplyDeleteGranted, there are those who work the system at the bottom of the pile -- but they seem to equal those at the top of the pile who make the system work for them. Those in the middle are the ones who pay.
I too had such high hopes in 2008.....
Like you, Gryphen, I don't think enough people know what Obama has accomplished. Probably Obama is not one to toot his own horn, so others need to get the word out to the general public. While I'm glad Obama is not thin-skinned like SP, I think there are some charges, especially about policy, that need to be answered. I can understand him not wanting to abandon millions of unemployed, but it needs to be emphasized over and over very loudly the games that the Repubs are playing. I really wish that Obama could find someone to add to his staff that can help him to legally play the Repubs games against them. I'm afraid he's going to have to put some of the bipartison stuff on the back burner and get a little more cold blooded for the sake of the non-rich.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have long enjoyed and admired Keith and Rachel, but we now routinely turn them off because they are not offering solutions right now.
ReplyDeleteThey've lifted up the tenor of discussion in the past, but are now simply relinquishing the opportunities they have to support the end goals of our President.
I understand their disappointments. I share them, but I also believe they are doing more harm than good.
Our President cannot create change by himself. He is the point man. He is our vision. We still have to do the work. The power for change resides in our hands, not his.
We elevated him into position so he could guide us, remind us of where we wanted to go, and maximize our energies and ambitions but we seem to expect him to do everything for us.
We should act like adults and assume the responsibility for making change happen. We have to give up some leisure time to dedicate to work for causes we believe in. We have to sacrifice some coffee, soft drink or chip money to donate to politicians or organizations we believe can move our agenda ahead.
We have to be the ones to call, to write, to show up at protests. We have to invest of ourselves first.
President Obama is not our Big Daddy. We are not helpless children. If we took the same time we invest in writing about or whining about our frustrations and actually got and did something about them, change would happen.
The movers and shakers of the earlier times didn't have the internet, didn't have 24/7 pundit outlets, didn't have FB and twits - they organized, showed up, walked, protested, made a Righteous Noise until the powers that were had to allow change because it was clear change was inevitable.
We are not not involved. We make ourselves feel involved through our keyboards and checkbooks, but most of us are not really doing the things that have always made change happen. Are we too weak, too scared, too lazy? I don't know why we aren't doing it - but I do know we have to stop whining and start doing and keep doing and stay active until we achieve our goals.
Even then, we'll have to stay alert against the nitwits, the ignorant and the greedy. No one said things were or should be easy. If we believe in something, we should be willing to work however long it takes to achieve it.
Did you listen to the president's press conference? I think he put it very clearly when he said he could stand and fight on principle when so many Americans were not in such precarious positions.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that having this president in office is better than McCain/Palin.
I am sure that this president has a strategy for how to get things done.
I am sure that this president is way smarter than me, so I will be very careful before I presume to think he is failing to see what I see. It is more likely that I am the one failing to see the reality.
I am sure that if health care was the only thing this president managed to get passed his presidency would be considered successful.
My thoughts are that I am furious with those on the left who would throw tantrums because we aren't getting everything we want NOW.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are that if the Dems implode like the GOP we are SCREWED.
My thoughts are that Barack Obama IS a warrior - and a brilliant one at that.
Look at who and what we are dealing with - sheer evil: greed, racism, status quo lethargy, corruption.
He fights on and shows all of us that one must employ wisdom and above all, patience.
Everyone who would criticize him when he is down - grow up, please.
(I am actually livid at this bs from Huffpo and the rest of the high and mighty progressives.)
And PS - I just read the thread and can see I am not alone - Thank God, and I mean that sincerely.
We cannot abandon President Obama in this struggle, which will be long, and will surely suffer setbacks. He invoked the true meaning of the North Star image yesterday to get people to remember they never gave up on the Civil Right's movement, and though not there yet, look how far we've come.
Quitters are weak. Our President is not. Didn't you see the fire in his eyes yesterday?
When I first learned of the compromise, I was livid. I even called both my senators to rant. This was because all I knew was that the Billionaires had gotten their Bailout and our national debt was going through the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteBut then I calmed down, I took the lime to learn the full extent of the compromise and I understand what the President is trying to do...
After so many years of what is called 'compassionate conservatism" it is refreshing to have a president that actully CARES about the people and is willing to take BIG risks and go for the long term not the immediate gain.
I am very proud of President Obama for putting 98% of the people above his own personal political gain.
I will vote for him again, if he is willing to tun.
Lawrence O'Donnell explained it best to disgruntled liberals. He has the chops, having helped write law as a senate aide. He was also a writer for Alan Sorkin on The West Wing. I believe that the dems in the senate have done little or nothing to help Obama's agenda for change and he has had to practically jump through hoops to get major, albeit watered-down versions of laws passed. Obama was right about the "Public Option" of the health care bill. Nancy Pelosi could have delivered the public option, but there was no way it would get through the senate - even though the dems had over 60 seats. I think that Obama has thrown down the gauntlet to the senate to "man up" and hopefully defeat this bill. And then come back with something he can sign. Why is it his fault that the senate can't come up with the 60 votes needed? All the strum and drang is coming from those whose seats are secure. The so-called "Blue Dog Democrats" should just quit now and join the Tea Party. They do not deserve to be called democrats.
