What was the Democrats' greatest achievement in the past 2 years?

[DaveinJapan]

I wrote this note in reply to a right winger friend who asked this very question, and his assumptions were "health care", and "saving the economy", which he mocked and asked why Democrats weren't running on these issues...my reply is a copy/paste, but in general I'd like to hear from DUers on what the major accomplishments really were (or weren't), and why (or why not) Democrats don't seem to be running on, well, ANY of them this time around even though if you ask me it would seem logical that they should (have).

His note and my reply as follows...



My Friend said: What is the single largest accomplishment the President has made in his two years? Would you agree that it is healthcare? If so, why then do you not hear the monumental change to healthcare being spoken by anyone?

Has anyone heard about the healthcare bill in any democratic stump speech? I haven't.

And, if you don't think it was healthcare then that leaves you with the "saving" of the economy but with unemployment still at high levels no one is running on that "accomplishment" either.





My Reply: His single largest accomplishment was drawing to a close the war in Iraq, and *hopefully* Afghanistan too if things work out well.

Along with that, he has returned America to a position of respectability among the nations of the world, somewhat. It's a tough task, but he has made major inroads.

Amazing that the Democrats aren't running on *that*, but for the most part it seems like they are scared little chickens running away from ANY and ALL accomplishments.

I can't quite figure that out, myself, but there you have it.

Oh, and yes they did save the country from the great Bush depression, AND finally passed DESPERATELY needed health care reform to boot.

Why aren't any of them running on it? Damned if I know...if I accomplished all of that in 2 years I'd be pretty proud of it.

I can only attest the lack of pride to some sort of weird stockholm syndrome...Liberals are afraid of being called liberal.

[kentuck]

1. Not taking advantage of the mandate given them by the voters...

Instead, they chose to look for compromise.

[xiamiam]

8. i feel it was an opportunity squandered beginning with the bankruptcy bill

just restoring the bankruptcy bill to pre 2005 which would have protected a primary residence would have put a halt to the foreclosures as well as weeding out the 'undeserving' speculators as Obama recently called them...it was attached to the stimulus and would have set the tone for this administration..that compromise thing threw the middle class and Durbin under the bus during those negotiations..downhill, from there
i wish it would have been different..that Obama would have spent the last two years with a more progressive agenda...alas...i wish that heads rolled, homes were saved, wars ended, public option survived, war profiteers and bankster fraudsters were held accountable, multi million dollar bonuses not given to the banksters with tax payer money, that we looked backward for a second and told the truth about the iraq war and those who lead us there
but as my mom used to say, its like pissin in the wind..my cousin told me at my moms funeral that as a little boy, not understanding what she meant, he actually tried it..an experiment you only need to do once
yep, things would have been different if we had looked back to set things straight and exposed crimes which destroyed our country..i dont think we would be at this crossroads

[CommonSensePLZ]

9. That's what the Republicans would've done

I liked that the democrats actually tried to be the bigger people and didn't get all "I'm the decider and I make the decisions". If nothing else it took away the republicans chance to whine that the democrats were treating them unfairly.

It's hard to tell if the republicans are worse sore losers or sore winners. It's about power to them, not about using power to improve things.

[MilesColtrane]

14. They looked to pass legislation.

No progress had been made in healthcare in 45 years.

Democrats passed what they could, with the votes they could muster. Their window of being able to do anything will be gone after the votes are counted tomorrow.

Just watch how fast the Republicans try to stall, repeal, and amend the HCR act. They probably have their tactics already coordinated and the bills already written.

[VMI Dem]

2. The Afghanistan War surge?

:shrug:

[Tippy]

3. They were cowards...they knew it would cost them a vote or two......

Same is true for Wall Street Regulations

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. Health care reform IS a big accomplishment.

He saved the financial system from collapse.
Unlike every president since Theodore Roosevelt who first proposed the idea, he got a healthcare bill passed
He got us out of Iraq (mostly and belatedly)
We're no longer a joke internationally.

