So for the past three days, the only thing that matters to “progressives” is waging a holy war against Barack Obama. And over what? A deal that in the end is actually very good for the middle class, the unemployed and all those that we’re supposed to take care of. And, as Krugman had to admit – is also good for the economy.
Hell no – It’s the Obama hate that trumps all.
Every ounce of energy went to find new ways to trash, bash, badmouth and smear Barack Obama, with more than just a hint of racism. But hey, look at Keith Olbermann’s ratings!
What if 10% of that energy was spent on pressing congress on DADT? What if the money spent on racist anti-Obama commercials would go to DADT repeal campaign? What if instead of sitting behind the keyboards, spitting on the only serious man around and admiring the clueless self-appointed “Liberals speakers” – They would have focus on making the lives of the Scott Browns a living hell? you know, actually DOING something, instead of whining all day? Maybe, just maybe, DADT would be dead tonight.
But hey, on second thought, this is much better: Rachel’s ratings will soar, and best of all: There’s a new fuel supply to burn Barack Obama with.
225 thoughts on “To be a “true progressive” is to hate Barack Obama. The rest can drop dead”
In that spirit, I propose that everyone who reads this be sure they are doing their own regular efforts to support the President and fight the Republicans, instead of dwelling too much on the wrath of those on the left who are attacking him.
Where’s your letter to the editor?
Who have you said a good word about the President to?
If your Congressperson is a Republican, are you watching his/her every move and pouncing on everything?
In January I understand OFA will be gearing up for the 2012 campaign. If you are not already involved with OFA, please find out how to do so today. If there is no active group near you, start one! Just a few people can be the nucleus.
Excellent comment.
I’ve been knee-deep in a short biography of Albert Camus (as I said in a previous comment), and the portrait of Camus that comes through reminds me so much of PBO: disdaining the vicious certainties of both the extremes, holding fast to a vision of a common humanity, especially in those that disagree with him, the conviction that no human life is expendable, especially in the quest to attain some sort of political goal. The quote that gets me is that if humanity is to remain humane, “it must maintain itself at the very limits of revolt, where heartbreak and lucidity are one. Short of, or beyond this limit, struggle no longer exists. There is only consent and, in a sense, passivity.”
Both of the extremes on the left and right see themselves as History’s actors, dragging their benighted fellow citizens to a golden Shangri-La; they know what’s best, and how to get us there. There is no brook of opposition or dissent; either is evidence of treason, and there is only one response to that. It’s always the case with revolutions and revolutionaries: the “right” way, or the guillotine, or gulag. They’ve gone past the point where you “revolt” to ameliorate the human condition, to the place where the revolt is an end in and of itself.
What’s really comical is that they have no power, or no actual power. They can’t move votes. They can siphon money from their followers, but that’s a closed loop. They snicker at the great unwashed, but have no idea how to reach them. It is something of preaching to the choir, as the choir gets louder and louder to mask the fact that very few people are in the church.
So, I feel sadness at this pass we’ve come to as a country, but also a dark mirth. Hopefully we’ll survive our adolescent-fueled culture, and come out wiser for it.
For various reasons I’m not much of a phonebanker–reticence from years of stuttering, even though that’s under control right now. I give money when I can. And I’d be more than willing to open my house to OFA meetings.
Ed Shultz is more annoying than ever. At least Rachel and Keith most of the time know what they are talking about, but Ed is not very smart. I’ve see him throw tantrums over false rumors he heard. Poor Obama. Great for liberal and right wing ratings.
I find that wearing a simple button (I have a small one that says “Peace, Love, Obama”) reaches a lot of people as I’m out and about. It says, I am willing to stand up and be counted for this president. I’ve started a number of interesting conversations that way, where I can pass along a few facts that tend to widen the eyes of people who have onlhy heard the rants.
I will write my rep, Gabrielle Giffords from Southern Arizona, and ask her to support the compromise. I’ve got to do something real to help the president. What you wrote is spot on, BWD. It’s time for us to work the phones and email. Save our breath to cool our pudding! We will work more issues in the future. Unemployment is vital now. We got many good things with this compromise and I commend the President for wringing out as much as he did. Now we have to help him finalize the deal.
I was done with Schultz when I heard him say “you’re either with us or against us” at Netroots. He was of course, addressing Obama. Yeah I remember the last guy that said that.
I’ve written to my Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand. I need to start working on my rep – who comes from a working class family background herself – so she may want to go “against the grain” (hopefully!)
Good evening. Really enjoyed your beautifully written analogy.
The quote about what is necessary for humanity to remain humane is profoundly powerfully.
“it must maintain itself at the very limits of revolt, where heartbreak and lucidity are one. Short of, or beyond this limit, struggle no longer exists. There is only consent and, in a sense, passivity.”
I can relate to that personally as well as politically. “Dark mirth” does seem to come with the territory at times. 🙂
Thank you so much Liberal Librarian.
The poutragers are expressing outrage because President Obama called their bluffs. He actually practiced bipartisanship and did what the Democrats failed to do before the mid-terms: fight for a deal over these tax breaks enacted by Bush and unemployment extensions. He brokered a deal, which most reasonable economists agree isn’t that bad when you read the fine print.
But do poutragers read? No, they listen to poutraging commentators like Huffington, Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald, and others that have no clue about actually governing or getting things done in the real world.
President Obama is governing from the real world, not The Matrix fantasy land that the poutragers are plugged into. Obama knew that he wasn’t going to get his campaign promise of ending the Bush tax cuts, with a Republican House coming into power in January. So he decided NOT to play politics and instead did the pragmatic thing: broker a deal which helps the low/middle income earners, which most of this deal does.
But the poutragers focus on the 37% of the deal that is the extension of the Bush tax cuts, acting like this is the death keel for progressive Lollypop land.
They’ve cried wolf way too many times.
First it was with Obama’s appointment of Geithner, Summers, and Rahm to his cabinet. I recall the anti Geithner/Summers/Rahm rants all too well, especially when Rahm made his “retarded” comment, which made the poutragers implode.
Then it was the long dragged out healthcare fight, with the death of the public option. That was supposed to be the death keel for them.
Then it was the appointment of Elena Kagan, “OMG Kagan is way too far right to be a justice, how come Obama isn’t appointing a purist liberal like us?”
Then it was financial reform, “OMG, why is he bending over for his banksta buddies?”
Then it was the oil spill in the Gulf, “OMG why is Obama apologizing for big oil? Why isn’t he using his bully pulpit to champion a clean alternative energy plan?”
Now the current nontroversy of the moment is these tax cuts for the wealthy, which Obama did campaign on, but circumstances changed and for the moment, he has to break that promise and temporarily extend them. But in return, the tax breaks for the low/middle income earners remain, and their UEI benefits will be extended, not at ALL what the Republicans wanted… but “OMG, Obama has caved into Republicans and is the modern day Neville Chamberlain!”
I know poutragers mock the chess analogy, but he is actually playing chess and out maneuvering them. He doesn’t think in media cycles, he thinks outside the media cycle box and into the future.
I have no reasons to doubt my vote for Obama in 2008 and will vote for him again in 2012, and if that makes me a brainwashed koolaid drinking Obamabot, then so be it!
The poutragers need to unplug from The Matrix liberal fantasy they have created and wake up to the real world. The real world isn’t as black and white as they wish it would be. Continuing to use hyperbole to demonize President Obama doesn’t make you a “progressive” or a “liberal.” I’ve encountered actual progressives/liberals on other blogs who are farther to the left than the poutraging “progressives/liberals” that actually support what the President is doing, even though they disagree with him.
In short: if they aren’t going to do anything productive, Huffington, Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald and the other poutraging fools need to help themselves to a nice cup of SHUT THE FUCK UP!
Wow:
Sepia 14 minutes ago
WTF???? The Dem that said “Fuck The President” needs to be a man/woman and take ownership of what they said!
Profanity, Anger Spill Over in House Democratic Caucus Meeting
* By Anna Palmer
* Roll Call Staff
* 2:29 p.m.
The frustration with President Barack Obama over his tax cut compromise was palpable and even profane at Thursday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting.
One unidentified lawmaker went so far as to mutter “f— the president” while Rep. Shelley Berkley was defending the package the president negotiated with Republicans. Berkley confirmed the incident, although she declined to name the specific lawmaker.
“It wasn’t loud,” the Nevada Democrat said. “It was just expressing frustration from a very frustrated Member.”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) was also overheard saying that “we can’t trust him” not to cave to Republicans and extend the tax cuts again in two years, according to a Democratic source.
The anger aimed at the bill was widespread. As Democrats moved to block the bill from coming up on the floor, chants of “Just say no!” could be heard by reporters outside the room.
Berkley is one of the few Democrats publicly supporting the package. While she said it wasn’t necessarily how she would have written it, the bill should go forward in her estimation because it is “chock full” of tax cuts that will help the working class in her state.
“I’m not willing to play Russian roulette to see who blinks first,” Berkley said.
I just put an I Stand With the President bumper sticker on my car, called my 2 senators and congresswoman to support the tax cut compromise (except for Feinstein there was no waiting, not many waiting), and called AK last night for OFA. Good to keep urging action. We can make a difference!
Sent the President a thank you email. Been pushing back all day at a site that must not be named. Will be calling Collins, Snowe, Pingree and Michaud again tomorrow. And yes, I’m talking to everyone when I’m not chasing one of the grandbabies around. 🙂
Woops!
And will be working with OFA somewhere, somehow.
To a degree that depends on my daughter’s school and work schedule for next semester. I’ve been helping raise her beautiful son since he was an infant.
I’ve written to my Senators and to my Rep as well.
I enjoyed it too LL, and would like to add that Barack Obama will be remembered favorably by humankind for his accomplishments, the others will be lucky to be footnotes in history.
christine20, do you know who Ed’s new BF is?
Mary Landrieu, I kid you not. Apparently he was quoting her when she called President Obama “morally corrupt.”
Not only do I recall Landrieu stabbing Obama in the back during the oil crisis in the Gulf and blocking his nominee, Landrieu was one of the few Democrats who voted FOR the original tax cuts under Bush that she is now attacking Obama for… and she is the new darling whom Shultz is in love with. Talk about being “morally corrupt.”
Shultz never quit being a Republican, he just hides his Republican colors well enough like Huffington. Shultz will attack the wackadoodle Republicans like Sarah Palin, but he’ll apologize and bow down to Demopublicans like Mary Landrieu when their actions fit his cynical rants.
You go, BWD. I am incensed that the left has decided to jump off sanity cliff along with the right. Have been getting loads of emails asking me to sign petitions to kill this bill; I’ve asked to be removed from all of those mailing lists and have certainly told them why!
Like the president, I want to be part of the solution, not the problem.
And you’re right — “sanctimonious” did not go far enough — but our president is a gentleman, as opposed to some of the savages in Congress.
(Sorry for the strong language; I am well and truly PO’d.)
Keith and Rachel can go jump in a lake.
“you’re either with us or against us”
Now who was the LAST guy who used that rhetoric?
Let me take a minute…
*Jeopardy theme*
*SNAP*
Now I remember, George W. Bush!
And yet these poutragers accuse Obama of being just like Bush!
At least Obama hasn’t deliberately lied to the nation that has resulted in more troops being killed. True, he extended and expanded the war in Afghanistan, but that was something he was always going to do and campaigned on.
Like I’ve posted, Shultz has never quit being a Republican, he just hides his colors well.
Lucky you! The rewards of being a parent are your grandchildren.
Thank you first for this blog and the postive responses…I have been sick all week with the nasty turn libs have taken against the President…this site has given me hope again….
Let’s be blunt. This entire incident is about ego IMO. Had the Democratic legislative caucus hammered out a second stimulus in exchange for a temporary tax cut extension, they would be heralding their negotiations prowess to the high heavens.
Remember: everyone is Mike Tyson when POTUS rather than the GOP is the punching bag.
This was an awful days for congressional Dems IMO. They do not understand how they look.
Get the F outta here. Does that make Schultz “Bush-lite”? 😀
Here here. You just said that far better than I ever could. Thanks. I feel a little better having read that!
Brilliant.
Hey blackwaterdog!:o)
I have spent the past few days acting a straight up FOOL over at Daily Kos.
Now, I don’t normally act that way, but once Kos decided to go all Neville Chamberlain on the front page, I decided that if they wanted to show their arses, I would show mine as well . . . why be modest?
Let’s just say, the most vicious character assassinators become insta-victims as soon as you call them on their BS. They assume the fetal position and get their friends to swarm in and scold you – talk about cult of personality – hah!
I actually had someone scold me for disrespecting a “frontpager”, as if that title trumps PRESIDENT of these here UNITED STATES!
Hilarious!
You keep doing your thang over here – it is driving the irrational haters craaaa – zeeee!
Al Sharpton, its time to push back, President Obama will not be the scape goat. A messagae for weiner.
Over the course of the last several weeks, we have diligently watched as our President, Barack Obama, and the Democratic Party withstood filibustering and stonewalling from the right. Conducting hearings on the weekend, and doing everything they conceivably could to assist the poor and middle-class, their repeated attempts at compromise were met with fierce resistance and an utter disregard for the majority of this nation by the Republicans. And now, after holding the American people hostage as our President so rightfully pointed out, these self-aggrandizing politicians are sitting back and allowing Obama to be the scapegoat for all that ails us. It’s time we call them out. Adeptu2 diary on dkos. I did not comment LOL! He is sounding the alarm the left is in for a awakening.
I’m willing to bet it was probably Grayson or Wiener, most likely Grayson seeing as he was soundly defeated and has become an enemy of Obama’s.
Either way, I’m shocked to hear that a DEMOCRAT of all people said “Fuck the President.” I expected that kind of behavior out of the Republicans, but out of a Democrat?
Who the hell do they think they are, thinking that they can disrespect President Obama and his office?
At least Joe Wilson had the courage to yell “YOU LIE!” in front of the President, Congress, and America and be publicly shamed for it. This Democrat can’t even man up, admit they disrespected the President and his office and apologize.
And the Democrats wonder why they’ve pissed everyone off, even many of us who have pushed and fought long and hard for them.
Precisely a reason why I agree with the Founders idea that political clubs are a joke.
I have no words. I never thought I’d see such selfish, outlandish, damaging behavior by Democrats. They appear to be clueless and uncaring, willing to throw lifesaving measures for desperate people and a desperate economy overboard to prove a point. And I don’t get how they cannot understand that President Obama managed to secure the very best deal possible given the circumstances. He is not an entity unto himself, able to pass legislation that only he and Democrats would like. He has to try to do his best to protect the American people while having to negotiate with obnoxious Repubs and their “holy grail”, tax cuts for the wealthiest, their benefactors.
I have had my fill of 2 yr. olds tantruming. It’s idiotic. “Pay attention to ME!” And now I see that the left has been joined by the tea baggers in opposition to the tax deal. If that doesn’t say it all. It’s a Grover Norquist alliance all over again.
No you have not. I am so proud of you Nashville i told everyone here to remind me not to go there. I checked in but i have not commented to day. you go girl! I am proud of you.
So true, I cant even enjoy watching Rachel lately – He will be blamed for the Senate not passing DADT tonight as well
I’ve been wondering. For a party that is in such disarray, they all seem to be able to inject the word “hostage” into their comments, speeches and interviews. Hmmmmmm……
Tracy-where did you get it from.
Did Rachel really say that Obama will be irrelevant in a couple of years?
Me too. I feel so bad for the Pres. Even though he can take it. I guess the truth comes out, they hate him.
Get ready if Al Sharpton is sounding the alarm to back off the president. People has had enough. The left and the right is making things worse.
Thanks for the kind words . . . had to come over here to rinse off . . . DKos has become a swamp.
I find this repulsive. Utterly repulsive. Where are the grown-ups? It appears that people listened to the bible according to the media and hopped aboard the excess train.
This is beyond shameful and yes, President Obama once again looks like The Only Adult In The Room. Dems are far superior to the GOP. It’s a shame that they wasted this opportunity to show it.
I’d put money on Weiner or a freshman. Obviously a coward since they “muttered” that insult. I also think that person has been reading the comment sections of certain blogs.
The Democrats are just as childish as the Republicans, both parties are full of corrupt clowns who care nothing about their constituents and care only about gaming the system for themselves.
The Democrats are running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off because President Obama called their bluffs. He actually accomplished what they failed to do: broker a deal with the Republicans over these tax breaks, that (*GASP*) MOST OF THE PEOPLE SUPPORT!
Why do these Democrats continue to listen to the rants of Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald, all of whom know JACKSHIT about governing in Washington?
These Democrats don’t seem to get the memo that they LOST last month and this is their LAST CHANCE to make a difference before they are the brand new party of No in January. I’m thinking that these Republicans actually realize that governing from the far right and playing Fox News political games isn’t going to get them very far, which is why THREE of them broke across party lines to support the DREAM Act. Guess who killed it? A Democrat. Which Democrat? The “principled progressive” hero, Russ Feingold!
