Anthony Weiner. Jerk.

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So this spoiled man from New York – Who still insist that there’s no Israeli occupation – tells the man who gave up on fortune and went to be a community organizer on the south side of Chicago – that he is a “man without values”.

Honesly, Mr. Weiner, f**** you. I’m sick and tired of you and all those bitter Clintonians, privileged brats and closet racists who are kicking this president in the nuts from his first day in office.

Why won’t you run against him, Mr. big mouth? Yea, didn’t think so.

Whiner’s words of wisdom can be found over at Huff-Crap. I will not give this woman a click to save my life, so you’ll have to go and look for it. Or, much better, here’s Weiner’s number in Washington. Give him a call. Time to push back against those back-stabbing Democrats:

(202) 225.6616

261 thoughts on “Anthony Weiner. Jerk.”

  2. Dear BlackwaterDog . . . . . Steady as we go here. Being reactive is sooooo understandable in these situations; and yet the rhetoric that comes out in the state of being reactive truly in my opinion does not forward the conversation, the situation, the campaign, the work of our fabulous President. So: You are AWESOME: you are making a FABULOUS contribution to us all: AND I request that you cool your jets and then [maybe] write something on the blog or [maybe] let it roll on by. Thank you for all you do.

  3. I can’t stand Anthony Weiner, he’s always talking junk and getting nothing done. As a matter of fact I’m sick to death of all the whiney ass dems wanting President Obama to be their daddy and run all branches of govt. They need to do their job and stop waiting on the President to do it. They act like President Obama is suppose to carry their damn water for them on ever little thing. They don’t take responsibility for shit…..rant over.

  4. I do go on huffington post (looks around guiltily). I like to hear different views and have noticed that Huffington Post indeed has an agenda against the president. For one nothing that they ever post about him seems to be positive and all of the articles have an agenda against Obama.

    BTW I didn’t know that Weiner thought that Israel wasn’t occupying Palestine. Gee this guy is such a hypocrite.

  6. Some people like Mr. Weiner need to stop, take a deep breath, look around and see what he has done lately to further society in a good , decent, and positive way. That is what is really going to stand in the end especially when all of this loud mouth people keep reminding us that they have such strong Christian values. They need to STOP mocking God, and check the log in their own eyes.
    This President is doing such a fine job, and most of these men could not last one hour under this pressure that POTUS is going through with grace, faith, caring, compassion, and intellect that is something to behold and be grateful to him each and everyday. BWD, you are such an inspiration, and I am so grateful that I can come here and read, feel comfortable with the comments, and express mine also. Thanks for all of your hard work. I know , I have my days, and I have to call my best friend in WA., and just scream when I read and hear some of this nasty stuff being spoken about our President. He is the best that I have seen in my lifetime, and I am 66 years of age. We will be fine, and you all can count on that because President Barack H. Obama is a strong, faithful, and caring man. He will succeed!!!!!!!

  7. As much as I’d like PBO 2 run again there is that part of me that says ‘they’ really don’t deserve his services a second time around..
    and then I wonder what things would be like without him..

  9. + 1,000,000

    My sentiments exactly, HZ! I think that it’s more important to NOT overly react to people like Weiner and focus on getting PBO a second term in the WH.

  10. Well, the most important thing that happened yesterday(and thank god it went under the rada) was the EPA issued its clean air standards…
    MSM misses it, and you have to search the internet to find it, but it is there.

    The rules are all coal fired plants will have to totally reduce all mercury vapor…
    They estimate that either BIG coal cleans their already existing plants, or they will be shut down.
    Also, they figure 15-20% wil have to shut down, opening the way for cleaner plants to be built.

    Good job Lisa Jackson, this info is on the EPA website!

    Shhh, do not tell the tea baggers!

  11. so I went to HP, which I too, have largely abandoned and I read the post in question, I think, I did not find it to be a slam of Obama. Here’s the quote so you don’t have to go to HP if you don’t want:

    “It is now pretty clear to me — I’m not saying this is pejorative — the president, he doesn’t animate his day by saying, ‘All right, what is the thing that has me fired up today? I’m going to out and try to move the ball on it.’ He kind of sees his job as to take this calamitous noise that’s going on on the left with people like us and on the right on Fox News, and his path to being a successful president, in his view, is taking that cacophony and trying to make good, level-headed, smart policy out of it and moving it incrementally down the road. That’s nice. That’s a good thing. We need that, obviously. The problem is there’s no substitute for someone really leaning into these values questions. ”

    I don’t have a strong opinion about Weiner one way or the other but this seems like a pretty mild statement and is pretty accurate. “good, level-headed , smart policy” doesn’t sound like a critique.

  12. Wise advice to all, Sara Carter.

    BWD, you are doing such an enormous service to the President and all those of us who support him.

    However, in a situation like this, please just reflect on how the person and President you respect so deeply, would respond. He’d say nothing publicly, of course. But, I’d venture that even in private he and VP Biden just looking at each other and having a hearty laugh, because that’s about all the emotion one should show to the Weiner’s of this world.

    All the best

  13. The far left are running scared again. They are afraid the world economy is shaping things here in America. A cascade of events that POTUS had nothing to do with, and the right wing money, has them shaking in their boots.
    So, the easy way out for them is, to bash the Black guy in the WH! Everybody else does, so why not?
    Only problem is, it is self defeating and stupid! It solves NOTHING, but feeds the red meat to the so called base(BS on the base thingy)!

  14. The bashing of the President has been going over at HuffPo for over a year. Now Arianna has her old friend and mentor Breitbart blogging for her. Many, many regulars have left HP.

  17. Anthony Weiner? Never heard of him until today. And I Hope to completely forget about him by tomorrow.

    Michael
    Among PBHO’s biggest supporters in France

  18. Here’s another reason to be proud of President Obama. I was so touched by this. This is class and grace personified.

    Obama visits Japanese Embassy; signs condolence book

    By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY

    President Obama has just made an unannounced stop at the Japanese Embassy on his way back to the White House from a St. Patrick’s Day lunch at the U.S. Capitol.

  19. Hey there bwd.. I don’t go to huffp.o.s. either.. and could care less for Mr. Weiner.. thus will take your word for his ‘jerkness’ and thus went to facebook and ‘liked’ his page.. and then posted your link to my facebook. If he said the President has ‘no values’.. then seriously Mr. Weiner is a liar and can go to you know where with his ignorance… imo.

  21. Bet Lawrence Odonell(Mr. Panderer himself) will have on wiener tonight.
    Lawrence has become the epitome of a Pandering fool!

  23. I understand the anger and frustration. A Dem makes some ridiculous comment and blogs such as HuffPo jumps on it. They thrive on any conflict real or perceived to use against liberals. This type of divisiveness was going on for a year prior to the 2010 mid-term elections. And we all see how that worked out. Dems need to stop with the stupid comments. They only serve to elevate the Repubs.

  24. MSM will have NO report on this, instead, they are doing the RNC bidding, by ONLY discussing the PRESIDENT being disengaged because he went to a DNC event last night! SIGH!

  26. I will release some steam from time to time. I spent enough time in places where i was not allowed to do it. Now i can, and i will. When someone describe this president as a “man with no values”, i will react, even if it’s unpleasant. Sorry.

  27. I agree with you !! Sometimes I think we get caught up in trying to defend the Pres. too much. I like our Pres. but I sometimes think he should be moew assertive/aggressive on some things. I hope he knows how to play this game better than I do, because I’d just get mad…….:}

  28. Speak your mind, BWD. You have every right to be angry at Weiner’s antics. Don’t ever feel the need to self-censor the TRUTH. The refusal of many to call these self-serving, disloyal asshats out is what emboldens them to continue spewing their garbage.

  29. Yes unfortunately we have far more followers in this country than we have leaders. I do believe however that President Obama is changing that for the future, he is a fine example of steadfast humble and focused leadership.. and I believe our young people are paying attention.. and hopefully our future crop of leaders will outnumber our future crop of followers.
    Those that constantly loudly oppose all things Obama – I think – are aggressive people who prefer to point out imperfections rather than help pave a smoother obstacle-less path for the President to operate on… Weiner, et al.. spend so much of their energy creating more obstacles it seems to me.

  33. Yes, I can see VP Biden and POTUS having a heartly laugh and saying our supporter(like BWD) “got thi,” just like they do the rest of the nonsense that’s being thrown at the Obama Administration.

  34. Thank you, man. I’m glad I’m not alone. I don’t even want to imagine the treatment you’re getting there. Stay strong, you are my hero.

  36. Here’s the part you left out:

    On our side is this weird squishy affirmative sense of what government should do and how we’re opposed to this cut and that cut, rather than saying, ‘Here are the things: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, environment and education. We’re not cutting those. Those are off the table. That’s non-negotiable,'” said Weiner, adding, “We haven’t really done that very well. That’s because the president fundamentally — he’s not a values guy. He wants to try to get the best deal for the American people and that’s virtuous in its own right, but it becomes very difficult to make a strategy. There’s been much greater global strategy thinking on [progressive media] outlets, frankly, than at 1600 Pennsylvania.”

