President Obama: Replace Rahm With Me - An Open Letter From Michael Moore

[Hissyspit]

Via Email:

President Obama: Replace Rahm with Me ...an open letter from Michael Moore

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Dear President Obama,

I understand you may be looking to replace Rahm Emanuel as your chief of staff.

I would like to humbly offer myself, yours truly, as his replacement.

I will come to D.C. and clean up the mess that's been created around you. I will work for $1 a year. I will help the Dems on Capitol Hill find their spines and I will teach them how to nonviolently beat the Republicans to a pulp.

And I will help you get done what the American people sent you there to do. I don't need much, just a cot in the White House basement will do.

Now, don't get too giddy with excitement over my offer, because you and I are going to be up at 5 in the morning, 7 days a week and I am going to get you pumped up for battle every single day (see photo). Each morning you and I will do 100 jumping jacks and you will repeat after me:

"THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ELECTED ME, NOT THE REPUBLICANS, TO RUN THE COUNTRY! I AM IN CHARGE! I WILL ORDER ALL OBSTRUCTIONISTS OUTTA MY WAY! IF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON'T LIKE WHAT I'M DOING THEY CAN THROW MY ASS OUT IN 2012. IN THE MEANTIME, I CALL THE SHOTS ON THEIR BEHALF! NOW, CONGRESS, DROP AND GIVE ME 50!!"

Then we will put on our jogging sweats and run up to Capitol Hill. We will take names, kick butts, and then take some more names. If we have to give a few noogies or half-nelson's, then so be it. In our pockets we will have a piece of paper to show the pansy Dems just how much they won by in 2008 -- and the poll results that show the majority of Americans oppose the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and want the bankers punished. Like drill sergeants, we will get right up in their faces and ask them, "WHAT PART OF THE PUBLIC MANDATE DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, SOLDIER?!! DROP AND GIVE ME 50!"

I know this is the job Rahm Emanuel was supposed to be doing.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have always admired Rahm Emanuel (If you don't count his getting NAFTA pushed through Congress in the '90s which destroyed towns like Flint, Michigan. I know, picky-picky.) He is what we needed for a long time -- a no-apologies, take-no-prisoners fighting machine. Someone who is not afraid to get his hands dirty and pound the right wing into submission. Far from being the foul-mouthed bully he has been portrayed as, Rahm is the one who BEAT UP the bullies to protect us from them.

That's certainly what he did in 2006. After six long, miserable years of the middle-class getting slaughtered and the poor being flushed down the toilet, Rahm Emanuel took on the job of returning Congress to the Democrats. No one believed it could be done.

But he did it. Big time. He put the fear of God into the party of Rush and Newt. They had never been so scared. More importantly, though, he instilled a sense of hope in the Democrats that they could actually score the mother of all hat tricks in 2008 -- and with you, an African American no less, in the pole position!

It worked. The Darkness ended. The vast majority of nation wept with joy on the night of the election (those who weren't weeping went out and bought a record number of guns and ammo). Unlike the last president, you didn't "win" by 537 votes in Florida (although Gore won the popular vote by a half-million), you beat McCain nationally by 9,522,083 votes! The House Democrats got a walloping 79-vote margin. The Senate Dems would caucus with a supermajority of 60 votes unheard of in over 30 years. The wars would now end. America would have universal health care. Wall Street and the banks would, at the very least, be reined in. Hardworking citizens would not be thrown out of their homes. It was supposed to be the dawning of a new age.

But the Republicans were not going to go quietly into the night. You see, instead of having just one Rahm Emanuel, they are ALL Rahm Emanuels. That's why they usually win. Unlike most Democrats, they are relentless and unstoppable. When they believe in something (which is usually themselves and the K Street job they hope to be rewarded with someday), they'll fight for it till the death. They are loyal to a fault to each other (they were never able to denounce Bush, even though they knew he was destroying the party). They dig their heels in deep no matter what. If you exiled them to a lone chunk of melting polar ice cap, they would keep insisting that it was just a normal "January thaw," even as the frigid Arctic waters rose above their God-fearing necks ("See what I mean -- this water is COLD! What 'global *warming*'?! Adam and Eve rode dinos...aagghh!!... gulp gulp gulp").

