Obama Transcends Ideology by Riling Both Flanks

[NJmaverick]

March 29 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama, charges former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, is “the most liberal president” in modern times, pursuing “an agenda that really is foreign to mainstream America.” Other Republicans routinely talk about the president’s “socialist” agenda.
Simultaneously, the left wing says he’s a traitor to their cause. Liberal bloggers regularly accuse him of selling out to corporate interests, claiming that he has failed to keep his campaign commitments. Former Democratic Party Chairman and ex-presidential candidate Howard Dean has echoed some of these sentiments.
A left winger who betrays left-wing causes? Ideology isn’t the ideal prism to evaluate the Obama presidency.
Agree or disagree with his policies, priorities or governing style, the 44th president is -- pick your preferred cliché -- a pragmatic progressive, an idealist without illusions (Jack Kennedy’s description of his own ideology), a liberal who will compromise to get results. He’s a little to the left of center of the country.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-28/obama-transcends-ideology-by-riling-both-flanks-albert-r-hunt.html

[Cha]

1. He's my kinda of President..

a smart one who is actually getting things started in the Best direction.

[MadMaddie]

2. Ditto!

[NJmaverick]

3. + infinity

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. +1

[Jennicut]

7. I agree with that!

[CBR]

11. Yup... +1 nt

[Writer]

5. I'm so curious to read the responses to this one. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

6. All Aboard The Third Way Express!!!

If you're rich. If not, you're being tied to the tracks.

[NJmaverick]

8. Shame the facts completely dispute your claims

as millions of working poor will benefit from getting insurance

[MannyGoldstein]

17. It's A Great Thing That They'll Get It - For A Short While

This 2,700 page RomneyCare bill covers people by giving huge tax cash to private insurers. It does essentially nothing control costs except the "Cadillac Tax" (which hits a lot of people in the middle class". Health care is 16% of GDP right now, will be 20% in a few years - it is unsustainable, and the middle class will get savaged.

And just what's really in that 2,700 pages, and why is most of it delayed for four years? Deep down, I think we all know what's coming.

[Writer]

9. This isn't "third way..."

because it's not a deliberate attempt to compromise. Functionality supersedes moderation in this case. The only compromise here is not in the ideological structure of the measure, but in the attempt to get the bill passed through Congress.

[Cha]

10. Too bad you're so full of

baloney.

[dionysus]

44. more like the Bitter Express.

:shrug:

[msongs]

12. we only wish he was a liberal instead of a center rightist nt

[NJmaverick]

14. Consider this from the article

<<The political left confuses the Democratic majority with an ideological majority. There are 49 House Democrats from districts carried by McCain in 2008, and 13 Democratic senators from states that went Republican in the last presidential contest.>>

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. When's the last time you guys were able to elect a "liberal"?

I thought not.

[Renew Deal]

13. "Idealist without illusions"

Sounds about right

[bvar22]

15. CENTRISM!

...because it is so EASY!
You don't have to STAND for ANYTHING,
and get to insult those who do!
:party:

[NJmaverick]

16. You should consider this paragraph from the article

<<The political left confuses the Democratic majority with an ideological majority. There are 49 House Democrats from districts carried by McCain in 2008, and 13 Democratic senators from states that went Republican in the last presidential contest.>>

[boppers]

18. EXTREMISM!

...because it is so EASY!
You don't have to COMPROMISE for ANYTHING,
and get to insult those who do!

:evilgrin:

[FrenchieCat]

19. Yes.....And Extremists don't get shit done! Which is the most telling part of all,

cause that would be the point....after all is said and in this case, not done.

[Tarheel_Dem]

24. +1

[Cha]

27. Yeah, and fuck that middle of the road meme..

The President gets done.. what needs to happen to turn our country around from its almost sure descent into hell in the grasp of bushcheneycorp.

Obama is the one making progress.

[bvar22]

28. Liberalism...

...because its the right thing to do!

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens."---FDR

You are probably too young to remember,
but the Democratic Party used to STAND for something.

"Centrism"...for those who are almost Republicans!

"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans."---Paul Wellstone

[Number23]

40. +100 Well done!

[DonCoquixote]

42. THANK YOU

I have waited for someone to come up with that line!

[GreenArrow]

54. Centrism:

Because if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything and rationalize it away as "compromise".

[Robb]

47. REPETITION!

...because it is so PREDICTABLE.

:eyes:

[avaistheone1]

48. Centrism - Hooray!

Centrism = Chamber of Commerce

Centrism = Business Roundtable

Centrism = Corporatism...can't get enough of that! :bounce:

[ClassWarrior]

52. ROFLMAO...

I guess it needs posting once more...

No Center, No Centrists
by George Lakoff

"Centrism" is the creation of an inaccurate self-serving metaphor, and it is time to bury it.

