Friday, April 08, 2016

Leave it to President Obama to be the voice of reason this campaign season.

Courtesy of The Hill:

President Obama on Thursday warned Democrats against adopting a “Tea Party mentality” that could lead to deep divisions within the party and harm its chances of winning national elections. 

Following the rise of the Tea Party and Donald Trump, Obama said infighting within the Republican Party is much worse than it is on the Democratic side. 

But he urged his party’s voters to be mindful of that danger in the midst of a heated primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. 

“The thing Democrats have to guard against is going in the direction that the Republicans are much further along on, and that is this sense 'we are just going to get our way, and if we don’t, then we’ll cannibalize our own, kick them out and try again,' ” he said at a town-hall meeting with law students in Chicago. 

In that scenario, Democrats could “stake out positions so extreme, they alienate the broad public,” Obama added. “I don’t see that being where the Democrats go, but it’s always something we have to pay attention to.” 

And there you have it that is EXACTLY what we are seeing taking place on the Democratic side of the fence right now. 

There are those who want to elect a President who aggressively pursues policies that have little chance of receiving support even from Democratic lawmakers, and who is unyielding in their principles to the point where compromise becomes impossible.

THAT is who the Teabaggers sent to Washington back in 2010, and that has a lot to do with the problems that we see today.

Having strong ideals is always good, but being ideologically entrenched is antithetical to getting anything of substance accomplished.

President Obama learned to navigate the choppy waters of DC politics the hard way, and now we need somebody who already knows what lies ahead and has a plan to move us forward from the amazing progress that he has already achieved.

75 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:15 PM

    The latest Krugman piece in the NYT has me moving from Bernie to Hill.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous1:50 PM


      Ordinarily I wouldn’t pick on a particular columnist but I respect Paul Krugman. Also, his perch at the New York Times gives him broad influence – especially just two and a half weeks before the important New York State primary. But his piece today (which I’ve attached) is shot through with errors.

      https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/1193897777289483

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:27 PM

      Good for you 1:15, give up all independent thought. Just do what a paid columnist shill tells you to do.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous2:37 PM

      Gryphen, what does your daughter say about all this?
      I hope you are still talking?!?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous2:41 PM

      His hitpiece on Sanders is a recycle of his 2008 hit piece on Obama.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous2:42 PM

      Krugman is wrong.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous3:05 PM

      I love how people think we aren't capable of reading and coming to conclusion on our own. It has to be because we don't have ibdependent thought.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous3:16 PM

      Anonymous3:05 PM
      I know! That is how Teabags work! Notice how the link is missing to the Krugman piece?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous4:21 PM

      I was referring to the comment by 2:27.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous6:38 PM

      I find it funny, whenever Sanders supporters see a piece critical of Clinton it's the gospel truth, whenver they see something critical of Sanders it's a "hitpiece".

      Delete
    10. Anonymous7:46 PM

      http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/opinion/sanders-over-the-edge.html - link to Krugman's 4/8/16 column on Bernie - "Sanders Over the Edge"

      Delete
  2. Boscoe1:20 PM

    Bullshit. By and large, unlike teapeople, Sanders supporters are largely young people who have never voted before, and likely wouldn't have voted otherwise. But, they are supporting the vision of America they want and there is honor in that.

    I'm okay with Hillary, but she's not going to change things much. She's already given up the fight for a real healthcare system, we'll maybe get some patches and bandaids on Obamacare, continue to be sold out to the insurance industry.

    Crushing student debt will likely be ignored and I seriously doubt she's interested in breaking up the banks or making the 1% pay their share.

    I think it's feeble and disingenuous to smugly talk about "positions so extreme" that will "never be enacted". What's the alternative then? Status quo? If we showed the political establishment that we will vote for "extreme positions" in huge numbers, you know full well the political whores will fall in line to get their share of our votes or risk being replaced.

    You'll never get to the end of the path if you never start down it.

    But understand that my thinking is you START from the extreme position and work towards the middle. NOBODY who has a clue starts from "let's keep things the way they are" and then negotiates TOWARD the "extreme position".

    Obviously, if Sanders got elected and then refused to compromise, then he'd be unbelievably shitty at his job. But somehow I don't get the impression that he's that stupid.