ReplyDeleteObama has done so much, I hate to rag him, but
ReplyDeletehe caves on the big stuff. I was always really
frustrated with him during the election, he wasn't
fighting back against Palin/McCain/Goons, they
got so much press time with their slurs & claims, and
he'd say nothing. When he won, I figured maybe
he knew what he was doing, now I just continue
to think he knows what he is doing & it will all
work out somehow. I still see people driving around
with their "W" stickers, and I hope I don't become
that type--an ostrich with their head in the sand...
I too feel that President Obama is doing a fine job, given the crappy people he has to work with, on both sides! Expecting miracles? Then ask those Republican "Tax cuts for the rich create jobs" politicians WHERE ARE THE JOBS??? If there's a magic wand out there that Obama could find, perhaps they could ask to borrow it and make those rich people ACTUALLY trickle down that money and create a job for some of us? If not, then we are hypocrites for expecting the same of Obama. And yes, I used to enjoy watching MSNBC, but lately, it has been like listening to Fox, with a different script, but the tone is the same. Ed and Keith especially need to understand that not all of us wish to listen to angry rants anymore.
ReplyDeleteThis unemployed person thanks you, Mr. President.
ReplyDelete" he has never had the support of the whimpy ass Dems in Congress."
ReplyDeleteYup. One of my reps in DC is a Blue Dog--but he,
Lincoln Davis, was voted out, in favor of a man
who was accused of abusing his first wife.
What a relief to read these comments. Again, it's the crazy media who's leading the hyped up commentary against the President. Be them right or left.
ReplyDeleteSane, thinking, regular folks like us are not freaking out.
and this for the nitwit on twitter
ReplyDelete"HeyTammyBruce Hey liberals, so many of you are criticizing Obama these days. When did you all become racist? #justwondering"
I was a supporter and defender.
ReplyDeleteAnd I understand what he's doing.
But he's wrong.
He compromised when compromise was not called for.
He squandered his supermajority.
And Joe Lieberman should have been slapped upside the head and punished as a traitor. Instead Obama submitted to his extortion. Joe Lieberman is the last person who should be calling the shots over our President. And Obama let him.
He should have pushed for single payer and settled for public option.
He should have realized that there would be no bipartisan agreement with a brick wall. The Republicans came out and said their only purpose was to prevent Obama from doing anything, no matter what. Where was he? In the bathroom?
This is the last straw. It is wrong. Either send the bill you want that does NOT have the tax cuts for the rich or let them expire. And in both cases scream at the top of your lungs that it is the Republicans that hate the American People; Look what they did? They're only protecting their rich friends! Scream it loud, long and over and over.
Because that is exactly what the Republicans are going to do no matter which way this goes. They'll either say the Democrats are protecting the rich and are adding to the deficit if it passes or they'll say they are all about raising taxes if it expires. And either way, they'll say the Democrats can't get anything done or their elitists or whatever. They'll spin it their way. They always do.
The only way I'll vote for Obama again is if Sarah Palin is running against him.
If I had my way, I'd want to see a Franken/Grayson ticket in 2012. Because both of them have brains, they can see what's happening and neither will hold back. They'll say exactly what is happening, why and who is to blame.
Obama is too polite. We need someone who is willing to play hardball when that is what is called for.
If this goes through, you're going to see more Democratic seats lost in 2012. Because the progressives are royally pissed.
And I'm one of them.
I admit, I wasn't thrilled that the Bush tax cuts got extended. However, as he said yesterday, he's pragmatic. If it helps to get more accomplished in the long run, I'm for it.
ReplyDeleteAnd frankly, I'm glad he didn't play politics waiting game over the unemployment benefits. That would have been worse--to see families suffer during the holiday season, because the obstructionists were holding everything up.
Now, on to DADT repeal!
I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI think I could accept the bowing to the tax cuts for the rich is if he could have also included work on
ReplyDeleteDADT repeal
DREAM act
Nuk treaty
the outsourcing bill that failed recently
If all those passed (and preferably public option or Grayson's Medicare opt in bill -- then, and only then could I see how he could agree to something 67 percent of Americans don't want and cannot afford - tax cuts for the rich for another two years.
Jesus or Barabbas, Malcolm X or MLK. This is nothing new. People have always had to choose between the aggressive fighter and the advocate of peace and reconciliation. The people chose Barabbus to oppose the Romans. Many African-Americans thought MLK's passive resistance was foolish given the fact that his followers were shown no mercy in return. But who won in the end?
ReplyDeleteWhen the opposition is so unjust, it's understandable that people would want a leader who is willing to fight fire with fire. It will be interesting to see how people view Obama a few years from now after the dust settles. I have faith in the President and his judgment. He's playing long ball.
Let me resort to baseball metaphors.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama is potentially a Hall Of Fame slugger. When he swings for the fences, he usually hits it out of the park, like when he schooled the ENTIRE GOP HOUSE CAUCUS. He made them look like children.
However, since he’s made it to the majors, on most trips to the plate he’s been bested by inferior pitching. Hack hurlers like McConnell, Boehner, Cantor, and Pence - whose exploits will not be remembered but a few seasons from now - regularly strike out the president. He takes every pitch and just stands there. Why?
