"If you had paid attention during his campaign"

[SHRED]

How do we get past this?
How can anyone critique and push this President towards a more progressive stand if all we are going to get is resistance?

The past is dead.
The campaign is over.

Reaching back and defending his positions regarding polluting energy sources, military build-up in Afghanistan, and heath care compromising does what exactly?

Are these positions locked in stone?
Are WE not his boss theoretically?

He is a shrewd politician I will give him that.
I think he put these corporate RW markers in his run-up to victory for two reasons(and maybe more):

1. To lesson the resistance towards him from big monied interests.
2. To keep his base divided a bit so his own accountability can remain diffused and his dynamic personality can dominate.

When he has taken diametrically opposed positions regarding energy, war, and health care it is tough for us to come together.
Especially when you factor in the seduction of his superior intellect and great personality.


----

[sandnsea]

1. Congress needs pushing

He'll sign what goes to his desk. If you're not happy with what's going to his desk, then there are other people to critique and push. And if they tell you that, in their district, nobody thinks like you. Then you have to change those people first.

That is called Democracy.

This is not a left-wing dictatorship, I'm sorry if you thought that's what was going to happen.

[SHRED]

3. "left-wing dictatorship"

Was that really called for?

---

[sandnsea]

4. When people say to be like Bush

and push through whatever it is that they think the entire country wants - then yes, that would be called aleft-wing dictatorship.

I do not understand why people think they can just batter the President and get what they want. It doesn't work that way. And no, just electing people with D behind their name won't do it either.

There are people in states and regions of this country who DO NOT want what you want. That's the problem.

[SHRED]

6. I guess you are right

There are people in this country who want more war, more pollution, and less affordable/accessible health care.

Hard to believe, but if you say so.

---

[sandnsea]

12. People support the Afghanistan war

think we can work towards a green economy in a variety of ways, and absolutely DO NOT want single payer health care. YES, that is true. It's hard for me to believe you could pretend it isn't.

[niyad]

7. "batter the president"? do you recall where he was talking about FDR and the comment "you have to

make me"? so yes, we have to push him.

[SHRED]

8. I remember...I wish others did also

[sandnsea]

10. Actually, no, so post the link please n/t

[dkf]

5. Even Obama acknowledges he messed up.

He said he made some mistakes. Why should you defend what he Acknowledges he screwed up?

[sandnsea]

13. That wasn't the question, or anywhere near it n/t

[dkf]

14. No it was in answer to your assertion that he has no input or influence on the

Bills that come to his desk

that is bullpucky.

[sandnsea]

15. Not enough to ram through single payer

or end all wars or shut down all the nuclear plants or whatever the hell it is that the OP thinks qualifies for his "critique".

[daleanime]

2. All we can do is continue to be active and vocal...

if we drag more people with us the government has to follow sooner or later, right?O8)

[peoli]

9. "critique and push" or be clearly hateful and sorry that he is the president?

[Lyric]

11. Ah yes. The traditional pointless conversation with a moron.

(He said he was gonna do this stuff in his campaign!! Why are you griping? Didn't you pay attention? *sneer*)

"Well if YOU had paid attention during Bush's campaign, you knew what was coming. Why did you bitch about it?"

(*sputters* But I didn't vote for Bush!)

"So? According to you, simply knowing ahead of time that the train wreck is coming is grounds to STFU and let it come. It doesn't really matter which engineer is driving the train."

(Oh yeah! Well, you're, you're, you're an OBAMA HATER! *sticks fingers in ears* LALALALALALALALA!! Hater hater hater!! I can't heeeeear you!)

Ad nauseum.

[dmallind]

18. Which is actually more like this...

Obama threw us under the bus! He betrayed us his most loyal base!

What do you mean? What has he done that went against what he said he would do?

He always campaigned on saying he'd end the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war on day one! He promised us a DADT repeal in January and full employment by March! He's just like Bush!

Ridiculous - where in his speeches or in the platform can you find this?

Oh to hell with platforms and speeches - he always made us think he was a true leftist! Hed just used us for votes and pointing towards the party platform is just DLC Blue Dog Repuglican lite trickery! It's owned by the DLC!

No it isn't - it's voted on by people elected by party members at the grassroots level.

But it's not what REAL Democrats want! REAL Democrats want all guns banned, an end to any foreign military involvement, 80% income tazes on anyone making more than a high school teacher and massive restrictions on car ownership!

No they don't - or it would be in the platform and he would have campaigned on it.

Again with the DLC lies - you can't see anything your corporatist masters don't want you to see! You are just a puppet of big pharma and big oil spewing their lies and you don't understand REAL Democrats!

[WonderGrunion]

16. You can't say that the President lied to or betrayed you

when he does what he promised in his campaign. I have no problem with anyone pushing for the President to take more liberal positions on issues. my problem is when the falsehoods start about the President. If the President does what he says he was going to do, he has neither lied to or betrayed you.

Yes, the President can change his mind, but trying to change the minds of congress will be more effective in the long run. (Note: I didn't say changing the minds of congress would be easier, just more effective)

As long as the more liberal elements of the board don't engage in abject hyperbole or outright falsehood when talking about President Obama, then we can get along just fine.

[treestar]

17. No one agrees with another completely

It just comes across as persnickety. No one says you can't complain, but many posters make a career of that - they find the one issue or two they disagreed with Obama on and push that one to the exclusion of all others, making it seem as if they agree with him on nothing.

Then they boast that they don't march in lockstep, and then have the nerve to complain that nothing gets done even though we have a majority. Well, what good is a majority if some of those members of that majority are going to focus on the areas of disagreement? No wonder we can't get anything done.

There's a point where one has to put aside the differences and march in lockstep. Take getting Obama elected. If you didn't agree with his Afghan. position, but as so many allege, worked for him to be elected anyway, that was marching in the dreaded lockstep to help get the better guy elected. (and yes, reality is, McCain would have won had Obama not won)

Let Obama do some good with the economy and health care - then later have the luxury of getting out of lockstep.

[VMI Dem]

19. Guess pushing for gay civil rights is off the table.

His thoughts were made very clear during the campaign.

[high density]

20. Tackling don't ask don't tell makes that clear for sure

:crazy: