After listening to Obama's statement on the midterms, it seems like this is the situation he wanted

[yurbud]

all along.

Even when he had both chambers of Congress at the start of his presidency, he talked and made proposals as if Democrats were in the minority, and was far quicker to criticize the progressive wing of the Democratic Party than Republicans.

If that sounds crazy, consider how Andrew Cuomo is governing in New York. The Working Families Party gave him their endorsement in part by getting him to promise to work to elect a Democratic majority state senate.

Think about that: a third party had to bargain to get a Democratic governor to work for a fully democratic state legislature. Shouldn't that be automatic?

And he didn't even keep that promise that shouldn't have been necessary in the first place.

Instead, Cuomo has worked with Republicans and adopted some of the policies wholesale, like privatization of K-12 public education (Obama has as well).

On ebola, he is literally following the Republican playbook.

That seems to be the DLC way. A lot of what Bill Clinton got done during his administration were neoliberal policies, most of which Republicans could love.

Obama and Mitch McConnell have already had a love fest on trade deals that average Americans across the political spectrum loathe.

The DLCers seem to be embarrassed when their own party controls the legislature because they can't pretend the Republicans are forcing them to enact policies that hurt average Americans.

So they do as little as possible, this time helped by Republican obstruction, until the Republicans regain the majority.

And then they have the perfect illusion of checks and balances, and excuse to "compromise," which is really capitulation to the corporate agenda.

I don't think Obama is going to become "Dr. No," and wield the veto pen, nor do I think Democrats in the Senate will be one-tenth or even one one-hundredth the obstruction Republicans have been.

Instead, a few will put up token opposition, definitely sincere from a very few, but the rest will relax, knowing that the natural order has been restored.

[villager]

1. You can see this in how "both" parties are willingly framing the voters' "message" this time out

A depressed turnout in red states elects Republican Senators, and the media and "two" parties ram a message down our throats that this means a right turn in all things, and nothing should be done to impede it.

Where instead, as you noted, an actual wave election like 2008 -- where a Democratic President and Congress had a clear agenda they were elected to pursue -- is also taken as a signal to cave in to, and compromise with, Republicans.

The fix, is clearly in.

The question for us all is how to survive long enough until it isn't.

[yurbud]

6. if the public sweeps in a wave of Democrats, the message is "we must compromise with GOP"

If Republicans sweep in, the message is "we must do it 100% the GOP way."

You can get half a shit sandwich or the whole thing, but you're eating shit either way you slice it.

[villager]

7. Not wanting the shit sandwich = begging for unicorns!

Doncha know?

[yurbud]

17. the DLCers should wake up with a unicorn head in their bed.

[villager]

20. "It's not personal -- it's business."

n/t

[woo me with science]

114. Indeed.

It sure is.

[whatchamacallit]

26. Haha!

[maddiemom]

83. Plusses!

[Le Taz Hot]

210. LOL!

That made me laugh!

[woo me with science]

256. ROFL!

[SammyWinstonJack]

127. heh.

[Marr]

43. +1

[Odin2005]

101. And yet so many idiots yell at us Millennials for not voting.

The Democrats give us a few social issue crumbs, but otherwise do not differ from the Republicans in anything that matters. As Eugene Debs famously said a century ago, both "parties" are really a single Capitalist party. The Dems are the Big Capitalists and the Republicans are the Small Capitalists.

[swilton]

149. Just consider if all the left leaning non-voters voted

and (typically) the only candidates on the ballot were the blue dog Democrats.....

It would be the GOP's dream agenda

[laundry_queen]

157. Isn't that the sad truth? nt

[ollie4]

153. you gotta be kidding!!!

The Democratic Party does not differ from Repubicans in anything that matters? Are you serious?

So....here is a partial list of things that you think don't matter:

1) minimum wage hike....reps oppose, dems are for....you yawn and say it doesn't matter....
2) Affordable Care Act....reps oppose, dems are for....you yawn and say it doesn't matter....
3-1000) take your pick...there are hundreds of issues reps are different from dems....but you...out of dogmatic semi-religious faith in yawning....think there isn't any difference.

Gees.....you really can't tell a difference? Then you aren't a Democrat!

[geek tragedy]

196. Milennials are fairly low information on economics.

They want low taxes, small government, but also government with more services.

Love the ACA, hate Obamacare.

Etc.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/millennials-economics-voting-clueless-kids-these-days/374427/

Generation Xbox is fairly clueless on this sort of thing

[Feron]

246. I disagree about not voting..

http://freethoughtblogs.com/almostdiamonds/2014/11/03/why-losing-votes-still-matter/

Otherwise I agree with you.

[yurbud]

253. yep. You can choose between gay bashing or gay hugging.

But every foreign, economic, and other policy that actually costs money is already decided.

[Odin2005]

254. BINGO!

[CrispyQ]

2. This:

The DLCers seem to be embarrassed when their own party controls the legislature because they can't pretend the Republicans are forcing them to enact policies that hurt average Americans.

I think the Prez & the republican congress will be very productive. Note I did not say they would make progress, just that they would be productive.

The system isn't broken. The system is fixed.

[bemildred]

5. +1. nt

[Marr]

45. Absolutely. TPP, Keystone XL, Chained CPI...

[sabrina 1]

249. Exactly! And I think THEY know that the people are finally catching on which is why

they are so desperately trying to 'play the victim', claiming a 'purge', when that is exactly what they have been doing to Liberal Dems for the past several decades. Purging Liberals, trying to attract more moderate Conservatives, not understanding the fact that, as someone famous once said, paraphrasing: Republicans won't vote for Republican lite when they can vote for the real thing.

I think the Third Way actually believed that they could be the bridge between the far Right and Democrats. I don't know what made them think that Democrats would ever accept far Right policies, such as attacks on good Social Programs and/or the Public School system etc. But clearly they thought they were brilliant and the 'left' was dispensible, because they really thought the country was 'Conservative'. Turns out they were wrong but still can't accept their total failure apparently.

[woo me with science]

255. The oligarchs know people are catching on,

which is why they plan for us to have a Republican president for awhile starting in 2016.

We will lose the single positive effect of having an aggressively corporate Third Way Democratic administration in office:

People were finally waking up to the fact that we are an oligarchy....that both sides are really working for the same predatory corporate agenda. We were building urgency that electing Democrats is not enough...that we need fundamental change and corporate money and power out of the system.

But all that awareness among Democrats is going to go down the toilet if we let them run Hillary and get a Republican elected. Obama's wars and TPP and TISA and new austerity will put things over the top, as the Third Way planned, and we will have a Republican president again in 2016.

Then the Third Way will be able to change back into their "passionate-but-conveniently-ineffectual-liberal" costumes. They will wail along with us about those evil Republicans, and we can all feel warm and fuzzy about our party again.

Oh, we'll still be an oligarchy lurching into fascism, but the important thing is that Dems will be consistently SAYING the right things again, and looking like the firebrand populist party we need them to be.

And the people will be reassured that we really do still have a Democracy, we can stop all this silly talk about oligarchy and needing fundamental change and such, and we can all go home and watch "Hunger Games" and grouse because our only problem will be that we need to get Republicans out of office and put the Third Way Democrats back.


We have to find a way to build bipartisan momentum for corporate money out of elections/government...or we will soon be back in the old game of merely hoping for a corporate Democrat again next time.

[vi5]

3. Andrew, not Chris Cuomo

But other than that, I agree 100%.