This president is capable of so much more. All he needs to do is swing. The pitches he’s been given are fat, slow, and lazy. He should be knocking most of them out of the park. I would rather see him strike out swinging than just stand there taking pitch after pitch without so much as twitching his bat.
I understand the strategy of OCCASIONALLY taking pitches without swinging. However, I don’t see the value of doing so for two full seasons. We hired a hitter. We expect hits. This is NOT going to happen without a president who is willing to go down swinging at the GOP pitching, not just willing to go down.
Mr. President, please swing for the fences.
OK, you guys convinced me. Yesterday, I was very angry at the rich getting more as usual. I am still concerned about whether we can afford all this, but I'll go along and continue to fight for the poor, hungry, tired, marginalized etc... Thanks guys.
ReplyDeleteWASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In his latest effort to find common ground with Republicans in Congress, President Barack Obama said today that he was willing to agree that he is a Muslim.
ReplyDeleteDifferences over his religious orientation have been a sore point between the President and his Republican foes for the past two years, but in agreeing that he is a Muslim Mr. Obama is sending a clear signal that he is trying to find consensus.
“The American people do not want to see us fighting in Washington,” Mr. Obama told reporters at the White House. “They want to see us working together to improve their lives, and Allah willing, we will.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Might as well.
What happens when he speaks with McConnell, does he preface every sentence with "please sir"?
The Democrats are worn out and deflated over this "McConnell may I?", form of governing.
The GOBP would not have risked an angry electorate over taxes and unemployment, just they would not have over the public option in the health care bill.
THAT is what Obama is not listening to.
In BOTH instances, public opinion is at approximately 70% in favor of the aforementioned.
When 70% of Americans support something AND you have a Democratic congress, senate and POTUS ............it is CRIMINAL for Obama to let himself be blackmailed by the GOBP.
So much for all the claims to the wonderful "intellect" Obama possesses...it certainly takes more than that to to be successful at anything.
ReplyDeleteThe TIMING of these tax extension will have 22 Democratic senate seats in jeopardy in 2012.
Obama's failure to communicate Democratic accomplishments and his failure to fight for the public option that 70% of Americans wanted, cost the democrats the congress this time.
Nancy Pelosi and the congressional Democrats did THEIR job and the Senate Democrats along with Obama got them fired.
Obama does NOT see what is on the horizon, let alone "the north star".
He hasn't listened to his crew, or his captain and has let his enemy chart his course.
All the "tacking" in the world, will avoid the calamity of facing yet another negotiation of expiration of tax cuts, right smack in the middle of a general election.
Obama has allowed McConnell plot his course, straight into the middle of a perfect storm.
I hope his "crew" will filibuster this obvious debacle, before they "set sail", because there IS no reversing course once this ship leaves the dock.
One more thing. Republicans have the power right now to hold the unemployed and middle class hostage (which they know Obama cares about even if "progressives" don't seem to) because DEMOCRATS did not show up to the polls. Is that Obama's fault? Why blame the Republicans who are crazy when the Democrats who should know better stayed home? Being demoralized is no excuse when we are the only ones holding back the rising tide of crazy. And Huffington Post and MSNBC are also to blame for providing the enemy an assist at every opportunity. If Obama is so weak and ineffectual, why are the Republicans so scared of him? Why do they want to repeal everything he's done the last few years?
ReplyDeleteProgressives are suckers! I'm on team Obama!
I guess what REALLY pisses me off is that you don't hear ONE freakin' thing about ANYTHING good our president has done or is doing. You never hear one good thing ever!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe news we get today is just like Entertainment Tonight. Nothing of substance & celebrity (hah) gossip. Every channel I watch says the EXACT same thing like someone sends them all out a bunch of bullet points.
That is why I get most of my news on the internet. You can actually find out if it is true or not in minutes. Too bad everyone who watches network news never researches anything on their own. They just get spoonfed a bunch of crap & lies. Why else would they think Fox news tells the truth?
I voted for Obama because I thought he could bring about a change from politics as usual. I still believe that. Do I think the tax cuts should have been extended? No. BUT if that compromise helps break the political logjam to get our government actually working for us again, then I'm OK with it. I have little patience for those members of Congress in either party who entrench themselves in their dogma and prevent anything from happening at the federal level.
ReplyDeleteIt remains to be seen if Pelosi can or will deliver.
I think the tax cut extension for upper brackets is stupid -- it increases the debt without creating jobs while the proposed small increase on the upper tax bracket wouldn't hurt anyone. I'm angry.
ReplyDeleteBut besides increasing the debt for 2 years, the compromise doesn't hurt the middle class or the poor. And it's freakin' December with the unemployed set to lose benefits and tax rates set to go up. We also want to pass DADT and the nuclear arms treaty.
I'm with Lawrence O'Donnell on this one and, frankly, my frustration with the progressives who see this solely as Pres. Obama's failure is almost as great as my frustration with the Republicans. Keep up the anti-Obama rhetoric and we'll have a Republican president in 2012, lose the Senate completely and be on our way to a more conservative Supreme Court.
