Why Rahm Was 100% Wrong - Cenk at Huffington Post

[ihavenobias]

NOTE: What is posted below (with the author's permission) is an extended excerpt. Use the link below to read the full piece. Also, you can http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDm0tq0Pxv0|Click Here to watch a video on this topic>.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/why-rahm-was-100-wrong_b_711710.html|Why Rahm Was 100% Wrong>
By Cenk Uygur

The Rahm Emanuel strategy was to cut deals with power brokers in Washington and ignore what liberals wanted. This was best illustrated when he called liberals http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/02/rahm-apologizes-for-privately-calling-liberal-activists-retarded.html|"fucking retarded"> for trying to push for real change. His attitude was that you could ignore progressive demands because -- where could they go?!

Well, it turns out that the answer to that question is -- home. Now there are http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/09/poll-update-kentucky-poll_n_710262.html|several polls> out showing a 5 to 10% difference between registered Democratic voters and likely Democratic voters. Democrats are basically tied with the Republicans on registered voters. But they get clobbered on likely voters. Why? Because voters who are disillusioned aren't likely to vote.

Why are they disillusioned Rahm might ask when we gave them health care reform and financial reform? The answer is because they're not nearly as dumb as you think they are. You think you can just call something reform and people are going to buy it? That's not going to fly, especially in the new media age.

We all know that Obama struck the same exact deals with the big drug companies that Bush did. Obama had campaigned against those specific agreements, but once he got into office he was convinced that we couldn't upset those deals and that we just had to shoot for a tiny bit of change. That we couldn't change the way Washington ran, we could just play the old Washington game a little better. That is the essence of Rahm Emanuel.

And those games have now left the Democrats with a gigantic deficit in voter enthusiasm. Rahm was supposed to be some sort of political genius. But it has turned out to be the exact opposite. He blew it...

[Ozymanithrax]

1. LIberals and progresseives that don't vote are not liberal or progressive...

They are lazy Republicans who vote with their ass.

[Beartracks]

59. Good point. Excellent point, n/t

[Skittles]

62. WTF

is it too much to ask that their vote be EARNED???

[Balderdash]

66. Clearly, nothing of import being said here

:eyes:

[Swede]

2. Why is it ok to quote Rahm out of context,but verboten anywhere else?

He called a strategy "fucking retarded" not actual liberals.

[Ozymanithrax]

4. Because people can justify their beliefs and tar Rahm and the DLC with the same brush.

There is an unwritten rule somewhere that it is OK to quote people you don't like out of context. It is called, I believe, the Cenk Rule.

[ihavenobias]

9. I'm highly entertained by this.

It's like saying "look, it's okay, he didn't punch me in the face, he punched me in the stomach".

Right, because that makes the bottom line sentiment so much better.

[Ozymanithrax]

10. Cenk used a quote out of context to make a point. So, Cenk just flat lied.

There are lots of reasons why Rahm should be mayor Chicago rather than the Chief of Staff. It is unnecessary to lie when the truth works so well. Lies are told to justify a belief set.

[ihavenobias]

14. The context is Rahm's contempt for progressives.

That's no lie.

[CherylK]

15. + 1

:toast:

[Ozymanithrax]

16. Cenk Uygur seems to think it is better ot just lie to progressives rather than tell the truth.

It seems that Cenk and Rahm are brothers from another mother.

[ihavenobias]

19. Cenk is in the third category (so am I)

1. There are people who uncritically hate the Democratic party/Obama admin no matter what, more or less.

2. There are people who uncritically love the Democratic party/Obama admin no matter what, more or less.

3. There are people in between that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCqHiceDhuk|fight right wing smears>, give http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avOewUfIxag|praise> AND give criticism when due, more or less.

People in group 2 always confuse group 3 for group 1. The links above clearly refute that nonsense, and there are plenty more that back that fact up.

[Ozymanithrax]

21. From all the research I've done, Rahm called a tactic "Fucking Retarded."

Now, clearly some liberals and progressives took that as a direct attack. However, from all I've found he did not call liberals and progressives "Fucking Retarded." That being true, Cenk, FDL, and those that pass that bit verbiage around are liars. Cenk probably never learned, when he switched form being a Republican to a Democrat, that accuracy is supposed to be important. And FDL is willing to sleep with Republicans to attack a slightly left of center Democratic administration. That is not an attempt to "fight right wing smears, give praise AND give criticism when due, more or less." It is prevaricating for political purposes.