If Rachel said that, she is naive. I watched the National Tree lighting event with Obama’s presence this evening, and the crowd LOVED him. They loved beginning the holidays with him, and they enjoyed Michelle reading “The Night Before Christmas.”
Rachel is only saying Obama is irrelevant until she is tasked with the choice of supporting Obama or some far right lunatic like Palin, Thune, Pawlenty, Bolton, Barbour… then POOF, she’s back to loving Obama again as if she never demonized him. Same goes for the other poutragers of the pundit media.
nashvillefan, I have always your commentary, and hope that you spend time here permanently.
That’s it. And thinking “I look principled,” no—they look like hypocritical children.
Thanks GN … hanging out here is much better for my sanity! :o)
Thank you for your kind words. I can’t claim clean hands; there was many a time when I got wrapped up in the outrage on the “left” blogs, and wondered what the hell had happened to Pres. Obama. But something always pulled me back from abandoning him. Call it that place of tension of heartbreak and lucidity. I’d go back, read facts, see that the outrage was manufactured at best, an outright lie at worst. But it’s probably because as we get older we lose the certitudes of youth. I was ready to storm the barricades as a young(er) man, was sure that a change was around the corner. But change is slow, incremental, takes a step back once in a while. People who don’t accept that fact end up frustrated, because the world hasn’t become the vision of perfection they have in their minds. And, sometimes, people like that turn into monsters.
So here’s to a space where we can beat down those monsters of our natures.
If Huffington, Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald, et al is really serious about letting tax cuts for millionares expire, why don’t they quit whining and become proactive. They all can get together with other patrotic millionares and billionares and petition congress to add a provision that gives millionares and billionares an opporotunity to voluntary allow their tax cuts to expire?
It may or may not be successful but at least they gave it a try.
Today is Day 2 with not even a glimpse at the Orange Satan. I’ve been feeling all mellow and peaceful.
Of course, at the moment I’m all worked up over my Representative and his damned petition to Stop the Tax Cuts Compromise that he’s hawking on Facebook. I told him I was sorry I’d voted for him and donated to him and that undermining a Democratic President is despicable. They think if they kill the compromise that they’ll get a better deal and the evidence is that the House has already passed a better deal. Yeah, and where did that go, bright boy? Into the death chamber that is the Senate. And it DIED! They think that if they blow this one up the Senate will give them a better deal? Why? What evidence is there that suddenly the Senate will change it’s mind? None, that’s what evidence there is. And in January Speaker Boehner will be smirking ear-to-ear as he passes a tax cut bill that’s ALL about the wealthy, gets no stiumulus at all for the Middle Class, and the unemployed have long since moved into their cars, all thanks to a bunch of idiot purist Democratic Congresscreatures and their principled stand. Screw them!
I guess I don’t need to go to Orange Satan to get worked up on this issue. 🙂
No shit! Feingold was the one again?
I’m so pleased he and his “principles” are happy together. 😦
What is with the man?
How can he even rationalize that vote?
I think that you’re very correct about the (IMO, media-)manufactured nature of the nonstop political crises we political observers are witnessing. It strikes me that this exhausting cycle is one reason of several that so many American tune out of politics altogether. The current “political crisis” or “political disaster” is merely the latest trumped-up crisis.
I’ve really enjoyed your comments as well, Liberal Librarian.
Could this be the Prez’s plan to get the Dem’s fired up? Maybe the Dem congress will get a spine and effect some positive change in the deal he made with the Republicans. Maybe we are witnessing that 11th dimensional chess. I hope so.
I’ve been most appreciative of your excellent efforts to throw a bucket of truth on the mob over there, nashville fan. I notice that about every hour there now another familiar name announces his/her exit. I say, just let the crazies have it. I’ve seen the true colors of the front pagers there these last few days, feeding the sharks, and I don’t see how that place will ever recover, will ever have any kind of widespread appeal again. It will just be regarded as a loony fringe site.
You’re definitely not alone, Joe. I love this space.
all other votes are on hold until this tax cut issue gets resolved. Guess who’s holding it up? For once, it’s not the goddamned Republicans, it’s the Democrats running around like chickens with their heads cut off!
The Democrats had an opportunity to make a difference and they FUMBLED the ball… not once, but TWICE!
Now Obama has to once again find some Republicans willing to buck the party line just to get this issue taken care of. I find it telling that it’s the Republicans actually willing to quit playing politics for the sake of the country and not the Democrats, that was proven to me with three Republicans defecting to support the DREAM Act, with the vote killer being the “principled Democrat” hero Russ Feingold.
I emailed the DCCC to cancel my monthly donations today since they don’t support the democratic values of promoting the livelihood of their constituents. I told my congresswoman Lee that I was shocked that she ignored all the people who are suffering in her district.
I like Rachel but she is often to snarky for me and that giggle drives me crazy. She can’t get opposition guests on her show because of the snark. I wish she would stick to true journalism and leave the comedy to John.
I sincerely doubt it. I think that we are witnessing a media-driven “crisis” story, only the latest of many. And we are witnessing what is quite possibly the worst performance out of elected Dems this legislative session. And I don’t think that it has a thing to do with policy. I think that it has everything to do with Dems being excluded from the negotiations.
Sheer, utter excess masquerading as “principle.” I have no issue with reasoned debate and reasoned stances coupled with viable, well-thought alternatives. This? A media sensation. These Dems in congress ought to be ashamed of themselves. I reminded my Rep that our district cannot afford this type of nonsense. Bloggers’ principles are not putting food on the table. This is a good deal, and they very well know it.
Agree. A link to an article was recently posted here that said “the President put his neck on the line” for poor people. He is definitly not playing politics.
You can order from OFA store, only $3. I ordered 5 and will give the remainder out to other Obama supporters.
After spending a day or two in the swamp pushing back and having much fun watching what you were doing, I’m delighted to see you here! 🙂
Rinsing off here is a very good thing. 🙂
Who’s your rep? Mine is John Lewis, I hope he’s backing the compromise tax deal.
Excellent. We really do need to organize a letters to the editor campaign tomorrow. The voice of reason is still few and far between in the media, despite some notables.
Nope. He’s not grandstanding or feeding his ego. Would that everyone involved could say the same…
Here’s to hoping that Dems get their acts together and do the right thing: take the deal.
The last opposition guest I recall Rachel having on was teabagging hero Rand Paul. She totally ranked him over the coals for his racism and did an excellent job exposing him. Too bad Kentucky didn’t buy any of it… but it is Kentucky.
I’ve only watched her show a couple of times and never caught on to her appeal. The poutrager blogosphere praises her as a hero… but then again they consider the Dream Act killer Russ Feingold to be a “principled Democratic hero” as well.
Nicely said, GN.
Where were they with all their principles when the President repeatedly asked them to vote on extending the tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less – before the mid-terms?
Going to call Pingree and ask her that question tomorrow.
::sigh::
And what are you wondering? 🙂
I wonder why they were excluded. Do you know if the Dems were made aware of the compromise before the public was aware?
(It’s hard keeping up with replies here. I also wish I knew posters’ previous usernames. And, it would be nice to have a list of blogs that are owned by kos and former kos commenters-with the usernames we know them by (if they were ok with that) )
I have never witnessed such disrespect for a President, by either party. Even those who brought shame upon themselves, their party and the country, there was never this level of vitriol. It really has me wondering.
Keith showing how Obama is a quitter. Hillary would be better, This is awful
I actually think that this bluster from the Democrats is their way of saying “We are against it,” and in the end they’ll take the cowards way out and vote for it saying “We had no wiggle room out, we are FORCED to vote for this bunch of crap Obama shoved down our throats!”
The Democrats HAVE to vote for this deal, poll after poll shows that the majority of the public and a majority of their base support this deal, they would be committing political suicide to shut it down. This is no different from the healthcare debate at all, the Democrats incidentally enough are being the new Party of No to score cheap political talking points before they eventually fold and end up voting for it.
And the Democrats literally have no wiggle room, they are rendered moot in January. A lot of Democratic voters are low/middle income earners who are living off of UEI, so the Democrats better not fuck with their constituents, or end up suffering the same fate as they did under Bill Clinton.
I wrote some very polite emails stating my point of view. I most certainly do not expect to see the likes of Schumer panning deal-making. I fully expect Dems to stop the tantrum / hissyfit and make some movement on this matter. As I wrote to my Rep, our district cannot afford nonsense; what are bloggers doing for the people who rely on the EITC here? Not a thing. Some of the loudest “kill the bill” advocates are the least well-informed (note: TIMT’s diary at the people’s view in which Hamsher/Green exhibited both a lack of knowledge of what is in the deal, and a lack of a viable alternative to the deal). These legislative Dems need to leave the media fantasy and serve their constituents. We don’t have time for this. And several owe their seats to large hispanic turnout. We’re going to lose out on DREAM, DADT Repeal, and START because of these tax cuts?
When negotiated, you must know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. Purity politics are unhelpful and regressive.
I think you are probably correct, gn. I have heard those hurt feelings expressed. Was it because the admin. was in a rush to get something done on this before the new Congress shows up, and even the concessions won would be at stake, and so they didn’t take the time to go down the line and ask, “Is this okay with you?” If that’s it, that’s pretty sad, the willingness to chuck all for feeling neglected, or something.
And really, it’s not our responsibility to try to balance the excesses of another space. If this is the way that they think they can make progress, God bless them, and leave them to it. The purity/pragmatist alliance has grown toxic, and separation is simply better for everyone. That’s my view.
I read that the Tea Party agrees with the Dems
It’s unbelievable. They are behaving like fools and are heading to a fail of epic proportions unless sanity and reason reign.
John Lewis has been an ardent Obama supporter, and what I’ve seen and read on him, he’s not a man to play partisan party line politics. I feel pretty confident that John Lewis will continue to have Obama’s back, because he wants to continue to support a fellow African American in being successful in a field where the white man wants him to fail.
It never hurts to call and email him though.
Keith Olbermann has lost his goddamn mind. Really! Its just out!!! Its gone. Look out in space, do you see it?
well snowbird you would be correct, as Teabagging Terrorist Jim Demint is Bernie Sander’s new colleague in filibustering this deal.
Screw em both.
Actually Sarah Palin would be better, seeing as she actually QUIT her job as governor two years in advance to become the new mediawhore of the mainstream media.
And I quit on Olbermann months ago and haven’t had a second thought about doing so.
Olbermann just proves Obama’s point about being sanctimonious, and that point goes above Olbermann’s self centered mind.
I used to watch Olbermann to watch him make fun of Republicans, but lately all he does is bash Obama, and is attempting to Willy Horton him, along with the rest of the poutraging pundits. The ONLY pundit on TV defending Obama is Lawrence O’Donnell, because he actually has a clue and knows what he is talking about.
I was wondering if any POTUS previous to this in recent memory dealt with this insanity and willingness to knee-jerk tantrums. About a deal which benefits *us.* I can’t believe this.
Never could stand him. But I am so biased. As soon as I learn Orange people like something, I’m ready to hate it 🙂
When KO would turn toward the camera, it pans in, he makes that faux enraged face, I want to barf. He sucks up to Kossacks?!! How sick is that? They deserve each other. I remember when they wrote multiple diaries OUTRAGED that he ignored the terms of his contract and got busted for it. Well, duh.
It’s unbelievable. This is a great deal and they know it. I can of course understand some objections but this is so over the top and such a character attack that it is unreal. I’d love my Rep to come to her constituents and explain to us how it is reasonable for congressional Dems to mock and disparage this President for doing nothing more than standing in between the GOP and the middle, working and impoverished classes. She can’t. Thus she needs to support this POTUS and I wrote as much. Hopefully reason, logic, and facts will prevail during this ridiculous media frenzy.
I really don’t know. I’m not versed enough re: the political process to even take a guess. Perhaps this is just kabuki and it was planned in advance that POTUS would take the heat for this; I don’t know. I just would like the character attacks on POTUS to stop and for people to turn away from the media’s latest manufactured crisis.
I predict an new alliance will soon be announced: The Teabaggers and FDLsacs. We used to get in deep shit with Master of the Universe Blades for playing with the clever (I thought) term Firebaggers. But history will show we were ahead of the curve.
I stand with Al Sharpton.
This is reality nintendowii10. And the bottom line is that this is a good deal. And they know it.
Welcome. I was Another Ct Dem over there, one of your, uh, fans 🙂
Very sad indeed.
Onomastic, if everyone else is pure, do you want to be the last person on the block to be pure too??!!111one? (no way serious of course)
I’m trying to understand what happened. Did Feingold’s vote really decide the fate of the DREAM act? If he had voted yes, would it be on its way to being law?
I applaud you from afar 🙂 Unfortunately I cannot and shall not and will not go there, but do fart in their general direction.
I wish some of those AA congresscritters would show a little more backbone and buck the party establishment in the House . . I just heard Howard Fineman say that, at the Dem caucus this morning, there were members say “F the president” only they filled the blanks in.
Amen to that tracy. 🙂
Being a Nana is amazing. It really cements in the long view.
The children and grandbabies are the reasons for being involved. All the grandbabies and the people who will be their friends, neighbors and all those they’ll share this beautiful blue planet with.
I love running into other politically active grandparents on line. They do kick some serious butt. 🙂
We all know there’s only so much time left in which to try to make a difference, no matter how small it may be. 🙂
I just don’t get it! I really don’t see any congressional Dems coming up with a better plan – but I do see a lot of posturing and fake outrage. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop -where the Dems ‘have’ to vote for the bill because Obama boxed them in. I’ve already starting to see signs of it.
Come up with a better Plan! Better yet, Dems should be screaming about how the rethugs want money for rich people – and none for the poor, none for the 9/11’ers and none for the senior citizens. Unbelievable.
However, it all feels fake – it’s interesting who isn’t shouting or making demands. Don’t get me wrong- I think O is sincere and is providing cover for all the outrage. Reid is doing his role – having votes that he knows won’t passed the 60. The dem caucus have their non binding vote – but Nancy wasnt there. However she is using their non binding vote outrage to ‘fight for a better bill’. I feel like I’m being played -and being pushed to be outraged! To scream!
Well, time will tell. I just know this- I can afford a tax hike, I know the wealthy can. But I know that the working poor can’t – and for the few unemployed who says for the Dems to reject the bill, I say to them – pride and outrage doesn’t keep the lights on or food on the table.
That’s what I finally decided. I can understand why others want to continue to fight on, but I just came to the decision that the few good diaries that pop up nowadays just didn’t make Daily Kos as a whole worthwhile for me, so I simply stopped going. No dramatic goodbye as I wasn’t exactly the most prolific poster, but I’m much happier now, and they can stay mad over there. It’s all good.
Yes he has. I am so disappointed in that PUMA segment. Totally pointless and gratuitous. Shame on him
I have great pride any time any person states that I am a ‘liberal.’
I consider – now – being called a ‘progressive’ about as demeaning as being called a Republican.
Just. that. simple.
I don’t know. I remember reading last week about President Obama meeting with Reid and Nancy Pelosi and saying he wouldn’t accept a deal that didn’t extend unemployment benefits.
Get on Pingree – she was on MSNBC bashing the compromise but with no idea of an alternative to prevent tax increases and extend unemployment compensation. I was underwhelmed by her performance . .
I’m pretty sure that’s what this fuss is all about rather than “principle” or policy. The committee that Obama set up to come up with a solution — Jack Lew, Tim Geithner, Chris Van Hollen, David Camp, Max Baucus, and a Rep senator (name completely forgotten!!) — met a bunch of times but didn’t get anywhere so VP Biden stepped in and cut a deal with Mitch McConnell.
Ridiculous. He’s doubling down on the stupid IMO.
Black, I’ve been stating as much, that this bluster from the Dems is just that… bluster.
They know that Obama called their bluffs, he actually brokered a deal, and they like it, yet they have to act outraged just to appease their supporters of The Matrix called the poutraging blogosphere. They make up what, 20% of the entire voting demographic? Last Gallup poll I checked has this deal polling at 66%, which far outnumbers the poutragers of the blogging world.
Many Democrats have constituents who are low/middle income earners and living off of UEI, so the Democrats have no choice but to take the deal. They’re just upset that Obama will get the credit for doing what they should have done and they end up having egg on their faces.
But hey, that’s what happens when you chicken out before the mid-terms and force the President’s hand into doing your damn jobs.
GN, Intuition tells me that the reason it is so easy for many, even in Congress, to attack his character is because of his color. And some may not even be aware of it. It’s hidden way deep in their souls, almost unbeknown to those to whom it belongs.
I don’t know how to accurately explain it, but I know it.
OT-I wish deoliver would stop by here. I think she has so much insight.
Big effen eye roll. Thanks to eclecticbrotha over on W.E.E. for finding this:
I think we all just got pawned on this or badly misinformed.
But then it’s the Senate after all.
The vote has been postponed until next week.
