The GOP's Jihad on Obama

[Botany]

http://www.truthout.org/021209J


Only a few weeks into Barack Obama's presidency, a threatening political and media dynamic has rushed to the fore cutting short a very brief honeymoon.

The Republicans and their right-wing media allies are doing whatever they can to strangle the Obama phenomenon in its cradle; the mainstream media pundits are stressing the negative so they don't get called "in the tank for Obama"; and the Democrats are shying away from holding the Bush-Cheney administration accountable for its crimes.

snip

And the Democrats of 1993 also didn't want to investigate abuses by the Republicans who had just lost power. Despite evidence that the Reagan-Bush-41 administrations had obstructed investigations into Iran-Contra, Iraqgate and other national security scandals, Clinton and Democratic congressional leaders feared partisan warfare if those cases were pursued.

snip

One excited Republican congressman - Pete Sessions of Texas - went even further, comparing the GOP insurrectionist tactics to those of the Taliban, the radical Islamic group that is battling U.S. forces in Afghanistan and has been allied with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist group.

"Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban," Sessions said during a meeting with editors of the National Journal's Hotline. "And that is that they went about systematically understanding how to disrupt and change a person's entire processes."

[bdamomma]

1. our own homegrown terrorists the republican party.

period.

[liberal N proud]

2. This is their plan for 2010 and 2012

[Proud Liberal Dem]

3. If they plan on running comparing themselves to the Taliban

then their rush towards irrelevancy and, ultimately, electoral oblivion will be greatly accelerated in 2010 and 2012.

I mean :wtf:

Is "one excited Republican congressman" Sessions serious? Does he REALLY want to go there and refer to what him and his party is doing as an insurgency or in any way relate their tactics to those of the Taliban? Are they planning a coup or some kind of violent revolution? Will they be taking up arms against POTUS and/or encouraging others to do so? Will Obama's FBI be paying him a visit soon? It seems like during the past eight years, particularly after 9/11, other peole have been investigated or chastised for less provocative statements and actions than this. This seems downright creepy IMHO and I hope somebody calls him on it or at least is paying attention to this kind of talk.

[Lasher]

4. Too bad for Clinton, he got partisan warfare anyway.

But it was all one-sided. You would think more Democrats would have learned this lesson.

[GoCubsGo]

5. The media doesn't understand...

The "honeymoon" is not about them. It is not about the republicans or Congress. It is about the American people. With more than two-thirds of us still supporting President Obama, the honeymoon is still on, whether they like it or not.

[northernlights]

6. note to rethugs: Obama does not equal Clinton

and as Obama said last night, his honeymoon with the American people is not over.

He got his stimulus package. Almost exactly what he started out with. On his time schedule.

I keep remembering one quote from him, from a few months ago. I forget exactly when he said it. Or what the context was. Only the 2 little sentences that nobody else seemed to pick up on.

"Don't listen to what I say. Watch what I do."

In his 1st 3 days, he gave orders to shut down guatanamo, restored the Geneva Conventions and our own military rules, started the process to leave Iraq, and in all lived up to half a dozen or more campaign promises.

In his 1st 3 weeks, he's passed his giant stimulus package, and in the process lived up to his middle/lower income tax cut promise and some more campaign promises.

Oh, and as others in DU have already mentioned, in the process he also has boxed in the rw rethugs, tied them forever to Rush, cut them off from rethug governors and mayors, and exposed them for the obstructionist one-trick-ponies that they are.

The media continues to insist that */Cheney will walk away scott free. That's *not* what I've heard Obama say or seen him do.

What I've heard him say, repeatedly, is that HE will be forward looking, and that is what HE has done. Be forward looking and "reassuring" rethugs that HE will be looking forward not backward.

He has said NOTHING about what HOLDER will be doing, other than going where they facts lead him and if laws have been broken, then there will be justice because NOBODY is above the law. But what he did is get Holder in -- and it was clear by their behavior that the rethugs are terrified of Holder.

[Phx_Dem]

7. I'm pretty sure Obama is not taking his honeymoon with the GOP.

However, his honeymoon with the American public is still going very strong!