Good news for us 'Professional Leftists' - they're taking us seriously

[MannyGoldstein]

“First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then they fight you,
then you win."
- Mahatma Ghandi

For the first year-and-a-half of Obama's presidency, we were ignored (e.g., shut out of health care discussions) and laughed at (e.g., legalizing marijuana). Obama's DLC cabal thought they had traditional Democrats (a.k.a., the "professional left") all locked up per the Clintonian "Who the fuck else ya gonna vote for, assholes?!" strategy.

Recent events indicate the Obama administration's bravado is crumbling. They're getting worried that Scott Brown's victory, borne of apathetic Democrats staying home, will be writ large across America come November.

The first flinch, I believe, was that a leader for the new office of Consumer Economic Protection Bureau has not been named for weeks. Normally, a Wall Street insider would have been promptly named, but it apparently became clear to the Administration that this wouldn't fly - they needed to pretend to help working Americans. So instead, Obama named Geithner as temporary head for a few weeks so he could staff it with Wall Street insiders before (we're told) nominating Elizabeth Warren, an actual Democrat, to the post. (One only hopes that Warren starts by cleaning house.)

Gibbs' whining today about the "professional left" is not an act of strength - it is an act of weakness, like a little child who can't get his way. It is the beginning of the next stage in Ghandi's model.

The battle is on - the White House is starting to retreat. We'll be tossed a few baubles to shut us up, but we can't let that appease us - let's keep up the pressure and force them to embrace Democratic ideals.

[baldguy]

1. If we're professionals

How come I'm not getting paid?

[gkhouston]

7. Hey, it's just like all your other jobs. Same bennies, too.

:evilgrin:

[AtomicKitten]

2. You are nothing more than a fly in the ointment. nt

[babylonsister]

3. Is that what you are, manny? nt

[27inCali]

21. so you are paid to post attacks on Obama here?

clarifies so much......

(sorry, replied to wrong post)

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. so whose side are you on?

[villager]

5. And so, apparently, are the stealth unreccers of this thread!

n/t

[ProSense]

6. "They're getting worried that Scott Brown's victory"

"The battle is on - the White House is starting to retreat."

My head is exploding from trying not to laugh.

On second thought...

:rofl:

[CakeGrrl]

8. About that drug test...

:rofl:

[Whisp]

9. are you saying you get paid for your opinions here?

that's quite the confession.

[Nite Owl]

10. I'm a lefty

ever since they moved the bar over from the former moderate being a professional I don't think so. The professional unreccers are out for this thread though. Must of hit a nerve Manny.

[MannyGoldstein]

11. It's pretty predictable lately

Recs go up for a minute or two, then suddenly plummet to 0.

The timing is coincidental, no doubt.

[bluethruandthru]

12. They move as a herd. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

17. Ah, Up to +1 now

But reinforcements will swoop in.

[Ignis]

14. "professional unreccers"

:rofl:

:thumbsup:

[ProSense]

19. They seem to

have gotten to this thread.

[Ignis]

20. No one needs to be paid to unrec your threads, ProSense.

:hi:

[ProSense]

22. Ah, so

when they unrec threads like this one, they're paid, but when they unrec threads you don't agree with, they're righteous?

OK!

[Ignis]

25. Nah, I guess people just don't like your posts enough to Rec them.

Sorry. :shrug:

Don't take your Rec/Unrec score personally, though. It's not a judgment about you, just your posts.

[Milo_Bloom]

27. It would probably help if he/she didn't misrepresent things so much.

[ProSense]

29. I wouldn't

say that. Sometimes my fans aren't alert.

:rofl:

[Ignis]

31. You have FANS, do you? Oh, very posh!

Let me just step back behind the velvet rope and tug my forelock. :blush:

I wouldn't want to trouble a celebrity, after all. They're the closest thing we have to royalty!

[ProSense]

32. Yes, you should stop in and meet them sometime

They have a serious aversion to good news.

:rofl:

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProSense]

38. I notice people have no problem

with blue links when they lead to bogus opinions.

[Ignis]

57. Well, if it was self-effacing humor, I applaud you.

That's a rare thing to do be able to pull off at DU without some asshole agreeing with you.

(Sorry, hard to tell without clicking the Mysterious Blue Links of Ill Repute.)

[Skittles]

37. you got THAT right

[bvar22]

44. I do it as a Public Service.

Besides, anyone can just go to whitehouse.gov and get her opinions straight from the source.

[Dr.Phool]

39. I'd unrec them for free, but I can't see them.

[Ignis]

58. I make it a point to only use Ignore against repeat personal attackers.

So far, ProSense hasn't fallen into that category. Credit where it's due. :)

ETA: ...Against me, I should add. If I ignored every fan of the argumentum ad hominem on DU, it would be an incredibly lonely place.

[Touchdown]

42. !

:spray:

[Autumn]

51. I am not a professional

I do it for free.

[Ignis]

59. It's an avocation...

But a compelling one.