“Democrats had hoped to get an outright vote Thursday on the legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
But they didn’t have the votes to get past a threatened Republican filibuster which would have required 60 votes. So by a 59-40 vote, Democrats essentially punted until next week.”
And the Republicans have informed the Dems that nothing else will get done until the Bush Tax Cuts are extended and funding the government’s operations are voted on.
They will fillibuster to make it so.
No wonder the President is pushing to get the compromise done.
Dear lord – Republicans suck.
As far as I could tell, Keith never did like Obama. And Rachel admitted during the primary race that she was not enthusiastic about Obama.
Trufax, fam, prior to joining Kos in the spring of 2008 I had never even heard that word before used by Democrats. My first reaction was “What’s a damn Progressive?” and my second reaction was “What’s wrong with just plain old liberal?” It always seemed like a way to just relabel yourself because Repubs had demonized liberal so much. I don’t know, I proudly call myself a liberal because of the history, and because nothing pisses off Repubs more than someone who just says “Yeah, so what?” when they sneeringly call you a liberal.
Or go kick rocks!
lol, “rank and file Democrats”. What in the world is that? They’ve never been rank and file!
What you said X2!
The frustrati don’t get it because, I’m guessing, they don’t have to worry about how they’ll pay the bills next month. If they did have to worry maybe they could understand the President’s desire to get the tax deal in place before Session ends.
annie, I’ve bookmarked your website. Great stuff!
I am not surprised by any of this. I have watched these people go about their business, not having this president’s back in no way form or shape.
The looked the other way whem the teabaggers threatened him, called him Hitler, took guns to his rallies and questioned his citizenship. Not one of them stood up for this president.
They took every opportunity to go on TV and trash him. So, I am not surprised. They are only beginning to show us their true colors.
I have lived in this country since 1980, never seen a president treated in this fashion. As I have said, I won’t forget this easily. I won’t.
When Joe Wilson yelled out you lied to president Obama, so many people feigned faux outrage. That is because he is a Republican.
It is OK for Democrats and liberals to disrespect and emasculate this president, but when Republicans do it, it is murder. What freaking hypocrisy?
Well staetd, but relax. Have you forgotten the posturing that went on exactly a year ago before the Christmas eve HCR senate vote? This is what these congresscritters live and die for; POSTURING. It is in their DNA. Last time it was Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, and good ole Lieberman who needed a special ego massaging session, then went ahead and knifed us in the back about the medicare buy-in and got various sundry kickback deals. Shameless is what they are!
And at the time, they whined that the Pres. was not giving them “guidance’. Fast-forward a year later and it’s too much guidance; and they were not given a part to play in the dealmaking; and yada yada yada… No pleasing these darling congresscritters of ours.
Plus they are trying to lay down a record of “resistance” to ward of any future primary challenge to their seats. They remember how many of them were hurt by their Iraq war vote of the “Bush tax cut” vote. They are just taking “precautions”
I wish Deo would stop by too Starshine. She brings so much knowledge and wisdom.
It would be a pure delight seeing her here, though I imagine she must be very busy with end of semester work at school.
Perhaps afterwards she’ll stop in.
That would be wonderful. 🙂
preach! I’m sick of this crap. gah!
Thnx for that update. I really hope this goes through quickly or else we are gonna be like the people over in England, taxes and school fees going up. I don’t like how the Democrats are acting though, this new purists attitude is scaring me. I can hardly keep up with my bills now much less if they decide to be shystie and play games.
Shameful. Did they utter those words against Bush?
Wouldnt Hillary had to have won the election?
Im still furious about that interview. When do we take election rhetoric afterward as truth?
The destruction of Obama is making me sick.
I do hope she is able to find her way here.
She does bring so much knowledge and wisdom, she’s a good, good soul.
Maybe it’s burning somewhere a bit further south… I gave up watching Keith’s hystrionics ages ago.
The Progressives did a version of this during HCR. Remember the infamous letter?
They’ll settle down. They have to. Senate Republicans have stated that they will Fillibuster everything until the Bush Tax Cuts are extended and paying for government operations is settled.
So they’ve got Dream, DADT, etc all hung up unless Reid can get all the Dems to vote as one for once. And we’re running out of time.
Not that it will do any good but will be calling Snowe and Collins yet again.
Feel free to join in. 🙂
Really? Why do they even care what i think? They bullied me out of there, i don’t visit this place, i deleted them from my bookmarks, and obviously they think that i’m no more than a stupid fangirl. So why waste to much energy over me?
Well, first of all the post I responded to is apparently incorrect.
The vote on the DREAM Act has been postponed until next week in an attempt to get the Democratic Senators together.
Secondly – Purity? What is this purity you speak of? I no haz it. 🙂
It is their future we are fighting for. It’s why the president always emphasizes thinking about the inheritance we will leave our children and grandchildren rather than the next election. Our grandchildren will pay the price not only of our long-term debt but of environmental degradation and climate change. One of the best ways to decrease the deficit is to boost economic growth. Hence the present compromise with its large 2nd stimulus. So of course we will all keep fighting. Yes we can!
You know most of the bitching is coming from Congressional Dems who will be gone come Jan.
Fucking racists. They would never dare do this to Clinton.
🙂
now how did that happen. Sorry for the double post
Did Sharpton write that?
Yep, even Anthony Weiner admitted on the ‘Morning Cup’ Joe Show, that the President asked them to do such a thing…Now, look where they are.
I’m going to phone Speaker Pelosi in the morning a leave a comment about this. It’s outrageous that they can utter such disrespect, when the past president marched them lockstep into war, violated the Constitution and create an economic mess – among other crimes – and we never heard such a thing coming into the public domain. It’s unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. They failed. The President rescued the situation and threw a little extra stimulus into the mix. They can’t see it, and they’re basically saying those horrid words to the American people.
It’s very telling that the folks on the left who want to scuttle the tax cut/UI deal only started to fight on this issue AFTER the elections and when they could focus their rage on the President and not, you know, Republicans.
And those House Dems – what a cowardly lot. They were too afraid to take up the issue before the elections or until the Senate acted. But now that they can attack the President over it…
Too afraid and stupid to attack Republicans; all too easy to go after the President for these folks.
Here we go. Lawrence O’ Donnell.
I was just reading on ajc.com of how angry some of the students are about tuition increases in the UK. They attacked Prince Charles and Camilla’s Rolls as they were on their way to a theater event. Our members of Congress should be glad that, thus far, no one has taken to the streets to attack them. I’m not suggesting this as plan of action, just comparing the recent behavior of citizens in Iceland, Greece, the UK, and other places, to the absence of these types of attacks on the government/government officials here.
So Feingold merely voted against the postponement? Whew, that’s a relief. If he really was the one vote that scuttled it for good, that would really be a sign of serious dysfunction. This makes me feel a little better.
What I don’t get is what Harry Reid is doing bringing all these votes to the floor prematurely. He knows nothing will happen until the tax deal is sealed. The only possible reason would be to make the Republicans look bad for voting against things most people want. Which is a kind of hedging of bets that makes me nervous, as if he thinks they won’t get another chance to vote on these things later…
And the stupidest thing about the frustrati listening to KO and taking his advice is the fact that back in 2008, he admitted that he doesn’t vote. The only skin he seems to have in the game involves making sure that his show gets higher ratings. I do believe that it’s an ego thing. No wonder he wasn’t invited back to the WH a couple months back. If I were Obama, I’d remove the names of all of the frustrati from the list of those who would I’d invite to a meeting at the WH in the future. They’re his worst enemies, and they don’t deserve an invitation. The president thinks about things deeply before making a decision. They just wail and holler, “I want my ba ba, and I want it now!”
**corrected**
If I were Obama, I’d remove the names of all of the frustrati from the list of those who I’d invite to a meeting at the WH in the future.
Interesting, isn’t it? Those that ran away from what had been accomplished tended to get trounced. And now they’re whining again.
I like Pingree alot, but she makes mis-steps like the rest of human kind.
However, she proudly ran for re-election on HCR, supporting DADT, Finance Reform and more and made no bones about it.
She was proud of what was accomplished. I wish more Dems were.
It’s going to be interesting talking to her office tomorrow.
I hope 2012 is a landslide. The problem with that is that many of the Democrats who come in on President Obama’s coat-tails won’t realize that they didn’t actually deserve it.
I was thinking that all of them knew that the democratic leaders were involved in the negotiations with the president and the republicans. If they didn’t know it, they’re just as out of touch as the republicans and tea party folks. IMHO, those who are screaming the loudest are the biggest cowards. They had an opportunity to address this issue before the midterms and decided not to do it. Serves them right if they lost their seats. I had told my bluedog, Jim Marshall-GA-08, last August that he wouldn’t be elected if he continued to vote against the policies the president campaigned on. He ignored my advice, and he lost to the party supported candidate last month. I’m sending him a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays email to remind him that what I predicted did occur and why it happened. His campaign ads were focused on being more of a republican than a democrat. He didn’t realize how much he damage he had done with the democrats in his district until the election returns came rolling in. Many of the dems I spoke with said that they voted on November 2 for state officials, but they refused to vote for Marshall.
Great comment tracy.
Yes we can and do. 🙂
Or as Yoda would say, and I swear sometimes the President is channeling him when he’s trying to get Dems, Republicans, or the Press to wake up –
“Do or do not do. There is no try.” 🙂
tea party supported candidate
As an African American, what galls me the most is the way that they keep saying that Obama has the bully pulpit and should use it. Have they been paying attention to what has been happening to this president since he was sworn into office? I tried to tell those on DK that the America that some of us live in is vastly different than the one they inhabit. AAs, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, immigrants, and others voices don’t carry the same weight as some others. Palin is a prime example of this. She’s a know nothing whose every word the media replicates without asking any questions. It seems as if the minute President Obama was sworn in, the frustrati decided to help the rw do its job in attacking him and making his job more difficult.
This country is not yet a place where the majority of Americans actually believe that all men are created equal. Not by a long shot.
G, the only time I watched him much was when he was reading from James Thurber on Friday nights after his Dad died. I had not read Thurber in more years than I will say. His readings inspired me to get some Thurber books and read them for myself. So now I didn’t need to bother with him any more. Totally agreed with your comment
BTW, I find Thurber just as funny now as I did many years ago.
Good for Al Sharpton. I know that I have D Damned Squared had ENOUGH!
Well, isn’t that just ducky! The inmates have taken over the asylum!
I wish we could do recs here. I loved your comment. Try out “the People’s view” if you want some good talk with good people trying to work on real action.
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR IN THE PRESS…IS NOTHING SHORT OF VERBAL LYNCHING!!! I AM SO SICK OF THE HATE…THE DEMOCRATS ARE NO DIFFERENT! 24 MONTHS INTO THIS PRESIDENCY,I AM STILL WAITING FOR SOMEONE-ANYONE TO STAND UP FOR THIS PRESIDENT…IT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET!!! I FIND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY,OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO BE COWARDS!!! I AM NOW ASHAMED TO BE CALLED A DEMOCRAT. I THINK THEY THOUGHT THIS PRESIDENT WAS GONNA BE THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR…ONLY DO WHAT THEY SAY DO!!!I WILL REGISTER AS AN INDEPENDENT THIS NEXT CYCLE…TOO BAD THERES NOT A PARTY FOR OBAMA ONLY…OBAMACRATS…I WILL CONTINUE TO STAND WITH HIM NO MATTER WHAT…HE HAS SHOWN TIME AND TIME AGAIIN HE STANDS FOR THE PEOPLE…I MEAN FOLKS LIKE ME AND YOU!!! THIS MAN IS FOREAL,HE IS THE REAL DEAL!!! AND I AM PROUD!!
They can’t stand that Obama is loved, cool, charismatic, and easily the smartest in the room. He is a quick learner, willing to cop to his own mistakes, and has a dogged determination to do the best he can to make a more perfect union. And he is a true community organizer in that he will always take half a loaf over none. He also is what he says he is: faithful, loving husband, proud devoted father, and optimistic idealistic and pragmatic American.
You got mine. It’s the same here as it was “over there”
Majii, what a great comment and I totally agree. The racism and nasty is what drove me off DK. I give our Prez great respect and praise for the grace he has shown in the face of so much ugly.
Heard Nader was on calling for a primary to pressure the President so he can win back the liberal base…BWHAHAHAHA!
First, the President hasn’t lost liberals. According to the last WSJ/NBC poll, 79% of liberals support him. But it’s typical of these whackadoodle ideologues to see the 5-10% of the party they are part of as the ENTIRE BASE.
Second, Nader long passed his usefulness as a public figure. The guy’s a joke now and an egomaniac.
Right on Ray! I’ve been calling, faxing and emailing also. We really need for our voices to be heard.
Totally great comment! so astute and well written. I really do wish we had some ‘rec’ or ‘like’ buttons here.
Awwww, thanks for that! :o)
Great reminder and thanks Elly. I am so already on that! Faxes, calls and emails somewhere nearly every day. And we are already gearing up locally for our 2012 campaigns.
I saw the list of Dems who voted in protest today, and it looks like almost all of the black caucus is included in that bunch.
And Jon Stewart has jumped on the anti-Obama wagon, saying untrue things like his poll numbers have taken a dive etc. when they’ve been pretty steady as she goes for months. And talking about him being a one-termer etc. hahahahaha. And he made some birther comments too when he was interviewing an author tonight, not funny really Jon. The author mentioned he was born in Kenya, and Jon said he could be President. And the author said he couldn’t be pres. because of constitutional issues, and John said ‘well, we’re a little hazy on that one.” hahahahaha. ugh.
It’s like there’s a contest. I have never seen such a gang-up. It’s making me sick.
And you’re right.
Yes I saw him on Lawrence O’Donnell, along with Hamsher, Grayson, and Rabbi Lerner. They were all singularly focused on Barack Obama as a person, and hardly focused on policy issues. You could tell exactly where they were coming from, and it wasn’t a positive place.
1. None of these individuals could provide a specific and viable path to obtaining 60 votes in the senate. They were extremely vague and no real solutions were provided.
2. None of these individuals could name a viable and credible primary challenger to Barack Obama. The Rabbi (not surprisingly) dealt the race and gender card by insinuating that Obama was elected simply because he was Black, and that Hillary Clinton was in the running because she is female. In the same breath, the rabbi then turns around and names a Jewish male (Feingold) as a primary challenger to the Black guy. Ralph Nader (apparently Obama’s new psychiatrist) treated us to a long, rambling and accusatory discussion of Obama’s supposed aversion to conflict; Grayson was on board with his snarky “capitulator-in-chief” talking points. Hamsher couldn’t name anyone for a primary challenger except to say that Russ Feingold was not interested in running. and I believe that’s where Black people are having a problem with this progressive left. Because they seem to have a problem with Barack Obama, yet they have been unable to justify what about Obama that would make him less competent as President than the very candidates whose names they’ve been floating around.
I wonder the CBC say to the people in their districts. I stopped watching TV. Can’t watch all these people who criticize but are so thin skinned themselves. Done, I am done.
Jon Stewart was a god to me. Now, i can’t watch him anymore. The day he went to Fox and said that “Barack Obama is dishonest” – we were done and i’m never coming back.
Stewart said that?! When was he on, and what did he say Obama was dishonest about?
Okay, I’m going to try this again. Hopefully I have it together now!
bwd, Stewart said Obama was dishonest, and he said this on Fox? When was this and when did he claim Obama was dishonest about?
I would love to know who said it so that in 2012 when they need President Obama and his supporters, they can be reminded of that remark.
Nailed it.
Alan Grayson is a nitwit. Where was he pressuring his colleagues in the House to take up the tax cut fight before the election???
I swear, if I hear this clowns say, “Bully pulpit” one more time I’m going to scream. It’s like all they ever remembered was the 7th grade history lesson on Teddy Roosevelt and the bully pulpit. And they say it over and over like it’s a solution.
But the President nailed these folks – it’s more important for them to feel superior than to have viable solutions to achieving their goals.
What’s happening right now is unbelievable. I hope some social psycholog can explain it.
It’s like an emotional discharge. All the rage, the frustration at the GOP, at the plutocracy, at the injustice. All of that coalescing in a full blown tantrum at the one person who tries to make the best of an awful situation.
It breaks my heart to say it, but I don’t see how President Obama can recover from what’s happening this week. I just can’t see it. I hope I’m wrong.
He was dishonest presenting himself as an idealist during the campaign. Yep.
Bill O’Reilly’s show, IIRC.
At the end of the day, Jon Stewart is someone who is too afraid to stand for anything.
Didn’t he just have some kind of rally where he implored everyone to work together to solve our problems??? And yet he wants to lob his own rhetorical bombs and act like he is above it all. He wants them all together in some kind of kumbaya moment, but then he attacks the President for capitulating and being weak.
Take Arianna Huffington. She attached herself to Stewart’s rally (she has a habit of attaching herself to anything and everything that is popular) and embraced his message of “working together to get through the tunnel,” then turns around and attacks the President for compromising. So many of the leftwing ideologues did the exact same thing.
