As Recession Bites Deeper, Obama Has Discovered People Can't Eat Hope

[SarahB]

His achievements are impressive but insufficient, his party is confused. As elections loom, fundamentalists and fantasists are seizing the initiative

But the truth is the Democrats really only have themselves to blame. For the best part of a year they had a veto-proof majority in the Senate and still boast a sizeable majority in the House. They could have passed any legislation they wanted. But what they have had in numbers they lacked in solidarity and conviction. The votes Obama went scavenging for were usually Democratic ones.

For some Democrats this was an electoral calculation that they could not get re-elected if they supported Obama's agenda. Unfortunately for them, they got their sums wrong. According to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, 23 of the 39 Democrats who voted against the healthcare bill are in seats the Republicans have a good chance of winning.

So having made an enthusiastic pitch for power four years ago and been handed it, the Democrats now appear to be unable to wield it and unclear as to what they would use it for. This is not a particularly strong position from which to go back to the electorate and ask for more power. While this is not primarily Obama's fault, it has certainly been his problem.

The greatest defence of his presidency so far can be summed up thus: things were terrible when I came to power, are much better than they would have been were I not in power, and are more likely to improve faster because I am in power. These assertions are basically true. But they are also problematic on three crucial fronts.

First, given the high ideals of his campaign, they set the bar too low. Second, they primarily hinge on how bad Republicans are rather than how well Obama has done. And third, they represent a justification about the past and a promissory note about the future that fails to address what people are going through now.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/09/13-4

[hobbit709]

1. And trying to eat change is hard on the teeth.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. LOL

[Donnachaidh]

3. hell, and dental wasn't covered in the historic HRC, was it?

:shrug:

[Autumn]

5. That's because teeth do not have anything

to do with your health. Kind of like how the insurance reform act had nothing to do with health care. Too many gaps.

[Donnachaidh]

6. yeah, tell that to the guy with a heart condition caused by years of

NOT having appropriate dental care. *Teeth have nothing to do with your health* :eyes:

[Autumn]

7. Tell me about it. That would be me,

should have added a sarcasm tag. People have fucking died from a tooth abscess.

[Donnachaidh]

9. sorry to hear that --

We have dental issues from almost two years of no insurance, and the pittance that IS covered really pisses me off. Have you tried local clinics? I'm starting to look into the sliding scale dental clinics, just to get some relief.

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. Take a look at these sites

http://www.dentalinsurance.com/di/

http://www.dentalplans.com

I used the second one for years as my company didn't offer dental.

[Autumn]

14. That's what I did. They are a big help , I had

a molar broken off at the root and a Dentist here in town wanted from 150 to 400 dollars,cash,at the time of the appointment, depending on how it had to be taken out. It took me three weeks to get in but I got it out for 100 dollars at a sliding scale clinic in Springs.

[customerserviceguy]

20. I went to a community college

that was training dental assistants. They're easier to find than dental schools, and the care is top notch. The only catch is that you will spend more time in the dental chair, because the dentist/instructor is taking more time to explain things to the students.

If that gives you pause, then pass it up. But if you don't mind helping someone get a useful education, go for it.

[Javaman]

24. have you tried looking into any local Universities near you?

I get all my dental work done at UT San Antonio dental school. I only pay for the materials.

I just got two implants that cost me about a 1/4-1/3 of what it would have cost me in the real world.

Give it a shot.

[burnsei sensei]

12. Or to the child who died as a result of an

infection in his teeth.
Referred to more directly below.

[Autumn]

15. I refered to that in my

second post.

[Ruby the Liberal]

10. Tell that to the mother in Maryland whose 12 yo son died because

of complications from an abscessed tooth.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022702116.html

[burnsei sensei]

13. This case, for its sheer emblematic nature,

must not be forgotten.

[Ruby the Liberal]

16. True.

I know I will never forget it because it shocked me so much.

[flyarm]

4. and we know no one can afford to get the teeth fixed today! n/t

[xultar]

17. ROFFPNMFPLMFAO

[customerserviceguy]

18. No, but with a little spare change

You can at least grab something off of the dollar menu.

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. Fantasists?

I don't believe I have ever seen that word before. What group of people is this?

[xultar]

19. HCR was great but benefits needed to be bigger Public Option

And immediate.

[regnaD kciN]

21. The Circular Firing-Squad reassembles...

No, "Democrats" don't have themselves to blame. A handful of Blue Dogs have themselves to blame.

I'm so sick of Progressive Purist Pricks like the whiners at CommonDreams, HuffPost, and the like, who's attitude is "we don't need to fight for our cause -- if we can't get everything served to us on a silver platter, we'll just stick a knife in the back of those on our side while claiming they have 'betrayed' us -- then whine when we find Republicans back in power for another 8-12 years." IMHO, they're no different from the Naderites who put Bush in the White House in 2000.

As far as I'm concerned, if we wind up losing Congress in November, the Progressive Purist Pricks carry every bit as much blame as the Blue Dogs and Republicans...for they have been undercutting Obama practically from the moment he took the Oath of Office.

:nuke:

[atreides1]

22. They may be Blue Dogs

But they still caucus with the Democratic majority, and instead of kicking thme to the curb, the non-Blue Dog Democrats spend vast amounts of time trying to change the minds of these DINO's.

So, in a way the Democrats in Congress are not totally blameless!

[lunatica]

23. This article assumes that Obama had a rubberstamp Congress

Having a majority does not make it a solid majority. Only the Republicans stand as one to rubberstamp their President's every whim and wish.

Yet, it sure would be nice if we did have a solid majority. Maybe the surprise in this year's elections will be that even as we lose a few seats we actually gain a few Progressives and get more actual majority votes than we ever had with the Blue Dog Dems. I think that might happen. Our losses will be our gains.