We thought we were all done with this craziness, but we were mistaken. Like a beast that you just can't cage, the Republicans convinced not only the media, but YOU and your fellow Dems, that 59 votes was a *minority*! Precious time was lost trying to reach a "consensus" and trying to be "bipartisan."

Well, you and the Democrats have been in charge now for over a year and not one banking regulation has been reinstated. We don't have universal health care. The war in Afghanistan has escalated. And tens of thousands of Americans continue to lose their jobs and be thrown out of their homes. For most of us, it's just simply no longer good enough that Bush is gone. Woo hoo. Bush is gone. Yippee. That hasn't created one new friggin' job.

You're such a good guy, Mr. President. You came to Washington with your hand extended to the Republicans and they just chopped it off. You wanted to be respectful and they decided that they were going to say "no" to everything you suggested. Yet, you kept on saying you still believed in bipartisanship.

Well, if you really want bipartisanship, just go ahead and let the Republicans win in November. Then you'll get all the bipartisanship you want.

Let me be clear about one thing: The Democrats on Election Day 2010 are going to get an ass-whoopin' of biblical proportions if things don't change right now. And after the new Republican majority takes over, they, along with a few conservative Democrats in Congress, will get to bipartisanly impeach you for being a socialist and a citizen of Kenya. How nice to see both sides of the aisle working together again!

And the brief window we had to fix this country will be gone.

Gone.

Gone, baby, gone.

I don't know what your team has been up to, but they haven't served you well. And Rahm, poor Rahm, has turned into a fighter -- not of Republicans, but of the left. He called those of us who want universal health care "f***ing retarded." Look, I don't know if Rahm is the problem or if it's Gibbs or Axelrod or any of the other great people we owe a debt of thanks to for getting you elected. All I know is that whatever is fueling your White House it's now running on fumes. Time to shake things up! Time to bring me in to get you pumped up every morning! Go Barack! Yay Obama! Fight, Team, Fight!

I'm packed and ready to come to D.C. tomorrow. If it helps, you won't really be losing Rahm entirely because I'll be bringing his brother with me -- my agent, Ari Emanuel. Man, you should see HIM negotiate a deal! Have you ever wanted to see Mitch McConnell walking around Capitol Hill carrying his own head in his hands after it's just been handed to him by the infamous Ari? Oh, baby, it won't be pretty -- but boy will it be sweet!

What say you, Barack? Me and you against the world! Yes we can! It'll be fun -- and we may just get something done. Whaddaya got to lose? Hope?

Retardedly yours,
Michael Moore
[e-mail]
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Just to give you an idea of the new style I'll be bringing with me, when a cornhole like Sen. Ben Nelson tries to hold you up next time, this is what I will tell him in order to get his vote: "You've got exactly 30 seconds to rescind your demand or I will personally make sure that Nebraska doesn't get one more federal dollar for the rest of Obama's term. And then I will let everyone in your state know that you wear Sooner panties, backwards. NOW DROP AND GIVE ME 50!"

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd for title alone. Now I'll read it. nt

[mdmc]

80. hehe

:toast:

[Ken Burch]

2. No good reason not to.

Rahm has never been of any value and his attitude towards most of the Obama coalition has never been defensible. The American people were NOT demanding that the administration tell progressives to fuck off.

[Faygo Kid]

3. "I will help the Dems on Capitol Hill find their spines" - Michael Moore and Alan Grayson, now!

If only the Dems had spines, we could have so much better a society. There WAS a time when Dems had spines. STAND UP FOR US, DAMMIT!

[RKP5637]

6. FDR, a real Democrat! n/t

[upi402]

8. So true, but we need Dems in there first

The true Democrats we have stand out like giants. Especially after watching the sneering derision the corporate Dems have for us libs that put 'em there. The soft middle of America barley gets their ass to the polls to vote.

[bonemachine]

16. seriously?

I gotta love the irony of the picture of FDR and the exhortation to stand up ;)

[Faygo Kid]

32. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Point taken.

[newspeak]

54. Yeah, I wished we had FDR

As someone said "FDR had a smile on his face and a knife behind his back." And, I saw Michael Moore on The Maher show last night. He was great. His DVD is coming out soon, "Capitalism: A Love Story." My MIL and I went and saw it when it was at the theater--I'm going to buy it to show those who have not seen it yet. We both enjoyed it, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

[liberation]

68. Zing!

Well played, well played! LOL

[bvar22]

59. "I welcome their hatred!!"