    And guess what? If you read the comments from many of the posters you’ll see that Weiner’s comments opened the door for the negative bashing to become full blown. Dismiss the trolls and you get the left agreeing that the President is not doing this or that – just like children who want their parents to pick up after them.

  37. Excellent. Thanks, jovie. Weiner can go pound sand as far as I’m concerned. These sorts of character attacks masquerading as “criticism” are indeed infuriating and I’m also getting a little tired of the party leadership tolerating this. With POTUS at the top of the ticket, it makes absolutely no sense to try to soften his support. Disagree or agree with him, President Obama has done nothing to earn this sort of disrespect from his own family. Particularly an accusation of people with no values coming from someone who manages to miss what’s happening to Palestinians, as bwd noted.

  38. I also think you have to read all of Rep. Weiner’s words, not just Huffington Post’s headline, to understand Weiner’s intent. The same posting also quotes Rep. Kucinich saying the President needs to have more backbone. Both are just saying the President shouldn’t so readily give in to the Republicans’ wants just to reach a compromise and push the ball a little further down the field. Some of us agree some of the time with any of three officials but we never have to agree with any of them 100%. But I certainly like Rep. Weiner and how he pushes back against conservatives, like Rep. Bachman. And I would have Rep. Kucinich’s Department of Peace in a flash.

  40. ****Hear this now…****

    The President is the President and NOT a civil rights leader, which is what the far left wants to turn him into, in order to weaken him politically!!!
    They want to primary him so bad, can’t any of you see this? But they need to marginalize him first, and then they bring in their hero…
    But, POTUS has been through this before, Hillary and McSame tried this shit on him in the 08 elections, he was to smart for it then, and he will not fall for it now!

  41. It’s unfortunate, because I do personally like Congressman Weiner. After all, he did give the GOP a well deserved screaming over that 9/11 Responders bill when it first was rejected.

    It just makes me sad that there are good people in the congress that buy into this myth that Obama is weak or whatever. I know some of them just say it to boost their credentials with the Professional Left.

    Like how Alan Grayson, someone who truly did have guts, but then bought into his own hype, spent more time getting chummy with the PL, and let himself get defeated instead of using that to get himself reelected and keep fighting for it in the place where it counts the most.

    I truly hope Congressman Weiner does not share the same fate.

  42. Righteous rant, BWD. We all can’t be zen like our wonderful president 😀 Have at!

  44. AJR, many supporters of Pres. Obama, myself included, feel the need to counteract the constant drumbeat of negative spin that envelopes Pres. Obama. You are entitled to your opinions. However, I just ask you this: what will be the REAL WORLD effect of Pres. Obama being more “assertive/aggressive”, I’m not talking about making you feel good or providing you with catharsis. I mean, what will change in our political situation? I’m sure the MSM will spin his sudden change in personality to mean that he is cracking under the pressure of the job or the he cannot take the heat. I’m sure that would make the racists among us happy. I just ask that “progressives” think a few steps ahead and not dwell on what will be emotionally satisfying RIGHT NOW.

  45. Anthony Weiner never called President Obama “a man with no values.” IMO, he referenced “not a values guy” relative to this direct quote: “Here are the things: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, environment and education. We’re not cutting those. Those are off the table. That’s non-negotiable.” This is what he wants to hear from the WhiteHouse. Many of us totally agree with him. And that is not mutually exclusive with our devotion to President Obama.

    Rep. Weiner is a very bright, outspoken guy. How many Dems in Congress can be described as such? Maybe DeFazio & Kucinich, who BTW are also mentioned in agreement with Rep. Weiner in the same article.

    I thought this purpose of this site was to stay positive and avoid the ad hominem approach. Just wondering.

  46. Oh yeah, for any of you wondering why the right wingers have NOT declared that they are running for president, because then the focus will be on them…
    They like the fact the left is ONLY focusing on POTUS! They are hoping for a Democratic primary, as well! Waiting and praying the left takes down POTUS, or at least weakens him!
    Sadly!

  47. I totally support you, BWD. Our Prez has more “values” in his little finger than all the asshats who constantly criticize him.

    Let it rip, Sister! You deserve to let off the steam.

  48. It is so personal with him, because he is best friends with Bill C. And, he probably got a big job offer in her- what if administration! So, Whiner must think about that all the time, meanwhile, he is just a liberal congressman from a very liberal district!

  49. My only frustration…so what exactly is President Obama supposed to do? As with the tax cut deal, would it really have been acceptable to people to see even more people cut from unemployment benefits and taxes targeted for the poor and middle classes raised in order to make a point or not give into Republicans? In practical terms, would this have been a good result?

    We can’t ignore the fact that there are a ton of GOP politicians with power in DC, and in control of a chamber of Congress. People who think that we’re going to get a liberal budget out of this current congress aren’t being realistic IMO. I think that the Dems wanting to have the GOP to come out with their ideas to slash SS, Medicaid, etc. with no cover from the President absolutely have a point. And the context of Weiner’s statement does make it sound better.

    However, they really do need to stop framing this as compromise versus someone with values. To compromise does not indicate a lack of values; since when was this the case? Every single one of these politicians have compromised on something or other. NY politicians compromised with the GOP to get the 9/11 workers relief fund, and they had to significantly decrease the amount of this fund to get this legislation passed. Why do I not hear *anyone* deriding this as a sell-out, or indication of not prioritizing values by Dems rather than another instance of Republican heartlessness, with Dems having to give in to at least get something to people who need it? Answer: because the people out in front of that effort were not named President Barack Obama. There’s a double standard at play here and if not checked, is going to continue to cause problems.

    I’m going to stop my own ranting now, as clearly I have no real clue about what Weiner said or didn’t say, and I’m probably not that interested in getting clued in, lol.

    I’m back to work, and I hope you’re having a great day everyone! Debate away. Nobody does it better than the pragmatist communities, or keeps it more intelligent, respectful, and civil. This will be a nice thread to read later on.

  50. Amen, GN! Maybe I ride this hobby horse too hard but I think most of it is racism pure simple and unadulterated.

  51. That is the focus Majii for sure. I like that attitude. Thanks you for your comments. We will do it again… we deserve the best, and he is the best for us now. His smile keeps me focus and keeps me going. You are right, Majii..focus on winning in 2012. We need him!!

  52. I read most of the statement on another site that I need to block again. He was much more mature than the usual high school crap that spews from his mouth but he was still insulting. Seriously, when did a president who focuses on doing what’s best for the country rather than waging ideological battles become a bad thing? when did compromising become a weakness?

    I will never understand why anyone thinks Weiner would make a good president. He is all about the “fight”. Damned the people that have to pay for his crusade.

    And someone ought to tell him that he looks ridiculous going on FOX and fighting with the dim bulbs of the Republican party.

  53. Thank you Sheriji. We will all have to pull our positive strength together to commence the long fight ahead. These “talking-heads” have started very early in the game. But we are not in a game, this is our country’s life at stake. Our POTUS is trying to help us, but these guys just do not get it. But we will keep our eyes on the ball, keep focus, play fair, and life up our POTUS with good thoughts, hard work, peaceful community work, and lots of LOVE!! Thanks you Sheriji for your comments.

  54. bwd has my 1000% support as well. The entire context is less bad than whatever screaming headline the HuffPo must have used, but I have no problem with bwd calling out Dems who can’t manage to keep the character attacks out of their criticisms and disagreements. This thread is probably going to evolve into an even disagreement split between: (a) call him out; (b) ignore him; (c) what he said wasn’t so bad. But I bet you’re not going to read anyone here really attack anyone else or question underlying values.

  56. Rose, perhaps you don’t realize this, but having members of his own party questioning Pres. Obama’s “backbone” and “values” does not help the democratic cause. It weakens the President. It is a sign of disloyalty that does not help in negotiations. In addition, let’s not forget that Kunicich tried to sabotage HCR until he got a ride on Air Force One, hows that for “values”.

  57. What’s the difference between “not a values guy” and “a man with no values.”? Just wondering.

    And as I’ll say it again: When someone – especially Democrat – is insulting the president like that – I will speak up. There are other ways to criticize the WH or the president, than insulting him this way.

  58. seriously, i just don’t understand why anyone will write anything on that site. It’s not progressive, never have and never will be.

  60. You’d be better off going to sites like ThinkProgress and TalkingPointsMemo for news. Real political news. I stopped going to Huff almost 2 years ago. They were reminding me too of the New York Post. Very misleading headlines and rarely if ever do they update with corrections of a story.

    Anthony Weiner is very pro-Israel. He along with other Dems and every Repub in Congress told the administration last year that they will stop any moves by Obama to put Israel in its place.

  62. PBO can take it – and in a way *must* take it. I’m under no obligation. Just because we’re trying to stay positive here, doesn’t mean that we should just stay silent when people crap all over the president.

  63. BTW: Have you seen the POTUS polls in Israel? They are like 4% approval rating! Yes! 4%!
    Might be another reason whiner is going off… Something there?

  64. When you come from a very liberal district! Only problem is, his distrcit only votes for democrats, and is highly African American!
    I doubt the people in his distrcit know he spews this garbage about POTUS!
    Maybe, we should find out how to convey this message to them!

