I'm officially mad at Obama

[Tony_FLADEM]

I wish he would be more involved in getting the health care issue resolved. He keeps pivoting from one issue to the next and making things more difficult. We should have gotten health care reform passed last year.

Also, although most of DU would not agree with me, he should have incorporated some Republican ideas into legislation just so the Democrats do not get blamed for everything in November 2010.

An example would be the stimulus. Even though it has kept things from deteriorating at a rapid pace, most people perceive it to be a failure. He never should have let the Congress have total control over that process.

As for Foreign Policy, he is doing well. No disasters like the previous administration.

[thecrow]

1. "Republican ideas"

is an oxymoron.

[MadBadger]

2. Well this is certainly the oddest "mad at the Prez" post ive seen thus far.

[librechik]

3. name one Republican idea that helps the people and not the monopolies.

He should have pushed Medicare for All from the very beginning. The other side are very limited in their means to fight something like that. Which convinces me that "we" never wanted to. These people are not who we thought we were electing.

[Tony_FLADEM]

5. For example, the stimulus plan

He should have taken some of their ideas in terms of taxes.

In this way the Democrats would not have full ownership of the economy and would not face the risk of losing the House and Senate in 2010. Instead he let Nancy Pelosi (who I like) have total control over the formulation of that plan.

[Kahuna]

7. You need to stop watching faux news. He did take some of their suggestions

on taxes. They STILL would not support the stimulus.

[Tony_FLADEM]

17. I'm not aware of any (R) ideas he took on taxes and I know more than

politics than the average person. I'm not saying I like their ideas on taxes. I'm saying you would have had 10% employment regardless and the Democrats needed to share ownership of the mess with the Republicans. Instead Obama let Pelosi have total control over writing the bill and did not show needed leadership.

[Jazzgirl]

12. You don't seem to get it.

It doesn't matter what the Dems do. The pukes are going to puke all over it. They are not going to do anything the Dems want. All they will do is whine, complain and obstruct. They have already said that is what they are going to do and not a bit more. So be mad about him not "taking some of their ideas." Why should rich people get more tax breaks?

[Tony_FLADEM]

18. They could whine, complain and obstruct but they would have had partial ownership

of the economy and would not be in a position to retake congress.

I'm criticizing Obama's approach to governing and political tactics rather than his policies.

[librechik]

13. Oh, did Republicans come up w the idea of stimulating the economy through Govt injections of cash?

I think their brains would have caught fire if they did. Obviously social democrats came up with the idea of a stimulus. And the weak tax twisting crap the Pukkkes came up with is a w2ay to curb REAL stimulus by pretending that can acti=uawlly help. Which it doesn't very much. And they didn't even invent that, just co-opted the idea for themselves so they wouldn't look like the anti-people ogres they are.

[BeyondGeography]

4. We accepted a boatload of Republican HCR amendments, many of them substantive

Hard to think of what more could have been done.

[Tony_FLADEM]

9. I agree they accepted many Republican amendments

However, these things were more micro in nature. He might have considered making a deal on tort reform and allowing people to buy insurance across state lines in the interest of getting the bill passed. He was hands off during the negotiation process and this was not made to happen.

[BeyondGeography]

11. Nothing was going to budge them, I think that's pretty clear

He extended the tort reform olive branch in his joint-session speech, so you know it was shopped pretty heavily behind the scenes. It didn't make a difference.

[Kahuna]

6. How do you know what he is or isn't doing? Pray tell. nt

[Tony_FLADEM]

15. Because of what I read in news reports

"The anger is most palpable in the House, where Pelosi and her allies believe Obama’s reluctance to stake his political capital on health care reform in mid-2009 contributed to the near collapse of negotiations now."

[Winterblues]

8. The Republicans presented ideas????Oh yeah "Tax Cuts"

How could I forget and Obama did put Tax Cuts in the Stimulus Bill.

[Tony_FLADEM]

10. I agree Obama put tax cuts in the stimulus bill. I benefited from it

My pay check is $100 more per month because of it.

I'm saying maybe had he inacted some of their tax cuts the Democrats would not have full ownership of the troubled economy right now and would not face the prospect of losing the House and Senate.

Leadership requires deal making. Other people have said this not just me.

[Winterblues]

14. I don't believe doing something that is demonstrably wrong to please the opposition

would be good politics or good governing. Tax Cuts are one of the things that got us in this mess.

[Alias Dictus Tyrant]

16. Profligate spending and corruption got us into this mess

[karynnj]

19. They can't do anything on healthcare until Brown is seated - as they said they wouldn't

I assume that what is happening behind the scenes is that the House and Senate are looking at the reconciliation fix bill. This has to be introduced and quickly passed. Even if they had the agreement down to dotting every eye and crossing every tee, they would not put it out now as it will likely be two weeks before Brown is seated as MA papers are saying February 11. As soon as it is out the RW will start to distort it.