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    1. Anonymous2:06 PM

      Do all his young supporters want him to compromise?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:08 PM

      You say you're ok with Clinton and give a reasonable reason why you support Sanders over her.

      But I've seen comment after comment across many different blogs that she is a monster, evil, a republican, worse than a republican, etc.. That's the kind of thing that is hard for someone to come back from if she gets the nomination.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous2:17 PM

      You really believe this?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous3:26 PM


      What you don't know about Hillary pt 1
      http://bit.ly/1VbKvUx

      Delete
    5. A Superfan In Atlanta3:52 PM

      You beat me to the punch Boscoe!

      Replacing and dismissing my views and desires for change (i.e. ideologically entrenched, antithetical) with a solution to send someone to navigate the choppy waters they helped create?!

      Hmmm....I'm going with the hope and change guy again.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous4:48 PM

      Well said, Boscoe!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous6:02 PM

      Excellent post Boscoe!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous6:40 PM

      A Superfan In Atlanta3:52 PM

      Sanders is NO Obama. He has neither the intellect, disposition, energy or charm of Obama.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous7:48 PM

      6:40 - OMG, Sanders' constant criticism of Obama makes Sanders nothing like our great current president.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous1:25 PM

    Obama Just Won A HUGE Multi-Billion Dollar Fight Against Big Pharma (VIDEO)

    While Republicans and some others insist that President Obama is a lame duck and in the twilight of his presidency, he is still showing that his office exercises considerable muscle and power in order to work on the behalf of taxpayers.

    This time it was a victory against the big pockets of Big Pharma, who were attempting a corporate maneuver that would allow them to skip out on a big part of the tax bill they owe America.

    Pfizer has announced that its planned merger with Allergan will no longer go through. As CNBC reporter David Faber noted in a tweet, “Changes in inversion regs dealt deal death blow.”

    http://www.addictinginfo.org/2016/04/05/obama-just-won-a-huge-multi-billion-dollar-fight-against-big-pharma-video/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:36 PM

    https://theobamadiary.com/2016/04/08/early-bird-chat-718/

    https://theobamadiary.com/2016/04/07/the-president-and-first-ladys-day-31/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:42 PM

    Joe Medicine Crow, a war chief, historian and the last link to the Battle of Little Big Horn, dies at 102

    ...Medicine Crow used his platform to speak for his people. In 2008, when then-Sen. Barack Obama was making a campaign stop at a veterans’ center in Billings, Mont., Medicine Crow confronted the candidate.

    “When you get to the White House,” he said, according to the Cody, Wyo., Enterprise, “remember we Indian people since 1492 have been at the bottom of the ladder in America. We want you to bring us up to level … recognize us as first-class citizens.”

    The next year, President Obama would award Medicine Crow the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

    During the ceremony, Obama said that Medicine Crow was “a good man, a ‘bacheitche‘ in Crow,” according to the AP.

    “[His] life reflects not only the warrior spirit of the Crow people,” he continued, “but America’s highest ideals.”

    “The first of his people to go to college and earn a Master’s, he wore war paint beneath his uniform and an eagle feather beneath his helmet during World War II,” the president’s statement continued. “His bravery in battle earned him the Bronze Star from America, the Legion d’honneur from France, and in 2009, I was proud to honor him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Yet I suspect his greatest honor was one he earned from his people: the title of war chief – the last Crow to hold that distinction.

    “Dr. Medicine Crow dedicated much of his life to sharing the stories of his culture and his people. And in doing so, he helped shape a fuller history of America for us all. Michelle and I honor 102 years of a life well lived, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the entire Crow Nation.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/04/04/joe-medicine-crow-a-war-chief-historian-and-the-last-link-to-the-battle-of-little-big-horn-dies-at-102

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    1. Anonymous2:35 PM

      Beautifully said by President Obama.

      I just wish we had been a people that treated our First People much better. They do not deserve living on the poor reservations that we (our government) put them in! We should be ashamed of ourselves! I know I am!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:41 PM

      White people all over the world feel guilty about the way their Native populations are treated. White governments all over the world never seem to achieve much in the way of positive change. Nobody wants to give them the money from the resources of their stolen lands, that's the problem in most places.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous1:48 PM

    Thank you President Obama and G for reporting over the years. On the left. Hillary is woman, deserving, accomplished, qualified and connected. Bernie is accomplished, qualified, deserving and Jewish. Both will represent the left well. But what do we want in the next 4yrs? Change from hate and bullies and Change on the right. Today On the right? Well? scary! I have tried to listen and understand the R's view points. And nada zero zip.