  66. I called Weiner’s office and on the first ring the guy picked up. I told him to tell Weiner that he was off base talking about this president having no values.

    I reminded him that president Obama gave up fat jobs and oodles of money to go down to Chicago and work as a community organizer. Want to talk about values?

    I told him it’s Democrats like Weiner that never had this president back against all the odds he faces from Republicans.

    He said he would pass the word on. Whether he does or not, I wanted him to know that this was bunk.

  67. Also, I HOPE to GOD that POTUS wins his NCAA brackets! That will drive the tea baggers(and maybe even the frustrati) crazy!

  68. Bite your tongue! “They” may not deserve him but WE DO! Lots of us worked really hard to see him elected and we still support him. We have his back. We should all continue to speak truth to lies and get the positive message out.

    No offense, I hope, but this country really needs PBO and there are lots of people who could get really hurt without him to have their backs for the next almost 6 years.

  69. Just have to note again, the 9/11 bill was subsequently passed as the result of a *compromise* and a *concession* to the GOP in the form of lowering the amount of the fund. Why is no one questioning the values of the Dem legislators who engineered that compromise? Why is compromise only a nasty, filthy word as applied to President Obama? I concede points to the people who are asking for us to not react to HuffPo, or provided the full context of Weiner’s statement, which is way less harsh than whatever HuffPo is peddling. But as EricFive notes above, this “values” and “backbones” framing weakens the President, and it also creates a lot of internal dissension because as far as I can tell, no one else seems to be held to this “compromise versus values” standard other than the President.

  70. Majorities in Chile (67%), El Salvador (61%), and Brazil (55%) — the three nations President Barack Obama plans to visit on his tour of Latin America — approve of his job performance!

  72. He is also an apologist for Israel and overlooks their many instances of mistreatment of the Palestinians and their active obstruction of any peace process. In addition the president has said multiple times recentl that SS cuts are off the table. Weiner just likes to hear himself talk. He was insufferable on HCR and also the lame duck compromise which saved unemployment benefits. I agree with BWD. I think there is a need for a rapid response team.
    By the way, biobrain has a great blog up (see link on blog roll).

  73. He said that the president is not a “values guy”. I don’t know how this could be interpreted any other way than a huge insult. It’s no different than calling him a “sell-out”.

    And yes, Weiner is doing good job against the nuts from the right.. He should keep doing that, instead of insulting PBO.

  74. Damning with faint praise, perhaps? The whiner can kiss my plastic Jesus! That’s not being supportive and it doesn’t help, especially when he pisses in that cesspool at Huff’n’Puff.

    Sorry, if I offended you in any way.

  75. BWD, I agree with you and find nothing wrong in calling Weiner out. He has been doing this for far too long and we Obama supporters have let him get away with it. It’s not for the President to do, it’s up to us the democratic people to hold these jealous fools accountable.

    Weiner and so many Clinton supporters STILL cannot accept her loss. And for Weiner to accuse the President of having no values, that’s a lie straight out of the right wing.

    When has Weiner spoken up about anything that affects his city? Did he speak up about the mosque? No, he hid like the coward he is. He only speaks when he can bash the President.

    He’s a coward and an idiot.

    I have called his office before and will be happy to do it again.

  78. Sorry, but this advice about being aggressive makes no sense to me. Its as if people are saying being more aggressive will get you your way and it does not. Anthony Weiner should know that first hand. He went on a vein popping rant on the House floor last year over the 9/11 bill. The video got a lot of views, a lot of people on the left felt really good for a while but at the end of the day, Weiner came back to NY with nothing. The bill did not pass until Democrats had to compromise, change the way the bill was funded and knocked off a few billion dollars off the total.

    Obama has never been, never will be, and never fooled us into thinking that he was the aggressive type that some people crave. That steady, calm, often predictable, nice guy is what we voted for. This isn’t about being used to defending the president. these are issues we actually disagree with the left on.

    I totally understand bwd’s reaction to Weiner, no matter how nicely Weiner basically said, ‘he’s not one of us, he doesn’t share our values’, the fact remains that Weiner has been quite disrespectful of Obama in public.

    Hey look, I know its cathartic to see your leaders go mad dog on his opponents. The press conference Obama gave on the tax deal will be forever etched in my mind. I would not advise him to do it more often because people get their feelings hurt.

  79. In other news:

    Obama and Japanese prime minister discuss nuclear crisis
    By Daniel Strauss – 03/17/11 07:37 AM ET

    President Obama spoke late Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan about the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan. 



    The White House said Obama reiterated the U.S.’s full support for Japan as it seeks to avoid a catastrophic nuclear meltdown after last week’s earthquake and tsunami.

    Obama briefed the prime minister on the latest military and nuclear experts the U.S. is sending to Japan to help, and Kan thanked the president for the U.S. assistance.

    

Efforts to cool the overheating, badly damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant continued Thursday as Japanese military helicopters dumped water onto the complex to help prevent increased radiation releases, according to media reports.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/150371-obama-and-japanese-prime-minister-discuss-nuclear-crisis

  80. You are right. Another one who basks in the attention of PL but nowhere to be found on issues of civil rights, tolerance, HCR, middle east peace process.

  81. Yes, it was supposed to be 8 billion adn coburn compromised on it to be 4.5 billion! Thus, Whiner is a sellout!

  82. There is no excuse what so ever being rude to the Pres. I notice that being rude to this Pres happens often AAARG
    Thanks BWD

  83. The whiner can kiss my plastic Jesus!

    /faints

    You do have a way with words, Aquagranny.

  87. Well where are his values? I mean, it’s nice and all that they went ahead and got relief to people who knowingly risked their lives and have or will become ill due to their heroic efforts to help save lives and bring peace to families by finding remains. That’s nice and all, but it would be nice to have someone who would have rejected that in its entirety out of backbone and principle; the workers would simply need to understand that Dems were just being principled and values returning to them empty-handed rather than with billions of dollars and promises to get more when we get rid of these GOP obstructers…

    /senseless

  88. Sing it GN and that’s exactly why so many of us continue to post here. We may have different ideas and opinions on the issues sometimes but we respect each other and our values. ♥

  89. “That’s because the president fundamentally — he’s not a values guy.”

    I’m sorry, but this statement ticks me off. Not a values guy? I’ll have to completely disagree.

    “There’s been much greater global strategy thinking on [progressive media] outlets, frankly, than at 1600 Pennsylvania.”

    Huh? How so? Where? What’s your strategy, Congressman? I’d love to hear it. Oh, you didn’t mention any stategy or what progressive media you are refering to? Ok, I see.

  90. Oh BOY:

    Classified Middle East briefing set for senators this afternoon
    By Josiah Ryan – 03/17/11 11:59 AM ET

    There will be a classified briefing for senators regarding the situation in the Middle East at 2 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on the Senate floor.

    The Obama administration is actively seeking authorization for air strikes against Libyan ground and air forces in order to protect rebel forces and avoid a humanitarian crisis.

    The United Nations is scheduled to vote as early as this afternoon on a resolution authorizing such action.

    “We are discussing very seriously and leading efforts in the Council around a range of actions that we believe could be effective in protecting civilians,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, late on Wednesday afternoon. “The U.S. view is that we need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include but perhaps go beyond a no-fly zone.”

    There is currently no word on whether the briefing will affect the timing of the vote on a three-week stopgap spending measure that is currently scheduled for 3 p.m.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/150449-classified-middle-east-briefing-set-for-senators-this-afternoon

  91. Ireland is not at all excited about the President’s coming visit. I don’t think they mentioned it more than 8, maybe 9 times during the evening news.
    🙂
    This is a BFD!

  92. It’s not a very encouraging day: the PPP poll was brutal on Obama and Democrats and republicans soared.

    What exactly did the Republicans say or do that would make Americans like them?

  93. His area is highly African American? really? I ask this because during the “ground zero” debate, he was very very quiet for a long time before he gave a statement. I read the reason was because his constituents were mostly Jewish.

  95. Just in: Senate passes short term funding bill 87-13!
    Sending bill to POTUS for sig, for another three weeks!

  97. I am currently writing to Mr. Weiner and I just finished a letter to Mr. DeFazio, the most egregious fool in that article. I cannot stress this enough. If you want to push back against the nonsense, you got get that quill and ink fired up and send some mail their way. I simply won’t stand for it anymore, especially considering that most of what they said were lies.

    I said:

    In an interview reported by Amanda Terkel at the Huffington Post on 3/16/11 you said, “The problem is the negotiator-in-chief and where he’ll end up, and whether we can put some steel in his spine,” he said. “I assume he caved in on taxes in December because he was blackmailed on the treaty with Russia with nuclear weapons, which was absolutely critical. But that’s pretty pathetic also.” May I respectfully ask what the hell you are thinking? You’ve been in Congress since 1986, so I do think you have more than enough experience with government and politics to understand why your statement is both stupid and harmful.

    At a time when Republicans are indulging in a scorched earth attempt to destroy all the institutions their extreme right wing hates, we are facing horrific economic crises in America and abroad. We are also still dealing with terrible natural disasters here at home and now the same plus a nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan. We need good leadership, we need a focused man who can handle this unbelievable confluence of events. Whether or not you agree that Barack Obama is the man who should be in charge, he currently is that man. He is also from your party and your party leader. To paint him as spineless, as a weak person, at this point makes you look like you’re indulging in the tactics of personal assassination for your own gain. I cannot believe that your words were said by a Democrat, an elected Democrat with key knowledge of what has been going on in Congress. You have the gall to claim that the tax cut deal cut in December 2010 was caving in to Republicans, even as you sit in the House, knowing that a strong majority Democrat House failed to deliver any sort of a budget that dealt with those cuts for 2 years. How can you claim anyone showed a lack of spine when it took a spineless amount of House Dems to not deal with this issue before the elections when it could have be defused and removed as a weapon in the GOP stockpile? You also have the gall to call the President of the United States, “pathetic”. You know, I don’t have to defend the man; he’s the leader of the party, if he decided to extract any retribution to a member that goes to the press and blathers negative opinions of him at the start of the election cycle, it’s up to him. But as a progressive, a person who has reached into her wallet to support progressive causes, who has made the effort to both inform herself and others, you owe me an apology.

    You see, unlike you, I am trying to win 2012. I am not indulging in backstabbing statements, false ones, for the sake of polishing my “lefter than the president/smack talking the president, now give me funds” credentials. You’re disheartening democratic party members, feeding the criticisms that are not based in facts and absolutely appalling at showing some sense of timing considering what’s at stake in the next election. You owe me and every Democrat who’s working to rescue this country from the GOP an apology. Perhaps no one has ever actually written you to explain that this constant Democratic Party tradition of backstabbing and public disunity doesn’t help. Consider this then a attempt to break with tradition. You have the opinion the President is spineless and he caved when he resolved the problem Democratic House Representatives were denying? Ok, that’s fine. Keep it out of the media. You won’t get more donations because of it.

  98. March 17, 2011
    INTERVIEWS: DEAN DEBNAM 888-621-6988 / 919-880-4888 (serious media
    inquiries only please, other questions can be directed to Tom Jensen)
    QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLL: TOM JENSEN 919-744-6312
    Republicans trail Obama in Ohio by six to sixteen points
    Raleigh, N.C. – When PPP polled the presidential race in Ohio last December, the state’s
    electoral votes looked in danger of going back to the GOP after President Obama took the
    state over John McCain by less than five points in 2008. His party’s fortunes in a lot of
    blue-collar, heavily white Midwestern and Northeastern states had soured, and there was
    grumbling even within his own base. But a lot of that has abated as Democrats are
    reengaged, and independents are turning back Democrats’ way. The president now leads
    four potential Republican nominees by margins greater than his 2008 victory. Obama
    tops Mitt Romney, 46-40, after leading only 44-42 in the previous survey. He leads Mike
    Huckabee, 48-41 (45-44), Newt Gingrich 50-38 (47-41), and Sarah Palin 52-36 (49-42).

    Click to access PPP_Release_OH_0317925.pdf

    This aint that bad!

  100. The only reason defazio won his race, was because he went against somebody that said- in order to get rid of nuclear waste we should sprinkle it over America!

    Thus, if he has any kind oof GE candidate, he would have been toast!

  101. Perhaps the progressive media was inserted by HuffnStuff as another part of the little games they play there. Whatever the case, the Congressman should have been more clear as to exactly what outlets he’s refering to as well as being clear about the stategy he’s speaking of.

  104. Nice rant BWD. Anthony Wiener is another one of the liberal jackasses who’s all bark and no bite.

    Anthony Wiener, along with Ed Shultz, Glenn Greenwald, Markos Moulistas, Arianna Bluffington, and the other pompous loudmouths of the UNprofessional left are part of the problem, not the solution. Their solutions are to stand there on their soapboxes and whine about how the nation doesn’t want their ideas and “cling to their principles” symbolically.

    And someone else brought up another point: Russ Feingold, another hero of the UNprofessional left, has been noticeably absent from the Wisconsin events. How come HE’S NOT walking the picket line and gets a pass, yet the UNprofessional left whines about President Obama not walking the picket line?

    Unprofessional left, blow me. I’ve had it with your carping on the sidelines and refusing to get anything done.

  105. Go for it, BWD. I walk around with that same anger at the PL every waking moment. Best thing to do is to channel it doing everything we can to shut them all up on November 6, 2012.

  106. Republicans love funding wars, but want to cut funding for NPR and womens’ uterus’s!

  107. And then of course the first question from a ‘reporter’.. not about Japan.. nope, that might make sense.. about Libya.

  108. Wowee Wow Wow Wow! Send it, send it.

    Its pretty clear who their constituents are and its certainly not the people back in their home districts. This is what happens when your whole world is cable news, Huffington Post and DC.

    If anyone wonders why the line up at msnbc and the progressive radio stations are constantly attacking the president – look to these guys.

  112. That is so excellent ruemara, I will follow your example and also write. Really, perfect imo.

  113. Russ Feingold made two statements. Each one a few weeks apart. The last one he made was reported at TPM and all throughout the comments nothing but high praise. For a comment. Yet Obama’s own comments get poo-pooed. I personally thought Feingold would be more vocal since he lives and works there now.

  114. White House Blog:

    Good Government on WhiteHouse.gov
    Posted by Kori Schulman on March 17, 2011 at 11:03 AM EDT
    Today, we launched a new section on WhiteHouse.gov that is dedicated to good government. WhiteHouse.gov/GoodGovernment is your central portal to tools and data that connect citizens to their government and improve their everyday lives, as well as Presidential Actions that promote open, transparent and accountable government.

    You’ll find useful tools and data from across the administration all in one place. Here, you can:
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/03/17/good-government-whitehousegov

  116. Weiner is basically saying that Obama is not an ideologue. In his mind that’s a bad thing because he then goes on to down play the fact that ‘Obama tries to do what’s best for the country.’

    IOW: Obama is not one of us(a True Progressive).

  117. Honey, it’s already been mailed. Outrage to action, less than 2 hours. If he can’t take it, he shouldn’t had brought it.

  118. Weiner loves publicity and routinely grandstands to get attention. He knows perfectly well what parts of his statement will be picked up for headlines and he plays it for his own ego. Weiner would not translate well in any environment outside of his Brooklyn,New York base so his long term prospects are limited. That’s why he uses controversial statements to get as much limelight as he can from his tiny little patch of the the country. The problem is that he is, in turn, used by those with an anti-Obama agenda, like Huffs. The manipulators get manipulated and the beat goes on.

    We all have to give off steam once in a while, whether or not it’s productive or else we’ll go bonkers. This is a safe place to do that occasionally because we protect each other.

    As for Weiner or anyone else being a serious primary contender, the idea is laughable. Weiner himself is not credible, nor is anyone else on the horizon. Kucinich, Sanders–please. Those who shout, Primary Him” are just trying to get attention and demoralize us so we take our eyes off the prize. Well, they can go to Hartford, Hereford or Hampshire!

  120. There’s a long history and family story behind that phrase. Maybe someday I will share it.

  121. Don’t sweat these polls. There will be ups and downs and days that make absolutely no sense because the ones polled were having a lousy day.

  122. Sheri, You really must stop expecting anything to do with logic or common sense out of the press corp. I’ve watched too many press briefings to count on getting sane and pertinent questions out of those people. Today’s was all about getting an answer they could twist to terrorize Americans about the radioactivity coming to kill them. They disgust me.

  123. I would presume most of the people in the occupied territories would call Anthony Weiner a “man with no values”.

  125. We need lots of on the spot reports from you. Will you be able to be near any of the places he visits? This is a BFD! Please keep us all posted. I love your news, views and comments.

    PS: I’m cooking corned beef, cabbage, turnips, potatoes and carrots for my gang in honor of St. P-Day. We will eat it with some tortillas and salsa. That’s not traditional but it’s the way we like it. ♥

  126. More meat for the PL, Yes Weiner is a Freaking A.H.We are with you BWD and I will NOT FLICK on HP even if they pay me. BWD can you star a fund raisinf for PBO her I will MAX.and yes I can so “F: Weiner I new he was an A.H.

  128. I understand your frustration, bwd. It’s a continuous assault on President Obama, 99.9–100% without merit. It’s bad enough dealing with all the garbage the tea baggers and the birthers and the other clueless extremist nuts throw at him. But when equally clueless Dems start chiming in with their not well thought out and self-serving criticism, as seems to be happening daily, it gets to be too much and one can’t help but scream, “Idiots!!!” It’s just so damaging to Obama and the Democratic Party and to the well-being of all of us. It’s stupid to the max.

  129. Thank you for posting the remark in context, richieville. I tend to find Weiner somewhat distasteful and believe he is attempting to set himself up for higher office someday (doubt if he’ll be successful). I am not quite sure what he meant by his remark. Did he mean that the President’s efforts to achieve something tangible should be backed-up by those taking on more ideological stances? That can best be done by representatives in the House, as their constituencies are small and often homogeneous. I suspect what he meant by “values” was “positions”. As for his values, I have difficulty seeing anyone who believes Israel’s treatments of the Palestinians is just as having any deepseated values about people’s rights.

