Angry left to Obama: Stop caving on agenda

[kpete]

Source: The Hill

Angry left to Obama: Stop caving on agenda
By Sam Youngman - 11/16/10 06:00 AM ET

Liberals furious with a White House they view as constantly telegraphing compromise with Republicans are pressuring President Obama to get tougher, arguing that is the only way he will win both progressives and independents in 2012.

........................

“It’s less ‘Oh no, they’re triangulating,’ and more ‘Boy, their political instincts are really stupid,’ ” said Green, who along with other liberals has blasted the White House for suggesting it would compromise with Republicans on expiring tax cuts.

The White House “fundamentally” doesn’t get that “the only way to get Republicans to deal in good faith is to fight them, crush them and teach a lesson that if Republicans are on the wrong side of an issue there will be consequences ... so it makes sense to negotiate,” Green said.

“Right now, every time Republicans are on the opposite side of an issue from the public, it’s the Democrats who cave and talk about ‘compromise.’ It’s ridiculous.”

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/129323-angry-left-to-obama-stop-caving

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[alllyingwhores]

64. This story only perpetuates the lie

‘Boy, their political instincts are really stupid,’ Yeah, if only Obama and team were smarter politically...Are you F__KING kidding?? No one is that F__KING STUPID!!..the only possible reality is that Obama is owned.

And it's stories like these that continue to prop up that it's a failed political strategy...or if only they weren't so naive or stupid then everything would be alright....that Obama would actually fight for his agenda defined during the election.

WAKE THE F__K UP PEOPLE!

[KoKo]

80. Remember "SWEET JESUS! WHAT IS IT!" (the spine in the corner?)

[BrklynLiberal]

122. LOLOLOLOL...and still true..for most Dems!!

[disillusioned73]

123. Thanks for that pic....

I will save that for later usage.... and I'm sure I will need it.:dem:

[PassingFair]

126. Hey...I've been looking for that one...it was originally titled" Delivery from Dr. Dean" n/t

[swilton]

82. + 1

Totally agree with you - I still get conned now and then, especially by articles like this. Even though I recognized Obama's 2008 campaign for what it was - all P/R and no substance, and I didn't vote for the man because I was in a safe state, I have been extremely surprised and disappointed with the policy results.

Please continue to speak out - we still have two years to wake up, shift paradigms and find a real progressive (w/i or outside the main parties) for 2012.

[WillyT]

100. What Lie ???

I don't see any lie.

:shrug:

[Scuba]

115. Did Cheney threaten to eat his children?

[Vincardog]

2. it’s the Democrats who cave and talk about ‘compromise.’ It’s ridiculous.” STOP it, Don't make me

come up there

[theaocp]

3. K&R

What you do, you take them out back and hit them with a stick a couple times; they will do!

[southern_belle]

4. k & r

[Buns_of_Fire]

5. A Washington-bound politician must have had a good "killer instinct" at ONE time...

Otherwise, they'd never have made it to the Hallowed Halls in the first place.

So what on earth happens to the Democrats?:shrug:

[awoke_in_2003]

23. they are either spineless...

or complicit- I lean toward the latter.

[rainy]

117. they are bombarded with media spin saying they will lose

big if they don't move to the right and the whole country believes the lie. So all the politicians try to move to the right so they can win elections. They lie becomes the truth because the stupid voters believe it too.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

6. I agree, get tougher... that is the only way he will win both progressives and independents

He (THEY) will win more than just progressives and independents if people SEE him taking action against bullies.

Really, it's not that complex. Ethical people have a responsibility to set limits with bullies. Abusers never stop because they've seen the light of reason, and they shouldn't get their wish lists catered to. This is straight out of any basic therapeutic guide book.

[hlthe2b]

7. I will not be a sycophant. I still support Obama, but.......

(and that BUT.... is getting stronger, longer, and more emphatic)

[ProfessionalLeftist]

8. K & freaking R

x 10000

[Iowa]

69. I was rec number 200.

[meow mix]

9. K&R

[Jefferson23]

10. Green said it's ridiculous, far too kind a word to describe the behavior imo.

But good for him for speaking out!

[NorthCarolina]

11. K&R

[AlbertCat]

12. Repugs keep talking about "the American people..."

They keep saying "the American people want..." "The American people have spoken" when a fraction of those eligible to vote actually vote and

80% wanted a public option
90-something percent don't want the Bush tax cut for the wealthy to be extended

and so on.

