General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Seriously, did so many people truly believe that president Obama could change the course.... [View all]thucythucy
(8,038 posts)Patrice: that President Obama worries about the real life consequences of government action or failure to act, while the GOP doesn't give a f-k. We don't want people to suffer as they would, for instance, if unemployment benefits were cut off because of some Republican hissyfit. And so Democrats in general and President Obama in particular caves, again and again and again.
The problem is that, since the Republicans know this, they can basically get Obama to do anything, sacrifice anything, in return for short term relief. And it keeps getting worse. Over the summer, in order to raise the debt ceiling, Republicans forced a two year extension of the Bush tax cuts on the top .1%, negating virtually any possibility of implementing anything in the next two to four years in terms of shoring up the social safety net, infrastructure, environment--let alone another stimulus, which this economy desperately needs. That cave bought us, what, ten months of unemployment benefits? Now it looks like, in return for an additional TWO months of benefits, Obama is giving up, again, raising taxes on billionaires, and conceding that he'll have to decide sooner rather than later whether or not we should risk destroying a significant portion of our water supply so that Texas oil millionaires can make more millions. How did the debate shift from jobs to deficits, anyway? Why are Democrats buying the Republican hokum that the problem is deficits (and government regulation!) instead of jobs jobs jobs? Every economist worth a grain of salt is saying we need to increase demand, which means stimulus, that cutting social programs risks sending the economy back into a tailspin. So what are we doing? Cutting (nondefense) spending!
Worst of all is Republicans haven't yet found anything Obama won't give up in the long term in order to avoid short term disruption. Which means they just keep escalating their demands. And each cave makes taking a stand the next time around that much more difficult. Who on earth will believe him now, if he says, "I will veto any bill that..."? How many times has he said those words? How many times has he actually vetoed anything? David Brooks on the PBS NewsHour tonight was practically giddy at how successful Republicans have been rolling Democrats in general and the president in particular. He's got a huge majority in favor of raising taxes on the rich--he's got a Congress with a 9% approval rating--and he's STILL "negotiating" from a position of weakness.
If Obama had made a stand in the summer of 2009, and said (as Clinton did in 1993), GOP or no GOP, this is the program that HAS to pass, we might not be in the mess we're in today. Furthermore, I think, given his popularity at the time (remember when he was at 60% approval?) people would have rallied behind him (I sure would have) and it might have happened. Instead, we get cave after cave after cave. We get him offering to "compromise" even before what should have been a real fight even began. "Everything is on the table" for Democrats, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. But those precious Bush tax cuts--God forbid we go after them!
Latest headline: funds for elderly people to help offset their heating bills this winter have been cut by a billion or more, while the defense budget (which went up 70% under Bush) will be INCREASED. You want to try to tell me that elders in New England, forced to choose between paying for food or paying for heat, aren't going to suffer? Or that we need more money for our bloated military-industrial complex?
Americans are suffering already, hugely. At least, if we were fighting to end this mess with direct, strong leadership from our president, they might feel like their suffering served a higher purpose--as those who suffered during WWII felt, as union members getting their heads busted by copper mine thugs felt in the 1920s and '30s. Instead, they--and I--see no end to this suffering, which is occurring against a constant, insidious erosion of everything that makes life livable in this society for the vast majority of people living here.
My strong conviction is: it didn't have to be this way.
Again, I've vented. Part of my frustration, my anger, is I want this president to succeed. As a nation we desperately need him to succeed, to win, to prevail. I don't buy that he's simply a pawn of Wall Street, that this is all some labrynthine plot. I'm hoping against hope he'll somehow prevail.
I suspect there are others here who feel as I do. We WANT to support this president, but sifting through the wreckage of "the audacity of hope" sure makes it tough.
Okay, end of rant.
Best wishes.