Hell, at least we're not playing FarmVille. ;)

[Autumn]

64. I finished my FarmVille at 7:00 this morning and

got my crops all planted. Just got to get back on and harvest this evening. Sorry, it's an addiction.:blush:

[Ignis]

65. Oh, ouch.

The first step is admitting you have a problem. :hug:

[bornskeptic]

23. If the White House attacked professional unreccers scores of DUers would admit to being exactly that

just so that they could once more claim to be victims of presidential persecution.

[Ignis]

26. Would they?

I don't own a crystal ball, so I guess I'll have to take your word for it. :shrug:

I will admit to harboring just a teensy bit of doubt that the White House stays up nights worrying about DU post Rec/Unrec scores. But if they're really that concerned, perhaps Mr. Gibbs would agree with the idea floated here recently that only paid members of the site (or "donors," if you prefer) should be allowed to Rec/Unrec a post?

Well, only donors who are willing to piss in a cup first, of course!

[Forkboy]

40. Awesome reply! See you in November, comrade!!!

We'll show these tykes what for!!!! :thumbsup:

[Ignis]

13. K&R. Great minds think alike:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=401958&mesg_id=402666

[MannyGoldstein]

15. Cheers!

:toast:

[scheming daemons]

16. I'm still at the "laugh at you" stage with you, Manny

...

[MannyGoldstein]

18. I'm glad I can bring joy to your life

Everyone should be happy.

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rasputin1952]

60. Curiosity has me on this...

How can the GOP pick up anything, when they don't have anything for a platform except "no"? I'd be surprised if they didn't lose some seats in both houses.

[denimgirly]

24. K&R - THANK YOU!

Speaking the truth!!

[BootinUp]

28. And after the baubles don't work

be prepared for more beatings. Obama is not "turning left" while he is President, he has a set agenda, same as he campaigned on.

Note: When they ridicule you that doesn't mean they are ready to act on your advice. Just a tip.

[MannyGoldstein]

33. He campaigned on a public option for health insurance

fighting al Qaeda, restoring the rule of law, ending DADT, and fighting for working Americans.

What does that have to do with what he's done?

I guess that he never promised to not slash Social Security, so he's OK on that one.

(One of us is very confused.)

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MannyGoldstein]

34. Yeah! Slashing Social Security!

Yeah! Gays are second-class people!

Yeah! Secret prisons and "extraordinary rendition"!

Yeah! Biggest banker bonuses ever in the history of the world, because we're backing them with $12+ trillion in our tax money!

[northernlights]

50. not to mention....

yeah! spy on citizens!
yeah! assassinate citizens without due process based on "suspician"
yeah! up the ante (and death toll) in Afghanistan!
yeah! bailout insurance industry!


and coming soon to a nursing home near you...Yeah! cut social security!

[ljm2002]

61. What a load.

Yeah! Obama didn't let Single Payer advocates anywhere near the debate!

:grr:

Yeah! Obama laughed in the face of those who would like to legalize weed!

:grr:

Yeah! Obama is removing all but a token 50,000 troops from Iraq! And he's moving 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan!

:grr:

I want my Democratic President who fights for Democratic principles!

:think:

[Dinger]

36. K & R

I like this:)

[laughingliberal]

41. K & R nt

[saracat]

43. K+R. Well said.

[Aramchek]

45. if you really believed that, you wouldn't act the way you do.

[CakeGrrl]

48. Agreed. The OP can't have it both ways

So does that mean that all the people getting the vapors over the Rude Pundit rant were wrong because this is really a GOOD thing based on the OP's theory? One or the other - it CANNOT be the hateful occurrence that has spawned so much yelling and gnashing of teeth and a simultaneous sign of good things to come.

[electricray]

46. Kick because that is one of my favorite quotes. Spot on, too. N/T

[ima_sinnic]

47. K&R -- spot on as usual, Manny (nt)

[CTLawGuy]

49. you are a professional leftist?

You get paid to be a leftist and that is your career?

Unless you are a pundit, TV/Radio talk show host or owner of a major liberal blog, Gibbs wasn't talking about you.

[JoeyT]

52. They're too gutless to fight Republicans, which is who they should be fighting.

But they'll fight us because they think they might be able to win that fight.
They're wrong about that too.

[NorthCarolina]

53. You don't fight those whose political agenda mirrors your own. eom

[Cherchez la Femme]

56. +101

[Arugula Latte]

55. If they're truly worried about depressing turnout like the Scott Brown election

then why would Gibbs take a crap all over the people who got them elected?

[killbotfactory]

62. If you equate Obama to Bush, no, they don't take you seriously

Because that is a fucking insane position to take.

If you think the biggest political hurdle to progressive goals you face is the white house, you are fucking insane.

[Phx_Dem]

63. LOL. Yep, being told to take a drug test is a great example of that!

That's as funny as saying progressives are the ones "who brung him."

[donco6]

66. Too late, and they'll be a dollar short.

Not giving the Party a fucking dime. I'll support candidates, if there are any left who aren't corporate shills.