Supposedly, 70% of the public support the President's plan and yet the Senate voted it down and also voted down Schumer's plan. It's going to be worse in January. We forget we don't live in a true democracy and the Senate is anything but. Lisa Murkowski represents 700,000 people but has as much impact on legislation as Barbara Boxer who represents over 30 million.
I saw a strong President addressing the press conference yesterday.
I think President Obama's press conference yesterday was his best ever. I agree with what he said and I loved how he put the blame on the party of no, just as he should have. Throw their crap behavior back in their face.
ReplyDeleteFor those who bitch and complain he's not doing enough, GROW UP! and get real. All they are doing is helping the republicans work their way back into power and the republicans are rubbing their hands with glee when they see the disappointment and complaining.
If I didn't know better I'd think Oberman and Maddow were paid operatives to destroy this president. It's easy to bitch and moan. It's hard work to get things done and it takes time.
The right is taking advantage of the progressive's impatience. Stop giving them ammo!
I still really like the guy I voted for and support his efforts.
It was hard to listen to Keith, he made some good points, so did Rachael. Chris OD was for the decision and also made some really good points. As always, we are only getting half of the information we need to understand this situation, and then half of that info, most of us don't understand anyway--same goes for the pundits. I truly admire what (gosh what is his name--Ira/Ezra?? from Washington Post, young kid very intelligent). He comments on Rachel and Chris' show all the time. Anyway, he always seems to hit the nail on the head. He does not like the decision either, but totally understands; after looking at the whole picture, that the Pres really did make the best decision. We don't like it but most of us really don't understand all that goes on behind the scenes. It takes far more courage to stand in this fire and embrace your enemies than to fight back. Pres O looks more like Jesus than most ministers/priests I have been exposed to--remember turn the other cheek, as much as we want a good republican ass kickin, this is truly the right thing to do. Most people will miss that point, listen to their inner middle, savage brain, and not vote him back into office. I actually considered last night they he may actually has come to the conclusion that there is nothing he will be able to do because the system is so broken and he wants out of office ASAP so that he could be more effective and making this decision will mostly certainly guarantee that. I am very sad for everyone. I am almost for a voting test because our country's ignorance is starting to really hurt and the numbers are growing. I sure wish they would at least raise the income level to collect taxes at 1million. I think that is a really good idea, but not much talk and there is likely a good reason that I probably don't understand. It seems so obvious that the dems always try to do the right thing, but have a bunch of playground bullies to work with who care less about anybody but themselves. Drives me nuts.
ReplyDeleteObama has made it clear he's doing his best to protect those who are really struggling, the unemployed and middle class and poor, and he doesn't care who doesn't like it. Their need is desperate and he's fighting for them. The only way he could get this past obstructionist GOP was give in on some points. The same benefits to unemployed and middle class will continue the economic recovery, and that's where the man's played poker with the GOP, bluffed and won what he most wanted.
ReplyDeleteThis from Andrew Sullivan today:
ReplyDelete"Suddenly, this president is a deal-maker with Republicans. His ability to deal with conservatives was long a feather in his cap. Finally, he has the chance to prove it - and disprove the conspiracy theories, and crazy fabrications on the responsibility-free right. Win-win-win - if only the Dems could see it."
Mluapia said: "If this goes through, you're going to see more Democratic seats lost in 2012. Because the progressives are royally pissed.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm one of them."
Good grief Mluapia, what good is that going to do? Unless these Dems are replaced with progressive Dems what good will come of more repubs getting in office?
That's not going to bring the change you want! It's only going to make things worse!
I read in several places that 1/2 of Democrats feel very angry and disappointed (like you?) and 1/2 do not feel that way. This second half are disappointed and dont agree but they are more pragmatic about it and feel Obama prevented the disaster of no unemployment benefits and a tax increase for all.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the second group. What if Obama had said NO deal meaning no extension for the rich. The GOP would have been happy to have a middle class tax hike and no unemployment because the economy would tank and people would be furious with Obama. And it would effect him negatively politically.
I'm disappointed in the president but I'm furious with the GOP!! They are liars, assholes and work only for the very rich. And I feel the left is better off loudly berating them instead of Obama!!!!!! We need to let America know loudly what liars and jerks the GOP are! They would rather give tax credits to the very rich then help the middle class and unemployed???? And they are increasing the deficit by 700 billion!!
Why aren't tea party people mad at the GOP?? They are for increasing the deficit to help the rich but don't want to help the unemployed or middle class?? That is bullshit.
It's also a lie, a complete lie that the top 2 % are small business people and create jobs!
I tweeted yesterday: Fuck the GOP and a few other choice words! I'm furious with them for the disgusting way they treat the president, kiss ass to wall street and the rich and they LIE LIE LIE to Americans.
That's my feeling!!
What I'm tired of is people complaining about how Barack Obama has broken campaign promises, as if he is the first president to do that. All presidents break campaign promises. My other problem is some people act like he has not kept any important campaign promises, which he has. And it gives the idiot low information voter the impression that he hasn't accomplished anything, and that he's a really, really, bad guy. But the main thing that bothers me is people who get mad at him for breaking campaign promises he never made. There are people calling him liar, and a fraud, because he has not tried to legalize weed. I don't remember Barack Obama promising to legalize weed.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind when people try to give Barack Obama constructive criticism. But, I don't like it when some so-called progressives (like Jane Hamsher) repeat right-wing talking points in order to bring down the president, and pretend that they are trying to help him. I also don't like it when progressives give the G.O.P. their talking points.