Now THIS is a REAL Democrat:

"In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens."--FDR

Thats the REAL "Democratic Party".
THATS the Party I joined 44 years ago.
Unfortunately, it bears NO resemblance to the Political Party using that name today.

I have nothing but contempt for today's triangulating, "New Democrats."

[ClassWarrior]

4. But where's the photo??!

Thanks Hissy. Was that via email?

NGU.

[Hissyspit]

5. Hold on.

Yes, via email.

[ClassWarrior]

7. I found it...

LOL

NGU.

[Hissyspit]

9. "Sooner Panties"

[ClassWarrior]

40. LOL... I don't get it.

NGU.

[Hissyspit]

63. "And then I will let everyone in your state know that you wear Sooner panties, backwards. "

Sports taunt.

That link was in the email, as well.

[upi402]

10. "Now, don't get too giddy with excitement over my offer"

LOL, this letter is sooo Michael Moore! I love it

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

11. that would be fun to see

[mstinamotorcity]

12. i will

mark this as a favorite.

[Hissyspit]

13. kick nt

[lovelyrita]

14. Anyone listening at the White House?

Lots of good stuff here.

[G_j]

15. seconded! nt

[Mira]

17. Michael Moore is a national treasure.

I would like to hug his mother.

Severely recommended.

[sabrina 1]

18. I love MM, but I have to correct him on one thing. It was Howard Dean

NOT Rahm Emmanuel who won a majority for the Dems in 2006. Other than that, as always, he makes good points and does it simply and with humor.

[ChiciB1]

65. That Was ONE Comment That Stuck Out To Me!!! RAA-UUUMMM Took CREDIT

for it, and many in D.C., because they couldn't stand Dean, just went right along and GAVE him the credit!

But IT WAS DEAN and his 50-state strategy that was so effective! Given RAA-UUUMMM's ego, he just strutted right up and said... Yeah, I WAS THE ONE, I DID this, so "see me, hear me, LOVE ME!" While I was never one to like him much, when he pulled this one and dissed Dean, my ire increased immensely!

I have very little respect for him, and have several choice names to define him, but I'll leave it at that!

[sabrina 1]

67. Yeah, I'm surprised MM, who usually does his homework

got suckered by that. Maybe a few emails pointing it out might work ~ Rahm should never be allowed to take credit for Dean's success imho. And I have a few choice words for him also ~ :-)

[stopbush]

19. MM loves to remind people of the promises that they've broken.

Well, I clearly remember MM pledging to get his weight down and watch his health when his movie "Sicko" was in theaters. He said that making the movie made him realize that he needed to take responsibility for his life style and eating habits, and that his health was just as dependent on him doing his part as it was on having access to good health care. At the time, he actually did lose weight and was eating healthier.

But he's obviously chucked all that positive energy he was spending on himself. Personally, I'd like MM to stick around as long as possible. For his own sake, I'd be happy with less time spent being a political gadfly and more time improving his own health. Just as MM feels he needs to keep Obama's feet to the fire on following through on his promises, I feel we should keep MM's feet to the fire on HIS promises. After all, it was MM who made his weight an issue, not me or the media. I know that weight is a sensitive issue, but what are friends for?

Message to MM: sometimes, keeping promises is hard to do. The worst broken promises are breaking the promises we make to ourselves. Take some time off from the immersion in the political scene and spend some well-earned time on yourself. Following through on your promises to yourself will speak louder than any demands you feel obliged to make of others. I know it's hard, because I've been through the weight battle myself. Give the rest of us some credit that we'll carry on the good fight. We've got your back.

[zalinda]

21. You don't know what you're talking about

Michael Moore has lost weight, and you can even tell that in the picture that was posted. But, it was probably not as fast as you would have liked it to be, so you can continue to berate him for his weight. He is losing weight the correct way, slowly. He did not have his stomach stapled like so many of the celebrities have.

zalinda

[stopbush]

58. He's supposedy been losing weight for at least 3 years. I don't see the results.

He needs to get a new doctor and nutritionist, because the team he has now isn't getting the results they should be getting for him.
A slow diet that reduces caloric intake by 300-500 calories a day without any added exercise should see a weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week. At that rate, a person could easily and safely lose 40 pounds a year without even trying.