  130. Let’s stay positive. yes we can pur energy to protect this great man. anf F the PL.

  132. He is not the President of Israel. He’s not running for reelection in Israel. And neither is Weiner.

  133. Okay, I’ve been trying to be really delicate about this but I’m a little flummoxed by our informal no ‘copy and paste’ policy and not giving comments section over to the PL.

    Can we please start going after Republicans again??

    And yeah Rep Weiner was wrong, but Obama knows how to deal with the likes of Weiner and Kucinich (you’ve seen it with Dennis before). Obama’s got that.

    We’ve got to keep doing what we do, the people in WI, MI etc could give a d*mn what Weiner said right now frankly.

    I’m kinda starting to see an outrage feedback loop. Just sayin’….

  134. I wrote Weiner a while back, and let him have it. He is a jackass, and Big Eddie Schultz is as well. Ed Schultz is a bully who is consistently trying to hoodwink his audience. I happened to be channel surfing last night and caught him saying “The White House is once again silent on workers and their rights.” WTF Big Eddie? Maybe he did not get the message when I forwarded him what the Democratic Senators in WI had to say about the President. They were glad that he didn’t weigh in, and said they knew where he stood.

    People are living with the consequences of not listening to the President when he implored them “not to give Republicans the keys back.”

    Here is a direct quote from Ed Schultz, and people should make note and wake the hell up!

    : “And I’m announcing today, I’m not going to vote in the midterms. I’m not going to do it. You can say it’s un-American. No, it’s rather revolutionary is what it is. I’m at that point. I’m checking out.”

    “I’m checking out of the Democrats because they are proving to me that they don’t know how to handle these big babies over on the right that say no. You know what you do? You get in the driver’s seat, you hit the throttle, and you run over them.”

    No Real Democrat should be listening to a douche bag like him, and others that continue to bash the President and other Democrats trying to get realistic legislation passed…

    Ok end of rant!

  136. You won’t be able to stop me from talking about it! Moneygall is about an hour and 1/2 drive from here. In May the sun will be up by 5 am and I and my friend coming in from Seattle, another bot, will be on the road already. There are a few roads coming off the motorway at Moneygall, and I think we can park down one of those and walk into the village. Think I can get Reggie to pat me down?

    You know, I hated turnips in the states as they always seemed kind of bitter. Here they are sweet and I love them, but not with salsa. We now can get all kinds of Mexican food here in the supermarket [thank the gods because I love it], but I’m pretty sure I will keep that and Irish far apart.

  140. **Wow boycotting the midterms worked out so well** Harry Reid was re-elected while Big Eddie was calling for Democrats to “learn a lesson,” regardless who they were “running against.” It is “revolutionary” according to Ed. Yeah but when they asked him to run for the Senate in S. Dakota he “checked” out instantly and said no. I wonder why..

  142. BWD – I’m with you. I just called Weiner’s office and expressed my disgust. How do these people in authority think that the way they’re behaving will influence the next generation. What do they think they’re doing? What qualifies Weiner to speak about another person’s values, or lack, thereof? What about respecting the Office of the Presidency? Why can’t Democrats think before they speak?

    This Weiner is a very insignificant little man.

  143. I only say taht beause rev shaprton said he would not be very supportive of him and campaign fo him, if he did NOT stop bashing POTUS! IT got to the point, he was on once a night on olbermans show!

  144. I see nothing to get pressed about in that poll, what is Faith talking about? Actually I don’t even care since I don’t follow polls but the panic in her comment is whoa….

  145. I have 1 question and I am hoping someone can answer it for me. Has this country ever had a firing breathing liberal win the white house?

  148. Very fine comment, gn. I tend to be rather uncompromising myself in my values and positions in my personal life, but I am not sure this translates to my having better values than the person who is willing to step into the fray and actually accomplish something, even if it’s a compromise, rather than simply standing on principle. What are values worth if they are not put into practice even if only partially? After reading Weiner’s entire quote as cited by richieville, I did not find it to be so bad. But I do believe Congressman Weiner, like so many, think that “leaning into values” means taking a firm stance and never moving even if nothing gets done. Perhaps he even means taking a firm stance and shouting and gesticulating at the opposition even if nothing gets done. And this I find impotent and silly.

  149. Its hard to go after Republicans when people that are members of the President’s party are bashing him from the left just as hard as those bashing from the right. Then national MSM supposed “liberals” take to their bully pulpit to dig in more, until they drown out the facts, and the end result is what happened during the midterms. I know that the majority of people may think that I am cold hearted when I say this, but elections have consequences. People knew exactly what the Tea Party and Republicans were promising them. They decided to clock out and turn a deaf ear. Now that the shi* has hit the ceiling people are having buyer’s remorse. I stand with the unions, but that does not cancel out the fact that unfortunately folks are having to live with their choices all across the country. I heard Democrats say that they voted Republican in WI, and MI, or didn’t bother to vote at all..Why?

  150. My question is: What is Weiner waking up every day to do? I mean, goodness gracious, there are over 500 of them in Congress – a totally separate branch of Government, who are supposed to be writing the laws that govern this nation and determine how the money is spent to the betterment of all. Instead, they engage in squabbles like children in the schoolyard, accomplishing less than nothing, actually moving the country backwards.

    The President, on the other hand, puts forth legislation (for them!), actually runs the government as the Chief Executive, and deals with foreign governments as the Head of State, while managing two wars as the Commander-in-Chief. Weiner only has to make 1/535th of the change that the President has to do in his sole entirety. When Weiner accomplishes in getting even one single bill passed – then maybe he’ll have some credibility. Until then, he’s just part of the “cacophony” that the President has to moderate.

  151. Greg Sargent has this piece up today: Democrats’ misplaced frustrations

    This begs a serious question:

    “……But at what point do Congressional Dems take some responsibility for their own internal bickering and their own perpetual willingness to lend rhetorical support to the GOP’s fiscal worldview?”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-democrats-misplaced-frustrations/2011/03/03/ABIZtwk_blog.htm

    *****************************************8

    Some Democrats have the daddy syndrome. They want the president to swoop down from the White House and fix all the problems, and when he tries, they try to bite his hand. Remember the time around the midterms when he tried to get them to address the tax cut issue?

    They dithered around until after the elections. When he decided to take action, they all started crying like little children.

    In TMIT’s diary over there, some commenter says that Weiner is twice the Democrat that this president is.

    Maybe then Weinger should go run for the president.

    I really don’t mind constructive criticism of the president, but for people to question his values or morals, I think is just beyond the pale.

    It seems to me sometimes that people are so disrespectful and rude toward the president, and it grinds.

    No one is perfect by any means, and this president certainly is not, but for the more than two decades I have lived in this country, I have never seen a president saddled with so much and treated so poorly, and often by some people in his own party.

    And worse, for as long as I can remember, even from the early days in the primary, very few people I can count on my hand in the party have had his back.

    I really pray for the day when the president and his family will leave this job. I really do.

  152. Who cares, he’s not even on TV.

    The pubs are cutting funding to NPR folks, they are busting Unions.

    Sigh, I’m feeling so impotent right now…

  153. The President can Veto the NPR Funding Bill if it passes the Senate. The union busting thing is up to the individual states and their lawmakers. The voters are the only ones that can make a difference in those states. Support is important, but in the end, only people that live in those states will have the final word.

  154. I believe the President is assertive and aggressive. Positive aggression is a creative thrust; it need not involve anger or confrontation. President Obama’s confidence, thoughtfulness, measured behavior, and attempts to foster cooperation rather than confrontation are as aggressive as any loss-of-control fistshaking. We all feel anger, but only the strong, creative person knows how to channel that energy into a creative aggressive thrust and that means taking into account the nuances of a situation and seeing what can be accomplished under the circumstances.

  156. Awesome rant ma…..I am always glad I can depend on my POTUS Obama to remain calm but I for one support you and others who want to vent.

    So in solidarity with you BWD I am dedicating Cee Lo Green’s F-u song to this latest clown ass whiner or whatever his name is. Also sending a huge kiss my butt and same dedication to HuffpostAOLKochBros corp! 😀

    To the older people that frequent this blog, apologies for language and not staying calm but this is how I feel. I do ❤ and respect all of you.

  157. Weiner didn’t speak out about the mosque in NY so where was his values on that.

  159. I understand your perspective and I wrote a long post about it the other day. It’s fine that you feel that way, but we need those folks for next time. So rather than frame it as ‘welp, elections have consequences folks’, it should be more along the lines of ‘well, I hope you do remember what happened last time and the consequences we ALL had to live with. Voting is your best chance to be heard and I am hear to help you along the way’.

    And I don’t think it’s hard to go after republicans because of the PL, I just don’t see it.

    Also, if the argument is Dems have no messaging than no, the voters may not have know what they were getting (didn’t Walker straight up lie to the Unions that endorsed him?). If the argument is that the media sucks and is totally beholden to their corporate owners and suffer from lack of regulation over the last 30 years then no, a lot of voters didn’t know. And if the argument is that Dems keep sparring with each other rather than going after the real enemy then yes, voters may not know what we stand for.

    Even then it’s still important to remember most folks in this country don’t vote, it’s not okay, but it is reality and not an excuse to let up on the Union busters and let up on getting out the vote.

  162. Oh never mind my who? I totally forgot about that guy. I see he is trying to get people to remember his existence by bashing POTUS. *sigh predictable* and people question why we get fired up at other liberals. smh.

  163. All that is True Tori and I still maintain more important than Weiners blovating.

    I could also give a lot more examples of the damage the wingnuts are trying to do to this country.

    Also, the Union thing, although locally decided has a powerful and unique dynamic that could galvanize the country and I think that is important going forward. I think it’s a huge generational thing that will have an impact on labor in the entire country.

    As an aside: Sharon Angle apparently will be running for Rep, she should’ve been thoroughly discreted and we never should have to hear from her again. But no, the media takes these wackadoodles seriously.

  164. Heck, the bashing has been going on since ’09…and even before that.

    It does cause my blood to boil, but then I try to calm down. I try to see how the President is handling it, and he’s cool and collected as always.

  165. I know Kelly and for the most part we do.

    I’m not saying to never talk about this stuff but I’m confused about are we supposed to talk about and post about the PL here or not and I just think it’s getting a little unbalanced, there is so much crazy that the right is doing right now and I already know Weiner likes to post his chest out so it’s kinda ‘meh’ to me. Also, the Huff as a source is just wac.

    Like I said, I’m seein a feedback loop…

  167. But that screaming is the problem that needs to be changed. These people need to understand that they are the highest elected officials in this land. They ARE the federal government. They don’t have the luxury of having tantrums, or just standing on the House floor, calling each other names. We could all do that. They are charged with getting things done on behalf of the people who elected them to represent their districts. Screaming doesn’t get that done. Did it work in the case you’re quoting?I believe the only thing it accomplished was providing Weiner with another opportunity to get on TV opportunity.

    The President is called weak, too nice, timid, not leading – all because he’s persistent in trying to change the tone in Washington. They accuse him of creating a more partisan atmosphere. Yet, the President has done nothing but treat all those Congress people with respect and dignity. He’s not screamed back. He even smacks them down with respect and dignity. And he does this, not because he doesn’t know how to shout or get angry, but because he’s trying to change the tone in Washington and remind people how to be civil – even in the face of extreme incivility.

    Weiner is a fool.

  168. He’s lined up as keynote speaker for the netroots nation, preaching to the choir, bashing the work of democrats.

  169. I’ve been fired up at them too, and surely something else they do will fire me up just as surely as something Keith (or John Cole or Kucinich, or even Weiner) will do something that will garner our praise.

    I just don’t see as much wingnut butt kicking as of late and it’s needed more than ever, maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m just in a different place *kanye shrug*

  170. Very well said, Sheila. Bullying and shouting is not the way to go if you really care about getting things done. It feels good for a minute or two. You get to rant and express your anger, but in the end, it just firms up the opposition against you and keeps you from progressing forward. It is basic to negotiating and our government is all about negotiation. It is how things are done. There are so many in our congress who don’t understand that and that is why they can’t get much done and why their approval ratings are so low. A leader leads by example, is mature and calm in the face of rabid emotions all around him, and keeps the focus on moving things forward. A leader is not someone who gives a good rant, tries to shame the other side, and refuses to budge on any issue. Those are the people who need to be led. President Obama understands that. Our media and much of the public don’t right now. But with PBO’s steady hand over the next 6 1/2 years, maybe we can begin to change that culture from might makes right to we’re all in this together. I believe that has always been his goal and I still think we as a nation are in desperate need of that.

  171. I just want to say I respect your and BWD’s perspective on this. I don’t really agree at this point, but….At the end of the day, I’m trying to protect all our Blood Pressure. The real fight is next Nov!

    Weiner doesn’t even register to me right now, he’s just poking his chest out cause he knows Arianna will run with it.

  172. Love that! She is a great hero of mine and a wonderful role model for our young women. Thanks for sharing this with us here.

  173. I refuse to take seriously any question posed by a person of inherited wealth and overdeveloped ego who uses his eyebrows for a lame comb over. 😉

  175. Right now I’m reading a book by Jonathan Alter that I started a few months ago. It’s about FDR, “A Defining Moment.”

    The battles FDR had to slog through to get legislation passed sound so familiar. He had his own “Professional Left” and his religious zealots like Father Couglin, and the Republican “You have betrayed your class” types and the Townsend proposal for old age pensions versus Huey Long’s proposal, and they’re all out there taking up most of the oxygen in the nation, depriving FDR any room to negotiate.

    It all sounds so familiar And so it’s a labor of love to slog through all that FDR frustration myself.

    The word I hate the most that these guys today sling around at the drop of a hat is “caved.” Not compromised, not negotiated — no, he “caved.” Will the Democrats “cave” on that now? Don’t let the president “cave!” Oh, blaaatt! He caved!

    It’s not caving, guys! It’s compromising. It’s the way governments have worked things out through time immemorial.

  178. Great letter! Just great. Can you post it as a comment in appropriate places as well as sending it to Defazio? This is really a stellar counter argument.

  179. LOL, sometimes the BS gets so deep and stanky, you just gotta let yer freak flag fly, and sling it back from whence it came. I loved your mini rant.

  181. Funny, but the final paragraphs of Obama’s remarks to the DNC fundraiser yesterday answer this asinine comment by Weiner perfectly:

    “Last point I’m actually going to make is I hope that as we go forward, even though the politics in this country can be tough — and I’m sure that some of you are like Michelle and at some point had to just stop watching cable TV because it was getting too frustrating — I also want you to remember that as important as our political labels are — Democrat and Republican — as many tough fights as we’re going to have, part of what made 2008 special is we brought the country together, reminding everybody that there’s a lot more that we have in common than separates us, and that the contest between Democrats and Republicans is much less important than the contest to make America what it can be.

    I know that sometimes people may get frustrated and think, you know what, Obama is being too nice and we need to get in there and take it to them. (Laughter.) And there will be times where that’s important. But I also think it’s important for us not to lose that spirit that animated us early on, which was to say that we don’t want to just fight the same old battles over and over again. It’s important for us to make sure that we are actually doing the work of changing our politics even as we are changing our policies.
    And that’s tough. It makes our job a little bit harder sometimes. But I think it’s absolutely important if we’re going to achieve our goals.”

  182. I think, JordanRules, we would all be healthier if we ignored what the frustrati were saying and doing, though I understand the weird fascination many of us have with them because the demarcation lines have been drawn so strongly for such a long time. But in general the American populace is paying little, if any, attention to them. They speak mainly to one another, but we don’t have to listen. I think Weiner’s criticisms of the President have not been particularly helpful to advancing either his or the President’s agenda, but I would wager most Americans outside of those who watch MSNBC and in the blogosphere don’t know who he is and don’t particularly care what he says. There is far more important news: the heartbreaking scenario in Japan, the protests all around our country and in the Middle East, the destructive Republican agenda, and certainly all the positive news about President Obama’s administration that is posted here.

  185. No.

    Previous presidents were hailed as progressive heroes once they die or have left office for a long time.

    Obama should be a saint in about 20 years.

  189. It just never seems to end, does it? Both the left and the right are at it constantly!!Sorry, but I refuse to click on the link to that site…………soooo weary of the attacks!

  190. gah. BWD – no explanations are needed, no apologies needed. weiner drives me CRAZY. Not my congressperson – but I do live in NY. gah.

  193. 6.33pm ET: Here’s the result: 10 in favour, zero against, five abstentions. So the vote went exactly as predicted. “The resolution 1973/2011 is adopted.,” says the chairman.

  194. I think that mentality, or lack thereof, is one of the many curses GWB heap on this country. Remember his policy of not negotiating with countries we disagree with. We won’t deal with them until after they agree to stop doing whatever we demand. Remember how it was a big deal during the Pres. debates that Obama did not share this view? GWB is the first U.S. president I heard express that warped worldview. It is how an insecure man/nation deals with the outside world. It creates a view of a world full of potential enemies. Pres. Obama does not share this worldview and is attempting to bring this country to his POV, thru his words and deeds.

  196. I often find myself wishing the President would just tell them “if you really don’t want me here, then I’ll go”, and leave them to it. But the reality is that if he did that, it’s not the loudest people who will suffer – most of them will be just fine (for a while, at least). It’s the people who need help the most who will be sold down the river, and the President just won’t let that happen. He’s mentioned time and again about this being an amazing opportunity to make real lives better, and he’s talked about the suffering that people before him endured for the opportunities they fought for – and compared to that, he’s not really suffering. These people will never take his presidency away from him. If Clinton can be impeached one year, then called the “president of the world” several years later, then there’s no way on earth that these know-nothings will take President Obama’s legacy away from him. History will tell the true story. And those of us who are paying attention, will have a first hand account.

  201. I just called Weiner’s office…told him i was tired of him disrespecting our President….
    He hang up on me…lol, I think he’s getting a lot of calls…..