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  7. Anonymous1:58 PM

    President Obama is clearly in good spirits thanks to his surging approval ratings and perhaps just a dash of relief at finally getting some rest after his term ends. At a big L.A. fundraiser meant to give a boost to Democratic candidates this year, Obama couldn’t help but make a few jokes at the Republican Party’s nightmare primary situation. And like any good joke, it was funny because there was some truth to it.

    During the night, Obama acknowledged that there are a bunch of very serious reasons to be terrified of what a Trump presidency might look like. For women, minorities, those in poverty, or Muslims, four years of Trump are not an option. He noted that one voter met him recently and nervously asked:

    “Tell me that Mr. Trump is not succeeding you!”

    But before Americans despair, there is one silver lining. As Obama told the crowd , the one thing we can thank Trump and Ted Cruz for is making the stakes of this election absolutely clear . They aren’t hiding behind innuendo any more. The GOP’s hostility towards progress is on full display.

    “Mr. Trump has actually done a service as Mr. Cruz is doing a service and that is laying bare, unvarnished some of the nonsense that we have been dealing with in Congress on a daily basis. People act as if these folks are outliers but they are not! We should thank Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz for just being honest that this is how we’re thinking these days, or not thinking these days.”

    Obama nailed it.

    http://www.addictinginfo.org/2016/04/08/president-obama-gets-his-troll-game-on-by-thanking-trump-and-cruz-for-this-hilarious-reason/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:01 PM

    Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat and is causing all the problems and divide. He makes me sick to my stomach!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:28 PM

      Lol. Are you sure YOU are a democrat?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:06 PM

      Are YOU, 2:28? lol

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:50 PM

      Lololololol - whatevs

      Delete
  9. Anonymous2:41 PM

    We are capable of great things when we make big changes. We didn't baby step our way out of the great depression, we went BIG. We had to make huge sacrifices during WWII with our lifestyles to support the war effort - with great success. The economy boom after the war because of BIG ideas to pay for our veterans' education and took people from poverty to becoming drs and lawyers. During the industrial age, we thought BIG and develop new ideas. Nothing good ever came out of dropping the anchor and trying to hold on to the last administration's accomplishments. There is no reason why Americans can't do what almost every other country has been doing, unless we have become complacent to our Masters' and think we shouldn't rock the boat because we have it good enough and don't want to lose the privilege that we have by making the master angry with us.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous6:49 PM

      "unless we have become complacent to our Masters' and think we shouldn't rock the boat because we have it good enough and don't want to lose the privilege that we have by making the master angry with us."

      How arrogant, condescending and myopic can you be? You think that we are afraid of our "masters", afraid of change and afraid to rock the boat? Maybe some of us know that true progress comes by building on past accomplishments and not blowing things and starting over. People like you make me so angry. I work very hard to embrace change and advance progressive causes. I supported and voted for Obama twice. But I judge candidates based on HOW they say they will accomplish things. Obama had very definite plans on how he wanted to accomplish is plans. Clinton has said how she will accomplish her plans. Sanders is just blowing smoke up my ass. He has as absolutely no idea on how to accomplish what he says he wants to to do. That much was evident in the DN interview.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:28 PM

      6:49

      Obama always said that change comes from the bottom up and not the top down. We don't need Hillary (or as Obama called her Annie Oakley) to fight for us - we need to fight for ourselves. Hillary claimed that all Obama ever did was to write a speech - she didn't think he had a plan, and look what he was able to accomplish with just his inspirational vision!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:51 PM

      Hillary & Barack made up in 2008. Did you miss that? 7:28

      Delete
    4. Anonymous8:55 PM

      Anonymous7:28 PM,

      Obama has come to be one of Hillary's supporters because he has learned that she is a lot smarter, more capable, more competent and accomplished that people give her credit for. Many in his administration have said the same thing. That should tell you something.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous2:46 PM

    Why aren't you covering Bill Clinton talking smack against Obama? Wow, seriously Billy boy thinks he is better than Obama? Billy may not inhaled the marijuana, but he was sure inhaling something because his brains are fried. Welfare Reform - bad, Crime Bill - bad, Don't Ask Dont Tell - bad, NAFTA - bad. He was lucky with the timing, the financial success was about the dot.com bubble, and not his policies. Obama had real accomplishments.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous7:51 PM

      Just stop. You rant like a teenager.,

      Delete
  11. Anonymous2:48 PM

    The Krugman is wrong

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-krugman-is-wrong-about-the-financial-crisis_us_57080537e4b063f854dfa21a

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous3:09 PM

    Hear! Hear!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You are doing exactly what Obama is asking you not to do. With the recent realization that Bernie could actually be a contender, The Hillary forces need to go full swing against him, and they are. There will be a lot both ways. Let's not fall into that trap. It is so much better to leave the name calling, edited blurbs and other dirty fighting to the other side. PS, I am not against Hillary or Bernie, but I find it funny that many of your points against Bernie are almost word for word what they said about Barack Obama when he got to this stage of the nominations against Hillary.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. A Superfan In Atlanta3:59 PM

      Exactly Mari! I am not against a Clinton presidency as my 2nd choice, but man, why do I have to be demonized simply because Bernie is my 1st choice? There's not much difference in their policies that warrant all the belittling.

      With that said, I do appreciate the passion people have for standing behind their candidate and respect their freedom to choose and express themselves.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:51 PM

      Right. She is supposed to sit back like a good little girl and not respond to attacks on her. Because you know that's what you would ask any man to do. /s

      Delete
    3. Actually, I thought he...

      Delete
    4. A Superfan In Atlanta7:57 AM

      Sorry Mari,

      Hope you didn't take my rant as a slight at you. I had two thoughts wrapped up in one and it came out a little argumentative -- pointing fingers at my comrades and totally doing exactly what we should not be doing.

      And, yes, I still agree with your earlier observation that all that was said about President Obama by the Clinton Campaign in 2008 is now being said about Mr. Sanders.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous3:49 PM

    The #1 change needed. Reverse citizen united. period.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:53 PM

      And you cannot do that with yelling, spitting and pointing.

      Yelling, spitting and pointing achieve nothing. That's why most people don't do that.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:58 PM

      Then you need to help get democrats elected down ticket. What has Sanders done to help that?

      Delete
    3. A Superfan In Atlanta7:59 AM

      Anon 8:58P

      Sanders is but one person. There are many in the Democratic Party that should be rallying the troops to get Democratic voters to the polls. In my opinion, it's up to us and not the candidate.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous4:25 PM

    OT: From reported 187 gallons to 16,800
    http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/04/08/3767778/keystone-leak-worse-than-thought/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4:29 PM

    Obama taught me that I could vote again. I was so disillusioned when Bush and his cohorts stole the election back when I felt my vote meant nothing. Then I voted for Obama and he won two times. Now we get the same of what was before. I feel Hilary is capable of change in her establishment subconsciousness. She's weathered the worst and came out of it. The Republicans would give her shit the four years she would be in office. Mainly because they are old white men. A black man almost caused them to shit their pants. A woman would give them anurisms. Here's hoping. I am voting for Hilary. Bernie? Don't know where he's coming from. I am not feeling it. If I were a Republican, I would call it a day this year because their would be nominees are iffy at best. We just know Cruz would take us back to the dark ages. Taliban American style. Trump would just fuck Americans and by the time his term was up, like Bush, the party would be trying to defend him because he reflects them. Our candidates are not the best choices. We kind of throw the dice when we vote either one of them. It's sad when as a voter I feel Hilary is the best of all evils. Something in our past history has stymied the American political process. Slavery, the North and the South. Our unwillingness to accept our diversity. The changes that we were not willing to change for and there will be more changes that we will balk at. Oh, and money. Monied people versus non monied people. It's a quandary. Just my thoughts on American politics. Trying to depress myself. The grey day got to me. Plus I keep seeing Trump's face and feeling like I am in this nightmare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:30 PM

      Thank you for your heartfelt and insightful post 4:29. Hillary is a true centrist and will make an incredible president.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous4:33 PM

    Bernie Sanders's ego is so big that he welcomed the Ron Paulites into his house. After that happened it was only a matter of time before his campaign went to hell.