[liberation]

69. Oh noes! He's overweight. Well, now that makes all the difference then!

LOL

[NJCher]

85. extraneous

Why bring this up? It has nothing to do with anything. Stick to the point.

HIRE MM, FIRE RE!!!

Cher

[stopbush]

87. The point is that it makes no more sense for MM to get on BO for

"not following through on his promises" than it does to get on MM for "not following through on his promise to lose weight."

MM acts like BO is not able to follow through on his promises because he just doesn't seem to have the will. That's in line with thinking MM just doesn't have the will to lose weight.

In both situations, there are factors that are out of the control of the person making the promise. BO promised a lot on the campaign trail, as do all politicians. But no one has ever been elected president by the majorities that elected BO only to get into office and face obstructionism fueled by racism as has BO. This isn't a monarchy, it's a democracy, and BO's best intents and wishes cannot be accomplished by fiat.

Does MM seriously think it would help to dump Rahm and put MM in his place? Are the obstructionist Rs going to suddenly cooperate? Are the facts on the ground the BO is privy to in the fight against terrorism suddenly going to change for the better? Will the politicians of the world respect BO more for turning to a gadfly like MM? No.

BO is dealing with realities, not the fantasy world of MM. ("Well, you and the Democrats have been in charge now for over a year and not one banking regulation has been reinstated. We don't have universal health care. The war in Afghanistan has escalated. And tens of thousands of Americans continue to lose their jobs and be thrown out of their homes. For most of us, it's just simply no longer good enough that Bush is gone. Woo hoo. Bush is gone. Yippee. That hasn't created one new friggin' job.")

Wow, over a year and every problem i the world hasn't been solved.

Earth to MM: what presidents do have consequences that last for DECADES after they've left office. We're still picking up the pieces from Reagan, fer Chrissake. Do you really think bush left office, a switch got flipped and everything went back to Square One? Hell no! 8 years to fuck up the world and you're bitching at Obama because the economy hasn't reached Clinton levels? No universal healthcare after 200+ years of no universal healthcare. No banking regulation reinstated after decades of dismantling the safeguards.

Who's living in a fucking dream world, MM?

Sorry if my first posts on this were a bit obtuse.

[Vidar]

20. K&R.

[gtar100]

22. Exactly what needs to be said. Now, will he listen?

Hoping so but I'm not going to hold my breath. If he wants to be the last president before the US turns to a fascist dictatorship, well all he needs to do is keep up the bipartisan bullshit. Michael Moore, in his own style, has once again hit the nail on the head.

[tavalon]

23. It is a stirring rhetorical creation

That said, Rahm didn't deliver the Congress, Howard Dean did. And Obama doesn't appear to care.

[srf Rantz]

24. I like Mike!

had the extreme pleasure of shaking his hand once.

http://www.whatnow.us/bb/MeetingMichaelMoore.htm

He's the real deal.

[Echo In Light]

25. k/r

[pgodbold]

26. From your lips to God's ears. Make it so number one.

[GinaMaria]

74. So say we all!

[sendero]

27. God I love...

... Michael Moore. He nails it once again.

[pleah]

28. K AND R! I LOVE IT!

:yourock:

[defendandprotect]

29. We didn't elect Rahm Emmanuel . . . Obama did . . . and I doubt that means

that he was actually looking for a humanist like Michael Moore -- !!!

[ananda]

30. Actually, it was Howard Dean who turned things around.

nt

[mod mom]

34. Howard Dean would have already had HC reform in place and many lives

would have been saved. Rahm could care less about the average person. If you aren't big donor potential, your life means squat to that sold out POS Emmanuel.

[yourout]

46. +1......Dean was the man behind the mission.

[Tumbulu]

31. fabulous

what a great idea- we need you Michael Moore!

[Bryn]

33. Love it!

K & R

[MelissaB]

35. I love this man.

[FailureToCommunicate]

36. WOOT!

[Autonomy]

37. What a tard

Tho I do agree Rahm gotsta go.

