Obama: Where is the man I voted for?

[Goldstein1984]

I suppose we each have a pet issue, something that makes a broken campaign promise more than just a broken campaign promise. My issue is actually a promise Obama did keep but shouldn't have, followed secondarily by the promises he didn't keep but should have.

My issue has always been the war, which is a bad thing. So I haven't been planning to support Obama in 2012 since he expanded the war in Afghanistan. People keep telling me that he campaigned on expanding the effort in "the war of necessity," but I figure if he could reverse himself on secrecy, due process, tax cuts for the rich, and the public option, why not reverse himself on something like war, which is a bad thing. The fact is, I voted for him because everything else he said led me to expect that he would reconsider expanding the war effort once he had more information and opportunity.

What I think is that Obama kept his promise on expanding the "war of necessity" for the same reasons he broke his other promises: people like him are not the ones who suffer the consequences of such decisions. Obama will never be unemployed, even if he isn't re-elected. His children will never enlist out of economic necessity, they'll never go to fight and die in wars that benefit the few at the expense of the many. He'll never need medicare or social security, so the future of the programs are abstract concepts for him. He'll never be forced to buy insurance he can't afford, so of course he sees an insurance mandate as "progress." And he'll never be arrested and denied due process. If his replacement is anything like him, he can overtly commit crimes without fear of justice or even an investigation.

I'm really hoping this social security Trojan horse, the tax cuts for the rich, and the simple fact that Obama has made yet another decision that benefits the few at the expense of the many, will cause more people to reach the conclusion I've reached: this isn't the man I voted for.

[asdjrocky]

1. Your third paragraph says it all.

People make decisions that have nothing to do with their lives and everything to do with ours. Their only consequence is to not be re-elected, and let's face it, none of them will ever be without a job, nor will their children.

Class, for some of us in the US, is a very real thing.

Good post, K&R.

[obxhead]

9. I don't understand why many run for a second term anyway.

They get the check for the rest of their lives anyway.

[Goldstein1984]

44. I think that privilege is based on an outmoded model of political office

based on "public service." While most will boast of a life of public service, those who seek office generally seem to me to be mostly of the type that seek power, enrichment and recognition. I know there are exceptions, and some of them have stepped forward during the debate on the Bush/Obama tax cut legislation.

Others, like my own Democratic Senator from Alaska, made a little noise about raising the cutoff to $1 million, but caved and voted for cloture yesterday, because there are positions of power offered to him in the Senate in exchange for playing the game.

[Goldstein1984]

42. One of the problems in America is, I think, that...

we discuss the "Middle Class" all the time, without being able to admit that the Middle Class requires the existence of both an Upper and a Lower Class, neither of which we like to admit exist in a system that is theoretically egalitarian.

[Hydra]

69. The whole idea with a class system like that

At least in the minds of the small people, is that there's mobility. You aren't stuck in the class that you're born in.

The problem I've always had with the REAL dynamic is this:

The lower class wants everyone to be equal
the middle class wants what the upper class has
The upper class wants to expand what it has and keep everyone else out

Nobody in that situation is working toward the same goal.

[ananda]

2. I think it's very possible that Obama was never the man you voted for.

He's always been fluid when it comes to personal and popular power,
shifting with whatever powerbase looks the strongest... in this case,
the extreme corporate right.

[Goldstein1984]

41. Yes, based on his oratory, which is very good, he seemed to be a fighter

But many point out that his style has always been one of compromising with Power, rather than doing what Bernie Sanders did on Friday and standing on principle.

The fault is with those like me then, who didn't look hard enough.

[aquart]

56. Not didn't. Wouldn't. NEVER listen to the siren song.

The record was there. So was his dicey house deal which cut so fine a line between legal and illegal that it rang alarm bells all over Chicago.

But he sounded so good. And then there were those catchy chants. But he never asked his followers to do anything but vote for him. All that energy, sent home after the election to do nothing.

Ulysses had the right idea. Block the sound. Don't listen to the pretty words. Look at the record.

[Goldstein1984]

63. Didn't hear the siren song

After wandering in the Bush/Cheney desert for so long, I couldn't see the poison in the water hole.

[somone]

3. Politicians who never had to worry about making ends meet

usually don't give a shit about people who have to worry about making ends meet. Obama is just another example.

[roguevalley]

4. agreed.

[aquart]

32. Finally people have noticed.

He doesn't think he led a golden life of privilege. But he did. His idea of hardship isn't real hardship, he's never known any.

[Goldstein1984]

46. He probably believes he has led a life of hardship

Hardship, I've found, is very much a matter of perspective.

One person's hardship is not being able to afford milk; for another, it's having to ration the milk to make it from paycheck to paycheck; and there are those who find hardship in having to pour their own milk.

[Goldstein1984]

45. I'm an idealist, very accustomed to being shouted down from both

the Democratic and Republican sides because I'm driven by fundamental principles, rather than pragmatism and compromise.

But I view principles as constants, and ethical behavior as defined as decision-making consistent with a moral framework, so I'm not against compromising on solutions, only against compromising principles in the process.

[Angry Dragon]

5. He cares not

He is set for life,

[Goldstein1984]

47. It was one fundamental similarity between Obama and Bush...

that has haunted me. They both have children. Their children will never need to enlist in the military to seek "opportunity." Yet they send the children of others, mostly poor and working class others, to die like pawns on a chess board.

People in positions of power seem far too comfortable with their own "sacrifice" consisting of manipulating the sacrifices of others. I don't care how tough it was for Obama to visit the graves of soldiers at Arlington, none of those graves will ever belong to his own children.

[Name removed]

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[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

12. +1

[Goldstein1984]

48. This is why I always say it the divide isn't horizontal...

It really isn't Democrat vs. Republican;
Or Liberal vs. Conservative;
Or Left vs. Right...

Yes, those divides exist.

But the real conflict is between the Top and the Bottom; the Few vs. the Many; the Haves vs. the Have-Nots; the Powerful vs. the Powerless.

The other dichotomies are really just perspectives on class war.

[upi402]

7. He IS the man you voted for, sadly

Many of us tried to say something and were flamed to cinders for it.
Don't feel bad though, good people are the easiest to con -with a decent silver tongue and a little charisma.

[Name removed]

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[Goldstein1984]

49. I remember watching the Inauguration

And I had tears streaming down my face. Not just because I saw so much joy in the faces of so many in the crowds that said they finally felt that they were part of this nation, but because of what Obama's election said about the nation, that this is a place where everyone belongs.

And my biggest disappointment is that Obama just seems to be another member of the privileged class. Like all members of his class, he seems to believe that there is a natural aristocracy worthy of privilege and exception to the rules that bind the rest of us.

For example, while intervening to stop the Spanish investigation of Bush/Cheney war crimes, his Justice Department continues prosecute victimless crimes like possession of marijuana.

[dennis4868]

8. answer:

in the WH acting like an adult....the man you voted for cannot, as president, ignore a fillubuster, and pass the legislation he wants to.....he decided that because of this, if he did not make a deal taxes on alot of people (who are not wealthy) will go up on January 1st....he's looking out for the little guy....that's the man I voted for in 2008!

[pnorman]

16. But I voted for a UNITARY PRESIDENT!

But THIS is the wishy-washy weakling I ended up with: http://leishacamden.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-that-it-matters.html

What a let-down! (sigh!)

[dennis4868]

18. So you are in the camp that...

says let all the taxes go up on January, even for the middle class and lowest tax bracket and a very good chance no UI for 13 months so that Obama can prove his manhood....now that my friend would be the letdown.

[pnorman]

24. Guess again!

I KNOW you can do it!

[dennis4868]

26. no, I know where you stand from my reading of your post...

and there are many people who feel the way you do (but they are not responsible to the USA to govern).

[Goldstein1984]

50. You see, the man I voted for demostrated great oratory skill and

made distinct promises, such as no health care legislation he signed would not contain a public option, and no tax cuts for the wealthy.

I expected that such oratory and commitment would be exercised in leadership. Like past presidents who championed the working class, I expected him to lead a public debate defending those promises. Instead, we got a compromiser that seems to have begun each compromise from an already compromised position.

