KOs - Obama vows "forceful, bipartisan response" to campaign finance decision

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/1/23/829176/-Obama-vows-forceful,-bipartisan-response-to-campaign-finance-decision

Obama vows "forceful, bipartisan response" to campaign finance decision
by SusanG
Sat Jan 23, 2010 at 07:30:07 AM PST

From the link - Obama's actual words -

"We’ve been making steady progress. But this week, the United States Supreme Court handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists – and a powerful blow to our efforts to rein in corporate influence. This ruling strikes at our democracy itself. By a 5-4 vote, the Court overturned more than a century of law – including a bipartisan campaign finance law written by Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold that had barred corporations from using their financial clout to directly interfere with elections by running advertisements for or against candidates in the crucial closing weeks.

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When this ruling came down, I instructed my administration to get to work immediately with Members of Congress willing to fight for the American people to develop a forceful, bipartisan response to this decision. We have begun that work, and it will be a priority for us until we repair the damage that has been done."

****************************************************************************************************************

Here's what I find really interesting about his remarks - those comments I bolded - doesn't he make it sound like there's a limited number of members of Congress "willing to fight for the American people?

My only other comment is that I wish he would just eliminate the word "bi-partisan" from his vocabulary. We have already proven there is no such beast. The concept of bi-partisanship is like having an imaginary friend - You are only pretending they are there and you do all the talking.

[treestar]

1. IMO that's one of the changes he intended

To be President of everyone. To include everyone. Bushco acted like: you're a minority, too bad, you are excluded. Obama doesn't want to do it that way, to the frustration of many liberals.

Now in time, even obama may get sick of Rs voting against him just to vote against him with no other reason.

[thunder rising]

2. Saving peoples lives is just a whim ... I get it

[anonymous171]

13. Bush had it right in that regard. We need to destroy the GOP and its followers

and rid our society of the cancer that is conservatism.

[madokie]

3. I'm happy to see that he's addressing this and I agree with the b-partisan bullshit

but on a lighter note, calvin had hobbs ;-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes

[thunder rising]

4. I wish he would leave off the "bi" in this case ( no quarrels with the LGBT)

[Phlem]

5. Dr. President Obama

FUCK THE BIPARTISANSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been surround by right wing dirt bags all my life and bipartisanship will never work. They are all opportunists so they will lie to your face and stab you in the back.

Bipartisanship has gotten you know where. When are you going to fuckin give it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get it done without R's. If you get some on board great, but if you rely on them for success, your just plain STUPID. Get it Mr. President!!!

Your either stupid or your in on it but one thing for sure, what I'm not going to do is wait as the cheerleaders around here would like. Waiting for something that's just not going to happen is also STUPID!

Talk To Your Base

Not Your Bought and Paid for Advisers, yea you know who I'm talking about.

FUCK THE BIPARTISANSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-phlem

[calico1]

6. And still with this bipartisanship shit???!!!

Has Obama learned nothing from his first year in office? How far did his bipartisanship efforts get him???

I am not very hopeful for this President...

[Bitwit1234]

7. I am so sick of this bipartisanship

Where is the bipartisanship on the part of the republicans. The Democrats are dumb as crap to even ever ask the republicans, they know all they want to do is obstruct. And they have been doing a damn good job of that, because the stupid congress people we elected are letting them do it.

[gristy]

8. I think he's right that there must be a bipartisan response

The battle here is corporations vs. the people, and the government, as representatives of the people, must respond as a group. It is the only way the corporations' effort to finalize their control of our government is going to be defeated.

Not that I'm particularly optimistic. :(

[ellenfl]

12. let the repubs be against it. more power to US.

if the republicans do not work with the dems on this, it needs to be shouted to the citizenry that republicans favor the corporations and that hugo chavez will influence our elections . . . that oughta explode some tea bagger heads. :nuke: this is a good response from obama, imo. however, if repubs don't cooperate, that should not stop the changes that need to be made to counter the 'scrotus' (love that) decision.

ellen fl

[backscatter712]

15. The bipartisanship word can be used for good.

The key is to shame the GOP into cooperating - hit them over the head with an extremely popular bill - new campaign finance reform in this case, get on the bully pulpit, beat the media over the head with this over and over and over, and the GOP will be forced to either cooperate and let enough of their Congresscritters cross the aisle on this one, or look like the extreme assholes, opening them up to "Party of No" attacks and "They care more about their own power than they do about America" attacks. For all the wailing about how the Democrats fucked up this bill, I don't think many people are going to forget that the GOP added absolutely nothing constructive to the health care debate, even though Max Baucus and Barack Obama negotiated with them for months. They had no plan of their own aside from their boxes-and-lines brocure jokes, they had no bill of their own that anyone could take seriously, all they did was lie, deceive, scream "DEATH PANELS!!!" and slow-walk it until the Choakley fiasco killed it.

