I am not here to defend Rahm.. or stake him at the ant hill.. BUT

[Peacetrain]

I was here when it was announced he would be taking the position. And let me tell you, there were a lot of people who are moaning and groaning right now because of his shall we say.. in you face way of talking

They were ecstatic.. finally someone who was going to give the right a little hell. How he would tell people to stick it where the sun don't shine..

Suddenly

Not liking it so much.. complaints about how he tells people to stick it where the sun don't shine.


Making me a little dizzy how people can turn on a dime

[CrispyQ]

1. We (wrongly) assumed he would tell the right where to stick it, not the left.

That's why we're mad.

:eyes:

[vaberella]

13. No. Most people seem to be mad because he has connections to Goldman Sachs.

More than anything else. And imply he's twisting progresive arms and controls Obama.

[CrispyQ]

16. If you read this thread,

"most people" are not pissed about his GS connections, as much as the betrayal of traditional democratic values & his pissy attitude toward the base.

[rudy23]

2. Yes, it's not so much his style, but who he sees as his opponents (most of us on DU)

"The left of the left" as he so artfully put it.

[tularetom]

3. I was skeptical of him from the gitgo

I doubted if his "in your face way of talking" applied to republicans.

He's a real tough guy when it comes to dealing with the democratic wing of his own party.

But a real wuss when it comes to the repubs.

And guess what, I was right.

[Clio the Leo]

4. One of my favorite Tweets of the week...

.... and sadly I cant provide a source .... said, "Why are very people who want Obama to be more LBJ like mad that he picked Rahm for his COS?"

something to think about

[Lorien]

5. Um, I was here too. DU was PISSED about Rhamn's appointment

the only one's happy were the obvious DLCers, and they are the minority.

[vaberella]

15. I was here then...and they were happy. At least on the GDP page.

They weren't pissed from what I remember. People even praised or were surprised to agree with Scarborough that Rahm was a great choice.

[JVS]

6. I always thought he was an asshole

[Hell Hath No Fury]

7. Not me.

When I saw his name announced I knew "Hope" was over. He is the father and worst of the corporatization of the Democrats.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

8. Yeah, I was thinking more like he would use his Joe Pesci shtick against right wingers

not the left. So I'm not sure what's causing your dizziness.

[PassingFair]

9. He was a KNOWN THUG.

Some people thought he would be "OUR thug", and that would be OK.

But a thug is a thug.

I will be happy when he is back on Wall Street.

[asdjrocky]

10. Do you have any links to the "I heart Rahm" posts?

I seem to remember something completely different. I do remember a few DLC types -the same types who support this Adminastration no matter what they do- that seemed to like Rahm.

Maybe that's why you're confused.

[apocalypsehow]

11. It's not just that they "turn on a dime" - now they ACTIVELY LIE ABOUT IT. Claim they "remember

something different" and demanding "links" when the Rahm lovefest was so drippingly obvious that no "links" are necessary - just a decent memory.

Myself, I'm on the fence about Rahm. I don't like some of the things he's done; on the other hand, he is not the enemy. What I think it really is people do not like nuance. Like Cheney, they want a black and white world to distinguish the bad guys from the good guys with no shades of grey in between. Childish stuff.

[TheKentuckian]

12. I've never been a fan but I hoped, expected, and felt that

Rahm would come in and lean on people to push the agenda. Every team needs an enforcer and he has a reputation for being apt at that role from all corners.

The problem was I think I missed what the agenda really was, I have to admit. Left, right, or center I expected Obama to be a long term thinker and a man of bold and substantive solutions for real problems and he seems to be more into tinkering.

Change is undoing Reagan just as he strived to undo FDR. Anything else is window dressing, bullshitting, or a bold faced lie.

Rahm was set in place to be a fierce advocate for the status quo which makes many of us hostile opposition from the word go. So, it makes it a lot more about Obama than Emanuel since Obama is responsible for his words and deeds.

[bvar22]

14. The ONLY ones cheering the appointment of Rahm...

...were the "Centrists", or those with Obama Love Stars obscuring their vision.

Most of us on The Left have known WHO Rahm is for a long time, and have been consistent in our distrust of Rahm and the DLC.
The appointment of Rahm as Cos was roundly criticized on DU.

[mitchtv]

17. + 1

this is about the closest post to my take on Rahm. I felt the same way when Salazar was appointed

[emsimon33]

18. I was devastated from the first & that began the erosion of my trust

in Obama's keeping his campaign promises. Rahm is a egomaniac. He didn't like Dean who rebuilt the party and gave us one successful election after another, so he had Dean kicked to the curb and we haven't won many elections since.

I didn't like Rahm from the first because of his ties to the DLC and corporations. I was against H. Clinton for the very same reason and hope that Obama would be different.

As I remember it, most of the discussions on DU when Obama picked Rahm were negative and such fears were, it seems, not unfounded.

[last1standing]

19. I remember exactly what I said at the time.

And here it is:

last1standing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Journal Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Thu Nov-06-08 10:32 AM
Response to Original message
9. Whatever pros or cons Emanuel would bring to the position are moot.

He has already shown where his loyalties lie, to himself. Also, by taking this to the media he has proved that there would always be a chance that he would leak info to his benefit at the expense of the president.

Rescind the offer Mr. President.
"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." - 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Add to my Journal Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3586736#3586785

I think I also posted something about him being a lousy human being but if he could use his skills to support the agenda Obama campaigned on, it might be alright. Unfortunately, neither of them support those campaign promises, it seems.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

20. Many knowledgeable DUers were quite vocal in their opposition to...

Rahm Emmanuel as COS. I'm certain they're not the ones "complaining" since they knew EXACTLY what we were getting.

Then there are the others who were hopeful (there's that word again...) that RE would knock Republican heads, however, he's not doing that. He's attacking members of his own party, hence the "complaining." If people are turning, it's for good reason.

Then there's the Obama-Can-Do-No-Wrong Contingent, and to them, Rahm Emmanuel is an effective COS.

Many differing viewpoints at DU, then and now.

[Kaleva]

21. Interesting. I seem to recall it was that way too but I'll look in the archives.

[Kaleva]

26. Looked at the archives. There was little cheering when Rahm was selected to be CoS.

Many did not like the choice. Some held out hope he'd change. A couple of members thought highly of Rahm. But overall, I'd have to say most of the comments made here about Rahm being chosen back in Nov. of 2008 were negative.

[girl gone mad]

22. I never supported him.

Those who did in hopes that he would be a friend to progressives and a critic of Republicans were simply fooling themselves. Rahm is a lowlife greedy little pig with a cash deposit box where his heart should be.

[jonnyblitz]

23. I remember, Peacetrain, you are correct. I am too lazy to search

for links if anybody requires them though. I don't care if I am believed or not but I distinctly remember people saying he is a dick but a much needed dick. I am paraphrasing of course.

[ThomCat]

24. A lot of us hated the decision to hire him then, and still hate the

decision to keep him now. :shrug:

[LaPera]

25. Not me...I despised ALL DLC fuckers like Terry McAUliffe since they first opened their fucking

corporate loving mouth's! Despised Emanuel long ago....but I do know what you mean...stupid uninformed media influenced, doing no research for themselves DUers...they come out of the woodwork to pontificate, then scream at you if you disagree while not knowing jack shit and then finally jump on the well researched bandwagon that you were on all along....but never saying a peep what stupid assholes they were before, this happens countless times...especially among the dumb fucking "moderates"!