Obama To Press Corps: I Can’t Make GOP Cooperate On Budget

[bvar22]

40. Unlike our President, I don't CARE what Republicans do or think.

I don't vote for them.
I don't send them money.
I don't campaign for them.
I don't vote for them.
I EXPECT them to be Republicans.
I don't blame dogs for being dogs,
and I expect Republicans to be Republicans.

I send my Working Class money to Democrats.
I campaign for Democrats.
I vote for Democrats.
I expect Democrats to fight FOR MY Working Class Interests.

When Democrats act like Republicans and pander to The RICH,
I feel betrayed.

When Democrats quit the fight too soon and surrender to The Minority Party Republicans,
I feel betrayed.

When Democrats don't FIGHT for Working Class Interests,
I feel betrayed.

When Democrats abandon the New Deal/Great Society and dust off old Republican Policy,
and tell me that the Republicans were right all along and this Republican Policy is GOOD for me,
I feel betrayed,
and I WILL let the Democrats hear about it.
I've been a Democrat too long to Sit Down and Shut Up.

I have been a Democrat for a LONG time,
and I know what FIGHTING for something look like and sounds like.
I also know what NOT fighting looks like and sounds like.

[font size=3]
"I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the Fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign."
---President Harry Truman

QED:2010[/font]


[font size=3]Leadership! "The Buck Stops HERE!" NO Excuses![/font]



The problem with the Democratic Party is NOT The Republicans.
It IS The Democrats.
When a President with overwhelming approval ratings
and a BIG Popular Mandate from The People for CHANGE
can't keep his own Party in line,
and is more interested in what the Republicans are going to do,
then WE have a BIG problem INSIDE the Democratic Party.

You remember Blue Dog Senator Blanche Lincoln?
The Wicked With from Arkansas who crowed about killing the Public Option?

White House Rescues DINO Lincoln's Failing Primary Campaign in the 2010 Arkansas Democratic Primary.

"So what did the Democratic Party establishment do when a Senator who allegedly impedes their agenda faced a primary challenger who would be more supportive of that agenda? They engaged in full-scale efforts to support Blanche Lincoln. Bill Clinton traveled to Arkansas to urge loyal Democrats to vote for her, bashing liberal groups for good measure. Obama recorded an ad for Lincoln which, among other things, were used to tell African-American primary voters that they should vote for her because she works for their interests. The entire Party infrastructure lent its support and resources to Lincoln — a Senator who supposedly prevents Democrats from doing all sorts of Wonderful, Progressive Things which they so wish they could do but just don’t have the votes for.

Ordinarily, when Party leaders support horrible incumbents in primaries, they use the “electability” excuse: this is a conservative state, the incumbent has the best chance to win, and the progressive challenger is out-of-step with voters. That excuse is clearly unavailable here. As Public Policy Polling explained yesterday, Lincoln has virtually no chance of winning in November against GOP challenger John Boozman. And while it would have also been difficult for Halter to beat Boozman, polls consistently showed that he had a better chance than Lincoln did. That’s unsurprising, given how much better non-Washington candidates are doing in this incumbent-hating climate than long-term Washington insiders. And it’s rather difficult to claim that Halter is out-of-step with Arkansas given that they elected him their Lt. Governor. Whatever the reasons Washington Democrats had for supporting the deeply unpopular Lincoln, it had nothing whatsoever to do with electability.

What happened in this race also gives the lie to the insufferable excuse we’ve been hearing for the last 18 months from countless Obama defenders: namely, if the Senate doesn’t have 60 votes to pass good legislation, it’s not Obama’s fault because he has no leverage over these conservative Senators. It was always obvious what an absurd joke that claim was; the very idea of The Impotent, Helpless President, presiding over a vast government and party apparatus, was laughable. But now, in light of Arkansas, nobody should ever be willing to utter that again with a straight face. Back when Lincoln was threatening to filibuster health care if it included a public option, the White House could obviously have said to her: if you don’t support a public option, not only will we not support your re-election bid, but we’ll support a primary challenger against you. Obama’s support for Lincoln did not merely help; it was arguably decisive, as The Washington Post documented today:"

<much more>

http://www.salon.com/2010/06/10/lincoln_6/

[font color=firebrick][center]"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone[/font][/center]
[center][/font]
[font size=1]photo by bvar22
Shortly before Sen Wellstone was killed[/center][/font]