[anonymous171]

18. The GOP has no shame. They cannot be compromised with. nt

[backscatter712]

23. No, but they can be coerced.

The idea is to embarrass the fuck out of them in front of the entire nation. They may not have a conscience, but they might change their tune when their poll numbers drop as a direct result of us accusing them of putting party before country because they're filibustering campaign finance and Wall Street reform.

[elocs]

9. While "bipartisanship" may mean one thing to Obama, it means "date rape" to Republicans.

You cannot work on bipartisanship when the opposite sides believe it has completely different meanings. It won't work.

Republicans will take every compromise offered and in the end they will cut off his balls.

[frebrd]

10. 'wish he would just eliminate the word "bi-partisan" from his vocabulary'......

Abso_fucking_lutely! If I never hear that word again, it'll be too soon! I wish he would get a clue.

:banghead:

[anonymous171]

11. I know what this means. Prepare for some major anti-union legislation. nt

[Karmadillo]

14. He knows what he's doing. This strategy worked to kill health care reform. It should

be equally effective in stopping any adverse action against our corporate masters.

[TCJ70]

16. Proper framing of this issue as corps vs. people could...

...get republicans and conservative democrats to have to vote for a repeal. If they don't they'd reveal who they really represent...

[Catshrink]

17. Give up the bipartisanship bullcrap.

It ain't gonna happen --- the Repugs don't want it and are hellbent on sinking Obama regardless if they agree with him 100%.

Get real, get something done, ignore the rat bastards. Face reality -- hasn't the last year taught you anything, Mr. Obama? Maybe you should start by getting rid of that little motherfucker Rasputin whispering in your ear.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

19. No one thinks the "members of Congress willing to fight for the American people" part

is interesting? I thought that was the most fascinating bit.

Perhaps he is setting the stage that the ONLY members of Congress willing to fight for the American people are Democrats? Maybe that is why he purposefully used that word bi-partisan? Could be. He has to know that usage of that word at this point is just a giant turnoff for his base.

[gkhouston]

20. I thought it was very telling. As in, "I tried for bi-partisan but no one was willing." n/t

[asjr]

21. "Bipartisonship" is a dirty word.

[stellad]

22. "bipartisan" = "Kick Me"

[becxx]

24. Obama's use of "bipartisan"

I've noticed when Obama says he is working for a "bipartisan" solution, that generally means he's not going to do anything. I'm really unimpressed with the way he sat on his duff and did nothing about health care reform until it lost momentum and became too late.

I'm afraid Obama does not have any fire. When he says he's "going to fight for you", I just chuckle a bit. I'm sorry, I just can't take that guy seriously anymore. He says one thing and does another.

[Phlem]

26. Exactly

"Bipartisan" can also be used as a tool or a reason for not getting anything done. One simply blames the R's in this case for it not giving him "bipartisan" support therefore, nothing gets done and it's back to square one with even less time to fix anything.

Nice one Mr. Obama.

We see what you mean by "bipartisanship", that's your secret word to the R's that it ain't gonna happen.

And, as "smirk", you don't really care about the legacy you leave behind, as long as "you got yours", a true conservative belief, then it's of to a country club retirement for ya.

Please prove me wrong Mr. President

-phlem

[blues90]

25. I don't like the SC ruling. however

There appears to be quite a lot of hypocrisy involving campaign finance.

Isn't pretty well known that most of the politicians are in the pockets of the corporations and have been for decades, which is now right out in the open yet some sort of back door act?

My point is the corporations have already bought our reps. Lobbyists anyone , big pharma anyone.

Why focus on one issue and leave out all the reality. Stolen elections anyone.Black box voting machines anyone.