Where do they get off attacking anyone for not standing for something, when they embrace two divergent messages themselves? Again, they just want to act like they have all the answers and are superior to everyone else.
These people do not stand for anything other than attaching themselves to the outrage of the day; they want to have it every which way they can.
All these rants last few days are just noise and theater but same voices are starting to get louder. Of course ideologists will continue ranting but economists are slowly turning page and see positive sites of tax deal. Unfortunately in noise around taxes is absolutely overlooked something much worse and dangerous to our democracy. Today Huffington post brought report about Westboro Baptist church preparing protest during Elizabeth Edwards funeral, last Monday Think Progress brought report about Rep. King (R) who said in his interview:
RIGHT SIDE NEWS: Cliff Kincaid recently had a National Press Club conference where he called for resurrection of the Congressional internal security committees. Would you support re-creation of such committees?
KING: I would. I think that is a good process and I would support it.
I hope noise around tax deal dies soon and media will start paying attention to these things because it is much more scary and dangerous to all of us.
Jon Stewart talking about honesty??? I find him kind of disingenuous in the way he plays to both sides.
We figured out Jon Stewart ages ago..
He is a petty, vindictive, envious, agenda driven racist who never supported President Obama – His constant denigration of President Obama only a manifestation of Jon’s own insecurities and prejudices…
But Jon will get what’s coming to him in time-
Ralph Nader is a selfish, bitter, envious man who hates that President Obama got everything he ever wanted…
Keith Olbermann has become to self important to even know what a political fight is. It is easy to just answer insult for insult with the other party. What true political fighting is trying to get a deal which you believe will help the country,while the otherside tries to stop any progress for their own political advantage.
Keith Olberman wanting a return to the equivlant of political food fights,and calling that fighting strong leadership says how far Mr. Olbermann has fallen intellectually , and the strength of President Obama ,not to follow him down that rabbit hole.
That’s the goddamned truth.
+1 for your comment. I agree.
I have stopped calling myself a progressive I now just say I’m an old Democrat, I didn’t know that to be a Progressive you had to swing to the radical left.
tip
I think there are a lot of new FDL commenter’s at DK stealing the narrative.
+1 LOL, I also have gotten a little more free with my thoughts and comments, since I dont worry about getting banned anymore.
As a white American male I agree with you.
Oh BWD, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Oh shoot, it’s not possible to count to infinity:)
I turned KO off last night for the first time in well…ever (when he was hosting, that is) As soon as he started saying that Obama wasn’t a fighter, I’d had enough. And I don’t know if I’ll go back to watching him.
Look, in a perfect world, the Republicans could be shamed into acting like actual human beings and doing what was right for the country and not the millionaires who back them…but this ain’t a perfect world. I think the president did the absolute best he could to broker a deal to help a lot of real people who are in dire need right now. That’s what a leader does. If I wanted a narrow-minded pugilistic twit for president, I’d have voted for McCain.
And the outrage that Obama called some Democrats out on their b.s—please, spare me. *eyeroll* I’m glad they got called on the carpet—no one’s asking for blind obedience to the president, but when Democrats start acting like the worst of Republicans, it’s a bad, bad day for the country.
-Krista 🙂
Krista – dead on! I couldn’t have said it any better. It seems to be more important to some to score political points and “stand/die” on principle than actually get something done! Crazy!
Mark my words, Obama is going to go down as one of our greatest presidents ever. With what he’s accomplished so far given the circumstances, I believe that historians in the future will marvel at what he’s done.
And, shout out to BWD – this site has saved my attitude! THANKS!!!!!!!!
You are so right. Everytime something needs to get done he has to push and pull Democrats to get it done and then look what they turn around and do? They should be ashamed of themselves!!!
Yet…the probably wonder why they lost the house.
Krista, Not only did I turn off Countdown with Keith, but I sent an email to his show to say “Good-Bye.” I have watched Countdown since the days it was a show about OJ Simpson. I convinced many, many friends to watch. But, I have watched for the last time. I am disgusted by the “Comment” Keith directed toward the President. In particular, Keith dismissed the President’s efforts which actually saved our economy from a depression. Keith stated the President wants us to “Thank” him for these efforts. Those words were a bridge too far for me. Yes, we need to “Thank” the President and his administration for the hard choices they made to pull the economy back from the brink. And, I have watched Rachael for the last time as well. I do not need to watch those shows bash the Democratic President I worked to help elect. And, I will work to help elect him in 2012. Thanks to Blackwaterdog I have a place to come to say “Thank You!” to the President.
AAAAAAAAAAMEN!
Agreed! the word ‘Progressive’ is not a polite one in my house!
Im glad someone other than me noticed the attacks on the President by Lawrence O’s “panel” were absolutly personal in nature, not to mention the Rabbi’s blatent racism. Bottom line, these people, all of them, could care less if the unemployment checks stop on Jan 1 or if taxes go up because they cant get past their hate of the right, and anyone on the left who doesnt share that hate. All President Obama has done is spent his life directly trying to help the poor, which is what this compromise is all about.
President Obama continues to make hard decisions in order to fight for the middle-class ordinary Americans. But because he won’t do exactly what pundits would have him do (on both sides of the political spectrum), they foam at the mouth. Good grief!
Hi Starshine,
Here is a Gawker link to the Stewart “concern” segment.
As BWD noted above, Stewart basically called PBO a fake. Despicable of Stewart.
Apropos of that:
Those who want a pony have to be prepared to clean the stables.
In agreement with you again jaywillie, no offense to those who attended the Stewart/Huffington rally but it bothered me because of the circular promotion and some of the self-promotion involved. I stopped watching Stewart/Maddow/Olbermann/Schultz/Maher and crew ages ago.
And a word of advice for all these holier than thou pundits, quit implying and or saying that the President is weak. I’m not AA but I am a member of a minority group and when you say that I hear something else.
A Swamp I cant even bring myself to peer into from the edges any longer. To say Im poed with the far far left is a massive understatement. The mob at Daily Kos,KO and RM need to be known not as Democrats and certainly not it’s base, but a fringe group of voters just as likely to vote Nader as Obama. I cant stand it when they bring a super lefty on their show and represent them as mainstream Democrats.
Taitz just congratulated Luke Scott of the Baltimore “Oreos” (yep, that’s how she wrote it) on his “gee, my birth certificate is in the drawer at home, where’s his?” statement calling into question Obama’s right to be president.
I just sent the following to the Orioles, per the Contact link on their website:
***************
Someone needs to tell that idiot that Obama has, and has displayed, a perfectly valid proof of birth certificate from the STATE of Hawaii. This is what you get from Hawaii when you ask for your birth certificates; the originals are kept by the state.
The REPUBLICAN governor of Hawaii has confirmed that she’s seen the original certificate.
Valid….proof….of….American…..citizenship….period. (Funny how no one raised the question of McCain being born in the Canal zone,not even a U.S, Territory, but a chunk of foreign country we were leasing at the time.)
But idiots like Scott will obviously not be satisfied until they see the President’s certificate carved in stone and presented by Moses himself
By the way, “Birther Queen” Orly Taitz has congratulated Scott on her web site as a member of the “Baltimore Oreos.” Yeah, she’s definitely the brightest bulb around.
Tell Scott to shut up…..or the “Oreos” will become famous only for the stupidity of your players.
************************
Anyone else feel like sending a similar message?
First I’ve heard of this. What a fool this guy is. I googled and believe it or not, Olbermann named him “Worst Person”.
Just butting in to say you are teh awesome, ABL. Love your posts on BJ.
Same here, cassandra 123. I “broke” my addiction to their shows when it became crystal clear to me that their respect for this president ebbs and flows with the issues. IMHO, if they can’t criticize his positions on the issues without trying to destroy his presidency, I can’t watch their shows. Enough is enough. I live in a reality-based world where it’s sometimes necessary to make tough decisions, but it seems as if they’re on a permanent trip to LalaLand.
“These people do not stand for anything other than attaching themselves to the outrage of the day; they want to have it every which way they can.”
I agree, jaywillie,
And the only things I have observed which they stand for is making money and being celebrities by being booked on any program that will have them.
They remind me of one of my education courses on child development in which we examined Piaget’s Stages of Development. Piaget would place them in the egocentric stage of development, a characteristic that appears when one is a toddler.
I am African American, and I hear the same thing you hear when I hear them referring to the president as “weak,” kittypat. For me, it’s a kind of coded language that says that President Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing because AAs never do. It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not.
I see what’s behind these types of statements, and so do millions of Americans in all racial/cultural/ethnic/religious groups whose eyes are really open to the hidden intent behind these statements. I’ve been there, done that, and have dealt with it nearly every day of my 50+ years.
Never expect a leopard to change its spots.
Had some great conversations today with my collegue – a 30-something who. She and her husband are expecting their first child.
There is a twenty-year difference between us – so we’re a generation apart. Her generation, I believe sees things alot differently than mine. But we both agreed, after watching and listening to the news and reading the blogs, that the nation is not divided by a single line. We are not a two-dimensional entity of left and right, progressive and Tea Bagger. We are a spectrum – a circle, a wheel.
So in that, she surmised progressives end up being as radical and anti-government as Tea Baggers. The progressive becomes the bagger becomes the progressive again. Everyone else in the middle has their needs and they are largely quiet — that means the majority of middle Americans and Americans at risk who the President is trying to address and who are most at need.
What is becoming more apparent is that there is as much a longing and a nostalgia from progressives for the good old days of FDR, JFK and even LBJ as there is for Tea Baggers who yearn for the 1950s America of American Empire, Eisenhower, Reagan, the nuclear family, the mother at home and the father at work.
The facts on the ground: FDR had more of a mandate and a party majority in Congress, JFK was never anti-war, and LBJ was working with revolution and change underneath his feet because there was a draft in America. Eisenhower was part of the Truman era of re-building the nation and capitalizing on its gains from the military insutrial complex–using funds to rebuild the world and corporations and armies to profit from it: Korea. Indochina. Vietnam. The Balkans. Iraq. Afghanistan.
Neither progressives’ or Tea baggers’ yearnings for a previous era or previous solutions are relevant to our current reality. We cannot tax endlessly to pay for a government that is too top-heavy and militarily saturated. And we cannot let businesses die because people in this transition period need jobs.
The complexity of problems the nation faces is not just along economic lines, its also along technological, environmental and geopolitical lines. We’re in an age where neither of the extreme view’s original pictures of what America is will come to pass.
America herself is changing–from what her current economic base is to what will be a new one. From her older demographics that are predominately white to a more diverse population. From a nation whose xenophobic consciousness of borders is finite to an infinite, diverse and open borderless nation.
We are a nation afraid of our own change. We have no idea of what wikileaks, Citizen’s United, the economic downturn and the crisis of climate change really means yet.
The President is a symbol of that hope and that fear. He is a President leading our ship through four years of headwinds. Though I cannot say whether his next term will be as rough or not, this is someone who probably knows the insides of where we are and why–over the many years and decades it has taken to get us to this cliff.
Navigating the ship called America from going over a waterfall is a task no one envies. Good thing its this President. Low-key, smart and cool. That’s the least we can hope for. I’m sure we here all hope for more.
A problem that I’ve seen throughout the years is the devaluing of, and miscalculation of, African Americans’ intelligence and political connectedness. That the rabbi made such a statement shows how little he knows about us. I grew up in a household where my parents studied the candidates’ positions on the issues BEFORE casting their votes for them. And besides, how can approximately 12% of the population elect any president? They must be using some type of new math that we saner individuals aren’t party to!
Few of those who are making these kinds of statements realize just how politically involved most of us are. There are very few places that I go where we do not discuss politics. We don’t need anyone to tell us for whom to vote because we learned a long time ago that the ballot box is THE place where important issues related to our and our children’s futures are decided, and contrary to what some of them think, the majority of us love our kids and want the best for them just like they do.
I would guess that very few of these mouthpieces know very many people of color, gays, lesbians, atheists, agnostics, immigrants, etc, and so, are totally unqualified to make any statements about them. What they’re good at is blowing smoke up the azzez of the gullible who buy into their crap-filled diatribes.
Thanks, GN, for mentioning that President Obama is not grandstanding and feeding his ego, something that GWB did constantly, and the frustrati didn’t complain nearly as much about his leading us into 2 wars, the PATRIOT Act, and his blowing up the deficit. Sure, they were upset, but they never attacked GWB with personal insults that reach the level of the insults they’re launching at Obama.
The fauxgressives and poutragers like Olberman and Maddow can shake their fists at clouds “on principle” because at the end of their rants they still get their 7 figure salaries and go home to their cozy NYC penthouses. My 87 year-old auntie loved watching their shows – now, I can’t utter their names in her presence! She has 4 pictures on her wall: JFK, MLK, Jesus and Barack Obama. 🙂
Well said, majii.
What I have come to realize is that Jon Stewart, Ahhhhhrianna Huff & Puff, Daily Kaustic, Bill Maher, Olberman, Maddow, and their ilk are the other side of the same Fake Views newswhore coin. They say outrageous things to get viewers and clicks to satisfy their advertisers and corporate shills at the expense of real people who are just trying to make it from day to day. They don’t give a crap about us.
Same with the elected officials who chase after every shiny object to make sure those taxpayer funded paychecks keep rolling in. While their may be one of their peers who every now and then actually thinks outside of their own selfish interests (can’t think of one at the momemnt!), Barack Obama has been the only person whose ACTIONS support 100% of what he says. I don’t agree with every decision the president had made, but I do believe that he thought about me and my family before he made it.
Can you provide a link to the list, please? Thanks!
Yup.
God help me! I just agreed with Charles Krauthammer. What is happening to me? Someone, please, help!
Not only does he nail it, Krauthammer’s got the narrative of the year down.
President Obama is, as Andrew Sullivan says, master of strategy and, as 10-4:
“Meep-meep”.
Can you imagine a President McCain & Vice President Palin in charge of this country with all the problems we have now? McCain would’ve probably had an aneurysm by now, leaving Palin in charge, which really would’ve led to Armageddon.
We are living in revolutionary times; however, that doesn’t mean we need revolutionaries leading us. During times like these revolutionaries are exactly the wrong people to lead. For them, the revolution is an end in itself; actual governance takes a distant place. When the world is losing its head, you need to keep yours.
What a wonderful, wise assessment.
Amen! Thank heaven for yours and a few other websites or I would be going insane!!!
Yeah, Olbermann calls him the worst person in the world…
The same Olbermann who has been so glaringly racist in his demeaning, denigration and utter disrespect of President Obama –
I have no use for vindictive, sanctimonious, petty idiots like Olbermann who think their liberal leanings give them cover for their blatant racist posturing…
The self-righteous Olbermann who once told the story of how his grandfather raged and cursed racist expletives at the television set when his favorite show was interrupted to announce the assassination of Martin Luther King jr….
We now know that try as it may, the apple never really falls too far from the tree…
I am heartsick and embarrassed to be a democrat. while the left-wing teabaggers rend their garmets, i’m about to lose my second job in less than two years. i’m a single mom with three teens, and I NEED those unemployment benefits, and the tax cut, and the extended college education deduction and making work pay credit that are in the bill that DEMOCRATS WON’T VOTE FOR. the hysterical reaction to this deal is interesting in that the far-right is so right and the far-left is so left, they’re meeting each other in crazy land. the rest of us are here in the middle — and the Democrats who complain about our President’s “lack of fight” have no idea they have been outmaneuvered in an attempt to reach most Americans who occupy that vast space in the middle. He is playing chess, as usual, while they play … dominoes.
I know…what in the world? 🙂
doublel, hang in there! Sanity will prevail; I really believe that. We have the miracle of a second stimulus materializing out of nowhere (thank you POTUS!). The purists may not care, but there are so many people out here who understand how important it is to help as many Americans as possible even if we’re called flipflopper or sellout because of it. I called my grandstanding Rep’s office yesterday and laid into them.
the Democrats who complain about our President’s “lack of fight” have no idea they have been outmaneuvered in an attempt to reach most Americans who occupy that vast space in the middle. He is playing chess, as usual, while they play … dominoes.
Isn’t it amazing that it turns out that the biggest egos in the room, the people most insistent that they are the elite and know so much better than everyone else…turned out to be not that freaking sophisticated. Great insight.
BWD, I’m just thankful you are here.
So right. In today’s Daily Fox, in a diary blithering about how horribly betrayed the diarist felt, somebody posted a comment saying that she’d been dipping into some of the pro-Obama blogs and found that they were referring to themselves as “Obamacrats” and are therefore no longer actual Democrats because, you know, only lefty lefts long on criticism and short on ideas with any substance or practical solutions can call themselves “Democrats”. She seemed to be saying, though, that people are saying that they are no longer calling themselves Democrats, which I found to be a low blow. I’m not an Obamacrat, but a Democrat who supports President Obama and thinks he’s trying to do the right thing.