I also resent when people like
Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz, and Rachel Maddow complain when the democrats lose the midterm elections, because those three have also done their part in helping to depress the democratic base. They bash democratic accomplishments, then complain that no one is aware of these accomplishments. It's hard to see things as an accomplishnment when you hear both sides bashing these accomplishments.
I remember in 2009, during the fight over the public option, when Rachel Maddow warned a democratic lawmaker on her show, that if there was no public option in the healthcare bill, progressives would not vote in the next election. (And, sure enough, they didn't.) Then in 2010, like the day before the midterm elections, or whatever, Rachel Maddow decides to list the democrats' numerous accomplishments, in order to encourage progressives to vote, after almost two years of telling them it wasn't worth it.
Barack Obama actually hasn't changed. Other than the fact that he is now openly taking jabs at the Left. (He may be frustrated, but that is not a smart move. I am a Lefty, but am not personally offended.) I knew Barack Obama was not a tough guy, from the beginning. The signs were there. I remember when he was running for president, when he was the victim of a terrible smear campaign when progressives were telling him to "fight back." I remember he was being called, "aloof" and a "wimp" back then, too. But people started to just assume that Barack Obama's wimpy-ness, and him being passive was just an ingenious campaign strategy to make his opponents look bad. Especially, when $arah Palin came along. Barack Obama had a lot of powerful campaign rhetoric, and gave nice speeches, but if you actually paid attention to his actions, and his behavior back then, some people might not be so surprised at his behavior, now. Candidate Obama did not take stands on certain issues, or draw lines in the sand, either. Candidate Obama also avoided fights.
"No drama Obama" worked while campaigning for president, but it's not exactly a good governing strategy. Because drama comes with the job. Barack Obama comes off as a "corporatist" or "weak," or as someone who just doesn't care. Those are all possible. But, I think part of it is he just likes to try to get stuff done, and try to get whatever he can get, without getting into a fight. But, sometimes a president needs to fight, even if he/she may not want to. A president can still fight for something, and still lose. It seems Barack Obama doesn't think it's worth fighting for something that he doesn't think he can win.
But, I have also come to the conclusion in recent days, that Barack Obama may also be suffering from a severe case of "Uncle Tom Syndrome." Which is different from being an "Uncle Tom," which he is not. I say this as a staunch Obama supporter.
6:31a.m.,
ReplyDelete"We now live in the Corporate States of America and the Rich who plunder it."
Um, it's been this way long before anyone ever heard of Barack Obama.
Bravo to omomma and teutonic13....I am standing up and giving you two ovations!! Wonderful comments and you both have said exactly how I feel, thank you both for expressing my thoughts much more eloquently than I could have ever done.
ReplyDeleteOur President is doing a job that NO ONE could do with all the obstacles placed in his path. Tough titty for those who thinks otherwise.
I'm glad you brought this topic up. As a progressive democrat somewhere to the left of Che Guevera, I have been disappointed in Barack's governing style and the way that legislation has developed (or not) with his leadership. Strategically, I believe you have to swing for the fences with the biggest, boldest plan you can conceive, then you have a lot of wiggle room to negotiate. Barack seems to give away too much before he gets to the table. The compromises start center right and leave us too far right after the negotiation with Republicans. And they sucker him. Health care reform is a good example. Sure it passed. Progressives. Conservatives. Moderates. Everybody hates it. As it stands, it does some good things but glacially and expensively. Overall, it forces people to buy inadequate insurance products, which simply funnels money to insurance companies the same way Medicare Part D funnels money to pharmaceutical companies. Barack's idea is "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." He figures if he gets it done, it will get fine tuned downstream. My fear of course is by whom? To what end? There can't be improvement to social welfare with a congress filled with republican half wits voted in by right wing extremists. So we differ on style if not substance. That said, Democrats cannot abandon Barack. Who would have been better? Hillary? John McCain? So we have to stand by our man in the strongest way and keep pulling from the left to shape legislation and regulation that actually balances social welfare with fiscal responsibility. And we know Republicans will never do that. I don't agree with everything he does. He's still the one.
ReplyDeletePlease escort that Martha thing out of the room.
ReplyDeleteThank You! FINALLY a voice of reason in the media...Totally agree with you and hope other Progressives chill out and think about what you posted.
ReplyDeleteI must say that I am now thoroughly disillusioned with President Obama. The things he has accomplished don't seem to be making much difference to the people who are out of jobs and out of homes. So he signed a piece of legislation to help make pay scales fair. So what? That doesn't help the families who can't find jobs. The thing that has killed my support for him was that (like a fool) I expected him to actually CHANGE things and they've just stayed the same. He reauthorized the Patriot Act, he hasn't brought many (if ANY) troops home, and like Mr. Olbermann said he has negotiated DOWN instead of holding firm on principle. If he actually got things that helped during his compromises then that would be all fine and dandy, but he doesn't. I understand that you have to give a little to get a little in politics, but for those of us who expected that he was going to keep at least a FEW campaign promises it has worn dreadfully thin.