The next 2 years, including the inevitable Hillary campaign are going to be the final nails in the coffin of the Democratic party as we know it. The slow death we've been experiencing the past 5-10 years will become a much more rapid decline.

The only positive thing to come from this will be the creative ways in which the Obama apologists and "clap louder" crowd will have to come up with to spin his inevitable capitulations to the Republicans.

It's about to become very black and white. He can veto legislation or not. No more "Well, he'd like to do this, but without a 90 seat Democratic majority what are his options?" No more excuse.

If shitty legislation is passed (which it hopefully only can be with Repubs peeling off 4 Democrats which sadly shouldn't be that hard) and he vetoes it then we can only assume he is o.k. with that legislation and we'll finally know where he actually stands without having to read between the lines.

[yurbud]

4. it's hard to disagree with that.

[Maedhros]

22. I see lots of posts urging Obama to use his veto pen.

They make me chuckle. Why would he want to do that? He wants everyone to play nice together. Vetos aren't nice.

[Tommy2Tone]

95. Oh yea?

Just watch him swing that might pen.

[Maedhros]

145. So far, he's only used it twice.

I don't see a wave of vetoes in the future.

[BlindTiresias]

167. Can we hold you to that prediction?

[LiberalLovinLug]

178. Sure thing

Believing Obama is just playing a multi dimensional chess game was so 2009.

[Demeter]

191. Obama won't veto, because he doesn't want to be overridden

It would be the ultimate embarrassment.

[CJCRANE]

8. Dems and Repubs provide cover for each other.

The 1%ers wanted more troops in Iraq and for that they need a Republican Congress. I could see it in advance.

Senate Dems stalled the CIA Torture Report release over minor quibbles...and whaddya know... the Repubs are in charge now, so it'll get kicked into the long grass.

The Keystone Pipeline is now on the table etc. etc.

[yurbud]

18. yep. I heard on the radio Obama is finally going to ask for congressional approval for Syrian actio

[AndyTiedye]

74. If You Think the Parties are The Same, Why are You Here?

[CJCRANE]

87. I didn't say they're the same.

I'm here because I'm trying to make sense of what's going on in the world by seeing what other people think and offering my own opinion.

[L0oniX]

226. People always side with whoever they pick as the good cop of the show.

[yurbud]

263. the Democratic Party has a progressive wing and progressive history

that is being trumped by bought politicians in our own party.

[woo me with science]

147. +10000 The longer and more closely you watch the game,

the more obvious it becomes.

I've watched quite a few people's eyes open to the con game once they realize they can predict the outcome of any political battle in which the One Percent have an important stake. The One Percent always win. Always. It doesn't always appear that way at first, because the con game and the spin are slick. But the overall movement is always in a direction that favors the oligarchs.

Case in point: the whole budget ceiling crisis con. The corporate spin was that the president "saved" Social Security. Now that's an absurdly audacious spin to *begin* with, given that the president was the one who put SS on the table in the first place. But even beyond that,

When you look at the entire process and how it unfolded, what you see are two parties working together to orchestrate a process in which the only possible outcomes were (1) more austerity than even Paul Ryan wanted initially or (2) even more austerity than that.

[KoKo]

9. Sad to say...but, I got that same feeling from watching his Presser..

Thank you for the post. I found his answers to reporters questions disturbing many times.

And had same reaction to how he seemed to be relieved to be working with a Repub controlled House & Senate.

And, the rest of your observations makes sense in retrospect after 6 years of watching PBO in "action or inaction."

[Drunken Irishman]

10. After watching the Pres, I've concluded he's a space alien that wants to sell us off to Rigel IV.

[Ykcutnek]

11. I expect to be shipped to the soylent green factory any day now.

Or enslaved to build a new Great Pyramid that welcomes the antichrist.

[greatauntoftriplets]

12. After watching the President, I've concluded that...

people see and hear what they want to see and hear.

[Drunken Irishman]

13. Yup.

[JI7]

19. born in Kenya

[Capt. Obvious]

31. No shit

[sheshe2]

54. +1

[Bobbie Jo]

59. Ya think?

[sendero]

78. Well...

.. the dogs (apologists for Obama) are about to get their day. He will either veto odious legislation or he won't. If he doesn't, y'all can hold your breath until you turn blue, it won't convince any rational person that Obama ever intended to keep the promises he made before he took office.

I'll bet he crawls into the corner like a whipped puppy, but I'd be happy to be wrong.

[MissDeeds]

181. +1

[IronLionZion]

183. Move?

Maybe this isn't the right country for you?

[sendero]

184. No..

.. more likely it's not the right country for you.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

205. Love it or leave it, eh? Heard that before. nt

[uponit7771]

143. +1

[Cha]

179. Yeah, those who think the President wanted this.. see nothing but

evil in President Obama, if they think that. And, look how many recs are buying into this shite.

It's the non-reality bunch.. they think the worst so it is the WORST.. you Better Believe IT. And that's how they deal with issues.. nothing new. But, it apparently makes them feel all superior to refer to us as "dogs" and President Obama as a "whipped puppy".

They're acting just like the White House Jackal Press Corp that thought the President would come all out like "a whipped puppy" and they could piss all over him.. mad as hell when that Didn't Happen..

[Scootaloo]

192. Tell me, Cha...

Do you think the president is going to bust his ass to resist the shit the Republicans are going to be doing? Or are we going to be hearing hte word "compromise" like a mantra from the guy for the next two years?

[greatauntoftriplets]

218. Well, Cha, I'm a dog person.

[Stellar]

241. They are probably some of the same people that didn't lift a finger to vote

for his democratic party or didn't come out at all to vote, or ALL voted for the Republic0ns. Now I can see why the 'big lost'....makes since.

[CakeGrrl]

262. +1000

It's very telling how many people leapt to rec this thread signing onto the President as the architect (or puppet or complicit enabler) of some evil master plan.

Any claims that they have really wanted to support him if only he proved his progressive bona fides are bullshit.

The REAL problems?

* A media bought and paid for to keep people ignorant.

* Ignorant and/or complacent masses who are either clueless about how the branches of government function, or simply don't understand the malignant destructiveness of this GOP.

What a stupid, stupid theory laid out in this OP.

[zeemike]

63. Right, if you don't believe in the goodness and purity of PBO

then you believe in space aliens.

The world is a dichotomy and you must be one or the other...in keeping with the spirit of with us or against us

[Drunken Irishman]

65. You seem to think he's an evil asshole.

Which is probably less likely than there ever being space aliens.

[zeemike]

70. See what I mean...the dichotomy again

He is ether evil or good...there can be no other.

[Drunken Irishman]

73. What's described in the OP is pretty dickish and I associate dickish with being an asshole...

And most assholes are fairly evil. Derp.

The OP made Obama this menacing evil genius who is cackling at the results so he can continue wrecking America. Fuck that. lol

[zeemike]

80. Well you associate wrong.

nice guys can sell you out just like assholes can if the price is right.
And I think the price is right.

[Drunken Irishman]

85. Nothing I said is wrong.

The OP is painting the picture of a bad guy. Not a nice one. LOL

[zeemike]

92. Only if you see in black and white.

Every thing looks worse in black and white...

[Drunken Irishman]

96. Just stop it.

When someone paints the picture of a person trying to destroy this country, they're essentially saying that person is a bad man.

Stop with the bullshitting here, okay? It's clear the OP thinks Obama is bad enough, evil enough, to fuck over America. A good person doesn't do that. I mean, seriously, at least the GOP can admit they hate Obama.