Just WHO are these "American people" they are talking about.... besides themselves?


The minute you hear Agent Orange in the House or the Chinless Wonder in the Senate utter "the American People..." you know NOBODY really wants it.

When are Dems gonna point this out? Surely even Teabaggers can understand numbers like 80%.

[defendandprotect]

53. Must be the GOPs/Silent Majority back again .... ????

[StatGirl]

71. Their rich cronies, of course

Whenever Bush spoke of "The American People", he meant the guys he hangs out with, the ones that Nelson Rockefeller allegedly once described as your average guy making 100,000 dollars a year.

They certainly don't mean us serfs.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

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

[shanti]

16. what?

:eyes:

[The Wizard]

14. If the midterm elections

sent him the message that he's got to cave in to Republicorp, he's not paying attention to those who elected him.
The failed Rahm Emanuel/DLC policy that says the base has nowhere else to go is flawed in that it discounts that the base has somewhere else to stay, and that's home on election day as proven on November 2, 2010.
If he couldn't do the people's bidding with a huge majority in both houses, he'll certainly fail to lead because he'll be too busy answering subpoenas, unlike the Bush cartel that chose to ignore subpoenas with impunity.
If Obama continues appeasing America's dark side, his one term presidency will be a historic letdown.
But who knows? maybe the cartel threatened his family.

[Mimosa]

46. The message of 2010 elections was that youth and minorities didn't show at polls

I was a poll watcher (advance and same day) in 2008 and again this year.

The Dems failed to keep the youth and minorities excited. Probably they felt nothing much had changed regarding the economy. They simply didn't show up. Check the stats.

[BrklynLiberal]

70. Youa re 100% correct. there was NO followup to the effort and enthusiasm of the youth vote.

Michael Moore discussed this on Bill Maher last Firday.

He said there were lists and lists of young people who could have been mobilized..starting on January 21, 2009. Absolutely NOTHING was done for 2 years...and then suddenly a month before the election...twitters to these folks. TOO LITTLE..TOO LATE! What a total screw up!!!

[calimary]

104. Plus the added lesson of what happens when you turn your back on your base.

The base felt unmotivated and ignored, and stayed home.

[fasttense]

121. It seemed to be more than just ignoring and not motivating his base.

I think the Democrats in the White House actively sought to demoralize the progressive base.

The rude comments from Rhom and the Press Secretary, with no follow up apology (but darn they are quick to apologize to the RepubliCONS). Then there was the failure of Obama to stick up for the people who got him there like ACORN, Shirley Sharod (sp?) Vance etc... The youth and progressives saw how President Obama threw his base under the bus. And I honestly believe it was an effort to purposely demoralize liberals and progressives.

What I don't understand is, why he did it.

[calimary]

128. I think you make a good point here. For some reason, rahm and gibbs and various

other assholes who are SUPPOSED TO BE ON OUR SIDE actually seem to hate us more than the republi-CONS do.

Guess they must have jilted their dates at their school dances when the prettier, curvier girl sashayed by. They behave as though they never heard of the saying "dance with the one who brought you."

This whole reactionary trend since the 60's of devaluing and diminishing the liberal end of things, embracing the talking points of the bad guys about how the whole liberal thing is just so horribly bad... when the "whole liberal thing" was what made this country the envy of the world and made everyone else want to come here to start a new life. The social safety net, worker protections, health and safety standards, and more. It's all been demonized.

And they had a 40-year head start on it, whereas SOME of our "finest minds" are just now starting to wake up about it.

It's just really grim. There are days when I just really don't have any hope at all. Everything I believe in for our country has been systematically denounced, belittled, and betrayed.

[global1]

15. Call The White House Today And Tell The President That We......

got his back on this. Tell him that we will support him if he gets tough and negotiates from a point of strength. And we don't mind either if he gets mad and shows some anger some time either.

The White House comment phone line is: 1-202-456-1111

Wow!!! I surprised myself. I've called that number so many times in the last 2 years I have it memorized.