ReplyDeleteOk, everyone. Scream/harp/pick/whatever. I know that some people are incredibly invested emotionally. I was once in the same place. I won't get mad if you choose to pick apart or yell at me for my statement of personal opinion.
I'm so incredibly saddened by how he has caved. While I agree that we should not allowed the unemployed to become hostages of the politics, it should have have come to this and, once again, the Demoratic Party didn't stand up and fight-they have had two years. Disappointed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. Disillusioned. I feel like I have nowhere to turn as the Democratic Party doesn't seem to stand up for its beliefs and the Republican Party has skewed so far to the batsh*t crazy right.
ReplyDeleteI'm not mad at you, because I was angry about the tax deal at first, and then thought realistically about this situation. 13 more months of unemployment is huge, and desperately needed. Also, a 5% tax hike for the lowest earning Americans would be a disaster for this country. It would literally destroy lower middle class Americans.
ReplyDeleteI wish people would STOP all the posturing with our President. The same idiots (You are NOT included in this Gryphen!) that were silent as Bush destroyed our country with a wink and a smile are now criticizing and overanalyzing every single move President Obama makes. Constantly.
To them, I say thanks for giving us President Palin or Gingrich. Seriously.
Think back to the 8 years of Bushco...what did the Dems do to fight back about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Few raised a peep and those that did were labeled unpatriotic. There was no draft and just the rape of the National Guard of men, equipment and screw the states if there was a national disaster...hello Katrina. I believe we will never know just how many people died in their attics.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the rest of you but I always thought the Dems were just waiting for their chance to strike out at Bush. Did you hear anything?
Here we are with President Obama still wishing and hoping. I for one say let the tax cuts expire.
What the hell will the GOP do then?
Hand them the crying towel and watch them compromise.......
As for the unemployment compensation...let's reach out to our neighbors and help. 99 wks is a damn long stretch since most of us only had 16 wks a few years back.
To "RG" at 6:34AM who says they wish Hillary was President...
ReplyDeleteI rank Hillarybots right alongside Palinbots for credibility. Go sit in a corner and let grownups handle this.
So many things to say.
ReplyDeleteThirteen months of unemployment for people who really need it and 2 years of 6 and 7 figure gimmies to the uber rich and their children's inheritance tax.
So what will Obama bargain away in 13 months when unemployment comes up again?
Then 7 months later what will he give away to try to get the O'Bush Tax Aide to the Rich repealed or allowed to lapse? when all he has to do was nothing to earn 700B over the next 10 years. And he wouldn't have had to give away grand maws walker to get it.
He says he will fight the O'Bush Tax Aide to the Rich in 2012, but that's what he said he would do in 2010 just a couple of weeks ago.
Notice that the 2% "payroll" deduction decrease, we peons get is not a 2% income tax decrease?
It's from Social Security. When it really needs to be upped a couple of % to make sure SS survives 30 years on, he is actively helping to insure that SS craters in 20 or 30 years, just like the Republicans want it to.
Mem
ReplyDeleteBy the way I don't like the BS of the progressives and they can kiss my A**! Those in the progressive party who are out to destroy Obama are NO different then the tea thugs!
Except of course that we voted for him and without any demographic that did vote for him he probably would have lost.
And since we did vote for him, and work for his campaign, and give him money and are Americans citizens we do have the right to expect him to stand firm on the things he says he believes in.
I think President Obama is outstanding. I also think we need to continue to support him and continue to tell him what we want.
ReplyDeleteI do believe he is a master strategist and he is making very shrewd moves that the dildoheads on the right will fail to comprehend until it is too late and President Obama has won. Won for all of us.
He really is the best person for the job and we are very fortunate and blessed. It is in our very best interest to continue to support him.
Anon 10:19- I agree with you totally about taking from social security!!!! Take it from the Pentagon!!
ReplyDeleteOne thing though. There is more to the agreement then what you are saying. The payroll tax deduction should be a stimulus and there are a few other things.
Listen I live on social security disability and I'm petrified they might actually cut our checks. If that happened I would have no money for medical. Even with stupid Medicare D, my out of pocket for medicine is around 500/month.
The D plan is ridiculous but good for big pharma. It's cheaper to get meds at Costco.
So are the Republicans going to take away income from me, make me feel lime dirt and a parasite for being unable to work and give my cut to the rich or towards the deficit?
I live in fear daily and trust me, I'd prefer my previous six figure income. Disability can happen to anyo e and many don't have family to help them. Republican/tea party solution....throw them on the streets. Hey Ronald Reagan threw thousands of mentally Ill on the streets when he closed hundreds of state mental hospitals across the country! What a hero!
Republicans/tea party care only about their pocketbooks, the very rich and corporations. Screw everyone else and God forbid you need help from the government. You are a lazy faker parasite then according to them.
This is NOT the America I want to live in.
Write congress.
May as well put my two cents in. Yes, yes,yes...I am extremely disappointed in the Prez. bi-partisan politics was a no go from the get go. I realize that this strategy may work, but on the other hand it probably won't. I can't bare to look at those GOP gloating fuckers anymore. It feels like a constant shaft, but I don't necessarily think the constant whining on MSNBC is helpful either. My partner has his master's in Political Science & reads Poly Science books all the time. He thinks Obama is making big, big mistakes & is throughly pissed at him.
ReplyDeleteDo we not elect Presidents to four-year terms? Even before the usual 100-day review, talking heads were applauding or jeering President Obama on his performance. Now at the half-way mark of his term, many pundits are writing him off as a failed president.
ReplyDeleteLet's see what he accomplishes between now and Election Day in 2012. It's only fair.
Schultz, Olbermann, and Maddow are lockstep walking fucked up liberals. I will not be watching their whiney assed bullshit programs any longer. And you Gryphen, if you walk in lockstep with that trash then you are a huge disappointment to me. I thought you had more balls than that.
ReplyDeleteI was so pleased to read so many even handed comments here. I also am still behind Obama, even though I haven't agreed with ALL of his decisions, I do with most or can live with what I don't.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who voted for Obama and didn't know he was a pragmatic centrist going in. . .didn't do their homework.
These are tough times. And I still believe that he will stand tough, but that right now it is not the time to do it. He has thrown the GOP and the Tea Party a bone. Let's hope that's the last one for awhile.
In protecting the rich, he at least made sure that those who are unemployed will get coverage for awhile. That to me is more important, person to person, than some richnik getting away with murder for two more years.
At some point the GOP will have to own up to their role in INCREASING the deficit with these latest moves. I expect that to be 2012.
MicMac
I must say, I’m a little nonplused at having copious F-bombs hurled in my direction simply because I don’t give President Obama unqualified fawning, obsequious support. If you hadn’t noticed, the Democratic Party has ALWAYS been diverse. Remember Will Rogers’ dictum? During JFK’s political career, the Democratic Party was home to both Eastern elitist liberals like Kennedy and race baiting segregationists like Strom Thurmond, George Wallace, Orval Faubus, and Lester Maddox. I don’t recall them ever all hugging and singing “Kumbaya” but you seem to feel that we should? Furthermore, you seem to feel that a few F-bombs will prompt that kind of unity?
ReplyDeleteMy support for President Obama - or any politician or political party - is based upon results, period. In direct proportion to the extent that the results aren’t forthcoming, my support diminishes. You argue that Obama has done much. I say that is true ONLY in comparison with the swaggering buffoon he replaced. Given the historic mandate he came into office with, I think his record is decidedly meagre.
It is inconceivable that FDR, JFK, LBJ, Clinton, or even Reagan would have been so parsimonious with such political capital had they been similarly situated politically. Indeed, all of them accomplished greater political feats with smaller majorities or even without control of one or both houses of Congress. Yet, you maintain “we simply had to settle for less because of the Blue Dogs” or “we didn’t have a solid majority” or “it was all uphill, both ways” or “the sun was in my eyes.” We don’t know how an aggressive President Obama would have fared against the feckless GOP leadership, because we have NEVER SEEN such strength from the president.
In both the healthcare debate and the recent tax cut discussions, the president’s first move was to essentially cede to all of the GOP demands BEFORE any negotiating took place. As someone has already pointed out, he had popular support in the 70% range on each of these issues. If he can’t push back more aggressively against the GOP with control of the House, the Senate, AND the support of 70% of Americans, what more does he require?
I’m not willing to start looking for a new candidate, yet, but my support is NOT unqualified. It is premised upon results and so far I am not impressed.
Bitch all you want about liberals, but throughout our nation’s history, it has CONSISTENTLY been the LIBERAL position that has been adopted when we have confronted our greatest social crises. What came to be the ultimate solutions for the issues of slavery, full citizenship for African Americans, the vote for women, labor laws, Social Security, Medicare, and Civil Rights were ALL first viewed as hopelessly liberal leftist pie-in-the-sky nonsense. Yet, liberalism prevailed in every single instance. None of those debates were solved by middle-of-the-road, half-a-loaf thinking. None of them. Name the greatest accomplishments by Democratic presidents and I’ll bet they were never seen as conciliatory or centrist.
Consensus is all well and good for routine business, but we have lived through an era of GOP bullying that has been anything but routine. The response to this blind GOP partisanship should not be fealty, but unyielding, principled, firm opposition which is articulated clearly and forcefully.
If you want lockstep conformity from your fellow party members, join the GOP. That is THEIR game, not ours. That is the kind of crap I expect from the teabaggers and Palin sycophants, not from people with brains. Grow up. The Democratic Party has always been diverse.
For my less than full throated support for President Obama, you say “FUCK YOU.”
I say, “right back at ya.”
I'm at a loss for words. I understand why President Obama made the decision that he did. But did he have to make it so QUICKLY? Where's the passion and fire for the middle class that he had on the campaign trail?
ReplyDeleteIt's like he gave up before he even started fighting. I really don't like that. At the same time, I think we'd probably end up in the same place.
Now that the deficit will surely be larger in 2012 than it is now, there's not a doubt in my mind that the President - not the R's who REFUSED to bend on tax cuts for gazillionaires - will be blamed. I just hope the President is prepared for that.
I'll never vote for a Republican, but if things don't start turning around, I'll be staying home in 2012.
...taxes would have gone up for everybody.