  203. FDR was about as liberal as it was possible
    to be in the 1930s, and between a recalcitrant congress and ta conservative Supreme Court, he had as much trouble as our president is having today to get anything worthwhile passed. His legislation was watered down until it was a ghost of the original intent. If he had a workable foot I’m sure he would have kicked chairs and wastebaskets in frustration.

    Getting Social Security passed, between Townsend’s and Huey Long’s extremism and the nervous nellies in his own party the battle seemed like a dance of death until it was finally passed by way of a dozen devious moves by FDR and his cabinet. Until the very end it was touch and go.

    We see what FDR accomplished in a little over three terms and think he was a power house, but he was simply persistent, sometimes pitting on adviser against another, pulling fast ones, constantly frustrated by a conservative Supreme Court, and all this confined to a wheelchair.

    He wasn’t a fire-breathing liberal, but thank the fates we had his persistent and devious ways; he just kept plugging without completely disrupting what was best about the United States.

  204. people like wiener, feingold, grayson et. al. have ‘great values’ that are just enough for the gullible nut roots nation. They’ll make enough noise to attract the fringes.

  205. Boy, I wish we had an edit feature, especially when the comments get really far over to the right. I see on that should have been a one, and ta for a. Hard to see what you’re saying when a good bit of a line is outside the box.

    Not to self — make comments on a left-hand spot; you can see what you’re (trying to be) saying.

  208. GOBROOKLYN: I’m very late to the table but I want to thank you for speaking on my behalf, 😉 particularly on the issue of Weiner {whom I find extremely disloyal) and President Obama.

  211. Watch, this will get him face time on the Sunday shows.

    And that’s why he did it.

    He’s gonna run for Mayor of NYC again in 2013, and he’s desperately doing everything he can to raise his profile after floundering so badly in his 2005 run.

    Note that he NEVER-EVER said anything negative about Bush.

  213. Also, how much would you wager that if the President did things Weiner’s way and got nothing in response that Weiner would praise him for his ‘values’? I don’t doubt the story would then be how ineffective the president was. As is pointed out periodically here – nothing this president does will ever satisfy ‘some of the people’. On the other hand, millions are pleased with this President’s focus on helping the entire country! 🙂 Go ‘Bama 2012! You are not alone!

  215. Yes! Weiner the hypocrite is a shameless opportunist who seeks publicity at every turn. Seriously, have you ever seen a Congressman try to get his mug on TV as often as he does? I don’t like making fun of people’s names but he sure fits his. Honestly, though, I wouldn’t worry too much about the Weiner, he has lost so much credibility with his stance on Israel that no one takes him seriously anyway. He’s basically just an empty-suit-shill for the Israeli lobby. Nothing more.

  216. Oh, and a big Kudos to Lawrence O’Donnell for not exploiting the “Obama’s not doing enough” meme that creeps up after every disaster that the president doesn’t fix in an instant with his magic presidential wand. LO and Howard Fineman both agreed that this accusation has no merit. Man, can I just say how nice it is that Keith Olbermann is gone. He’d no doubt be making his entire show about how President Obama “is not leading” on the Japan crisis.

    It bears repeating, I’M SO GLAD KO IS GONE! Don’t miss him one bit.

  217. Theo: ‘Weiner is a fool.’

    A shortsighted, disloyal fool, who should dispense more of his energies getting his buddies to do their jobs as you described in your first paragraph! That would showcase his own leadership skills far better than attacking his team captain in public. Seems to me that he, and others like him, just sit around waiting fo the President to make decisions so that they can critique them.

    IMO the Dems could probably accomplish much more if they would criticize each other and iron out differences behind closed doors, then step forward in unity.

  218. Poor Weiner! He can’t do anything without his daddy’s help. I sent Ed Schultz a note last night because I’m tired of his ranting about the President. I also told him to show some respect.. it’s President Obama.

  221. Make no mistake about it. If there’s anyone in Washington with real knowledge of the nature and history of politics, they know who the real leader is. Most of them are neophytes, some are neanderthals, but PBO is a leader. He doesn’t conform to the norm, he stays the course, he’s not insecure to not compromise…i.e. “He is the only adult in the room”. He knows who he is and understands the necessity of his own values to the welfare of the nation.

  222. Great comment! And from what I’ve read about FDR, so true. I always say that the PL today would hate the real FDR – the one who saved capitalism, fought with labor leaders and other populists/progressives…

  225. I haven’t read Alter’s book, but in 2009 I read “FDR’s Enemies” by Al Fried (I think that’s his name). There are many similarities. I know PL heads will explode at that thought but it’s true. And FDR was hated by Dems too (Al Smith). Lefties didn’t think he was going far enough and called him a corporatist. See, the more things change…FDR’s advantage (besides larger majorities and more loyalty), no blogs and 24/7 media hype. FDRs grandson even noted this in a speech last year.

    Despite all the negativity, I remain encouraged. People are beginning to wake up and fight back – WI, MI, OH et al. I will do all I can to help. And for my sanity I’ve turned off neg progressive media. I feel so much better and NPR is very informative.

  226. I don’t miss KO either – not at all! (I also am not missing MSNBC at large, which I very seldom watch. Even when I try to tune in for a few minutes, I end up switching the channel when I hear the anti-PBO punditry start … )

  227. The fact that Obama is not aggressive about things is why I love his so much…past presidents make decisions based on knee jerk reactions, not this great president. It’s well thought out and he makes very informed decisions….too many times I have seen presidents be aggressive about things and it backfired BIG TIME! Not this president!

  228. It just hit me, taking my time to read the excerpts provided here: this guy’s argument is the classic PL argument that they know how to President better than President Obama does. It was said in a much less strident fashion than usual, so our kids is learnin, but the gist of it is still an egotistical belief that they are better strategists than the President. To which I’d ask about that super-duper-smart strategy of:

    1. taking the gavel from Pelosi, giving it to Boehner

    2. ???????????

    3. Pure legislation coming from a purified Democratic party

    That aint working out how they planned is it? They need to spend all day every day making the case that the GOP has got to go. I wish they’d focus, and barring that, at the very least keep the critiques constructive and out of the province of character attacks.

    Last I knew, getting s- done is indeed a very strong progressive value. Weiner need not forget that while indulging in the rants of people who have no real interest in governing, only tearing down what others are doing.

  229. called and told the guy on the phone that these comments from a Democrat about our Democratic POTUS is “Rovian” at best and I was ashamed of this crap from “our own”

    Asshat!

  230. That is just too funny.”Eyebrows…” 🙂

    o/t … I watched a documentary by David Suzuki on the CBC called Force of Nature (or something close to that). It was great and made me wish that ppl respected,cared for humanity more.

    I too don’t understand this (type of) criticsm of PBO. Who benefits? What is there to gain. I hope for world peace sake, that Americans will once again elect him in 2012 (which I am sure they will) and assist him with by electing the congress and senate folks that would have his back.

  231. BWD, I hear ya.

    I find it risable for Weiner, of all people, to say this about the President when it was the President who came out and defended the rights of Muslims to build Park51, while Weiner hid like a Cheney from the press on this issue, all too afraid to offend his base. His behavior was cowardly. Talk about values.

    Yes, I remember Park51.

    http://park51.org/

    Support ’em.

  232. Weiner is a silly, self-aggrandizing little man with a napoleonic complex!!!
    He just seeks attention his silly, phony rants and only wants to be noticed!!! It’s all about his next political run, but he will fail at whatever!!!
    I have called his office and left a message telling him what I think of his silly self-defeating stunt(s) (pun intended)!!!

  233. I felt the same anger when I read it. Shame on Anthony Weiner. He is being at best completely disrespectful. How dare he treat President Obama this way when it is clear that President Obama is a real man of values! Thanks for expressing my anger so well.

  234. Very well said BWD! Who anointed Anthony Weiner to be the judge of who has, or has no, values? I would have no problem if Weiner respectfully stated his opposition to specific policies of the President. But to make such unfounded accusation that the President has “no values” demanded a strong push back. I am glad you pushed back as hard as you could.

  235. Great article – except for the very last line:

    “This is bound to be amplified by the warm welcome Brazilians are expected to give to Mr Obama – no small feat for a president who has had difficulties in translating his personal popularity around the world into tangible results for his US policies”.

    I’m not sure what he means by this, given that about 70% or more of the President’s agenda has been completed, and he’s currently enjoying 50% approval rate nationwide. It’s a silly statement to make at the end of an otherwise informative article.

  236. You are not alone. I stand with you BWD. I may not comment every day but I read every thing this community offers. It keeps me sane Darlin.

    Here is my thought about all this. I would expect this crap from any john D. in the streets, but from a Democratic member of the United States Congress is unfuckingbelievable. Well, I have said my piece in that other site. Someone side to me I am causing them to consider abandoning the President. I said sell that shit sandwich else where. Boy, I did not know I had that kind of power as if people vote to please me. Some folks are just stupid and an echoing chamber.