[still_one]

17. I agree with the sentiments, but why is this "latest breaking news"? /nt

[kpete]

33. wondered that myself

but there it was on the front page of The Hill

frankly, I don't think this issue is headlined enough,
peace, kp

[ChairmanAgnostic]

40. it is "braking noose," an effort to stop

the slow strangulation of this presidency with conciliation, collapse, and concessions.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

18. What Green said.

:applause:

[Owl]

19. K&R!

[mwb970]

20. I wish we could get a really tough Dem in the WH.

I like Obama, but he seems mismatched with his opponents.

[Courtesy Flush]

21. People voted for change, dammit!

Obama seems to think the American voter turned on him because he was trying to give us what we voted for!!! :wtf:

I am convinced that we lost the elections because the economy is down. It's an age-old story. Incumbents get ditched in a bad economy. They can say it was a rejection of Obama's policies, but until they beat him during a strong economy, it's just talk!!!

[texastoast]

37. I hear more that it was the health law

The electorate wants to be free to go to taxpayer-funded public hospital emergency rooms and not be covered by any insurance "crammed down their throats." Because the "individual's right to freedom" doesn't include looking at things like this.

Get it?

[NBachers]

22. Since it's the libruls saying this, it has no credibility

[whathehell]

24. What's truly disgusting is that they are ready to "compromise"...without asking for ANYTHING

in return!

This is what I've heard and what is frankly just making me think about that "trojan horse" concept.

This level of appeasement here, is unprecedented, imo....Something is very wrong.:(

[Edweird]

25. Yep. KnR

[Paper Roses]

26. If the President gets tough, he'll keep this voter behind him.

If he keeps caving in, I'm gone...along with many others. His approach is not what we voted for and I'm one of those who has had it up to her 'whatever'.

Allow cuts in S.S. and Medicare and I'm gone for good. Not kidding on this point. Too many years of working to lose it all. No other income like millions of others Seniors and almost Seniors.

One of these days, a big rant will come spewing from these old fingers. What the heck has happened to us anyway? We were strong enough in our protests to contribute to the end of the Vietnam war. The war is now in our back yards and we are helpless. Even all our letters, e-mails, phone calls go into column A or Column B and are not heard from again.

At a time like this, we need an aggressive president. Passivity is not in our interest.

[RaleighNCDUer]

67. The day they compromise SS is the day I march down to the election board

and change my registration from D to I. It will be painful - I've been a dem for 45 years, since before my first vote.

But at some point ya gotta take a stand.

[Celtic Raven]

103. Well said!

:applause:

[DirkGently]

27. The administration seems to think it needs to always signal "compromise" FIRST, and THEN negotiate.

Negotiation doesn't work that way. Once you tell the other side -- particularly the current breed of Republicans -- that you *might* be willing to go their way, they take it as a given that they've won.

You always START with your strongest position. You make your best argument. Demand your best result. You compromise when you get as far as you possibly can, and hit an impasse. This administration seems too ready to start sweeping things "off the table" before negotiations even begin. They create their own roadblocks.

And sometimes, you go to the mat. It sometimes looks like the White House takes an early "vote count," decides it can't do something, and immediately softens its rhetoric. It comes across as a tremendous fear of being "beaten" in public, to the exclusion of slugging something out in the public opinion to creat the political environment to GET the votes.

Even a "loss" here could be politically effective. MAKE the Republicans be the party that wouldn't let the middle class have a tax cut without adding $700 billion to the deficit to help their rich friends. If they can do it, so be it. They'll be the party that did that. If they're willing to deny the rest of the country the break in the meantime, MAKE them.

It ought to be easy to corner the Republicans on this. They ran on a dishonest proposal that they wanted to slash the deficit, when in reality they're not only not willing to make the necessary spending cuts, but want to increase the deficit (as they always do) with more giveaways for the wealthy. If Dems agree to LET them, they lose a huge opportunity to define the party's brand, and will look weak in the process.

[vanbean]

56. I know. It is just like health care, he should have went with Single Payer and

negotiated to a public option from there. I am so dissapointed with him. He is just to tough enough. I hate to think he's complicit, but it's getting close to that.

[glitch]

91. Negotiation doesn't but appeasement does. At some point we have to ask, to what

are they appeasing?

[Plucketeer]

28. Kay & ARRGH!

Out of futility, I sent another letter to the White House, just yesterday. While I KNOW it's a long shot that Obama's eyes will gaze upon it, I don't know what more (to the point) I can do!