We've seen very little of the change promised:

We've seen an insurance mandate, rather than a public option;
We've seen a continuation of a lack of due process;
We've seen a continuation of executive privilege and secrecy;
We've seen an expansion of the Afghanistan War, and it's become an open-ended commitment;
We've seen a military coup in Honduras supported;
We've seen climate change agreements comprmised;
We've seen the Bush tax cuts become the Obama tax cuts

This isn't the man I voted for. If he is the man you voted for, then you are a far better judge of the man behind the mask than I was.

[BeFree]

10. heh

He actually is in favor of a tax bill that will allow him to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in his bank account. And he'll get 'er done!

Good job if you can get it, eh?

[Goldstein1984]

51. It seems that the aquisition of power and wealth is like

a snowball rolling down a hill.

Our culture of greed an corruption is like a snowball grown so big that it can't be stopped until it crashes.

[FrenchieCat]

13. Here he is......

"I am bound to disappoint some, if not all" - Barack Obama


I am a Democrat....

.... after all; my views on most topics correspond more closely to the editorial pages of the New York Times than those of the Wall Street Journal. I am angry about policies that consistently favor the wealthy and powerful over average Americans, and insist that government has an important role in opening up opportunity to all. I believe in evolution, scientific inquiry, and global warming; I believe in free speech, whether politically correct or politically incorrect, and I am suspicious of using government to impose anybody’s religious beliefs–including my own–on nonbelievers. Furthermore, I am a prisoner of my own biography: I can’t help but view the American experience through the lens of a black man of mixed heritage, forever mindful of how generations of people who looked like me were subjugated and stigmatized, and the subtle and not so subtle ways that race and class continue to shape our lives.

But that is not all that I am. I also think my party can be smug, detached, and dogmatic at times. I believe in the free market, competition, and entrepreneurship, and think no small number of government programs don’t work as advertised. I wish the country had fewer lawyers and more engineers. I think America has more often been a force for good than for ill in the world; I carry few illusions about our enemies, and revere the courage and competence of our military. I reject a politics that is based solely on racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or victimhood generally. I think much of what ails the inner city involves a breakdown in culture that will not be cured by money alone, and that our values and spiritual life matter at least as much as our GDP.

Undoubtedly, some of these views will get me in trouble. I am new enough on the national political scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.

As such, I am bound to disappoint some, if not all, of them.

The Audacity of Hope

[Name removed]

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[FrenchieCat]

19. We were discussing how a lot of Republicans have started infiltrating Lib sites early

this election season.

They don't care about trying to attract Democrats to vote Republicans,
but instead, they are gonna work on trying to get them to stay home.

Heard anything about that on the Internet?

[msongs]

23. they certainly got to obama well enuff nt

[FrenchieCat]

25. Well, since you've always sang the same song when it comes to Obama

since before he was elected, they won't be bothering with your auto-pilot.

[Goldstein1984]

54. That's on the shoulders of those who stay home

And the mushy center is always going to vote according to the headlines the day before the election or who has the most people holding signs at busy intersections.

But there is a solid, principles-based voting block that can only be disappointed at a politician's peril. They take commitments seriously. You could hear that clearly yesterday on our local progressive radion station, where Senator Mark Begich was being condemned for voting for cloture for the Bush/Obama tax cuts. I seriously doubt he will win a second term.

[Goldstein1984]

53. That sums it up

Especially the part about the party being smug, detached and dogmatic. It's why I ceased to be a Democratic voter in 1999 an became merely a democratic voter.

In light of his many campaign promise reversals, he was wise to predict that he would disappoint.

[glitch]

14. You are saying Obama has no empathy, or the capability of putting himself in shoes he'll

never have to wear. That is a very pessimistic, and really very serious, indictment of his character.

I am not there yet, although with all the neoliberal policies he enthusiastically promotes I am not that far behind you.

But I really think we need to move beyond our anger at Obama and his betrayal of our values and just start fighting for what we believe in. He, and the majority of Congress, have made it very clear they won't be fighting for us.