[PufPuf23]

38. Michael Moore in, DLC out.

We need to get back to government for and by the people not the uber-rich, MIC, and other special interests.

[politicalmajority]

39. Rahm Emanuel Is Incapable, Unproductive, and Worthless. His Nasty Temper Scares No One.

No one will be scared of Rahm Emanuel even if he sends dead fishes to all liberals in the United States.

He will be laughed at if he ever does so.

[Dinger]

41. K # 118 & R, And Let rahm Be The First

More to come, duncan next.

[greiner3]

42. Something I'd like to see; or not!

"Each morning you and I will do 100 jumping jacks."

[midnight]

43. My favorite line in the letter.

But the Republicans were not going to go quietly into the night. You see, instead of having just one Rahm Emanuel, they are ALL Rahm Emanuels. That's why they usually win.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

49. I was just gonna say that--

beat me to it!

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

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

[nxylas]

52. Actually, it took 50 minutes

See below.

[varelse]

45. I have that email

I'm glad I took the time to read it.

[LoZoccolo]

47. Not sure why Barack Obama should listen to Michael Moore after being unfairly attacked. n/t

[butterfly77]

48. Kick,kick,kick and Recommended!

:kick:

[NNadir]

50. I think he should wait for a Republican administration, since he's very fond of Republicans.

He actually made the claim that George W. Bush is the equal of Al Gore.

Maybe he can serve his pal Ralph Nader, another great Republican.

[rhett o rick]

51. Why isnt Rahmbo on tv pushing HCR? Idiot-Bush's whole staff were everywhere

pushing the Idiot-Bush agenda.

[Plucketeer]

53. Oh to dream!

Michael, find a way to convince DC to condemn the C-street sanctuary while you're at it. The ass-hats living there have condemned the rest of the nation to crumbling status. It seems only natural that they get evicted too!

[colsohlibgal]

55. Righteous Anger!

Michael was awesome on Maher's show last night. I saw that after watching Moyer's show last night and came away even more frustrated and angry than I have been.

We are being fleeced by thieves in suits. Wall Street. Health Insurance bandits. Yet Congress and the President do little or nothing to change that dynamic because enough of them are indeed wholly or partially owned by the greedheads.

Occasionally crumbs are thrown our way grudgingly, like this gift to our insurance masters, the health care bill that's likely to pass.

Obama came into office promising politics of change and immediately hires the likes of Rahm and Larry Summers and Geithner. We're still fighting two foreign wars and bleeding billions doing that. Business mostly as usual.

I watched the lady who is Well Point's CEO testify at Congress and it was breathtaking in it's audacity. This lady on one hand freely admitted she had a base salary of 9 million and stock options of 12 million, as I recall, then went on to say they are doing all they can to control costs and provide affordable health care. With a straight face. You can't make this stuff up. Amazing. Only in America.

[xxqqqzme]

60. The clips of her testimony

left me standing in shock, staring at the TV is utter silent disbelief. Her sense of entitlement to those millions was, as you correctly observe, breathtaking!

[femrap]

56. I love Michael

Moore. He fights for our Democracy.

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

[Overseas]

57. K&R. Great description of how I have felt.

I also had an image of the Democrats taking their majority seriously on behalf of the country-- getting an emergency measures like Medicare for All passed right away, as a Democratic block, using the Bush Economic Crash and Bush Bailouts as the undeniable evidence of our unbalanced economy and government after 8 years of disastrous Republican mismanagement.

Things would be so different now if our Democratic legislators had been corralled in advance of January 2009 to act as a solid block to push through Medicare for All right out of the gate. It was a necessary emergency measure for our people who had been devastated after being sold deceptive mortgages and were facing evictions by the thousands, many after bankruptcies from paying the medical bills to keep them alive, with or without insurance.

Our President and his Chief of Staff had to know that Republicans would paint him with every "evil commie" smear they could whenever he tried to get any compassionate legislation passed, helped along by corporations whose assets had soared even as they dropped millions more from health coverage and jacked up their premiums year after year. So taking intensive, decisive action right out of the gate, with the actual national economic emergency, the Bush Depression, as clear and solid justification to BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE WITH NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE. I had hoped his Chief of Staff could have corralled the corporate Dems to give the millions of people who crossed party lines to give Democrats the mandate, that one major item, national health security, to relieve the very real suffering of our people.

