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Obama’s latest deal with the Republicans...I think this is a very good example of the problem that many of us are having with Obama. You can probably make a good faith argument that under the circumstances this outcome was the best deal we were going to get, and possibly that this was the best thing for the country.
Here is my problem. Obama went behind closed doors, struck a deal with the Republicans in Congress...gave them everything they wanted...and didn’t even bother to include Congressional Democrats. As if they didn’t even exist. As if they were irrelevant.
Now...he is publicly appealing to REPUBLICANS to pass this thing...to overcome Democratic opposition.
Obama has done many things to advance a progressive agenda, and I will give him credit where credit is due. He is certainly better than any Republican alternative.
But Obama has been treating Democrats like crap. As if he is the all-knowing father, and we are his stupid children who simply don’t understand. He is going to make all our decisions for us, without any consideration for the way that we think. And we better like it, because we’re living under his roof.
I was an early, early Obama supporter. I was standing out in freezing cold weather collecting signatures to get him on the primary ballot when Hillary Clinton was far ahead in the polls and nobody thought he had a chance. The reason I supported him was because I was disgusted at the way Hillary had joined with Republicans on a number of issues...and because I found her arrogance to be intolerable.
Her arrogance does not compare to Obama’s arrogance since he became president. And it seems to get worse everyday.
Please do not think of accusing me of being some kind of troll, or that I am not really a Democrat. I have devoted countless hours going out and doing the dirty work that most people wouldn’t even think of doing. I have devoted every free moment I have during election season canvassing, walking the streets, knocking on doors, making phone calls...doing anything that was asked of me to elect Democrats. I’m one of those idiots you see standing out in the street holding signs in 20 degree weather.
I was the happiest I have ever been in my life when Obama was elected. In the past 2 years, that happiness has turned to shock and horror.
It is Obama’s arrogance that horrifies me.
I feel like we have been hoodwinked. All the time during the campaign when he was referring to Hillary Clinton as “Republican-light,” talking about how we didn’t want to go back to the way Bill Clinton caved to the Republicans...in hindsight those comments look absolutely absurd.
AT LEAST, once in a while, Bill Clinton actually did stand up to Republicans. Sometimes he did make a stand on principle and exposed Republicans for the asses they are in the process.
My friends, we have a huge problem on our hands and we better recognize it soon. Our party is a dis-unified mess. We are looking at an utter catastrophe in 2012.
I see that other Democrats around me, people who are active in politics, feel the same way. We are paralyzed. There is nothing we can do but sit and watch...because this was OUR guy.
They just don’t care anymore, and they’re not going to feel inspired in 2012 to do anything for Obama (or any other Democrats). Yes, they’ll vote for him, but that’s it. Only because the alternative is unthinkable. But they’re not going to walk the streets, make the calls, do all the dirty work...because in order to do those kinds of things, you have to feel inspired and believe in what you are doing.
We did the wrong thing electing Obama. We should have gone with the devil we knew (Hillary). Obama is not what he claimed to be. He is hurting our party. He doesn’t care about our party. I don’t make that statement lightly. It kills me to say that. Nobody believed in him more than me.
It may be possible that Obama will win re-election. I don’t discount that possibility. But, at what cost do we as a party continue to support him?
I suspect that there were a lot of political considerations involved with this deal with the Republicans. I can imagine the conversation Rahm Emanuel had with Obama about this. It may hurt the party, but it will be to your advantage for the re-election campaign in 2012. As long as he keeps his popularity hovering around 50 percent, he still has a chance. That is the only thing he is thinking about. There is absolutely NOTHING about this deal that benefits the Democratic party.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not calling for some kind of progressive uprising against Obama. As I said, the Republican alternative is unthinkable, and I’m not looking to do anything further to hurt our party. But we need to find an alternative leader within the party who at the very least is going to give voice to our concerns and stand for the principles we believe in.
We, as a party, can no longer allow Barack Obama to define us as a party. Because he is not interested in the Party. He is a very ambitious man who cleverly fooled us into thinking he was a “good Democrat,” and every other candidate was a bad Democrat. He is now drunk with power, and is cleverly doing things to help himself get re-elected, while throwing our party under the bus.
We need to turn to some very smart people to figure this how to deal with this extremely delicate situation, people in the party who have PROVEN they really do care about our party. First we have to acknowledge that we have a big problem on our hands with Obama. I get no enjoyment in saying these things. We have a cancer in our party, it started in the White House and has spread throughout the body. In the end, the cancer may still be living while the Party has been decimated.
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