[zeemike]

109. Well what is clear here to you are your own words

They are not my words and I don't think the OP says that ether, but I will let him defend himself or herself.

[Drunken Irishman]

111. LOL

The OP just said Obama WANTED the Republicans to win so he could fuck over the country. If that isn't the definition of being bad I don't know what is.

[Cha]

119. The OP has always seemed to trash President Obama. I'm not surprised at all.. he would come

up with some scenario where the President is this evil sociopath who is rubbing his hands together in glee because it is bad for America.. and, he now has to deal with not one but both these fascist a$$holes.

[yurbud]

250. except when it's time for bipartisanship...

but only bipartisanship that helps the rich.

You can't be bipartisanly anti-war or anti-surveillance or anti-Federal Reserve.

[Odin2005]

104. I'm convinced that after 2008 they kidnapped the real Obama and replaced him...

...with a right-wing clone.

[magical thyme]

197. in my corporate experience, they offer the new CEO a very stark choice.

Do what we tell you or we'll see to it that you'll be lucky to get a job flipping burgers.

Only this is at the highest level, where the choice is do what we tell you or

I mean this literally. Of course, I don't know for a fact that this happened. But nothing would surprise me, and with a history of bumping off Presidents and popular candidates who didn't do as they were told, I'd be surprised if it didn't happen.

You sell out to protect somebody you love. And then you get used to it. That is your new life; you make the best of it. And lots of money makes it easier to make the best of it.

[L0oniX]

228. The reptilian agenda wins out again?

[woo me with science]

14. It is good to see clear, honest statements of what is being done to us.

This corporate coup succeeds by convincing citizens that their own party is still working for them and that it's just the other side's fault.

Until we catch up to the fact that they own both parties, and the Red vs. Blue is a con game, they'll continue to keep us occupied with these sham elections instead of uniting against and for policies rather than teams.

[Maedhros]

24. They train the respective bases of each party to hate one another.

Yet both perceive that government is not working in their interests.

What could be wrought if we stopped with the hating? The real divide in this country is not Republican v. Democrat, or Liberal v. Conservative, but instead Haves vs. Have Nots. At some point we've got to fight the real enemy.

[woo me with science]

32. +1000000 Separate news networks, separate radio stations, separate call-in lines

for community discussions. Amd the steady stream of Two Minutes Hate on discussion boards like this. If someone who molests a child in Oklahoma happens to be a Republican, you can be sure we will hear about it here....and if that person turns out to have been a Democrat, you know it will lead at Free Republic.

It's sick, and it's orchestrated.

We are managed like circus animals.

[Maedhros]

52. So many are allowing their emotions to be played like a fiddle.

Vote with your brain, not your spleen.

[KoKo]

234. Yes..and, we hoped for better with the "freedom" the Internet Promised...

It's sick, and it's orchestrated.

We are managed like circus animals.

[yurbud]

47. a third of the country is convinced they are one lottery ticket away from being a have

so they vote against their own best interests.

[Maedhros]

48. That's part of the disinformation being used to manipulate them. [n/t]

[frylock]

115. the reality is that most of those people are a few missed paychecks away from living in their car

[woo me with science]

180. +1 One Third of Americans One Paycheck Away From Homelessness

One Third of Americans One Paycheck Away From Homelessness
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/10/one-third-of-americans-one-paycheck-away-from-homelessness.html



Nearly Half Of American Households Are 1 Emergency Away From Financial Disaster, Report Finds
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/30/financial-emergency-report_n_2576326.html

[adirondacker]

258. If their car isn't repo'd first. nt

[L0oniX]

229. lottery ticket = snake oil medicine show

[RufusTFirefly]

242. Yes! Just an updated version of "You'll get pie in the sky when you die."

In the mean time, don't be so uppity.

[leftstreet]

121. +1

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

208. My last boss was very rightwing.

And I'm a socialist. Yet we got along well, and often agreed on things that were bad for the country, or things that were good for it.

Our debates were sometimes heated, but we could respect each other, we both knew each wanted the best place for the next generation to grow up in, and we also both believed that what needed to be done needed to be based on actual evidence, facts, and evaluated and re-evaluated as new evidence came in.

The other 'base' is not composed of evil villains, no matter how often they end up electing people who screw us all over.

[Maedhros]

245. It's important to realize that Republican voters are being fed the same type of horse shit

as Democratic voters, just with the rhetoric tailored to fit.

[RufusTFirefly]

240. +100000! The goal is to distract us from this fundamental truth. Literally, at all costs.

And it's definitely working.

[zeemike]

67. +1

But when you tell us the emperor has no close on be prepared to be set upon with great furry.
Many people do not want to see a naked emperor.

[mother earth]

84. Well said. nt

[kentuck]

15. Republicans are depending on the media to help them put pressure on Obama.

Stand your ground, Mr President!

[vi5]

16. He has the veto pen, not the media

It's all in his hands at this point.

We'll finally get a good look into what he does and does not want to get signed in to law, won't we.

[kentuck]

23. I guess we will...

Perhaps he will make his legacy in these last two years?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

211. This is where the rubber meets the road.

And we see whether 'bipartisanship' or 'principle' is to be the defining feature of that legacy.

[SammyWinstonJack]

128. Wanna bet he gives the store away.....in the name of 'bipartisanshit and compromise'?

No need for the veto pen, then.

He doesn't like too be perceived as the bad guy.

[vi5]

150. Suckers bet

Of course he'll give the store away.

[MissDeeds]

186. I'm afraid you're right

He hasn't shown much inclination to stand his ground and fight, which makes me wonder...maybe he doesn't fight because he agrees with the opposition. I wish we had the president we thought we were voting for.

[cheezmaka]

159. I don't think he will

I believe he'll only compromise to a point. Not like the cowardly Dems who threw him under the bus. Repugs will get a little only if they give a little. Otherwise out comes the Veto pen. I'll be watching CNN with a bag of "popcorn" when that happens...

[Android3.14]

55. Astonished at your naivete

Obama is a failed leader.

[sunnystarr]

120. I must be having a nightmare cause I landed at Faux News (nt)

[Major Hogwash]

171. No, this is just another episode of As The Stomach Churns.

Faux Snooze is the next channel over.

[greatauntoftriplets]

209. Besides, it's that episode they've already shown 100 or so times.

[woo me with science]

21. They depend on our trust in a system that doesn't exist anymore.

This corporate coup depends on Americans' believing that elections and the political process function the same way that they used to.

We are raised and propagandized to still believe that elections are important contests between two different teams with different visions, one of which we desperately want to win.

And they depend on us to believe that our politicians believe in and have loyalty to party as fervently as we are conditioned to do.

But the truth is that both parties are now owned largely by the same huge corporate interests. And they function more as tools now to keep us divided and manipulate our loyalties to ensure that the corporate agenda they both share can continue and be strengthened, no matter who is elected.

It's rude awakening to realize that the goal of politicians may not be the goal we thought it was....that their loyalty isn't to party or the principles we are told they share.....but to the corporate agenda that both corporate-purchased parties are aggressively pursuing.

This administration has steadily advanced a corporate agenda since Day One. That's how politics works now. No matter which party is elected, we keep getting the same overall direction of austerity, TPP, TISA, mass surveillance, "Kill Lists," indefinite detention, secret laws, secret courts, corporate education, drilling, fracking, new wars in Syria and Iraq, a TRILLION dollar ramping up of nuclear weapons when our president is signing ANOTHER round of food stamp cuts and a farm bill based on "pension smoothing." Not a single major banker in the mortgage collapse/theft held accountable, journalists and whistleblowers under assault, mass propaganda machines...It goes on and on and on.