I agree that we should have gotten health care done last year, but there are many Presidents who tried and failed. The fact is had Coakley won, this would already be done and he would be speaking of it as an accomplishment. Hindsight is 20/20, now had Baucus wasted about a month less, it could have been done before Christmas. Now, IF our side does not panic and if we lobby the Conservadems (to make sure we get the 50), we can pass this.

The other thing is that we need to regain some media - if a Republican came into office in January and the stock market a year later were by over 25 percent, you would certainly have heard that.

I agree with you that Democratic solutions to Republican issues should have been included in the healthcare bill. For example, Kerry proposed using a version of MA's innovative torte reform, where a panel including both lawyers and doctors examined cases to remove frivolous ones. Far better than Ensign's capping one side and not the other. I know the numbers say this is not a big cost component, but it would be good law and would eliminate the issue. I also think we need to remove things like the Nelson deal - just because it is unfair.

[uppityperson]

20. So unless Pres Obama does everything the repubs want, rather than just much

the repubs will take NO blame for anything?

Or do you mean unless he becomes a dictator like mrbush and shoves everything he wants through, whether legal or not, then.....?

Yes, he keeps pivoting from issue to issue since there is not one single thing going on but a whole lot of things. Yes, we "should have gotten health care reform passed last year" except we couldn't because of those repubs who want only to see him fail and...this is Pres Obama's fault?

Pres Obama is at fault for trying to incorporate repub ideas into legislation, which means it all takes longer, so is at fault for it all taking so long because why doesn't he try to incorporate repub ideas?

huh

[Tony_FLADEM]

22. My criticism is on the process and Obama's leadership skills and tactics

With regards to health care he never really interjected himself into the process of formulating the bill until late in the year. By this time the bill became very complex the opponents of reform were able to define what the reform bill was all about. They should have accepted tort reform (not a demonstration project) and allowing people to buy insurance across state lines for the sake of passing a bill. These things could have been changed later.


It wouldn't have taken longer because the negotiation process would have been shorter.

[uppityperson]

24. I think his skills/tactics are fine, just he's having to deal with assholes

"They should have accepted", with "They" meaning...? Pres Obama or Democrats? Or Repubs who won't accept any compromise?

[Tony_FLADEM]

25. They meaning the Obama Administration.

The Congress is disfunctional in terms of both sides willing to work with each other. It has been this way for a long time. Had Obama been more involved with health care negotiations this might have been overcome.

That's all I'm saying.

[uppityperson]

26. Had Pres Obama x-ray vision, he'd be able to see through walls also.

[Tony_FLADEM]

29. Actually the political process in Washington has been broken for years

Most people know this including Obama.

[uppityperson]

30. I agree, it has been broken for years and Pres Obama is doing what he can to fix it, to

work with everyone there.

"Had Obama been more involved with health care negotiations this might have been overcome."

Had the political process been not as polarized as it has gotten (mixing tenses, sorry), this might have been overcome. What else would you have Pres Obama do? Specifics, not "be more involved" since "be more involved" is too vague. How "be more involved"?

[Tony_FLADEM]

31. I would do a few things

1. I would include tort reform and allowing people to buy insurance across-state-lines into the reform bill. These things could always be changed later if needed.

2. The things they don't agree on i.e. the public option and a process to determine the best practices in health care, I would seek alternatives to meet these objectives. For example, I would give some of the 57 million people on Medicaid the option of participating in the exchange or participating in the public option. To determine the best practices, I might have contracted this duty to a private entity. These kind of alternatives were never offered by Obama which would have helped the process.

3. Obama should have communicated more to the American people because most people do not know what's in the bill.

[Toasterlad]

21. "he should have incorporated some Republican ideas into legislation "

You're kidding, right?

[Tony_FLADEM]

23. It's better than not having a health care reform bill and Democrats losing congress

which is where we are headed right now.

[Toasterlad]

27. You Realize That Obama Spends All Day, Every Day, Giving Repulicans Hand-Jobs, Right?

Will you be satisfied when he's to the RIGHT of Bush?

[Tony_FLADEM]

28. My original statement is about Obama's tactics and the process of reforming health care

Obama has been mostly hands-off during the formulation of the bill. The congress by itself is not going to come to a consensus. It's always the president that makes this happen. Had he came in earlier and offered to bridge some differences health care reform might have been realized by now.

I'm not saying anything partisan. Many people have said this.

[Toasterlad]

32. You Obviously Have Absolutely No Idea What You're Talking About.

I'd advise you to learn about things before you try and discuss them with other people.