I am neither in 1 or 2. I am with a group that thinks we should use the truth, which means I'm not with Cenk or FDL.

[ihavenobias]

24. Nice dodge.

Even if you dismiss that the sentiment is the same (because it is) it ignores the larger issue.

BTW, I'm proud to be in group 3.

[JTFrog]

26. There is more money to be made attacking those in power than attacking those out of power. n/t

[ihavenobias]

28. Great suggestion.

I'll tell Cenk to stop ripping Republicans to shreds each and every day of the show. Why is he wasting his time on that? Even worse, why would he waste his time crushing Republicans on TV?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x500587

[JTFrog]

29. It would be better

to tell him to stop ripping Democrats to shreds each and every day of the show.

But that's just my opinion.

:shrug:

[ihavenobias]

30. No, it wouldn't be better for him to be a blind partisan apologist.

PS---http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x559232#559268

[bjobotts]

31. The best that can be achieved at present vs the worst that could happen

[bjobotts]

32. Rahm hit me in the head with a baseball so I'm going home where Boehner with break my legs with a b

[bjobotts]

33. Disillusioned means applying more pressure, not sitting home allowing crazies to get elected by def

default. We never liked Rahm but he is not the dem party. The supreme court makes getting a dem elected mandatory. We know the GOP is insane and not voting will get them into office where we will watch our democracy and our economy be destroyed...making this Rahm issue seem petty. Just imagine Palin, Angle. Rand Paul,Beck etc running things.

OBAMA AND THE CURRENT DEMS ARE JUST THE BEST THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED AT PRESENT BUT NOT VOTING WILL BRING INTO POWER THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN TO A NATION.

Don't be complacent...vote. At least we have some input with dems in power but we will have none at all if repubs take a majority again. Rham Eammanuel is a secret repub trying to get you to react by being complacent. Rumor has it he's gonna' run for office in Il. anyway.

It's only a handful of DINOs screwing things up anyway like Bayh, Nelson, etc....so don't make the whole party suffer because of a few idiots.

VOTE like your life depended on it because it does.

[Enthusiast]

52. I don't think Cenk

is saying "Don't vote for Democrats. or, "Stay home for the midterms." If Cenk said that he would lose all credibility with me. I want my party to be a success, as flawed as it is.

[ihavenobias]

55. If you listen to the show from which the Rahm segment was taken

right after he goes out of his way to say GO VOTE. He adds that you'd be "mental" to vote for Republicans.

He should've made a YouTube clip out of it to quiet down the haters. I might suggest it to him for that purpose.

[JDPriestly]

61. We liberals applied as much pressure as we can.

That last straw is the Cat Food Commission. If you look at the appointments Obama made, it is clear that there are too few advocates for Social Security to protect it. That is a set-up. Obama wants to cut or do away with Social Security but does not want to take responsibility for cutting or doing away with it.

Obama is not your friend if you are on Social Security. It's just as simple as that.

What Republicans never dared do and never before dared say they wanted to do, Obama is doing via the Cat Food Commission -- and that is cut back on Social Security. That is just, as I said, the last straw.

[JTFrog]

34. Of course ripping Dems to shreds everyday would be better for him.

PS---http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x559232#559283

[JDPriestly]

60. No, actually, JTFrog. There is more money to be made in

flattering those in power than in flattering those out of power. There is also more money to be made attacking those out of power than in attacking those in power. Much more money to be made.

That is why lobbyists support those in power or those likely to gain power.

[JTFrog]

63. Couldn't disagree more.

News ratings, profits and salaries have little to do with lobbyists.

If what you said were true, poor Rupert Murdoch would be going out of business right now. If what you said were true, we'd have an exact polar FOX out there somewhere with nothing but praise for the President, 24/7/365.

I'm pretty sick of folks reaching out for justification of those making thousands upon millions eviscerating the President on a daily basis because they can't see the forest through the trees.

[JDPriestly]

67. Rupert Murdoch made good money when Bush was in power --

by not criticizing Bush.

[JTFrog]

68. FNC was flailing in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

They ranked from 6th-8th. They soared to #1 after Obama was elected.

Like to try again?

[Jakes Progress]

58. If he did it here on DU, he would be deleted.

Why do you want to play with semantics when it is obvious what the problem is? Why do you hide behind commas and dodge the truth with nit picking and convoluted, fastideous word games? Suppose I said that every thing you did was a stupid mistake that reflected a lack of brains, morals, or courage, that your behavior indicated someone whose mother was a street walker and whose father was mentally deficient, and that your words showed a complete lack of education and taste. Would you be insulted? Notice I never called you name. Would you be within your rights to alert on me? Would I be guilty of indicating that I had no use for you and thought your opinions were pointless?