  237. Why mix the good with the ugly. I want to show what that place is made up and the comments are telling. 🙂

  239. Bravo HZ! A really wonderful comment. We must say enough is enough to all these so called Democrats who are doing everything to undermine a Democratic President. With Democrats like Anthony Wiener, who needs Republican teabaggers. I am in the same age group as you HZ, and President Obama is the best president I’ve seen in my life time. I am also a student of history and the lesson I’ve learned is that whenever Democrats start attacking their fellow Democratic president, or presidential candidate, Republicans end up winning. This happened in 1968, 1980, and 2000.

    It is really a shame that people, like Anthony Weiner, who just cant resist being in the limelight, don’t realize that their high profile public attacks on the President benefits the Republicans; these attacks do not in any way advance progressive values. I am with BWD, If Anthony Weiner thinks he can be elected President, to carry out the “purist progressive values,” then he needs to step up and announce his candidacy for the presidency. If he has no courage to step up and run for president then he should stop backstabbing the President. I am, of course, assuming that Weiner is not working to ensure the election of a Republican president.

  240. Weiner is considering a run for NYC mayor, and Rev. Al was saying that he needs Black New Yorkers to vote for him.

    Regardless, Weiner keeps running off at the mouth with standing O’s from the faux-gressives and progressive media (HP, MSNBC, et al). He’s proving himself to be quite adept at self promotion as fellow New Yorker Chuck Schumer is reputed to be.

    I wouldn’t mind if he shut up for a while.

  241. Well said Aquagranny! Many of us deserve this president and should pledge to work hard to see him elected. We cannot afford to go backward. What is happening in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, your beloved Arizona, and in the U.S. House of Representatives, should really be a wake up call to all those engaged in silly games of trying to pretend that they are holier than thou progressives. If this country elects a teabagger beholden Republican president we can all kiss goodbye the progressive changes accomplished by this president. They will all be repealed.

  243. He will run again and he will triumph as surely as there is a God!

    The spirit of this man destined for greatness has been long protected, strengthened and lovingly nurtured by God-

    He is not faint of heart.

  246. You know AJR, there is nothing wrong with getting mad! I get mad all the time about the idiots who pretend to be progressives while undermining the most progressive president. I especially get mad at the deranged teabaggers who claim to be patriots though they purely driven by their racial hatred of the President. But getting mad is not a solution. I am sure the President gets mad but what good is it for him to rant and rave and appear so macho without solving anything?

    What exactly has Anthony Weiner’s ranting and raving accomplished in Congress? Do you really think that the President would have accomplished as much as he has if he spent all his time appearing on MSNBC, HUff POst, DKos, calling Republicans and blue dog Democrats a bunch of names? Did you see the President’s meeting with Republicans when he was dealing with health care and other issues? You don’t think he was assertive enough? Have you paid any attention to his performance in the various news conferences he has held?

    Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out exactly when the culture in this country changed from looking down on empty loudmouths to hailing them as icons of strength. To suggest that the president is weak, simply because he is not out there ranting and raving like an Anthony Wiener, or Alan Grayson, makes no sense to me. As much as I dislike President Teddy Roosevelt’s imperialism, I think he had a point about “speaking softly” while “carrying a big stick.” If President Obama is as weak as his critics say, how come, in just two years, his legislative accomplishments are better than any other president since FDR?

    I am sorry, but I respectfully disagree with you. I don’t think appearing to be aggressive, or mad, on T.V. constitutes strength. What really matters, so far as the President is concerned, is what policies he is able to implement that advances the interests of Americans. Policies such as: Health Care Reform, Financial Reforms, repealing DADT, ratification of the START treaty, the Stimulus bill that saved the country from a depression, Tax cuts for the middle class and small businesses, and saving the Auto Industry, just to name a few. Given his record of accomplishments, what exactly do these advocates of “assertive/aggressive” want from this President? Do they want him to behave like Anthony Weiner and Alan Grayson? Have these assertive/aggressive people scared the teabaggers enough to stop them from obstructing progress?

  247. GN, as always, you comments carry a great deal of punch. This one is no different. You really nailed it. I am so glad that reality based progressives are pushing back against these divisive tactics aimed at undermining the President.

    I am a student of history and I have yet to find any legislation, except may the one Terry Shivo, that was passed in its purist form. I’ve really had it with these so called pure progressives who are trying to hold the President Obama to different standards. How come Anthony Weiner and the others were not out vocally attacking President Clinton (whom I like by the way) for all his compromises with Republicans?

    I really have a sneaking suspicion that these attacks have absolutely nothing to do with claims of looking out for progressive values. I think this is all about ensuring that the President is not re-elected. I say that because: (1) I have yet to see a credible candidate on the Democratic side who is not only capable of defeating the President in the primaries, but is also capable of elected President; and, (2) people like Anthony Weaver and others surely know that divisions within the Democratic party are sure guarantees for electing a Republican president. For them to mount these attacks, at this juncture, they must know the damage it is causing.

  248. Actually Obama’s poll numbers were fairly good. On the gallup had him at a +7 43 to 50 net positive. This is encouraging.

  249. X 1,000,000,000.

    President Obama is so far ahead of the rest of us, it is our faith in him that has to catch up. When we can be unshaken by the distracting and negative forces that attempt to throw him/us off course (and to date have failed) than we have more energy that can be engaged constructively and creatively in our support for him and our efforts to promote our causes.

    Try not to waste energy on the negative.
    Everything we fight only weakens our ability to see the opportunity in the obstacle. We should reserve as much energy as possible for creative thinking and productive courses of action.

    Sometimes there is a need to blow off steam, and if the pressure valve needs to be released do it where it will not harm or hinder our progress. It works here because this is a supportive community, we have an emotional investment in and need to protect our President, each other and the progress we are seeking.

  251. Excellent Nathan.

    Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out exactly when the culture in this country changed from looking down on empty loudmouths to hailing them as icons of strength.

    During the past administration, when we were told that obvious stupidity in decision-making was strength, because the WH was strident. Apparently the bipartisan idiots coalition would like to retain this cultural prominence. Which is why we see such a moronic, stupid, idiotic pushback against the obvious intelligence of the WH: “Obambi is just like Spock.” “where is he on this, he hasn’t even given an emotional speech.” “If he cared about the protesters, he’d be stayingi overnight in the Wisconsin capitol rotunda/if he cared about the oil spill, he’d send the navy divers to go plug it (actual suggestion, smh!)/if he cared about Japan, he’d stop golfing (actual critique by a reality tv star who has certainly not stopped his business or leisure activities, again, smh).”

    I can’t…this is just too stupid for words;

    The past administration ushered in a golden age for idiots. They want to keep that going.

  252. Completely agree, Sara Carter. I can understand BWD’s anger, but maybe should have waited a day before writing this.

    Meanwhile, I’m going to take my name off Mr. Wiener’s email list and won’t make the mistake of contributing to his campaign again.

  254. Hey there gn 🙂 – Agree with your comment so much. The last administration called aggression/bloodlust: ‘strength’.. their whole “bring it on” mentality, truly, I think, worked for a lot of people in this country. I think there was a whole lot of vicariously living by some folks- who saw GW & crew as John Wayne.. and they liked it.

    This administration, where smart/thoughtful and considered thinking is the order of the day, takes work, and when folks have spent 8 years ‘reacting’ and combating.. its difficult I think to switch away from.. and lets be honest, I think many of them are just dysfunctional in that arena- they have an addiction to that reactionary, bullying behavior. My one and only diary – almost 3 years ago- was on that subject 😉

  255. FTS. She’s right. I just called the number she provided(thanks BWD) and told the guy who answered the phone that I knew he was a bigot after he went on Larry King during the primary and said Senator Obama couldnt get the white vote. BWD is a grown womam who I’m guessing knows not only her own mind but what bigotry and class looks like. I think he’s full of the first and doesnt have a drop of the second. Like Wolf Blitzer, the first thing this congressman did after the Cairo speech was attack the President for what he apparently saw as the President “telling a democracy(Israel) what to do”. President Obama wouldnt be going around attacking his party’s own sitting President much less forget to mention why the P made the tax deal. The reason Weiner and Maher and many so called progressives attack him for that is because they dont give a flying F if the millions of unemployed continued to get their checks or not. They wanted to fight the class war. The reason Weiner hates the health care bill is because those 30 million poor people who actually will get single payer mean jack shit to him. President Obama as BWD said did forgo a path to fortune to serve the poor. It shouldnt surprise anyone that that group of people are who he continues to think about first and foremost. To say he’s not a values guy is perhaps the lowest thing this man has said about our President to date and it doesnt pass the laugh test considering the lifes work of Barack Obama.

  258. BWD. You do you. I don’t see why anyone would ask you to think about what PO would do before acting or making a statement. He isn’t Jesus. You are you and your thoughts and gut instinct is on point.

    No need to reflect. You are exactly right. Weiner is an ass and I made my phone call and asked that he man up and do the job we pay him to do without whining to the public.

    Posts like this one always pushes me to make a donation to President Obama’s and OFAs campaigns.

    You are right to call them out. That is why we are here and then we take the next step to action.

    Great post.

  259. Amen EricFive. Cosigning on your response. More of us should be calling out these idiots.

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