If we didn't have to scrape together the cash for the high-deductible insurance plans we can't even use until an emergency hits us, we could be eating out in our neighborhoods, buying a few more things, sustaining our local economies and small businesses. National health insurance could have been bipartisan in a Democratic way-- helping the majority of our people in times of severe economic upheaval. And presented also as bipartisan with the long-lost fiscal conservatives due to Medicare's very low overhead.

President Obama and his Chief of Staff could have reminded Democratic legislators that Medicare is a MIXTURE of public and private elements-- medical services privately delivered, cost accounting publicly administered. Low overhead and high patient satisfaction. Expanding an existing, popular, successful program would be more efficient than creating a new one in these economically desperate times.

If Democrats wanted to preserve a more privatized option, then the congressional insurance exchange could have been expanded to include all. Again, expanding an existing system, not reinventing the wheel, because the people were in desperate circumstances-- AFTER THE BUSH CRASH AND BUSH BAILOUTS.

I had hoped that the New Democrats of the 21st Century would have told the Republicans to GO AHEAD AND FILIBUSTER national health insurance and made them carry out the full obstruction on camera. Let the public see the Republicans at the podium babbling on to delay emergency measures to help our people with some basic compassionate Medicare for All, after the Bush Crash and Bush Bailout were driving them out of their homes and letting the "wisdom of the private sector" handle our healthcare had driven millions more into bankruptcy and stripped them of coverage.

I expected 21st Century bipartisanship to be more practical and honest. Immediate, decisive, traditionally Democratic action-- bailing out the people after the Bush Crash and Bush High Finance Bailouts, was what was needed and indicated by the mandate the voters gave to the Democratic Party. They knew they were voting for the more socialist of the two parties, the one that had in the past promoted social safety nets and basic compassion in government to balance out the peaks and crashes of our "free market" system.

How different things would have been with a solid Democratic block taking its mandate seriously to push through expanding Medicare and expanding the government's insurance exchange to include all Americans. Using the same type of reconciliation hardball that Republicans had used to push the ruinous Bush tax cuts in a time of war. That would have set a great tone-- we can play hardball too. Our citizens' national health security is not a bargaining chip. We need to enact strong emergency measures first. National health security after the 2nd Republican Depression. Reconciliation with the American people for letting the economy get so unbalanced in favor of corporate special interests.

After that solid Democratic victory-- pushing the expansion of two existing systems, Medicare and the congressional insurance exchange, through the method Republicans liked to use, reconciliation, to include all Americans-- then our Democratic leaders could have taken more time with some other items of business, to incorporate more bipartisanship.

But I really wanted any bipartisanship to be more realistic. The Republican party had been driven off the rails-- it hadn't been "fiscally conservative" or "strong on defense" for decades already. Reagan and Bush racked up huge deficits and imperiled our national security with brutal, aggressive wars of choice, overt and covert. I wanted some acknowledgment of that. Instead of pretending that stripping proud Democratic protections for the people's needs from the bills was great because it was so "Republican friendly, by being fiscally conservative," why not acknowledge that while the Republicans talked fiscal conservatism, they had been reckless with budget deficits for decades now. Quote them Cheney's "deficits don't matter" statement, used to justify his continued war profiteering. Remind the Republicans that while they were supposed to be the fiscal conservatives, Democrats Clinton and Gore had to come in and pay down the Reagan & Bush I deficits. Then Clinton-Gore handed over a surplus to the next Bush Gang and here we are again with massive deficits after the rule of a party that used to be, decades ago, fiscally conservative. Millions of voters recognized that reality. They crossed over to vote Democratic because they'd seen another reckless Republican administration. They voted a TIME OUT on Republican mismanagement. They wanted DEMOCRATS to rule, not cruel, privatizing Republicans.