So that leaves it up to us, again. Not as elegant as actually having representatives in government, but tragicly necessary.

[Name removed]

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[glitch]

27. Best description

Economy ostensibly based solely on market forces with no government regulation (but really with lots of government subsidy, such as public resources (ie, extraction of publicly owned resources for nominal fees),funding of wars for business interests (as opposed to say, national security)).
In this case "liberal" means "free market" or no government regulations on business, especially on businesses that lobby government.

Wikipedia has a pretty good definition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism

If you're really interested also google Milton Friedman, Leo Strauss and University of Chicago School of Economics.

[Name removed]

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[Goldstein1984]

57. "Neoliberalism" isn't like "Neoconservativism"

Neoliberalism is actually an economic policy championed by the likes of Milton Freedman, and it's basically a Darwinian view of economics and the results of "free markets." When the WTO makes loans to developing nations dependent upon privatization of utilities, cuts in social spending and deregulation, THAT is neoliberalism.

Naomi Klein did an incredible job of discussing neoliberal economics, and it's helpmate, disaster capitalism, in "The Shock Doctrine."

If you look closely, you will see the shock doctrine (hit them while they're down to get the change you want) and disaster capitalism (take advantage of natural or man-made disasters to make money and do your liberal social engineering) happening in the U.S. right now. Cuts in social services, unemployment, fear of terrorism, deregulation and reduction in civil liberties are all part of the doctrine.

The working class is down, so they can be molded with fear, and by force if necessary.

[nc4bo]

21. We've called, we've written, we've protested, we've gathered together,

we've signed petitions, we've visited our Congressman(woman)'s offices, we've done everything but burn a building down trying to be heard. Heck, we've voted, even voted for change a couple years ago.

I ask you with all my sincerity, what else can we do if nothing we've done so far has had none or very minimal effect?

We're quickly running out of options. Anger is on slow simmer as more and more people find themselves on the edge of homelessness, starvation, hopelessness.

What.

[glitch]

22. Global General Strike. nt

[nc4bo]

31. We'd all have to stand together and at this stage of the game, we're still too divided.

I fear the entire working/middle class would have to collapse but by then it'd probably be too late and a strike would be more like a riot.

[Name removed]

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[nc4bo]

37. No not quite. Not yet. (edit to add)

There's a DU poll asking how members are fairing economically. Let me see if I can link to it...(one sec)

Ok here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=4177&mesg_id=4177

Quite a few are doing well with some saying their ok but it's tight. If you compare that to those who are doing worse and much worse, there's still a good number of DU'ers doing ok, so far.

I realize it's a tiny DU poll but I suspect (or wouldn't be the least bit surprised) that outside of DU, there'd be some similarities.

[Goldstein1984]

62. "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible...

...make violent revolution inevitable." John F. Kennedy (and quoted my Martin Luther King)

In addition to the efforts of the ruling class to make peaceful revolution impossible, I place some responsibility on the working class for making peaceful revolution impossible for not taking nonviolent action while it is still possible. And I'm talking here about simply recognizing that there is a working class with common interests and a common enemy, and that we have more in common with working class have-nots in every nation than we have with our own ruling class. Simple unity, and evidence of unity, might gain the respect of those who have to face an undivided voting block.

But I don't see that happening. Those who divide us are too good at what they do, and they're stepping up their assault by undermining education, labor, and the social safety net. They are successfully dividing, conquering, and ruling by fear.

[Goldstein1984]

59. I'm always advocating the IWW for "disposable employees"

The American people have yet to realize that we have more in commmon with peasants in developing nations than we have with out own elected officials and their corporate masters.

Unfortunately, the world's ruling class is united (e.g. G20 summit and WTO), while the workers are intentionally divided by outmoded forms of thought like nationalism, patriotism, and good old xenophobia.

[Goldstein1984]

58. Howard Zinn advocated civil disobedience

I've advocated general boycotts of nonessential spending to send an economic message.

Unfortunately, there is nothing left that the people can do that does not require sacrifice beyond voting, contributing, and walking precincts.

My family has stopped all nonessential spending.

Nothing will happen until a leader with the public ear is ready to risk his or her career by calling for liberal populist action on behalf of the have-nots. Once that leader steps forward, and a set of principles and values is developed, then the leaders will become unnecessary and a doctrine-based organization that grows and diversifies without focused leadership can develop.

Look at the structure of Al Qaeda for an example of how effective such organizational structure can be. The U.S. is still pursuing Osama bin Laden, because our leadership is locked into the "head-of-the-snake" mode, long after he has ceased to be relevant in the organization he founded.

[glitch]

66. I guess until we're ready to really fight back,

keep taking care of our neighbors the best we can.

[Ramulux]

39. Its really a very simple question

If Obama has the ability and empathy to walk a mile in a poor homeless child's shoes, what does that say about the agenda he has pursued? I think its better to assume he is unable to relate to the poor and needy than to assume he can and just doesn't care.

[Goldstein1984]

55. And I don't believe there's enough suffering yet for there to be

critical mass for organized dissent on the scale necessary for change.

But I think we're going in that direction. My son returned from a deployment in Iraq opposed to both wars, and when he leaves the Army in February he plans to be very active. Through a combination of personal experience an a reading list (Heavy on Zinn and Chomsky) provided by me, he's gone from anti-Obama (Right) to pro-Obama (Middle) to anti-Obama (Left) over two years, based almost entirely on foreign policy in the Middle East, which he has experienced intimately. It will be interesting to see how his views continue to evolve.

[glitch]

67. What a remarkable thing to witness!

"he's gone from anti-Obama (Right) to pro-Obama (Middle) to anti-Obama (Left) over two years,"

I am glad your son made it through deployment.
:hug:

[Goldstein1984]

61. I admit, I've become pessimistic

We've been without representation before.

We fought a revolution to toss off monarchy.
We fought a civil war to end slavery.
We conducted strikes and smashed factory windows to end the Gilded Age (Temporarily, it seems).
We marched in the streets over civil rights.
We protested to undermine efforts in an unjust war that killed only the children of the poor.

The system cannot be trusted to change itself. The system is self-sustaining and vested in the status quo. Change comes only from outside the system.

[FrenchieCat]

20. What happened you see,

is that you wanted the REVOLUTION TWEETED in 140 CHARACTERS, with a Gil-Scot Heron Swagga.
So if you're not getting that, then Pres. Obama must be no good.

[Joe Fields]

29. Is that what you really think?

[Joe Fields]

28. Words have no meaning for that man.

He is say anything, do anything.

[Safetykitten]

30. He never was there. People told you and you chose not to listen.

[Johnny Harpo]

33. We Voted For The Myth...The Man Turned Out To Be Quite Another Story

n/t

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[somone]

64. He dazzled with brilliance AND bullshit

It worked like a charm

[TheKentuckian]

40. It always is hurtful for hope and change to be even more of the same.

[WinkyDink]

43. Where? Exiting stage right, leaving the floor to Bill Clinton.

[Name removed]

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[bvar22]

65. I would argue that he broke his promise on Afghanistan.

During the campaign, he stated that he would increase troops by 3 brigades (12,000) to
protect Americans and to pursue Bin Laden in the mountainous regions.

These 3 brigades were deployed in early 2008, and was Pre-Surge.
The Surge (additional 30,000+ troops), and the expansion of the MISSION to pacifying entire regions in Afghanistan is WAY over and above anything discussed during the campaign.

[glitch]

68. And don't forget Pakistan and Yemen.

Escalating the war on Afghanistan to other countries was not part of the campaign at all.

[whathehell]

70. Bait and Switch..

is what I heard someone today call it.

[Name removed]

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[BzaDem]

72. Wouldn't it be better for you if more people DIDN'T reach the conclusion you have reached?

Your conclusion is that you are going to enable a Republican in 2012, which of course means they will start a 3rd or 4th war, make the tax system even flatter with MUCH more tax cuts for the rich, cut or end Medicaid, end unemployment benefits, etc.

So isn't maximizing the number of people ignoring you the best possible outcome for you?

[sarcasmo]

73. Kick.

[L0oniX]

74. Suckers!

...of which I feel I have been taken for.