The wife and I sit here with smoke coming out of our ears as we listen to Obama and Axlenut show all the resolve and fortitude of Tapioca pudding!


GOP JOBS PROGRAM

[ElsewheresDaughter]

29. LISTEN UP Mr President!..that's why the midterms went against the Dems

[Fearless]

30. It's about time people started waking up. K&R!

[Liberalynn]

31. kick

:kick:

[JustAnotherGen]

32. I'll kick it

I'll rec it. But I'm beginning to think we are going to be thrown under the bus here in the next few weeks.

[grahamhgreen]

34. Tax the ultra rich. They can afford it. They got us into this mess.

[texastoast]

35. How about a retitle? Angry DEMS instead of Angry Left

It's not just the lefties.

[Roy Rolling]

36. Democratic and Progressive

values did not start nor do they end with Obama. Obama can embrace the values of a free society or he can capitulate to power-hungry groups. Regardless, those who believe in freedom, charity, and fairness will not be swayed by political decisions or elections----these are values that are at the core of every good person in the world. Regardless of government, good people will oppose exploitation and political tyranny until their last breath or until freedom is available to everyone.

[harun]

38. If Obama doesn't heed this warning I think there is a 100% chance

he is a one term President.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

42. a painful truth. so much promise, so much hope, so

little audacity.

[whattheidonot]

51. correct

this is it for him unless. he has to gamble and set the groundwork for 2012. The Republican plan is a longshot at best

[juajen]

76. That might be what he planned all along. Great pension, secret service

protection for life and a lot of money for speaking engagements. Could be he's lining those pockets now. I hope I'm wrong. It could be a long time before the democrats have the advantage of the Presidency and both houses of Congress. I hope I'm wrong, for this will set us back a long time and could totally destroy this country.

[Name removed]

88. Deleted message

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

[DainBramaged]

39. Reason with them, give them the facts, explain why they are wrong....

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

A LOT of the people who were telling me this crap BEFORE the election have mysteriously vanished from around these parts. Hmmmmmmmmmmm :think:

[Mimosa]

47. I've noticed it too.

I wish they wouldn't.

I think colectively we can influence the president's administration. I think he knows a change of course is required.

[DainBramaged]

55. What they fail to realize is I have a long memory

and Google Search is on my side!!!! LOLOL


I am hoping one of OUR President's staff visits here often. WE ARE THE BASE.


Can you hear me now Mr. President?

[katandmoon]

41. K&R but they may as well save their breaths. Obama is NOT listening.

[laughingliberal]

43. K & R nt

[totodeinhere]

44. The White House needs to start listening to the people who got them there before it's too late.

A GOP win in 2012 would mean that everything that has been accomplished in the past two years could be undone. We would be worse off than when shrub left office.

However, show the voters that you have some spine and you will be reelected easily and you will take Congress along with you.

[Roy Rolling]

45. he h e

he he, "Shrub" ;-)

Even worse for the Repubs, Obama is a one-term president and another Democrat wins the presidency in 2012. Instead of puffing their chests saying they have a mandate, they should be watching their backs.

[KeyserSoze87]

48. Despite anger from liberals...

A lot of people actually approve of the way Obama's handling his job as president. Don't believe me? His approval rating is 48% on Gallup right now, which is remarkable for a president who is currently dealing with 9.6% unemployment.

[The Uncola]

54. You and your "poll numbers" have a...

... wonderful time, back here on Planet Earth, things are on a collision course with disaster and our driver is totally blind AND fucking deaf.

[BzaDem]

112. Perhaps, but probably not for the reason you think.

I personally think Obama will get re-elected.

However, if he doesn't, unless it is within a few hundred votes (like 2000), it probably won't be because of Democrats or Liberals. Poll after poll shows that his approval rating among Democrats (and liberal Democrats, and liberals) is at stratospheric levels, compared to past presidents going back 50 years. It will be because independents have a low approval of him.

Of course, you will deny this, as anyone with cognitive dissonance would. When faced with data proving you wrong about the underlying premise of what you believe, it is only natural to start attacking the evidence. Republicans do it all the time with global warming, evangelicals do it all the time with evolution, etc. There was a recent study showing that when people who believe in obviously false ideas are presented with convincing data to the contrary, rather than accept the data as proof that perhaps their assumptions were wrong, they just believe their false ideas even more.