ReplyDeleteInstead they only go up for those making less than $20,000/yr and families earning less than $40,000/yr.
I'm very disappointed that
- we still torture
- we still detain indefinitely
- we still deny due process
- we still don't allow gays to serve openly
- our president can declare anyone as a terrorist and have them on a hitlist (and you can't defend yourself in court because it'll divulge state secrets).
- we've not closed Guantanamo.
- our credit cards can be warrantlessly tracked
- our phones can be tapped and emails can be legally intercepted without warrants
- we can still have NSL letters served with gag orders.
This is not change I can believe in. This is all too damned Bush-like. :(
Federal politics has always been about horse-trading. Why are people choosing to whine about that NOW?
ReplyDeleteFFS he's a President, not the messiah.
First off, a lot of excellent and thoughtful comments here, both sides. I wish axelrod would read this blog.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that disappoints me is Pres Obama repeating that the "typical" family would see a $3000 tax increase if the cuts weren't extended. That's just not true, unless you consider someone who makes $250k typical. People under $75k would see very little increase. I think the cuts should have been allowed to expire for all, if the rethugs blocked extending them for the middle class -- and, I would define the middle class as under $100k, not $250k. This contined deficit is going to sink this country.
Unlike the right, we expect people on the left to get critical when they aren't happy with something. That is one of the virtues with the Left as opposed to the With me or Against me attitude that Bush brought into office. I'm still behind Obama, but I have found his methods frustrating and I think Olbermann said some very significant things that need to be said...because MSNBC is not Faux News and can speak truth to power.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama runs again, I will vote for him again, because I do believe that he does mean well and is doing the best he can, although some of us find it all frustrating.
M from MD (just 5 minutes from DC)
O/T
ReplyDelete"GOP blocks $250 to Social Security recipients"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-pn-social-security-20101209,0,361106.story
Aren't they adorable?
I think I admire President Obama more today than on the day I voted for him in November 2008. I watched in admiration yesterday as he stood up for the compromise that was negotiated. He was willing to take the hits fom both sides. But he made it very clear that he didn't stand for a side, that he was the President for ALL citizens of the United States.
ReplyDeleteThe anger from the Democrats over agreeing to a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy rings hollow to me. Why did they stall this tax package until the end of the year? They were afraid to tackle it before the mid-term elections when it would have been a defining issue that, in my mind, might have saved a few House seats. So it is 4 weeks before the tax cuts are set to expire and that GOP is adamant in their demands. They have proven time after time in the past 2 years that they can and would remain united. So he directed VP Biden to work out a deal that would benefit middle class Americans as much as possible.
Ditto to GinaM, omomma, teutonic13 and many others too numerous to name.
ReplyDeleteBut GinaM, you had me gagging with laughter at this "Our President is doing a job that NO ONE could do with all the obstacles placed in his path. Tough titty for those who thinks otherwise."
I haven't heard "tough titty" in a long time or at a more appropriate time.
I would just add one more thing to your comment in parenthesis above "and doing it all while black."
And may I just add...
Fuck K. Olbermann and the horse he rode in on. The guy doesn't even vote for crying out loud.
Oh and I didn't watch the clip nor have I watched his show for a couple of weeks and will not again. And I stopped watching Maddow a long time ago when I grew tired of her concern monkey type of "journalism".
I haven't watched Ed Shultz since the very beginning when I noticed how he rudely interrupts almost everyone he has on the show except the Repugs. He's a former Repug and it's apparent that he hasn't changed his stripes. I don't think he voted in the recent election, at least he was threatening not to.
MSNBC - the liberal channel... Bwahahahaha
You said it best, when you said it all.
ReplyDelete“...George Bush’s economic policies still offend my conscience and they still offend yours.”
ReplyDeleteThose words were spoken by then candidate Barack Obama in 2008. He was contrasting himself with McCain, who previously had opposed the Bush tax cuts for the überwealthy but then changed his stance when he was running for president.
Now, it is President Obama who has changed his tune regarding these cuts. If they “offended [his] conscience” in 2008, why don’t they offend his conscience now? If that was the opinion he held in 2008, what has changed to render these tax cuts no longer offensive to his conscience? I understand the need for compromise, but why is he is so quick to compromise with the GOP on matters of conscience when he won’t even consider the wishes of his own party and the vast majority of American citizens? Such a swift compromise on an issue that he himself termed a matter of conscience requires MUCH more explanation than he has provided.
Words matter. The promises made by candidate Obama are a matter of record and they cannot and will not be ignored, at least by us liberals. THIS is why liberals are upset with the president. It’s time he started fulfilling his promises, or at least explain to us why we should not expect him to be a man of his word.
The Republicans and the President really put it to the civil servants.For the first time in decades the Federal pay is higher than similar private industry jobs. Feds have been paid 10-30% below their civilian counterparts in violation of pay comparability laws. Freezing hundreds of thousands of civil servants' pay will save $28 billion over the next five years. The tax cuts for the rich will cost $61 billion next year alone. Obama lost a huge block of votes with the pay freeze and pension manipulations for civil servants. This attack on civil servants is the worst any president ever enacted. What's worse, he is giving the soldiers chump change so the wealthy can get their tax cuts.
ReplyDelete