This wasn't a loss for corporate Democrats. We saw the Third Way vote suppression clearly, from the revolting "Accept Defeat" emails from the DCCC to the relentless online campaigns to insult and alienate the Democratic base.

This is just the next, planned step of the takeover. Up next: Corporate Democrats will run HRC only if the PTB have already decided that it's time for a Republican next.

[pbmus]

68. No Shit ...

[Amonester]

155. This corporate coup is spread worldwide now, and since b4 bu$h at that...

Obama can't undo it all alone by himself: he does not have that superpower, it's as simple as that.

[MisterP]

25. heck, they were relieved in '10 when Brown won and ended the Supermajority:

their reasoning was that now nobody wasn't expecting the Senate to do anything anymore (and they could focus on just rolling in hundreds)

[yurbud]

61. they talked as if they never had it: "We gotta get some Republican votes" for this or that...

People do not care about process or bipartisanship, they care about results and whether they help or hurt them.

I could not give one flying fuck if they passed legislation and got it to Obama's desk without one single Republican vote, and Dems should have been working around the clock to pass the most sweeping, popular, irreversible legislation they could while they had that supermajority, which would have led to keeping and expanding it instead of losing it.

[AndyTiedye]

69. We Never Did Have a Working Supermajority

Vote #60 was Lieberman (D?, insurance companies)

[yurbud]

89. wouldn't you think the most corrupt would also be most vulnerable to strong-arming?

they've got bodies buried somewhere that probably have a finger or two sticking up out of the ground.

[AndyTiedye]

99. They Are, But they are Being Strongarmed By…

People like him:

[font color=gray]Grover Norquist[/font]

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

213. Then all of that legislation should have had funding tied to it

so it could be enacted by reconciliation, and have had 10 years to get popular enough to be unkillable.

[MisterP]

75. the DSCC gave, what $52M to retiring Senators? and they can only get corpo money with corpo ideals

sweeping, popular, irreversible legislation is for Commies (or Naderites or Abstentionits or whatever they're blaming next)

it's the WalMart of parties (and the party of WalMart)--electoral exploitation in poli-sci terms

[JoePhilly]

27. Your first two paragraphs are insane.

Here's what you wrote in paragraph one in reference to President Obama.

Even when he had both chambers of Congress at the start of his presidency, he talked and made proposals as if Democrats were in the minority, and was far quicker to criticize the progressive wing of the Democratic Party than Republicans.

And to back this up ... the evidence you provided ... is about something some one else did.

If that sounds crazy, consider how Andrew Cuomo is governing in New York. The Working Families Party gave him their endorsement in part by getting him to promise to work to elect a Democratic majority state senate.

If Obama didn't want a Dem majority, why the hell would he have worked so hard to get one back in 2009?

If he hated this country half as much as some of you seem to think, all he had to do in 2009 was sit back and do nothing. Let the country tank, and then call for and end to Social Security and the American people would have handed it over HAPPILY.

Sometimes I can't believe the nonsense that gets posted around here.

President Obama wanted the GOP to control congress.

[flamingdem]

33. +1 breath of sanity

From Joe Philly

[JoePhilly]

42. Sadly ...

... there is a huge build up of crazy in this thread ... and based on it ... Obama has already killed Social Security, Medicare, passed the TPP, and turned the Keystone pipeline into a fracking amusement park.

He should be executing immigrants at the border by the week-end.

[randys1]

88. I think the Dems had a super majority for 70 days, not 2 yrs...due to blue dog dems

[JoePhilly]

90. Actually, that includes the 5 or so blue dogs

... and the shit Liberman.

Even with them, about 70-75 days.

[randys1]

100. Worse than I thought...

[SunSeeker]

175. It was even worse than that.

The Democrats had a super majority for a total of 24 working days. On top of that, the period of Super Majority was split into one 11-day period and one 13-day period. Given the glacial pace that business takes place in the Senate, this was way too little time for the Democrats pass any meaningful legislation, let alone get bills through committees and past all the obstructionistic tactics the Republicans were using to block legislation.

Further, these Super Majorities count Joe Lieberman as a Democrat even though he was by this time an Independent. Even though he was Liberal on some legislation, he was very conservative on other issues and opposed many of the key pieces of legislation the Democrats and Obama wanted to pass. For example, he was adamantly opposed to “Single Payer” health care and vowed to support a Republican Filibuster if it ever came to the floor.

Summary:

1. 1/07 – 12/08 – 51-49 – Ordinary Majority.
2. 1/09 – 7/14/09 – 59-41 – Ordinary Majority. (Coleman/Franklin Recount.)
3. 7/09 – 8/09 – 60-40 – Technical Super Majority, but since Kennedy is unable to vote, the Democrats can’t overcome a filibuster
4. 8/09 – 9/09 – 59-40 – Ordinary Majority. (Kennedy dies)
5. 9/09 – 10/09 – 60-40 – Super Majority for 11 working days.
6. 1/10 – 2/10 – 60-40 – Super Majority for 13 working days

Total Time of the Democratic Super Majority: 24 Working days.

[SunSeeker]

174. Actually, it was only 24 working days of a filibuster proof Senate majority. nt

http://mauidemocrats.org/wp/?p=2442

[yurbud]

265. Did they need or use a supermajority to pass Health Care Reform?

When they really wanted to get things done, they figured out how to work around Republican obstruction.

If they had done that more often, and if Obama had gone to the limits of his presidential powers for us the way he has for the wealthy with his drone assassinations, military actions, and trade deals, there might be fewer new Republicans in Congress.

[JoePhilly]

269. I'm betting you don't know the actually sequence of events ...

... which caused the ACA to become law.

Do you even know the date on which it became law?

I'm betting no.

[yurbud]

271. I was actually asking a question

[steve2470]

124. yes, breath of sanity indeed nt

[Andy823]

35. It will only get worse

The anti Obama, doom and gloom, posters seem to be out in full force the last couple of days, and it also seems that there are more new posters who have jumped on the band wagon to help them promote this kind of "insanity". They have set their hair on fire, once again, and are accusing the president of all kinds of things that have not happened. Of course they won't "wait" to see what happens, nope they have to come up with all kinds of BS, like this OP, to rally the "troops". They love to stir the shit and will keep on doing so as long as they keep getting the "gang" to support them. The next two years will be so much fun for them, on conspiracy theory after another will be spewed in order to keep their followers depressed and discouraged.

[JoePhilly]

38. yup ... DU's Combustible Hair Club is now in session.

Obama is absolutely, positively, without question, about to do *something* that is the most awfullest worst thing that he's ever done.

And he's going to do it .... ANY SECOND!!!

[randys1]

102. Guns? did i hear GUNS WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Andy823]

126. Love that picture

I read one post today that said he was going to destroy the party. It's all his fault you know, whatever the problem it's his fault.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

140. Hair on fire club for men

[URL=http://www.sherv.net/][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[flamingdem]

66. Lovin' attacks from the "left" that are

More noxious than attacks from the right .. And even less sincere

[Andy823]

125. It think there is a contest

See who can make the most outrageous bashing posts of the day. Not sure what the winner gets, but the more the post the better chance of winning.

