The Admin wants you to freak out over the "spending freeze"

[Teaser]

Your reaction is part of the plan.


Why do I say this? Because the announcement was initially made on a conference call to progressive bloggers.


This is a dog and pony show, and a dumb one at that. I'm not going to waste further brain cycles on it. There will be no spending freeze of any consequence. But there will be a lot of angry progressives, which someone apparently hopes will bump O's ratings with independents.

[ShortnFiery]

1. Interesting perspective.

Worthy of serious consideration. :thumbsup:

[Clio the Leo]

2. I dont know that I'd include Tapper on my list of liberal bloggers...

... but that's an interesting strategy none the less.

[Teaser]

3. years ago, tap was vaguely anti-establishment

back in the wake of the 2000 election.

Now, he's just a jerkass.

[Jennicut]

32. Tapper...liberal, who knew?

:rofl:
Of course his "exclusive" was well after everyone else's. He was late with his important news. Dumbass.

[Clio the Leo]

36. yeah,but bless him, he wasn't so much late....

.... as he was the only person who obeyed the embargo.

[FrenchieCat]

4. Why should we freak out?

I'm not freaked out.

Does that make me a thinking Democrat.....as opposed to a clueless reactionary,
who gets mad about everything right away?


I think you are insulting Bloggers and progressives,
for you to say that.

[Teaser]

6. "I think you are insulting Bloggers"

Of course I am. Bloggers are the nerdliest of nerds in the vast high school we call the interwebz.

[FrenchieCat]

11. Why are we like this?

Why do we not analyze anything?
and simply hold our fire till we are dealing
with real facts. Not just soundbytes and labels.
Are we as bad as Teabaggers, when it comes to critical thought?
I always thought we were million times better than that.

[Teaser]

14. I ain't firing at anyone.

in fact, I'm trying to get people to calm down about this.

There will be no real spending freeze, so why be mad?

[ShortnFiery]

7. I think most every ACTION that Obama has done, is less than a positive sign - understated -

to the liberal/progressive side of our party. We have many reasons to be disappointed and/or disgusted with his LACK of resolve for the working class.

[Teaser]

9. well, I take comfort in the fact that

this won't actually happen. Now, being used as a means to an end of lifting his popularity a bit...well that kinda sucks. But I've been used before. Except in the old days it was fun for me too.

[ShortnFiery]

13. Yes, the dems used to give us a kiss before FINANCIALLY screwing us over ...

now they demand WE give THEM "the kiss" after they've distributed more middle class tax dollars UP to the ruling 1%. :(

I wonder what are all the "secret pledge names" within The Big Club that you and I are not a part of? :silly:

[Cosmocat]

30. Even on that level it is retarded ...

This whole thing with HCR has played out kind of the way I feared it would to this point ...

Rs were NEVER going to support it, they negotiated (watered it down) to a point where it is going to be less effective and they are, not supporting it ... Why not go for something A LOT stronger and have them not support it, but have more to show for it?

There is NOTHING that BO can do with "spending freezes" or whatever to placate the "independents" who are screaming about he budget/deficit ... These aren't true "independents" they are cowardly piece of garbage Rs who NEVER held Bush and the Rs to this kind of fire over it, and simply just REPORTED themselves to be Is instead of Ds ...

They hate Ds just the same, and there is nothing, N O T H I N G that BO can do to placate them ... He is going to eat shiite with them even with these would be freezes or whatever ...

AND, this is the spending that actually "stimulates" the economy from a governmental spending standpoint by actually putting money into the REAL economy ...

[katandmoon]

5. When you put it that way it certainly does stink of cynical manipulation.

[ShortnFiery]

8. And don't rule out PsyOps consulting to our Media Whores.

Propaganda is NOT an exact science. That's The Peoples' one saving grace. :evilgrin:

[FrenchieCat]

10. Aren't you smart enough to figure things out on your own.....?

Do folks just follow the leader around here?

so if one gets mad everyone else does to,
even if they don't really actually know why?





I don't think the Obama administration thinks we are this way.....

[Teaser]

12. who's mad?

This may or may not be a cynical strategy. I, for one, hope the Admin is capable of cynical strategies. And, because I recognize it as likely such, I see no need to get mad over it.

I want a Machiavelli in the White House.

That said, I'm not sure this strategy will achieve it's end. Seems dubious.