There is no left to right linear spectrum in the American political life. There are two systems of values and modes of thought -- call them progressive and conservative (or nurturant and strict, as I have). There are total progressives, who use a progressive mode of thought on all issues. And total conservatives. And there are lots of folks who are what I've called "biconceptuals": progressive on certain issue areas and conservative on others. But they don't form a linear scale. They are all over the place: progressive on domestic policy, conservative on foreign policy; conservative on economic policy, progressive on foreign policy and social issues; conservative on religion, but progressive on social issues and foreign policy; and on and on. No linear scale. No single set of values defining a "center." Indeed many of such folks are not moderate in their views; they can be quite passionate about both their progressive and conservative views.

Barack Obama has it right: Get rid of the very idea of the right and the left and the center. American ideas are fundamentally progressive ideas -- the ideas this country was founded on and that carry forth that spirit. Progressives care about people and the earth, and act with responsibility and strength on that care.

The progressive view of government is simple. Progressive government has two aspects: protection and empowerment. Protection is far more than the military, police, and fire departments. It includes consumer protection, worker protection, environmental protection, public health, food and drug safety; social security, and other safety nets. It also includes protection from the government itself, and hence a balance of powers, openness, fundamental rights, and so on...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/no-center-no-centrists_b_60419.html

NGU.

[rudy23]

20. Hooray for the Middle Ground Fallacy!

Obama can position himself between the batshit right, and the perfectly well reasoned, left majority (i.e. public option), and sell himself by virtue of the middle ground fallacy. That way, he can keep the country on a center-right course, and keep those big donors happy.

[NJmaverick]

21. Consider this from the article

<<The political left confuses the Democratic majority with an ideological majority. There are 49 House Democrats from districts carried by McCain in 2008, and 13 Democratic senators from states that went Republican in the last presidential contest.>>

[progressoid]

22. "He’s a little to the left of center of the country."

We used to call that a DINO.

[cornermouse]

25. Steps to certain failure.

1. Designate the left as extremists.
2. Declare them persona non grata.
3. Get them banned or run off the website.
4. Run out of "extremists".
5. Discover there is no enemy to pillory.
6. Declare the semi-left as extremists
7. Start the purification cycle all over again.

Who knew the liberal wing of the democratic party would be designated as worse than republicans by their own party?

[NJmaverick]

26. What's interesting is the rigid ideologists have never explained

how they have half the numbers as their right wing counter parts, despite the superior ideology. Could be they are better at creating the conditions of failure than they are lecturing about it.

[cornermouse]

29. You're the one who keeps saying you don't need us.

Prove it.

[NJmaverick]

30. There are those of us that try to do what's best for the nation and our citizens

and there are others that want to know "what's in it for me?"

[cornermouse]

31. Sure. Whatever you say.

(sound of a shutting door)

[QC]

32. Ideologues. The word you are grasping for is ideologues. n/t

[RoyGBiv]

33. Excellent ...

This is precisely the kind of leader I appreciate most.

[lumberjack_jeff]

34. I fail to understand why it's a good idea to piss off your supporters AND your enemies.

Your enemies are going to hate you anyway.

[Cha]

36. He's not pissing off me nor anyone I

know who supports him..he's doing an excellent job as President.

[Tarheel_Dem]

38. And the rest of us fail to understand how you guys could ever be considered "supporters".

You can't get anyone of your "pure leftists" through a primary, but you complain that both parties are the same. Could it be that you're the one who's wrong? I mean, the closest you've come is Howard Dean, whom I didn't support in the primaries, but would have gladly voted for in the general; but is there a possibility that most of the country just isn't where you are "ideologically"?

We were told in 2000, by the purists, that Al Gore wasn't pure enough, and the results of that are still dogging us to this day. Do whatever you have to, but don't try to rewrite history, and don't make out that this president ran as anything other than a centrist, who won a resounding victory, by the way.

[lumberjack_jeff]

39. Chill. I'm anything but a purist. n/t

[Odin2005]

35. "Both extremes hate it so it must be good" is a fallacy.

It equates a moral equivalency between the forces of Progress and the forces of fascism.

[Cha]

37. And, it has absolutely nothing to do with

President Obama who is doing an excellent job.

[boppers]

41. Only two points on a continuum is a fallacy, as well.

It's a flaw inherent in binary thinking, assuming that there are "Both" (implying two) extremes, rather then n different extremes, with Obama being at various points on various issues.

[NJmaverick]

43. You should check out reply 18

[GreenArrow]

53. It's facile horseshit.

.

[NJmaverick]

55. The answer of someone who has been intellectually defeated

[ShortnFiery]

46. FWIW, I'd much rather be termed "an extremist" ...

than "an idol worshipper." Look at some of the adoring "photo tributes" to our President? It must truly SUCK to be so damn gullible to the rule of ONE MERE HUMAN BEING. :(

[ShortnFiery]

45. I would substitute "transcends" to "divide and conquer" type strategy ...

in order to serve the ruling class and their beloved maintenance of the status-quo. :shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

49. To be honest, only 3% of liberals didn't want HCR.

[Forkboy]

50. Easy to trancend that which you don't possess.

[Cha]

51. President Obama is doing the best job he

knows..and if that "riles" the left and the right..then so be it.