[flamingdem]

131. Just like Ted Cruz

He must teach classes

[JI7]

177. this is pretty much what it is and they feel like the world agrees with them

if they get a lot of recs .

the thing with the internet is that it has allowed certain types most people try to avoid in person to a way to be heard . and while these types are small in number the interet allows them to come together and agree with each other and convince themselves they are right.

if anything goes against it they just use a conspiracy theory to explain it.

[1StrongBlackMan]

36. +1 ...

If he hated this country half as much as some of you seem to think, all he had to do in 2009 was sit back and do nothing. Let the country tank, and then call for and end to Social Security and the American people would have handed it over HAPPILY.

But, by doing that ... he wouldn't have had another term to finish the job!

[chowder66]

37. +100. nt

[yurbud]

49. who said he hated the country? I don't think feeling for the country motivates very many in DC

[JoePhilly]

51. I was just reading between the lines ...

... its a very popular DU pastime.

You just take what some one said, and then find the "true" meaning hiding within.

Like in Obama's case ... if one reads between the lines ... clearly he saying that he hoped the GOP would gain majorities so that he could carry out his evil plan.

[yurbud]

56. good and evil also have little meaning in Washington. There is what you get paid to do

and things you don't do at all.

[JoePhilly]

91. Clearly we're doomed.

[Number23]

129. "Sometimes I can't believe the nonsense that gets posted around here."

I can't believe the nonsense that gets REC'D around here. And that some people support with such gusto and glee that they just keep kicking and over again.

The Washington Post talked about how blase Obama was about the Dems defeat. So of course, on DU that means he was super de-dooper thrilled that the Republicans have taken over both houses of Congress. Now he and his best friend Ted Cruz can complete their evil plans for total destruction!!

[Amonester]

156. LOL

Obama has the superpower to stop all the corpofascism that is spreadout all over the world since before bu$h was even born, and magically put all these Capitalist polluters in jail tomorrow morning, after breakfast.

Everyone knows that he hates the world as it is and wants to fix it!

[steve2470]

163. +1 nt

[JoePhilly]

188. I think they want total destruction.

Then, they will rise out of the ashes and save the world.

At least that's how they see it playing out.

[stevenleser]

268. Yep, a Canadian recently said it well...

[cheezmaka]

161. This thread should have been changed....

It should be changed to "Democrats in certain states (paid or not) wanted a GOP Congress"... LOL

[geek tragedy]

195. The stuff after the first two paragraphs wasn't meritorious either nt

[JoePhilly]

198. I liked the ebola line tucked into the middle all by itself.

Who is he referring to when he says "he" followed the republican model on ebola? Obama or Cuomo?

I guess he meant Cuomo, which makes *perfect* sense in an attack on President Obama.

[geek tragedy]

199. Especially since Obama smacked Cuomo down on that.

But, remember, to a certain crowd every Democrat is as bad as the worst Democrat they can think of.

And they then pretend that they're the base of the party.

[JoePhilly]

200. If you take each Democratic candidate on their own ...

... its just too complicated. I mean, its much easier to see them an abstraction, not as a unique person.

Much easier to see them an abstract bad dem running in the same abstract US State, against the same abstract opponent.

In that model, you just run Dennis K. in every election, and you've solved the problem.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

215. 'hates this country'.

Nobody out there involved in American politics 'hates this country'.

They all just want it to be 'as they want it'. That goes for you, for me, for the OP, for every single voter, every single politician, every single billionaire. And what's good for the 1% (as a whole, not every individual) is not necessarily good for you and me. But that doesn't mean anyone 'hates this country'.

Or even 'wants it to tank'. (Unless, of course, they can make money while it's tanking, and then be set to make more money again when it rebounds - we see that all the time in the stock market boom and bust cycle, housing boom and bust cycle, and every other boom and bust cycle. They're opportunities for the rich to get richer.)

You don't have to believe the President to be 'evil' to posit that his goals are not 100% identical to your own.

[JoePhilly]

216. I'm just reading between the lines ...

... you know ... like the author of the OP did.

[stevenleser]

267. Yep, no anti-Obama smear is too ridiculous to get widespread support here.

The nonsense, and support of it, is pathetic.

[pa28]

28. Obama shares a wide swath of ideological real estate with Republicans.

TPP fast track will likely have no major obstacles now. He said himself he agreed with Mitt Romney on the fate of Social Security and he had plenty of glowing comments about Keystone XL and natural gas development (AKA fracking) yesterday.

Maybe he sees Republican control of congress as a way to "get shit done" in the final two years of his term. Not quite what we all envisioned on election night 2008 but there you are.

[Autumn]

29. The next couple of years will be very interesting. I think we will know

what to expect real soon.

[Jackpine Radical]

30. No fuckin' shit.

Weirdly, to the extent that there is any possibility of blocking any of the Corporate Agenda (e.g. TPP), it would be by means of a Teabagger-Progressive alliance against the combined corporate wings of their respective parties.

[Dont call me Shirley]

40. +1

[woo me with science]

117. Which is why it's so important that our hatred for each other be stoked...

These guys are professionals, for sure.

[jalan48]

34. The Wait

Sounds like the only thing Obama is upset about is having to wait until January to "get to work" with the Republicans.

[Dont call me Shirley]

39. The parties have fully merged. They don't want us to know. So they keep up the dog & pony show

[woo me with science]

53. Simplest and clearest summary I have seen yet.

I really think we have entered a largely post-democratic, post-partisan era of politics in America....all the carefully orchestrated theater and propaganda for the masses notwithstanding.

[Dont call me Shirley]

60. Thank you.

Simplicity explains with utter clarity.

[Maedhros]

146. Nothing much changes when control of the government switches hands.

We have had the same policies for the last 35 years, uninterrupted.

[6000eliot]

41. You think that the Republicans can keep a lid on all of the crazy they unleashed in 2009?

I think they will get very little done and be mirror images of the last Congress and Senate.

[yurbud]

58. I don't think they are crazy, just thoughtlessly obedient to their corporate masters.

so you might be surprised how much they get done (all of it bad).

[Zorra]

44. "they do as little as possible, this time helped by Republican obstruction, until

the Republicans regain the majority".

Yep.

[ReRe]

220. And the Republicans rigged it...

... with a little help from their Turd Way Corporate "Democrats."

[woo me with science]

46. This important thread has now been tagged "doubleplusungood"

and is being worked by the corporate brigade.

I am proud of DU for not engaging them. They are mostly having to answer one another to try to create illusions of consensus.

Watch the patterns.

Ignore the 3rd Way shills with extreme prejudice
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025767160

It's time to teach, teach, teach. The real political game is not the one they tell us it is.

[yurbud]

50. sometimes they can do a whole sockpuppet thread, seemingly not realizing that no real people are

taking them seriously.

[woo me with science]

57. Indeed.

Also note tactics like the vertical line of "+1" to draw attention to PR posts and create illusion of consensus.

[G_j]

76. +100

[magical thyme]

94. all I know is I wasn't juror #1, lol

Citing the "kooks and crackpots" clause in the DU TOS.

Democratic Underground is an online community for politically liberal people who understand the importance of working within the system to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of political office. Teabaggers, Neo-cons, Dittoheads, Paulites, Freepers, Birthers, and right-wingers in general are not welcome here. Neither are certain extreme-fringe left-wingers, including advocates of violent political/social change, hard-line communists, terrorist-apologists, America-haters, kooks, crackpots, LaRouchies, and the like.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Thu Nov 6, 2014, 03:29 PM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Anti-3rd way has been tolerated at DU for quite some time.
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

So much for that, you kook and crackpot!