Well said. I am in full agreement and have been making sure that anyone who dares express what I believe to be a completely dysfunctional viewpoint is schooled.
The only adult in the room 
In that spirit, I propose that everyone who reads this be sure they are doing their own regular efforts to support the President and fight the Republicans, instead of dwelling too much on the wrath of those on the left who are attacking him.
Where’s your letter to the editor?
Who have you said a good word about the President to?
If your Congressperson is a Republican, are you watching his/her every move and pouncing on everything?
In January I understand OFA will be gearing up for the 2012 campaign. If you are not already involved with OFA, please find out how to do so today. If there is no active group near you, start one! Just a few people can be the nucleus.
Excellent comment.
I’ve been knee-deep in a short biography of Albert Camus (as I said in a previous comment), and the portrait of Camus that comes through reminds me so much of PBO: disdaining the vicious certainties of both the extremes, holding fast to a vision of a common humanity, especially in those that disagree with him, the conviction that no human life is expendable, especially in the quest to attain some sort of political goal. The quote that gets me is that if humanity is to remain humane, “it must maintain itself at the very limits of revolt, where heartbreak and lucidity are one. Short of, or beyond this limit, struggle no longer exists. There is only consent and, in a sense, passivity.”
Both of the extremes on the left and right see themselves as History’s actors, dragging their benighted fellow citizens to a golden Shangri-La; they know what’s best, and how to get us there. There is no brook of opposition or dissent; either is evidence of treason, and there is only one response to that. It’s always the case with revolutions and revolutionaries: the “right” way, or the guillotine, or gulag. They’ve gone past the point where you “revolt” to ameliorate the human condition, to the place where the revolt is an end in and of itself.
What’s really comical is that they have no power, or no actual power. They can’t move votes. They can siphon money from their followers, but that’s a closed loop. They snicker at the great unwashed, but have no idea how to reach them. It is something of preaching to the choir, as the choir gets louder and louder to mask the fact that very few people are in the church.
So, I feel sadness at this pass we’ve come to as a country, but also a dark mirth. Hopefully we’ll survive our adolescent-fueled culture, and come out wiser for it.
For various reasons I’m not much of a phonebanker–reticence from years of stuttering, even though that’s under control right now. I give money when I can. And I’d be more than willing to open my house to OFA meetings.
Ed Shultz is more annoying than ever. At least Rachel and Keith most of the time know what they are talking about, but Ed is not very smart. I’ve see him throw tantrums over false rumors he heard. Poor Obama. Great for liberal and right wing ratings.
I find that wearing a simple button (I have a small one that says “Peace, Love, Obama”) reaches a lot of people as I’m out and about. It says, I am willing to stand up and be counted for this president. I’ve started a number of interesting conversations that way, where I can pass along a few facts that tend to widen the eyes of people who have onlhy heard the rants.
I will write my rep, Gabrielle Giffords from Southern Arizona, and ask her to support the compromise. I’ve got to do something real to help the president. What you wrote is spot on, BWD. It’s time for us to work the phones and email. Save our breath to cool our pudding! We will work more issues in the future. Unemployment is vital now. We got many good things with this compromise and I commend the President for wringing out as much as he did. Now we have to help him finalize the deal.
I was done with Schultz when I heard him say “you’re either with us or against us” at Netroots. He was of course, addressing Obama. Yeah I remember the last guy that said that.
I’ve written to my Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand. I need to start working on my rep – who comes from a working class family background herself – so she may want to go “against the grain” (hopefully!)
Good evening. Really enjoyed your beautifully written analogy.
The quote about what is necessary for humanity to remain humane is profoundly powerfully.
“it must maintain itself at the very limits of revolt, where heartbreak and lucidity are one. Short of, or beyond this limit, struggle no longer exists. There is only consent and, in a sense, passivity.”
I can relate to that personally as well as politically. “Dark mirth” does seem to come with the territory at times. 🙂
Thank you so much Liberal Librarian.
The poutragers are expressing outrage because President Obama called their bluffs. He actually practiced bipartisanship and did what the Democrats failed to do before the mid-terms: fight for a deal over these tax breaks enacted by Bush and unemployment extensions. He brokered a deal, which most reasonable economists agree isn’t that bad when you read the fine print.
But do poutragers read? No, they listen to poutraging commentators like Huffington, Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald, and others that have no clue about actually governing or getting things done in the real world.
President Obama is governing from the real world, not The Matrix fantasy land that the poutragers are plugged into. Obama knew that he wasn’t going to get his campaign promise of ending the Bush tax cuts, with a Republican House coming into power in January. So he decided NOT to play politics and instead did the pragmatic thing: broker a deal which helps the low/middle income earners, which most of this deal does.
But the poutragers focus on the 37% of the deal that is the extension of the Bush tax cuts, acting like this is the death keel for progressive Lollypop land.
They’ve cried wolf way too many times.
First it was with Obama’s appointment of Geithner, Summers, and Rahm to his cabinet. I recall the anti Geithner/Summers/Rahm rants all too well, especially when Rahm made his “retarded” comment, which made the poutragers implode.
Then it was the long dragged out healthcare fight, with the death of the public option. That was supposed to be the death keel for them.
Then it was the appointment of Elena Kagan, “OMG Kagan is way too far right to be a justice, how come Obama isn’t appointing a purist liberal like us?”
Then it was financial reform, “OMG, why is he bending over for his banksta buddies?”
Then it was the oil spill in the Gulf, “OMG why is Obama apologizing for big oil? Why isn’t he using his bully pulpit to champion a clean alternative energy plan?”
Now the current nontroversy of the moment is these tax cuts for the wealthy, which Obama did campaign on, but circumstances changed and for the moment, he has to break that promise and temporarily extend them. But in return, the tax breaks for the low/middle income earners remain, and their UEI benefits will be extended, not at ALL what the Republicans wanted… but “OMG, Obama has caved into Republicans and is the modern day Neville Chamberlain!”
I know poutragers mock the chess analogy, but he is actually playing chess and out maneuvering them. He doesn’t think in media cycles, he thinks outside the media cycle box and into the future.
I have no reasons to doubt my vote for Obama in 2008 and will vote for him again in 2012, and if that makes me a brainwashed koolaid drinking Obamabot, then so be it!
The poutragers need to unplug from The Matrix liberal fantasy they have created and wake up to the real world. The real world isn’t as black and white as they wish it would be. Continuing to use hyperbole to demonize President Obama doesn’t make you a “progressive” or a “liberal.” I’ve encountered actual progressives/liberals on other blogs who are farther to the left than the poutraging “progressives/liberals” that actually support what the President is doing, even though they disagree with him.
In short: if they aren’t going to do anything productive, Huffington, Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald and the other poutraging fools need to help themselves to a nice cup of SHUT THE FUCK UP!
Wow:
Sepia 14 minutes ago
WTF???? The Dem that said “Fuck The President” needs to be a man/woman and take ownership of what they said!
Profanity, Anger Spill Over in House Democratic Caucus Meeting
* By Anna Palmer
* Roll Call Staff
* 2:29 p.m.
The frustration with President Barack Obama over his tax cut compromise was palpable and even profane at Thursday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting.
One unidentified lawmaker went so far as to mutter “f— the president” while Rep. Shelley Berkley was defending the package the president negotiated with Republicans. Berkley confirmed the incident, although she declined to name the specific lawmaker.
“It wasn’t loud,” the Nevada Democrat said. “It was just expressing frustration from a very frustrated Member.”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) was also overheard saying that “we can’t trust him” not to cave to Republicans and extend the tax cuts again in two years, according to a Democratic source.
The anger aimed at the bill was widespread. As Democrats moved to block the bill from coming up on the floor, chants of “Just say no!” could be heard by reporters outside the room.
Berkley is one of the few Democrats publicly supporting the package. While she said it wasn’t necessarily how she would have written it, the bill should go forward in her estimation because it is “chock full” of tax cuts that will help the working class in her state.
“I’m not willing to play Russian roulette to see who blinks first,” Berkley said.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/-…
**********************************************
Shaking my head. Just shaking my head.
I just put an I Stand With the President bumper sticker on my car, called my 2 senators and congresswoman to support the tax cut compromise (except for Feinstein there was no waiting, not many waiting), and called AK last night for OFA. Good to keep urging action. We can make a difference!
Sent the President a thank you email. Been pushing back all day at a site that must not be named. Will be calling Collins, Snowe, Pingree and Michaud again tomorrow. And yes, I’m talking to everyone when I’m not chasing one of the grandbabies around. 🙂
Woops!
And will be working with OFA somewhere, somehow.
To a degree that depends on my daughter’s school and work schedule for next semester. I’ve been helping raise her beautiful son since he was an infant.
I’ve written to my Senators and to my Rep as well.
I enjoyed it too LL, and would like to add that Barack Obama will be remembered favorably by humankind for his accomplishments, the others will be lucky to be footnotes in history.
christine20, do you know who Ed’s new BF is?
Mary Landrieu, I kid you not. Apparently he was quoting her when she called President Obama “morally corrupt.”
Not only do I recall Landrieu stabbing Obama in the back during the oil crisis in the Gulf and blocking his nominee, Landrieu was one of the few Democrats who voted FOR the original tax cuts under Bush that she is now attacking Obama for… and she is the new darling whom Shultz is in love with. Talk about being “morally corrupt.”
Shultz never quit being a Republican, he just hides his Republican colors well enough like Huffington. Shultz will attack the wackadoodle Republicans like Sarah Palin, but he’ll apologize and bow down to Demopublicans like Mary Landrieu when their actions fit his cynical rants.
You go, BWD. I am incensed that the left has decided to jump off sanity cliff along with the right. Have been getting loads of emails asking me to sign petitions to kill this bill; I’ve asked to be removed from all of those mailing lists and have certainly told them why!
Like the president, I want to be part of the solution, not the problem.
And you’re right — “sanctimonious” did not go far enough — but our president is a gentleman, as opposed to some of the savages in Congress.
(Sorry for the strong language; I am well and truly PO’d.)
Keith and Rachel can go jump in a lake.
“you’re either with us or against us”
Now who was the LAST guy who used that rhetoric?
Let me take a minute…
*Jeopardy theme*
*SNAP*
Now I remember, George W. Bush!
And yet these poutragers accuse Obama of being just like Bush!
At least Obama hasn’t deliberately lied to the nation that has resulted in more troops being killed. True, he extended and expanded the war in Afghanistan, but that was something he was always going to do and campaigned on.
Like I’ve posted, Shultz has never quit being a Republican, he just hides his colors well.
Lucky you! The rewards of being a parent are your grandchildren.
Thank you first for this blog and the postive responses…I have been sick all week with the nasty turn libs have taken against the President…this site has given me hope again….
Let’s be blunt. This entire incident is about ego IMO. Had the Democratic legislative caucus hammered out a second stimulus in exchange for a temporary tax cut extension, they would be heralding their negotiations prowess to the high heavens.
Remember: everyone is Mike Tyson when POTUS rather than the GOP is the punching bag.
This was an awful days for congressional Dems IMO. They do not understand how they look.
Get the F outta here. Does that make Schultz “Bush-lite”? 😀
Here here. You just said that far better than I ever could. Thanks. I feel a little better having read that!
Brilliant.
Hey blackwaterdog!:o)
I have spent the past few days acting a straight up FOOL over at Daily Kos.
Now, I don’t normally act that way, but once Kos decided to go all Neville Chamberlain on the front page, I decided that if they wanted to show their arses, I would show mine as well . . . why be modest?
Let’s just say, the most vicious character assassinators become insta-victims as soon as you call them on their BS. They assume the fetal position and get their friends to swarm in and scold you – talk about cult of personality – hah!
I actually had someone scold me for disrespecting a “frontpager”, as if that title trumps PRESIDENT of these here UNITED STATES!
Hilarious!
You keep doing your thang over here – it is driving the irrational haters craaaa – zeeee!
Al Sharpton, its time to push back, President Obama will not be the scape goat. A messagae for weiner.
Over the course of the last several weeks, we have diligently watched as our President, Barack Obama, and the Democratic Party withstood filibustering and stonewalling from the right. Conducting hearings on the weekend, and doing everything they conceivably could to assist the poor and middle-class, their repeated attempts at compromise were met with fierce resistance and an utter disregard for the majority of this nation by the Republicans. And now, after holding the American people hostage as our President so rightfully pointed out, these self-aggrandizing politicians are sitting back and allowing Obama to be the scapegoat for all that ails us. It’s time we call them out. Adeptu2 diary on dkos. I did not comment LOL! He is sounding the alarm the left is in for a awakening.
I’m willing to bet it was probably Grayson or Wiener, most likely Grayson seeing as he was soundly defeated and has become an enemy of Obama’s.
Either way, I’m shocked to hear that a DEMOCRAT of all people said “Fuck the President.” I expected that kind of behavior out of the Republicans, but out of a Democrat?
Who the hell do they think they are, thinking that they can disrespect President Obama and his office?
At least Joe Wilson had the courage to yell “YOU LIE!” in front of the President, Congress, and America and be publicly shamed for it. This Democrat can’t even man up, admit they disrespected the President and his office and apologize.
And the Democrats wonder why they’ve pissed everyone off, even many of us who have pushed and fought long and hard for them.
Precisely a reason why I agree with the Founders idea that political clubs are a joke.
I have no words. I never thought I’d see such selfish, outlandish, damaging behavior by Democrats. They appear to be clueless and uncaring, willing to throw lifesaving measures for desperate people and a desperate economy overboard to prove a point. And I don’t get how they cannot understand that President Obama managed to secure the very best deal possible given the circumstances. He is not an entity unto himself, able to pass legislation that only he and Democrats would like. He has to try to do his best to protect the American people while having to negotiate with obnoxious Repubs and their “holy grail”, tax cuts for the wealthiest, their benefactors.
I have had my fill of 2 yr. olds tantruming. It’s idiotic. “Pay attention to ME!” And now I see that the left has been joined by the tea baggers in opposition to the tax deal. If that doesn’t say it all. It’s a Grover Norquist alliance all over again.
No you have not. I am so proud of you Nashville i told everyone here to remind me not to go there. I checked in but i have not commented to day. you go girl! I am proud of you.
So true, I cant even enjoy watching Rachel lately – He will be blamed for the Senate not passing DADT tonight as well
I’ve been wondering. For a party that is in such disarray, they all seem to be able to inject the word “hostage” into their comments, speeches and interviews. Hmmmmmm……
Tracy-where did you get it from.
Did Rachel really say that Obama will be irrelevant in a couple of years?
Me too. I feel so bad for the Pres. Even though he can take it. I guess the truth comes out, they hate him.
Get ready if Al Sharpton is sounding the alarm to back off the president. People has had enough. The left and the right is making things worse.
Thanks for the kind words . . . had to come over here to rinse off . . . DKos has become a swamp.
I find this repulsive. Utterly repulsive. Where are the grown-ups? It appears that people listened to the bible according to the media and hopped aboard the excess train.
This is beyond shameful and yes, President Obama once again looks like The Only Adult In The Room. Dems are far superior to the GOP. It’s a shame that they wasted this opportunity to show it.
I’d put money on Weiner or a freshman. Obviously a coward since they “muttered” that insult. I also think that person has been reading the comment sections of certain blogs.
The Democrats are just as childish as the Republicans, both parties are full of corrupt clowns who care nothing about their constituents and care only about gaming the system for themselves.
The Democrats are running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off because President Obama called their bluffs. He actually accomplished what they failed to do: broker a deal with the Republicans over these tax breaks, that (*GASP*) MOST OF THE PEOPLE SUPPORT!
Why do these Democrats continue to listen to the rants of Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald, all of whom know JACKSHIT about governing in Washington?
These Democrats don’t seem to get the memo that they LOST last month and this is their LAST CHANCE to make a difference before they are the brand new party of No in January. I’m thinking that these Republicans actually realize that governing from the far right and playing Fox News political games isn’t going to get them very far, which is why THREE of them broke across party lines to support the DREAM Act. Guess who killed it? A Democrat. Which Democrat? The “principled progressive” hero, Russ Feingold!
If Rachel said that, she is naive. I watched the National Tree lighting event with Obama’s presence this evening, and the crowd LOVED him. They loved beginning the holidays with him, and they enjoyed Michelle reading “The Night Before Christmas.”
Rachel is only saying Obama is irrelevant until she is tasked with the choice of supporting Obama or some far right lunatic like Palin, Thune, Pawlenty, Bolton, Barbour… then POOF, she’s back to loving Obama again as if she never demonized him. Same goes for the other poutragers of the pundit media.
nashvillefan, I have always your commentary, and hope that you spend time here permanently.
That’s it. And thinking “I look principled,” no—they look like hypocritical children.