Now how about a little intellectual honesty? See under your program, if I said that rahm said I was "fucking retarded", you would have to have your post deleted since you would be calling me a liar, which is against the DU rules.

Truth is that you know what the beef is. You can't defend rahm's behavior, so you throw up a barrage of half-assed, off-topic nits to pick at.

[Enthusiast]

51. Damn!

Thank you!

We can see by the Democrat electorate's relative lack of enthusiasm for the elections that something is very wrong. Some will continue to say the only thing wrong is unjustified criticism from the "professional left". This is like sticking the head in the sand. There is something fundamentally wrong in the Administration. To correct these faults we first have to acknowledge that they exist.

[JTFrog]

53. Democratic.

Here, let me google that for you. :eyes:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=the+democrat+electorate

[Kajsa]

23. Well said, IHNB!

:toast:

[theFrankFactor]

37. + Infinity! You have to explain this shit here... LOL!

[Enthusiast]

50. At the expense of the party

and success in the midterm elections.

[Swede]

11. Really?

You think not liking an idea is the same as not like the person with the idea? You must be fun in real life.

[yurbud]

54. the right does this too--if it suits them, they get very particular about details

if it doesn't, they say ''We have to look forward not back.''

Maybe there's a formula when to decide when to do which.

[NJmaverick]

6. Quoting out of context, I know a political party that makes a living out of that sort of thing

and that same party employs pretend progressives to try and neutralize the liberals in the next election

[Ozymanithrax]

12. Well, if quoting out of context makes someone a fake progressive...

Then Cenk is a fake progressive.

The truth works when we use it. There are many reasons to want Rahm as mayor of Chicago or spending more time with his family. He was a bad choice, though he did qualify as a monumental asshole, the most important part of a C.O.S. job description.

[JTFrog]

20. +1

Sometimes it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

:shrug:

[yurbud]

3. ''they're not nearly as dumb as you think they are.''

The DLC longs to have a voter base as gullible as the GOP, who they can hand a hat full of shit, call it a chocolate cake, and have us say thank you.

[NJmaverick]

7. That DLC bogey man meme is growing old and stale

[w4rma]

70. Nope. The DLC needs to be purged. (nt)

[NJmaverick]

5. This article is a good example of the great Daily Kos quote

"If anyone peddles stupidity trying to dampen progressive opposition to Republican rule, they're not on your side."

[Cha]

13. Notice cenk nevers writes when he's 100% WRONG!

Course maybe he never thinks he is wrong..and that would be a big problem too.

[yurbud]

18. are you talking about Cenk or Rahm?

[bvar22]

8. Here is a K&R for Cenk.

I hope he gets that show on MSNBC.

[slay]

17. Rahm is pro-establishment, pro-corporate, and not in favor of any true change - he's a player

it's like a big game to politicians at that level. Good for Cenk for calling him out - we know how Rahm feels, and how he operates - and it is NOT in the best interests of progressives, or in the best interests of the people of this country in general.

[20score]

22. K&R!

[Kajsa]

25. K&R!

I also hope Cenk gets his own show on MSNBC.

:kick:

[quiet.american]

27. You know, Cenk can include a "f*cking retarded" source, but not one for his own assertions.

Cenk, I hardly knew ye. Used to like you, man. What happened?

[depakid]

38. Obama DID in fact make the same deal with PhARMA that Bush did!

in spite of his campaign promises to the contrary.

[quiet.american]

39. And what was the result? A 50% discount on drugs for seniors, plus closing of the donut hole.

Forgive me, I don't remember the big Bush push for healthcare reform. Exactly when did that happen? Right... it didn't.

Neither did the $250.00 checks towards helping seniors out with their pharmaceutical costs, RIGHT NOW.

Neither did the $5 million to outfit the FDA to prepare for importation of international pharmaceutical drugs, which is in the Obama budget, and which has been passed by Congress.

But who's counting?

[depakid]

40. The result is NO government pooling of buying power or reimportation

in other words- a HUGE cash influx to PhARMA with little benefit (and no bang for the buck) for most Americans. Indeed, as with premiums and coinsurance requirements, their prices will continue to rise.

Brilliant.

And no I don't forgive willful ignorance- that push for "healthcare reform" occurred in 2003 and resulted in the Medicare part D scam which this legislation "builds on."