[woo me with science]

107. Thank you for posting this. :)

Lots of clear eyes here at DU.

[L0oniX]

230. LMFAO ...best jury evah

[yurbud]

260. wait, which post was the alert for?

[magical thyme]

261. #46

the one I replied to.

[Enthusiast]

187. +1

[w4rma]

62. Which is why Hillary needs to be kept far far away from the White House. (nt)

[woo me with science]

135. [phone]

Or from a run for the White House.

IMO, if corporate Dems run Hillary, it will be because the PTB have decided that it's time for a Republican.

[ProSense]

64. Obama won, and got what he wanted?

Daily Kos will not enable those who enable Third Way
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/05/1260388/-Third-Way-s-congressional-enablers

Senators

Mark Udall (Colorado) - lost
Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) - won
Kay Hagan (North Carolina) - lost
Chris Coons (Delaware) - won

I suppose President Obama has always been a Trojan Horse, right?

[Iliyah]

93. Hehehehehe, welcome back ProSense!

Whats new with another Obama hate thread. I guess when he spoke he should have starting crying and whining and stomped his foot like a true GOPer. He's the President of the United States of America who has class. Dems lost and he again needs to work with Congress.

And no BOTH PARTIES ARE NOT ALIKE. And no, I can give a rats arse about the third way crap. Heard Nader on 90.7 here in Los Angeles on Wednesday and he sounded just like the Democratic Party who has NEVER geared away from the important social issues. Surprised me. He said the Democratic Party to date needs to focus on what they stand for.

[AgingAmerican]

71. He reacted with glee

Almost as if it were a relief to him. We know what comes next. Grand bargains.

[DonCoquixote]

82. oh please

Glee?

But oh let me guess, Hillary wept, not ready to make Grand bargains herself...

The one silver lining of 2016 is that a lot of Boomers are going to see Hillary do the sort of stuff they accused Obama of doing.

[AgingAmerican]

86. Apparently you missed his post election statements

""It doesn't make me mopey," he said of the election during a news conference in the East Room of the White House. "It energizes me because it means that this democracy's working!""

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-strikes-upbeat-tone-gloomy-election-26725002

[DonCoquixote]

112. and if he said Mopey

he would get accused of being a debbie downer.

Like I said, even though I am on Social Security, it will be fine to see Clinton do what only a baby boomer pres could get done, and by that I mean decimate the safety net like her Husband did.

[Cha]

118. Oh boo hoo.. You sound like the WHPC.. they were upset that Pres Obama wasn't all down and dejected

BWD @theonlyadult
Follow
BUT OBAMA YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CRY!!!!!!
10:55 AM - 5 Nov 2014 18 Retweets 13 favorites


TheObamaDiary.com @TheObamaDiary
Follow
WHPC getting really angry now about the President not being downbeat
11:06 AM - 5 Nov 2014 76 Retweets 52 favorites

sfpelosi @sfpelosi
Follow
PBO so cool he doesn't even eyeroll Q about why he didn't work harder to bond with GOP who vowed INAUGURATION NIGHT to make him a 1 termer.
10:27 AM - 5 Nov 2014 103 Retweets 50 favorites


TheObamaDiary.com @TheObamaDiary
Follow
Now Jim Acosta is losing his mind over the President being so upbeat.

The President is totally trolling them.

Epic

10:59 AM - 5 Nov 2014 109 Retweets 73 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/05/chat-away-460/

TheObamaDiary.com @TheObamaDiary
Follow
Ed Henry: "You're doubling down on the same policies and approach!"

The ones that got him elected President twice, Ed?
10:36 AM - 5 Nov 2014 76 Retweets 40 favorites

Kevin Grüssing @KevDGrussing
Follow
Obama pissing off Beltway Press by not falling flat on face and coming into this presser bloodied.
I LOVE YOU @BarackObama.
Never change...
10:45 AM - 5 Nov 2014 136 Retweets 109 favorites

Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
Follow
The media expected President Barack Obama to come out all depressed and President Obama is giving them all his unique brand of the finger.
10:05 AM - 5 Nov 2014 201 Retweets 168 favorites

Jon Favreau @jonfavs
Follow
I'm proud of my president, and grateful for him.
11:10 AM - 5 Nov 2014 265 Retweets 366 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/11/05/the-press-conference-a-tweet-or-two/

You know Nothing if you think this is what the President wanted.

[sunnystarr]

123. ++++++++++ to infinity and beyond (nt)

[Cha]

166. Really, sunnystar! So sad for the posters on here and the WHPC Jackals who demand Pres Obama act

all sad and dejected.. They're all rude and disrespectful on a continual basis.. but especially today when they thought they "gotcha"! Rofl

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

217. Nobody on here wants 'sad and dejected'.

They want defiant and steadfast on a Democratic agenda. Not back to 'bipartisanship', which we had ample evidence doesn't work.

[flamingdem]

132. Hmm. When we're not miserable..

which might be often.. the next couple of years could be pretty fun!

[Cha]

168. I'm always looking for silver linings, flamingdem and I think the President and his TEAM are on

this. These people who take President Obama's good mood for "this is what he wanted all the time"... don't know a thing about Obama. But, that doesn't stop them from ugly speculation like they got it all figured out. It suits their continuous agenda.. that Obama's bad but they refuse to acknowledge all the good that's happened the last 6 years.

Mahalo flamingdem

[mimi85]

139. As always, Cha is right on, groovy and far out.

And has this former hippie chick's utmost respect!

[Cha]

169. Mahalo mims! Thanks to the amazing tweets posted on

the O diary.. from peeps who know this President and are so intelligent, eloquent, and Funny!

backatcha!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

142. You hit another one out of the park Cha

[Cha]

170. Muchas Gracias, Yo Mama!

[uponit7771]

144. +1

[Cha]

172. Mahalo, uponit!

[AgingAmerican]

176. The past is prologue

nt

[geek tragedy]

194. "He reacted with glee" is a lie, a flat out ODS falsehood. nt

[AgingAmerican]

248. Watch his post election news conference

nt

[Skidmore]

77. Ugh....

[jtuck004]

79. Did any of the losers say "We should have done a better job for the people"?

Otherwise you probably have a pretty good analysis there.

This is a bit like watching Thunderdome, with the characters inside fighting for their life and all the wretched people on the outside, lives unchanged, fighting for every scrap. And when it is over, nothing has changed for them, just the players inside.

Because it is all about the contest. Not the people.

[L0oniX]

231. +1 ...however "better job" may mean sucking up to the rich (people) for campaign money.

[AgingAmerican]

81. The best we can hope for

...are typos in the GOP legislation that will inevitably come across his desk.

[blkmusclmachine]

97. Cuomo = Obama

???

[Odin2005]

98. DLCers are Republican infiltrators and need to be all kicked out.

[L0oniX]

233. The Dem party needs to embrace (go back to) FDR, progressive, populist principles

[stupidicus]

103. that's how the game is played alrighty

we dogs won't be getting any bones in the near future, and will be lucky if we ain't screwed in several ways in the spirit of bipartisanship.

[redheaddem]

105. Well, now I'm depressed.

Not really sure why I didn't see this before.

[woo me with science]

108. IMO the good news is that people *are* waking up.

We all do it in our own time. There's great woe over the low voting turnout, but I choose to take it as a sign that people are realizing that the game is rigged...and that's a good thing (not the low turnout itself, but the awareness...).

