Hailing 111th Congress, Obama prepares further shift to the right

[Maat]

Source: World Socialist Website
Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/dec2010/cong-d24.shtml

*************Quote************
Hailing 111th Congress, Obama prepares further shift to the right

By Joseph Kishore
24 December 2010

As the 111th congressional session came to a close, the Obama administration and the US media have stepped up the propaganda offensive over the past two days to justify an even further shift to the right by the political establishment next year.

The “narrative” being constructed takes the following form: The two years of the Democratic-controlled Senate and House of Representatives, along with the Obama administration, carried out historical social reforms on a scale not seen in decades. For some unexplained reason, these measures led to a defeat for the Democrats in the 2010 elections. Since the elections, and supposedly in response to popular pressure, Obama has shifted into a more “bipartisan” spirit, which has already produced fantastic results in the “lame-duck” session since the election.

...

The chairmen of Obama’s bipartisan budget deficit commission have already released recommendations for major cuts in Social Security and other federal programs—extending the measures already introduced as part of the health care overhaul. These are accompanied by plans for a “reform” of the tax code to significantly reduce taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

...

The mythmakers in the mass media can do little to cloak the essential lesson of the past two years: that the entire political system, including the Democratic and Republican parties, is under the iron grip of the corporate and financial aristocracy, allowing no expression of the interests of the vast majority of the population.
***********Endquote**************

This is very interesting commentary, and I think people need to read this article carefully. I certainly agree with it.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. George Lakoff! George Lakoff! Disaster Messaging yet again.

Every inch given to the repukes ends up being an arm...

If the President will not do the correct thing, the people must force him to. Torches and pitchforks to the ready, if need be.

http://www.truth-out.org/disaster-messaging61170

{div class = excerpt]

Democrats are constantly resorting to disaster messaging. Here's a description of the typical situation:

* The Republicans out-message the Democrats. The Democrats, having no effective response, face disaster: They lose politically, either in electoral support or failure on crucial legislation.
* The Democrats then take polls and do focus groups. The pollsters discover that extremist Republicans control the most common ("mainstream") way of thinking and talking about the given issue.
* The pollsters recommend that Democrats move to the right: adopt conservative Republican language and a less extreme version of conservative policy, along with weakened versions of some Democratic ideas.
* The Democrats believe that, if they follow this advice, they can gain enough independent and Republican support to pass legislation that, at least, will be some improvement on the extreme Republican position.
* Otherwise, the pollsters warn, Democrats will lose popular support - and elections - to the Republicans, because mainstream thought and language resides with the Republicans.
* Believing the pollsters, the Democrats change their policy and their messaging and move to the right.
* The Republicans demand even more and refuse to support the Democrats.

We have seen this on issues like health care, immigration, global warming, finance reform, and so on. We are seeing it again on the Death Gusher in the Gulf. It happens even with a Democratic president and a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.

<snip>

[Maat]

2. Yep!

"Every inch given to the repukes ends up being an arm..."

Yep.

I might rephrase that great quote a bit, "Every inch given to the Corporatocracy ends up being an arm."

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Much better...since it is more inclusive...

[Maat]

4. Smile.

:)

We both get it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

34. Actually...

"Every inch given to the Corporatocracy ends up being a foot."

Doubleplus-entendre-y

[xchrom]

5. +1

[ClassWarrior]

7. Amen, BL. Here's Lakoff's latest...

http://www.truth-out.org/untellable-truths65905

NGU.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Thank you. Lakoff is brilliant and is being ignored at the peril of this nation as a whole.

"The Democrats have left effective communication to the conservatives, who have taken advantage of their superior communications all too well."

The repukes tell lies better than the Dems tell the truth..even when the truth is actually what the people want to hear.

Conservatives who are savvy about marketing their ideas are closer to the way people really think than Democrats are, because people who teach marketing tend to be up on how the brain and language work. And over the past three decades, they have not just built an effective message machine, but they repeated messages that have changed the brains of a great many Americans.

The RWingnut repukes are playing chess. Everyone is playing checkers.

Why isn't Lakoff required reading for every single Dem in Congress and the White House? WTF is wrong with them??

[mmonk]

28. Thanks for the link. I have one of his books and find mind framing interesting.

[WiffenPoof]

10. I Think that the most important...

part of this article is the point that the Dems are horrible when it comes to messaging. I would think that they realize how important it is to frame the arguments.

-PLA

[BrklynLiberal]

18. You would think so..right???

[man4allcats]

6. K&R n/t

:kick:

[emilyg]

9. k

[AtomicKitten]

11. This is a twofer: A prediction + from a socialist website. nt

[ej510]

12. The dems messaging has sucked for over 30 years.

[AtomicKitten]

13. While that is arguably true, the Dem Party *IS* to the right of the Socialist Party by definition.

[bvar22]

14. OMG...A post from a "Socialist" website on DU!!!!!

Those people probably think FDR was the best president in the last 100 years...LOL!!!!

"In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

1) The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

2) The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

3) The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

4) The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

5) The right of every family to a decent home;

6) The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

7) The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

8) The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

Americas own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens.