Thanks GN … hanging out here is much better for my sanity! :o)
Thank you for your kind words. I can’t claim clean hands; there was many a time when I got wrapped up in the outrage on the “left” blogs, and wondered what the hell had happened to Pres. Obama. But something always pulled me back from abandoning him. Call it that place of tension of heartbreak and lucidity. I’d go back, read facts, see that the outrage was manufactured at best, an outright lie at worst. But it’s probably because as we get older we lose the certitudes of youth. I was ready to storm the barricades as a young(er) man, was sure that a change was around the corner. But change is slow, incremental, takes a step back once in a while. People who don’t accept that fact end up frustrated, because the world hasn’t become the vision of perfection they have in their minds. And, sometimes, people like that turn into monsters.
So here’s to a space where we can beat down those monsters of our natures.
If Huffington, Olbermann, Maddow, Shultz, Hamsher, Greenwald, et al is really serious about letting tax cuts for millionares expire, why don’t they quit whining and become proactive. They all can get together with other patrotic millionares and billionares and petition congress to add a provision that gives millionares and billionares an opporotunity to voluntary allow their tax cuts to expire?
It may or may not be successful but at least they gave it a try.
Tulips, there’s an OFA store: http://store.barackobama.com/stickers.html
The Dems also have a store although I know that many of us aren’t in the mood to purchase from them today: http://store.democrats.org/?source=Democrats-FC
Tulips, try here: http://store.barackobama.com/stickers.html
Today is Day 2 with not even a glimpse at the Orange Satan. I’ve been feeling all mellow and peaceful.
Of course, at the moment I’m all worked up over my Representative and his damned petition to Stop the Tax Cuts Compromise that he’s hawking on Facebook. I told him I was sorry I’d voted for him and donated to him and that undermining a Democratic President is despicable. They think if they kill the compromise that they’ll get a better deal and the evidence is that the House has already passed a better deal. Yeah, and where did that go, bright boy? Into the death chamber that is the Senate. And it DIED! They think that if they blow this one up the Senate will give them a better deal? Why? What evidence is there that suddenly the Senate will change it’s mind? None, that’s what evidence there is. And in January Speaker Boehner will be smirking ear-to-ear as he passes a tax cut bill that’s ALL about the wealthy, gets no stiumulus at all for the Middle Class, and the unemployed have long since moved into their cars, all thanks to a bunch of idiot purist Democratic Congresscreatures and their principled stand. Screw them!
I guess I don’t need to go to Orange Satan to get worked up on this issue. 🙂
No shit! Feingold was the one again?
I’m so pleased he and his “principles” are happy together. 😦
What is with the man?
How can he even rationalize that vote?
I think that you’re very correct about the (IMO, media-)manufactured nature of the nonstop political crises we political observers are witnessing. It strikes me that this exhausting cycle is one reason of several that so many American tune out of politics altogether. The current “political crisis” or “political disaster” is merely the latest trumped-up crisis.
I’ve really enjoyed your comments as well, Liberal Librarian.
Could this be the Prez’s plan to get the Dem’s fired up? Maybe the Dem congress will get a spine and effect some positive change in the deal he made with the Republicans. Maybe we are witnessing that 11th dimensional chess. I hope so.
I’ve been most appreciative of your excellent efforts to throw a bucket of truth on the mob over there, nashville fan. I notice that about every hour there now another familiar name announces his/her exit. I say, just let the crazies have it. I’ve seen the true colors of the front pagers there these last few days, feeding the sharks, and I don’t see how that place will ever recover, will ever have any kind of widespread appeal again. It will just be regarded as a loony fringe site.
You’re definitely not alone, Joe. I love this space.
all other votes are on hold until this tax cut issue gets resolved. Guess who’s holding it up? For once, it’s not the goddamned Republicans, it’s the Democrats running around like chickens with their heads cut off!
The Democrats had an opportunity to make a difference and they FUMBLED the ball… not once, but TWICE!
Now Obama has to once again find some Republicans willing to buck the party line just to get this issue taken care of. I find it telling that it’s the Republicans actually willing to quit playing politics for the sake of the country and not the Democrats, that was proven to me with three Republicans defecting to support the DREAM Act, with the vote killer being the “principled Democrat” hero Russ Feingold.
I emailed the DCCC to cancel my monthly donations today since they don’t support the democratic values of promoting the livelihood of their constituents. I told my congresswoman Lee that I was shocked that she ignored all the people who are suffering in her district.
I like Rachel but she is often to snarky for me and that giggle drives me crazy. She can’t get opposition guests on her show because of the snark. I wish she would stick to true journalism and leave the comedy to John.
I sincerely doubt it. I think that we are witnessing a media-driven “crisis” story, only the latest of many. And we are witnessing what is quite possibly the worst performance out of elected Dems this legislative session. And I don’t think that it has a thing to do with policy. I think that it has everything to do with Dems being excluded from the negotiations.
Sheer, utter excess masquerading as “principle.” I have no issue with reasoned debate and reasoned stances coupled with viable, well-thought alternatives. This? A media sensation. These Dems in congress ought to be ashamed of themselves. I reminded my Rep that our district cannot afford this type of nonsense. Bloggers’ principles are not putting food on the table. This is a good deal, and they very well know it.
Agree. A link to an article was recently posted here that said “the President put his neck on the line” for poor people. He is definitly not playing politics.
You can order from OFA store, only $3. I ordered 5 and will give the remainder out to other Obama supporters.
After spending a day or two in the swamp pushing back and having much fun watching what you were doing, I’m delighted to see you here! 🙂
Rinsing off here is a very good thing. 🙂
Who’s your rep? Mine is John Lewis, I hope he’s backing the compromise tax deal.
Excellent. We really do need to organize a letters to the editor campaign tomorrow. The voice of reason is still few and far between in the media, despite some notables.
Nope. He’s not grandstanding or feeding his ego. Would that everyone involved could say the same…
Here’s to hoping that Dems get their acts together and do the right thing: take the deal.
The last opposition guest I recall Rachel having on was teabagging hero Rand Paul. She totally ranked him over the coals for his racism and did an excellent job exposing him. Too bad Kentucky didn’t buy any of it… but it is Kentucky.
I’ve only watched her show a couple of times and never caught on to her appeal. The poutrager blogosphere praises her as a hero… but then again they consider the Dream Act killer Russ Feingold to be a “principled Democratic hero” as well.
Nicely said, GN.
Where were they with all their principles when the President repeatedly asked them to vote on extending the tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less – before the mid-terms?
Going to call Pingree and ask her that question tomorrow.
::sigh::
And what are you wondering? 🙂
I wonder why they were excluded. Do you know if the Dems were made aware of the compromise before the public was aware?
(It’s hard keeping up with replies here. I also wish I knew posters’ previous usernames. And, it would be nice to have a list of blogs that are owned by kos and former kos commenters-with the usernames we know them by (if they were ok with that) )
I have never witnessed such disrespect for a President, by either party. Even those who brought shame upon themselves, their party and the country, there was never this level of vitriol. It really has me wondering.
Keith showing how Obama is a quitter. Hillary would be better, This is awful
I actually think that this bluster from the Democrats is their way of saying “We are against it,” and in the end they’ll take the cowards way out and vote for it saying “We had no wiggle room out, we are FORCED to vote for this bunch of crap Obama shoved down our throats!”
The Democrats HAVE to vote for this deal, poll after poll shows that the majority of the public and a majority of their base support this deal, they would be committing political suicide to shut it down. This is no different from the healthcare debate at all, the Democrats incidentally enough are being the new Party of No to score cheap political talking points before they eventually fold and end up voting for it.
And the Democrats literally have no wiggle room, they are rendered moot in January. A lot of Democratic voters are low/middle income earners who are living off of UEI, so the Democrats better not fuck with their constituents, or end up suffering the same fate as they did under Bill Clinton.
I wrote some very polite emails stating my point of view. I most certainly do not expect to see the likes of Schumer panning deal-making. I fully expect Dems to stop the tantrum / hissyfit and make some movement on this matter. As I wrote to my Rep, our district cannot afford nonsense; what are bloggers doing for the people who rely on the EITC here? Not a thing. Some of the loudest “kill the bill” advocates are the least well-informed (note: TIMT’s diary at the people’s view in which Hamsher/Green exhibited both a lack of knowledge of what is in the deal, and a lack of a viable alternative to the deal). These legislative Dems need to leave the media fantasy and serve their constituents. We don’t have time for this. And several owe their seats to large hispanic turnout. We’re going to lose out on DREAM, DADT Repeal, and START because of these tax cuts?
When negotiated, you must know when to hold them, and know when to fold them. Purity politics are unhelpful and regressive.
I think you are probably correct, gn. I have heard those hurt feelings expressed. Was it because the admin. was in a rush to get something done on this before the new Congress shows up, and even the concessions won would be at stake, and so they didn’t take the time to go down the line and ask, “Is this okay with you?” If that’s it, that’s pretty sad, the willingness to chuck all for feeling neglected, or something.
And really, it’s not our responsibility to try to balance the excesses of another space. If this is the way that they think they can make progress, God bless them, and leave them to it. The purity/pragmatist alliance has grown toxic, and separation is simply better for everyone. That’s my view.
I read that the Tea Party agrees with the Dems
It’s unbelievable. They are behaving like fools and are heading to a fail of epic proportions unless sanity and reason reign.
John Lewis has been an ardent Obama supporter, and what I’ve seen and read on him, he’s not a man to play partisan party line politics. I feel pretty confident that John Lewis will continue to have Obama’s back, because he wants to continue to support a fellow African American in being successful in a field where the white man wants him to fail.
It never hurts to call and email him though.
Keith Olbermann has lost his goddamn mind. Really! Its just out!!! Its gone. Look out in space, do you see it?
well snowbird you would be correct, as Teabagging Terrorist Jim Demint is Bernie Sander’s new colleague in filibustering this deal.
Screw em both.
Actually Sarah Palin would be better, seeing as she actually QUIT her job as governor two years in advance to become the new mediawhore of the mainstream media.
And I quit on Olbermann months ago and haven’t had a second thought about doing so.
Olbermann just proves Obama’s point about being sanctimonious, and that point goes above Olbermann’s self centered mind.
I used to watch Olbermann to watch him make fun of Republicans, but lately all he does is bash Obama, and is attempting to Willy Horton him, along with the rest of the poutraging pundits. The ONLY pundit on TV defending Obama is Lawrence O’Donnell, because he actually has a clue and knows what he is talking about.
I was wondering if any POTUS previous to this in recent memory dealt with this insanity and willingness to knee-jerk tantrums. About a deal which benefits *us.* I can’t believe this.
Never could stand him. But I am so biased. As soon as I learn Orange people like something, I’m ready to hate it 🙂
When KO would turn toward the camera, it pans in, he makes that faux enraged face, I want to barf. He sucks up to Kossacks?!! How sick is that? They deserve each other. I remember when they wrote multiple diaries OUTRAGED that he ignored the terms of his contract and got busted for it. Well, duh.
It’s unbelievable. This is a great deal and they know it. I can of course understand some objections but this is so over the top and such a character attack that it is unreal. I’d love my Rep to come to her constituents and explain to us how it is reasonable for congressional Dems to mock and disparage this President for doing nothing more than standing in between the GOP and the middle, working and impoverished classes. She can’t. Thus she needs to support this POTUS and I wrote as much. Hopefully reason, logic, and facts will prevail during this ridiculous media frenzy.
I really don’t know. I’m not versed enough re: the political process to even take a guess. Perhaps this is just kabuki and it was planned in advance that POTUS would take the heat for this; I don’t know. I just would like the character attacks on POTUS to stop and for people to turn away from the media’s latest manufactured crisis.
I predict an new alliance will soon be announced: The Teabaggers and FDLsacs. We used to get in deep shit with Master of the Universe Blades for playing with the clever (I thought) term Firebaggers. But history will show we were ahead of the curve.
I stand with Al Sharpton.
This is reality nintendowii10. And the bottom line is that this is a good deal. And they know it.
Welcome. I was Another Ct Dem over there, one of your, uh, fans 🙂
Very sad indeed.
Onomastic, if everyone else is pure, do you want to be the last person on the block to be pure too??!!111one? (no way serious of course)
I’m trying to understand what happened. Did Feingold’s vote really decide the fate of the DREAM act? If he had voted yes, would it be on its way to being law?
I applaud you from afar 🙂 Unfortunately I cannot and shall not and will not go there, but do fart in their general direction.
I wish some of those AA congresscritters would show a little more backbone and buck the party establishment in the House . . I just heard Howard Fineman say that, at the Dem caucus this morning, there were members say “F the president” only they filled the blanks in.
Amen to that tracy. 🙂
Being a Nana is amazing. It really cements in the long view.
The children and grandbabies are the reasons for being involved. All the grandbabies and the people who will be their friends, neighbors and all those they’ll share this beautiful blue planet with.
I love running into other politically active grandparents on line. They do kick some serious butt. 🙂
We all know there’s only so much time left in which to try to make a difference, no matter how small it may be. 🙂
I just don’t get it! I really don’t see any congressional Dems coming up with a better plan – but I do see a lot of posturing and fake outrage. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop -where the Dems ‘have’ to vote for the bill because Obama boxed them in. I’ve already starting to see signs of it.
Come up with a better Plan! Better yet, Dems should be screaming about how the rethugs want money for rich people – and none for the poor, none for the 9/11’ers and none for the senior citizens. Unbelievable.
However, it all feels fake – it’s interesting who isn’t shouting or making demands. Don’t get me wrong- I think O is sincere and is providing cover for all the outrage. Reid is doing his role – having votes that he knows won’t passed the 60. The dem caucus have their non binding vote – but Nancy wasnt there. However she is using their non binding vote outrage to ‘fight for a better bill’. I feel like I’m being played -and being pushed to be outraged! To scream!
Well, time will tell. I just know this- I can afford a tax hike, I know the wealthy can. But I know that the working poor can’t – and for the few unemployed who says for the Dems to reject the bill, I say to them – pride and outrage doesn’t keep the lights on or food on the table.
That’s what I finally decided. I can understand why others want to continue to fight on, but I just came to the decision that the few good diaries that pop up nowadays just didn’t make Daily Kos as a whole worthwhile for me, so I simply stopped going. No dramatic goodbye as I wasn’t exactly the most prolific poster, but I’m much happier now, and they can stay mad over there. It’s all good.
Yes he has. I am so disappointed in that PUMA segment. Totally pointless and gratuitous. Shame on him
I have great pride any time any person states that I am a ‘liberal.’
I consider – now – being called a ‘progressive’ about as demeaning as being called a Republican.
Just. that. simple.
I don’t know. I remember reading last week about President Obama meeting with Reid and Nancy Pelosi and saying he wouldn’t accept a deal that didn’t extend unemployment benefits.
Get on Pingree – she was on MSNBC bashing the compromise but with no idea of an alternative to prevent tax increases and extend unemployment compensation. I was underwhelmed by her performance . .
I’m pretty sure that’s what this fuss is all about rather than “principle” or policy. The committee that Obama set up to come up with a solution — Jack Lew, Tim Geithner, Chris Van Hollen, David Camp, Max Baucus, and a Rep senator (name completely forgotten!!) — met a bunch of times but didn’t get anywhere so VP Biden stepped in and cut a deal with Mitch McConnell.
Ridiculous. He’s doubling down on the stupid IMO.
Black, I’ve been stating as much, that this bluster from the Dems is just that… bluster.
They know that Obama called their bluffs, he actually brokered a deal, and they like it, yet they have to act outraged just to appease their supporters of The Matrix called the poutraging blogosphere. They make up what, 20% of the entire voting demographic? Last Gallup poll I checked has this deal polling at 66%, which far outnumbers the poutragers of the blogging world.
Many Democrats have constituents who are low/middle income earners and living off of UEI, so the Democrats have no choice but to take the deal. They’re just upset that Obama will get the credit for doing what they should have done and they end up having egg on their faces.
But hey, that’s what happens when you chicken out before the mid-terms and force the President’s hand into doing your damn jobs.
GN, Intuition tells me that the reason it is so easy for many, even in Congress, to attack his character is because of his color. And some may not even be aware of it. It’s hidden way deep in their souls, almost unbeknown to those to whom it belongs.
I don’t know how to accurately explain it, but I know it.
OT-I wish deoliver would stop by here. I think she has so much insight.
Big effen eye roll. Thanks to eclecticbrotha over on W.E.E. for finding this:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/WH-lawmakers-clear-way-for-apf-1253423469.html?x=0
I think we all just got pawned on this or badly misinformed.
But then it’s the Senate after all.
The vote has been postponed until next week.
“Democrats had hoped to get an outright vote Thursday on the legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
But they didn’t have the votes to get past a threatened Republican filibuster which would have required 60 votes. So by a 59-40 vote, Democrats essentially punted until next week.”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2010/12/09/131931604/dream-act-not-quite-dead-yet
And the Republicans have informed the Dems that nothing else will get done until the Bush Tax Cuts are extended and funding the government’s operations are voted on.
They will fillibuster to make it so.