But just because you are in denial doesn't mean Obama actually has a problem with the vast majority of the left in America.

[The Uncola]

120. More poppycock.

The only "poll" that matters is called an election. The one less than three weeks ago says you are the one with a glaring case of cognitive dissonance. Keep on the topic and chill out with the personal insults pal, unless of course, that's all you've got.

[KeyserSoze87]

61. Jeez, everyone here is so pessimistic.

I think I'm the only person on this entire site who thinks Obama will get reelected.

[Milo_Bloom]

77. Poll numbers don't = turnout.

And turnout is the ONLY way Obama has a chance of getting re-elected.

[juajen]

79. Since when have we paid attention to a Gallup Poll? Just sayin'. NT

[KoKo]

81. If Gallop called me I'd say "Hell Yeah I support the President!" I'm a Democrat!

But, what I tell Gallup or any pollster is my support ....not my anger and frustration.

[Scurrilous]

49. Heed the angry left!!1! n/t

[JamesJ]

50. It's too late for me

He's already lost me, I'm afraid. He could turn me around, of course, but I've been convinced that he doesn't have what it takes to stand up for the people. He talks a good game, which is how he got elected in the first place, but that's all he has, talk.

If he doesn't change big time in the next 2 years I won't be voting for him in 2012.

And please spare me the rationalization that he's better than any Republican. I am sick of being blackmailed by that threat. He needs to earn my vote at this point.

[ChiciB1]

96. I'm With You JamesJ... I Really DON'T Understand Why It's So Hard

for Obama and his Administration to figure out just how very MAD, "we the base" and many, many others will be if he CAVES on this one!

For many, IT WILL BE the straw that BREAKS HIS BACK! Too many will be saying, "Nope, don't gotcha back Dude" you've given in just one too many times!

Admittedly, I've been upset with much that he's done already, but am now seeing so many others are ready to throw in the towel too if he won't STAND UP for REALITY!

Either scrub ALL tax cuts and throw it back at the Repukes, or do what is the CORRECT thing and keep only the cuts for the LESS FORTUNATE! Geez, even with that I have a sneaky feeling that somehow the RICH will manipulate their funds in a way that will STILL benefit them!

For a man who has been touted as being so very intelligent, and I believe he does possess a lot of "book-learning" I just question why or what it is that he doesn't get!

[MissDeeds]

97. I agree

Obama's need to 'build consensus' comes at the expense of spearheading Democratic ideals. If he is adverse to conflict and fighting, he should not have run for president.

[The Uncola]

52. I have trouble buying that..

.. a man as intelligent as Obama is screwing up as badly as he has and is signaling that he is going to continue to do, out of ignorance or stupidity. That leaves only one other possibility.

[Ganja Ninja]

57. Ah-fucking-men! n/t

[MissDeeds]

58. K&R n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

59. I truly am at a loss to figure out exactly what it would take for this administration to

realize that the repukes are literally rolling on the floor and laughing their asses off every single time the words "bipartisanship" and/or "compromise" are said.

Talk of compromise rankles liberals even more when they hear Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) saying their top priority is to prevent Obama from winning a second term even as the White House talks of a compromise.

“That contrast bothers the left,” said Peter Daou, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Of Obama’s strategy over the last two years of trying to work with the GOP, Daou says: “We all know how that turned out.”

They picture the President saying "Thank you sir. May I have another?"


and frankly, so do I.

[roguevalley]

63. times ten, honey

[ej510]

60. Obama pushes me closer to the green party or unaffiliated daily.

[anachro1]

62. If you can't be the "change"you promised to represent

just QUIT.

Become another Sarah Palin. Your spinelessness has benefited no one.

[struggle4progress]

65. It's sorta like we elected a commander and then all sat on our roofs to see how he fared

against the enemy

And so he found few arrayed in the field beside him, but heard many voices shouting from a comfortable distance Smite them! Why don't you smite them?

[BrklynLiberal]

68. I would be very interested to know, specifically..what the public could have done to change things,

to force Obama to do more...to let him know what it was we wanted. What could have been done that was not done?
What should have been the follow up to the incredible effort that got him elected?

To me, it would seem the error was taking him for his words for what he promised during the campaign.

