Enough is Enough

[babylonsister]

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/01/enough-is-enough.html

Enough is Enough
by Tom Schaller @ 2:54 PM


By now, you've heard or at least heard about the Lecture Heard 'Round Washington: President Barack Obama, before a live C-Span televised audience, took the House Republicans Caucus head-on during their Baltimore party retreat.


Obama did a quite a few things in just an hour to begin to reverse some of the problems of his first year.

Correcting the record. Continuing his clarification of what went wrong and when/on whose watch, Obama reminded Republicans chirping about high unemployment that massive job losses didn't began well before any of his term commenced or his policies were in place. "e can score political points on the basis of the fact that we underestimated how severe the job losses were going to be, but those job losses took place before any stimulus, whether it was the ones that you guys have proposed or the ones that we proposed, could have ever taken to effect."

My bipartisanship is bigger than your bipartisanship. Howard Baker, Bob Dole and Tom Daschle are "not a radical bunch." To listen to the debate, he said, "you'd think this was a Bolshevik revolt." Then he dropped this: "We have to close the gap between the rhetoric and the reality." Translation, to borrow from a famous Dole line: "Stop lying about my proposal." More to the point, you Republicans aren't like the old Republicans who could negotiate in good faith.

Attribute in full bloom. Obama's fellow Illinoisan Pete Roskam voiced a regular complaint heard from the House GOP, namely, that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats have shut them out. I would have liked to hear the president remind the GOP of its 3-hour House roll call vote on Medicare Part D, or how they dropped bills in Democrats' laps at the last minute, and other exclusionary and dismissive behaviors during last decade. He called for a "tone of civility, instead of slash-and-burn" and complained about the media. He reminded them that they and Democrats have to be careful with all the nasty inter-party language because eventually citizens start to believe it, when in fact a lot of it is just normal Washington talking-point politics. The "attribute in full bloom" Roskam remembers from Obama's days as a state senator--his open-mindedness and willing to work all serious persons, regardless of party--was in full bloom Saturday in Baltimore.

snip//

What Obama did Saturday is take the fight to his detractors. It was a certifiable bully pulpit moment, and one that could signal a shift in political posture for the White House. Although the president stressed that he has read the GOP's proposals and taken into consideration their suggested alternatives, the broader message from the Baltimore meeting is the President is ready to fight. He promised to listen, and called for good faith negotiation; he kept his cool and was funny at key moments. But the subtext was clear: "Enough is enough from you guys."

[Skittles]

1. yes, we all heard the message

what we want to see now is FOLLOW-UP

[babylonsister]

2. Would a $100B jobs package make you happy?

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/78923-gibbs-wh-jobs-package-to-cost-about-100-billion


Gibbs: WH jobs package to cost about $100 billion
By Tony Romm - 01/31/10 11:56 AM ET


White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Sunday predicted the Democrats' forthcoming jobs package could cost about $100 billion.

While Gibbs provided few specifics as to what that package might include, he stressed it was essential for economic recovery, and that it would ultimately "send a powerful message to the American people."

"I can think of no better message to send the American people at the beginning of this year and at the beginning of this decade, the Democrats and Republicans will put aside their differences and work together to pass a tax credit for small businesses, to increase lending for small businesses, to increase our investment in infrastructure and create more jobs," Gibbs told CNN's "State of the Union."

Presumably, the Democrats' forthcoming job package will include many of the proposals the president has outlined over the past week, including a plan to extend tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed workers or offer more pay to those they currently hire. That proposal would comprise about $30 billion of the $100 billion price tag Gibbs revealed on Sunday.

[Skittles]

3. not if it is a fucking bandaid fix

it needs to address stuff like offshoring - the REASONS why we have no fucking jobs

[babylonsister]

5. Outsourcing was brought up in the SOTU and Obama's appearance

the following day. I'm hopeful that will also be addressed soon.

And $100B hardly seems like a bandaid fix to me, but whatever.

[Skittles]

9. oh yeah it's been brought up time and time again

LET'S SEE SOME FUCKING ACTION

and $ amount has NOTHING to do with what constitutes BAND-AID FIXES

[babylonsister]

15. Stop screaming. I know how you feel. And $100B seems like

a good-faith effort to me. I see opinions differ. :rofl:

[Skittles]

17. I scream, because so many of my friends are out of work

while they allow companies to claim they cannot find enough "talent" in America - I work with virtual offshore folk and the quality is DISMAL

[babylonsister]

19. Okay, I understand your personal stake in this.

But I'm looking for a job now, and I see what this admin is doing with this jobs bill as a good thing.

I really don't want to argue with you, and hope this coming year might find solutions for all of us.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

27. I was watching the British Parliament today and it seemed like both the Labour and Conservative

parties agree on one thing: the downshift in the British economy was due in large part to the outsourcing of jobs. So, if the Brits get it, why can't we?

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Number23]

11. +100.

[me b zola]

4. K&R

[firedupdem]

6. K&R n/t

[opihimoimoi]

7. The Pubs have fucked themselves into a narrow corner w/o food water beer

[depakid]

12. I see no evidence to indicate that the administraion is wiling to fight

but rather, everything seems to indicate that they're stubbornly bent on continuing their dysfunctional, conciliatory, conflict averse behavior- going so far as to adopt and reinforce the Republican's narrative(s) on tax cuts and spending freezes (as if this is what's going to solve- or helped prevent worse economic problems).

Drew Westen was absolutely right in his latest piece re the SOTU:

Years ago, a group of scientists known as Gestalt psychologists argued that the way we interpret the parts of something depends on the way we interpret the whole. Every introductory psychology student remembers the classic image they used to illustrate the point -- an image that can be seen as two faces or a vase, depending on which way you look at it.

And in that sense, the President's speech was either a thing of beauty -- an extraordinary appeal to his fellow citizens to overcome their differences and join in common cause despite them ("there is no red America, there is no blue America") -- or a masterful performance by a master chameleon who restored the ability of Americans, at least for a fleeting moment, to see in him whatever and whoever they hope he is.

[Robb]

13. Given your track record lately

...I'm heartened to hear of your enduring mistrust of the President. :D

[depakid]

16. Show me the evidence

And my track record lately has been pretty spot on, as you'll see down the line as the consequences of reinforcing the Republican narrative and adopting their policy choices becomes clearer.

It never ceases to amaze me how many seem to think that pandering to Republicans is going to get the party any further now than it has for the past 20+ years. It's pathetic, really- given that Dems had it withing their grasp to relegate them back to the fringe for a generation.

Instead- you're looking at losing the majority in the House and probably 6 seats in the Senate (some from solidly blue states). Wow.

[babylonsister]

14. Aw jeeze, put a sock in it. You must have had a miserable

weekend considering the majority of us were applauding the admin for a change.

:fistbump:

[Skittles]

18. depakid speaks the absolute TRUTH

[babylonsister]

21. Cause Skittles says so, and she'll kick my ass if I disagree. Sorry,

I disagree. :fistbump:

[O is 44]

22. I understand the fustration....

I am a huge President Obama supporter and loved the intellectual thumping he gave the house GOP on Friday, but I too would like this to be followed up by congress getting a good healthcare bill and jobs bill to his desk so that he can sign. It would make the media and the GOP a bit more bearable at least they would have a reason to keep shouting angrily. Let's make them mad for a reason.

[ProSense]

24. Your criticisms are starting to read like blah, blah, blah

"I see no evidence to indicate that the administraion is wiling to fight but rather, everything seems to indicate that they're stubbornly bent on continuing their dysfunctional, conciliatory, conflict averse going so far as to adopt and reinforce the Republican's narrative(s) on tax cuts and spending freezes (as if this is what's going to solve- or helped prevent worse economic problems)."


Were you asleep for two days?

Also, President Obama has already said that the cuts he is proposing will have no impact on his agenda for jobs, health care reform and other programs. In fact, he has announced several necessary spending programs since advocating that wasteful spending be addressed.

The claim that this advances a RW talking point is ridiculous because if one were to be honest, one would have to admit that Republicans are hypocrites when it comes to the deficit. One cannot support Bush's tax cuts for the rich while claiming to be against wasteful spending. Pesople should be calling the Republicans for their bogus talking points instead of ceding fiscal responsibilty to a bunch of hypocrites.

The reality is that if the President can cut useless spending and it only saves $25 billion a year, that's $25 billion he can spend on something else. Most likely he's going to direct some of the funds saved to programs that will effect even bigger deficit reduction.

Why would anyone object to that?

[Number23]

20. Rec'ing just to annoy the miserable that have shown up as usual in this thread

Cussing, screaming and just as flat out wrong today as they are every other. Gotta admire the consistency though...

[depakid]

26. "Gotta admire the consistency though..."

It really is impressive. Every time Democrats manage to gain power, they promptly turn around and lose it by pandering to the right, while taking for granted- or alienating their own key constituencies.

Message: We can and should work with Republicans, because they have some worthwhile ideas and can be reasonable if we keep giving them a chance.

Repeat over and over in actions and in words.

Result of message: We have a LOT more Republicans to work with come November- maybe even Committee Chairmen and a Speaker of the House.

[SlingBlade]

23. YES ! Harsh Talk Has always seemed to work with

These knuckle dragging spit dripping Paleo Con artist fucks, Right ? Right ?

Never Mind

[secondwind]

25. I prefer to use the term "schooling"....Obama taught them. It was not a lecture.