No wonder the President is pushing to get the compromise done.
Dear lord – Republicans suck.
As far as I could tell, Keith never did like Obama. And Rachel admitted during the primary race that she was not enthusiastic about Obama.
Trufax, fam, prior to joining Kos in the spring of 2008 I had never even heard that word before used by Democrats. My first reaction was “What’s a damn Progressive?” and my second reaction was “What’s wrong with just plain old liberal?” It always seemed like a way to just relabel yourself because Repubs had demonized liberal so much. I don’t know, I proudly call myself a liberal because of the history, and because nothing pisses off Repubs more than someone who just says “Yeah, so what?” when they sneeringly call you a liberal.
Or go kick rocks!
lol, “rank and file Democrats”. What in the world is that? They’ve never been rank and file!
What you said X2!
The frustrati don’t get it because, I’m guessing, they don’t have to worry about how they’ll pay the bills next month. If they did have to worry maybe they could understand the President’s desire to get the tax deal in place before Session ends.
annie, I’ve bookmarked your website. Great stuff!
I am not surprised by any of this. I have watched these people go about their business, not having this president’s back in no way form or shape.
The looked the other way whem the teabaggers threatened him, called him Hitler, took guns to his rallies and questioned his citizenship. Not one of them stood up for this president.
They took every opportunity to go on TV and trash him. So, I am not surprised. They are only beginning to show us their true colors.
I have lived in this country since 1980, never seen a president treated in this fashion. As I have said, I won’t forget this easily. I won’t.
When Joe Wilson yelled out you lied to president Obama, so many people feigned faux outrage. That is because he is a Republican.
It is OK for Democrats and liberals to disrespect and emasculate this president, but when Republicans do it, it is murder. What freaking hypocrisy?
Well staetd, but relax. Have you forgotten the posturing that went on exactly a year ago before the Christmas eve HCR senate vote? This is what these congresscritters live and die for; POSTURING. It is in their DNA. Last time it was Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, and good ole Lieberman who needed a special ego massaging session, then went ahead and knifed us in the back about the medicare buy-in and got various sundry kickback deals. Shameless is what they are!
And at the time, they whined that the Pres. was not giving them “guidance’. Fast-forward a year later and it’s too much guidance; and they were not given a part to play in the dealmaking; and yada yada yada… No pleasing these darling congresscritters of ours.
Plus they are trying to lay down a record of “resistance” to ward of any future primary challenge to their seats. They remember how many of them were hurt by their Iraq war vote of the “Bush tax cut” vote. They are just taking “precautions”
I wish Deo would stop by too Starshine. She brings so much knowledge and wisdom.
It would be a pure delight seeing her here, though I imagine she must be very busy with end of semester work at school.
Perhaps afterwards she’ll stop in.
That would be wonderful. 🙂
preach! I’m sick of this crap. gah!
Thnx for that update. I really hope this goes through quickly or else we are gonna be like the people over in England, taxes and school fees going up. I don’t like how the Democrats are acting though, this new purists attitude is scaring me. I can hardly keep up with my bills now much less if they decide to be shystie and play games.
Shameful. Did they utter those words against Bush?
Wouldnt Hillary had to have won the election?
Im still furious about that interview. When do we take election rhetoric afterward as truth?
The destruction of Obama is making me sick.
I do hope she is able to find her way here.
She does bring so much knowledge and wisdom, she’s a good, good soul.
Maybe it’s burning somewhere a bit further south… I gave up watching Keith’s hystrionics ages ago.
The Progressives did a version of this during HCR. Remember the infamous letter?
They’ll settle down. They have to. Senate Republicans have stated that they will Fillibuster everything until the Bush Tax Cuts are extended and paying for government operations is settled.
So they’ve got Dream, DADT, etc all hung up unless Reid can get all the Dems to vote as one for once. And we’re running out of time.
Not that it will do any good but will be calling Snowe and Collins yet again.
Feel free to join in. 🙂
Really? Why do they even care what i think? They bullied me out of there, i don’t visit this place, i deleted them from my bookmarks, and obviously they think that i’m no more than a stupid fangirl. So why waste to much energy over me?
Well, first of all the post I responded to is apparently incorrect.
The vote on the DREAM Act has been postponed until next week in an attempt to get the Democratic Senators together.
Secondly – Purity? What is this purity you speak of? I no haz it. 🙂
It is their future we are fighting for. It’s why the president always emphasizes thinking about the inheritance we will leave our children and grandchildren rather than the next election. Our grandchildren will pay the price not only of our long-term debt but of environmental degradation and climate change. One of the best ways to decrease the deficit is to boost economic growth. Hence the present compromise with its large 2nd stimulus. So of course we will all keep fighting. Yes we can!
You know most of the bitching is coming from Congressional Dems who will be gone come Jan.
Fucking racists. They would never dare do this to Clinton.
🙂
now how did that happen. Sorry for the double post
Did Sharpton write that?
Yep, even Anthony Weiner admitted on the ‘Morning Cup’ Joe Show, that the President asked them to do such a thing…Now, look where they are.
I’m going to phone Speaker Pelosi in the morning a leave a comment about this. It’s outrageous that they can utter such disrespect, when the past president marched them lockstep into war, violated the Constitution and create an economic mess – among other crimes – and we never heard such a thing coming into the public domain. It’s unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. They failed. The President rescued the situation and threw a little extra stimulus into the mix. They can’t see it, and they’re basically saying those horrid words to the American people.
It’s very telling that the folks on the left who want to scuttle the tax cut/UI deal only started to fight on this issue AFTER the elections and when they could focus their rage on the President and not, you know, Republicans.
And those House Dems – what a cowardly lot. They were too afraid to take up the issue before the elections or until the Senate acted. But now that they can attack the President over it…
Too afraid and stupid to attack Republicans; all too easy to go after the President for these folks.
Here we go. Lawrence O’ Donnell.
I was just reading on ajc.com of how angry some of the students are about tuition increases in the UK. They attacked Prince Charles and Camilla’s Rolls as they were on their way to a theater event. Our members of Congress should be glad that, thus far, no one has taken to the streets to attack them. I’m not suggesting this as plan of action, just comparing the recent behavior of citizens in Iceland, Greece, the UK, and other places, to the absence of these types of attacks on the government/government officials here.
http://www.ajc.com/
Excellent!
So Feingold merely voted against the postponement? Whew, that’s a relief. If he really was the one vote that scuttled it for good, that would really be a sign of serious dysfunction. This makes me feel a little better.
What I don’t get is what Harry Reid is doing bringing all these votes to the floor prematurely. He knows nothing will happen until the tax deal is sealed. The only possible reason would be to make the Republicans look bad for voting against things most people want. Which is a kind of hedging of bets that makes me nervous, as if he thinks they won’t get another chance to vote on these things later…
And the stupidest thing about the frustrati listening to KO and taking his advice is the fact that back in 2008, he admitted that he doesn’t vote. The only skin he seems to have in the game involves making sure that his show gets higher ratings. I do believe that it’s an ego thing. No wonder he wasn’t invited back to the WH a couple months back. If I were Obama, I’d remove the names of all of the frustrati from the list of those who would I’d invite to a meeting at the WH in the future. They’re his worst enemies, and they don’t deserve an invitation. The president thinks about things deeply before making a decision. They just wail and holler, “I want my ba ba, and I want it now!”
**corrected**
If I were Obama, I’d remove the names of all of the frustrati from the list of those who I’d invite to a meeting at the WH in the future.
Interesting, isn’t it? Those that ran away from what had been accomplished tended to get trounced. And now they’re whining again.
I like Pingree alot, but she makes mis-steps like the rest of human kind.
However, she proudly ran for re-election on HCR, supporting DADT, Finance Reform and more and made no bones about it.
She was proud of what was accomplished. I wish more Dems were.
It’s going to be interesting talking to her office tomorrow.
I hope 2012 is a landslide. The problem with that is that many of the Democrats who come in on President Obama’s coat-tails won’t realize that they didn’t actually deserve it.
I was thinking that all of them knew that the democratic leaders were involved in the negotiations with the president and the republicans. If they didn’t know it, they’re just as out of touch as the republicans and tea party folks. IMHO, those who are screaming the loudest are the biggest cowards. They had an opportunity to address this issue before the midterms and decided not to do it. Serves them right if they lost their seats. I had told my bluedog, Jim Marshall-GA-08, last August that he wouldn’t be elected if he continued to vote against the policies the president campaigned on. He ignored my advice, and he lost to the party supported candidate last month. I’m sending him a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays email to remind him that what I predicted did occur and why it happened. His campaign ads were focused on being more of a republican than a democrat. He didn’t realize how much he damage he had done with the democrats in his district until the election returns came rolling in. Many of the dems I spoke with said that they voted on November 2 for state officials, but they refused to vote for Marshall.
Great comment tracy.
Yes we can and do. 🙂
Or as Yoda would say, and I swear sometimes the President is channeling him when he’s trying to get Dems, Republicans, or the Press to wake up –
“Do or do not do. There is no try.” 🙂
tea party supported candidate
As an African American, what galls me the most is the way that they keep saying that Obama has the bully pulpit and should use it. Have they been paying attention to what has been happening to this president since he was sworn into office? I tried to tell those on DK that the America that some of us live in is vastly different than the one they inhabit. AAs, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, immigrants, and others voices don’t carry the same weight as some others. Palin is a prime example of this. She’s a know nothing whose every word the media replicates without asking any questions. It seems as if the minute President Obama was sworn in, the frustrati decided to help the rw do its job in attacking him and making his job more difficult.
This country is not yet a place where the majority of Americans actually believe that all men are created equal. Not by a long shot.
G, the only time I watched him much was when he was reading from James Thurber on Friday nights after his Dad died. I had not read Thurber in more years than I will say. His readings inspired me to get some Thurber books and read them for myself. So now I didn’t need to bother with him any more. Totally agreed with your comment
BTW, I find Thurber just as funny now as I did many years ago.
Good for Al Sharpton. I know that I have D Damned Squared had ENOUGH!
Well, isn’t that just ducky! The inmates have taken over the asylum!
I wish we could do recs here. I loved your comment. Try out “the People’s view” if you want some good talk with good people trying to work on real action.
WHAT I SEE AND HEAR IN THE PRESS…IS NOTHING SHORT OF VERBAL LYNCHING!!! I AM SO SICK OF THE HATE…THE DEMOCRATS ARE NO DIFFERENT! 24 MONTHS INTO THIS PRESIDENCY,I AM STILL WAITING FOR SOMEONE-ANYONE TO STAND UP FOR THIS PRESIDENT…IT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET!!! I FIND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY,OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO BE COWARDS!!! I AM NOW ASHAMED TO BE CALLED A DEMOCRAT. I THINK THEY THOUGHT THIS PRESIDENT WAS GONNA BE THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR…ONLY DO WHAT THEY SAY DO!!!I WILL REGISTER AS AN INDEPENDENT THIS NEXT CYCLE…TOO BAD THERES NOT A PARTY FOR OBAMA ONLY…OBAMACRATS…I WILL CONTINUE TO STAND WITH HIM NO MATTER WHAT…HE HAS SHOWN TIME AND TIME AGAIIN HE STANDS FOR THE PEOPLE…I MEAN FOLKS LIKE ME AND YOU!!! THIS MAN IS FOREAL,HE IS THE REAL DEAL!!! AND I AM PROUD!!
They can’t stand that Obama is loved, cool, charismatic, and easily the smartest in the room. He is a quick learner, willing to cop to his own mistakes, and has a dogged determination to do the best he can to make a more perfect union. And he is a true community organizer in that he will always take half a loaf over none. He also is what he says he is: faithful, loving husband, proud devoted father, and optimistic idealistic and pragmatic American.
You got mine. It’s the same here as it was “over there”
Majii, what a great comment and I totally agree. The racism and nasty is what drove me off DK. I give our Prez great respect and praise for the grace he has shown in the face of so much ugly.
Heard Nader was on calling for a primary to pressure the President so he can win back the liberal base…BWHAHAHAHA!
First, the President hasn’t lost liberals. According to the last WSJ/NBC poll, 79% of liberals support him. But it’s typical of these whackadoodle ideologues to see the 5-10% of the party they are part of as the ENTIRE BASE.
Second, Nader long passed his usefulness as a public figure. The guy’s a joke now and an egomaniac.
Right on Ray! I’ve been calling, faxing and emailing also. We really need for our voices to be heard.
Totally great comment! so astute and well written. I really do wish we had some ‘rec’ or ‘like’ buttons here.
Awwww, thanks for that! :o)
Great reminder and thanks Elly. I am so already on that! Faxes, calls and emails somewhere nearly every day. And we are already gearing up locally for our 2012 campaigns.
I saw the list of Dems who voted in protest today, and it looks like almost all of the black caucus is included in that bunch.
And Jon Stewart has jumped on the anti-Obama wagon, saying untrue things like his poll numbers have taken a dive etc. when they’ve been pretty steady as she goes for months. And talking about him being a one-termer etc. hahahahaha. And he made some birther comments too when he was interviewing an author tonight, not funny really Jon. The author mentioned he was born in Kenya, and Jon said he could be President. And the author said he couldn’t be pres. because of constitutional issues, and John said ‘well, we’re a little hazy on that one.” hahahahaha. ugh.
It’s like there’s a contest. I have never seen such a gang-up. It’s making me sick.
And you’re right.
Yes I saw him on Lawrence O’Donnell, along with Hamsher, Grayson, and Rabbi Lerner. They were all singularly focused on Barack Obama as a person, and hardly focused on policy issues. You could tell exactly where they were coming from, and it wasn’t a positive place.
1. None of these individuals could provide a specific and viable path to obtaining 60 votes in the senate. They were extremely vague and no real solutions were provided.
2. None of these individuals could name a viable and credible primary challenger to Barack Obama. The Rabbi (not surprisingly) dealt the race and gender card by insinuating that Obama was elected simply because he was Black, and that Hillary Clinton was in the running because she is female. In the same breath, the rabbi then turns around and names a Jewish male (Feingold) as a primary challenger to the Black guy. Ralph Nader (apparently Obama’s new psychiatrist) treated us to a long, rambling and accusatory discussion of Obama’s supposed aversion to conflict; Grayson was on board with his snarky “capitulator-in-chief” talking points. Hamsher couldn’t name anyone for a primary challenger except to say that Russ Feingold was not interested in running. and I believe that’s where Black people are having a problem with this progressive left. Because they seem to have a problem with Barack Obama, yet they have been unable to justify what about Obama that would make him less competent as President than the very candidates whose names they’ve been floating around.
I wonder the CBC say to the people in their districts. I stopped watching TV. Can’t watch all these people who criticize but are so thin skinned themselves. Done, I am done.
Jon Stewart was a god to me. Now, i can’t watch him anymore. The day he went to Fox and said that “Barack Obama is dishonest” – we were done and i’m never coming back.
Stewart said that?! When was he on, and what did he say Obama was dishonest about?
Okay, I’m going to try this again. Hopefully I have it together now!
bwd, Stewart said Obama was dishonest, and he said this on Fox? When was this and when did he claim Obama was dishonest about?
I would love to know who said it so that in 2012 when they need President Obama and his supporters, they can be reminded of that remark.
Nailed it.
Alan Grayson is a nitwit. Where was he pressuring his colleagues in the House to take up the tax cut fight before the election???
I swear, if I hear this clowns say, “Bully pulpit” one more time I’m going to scream. It’s like all they ever remembered was the 7th grade history lesson on Teddy Roosevelt and the bully pulpit. And they say it over and over like it’s a solution.
But the President nailed these folks – it’s more important for them to feel superior than to have viable solutions to achieving their goals.
What’s happening right now is unbelievable. I hope some social psycholog can explain it.
It’s like an emotional discharge. All the rage, the frustration at the GOP, at the plutocracy, at the injustice. All of that coalescing in a full blown tantrum at the one person who tries to make the best of an awful situation.
It breaks my heart to say it, but I don’t see how President Obama can recover from what’s happening this week. I just can’t see it. I hope I’m wrong.
He was dishonest presenting himself as an idealist during the campaign. Yep.
Bill O’Reilly’s show, IIRC.
At the end of the day, Jon Stewart is someone who is too afraid to stand for anything.
Didn’t he just have some kind of rally where he implored everyone to work together to solve our problems??? And yet he wants to lob his own rhetorical bombs and act like he is above it all. He wants them all together in some kind of kumbaya moment, but then he attacks the President for capitulating and being weak.
Take Arianna Huffington. She attached herself to Stewart’s rally (she has a habit of attaching herself to anything and everything that is popular) and embraced his message of “working together to get through the tunnel,” then turns around and attacks the President for compromising. So many of the leftwing ideologues did the exact same thing.
Where do they get off attacking anyone for not standing for something, when they embrace two divergent messages themselves? Again, they just want to act like they have all the answers and are superior to everyone else.