    "Revolution? Fuck, yeah!"


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:53 PM

      I've been saying that for a while. Many of the Sanders supporters are ex-Paulites. Too bad the liberal Sanders supporters don't have the self awareness to acknowledge it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:53 PM

      Exactly! Same hateful rhetoric and misogyny!

      Delete
  18. Anonymous4:35 PM

    OT Truth>
    http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/04/07/3767433/obamacare-gallup-chart/

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anita Winecooler4:42 PM

    He's right. It's called maturity and pragmatism, we could all use a good dose, step back and look at the big picture.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous4:48 PM

    Oh noes! Sarah's guy is going on all #NEVERTRUMP on her! LOL! Isn't this asshole the one she's calls "The Great One"?

    http://therightscoop.com/breaking-mark-levin-just-announced-he-is-officially-nevertrump/

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous4:54 PM

      http://therightscoop.com/cruz-shutting-out-trump-in-colorado-so-bad-the-donald-might-be-abandoning-campaign-there/

      Delete
  21. Anonymous4:51 PM

    Bernie Sanders tried to hang Hillary Clinton on a Washington Post headline. That was a mistake in so many ways and it proves - yet again - that he cannot even choose competent staff. He simply does not have the credentials to be the CEO of the world. You can either get behind Hillary or go on hating her and helping Bernie Sanders dig his own grave.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:54 PM

      He really does have a terrible staff. They are not serving him well at all!

      Delete
  22. Anonymous4:57 PM

    Just further proof that they don’t call Springsteen “The Boss” for nothing.

    http://brucespringsteen.net/

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bruce-springsteen-north-carolina_us_5707f503e4b04bf520ff674a

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous5:01 PM

    After seeing Bernies wife on the Rachel Maddow show I can better understand why he is trying to hard. I think she would really like to be in the white house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:54 PM

      Then she should run herself.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:25 PM

      It appears that she has the poise to be there unlike that Mitt's Ann, IMO. Perhaps college president Jane O'Meara Sanders would make a decent first lady.

      If Hillary (first mate Bill)loses the Dem nomination, Jane will be good support (temper?) for Bernie-in-the-White-House.

      Support the Dem nominee works for me (Go Hillary).

      dowl

      Delete
  24. There is the tea party and now we have its counterpoint, the free party.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous5:24 PM

    What say you Sarah, you so called supporter of vets???

    Draft Dodger Donald Trump Screws Veterans Out Of Millions Raised At Fundraiser

    http://www.politicususa.com/2016/04/08/draft-dodger-donald-trump-screws-veterans-millions-raised-fundraiser.html

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous5:25 PM

    Hillary Clinton is openly laughing at Republicans who are hoping and praying for criminal charges against her before the November election.

    Video of the full Today interview:

    http://www.politicususa.com/2016/04/08/hillary-clinton-mocks-republicans-praying-criminal-charges.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:19 PM

      And, if she is elected she has to work with these people. They hound her now, they will hound her as POTUS and do anything in their power to obstruct anything she tries to do.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:56 PM

      After 30 years, she know how to deal with them. But hey, Bernie's best friend is climate denier Senator James Inhofe (R-OK). True!

      They are getting a lot done together. /s

      Delete
  27. Anonymous7:33 PM

    People are forgetting how nasty Clinton - Obama primary was. She wanted to stay in, you know just in case, because you never know what might happen, remember what happened to Bobby Kennedy in August. Or how she attacked Obama for being "anti-gun" and Obama called her "Annie Oakley", or how she said both she and McCain both came with a lifetime of experience to be President, and all Obama ever did was to write a speech. Have you forgotten Hillary's PUMAs?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous7:58 PM

      No, but Hillary & Barack made up in 2008. That's good enough for me. He's going to campaign hard for her later this year. Just watch.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:47 AM

      I'm gonna miss that gorgeous man, President Obama.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous5:52 AM

      @Anonymous 7:33 PM

      Yes, I remember it all. The Clinton campaign was UGLY. The PUMAs are racist. It was uncalled for how they tried to destroy a fellow Democrat, President Obama. At one point I thought the Clinton campaign was going to ruin our chances of winning the White House, because of their scorched earth tactics.
      I think many of the PUMAs were NOT even Democrats.

      Delete

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