[FrenchieCat]

16. I don't think there is any cynical about it, beyond us making it appear that way.....

They didn't say...here's a cynical strategy.


The point is that the 2011 new budget proposal is coming out in February for 2010.
That budget obviously is going to be similar to 2010....which was a hell of a good budget.
So the "Freeze" is that, but that doesn't make a bad thing....
except for that's what WE concluded that, all on our own.

So now, to take it further, we have decided that the whole thing is cynical?

Why is that? :shrug:

Why do we read so much further than we need to,
and then read it all backasswards,
and always based on the worse notions?

Have we been whipped by Bush so badly that we are on automatic pilot?
Did we expect so much really quickly to where we are creating a figment
of how things are doing that isn't really there?
Did folks really expect the government to be a panacea,
and since it's not really that, than it has to be the exact opposite?

[katandmoon]

37. Yes. I figured out Obama was a fraud a long time ago.

[Fleshdancer]

15. So in order to appease republicans and independents.....

Progressives are now getting dumped on for political reasons instead of for fun the way we have been dumped on during the entire 8 years W was in office? I'm suppose to be ok with this? THIS is now my option? Hope that my President is "playing politics" by pissing me off while hopefully lying to the other side in hopes of bumping his @#$% ratings?

I expect more out of my President than whatever grade school tactics you think he's doing. Pulling my hair to tell me you like me didn't work in 4th grade, and it sure as hell isn't going to work now.

[Teaser]

18. meh.

a lot of energy to get worked up over this. I'm more upset about the lack of energy put I see being applied to get the HCR bill passed.

[Fleshdancer]

27. I want HCR passed too

but yes, I'm worked up over the freeze news since it's breaking tonight and the story posted in this OP infuriates me for good reason. I would hate to see Americans suffer needlessly right now because this administration cares more about being liked than being right...on both HCR and the economy.

[FrenchieCat]

20. How are you being "dumped" on?

Please explain.

[Fleshdancer]

25. If what Matthew Yglesias says in the OP is true, how are progressives not being "dumped on"?

Announcing a non-security discretionary spending freeze during a phone call with progressive internet writers at a time when this country is experiencing massive unemployment? For 3 years? Whenever I see the rich being taken care of, the middle class receiving a lot of lip service and not much else, and the poor gets shafted, I come to the conclusion that progressives are getting dumped on. This, of course, assumes this freeze talk is for real.

What if this freeze isn't for real and it's just a way to up his ratings among the tea baggers? Once again, I ask you: How are the progressives not being dumped on? Pissing off the left for the purpose of making the right love you is not smart politics.

[DrToast]

17. Freak out? I think it's a good idea

If we want to keep the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, then we have to pay for them. That's the differences between Democrats and Republicans.

[amborin]

19. so it's pandering to indies, who hate the deficit! more hypocrisy, either way

[FrenchieCat]

21. Shit....damned if the Obama administration does anything

damn.....we are really this fucking stupid?

Damn!

[amborin]

22. "spending freeze" = "change you can believe in"

[FrenchieCat]

23. Spending Freeze = Blogger Brain Freeze

2010 Budget was increased by 8% from 2009.

That was a hell of a year.
glad to see it can be repeated. Doh.

[amborin]

24. oh, i'm sure the budget was increased: $57,000 per minute in Afghanistan, for starters n/t

[FrenchieCat]

26. I don't believe that there has been a President to cut the defense budget,

and I believe that only Kucinich ran on that platform.

I do believe that the money in defense is not being spent as it was.
Money was cut from missile defense, and I believe that the military personnel
were given raises, and other benefits.

[wisteria]

28. Already going negative and you haven't even heard all the details about the proposal. n/t

[Teaser]

29. who's negative?

I am not that bothered by this.

However, there was a reason this was announced on a phone call to progressive bloggers. This post is informed conjecture, is all, as to why that is.

[wisteria]

35. Perhaps, not you, but listening to others you might think this was

just completely awful and Hover'ess.

[QC]

31. Of course! A strategy subtle yet fiendishly brilliant!

[Teaser]

34. actually it's kind of dopey

cause I don't think anyone will care that they are trying this.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

33. That is not a reason to NOT freak out

If the proposal is shit and the WH thinks our freaking out will help politically then we SHOULD freak out.

I have no side-interest in thwarting the WH... if my natural reaction to worthless amoral policy happens to help the WH then that's cool.