I do agree that we need to expose the deceitful ways in which
-- Democratic legislators have used "gotta be bipartisan" to cover up their need to serve the interests of big business to secure their future campaign donations, and
-- Republican legislators have used "gotta be bipartisan" only when they need some Democratic votes, and are using it now merely to weaken Democratic legislation and undermine Democratic rule once again,

so I'm clinging to that as the bright spot of the misguided decision to use our national health security as a bargaining chip in that very peculiar "we are being bipartisan by tossing out Democratic ideals" game. The GOP has been definitively exposed as not at all interested in contributing one iota to the success of the Obama Administration. So now, can we leave this creepy detour into groveling for Republican votes and be bipartisan toward the traditional Democratic ideals instead? That would actually get our Democratic legislators some solid results-- millions of votes-- instead of just Republicans making a mockery of bipartisan outreach by flip-flopping into whatever position undermines our president most.

[LiberalLovinLug]

70. K & R your post as well!

So many of us thought the "Yes we can!" was more than a political chant.

Obama talked like a progressive, other than his support for the Afghan war. He railed against "business as usual" and the private insurers, and bankers. It seemed like finally those who care about serving the people rather than big business were going to finally have their day.

Then we get Rahm Emanuel and his 'fucking retards' remark to all of us progressives who thought this administration was actually working towards the same goals. sigh.

McCain's "Change you can believe in" was maybe the more truthful of the campaign slogans. At least you know what the Republican would have done. Further deregulation, extend the wealthy sectors Bush tax cuts, no public health option (or any health reform for that matter), more sabre rattling etc..

[Overseas]

81. Thanks. But no way I could use "more truthful" and Republican in the same sentence.

I know you meant well. But McCain's slogan was "Country First" while their darling Bush Gang was shoving our country off the economic cliffs it created, having already shoved our national security off the cliff years earlier. So their charming slogan was totally false right out of the gate, especially for Mavericky S&L Bailout Pal McCain and Quitter Palin.

But yes, I think you mean it hurts a lot more to see the progressive ideals trumpeted during our president's campaign tossed out too soon, when we know they could have been marketed as very pragmatic solutions for our new century, moving us closer toward a more sustainable future and honoring the Democratic brand by bailing out the people with Medicare for All at long last. Just a sweet little reconciliation on national health security right out of the gate would have done wonders for us all.

[yoyossarian]

82. Some really excellent points you've made there!

I find your reply much more deeply penetrating and thought-provoking than the Moore piece itself (though I do in fact LOVE Michael Moore! He's funny and brave and cuddly; what's not to like?)
Particularly in terms of the failure to use these recent emergencies as an opportunity to administer needed remedies, we are in total agreement. I think it's the Chinese who have the same word for crisis as they do for opportunity; and certainly opportunities have been squandered again and again in these interesting times we live in.

The bank bailouts were the worst of the worst: The American economy is brought in on a stretcher, losing blood at a rapid rate!--and somehow in the triage process it is decided that emergency transfusions will be given, not to the victims, MANY of whom are actually alarmingly close to death or coma, but instead to the victims' immensely strong and powerful attackers!... HUGE transfusions, half the goddamn blood supply!... and not a drop for the actual victims.

Timing IS everything. I wish the Dems would wake the hell up already.

Either that, or we should all get used to the idea that only the truly rich cry real tears; only their emergencies are worth attending to.

I'm so disappointed in the last 10 years in DumbErica... I hardly ever post anymore. I check in and read and watch MSNBC still... but I feel like a zombie when it comes down to it lately; I've been watching for too long, much too intensely; and now it's like I got a really bad case of highway hypnosis, and the doctors aren't sure I'll ever be able to drive again... sigh...

Actually, it's mostly the increasingly shrill and nerve-racking demands of continued survival in this increasingly dark and savage place. The very concept of survival seems so tenuous of late.

Every day it looks a bit more like Mordor.

[warm regards]

61. Well, at least his closing salutation makes sense.

[guyton]

62. You have to be known by your enemies

This bipartisan stuff is for the birds. Go Michael!

[yellowwood]

64. Yes to Both

Replace Rahm
With Moore

[nightgaunt]

66. Moore is serious but is Obama? So far no.

Obama has shown his willingness to bend every which way for the Repubs but flush any hint of humane Progressivism away from him like Jesus telling Sammael to "begone!" So whose side is Obama on now? He isn't there to get things done for us. You do understand that? He is an "Agent of Change" the same change that was started under Reagan & continued under each successive president since. A change away from a democratic-republic and toward a theocratic-corporate state.

It would be the kind of thing that would show that Obama isn't a mole for the crypto-fascists that inhabit the two official parties and the Libertarians. He has to prove it and so far he hasn't. I am afraid he will just pass it off as a "joke" even though Moore is deadly serious. but then the point is to continue to show the Democrats as inept and spineless, the Generals foil to the Harlem Globe Trotters. It is mostly a set up though the Generals do play seriously and occasionally win.

Go for it Michael!

[liberation]

72. Oh, I disagree! Obama is really serious...

... it is just that what he is serious about, it is not necessarily what most liberals or progressives care much about.

It is time for the left and center-left people in this board to stop trying to project things on a center-right fellow like Obama. I understand that the Obama electoral machine was fairly hand wavy regardless their actual ideological leanings, probably to maximize their electoral base by allowing people to project their expectations on Mr. Obama. But honestly, he walks, talks, and quacks like a moderate conservative, so I think it is time to stop giving the benefit of the doubt... and stop enabling this whole charade.

I mean, Obama's chief of staff even called liberals "retarded" so it is not like they are even pretending to hide their contempt for liberals. So the question begs to be asked: Why on heaven's are liberals still trying to act "confused" when they keep on expecting a person who is not interested in the least in progressive ideals, to implement and further those same progressive items?


I see it like this: Obama is the radio DJ and he looooooooooves Kenny G. I am a teen going through a massive teen angs and I want to liste some angry rock and roll. Now, why would I keep tuning in a easy listening station? I can fault Obama's taste in music, but honestly.... I think I should also understand that it is also my fault for expecting the apple tree to give me oranges.

In other words, liberals to an extent are behaving under the same MO which defines idiocy: doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. So we can keep electing moderate conservative Dems (Carter, Clinton, Obama), but we should stop pretending to hope they will somehow enable progressive agendas. If we keep on doing so, honestly... I have to question the mental faculties of a lot of people in the progressive side of the political spectrum. And that would sadden me to no end...

Want liberal agendas and policies to be enabled or at least represented? Simple, elect actual liberals to office. We don't see the right in this country throwing their support behind moderate progressive candidates in hopes they enact a reactionary agenda, do we? Well, for one... we can laugh all we want at the morons on the right. But honestly, they have gotten that very basic fact correct. So, honestly what does it say about us progressives?

[Individualist]

71. Love it!

:applause:

[Divine Discontent]

73. me too! pres Obama - make it so... you have NOTHING to lose, believe us - you're not very popular bc

of the concessions to the GOPIG party, the conglomerate corporations and the military industrial complex. Let alone backtracking on several issues.

why do people here just ignore those facts? it's sickening? decry their actions like we do if you truly are a progressive - then, and only then will he change quickly.

when your approval rating goes down the tubes that means even your own party is starting to see the mistakes (those who pay attention, many who voted for him (not those on this board who support it) really don't know what he has been doing, he's just the 'black cool pres' to many of them and a symbol of hope, even if that hope has not parlayed much success)

I still believe in a great President Barack Obama... I can only hope he makes it so!


THANKS MM!!!!

[Doremus]

75. Rahm didn't put Dems in in 2006. Howard Dean did.

I'm surprised Michael Moore isn't more informed.

[Octafish]

76. It was Dean.

Moore must've missed all the covereage.

[harun]

77. That would certainly change the debate. Hope the WH is listening.

[SlingBlade]

78. YES !

[NoSheep]

79. Michael remains one of my heroes.

[AsahinaKimi]

83. Love Michael Moore

I love how the Republicans hate him, by that, you know he is doing something good!!

[Major Hogwash]

84. Fuck Michael Moore. Let him go work on yet another Nader campaign.

Seriously, that fat tub of goo hasn't gotten out of bed at 5 AM in 2 fucking decades.

ALL MOUTH, ALL ASS, ALL THE TIME!!

Eat shit and die, Mikey!

[asdjrocky]

86. That's foolish and rude.

Most filming, on a movie, starts very, very early in the morning.

[Tesha]

89. It's posts like yours that convince me that Michael Moore is right.

You don't like him but you have no actual argument against him
so you talk about how fat he is. Clever, really clever.

Tesha

[peacetalksforall]

88. He's a genius. To persuade and expose truth with humor. What a pair they

would make. I vote for Michael.

[Odin2005]

90. Kick for Mike!