These people do not stand for anything other than attaching themselves to the outrage of the day; they want to have it every which way they can.
All these rants last few days are just noise and theater but same voices are starting to get louder. Of course ideologists will continue ranting but economists are slowly turning page and see positive sites of tax deal. Unfortunately in noise around taxes is absolutely overlooked something much worse and dangerous to our democracy. Today Huffington post brought report about Westboro Baptist church preparing protest during Elizabeth Edwards funeral, last Monday Think Progress brought report about Rep. King (R) who said in his interview:
RIGHT SIDE NEWS: Cliff Kincaid recently had a National Press Club conference where he called for resurrection of the Congressional internal security committees. Would you support re-creation of such committees?
KING: I would. I think that is a good process and I would support it.
I hope noise around tax deal dies soon and media will start paying attention to these things because it is much more scary and dangerous to all of us.
Jon Stewart talking about honesty??? I find him kind of disingenuous in the way he plays to both sides.
We figured out Jon Stewart ages ago..
He is a petty, vindictive, envious, agenda driven racist who never supported President Obama – His constant denigration of President Obama only a manifestation of Jon’s own insecurities and prejudices…
But Jon will get what’s coming to him in time-
Ralph Nader is a selfish, bitter, envious man who hates that President Obama got everything he ever wanted…
Keith Olbermann has become to self important to even know what a political fight is. It is easy to just answer insult for insult with the other party. What true political fighting is trying to get a deal which you believe will help the country,while the otherside tries to stop any progress for their own political advantage.
Keith Olberman wanting a return to the equivlant of political food fights,and calling that fighting strong leadership says how far Mr. Olbermann has fallen intellectually , and the strength of President Obama ,not to follow him down that rabbit hole.
That’s the goddamned truth.
+1 for your comment. I agree.
I have stopped calling myself a progressive I now just say I’m an old Democrat, I didn’t know that to be a Progressive you had to swing to the radical left.
tip
I think there are a lot of new FDL commenter’s at DK stealing the narrative.
+1 LOL, I also have gotten a little more free with my thoughts and comments, since I dont worry about getting banned anymore.
As a white American male I agree with you.
Oh BWD, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Oh shoot, it’s not possible to count to infinity:)
I turned KO off last night for the first time in well…ever (when he was hosting, that is) As soon as he started saying that Obama wasn’t a fighter, I’d had enough. And I don’t know if I’ll go back to watching him.
Look, in a perfect world, the Republicans could be shamed into acting like actual human beings and doing what was right for the country and not the millionaires who back them…but this ain’t a perfect world. I think the president did the absolute best he could to broker a deal to help a lot of real people who are in dire need right now. That’s what a leader does. If I wanted a narrow-minded pugilistic twit for president, I’d have voted for McCain.
And the outrage that Obama called some Democrats out on their b.s—please, spare me. *eyeroll* I’m glad they got called on the carpet—no one’s asking for blind obedience to the president, but when Democrats start acting like the worst of Republicans, it’s a bad, bad day for the country.
-Krista 🙂
Krista – dead on! I couldn’t have said it any better. It seems to be more important to some to score political points and “stand/die” on principle than actually get something done! Crazy!
Mark my words, Obama is going to go down as one of our greatest presidents ever. With what he’s accomplished so far given the circumstances, I believe that historians in the future will marvel at what he’s done.
And, shout out to BWD – this site has saved my attitude! THANKS!!!!!!!!
You are so right. Everytime something needs to get done he has to push and pull Democrats to get it done and then look what they turn around and do? They should be ashamed of themselves!!!
Yet…the probably wonder why they lost the house.
Krista, Not only did I turn off Countdown with Keith, but I sent an email to his show to say “Good-Bye.” I have watched Countdown since the days it was a show about OJ Simpson. I convinced many, many friends to watch. But, I have watched for the last time. I am disgusted by the “Comment” Keith directed toward the President. In particular, Keith dismissed the President’s efforts which actually saved our economy from a depression. Keith stated the President wants us to “Thank” him for these efforts. Those words were a bridge too far for me. Yes, we need to “Thank” the President and his administration for the hard choices they made to pull the economy back from the brink. And, I have watched Rachael for the last time as well. I do not need to watch those shows bash the Democratic President I worked to help elect. And, I will work to help elect him in 2012. Thanks to Blackwaterdog I have a place to come to say “Thank You!” to the President.
AAAAAAAAAAMEN!
Agreed! the word ‘Progressive’ is not a polite one in my house!
Im glad someone other than me noticed the attacks on the President by Lawrence O’s “panel” were absolutly personal in nature, not to mention the Rabbi’s blatent racism. Bottom line, these people, all of them, could care less if the unemployment checks stop on Jan 1 or if taxes go up because they cant get past their hate of the right, and anyone on the left who doesnt share that hate. All President Obama has done is spent his life directly trying to help the poor, which is what this compromise is all about.
President Obama continues to make hard decisions in order to fight for the middle-class ordinary Americans. But because he won’t do exactly what pundits would have him do (on both sides of the political spectrum), they foam at the mouth. Good grief!
Hi Starshine,
Here is a
Gawker link to the Stewart “concern” segment.
As BWD noted above, Stewart basically called PBO a fake. Despicable of Stewart.
Apropos of that:
Those who want a pony have to be prepared to clean the stables.
In agreement with you again jaywillie, no offense to those who attended the Stewart/Huffington rally but it bothered me because of the circular promotion and some of the self-promotion involved. I stopped watching Stewart/Maddow/Olbermann/Schultz/Maher and crew ages ago.
And a word of advice for all these holier than thou pundits, quit implying and or saying that the President is weak. I’m not AA but I am a member of a minority group and when you say that I hear something else.
A Swamp I cant even bring myself to peer into from the edges any longer. To say Im poed with the far far left is a massive understatement. The mob at Daily Kos,KO and RM need to be known not as Democrats and certainly not it’s base, but a fringe group of voters just as likely to vote Nader as Obama. I cant stand it when they bring a super lefty on their show and represent them as mainstream Democrats.
Taitz just congratulated Luke Scott of the Baltimore “Oreos” (yep, that’s how she wrote it) on his “gee, my birth certificate is in the drawer at home, where’s his?” statement calling into question Obama’s right to be president.
I just sent the following to the Orioles, per the Contact link on their website:
***************
Someone needs to tell that idiot that Obama has, and has displayed, a perfectly valid proof of birth certificate from the STATE of Hawaii. This is what you get from Hawaii when you ask for your birth certificates; the originals are kept by the state.
The REPUBLICAN governor of Hawaii has confirmed that she’s seen the original certificate.
Valid….proof….of….American…..citizenship….period. (Funny how no one raised the question of McCain being born in the Canal zone,not even a U.S, Territory, but a chunk of foreign country we were leasing at the time.)
But idiots like Scott will obviously not be satisfied until they see the President’s certificate carved in stone and presented by Moses himself
By the way, “Birther Queen” Orly Taitz has congratulated Scott on her web site as a member of the “Baltimore Oreos.” Yeah, she’s definitely the brightest bulb around.
Tell Scott to shut up…..or the “Oreos” will become famous only for the stupidity of your players.
************************
Anyone else feel like sending a similar message?
First I’ve heard of this. What a fool this guy is. I googled and believe it or not, Olbermann named him “Worst Person”.
Just butting in to say you are teh awesome, ABL. Love your posts on BJ.
Same here, cassandra 123. I “broke” my addiction to their shows when it became crystal clear to me that their respect for this president ebbs and flows with the issues. IMHO, if they can’t criticize his positions on the issues without trying to destroy his presidency, I can’t watch their shows. Enough is enough. I live in a reality-based world where it’s sometimes necessary to make tough decisions, but it seems as if they’re on a permanent trip to LalaLand.
“These people do not stand for anything other than attaching themselves to the outrage of the day; they want to have it every which way they can.”
I agree, jaywillie,
And the only things I have observed which they stand for is making money and being celebrities by being booked on any program that will have them.
They remind me of one of my education courses on child development in which we examined Piaget’s Stages of Development. Piaget would place them in the egocentric stage of development, a characteristic that appears when one is a toddler.
I am African American, and I hear the same thing you hear when I hear them referring to the president as “weak,” kittypat. For me, it’s a kind of coded language that says that President Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing because AAs never do. It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not.
I see what’s behind these types of statements, and so do millions of Americans in all racial/cultural/ethnic/religious groups whose eyes are really open to the hidden intent behind these statements. I’ve been there, done that, and have dealt with it nearly every day of my 50+ years.
Never expect a leopard to change its spots.
Had some great conversations today with my collegue – a 30-something who. She and her husband are expecting their first child.
There is a twenty-year difference between us – so we’re a generation apart. Her generation, I believe sees things alot differently than mine. But we both agreed, after watching and listening to the news and reading the blogs, that the nation is not divided by a single line. We are not a two-dimensional entity of left and right, progressive and Tea Bagger. We are a spectrum – a circle, a wheel.
So in that, she surmised progressives end up being as radical and anti-government as Tea Baggers. The progressive becomes the bagger becomes the progressive again. Everyone else in the middle has their needs and they are largely quiet — that means the majority of middle Americans and Americans at risk who the President is trying to address and who are most at need.
What is becoming more apparent is that there is as much a longing and a nostalgia from progressives for the good old days of FDR, JFK and even LBJ as there is for Tea Baggers who yearn for the 1950s America of American Empire, Eisenhower, Reagan, the nuclear family, the mother at home and the father at work.
The facts on the ground: FDR had more of a mandate and a party majority in Congress, JFK was never anti-war, and LBJ was working with revolution and change underneath his feet because there was a draft in America. Eisenhower was part of the Truman era of re-building the nation and capitalizing on its gains from the military insutrial complex–using funds to rebuild the world and corporations and armies to profit from it: Korea. Indochina. Vietnam. The Balkans. Iraq. Afghanistan.
Neither progressives’ or Tea baggers’ yearnings for a previous era or previous solutions are relevant to our current reality. We cannot tax endlessly to pay for a government that is too top-heavy and militarily saturated. And we cannot let businesses die because people in this transition period need jobs.
The complexity of problems the nation faces is not just along economic lines, its also along technological, environmental and geopolitical lines. We’re in an age where neither of the extreme view’s original pictures of what America is will come to pass.
America herself is changing–from what her current economic base is to what will be a new one. From her older demographics that are predominately white to a more diverse population. From a nation whose xenophobic consciousness of borders is finite to an infinite, diverse and open borderless nation.
We are a nation afraid of our own change. We have no idea of what wikileaks, Citizen’s United, the economic downturn and the crisis of climate change really means yet.
The President is a symbol of that hope and that fear. He is a President leading our ship through four years of headwinds. Though I cannot say whether his next term will be as rough or not, this is someone who probably knows the insides of where we are and why–over the many years and decades it has taken to get us to this cliff.
Navigating the ship called America from going over a waterfall is a task no one envies. Good thing its this President. Low-key, smart and cool. That’s the least we can hope for. I’m sure we here all hope for more.
A problem that I’ve seen throughout the years is the devaluing of, and miscalculation of, African Americans’ intelligence and political connectedness. That the rabbi made such a statement shows how little he knows about us. I grew up in a household where my parents studied the candidates’ positions on the issues BEFORE casting their votes for them. And besides, how can approximately 12% of the population elect any president? They must be using some type of new math that we saner individuals aren’t party to!
Few of those who are making these kinds of statements realize just how politically involved most of us are. There are very few places that I go where we do not discuss politics. We don’t need anyone to tell us for whom to vote because we learned a long time ago that the ballot box is THE place where important issues related to our and our children’s futures are decided, and contrary to what some of them think, the majority of us love our kids and want the best for them just like they do.
I would guess that very few of these mouthpieces know very many people of color, gays, lesbians, atheists, agnostics, immigrants, etc, and so, are totally unqualified to make any statements about them. What they’re good at is blowing smoke up the azzez of the gullible who buy into their crap-filled diatribes.
Thanks, GN, for mentioning that President Obama is not grandstanding and feeding his ego, something that GWB did constantly, and the frustrati didn’t complain nearly as much about his leading us into 2 wars, the PATRIOT Act, and his blowing up the deficit. Sure, they were upset, but they never attacked GWB with personal insults that reach the level of the insults they’re launching at Obama.
The fauxgressives and poutragers like Olberman and Maddow can shake their fists at clouds “on principle” because at the end of their rants they still get their 7 figure salaries and go home to their cozy NYC penthouses. My 87 year-old auntie loved watching their shows – now, I can’t utter their names in her presence! She has 4 pictures on her wall: JFK, MLK, Jesus and Barack Obama. 🙂
Well said, majii.
What I have come to realize is that Jon Stewart, Ahhhhhrianna Huff & Puff, Daily Kaustic, Bill Maher, Olberman, Maddow, and their ilk are the other side of the same Fake Views newswhore coin. They say outrageous things to get viewers and clicks to satisfy their advertisers and corporate shills at the expense of real people who are just trying to make it from day to day. They don’t give a crap about us.
Same with the elected officials who chase after every shiny object to make sure those taxpayer funded paychecks keep rolling in. While their may be one of their peers who every now and then actually thinks outside of their own selfish interests (can’t think of one at the momemnt!), Barack Obama has been the only person whose ACTIONS support 100% of what he says. I don’t agree with every decision the president had made, but I do believe that he thought about me and my family before he made it.
Can you provide a link to the list, please? Thanks!
Yup.
God help me! I just agreed with Charles Krauthammer. What is happening to me? Someone, please, help!
But, seriously, tell me he does not nail it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/09/AR2010120904472.html
Beautifully said!
MoZ:
Not only does he nail it, Krauthammer’s got the narrative of the year down.
President Obama is, as Andrew Sullivan says, master of strategy and, as 10-4:
“Meep-meep”.
Can you imagine a President McCain & Vice President Palin in charge of this country with all the problems we have now? McCain would’ve probably had an aneurysm by now, leaving Palin in charge, which really would’ve led to Armageddon.
We are living in revolutionary times; however, that doesn’t mean we need revolutionaries leading us. During times like these revolutionaries are exactly the wrong people to lead. For them, the revolution is an end in itself; actual governance takes a distant place. When the world is losing its head, you need to keep yours.
What a wonderful, wise assessment.
Amen! Thank heaven for yours and a few other websites or I would be going insane!!!
Yeah, Olbermann calls him the worst person in the world…
The same Olbermann who has been so glaringly racist in his demeaning, denigration and utter disrespect of President Obama –
I have no use for vindictive, sanctimonious, petty idiots like Olbermann who think their liberal leanings give them cover for their blatant racist posturing…
The self-righteous Olbermann who once told the story of how his grandfather raged and cursed racist expletives at the television set when his favorite show was interrupted to announce the assassination of Martin Luther King jr….
We now know that try as it may, the apple never really falls too far from the tree…
I am heartsick and embarrassed to be a democrat. while the left-wing teabaggers rend their garmets, i’m about to lose my second job in less than two years. i’m a single mom with three teens, and I NEED those unemployment benefits, and the tax cut, and the extended college education deduction and making work pay credit that are in the bill that DEMOCRATS WON’T VOTE FOR. the hysterical reaction to this deal is interesting in that the far-right is so right and the far-left is so left, they’re meeting each other in crazy land. the rest of us are here in the middle — and the Democrats who complain about our President’s “lack of fight” have no idea they have been outmaneuvered in an attempt to reach most Americans who occupy that vast space in the middle. He is playing chess, as usual, while they play … dominoes.
I know…what in the world? 🙂
doublel, hang in there! Sanity will prevail; I really believe that. We have the miracle of a second stimulus materializing out of nowhere (thank you POTUS!). The purists may not care, but there are so many people out here who understand how important it is to help as many Americans as possible even if we’re called flipflopper or sellout because of it. I called my grandstanding Rep’s office yesterday and laid into them.
the Democrats who complain about our President’s “lack of fight” have no idea they have been outmaneuvered in an attempt to reach most Americans who occupy that vast space in the middle. He is playing chess, as usual, while they play … dominoes.
Isn’t it amazing that it turns out that the biggest egos in the room, the people most insistent that they are the elite and know so much better than everyone else…turned out to be not that freaking sophisticated. Great insight.
BWD, I’m just thankful you are here.
So right. In today’s Daily Fox, in a diary blithering about how horribly betrayed the diarist felt, somebody posted a comment saying that she’d been dipping into some of the pro-Obama blogs and found that they were referring to themselves as “Obamacrats” and are therefore no longer actual Democrats because, you know, only lefty lefts long on criticism and short on ideas with any substance or practical solutions can call themselves “Democrats”. She seemed to be saying, though, that people are saying that they are no longer calling themselves Democrats, which I found to be a low blow. I’m not an Obamacrat, but a Democrat who supports President Obama and thinks he’s trying to do the right thing.
Well said. I am in full agreement and have been making sure that anyone who dares express what I believe to be a completely dysfunctional viewpoint is schooled.
OFA here we come!