[quiet.american]

43. Speaking of "willful ignorance," that reply is absolute B.S.

Re: Medicare Part D:
http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8059.pdf

And I'm still missing the part where Bush lobbied for this:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/timeline

Re: drug reimportation:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2009/ucm152276.htm
Follow-on Biologics & Drug Importation ($5 million) – Within the Safer Medical Products initiative, the budget proposes a new authority for the FDA to approve follow-on biologics through a regulatory pathway that protects patient safety and promotes innovation, and includes $5 million for the FDA to develop policies to allow Americans to buy drugs approved in other countries.

"No bang for the buck"?

Between a $250 cash-in-hand payout for seniors to help with drug costs this year, to a 50% reduction in prescription drug costs effective beginning next year, to the closing of the donut hole by 2020, to $5 million to build out drug importation infrastructure to the FDA - I'd say that's a lot more "bang for the buck" than I ever heard of from Bush, and that to willfully ignore that is, well, willful ignorance.

And if Bush did try to push that through, bully for him, but he FAILED. Whereas, Obama succeeded. Oh, Yes He Did.

[depakid]

44. You don't have the first idea what you're talking about

and are simply copying and pasting unrelated links.

If you were less about the hero worship and more interested in health policy you would know, for example that Bush and the Republican's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Prescription_Drug,_Improvement,_and_Modernization_Act">Medicare Part D scam (Sheparded through Congress by one Billy Tauzin who went on shortly afterward to be the president of PHARMA) expressly forbids the federal government from using its collective purchasing power to negotiate lower prices for drugs, which would save Medicare recipients AND taxpayers $30 billion a year.

Drug reimportation piggybacks on the fact that other nations aren't so corrupt and stupid- and so their governments (which actually have universal health care) DO put the collective squeeze on pharmaceutical companies and hence, their citizens pay in some cases a fraction of what Americans do.

Canada is one such country- and so people who can't afford their medication (or go without heat) want to purchase from Canada.

And aren't allowed to (based in part, on the pretence mentioned in the your link).

No collective purchasing- no reimportation. Instead, federal money funnelled to pharmaceutical corporations and for profit health insurers. Same dysfunctional model as before.

[quiet.american]

45. Willful ignorance marches on - yes, I'm talking about you.

While you harp on about the past, I've posted links that point directly to how the Obama administration/Democratic Congressional leadership have addressed those injustices.

You post rhetoric without a single link to back up your assertions.

Give us a break, depakid.

[Hawkowl]

46. Sorry, you aren't making a point

If you think Obama did a good job with negotiating a deal with big pharma, I've got a bridge to sell you. Cheap!

Obama's institutionalizing the inability of the Federal government to negotiate a discount on drugs is simply unforgivable in this age of ONE FUCKING TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICITS!!!

It is simply a Democrat flavor of corporate welfare. The flavor being that Obama can make a VERY pretty speech, whereas Shrub was a drunken, illiterate. Both appear to be corporate stooges.

[quiet.american]

47. How does a 50% discount of drugs and closing of the donut hole fit in to your story.

Unbelievable.

You close your eyes and sing "la-la-la" because that does not fit your story about what's going on.

Edited to add:

Not to mention the mailing of rebate checks to seniors to help with prescription drug costs.

You are going on and on like it's 2003.

[depakid]

48. The poster doesn't grasp the facts or the health policy concepts

Unfortunately the President did give away the store (as well as associate his administration and the Dems with one of America's more "popular" industries during a period of profound populist anger and resentment).

The NY Times detailed the backroom deal with PhARMA here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/health/policy/06insure.html

[Hawkowl]

49. Indeed

Endless prattle about closing the "donut hole" and 50% OFF! Does not even come close to "health care reform".

[girl gone mad]

56. Your links contributed nothing to the discussion.

So you guys are going to defend the ban on re-importation now?

Really?

[glitch]

35. Stinging. nt

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HooptieWagon]

42. Why doesn't Rahm just join the republicans already?

Perhaps because his agenda to destroy unions and liberals isn't completed yet? Why does the DLC still have ANY credibility in the DNC?

[WillyT]

57. Big K & R !!!

:kick:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

64. Thank you Cenk --

for saying what many of us are thinking. :applause:

[yurbud]

65. k & r

[JohnWxy]

69. Good article. The President by his practice of preemptive compromise has caused apathy among Dems .

tried to recommend but was beyond the 24 hr limit.