People just don't know yet what to *do* about it. But becoming aware of it is an important step.

The propaganda machine tries very hard to make the conversation all about Obama himself or Obama haters, or "timid" Dems, or lazy voters....ANYTHING to keep the conversation away from the real groundbreaking realization we all need to come to, which is that the parties are purchased and working together now for corporate interests.

Once sufficient numbers of us realize that....can see through the propaganda and realize that the game has changed and the goals of our politicians aren't what they keep telling us they are....we can start uniting to rally around policies rather than parties and rid ourselves of this con game.

[zeemike]

110. Well said.

[woo me with science]

116. I really, really hope Bernie runs.

I have no illusions that the corporate PTB won't take him down, but we need his voice out there for as long as we can possibly sustain it. Maybe we really can build a revolution, and I so appreciate his use of that word, because it really is what's needed. A revolution in awareness about how this government works anymore.

I would like to see him run as a Dem with the message that we need to rescue the entire nation, government, and political system, INCLUDING the Democratic Party, from the corporate corruption that has infiltrated it and is subverting it for corporate ends.

I don't know if it's possible for any Independent to have a chance to be heard the way both corporate parties have rigged the system. But I also worry that, in running as a Dem, he won't have the freedom to be as honest as this country desperately needs him to be about how deep and thorough and bipartisan the corruption really is.

[zeemike]

134. A revolution is the right word.

And it need not be a bloody one if we listen to the peacemakers instead of the hate makers.

I am not exactly sure how that can happen but I know it can and must or we will go the way of Rome.
But this I am sure of, it has to be from the bottom up, and we may have to go through some painful times before enough people wake up to the facts that we are a dysfunctional country.

[woo me with science]

106. We now have a largely post-partisan, post-democratic, corporate government in this country.

And the success of those who orchestrated the coup depends on our not noticing the change. We are not to notice that the parties are owned by the same people and are now working together.

Post-partisan. Post-democratic, all the theater to the contrary notwithstanding.

They depend on us to continue to believe (and propagandize the hell out of us to believe) that we are still working within the old system, when the parties really DID care about beating each other and were not working behind the scenes toward the same objectives.

The game has changed and isn't what they tell us it is. Time to rally around policies, not parties.

[yurbud]

264. yep. I would like to hear our DLC/Third Way friends tell us why so much trade, foreign...

and economic policies don't change substantially regardless of which party controls the White House and/or Congress.

Particularly on trade, Americans across the political spectrum don't like the deals, but both parties will support them to the death.

Likewise, few average people supported the Wall Street bail out, and Obama's poll numbers would have shot through the roof if he built gallows on Wall Street instead of letting them continue to call the shots. Instead, his handling of Wall Street was little different from Bush's at least in terms of lack of criminal prosecutions.

[woo me with science]

113. I think this is the most important thread on DU right now,

Last edited Thu Nov 6, 2014, 08:12 PM - Edit history (1)

in tandem with Taibbi's new piece, which illustrates the corruption so clearly:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025776332
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025776300

This thread is so important not because of the observation about Obama personally, but because of the clear message about how the entire structure of politics has changed in this country: that the parties are working together and we'd better start realizing that and responding accordingly.

The game they are playing is not the game we are told they are playing.

[truedelphi]

122. And people in California have woken up - they just do NOT know what

The friggin' fuck to do about it.

Only twenty nine percent of all California's REGISTERED voters showed up or voted absentee in this election.

One Big Reason - we only have two candidates on the ballot for every single position except state superintendant. Nowhere to put in a wise ass protest vote for Mickey Mouse.

All this is due to some new "codefication of the ballot."

I had heard about this, back in 2011 or 2012 when it occurred, but I thought it meant the top two of each party. (Back in 2008, for the govrnor's slot, we had to choose between over 155 people running as Democrats in California. Which is rather exteme. But now the pendulum has swung the other way.)

If you don't like the Blue Dawgie, Social security-destroying Congress critter who insults every progressive he ever meets, all you can do is either leave the space for that position blank, or vote Republican (hardly a choice for msot progressives I know)

Only the slot of State Superintendant allows you to vote for something/someone else.

And there was not a single Green or Libertarian on the ballot, due to how the One Big Money Party in California has totally destroyed any indie thinking, poltiical wise.

So the party as defined by one Di Feinstein will rule over all of us, in perpetual tyranny, until she and her hsusband have encaptured every damn historic mural off of every damn Post Office building in the world!

[woo me with science]

130. They are constantly refining the system, aren't they.

I didn't realize that about California. Very slimy.

Nobody ever questioned the remarkable bipartisanship the two corporate parties showed after Ross Perot's surprising success (compared to previous independent runs) in restructuring the system to make sure that never happened again.

[AtomicKitten]

133. "it seems like" is the key phrase here

[whereisjustice]

136. In 2008, Obama went straight to work rescuing the Republican Party. His work is done. And only

the 3rd way Republican shills trolling this site seem to think the loses are due to Obama not being modera -err- fuck that, hard right enough.

After 2010, it was clear that one engine had failed and the Party was losing altitude. Not satisfied with the slow rate of decent, the 3rd way grabbed the controls and piloted the Democratic Party into a nose dive.

Now they are sifting through the wreckage trying to tell us they should get another chance at the controls.

Don't be fooled by pleas to save their sorry asses.

The damage is done. Fuck em.

[DCBob]

137. nonsense.

[ucrdem]

138. You're right, it sounds crazy.

p.s. Obama and McConnell have had no such love fest as of yet. Obama held a post-election press conference yesterday and was mercilessly taunted with McConnell's alleged victory and he simply answered diplomatically and thoughtfully. You're really running it out with the sinister conspiracy here.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

141. ALL the money is on Wall Street or buried offshore

How do we compete with Citizens United? The only time I've seen Obama truly angry was at the SotU address, directed to the SCOTUS. He knew then what he would be up against in an already rigged to the wealthy system we call Capitalism.

[DeSwiss]

148. Precisely.

- I was wondering if anyone else had figured it out. I suppose there is hope......

K&R


For emergency fainting only:

''The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink.''

~George Orwell, 1984

[alfredo]

151. Repubs don't like governing, and now they have to.

[Thespian2]

152. K & R

Immigration
Keystone Pipeline
TPP
Student Debt
Income Inequality
Women's Rights
Judges in Federal Courts
Freedom for LGBT people

and on and on...

What will Obama do to solve the many problems facing America? My prediction...NOTHING worthwhile.

[Amonester]

158. He may veto some or all, since he's not running again.

Why not organize and tell him (write, petition, march) he better (or, more diplomatically, should) use it?

[kacekwl]

154. At times I get the sinking feeling

that they (both parties) are in cahoots and this is just a cruel game they are playing with us. Then I come to my senses and really get scarred.

[DeSwiss]

203. That's your stomach.....

...reacting to the quick change in altitude. That happens upon Awakening. Like in an elevator when one rises too quickly above the crowds below. The sensation of experiencing Truth and Reality can be very disorienting, even stomach churning.

- But buck up, because it's only temporary until the SRHTF! And I can't wait until Joni Ernst shoots her first Senator in chambers!!!




Welcome to DU. You got here just in time......


If You Really Think It Matters Which Party Controls the Senate, Answer These Questions

[PeteSelman]

160. The abject cowardice with which they all approached having the big majority was appalling.

And the President was the first in line to capitulate. We'll never have an opportunity like that again. They could have put Reaganism to rest forever and instead they preserved it for all time.