[struggle4progress]

78. I think your question reflects a shoddy analysis:

(1) There is, actually, no definite useful political entity "the public." There are about 300 million Americans who have various differing interests and ideas, not all tending the same way
(2) The chief executive is usually not the appropriate pressure point: being a finite human being, with only a limited number of hours in the day, the executive cannot be expected to master all the facts and issues; that is why the person has advisers, and that is why armies of lobbyists (in DC and elsewhere) exert pressure on legislators, regulators, and a host of subsidiary staff

When you ask What should have been the follow up to the incredible effort that got him elected?, I think the answer should stare you in the face: it is to take the tools one used during the campaign and to bring those tools to bear on the issues that interest one -- that is, to construct phone and mailing lists, to hold events, to knock doors -- to push for the specific concrete results one wants. The other side is organized to push for what they want; it is mere magical thinking to expect to get what we want without a serious effort to organize for our goals and push for them

[smiley]

66. the comments after the article are what really burn me.

It would seem that the entire readership of the "the hill" is a bunch of conservative windbags who care only about winning rather than helping the country get back on track.

[Jester Messiah]

85. seem?

It would also seem that the sun is hot.

[Demobrat]

72. It will be very interesting to see how he intends to get re-elected.

Hope is gone,he can't promise change and be believed and he can't run on his record. I'm willing to bet he'll fall back on fear - "Vote for me because Bush was worse".

[lonestarnot]

73. Hells yeah. Now get with the program Mr. President!

[Uncle Joe]

74. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[nc4bo]

75. K&R 2008 - won w/help of Indies, The Base and great speeches. 2010, not so much.

Does any body really have to ask what led up to the 2010 elections?

2008 campaign promises and alot of hope and change bullshit are what got him elected. Somewhere people figured out that what was promised in 2008 failed to materialize through the 2010 election season. If people feel a politician isn't fighting hard enough for their interests and the interests of the country, they either vote for the opposition or don't vote at all.

It's as easy as learning your ABC's, d'uh.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

83. It's not just "the angry left." It's many more people who voted for Obama that are pissed off at

how he continues to cower to Republicans.

[truedelphi]

106. I have gottten over it.

I spend my time on local issues and daydreaming about Grayson/Feingold or the invert of that.

I save my anger for things that will be able to be changed by its energy. Not for a great Colluder like this President.

[seafan]

84. We keep trying to vote for non-corporatists, but it's quite predictable we won't have that choice.

Unless something changes.


The Hill: Angry left to Obama: Stop caving on agenda, November 16, 2010

Liberals furious with a White House they view as constantly telegraphing compromise with Republicans are pressuring President Obama to get tougher, arguing that is the only way he will win both progressives and independents in 2012.

.....

Jane Hamsher, founder of the liberal blog Firedoglake.com, points to recent polling in arguing there is little evidence that much of what Obama views as areas of compromise — cutting the deficit, bending on tax cuts — would appeal to independents, who she says are fixated on jobs.

Hamsher noted Obama has given signals that he wants to move a free-trade deal with South Korea even though many voters question the wisdom of free-trade policies.
She also said there is support for ending tax breaks for the wealthy and protecting Social Security from reforms, despite the changes recommended by the chairmen of Obama’s debt commission last week.

“It’s not liberals that Obama is having a clash with, it’s reality,” Hamsher said. “And anyone who thinks his problems are just with the base is not paying attention.
“No reasonable person could look at the data and say that the center has support for Obama’s priorities right now: cutting Social Security, passing Korea free trade and ballooning the deficit by $700 billion with tax breaks for millionaires.

“So can we please stop with this fiction that Obama is attempting to woo independents?” Hamsher said. “The things he is doing are not any more popular with independents than they are with the base. Just because something annoys the base does not axiomatically mean it is popular with independents.”

.....

That assessment is spot on.


Even more free trade; blowing another $700 Billion hole in the deficit by giving more millionaire/billionaire tax cuts; and cuts in Social Security and Medicare will signal the death knell for this administration.


It is becoming painfully obvious that this man does not desire another term.

[pgodbold]

86. k & r

[StreetKnowledge]

87. Rec #240.

This is 1000000% accurate. If you don't beat these clowns with a stick, they'll just assume they can get their way no matter what. FIGHT, you knuckleheads. With your powers and influence and your ability to get public support, you could make it look like a high school wrestler against Randy Couture. Knock the GOP around, and you'll make your life much easier.

[mistertrickster]

89. Jane Hamsher from Firedoglake nails it:

From link above

“It’s not liberals that Obama is having a clash with, it’s reality,” Hamsher said. “And anyone who thinks his problems are just with the base is not paying attention.

“No reasonable person could look at the data and say that the center has support for Obama’s priorities right now: cutting Social Security, passing Korea free trade and ballooning the deficit by $700 billion with tax breaks for millionaires.

“So can we please stop with this fiction that Obama is attempting to woo independents?” Hamsher said. “The things he is doing are not any more popular with independents than they are with the base. Just because something annoys the base does not axiomatically mean it is popular with independents.”

[femrap]

90. Is it possible for this

administration to fight for the working people of this nation? Or are we just here to eat cake?

edit for typo

[pleah]

92. K&R I am one of them.

[bc3000]

93. Obama keeps setting the bar lower and lower, and then still trips over it every time.

[bergie321]

94. Didn't you hear?

Republicans picked up a bunch of seats so Democrats are now required to compromise. Just like Republicans compromised after 2006 and 2008....Oh wait wtf?

[JohnWxy]

95. recommended!

[Capitalocracy]

98. I don't like that term "angry left"

Just sayin'

Edit to add:
:mad: :grr: :mad:

[Cobalt-60]

99. They're taking a dive

I've said it before. They're accepting cash to cave to the fascists.
Congress people are already "made" . No matter what kind of fourth
reich the fascist trash of the Republican party make, they
will already be rich, protected, and riding high.
They've stood by without comment as airport security claims the right to sexually assault passengers. They aren't going to be the ones groped by some greasy TSA vermin.
My own senator Durbin apparently has "property of Monsanto" tattooed on his backside. He must be completely owned by them to introduce a piece of fascist rubbish like S510.
I'll se what I can do about sh*tcanning that collaborator at the next primary.
Frankly I think its already too late.
But on the long shot that it might not be, we the people need to seize control of the Democratic Party.
The people running it now are collaborators.

[NorthCarolina]

101. Perhaps Obama only APPEARS to be caving. eom

[DeadEyeDyck]

102. well, what do you expect?

We lost the House, we lost the Senate and we lost the Presidency...

wait, who is keeping score?



I get so confuzed....

[orbitalman]

105. K & R

[yurbud]

107. it's either incompetence or professional wrestling

both sides are paid by the same people, choreograph the moves ahead of time, and put on a show for the public, but the outcome is never in doubt.

The boss always wins.

[DemocraticPilgrim]

108. I don't get how anyones angry at him if no-one sent him friends then he naturally moves to the right

we all would. That's the make up of the Congress we gave him. We had every right to be ma at him before midterms but now we have to suck it up, I don't like it but I accept that's how it is till we start being more political as voters and not reactionary which gets us zip. Everyones going oh the team let us down, but how much did we let ourselves down. We should always vote on logic never emotion or clearly he issues don't matter and only the game and our impatience with it does. The system was built for slow moving change and huge disappointment, it's going to take long term dedication for it to even begin to be in place idealist envision it to be.

[That Guy 888]

109. Like the goppers moved to the left when they lose elections? n/t

[Enthusiast]

111. You suck it up.

I will not.

[inna]

110. Look guys, Obama knows exactly what he's doing. To picture the Admin as clueless

is completely ridiculous.

[Hubert Flottz]

113. You can add me to that list.

Paling around with political terra-ists ain't what I voted for.

[Suji to Seoul]

114. Add me to the list. I hope there is a primary fight if Obama keeps caving.

He is a big disappointment.

[Democat]

116. If Obama gives in to Republicans for the next two years he shouldn't run in 2012.

He needs to get tough.

[customerserviceguy]

118. You ain't seen nothing yet

We're going to have soooo much more to talk about on this topic a year from now.

[politicalmajority]

119. Barack Obama = Rahm Emanuel + Larry Summers

Obama should follow the footsteps of Emanuel and Summers and submit his resignation if he is willing to continue being an appeaser.

[anachro1]

124. Mr President...

Please stop spreading your cheeks for Republicans. At least WAIT until they ask you to.

[myrna minx]

125. K&R

:-(

[AllyCat]

127. Why are we always the "angry left"? We share this view with most Americans

[grahamhgreen]

129. Good point.