Government can't do anything right is so indoctrinated into americans from birth that it's impolitic to point out concrete examples.

That attitude will be our undoing.

[DaveinJapan]

5. Excellent point. nt

[zipplewrath]

6. LBJ on line one

I notice you jumped right over LBJ and all of his health care BILLS that he passed.

[USArmyParatrooper]

7. I agree with all, but one small correction

The drawdown in Iraq isn't "belated." It's right on schedule and consistent with his campaign promises.

[kenny blankenship]

12. Yep, right on Bush's schedule - and leaving a 50,000 man stay behind permanent garrison

just like Bush's schedule. Bush couldn't have claimed he'd do better carrying out his own plan, if he'd been able to run for a third term!

[USArmyParatrooper]

16. Wrong and wrong

Bush did NOT commit to a timetable for getting out of Iraq.

You may want the 50,000 left behind to be in "permanent garrison." But that's just wishful thinking on your part.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq/

No permanent bases in Iraq

"The U.S. will not maintain permanent bases in Iraq."

http://static.politifact.com.s3.amazonaws.com:80/rulings%2Fobameter_promiseKept.gif
Defense Authorization Act puts it in writing

And last, but not least...

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-31/politics/obama.speech.transcript_1_combat-brigades-combat-role-security-forces/2?_s=PM:POLITICS

Going forward, a transitional force of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq with a different mission: advising and assisting Iraq's security forces; supporting Iraqi troops in targeted counterterrorism missions; and protecting our civilians. Consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops will leave by the end of next year.

[kenny blankenship]

18. Sure. The 50,000 don't exist. The Status of Forces Agreement doesn't exist either.

[USArmyParatrooper]

20. Copy and paste where I said they don't exist

Either you can copy and paste it, or you cannot and thus you're making a strawman argument.

President Obama promised a phased withdraw based on a time table and thus far has kept his promise and did so on schedule. Your use of the term "permanent garrison" is a blatant lie based on nothing but the desire to smear Obama.

[malaise]

10. Check this out

http://frank-schaeffer.blogspot.com/2009/12/obama-will-triumph-so-will-america.html

[Fumesucker]

11. Engaging with Republicans in a spirit of bipartisanship..

It's what Democrats are best at and their greatest accomplishment..

Look how they managed to pass a health insurance reform bill that was championed by the Republicans in the 1990's and actually implemented by Mitt Romney in MA.

[Autumn]

15. I'm agreeing with you. That has been the Democratic

Party's greatest accomplishment so far. I voted out of fear Thursday. Two years from now, the way things have been going, I just don't think there will be anything left to scare me with.

[leftstreet]

21. You're so polite

I would have called it Reviving a Completely Dead FuckedUp Political Party

[Fumesucker]

23. The Democrats would be in serious trouble without the Republicans around..

Where else are they going to find such a convenient and general purpose excuse for moving constantly to the right?

[wuushew]

13. delete

n/t

[blindpig]

17. Disavowing the New Deal all but officially

it had been getting chipped away at for years but it's toast now.

[11 Bravo]

19. Well, as of 8:47 AM, 9/11/2009, they had kept us safe longer than the drunken frat boy ...

and his gang of morons and corporate criminals had managed to do.

[JoseGaspar]

22. With all due respect...

Your friend asked a very serious question, and you answered with psycho-babble ("Stockholm Syndrome"... really?).

Now, there is a very good chance that he would not be able to answer the counter-question ("What would you have done different?"), if he is a right-winger.

Still the willingness of all the parties to let thirty or forty million Americans sink while they talk about something else... that's bipartisan common ground, isn't it?

The reason why the Congress critters don't run on Health Care or the economy is that the bulk of the electorate doesn't think they have done nearly enough, whatever may be their opinion of what should have been done. A good deal of polling has proven that and the critters are nothing if they are not poll-watchers. The people who claim otherwise, on DU or elsewhere, are very wrong.

That is a political problem but it is a much greater social problem... and it won't go away tomorrow.