You've hit the nail on the head with this.

Watch as we get Keystone, TPP, lower taxes for corporate scum and worse.

But also watch for the Republicans to start doing all the things they were against because they knew those things would help the country but they didn't want the President to get credit. Now THEY will take the credit.

They're awfully good at bragging about things they've done and "we" suck at it.

[L0oniX]

239. ^^^THIS^^^ When they were a big majority they were like a deer in the headlights.

It's bad enough that there is a lot of spinelessness but even when you have a huge majority? What a waste.

[woo me with science]

252. It's not cowardice. We are a sham democracy now. The parties are working together.

It's an important distinction.

[Douglas Carpenter]

162. In 81 Reagan from the beginning let lose on the Democrats for "Thwarting the will of the people"

Obama wins by a comparable "mandate for change" - and what happened?

[lexington filly]

164. This is the situation Obama wanted? Really???

I needed a good laugh today. Thank you.

[bhikkhu]

165. Pragmatism is taking whatever situation you get, and turning it to your advantage

The president has a good set of priorities, and II think it is most in his nature but to try to find a positive way through the mess the country handed him.

[Rex]

173. I have to disagree with that, the POTUS needed the Dems to control Congress

so the last two years they would DO SOME WORK and not be held hostage by the GOP wackadoodles.

[IronLionZion]

182. That socialist is gonna git yer guns!

Mandatory gay marriages and forced abortions for everyone, and we all have to report to FEMA camps as obamacare needs to implant chips in our brains for the NSA drones to track us more easily.



Oh yeah, repugs just love Obama's policies. Ask any of them about the Obama economic recession he caused before he even got elected. He's so delightfully nefarious, like a cartoon villain just waiting patiently for six years to pull off his mask and go full Mussolini.

[Paladin]

185. Sorry, I'm not buying the multi-dimensional chess game thing, anymore.

Obama has the situation he's stuck with, not the one he wanted. Same for the rest of us.

[Demeter]

189. You noticed that, too?

The complacency, the "it's everybody's fault but mine" attitude, the willingness to throw the 99% under the bus (since they don't contribute $$$$$$ to campaigns)

Add in the free pass given to the most massive bank fraud in global history....

If that isn't corruption, nothing is.

[Enthusiast]

190. K&R. I get the exact same impression.

I have had that impression since 2009.

[geek tragedy]

193. Idiotic ODS drivel. No, Obama did not want those whose only goal is to derail his presidency

to control both houses of Congress.

He did not want Mitch McConnell having absolute power over each and every appointment of federal judges.

He does not want more votes on repealing the ACA.

He does not want Senate hearings on Benghazi.

What you listened to was a president who took a vicarious ass kicking trying to polish a turd.

The reason Obama didn't hit the campaign trail was because Democrats ran away from him and told him to stay away.

[Cha]

201. Well Done, geek! "told him to stay away.." except in PA, Connecticut, Rhode Island,

Michigan(Gary Peters).. and the two campaigns that lost(Maryland & Florida).. maybe there's more I can't think of them right now, if there are.

"Idiotic ODS drivel. No, Obama did not want those whose only goal is to derail his presidency to control both houses of Congress.

He did not want Mitch McConnell having absolute power over each and every appointment of federal judges.

He does not want more votes on repealing the ACA.

He does not want Senate hearings on Benghazi."

Thanks for laying all that out... it highlights the gibberish & poppycock of the OP exponentially.

[B Calm]

202. BINGO!

[L0oniX]

238. "Democrats ran away from him and told him to stay away" I wonder why.

[giftedgirl77]

204. What fucking nonsense.

The fact that you took the time to write such idiotic drivel speaks volumes about what you think of President Obama's character & intentions. This is a disgusting OP.

[Bobbie Jo]

221. And people like this

continue to wonder why they're not taken seriously.

Faux News has nothing on this bunch.

[giftedgirl77]

222. Seriously, it gets crazier every damn day.

[L0oniX]

235. LMFAO

[MissDeeds]

206. I agree

K&R

[EEO]

207. Agreed. That was my first conclusion. Obama will betray liberals most horribly.

His concessions to conservatives will be far worse than in the past.

[Hotler]

212. Of course....

"Even when he had both chambers of Congress at the start of his presidency, he talked and made proposals as if Democrats were in the minority,"

If I remember correctly President Obama said "Now is not the time to point fingers."

[NorthCarolina]

214. You picked up on the foreshadowing in this novella. nt

[woo me with science]

223. +1 Sort of like reading a series of books by the same bad novelist.

The plot is always the same.

Hope to hell the country is finally waking up to the truth. Politics does not work the way it used to. We have two corporate parties working against us.

[NorthCarolina]

236. Pretty much, it's all scripted OR or one heck of a coincidence that the 1% always end up with a win.

Probably a bit too much of a coincidence IMO for there not to be some level of orchestration of events, including elections, going on.

[Myrina]

219. Bingo. Sadly.

[grahamhgreen]

224. Agree.

[L0oniX]

225. "Obama's" TPA and XL will get passed now maybe even SS CPI will get back on the table.

All according to the plan?

[Fearless]

227. The game is rigged.

[True Blue Door]

232. Here comes the Haterade.

It's all a fiendish Obama plot. He passed Obamacare just so he could repeal it later. He passed a massive stimulus package with a Democratic Congress just so he could strangle the republic to death with obstructive GOP Congresses later.

Your thinking, if it can be called that, is ludicrous and reprehensible. You're just trying to pass the buck for responsibility away from our Party in general, which (a)campaigned for shit, and (b)didn't turn out at the polls.

I'm not trying to blame the left, or the center, or the President, or any other distant group or political figure. I blame me, and I blame you, because we're here and we have the audacity to claim responsibility for changing America.

[Cha]

237. Well Done, True Blue Door! The Conspiracy Theories are so pathetic.. but, I think this one

must have materialized from for too long and too tight.

[yurbud]

259. the "hater" talking point was lazy and stupid when the Bushies used it.

It's an insult to DU'ers intelligence to use it here.

[Moonwalk]

243. I'm a little confused. What did you want Obama to say?

"Hey, you stupid voters, you think this repuke congress is gonna bully me? Think again! I'm gonna veto every bill they pass and piss on every page before I do!"



Granted, that would have been satisfying. But hardly...politic. And not Obama's style. So. What *did* you want to hear from him? What might he have said within this speech to assure you that he not going to do what you think he's going to do?

[woo me with science]

244. kick

[okieinpain]

247. I love me some president obama, but i will be the first to tell you

he's a conservative dem. you think about it his grand parents come from kansas.

[woo me with science]

251. kick

[yurbud]

257. this clearly struck a nerve considering not just rec's and views, but DLC/Third Way/Blue Dog whining

in response.

[stevenleser]

270. The facts are simply not with you.

[yurbud]

272. so Obama ISN'T pushing GOP K-12 privatization agenda, isn't pursuing the same foreign policy, & TPP?

and he did actually send Wall Street bankers to prison and break the the banks into tiny pieces that aren't too big to fail?

Obama is better than a Republican, but the difference on a lot of issues is hard to see.

Also, you guys seem to be taking an all or nothing position: If Obama and Democrats in Congress are better in any measurable way from Republicans, we should be grateful for that, no matter how small the difference and how far to the right they move.

[stevenleser]

273. If you ignore the several dozen points in the piece I posted, why should I address any of yours? nt

[yurbud]

274. which post?

[woo me with science]

266. kick