For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."---FDR

[AtomicKitten]

15. OMG!! Democrats are to the right of socialists? !!11!!ELEVENS!!111!!

[bvar22]

16. Boy...did you ever get THAT right!!!!

Far, FAR, FAR to the right of "Socialists",
and way to the right of Republicans from the 60s/70s.

Just goes to show how FAR to the RIGHT the Party I joined 44 years ago has lurched.


"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[AtomicKitten]

17. There are too many Ben Nelsons in the party. nt

[defendandprotect]

24. Who doesn't? :)

[Hello_Kitty]

47. They're EVERYWHERE dontchaknow!! There could be one under your bed RIGHT NOW!!

[defendandprotect]

23. Purposefully ... populist messaging brings voters out -- Remember Gore in 2000?

After the failed election -- he left the DLC which he had helped co-found --

because they had told him to cut the populist chat -- and he did that.

Later, he felt very strongly that it had hurt his campaign.

DLC is anti-populist chat!!

So is GOP --

[Hello_Kitty]

35. And I thought socialism was only an anathema to teabaggers.

Guess I was wrong.

[AtomicKitten]

36. This is the Democratic Party. The Socialist Party is down the hall. nt

[Hello_Kitty]

37. No, this is Democratic Underground where a diversity of views is accepted.

The Democratic Party has official websites you can participate on if you can't handle something that differs from the party line.

[AtomicKitten]

38. The diversity of views clause does not include horseshit promoted by the fringe and teabaggers.

[Hello_Kitty]

39. Oh dear!

Undermining the President!! Oh noes!!1!

So it's looks like "The all-powerful Left is destroying the President" is running slightly ahead of "The irrelevant Left is powerless and no one listens to them". I wish one of those memes would go ahead and win so we could at least get some consistency around here.

[AtomicKitten]

40. The fringe is closer to teabaggers than to the Democratic Party. nt

[Hello_Kitty]

41. You're the one having the vapors over socialism. That's what teabaggers do.

:)

[AtomicKitten]

42. Just pointing out Socialists are not Democrats because you seem confused. nt

[Hello_Kitty]

43. Can you please link to where I made that claim?

Sheesh, you guys are extra-delusional today. Seeing things that just aren't there. :crazy:

[AtomicKitten]

45. I was responding to the OP, your 2-centsworth notwithstanding.

Like I said, the fringe is closer to teabaggers than to the Democratic Party.

That is what's truly delusional. :crazy:

[Hello_Kitty]

46. Like I said, you're the one freaking out about socialists

In the immortal words of Samantha on SATC: "Breathe through your mouth."


:rofl:

[AtomicKitten]

48. Sure if "pointing out" means "freaking out" which, of course, it does in BizarroWorld. nt

[Godhumor]

19. wsws is all I need to know

To know I won't agree with it. That's about as carefully as I'll read the article.

[Foo Fighter]

20. Excellent article, Maat.

Thanks for posting it.

From the article:

"The overriding theme of the conference was Obama’s pledge to work with Republicans more closely in the coming year. As a Time magazine article noted (under the headline, “Obama’s Lame-Duck Comeback: Hello, Bipartisanship”), “In his 34-minute press conference on Wednesday used the words ‘common ground’ three times, the word ‘bipartisan’ twice, the phrase ‘other side of the aisle’ twice, ‘came together’ three times and ‘across party lines’ twice.”

Unfortunately for us, when Obama refers to the "other side of the aisle" he's talking about the side where the Dems sit. And he's going to move even further to the right. Oh goody. I can't wait to see what's in store for us over the next two years.

[harun]

21. Thanks for posting, but as you can see by the unrec's the truth hurts.

[boppers]

22. Socialists are mildly less annoying than Illinois Nazi's.

Flogging pre-industrial solutions in a post-industrial information economy gets old.

[defendandprotect]

25. Yeah -- especially when you understand the role it played in Global Warming!...!!!

Yikes!

:nuke:

[boppers]

33. I take it you missed my reference, or thought.

First thought:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Illinois+nazis

Second thought:
The 19th-century ideas of socialism were tried, and found wanting. We are now in the 21st century, and should look for new ideas, not ideas rooted in an agrarian mindset trying to transition to the industrial age... there is (for much of the western world) no longer a feudal peasant class, nor Kings and Czars.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

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

[Aramchek]

30. or maybe people just don't recommend trash?

[defendandprotect]

26. If anyone votes for this in '12 ... they won't be able to say they didn't know ...!!!

I'll be writing in a Dem -- not Obama --

And trust somewhere along the line here we will find a challenger or two???

Can we draft Bernie Sanders to run on a Dem ticket?

[Aramchek]

29. so, basically, this is all just what some idiot predicts will happen? thanks for nothing.

[stevenleser]

31. Error: you can only unrecommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

WSWS is unadulterated anti-Democratic Party propaganda.

Anything they write about the party or an individual Democrat is worthless.

[ClassWarrior]

32. So why would you want to ignore "unadulterated anti-Democratic Party propaganda?" Wouldn't that...

...give us insight into the enemy's efforts and tactics? Would you rather we bury our heads in the sand?

NGU.

[dionysus]

44. da, comrade!

:eyes: