Obama: “Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother”

[babylonsister]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29974630/

snip//

Suddenly, the tactical boldness Obama had applied while seeking office was translated into an action plan for the economy. He concluded that presidential action — and lots of it — was the indispensable first step toward recovery and his own chances for re-election.

He was (and remains) popular, and is determined to use that asset to the fullest as long as he has it. He had (and has) a largely willing partner in the Democratic Congress. For liberals there, it has been 25 years since they had a real champion with a chance at national leadership. His name was Ted Kennedy. So Obama is tapping into a quarter century of pent-up Democratic demand at a time when most mainstream economists still agree that government spending remains the key to recovery.

And Obama himself seems to be responding eagerly to his own enhanced role — some of it born of economic necessity, at least as he sees it.

So far, the feedback loop of fame and power must feel pretty positive. It sure looks that way. The confident cool that so many found attractive last year remains. But now, there is an occasional moment of muscle flexing — even if it is behind closed doors.

At a private meeting with House Democrats this week, one member urged Obama to propose more money for roads and bridges. The president tartly reminded the fellow that he had voted “no” on the original stimulus package, which contained money for that very purpose.

“Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother,” Obama added. There was laughter all around, but nobody missed the point: The president was at the helm, firmly in control.

[polichick]

1. Lol - great remark!

[vaberella]

2. Pres. O really said that?! He's just too cool. n/t

[natrat]

3. happy times throw another trillion to the banks,happy times

[tomp]

4. obama's in control. yeah, right. nt

[Marie26]

5. Boo to roads & bridges. nt

[Political Heretic]

6. Too bad he doesn't use that "firm control" for EFCA or for reforming banking.

That was a damn cool line though, as far as the budget stuff goes.

[biopowertoday]

10. I really do not think saying that to his own party member is cool. And

Fineman has a larger message which I believe is spot on.



...............“Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother,” Obama added. There was laughter all around, but nobody missed the point: The president was at the helm, firmly in control.

I’d add just one thing. Every superhero has a weakness, and it is generally related to his or her great strength. In Obama’s case, it’s his confidence in his own abilities as a leader.

It is a great thing, and it has helped the country enormously so far, but he needs to be careful.

It’s not just about him.

[Barack_America]

13. When members of his own party are opposing him with the same fervor...

...of the Republicans, it is entirely appropriate.

You want Obama to help you? Help him.

[biopowertoday]

19. well, I think

there is a fine line between cockiness and being in charge many times. IMHO.

[me b zola]

27. Ah, yes. We certainly must temper his "cockiness"

:sarcasm:

[Binka]

41. Yeppers That Cockiness Thing Just Got THAT ONE To Ignore

I've been thinking about it for a few months because she says things that make me go :wtf: must be time for the HazMat crew. LOL!How ya doing zola?

[Political Heretic]

16. I disagree.

I think its high time there was someone in the White House who led. My problem is with the direction the President has so far opted to lead in. He seems to be first rate on basic domestic spending priorities, which give us positive things like the Recovery Act and this proposed budget. But his choice to stay publicly silent on EFCA and not make it a policy priority for his administration is tragic, as is his choice to stay fervently committed to wall street bankers who brought us the current disaster, while saving his "tough" love for Detroit.

Obama needs to lead the party. And he needs to push congressional Democrats to carry out his agenda and priorities. That's part of what being President is all about. The main trouble is with what his priorities have been so far.

[CreekDog]

7. I would've preferred Obama say that to a Blue Dog, rather than DeFazio

who only voted against it when a lot of good things were cut.

but nevertheless, the point was made and it was a good point to make.

[Marie26]

9. Yeah, I'd rather see

Obama deliver a "smackdown" to a Republican or (gasp) Wall St. CEO instead of a liberal Democrat. DeFazio is a true liberal, very populist & a member of the Progressive Caucus. He's a liberal "gadfly" in the tradition of Paul Wellstone. And last year he opposed the bank bailout & introduced an Act to tax trades of Wall St. "financial instruments". I think it's quite telling (and worrisome) that DeFazio is the one who gets a smackdown/warning from Obama. IMO it's kind of a proxy for the larger smackdown the liberal/populist wing of the Democratic Party is getting from Obama.

[BeFree]

14. My take

He said it to a friend and that friend took it as a joke. All's cool. No one's feelings hurt.

But the message has spread far and wide: Obama is keeping score. It is a warning and an indication that the game is on and Obama knows how the game is played.

[CreekDog]

18. shrewd

and effective. true.

[Marie26]

23. Probably

It's hard to say for sure w/o seeing the conversation. I think Obama does know how the game is played. He wouldn't be where he is otherwise! The whole "Bambi" thing underestimates Obama severely.

[chill_wind]

24. Agree- there might be a little history there, as you suggest.

Going back to the bailout. He and Laura Tyson scuffled on the financial industry tax some of the Dems wanted, and Tyson and Wall Street won.

Tyson belonged to Team Obama.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5101153&mesg_id=5101832

[Marie26]

47. Oh, good to know.

I didn't know that there was a specific DeFazio/Team Obama conflict on the financial tax, but it doesn't surprise me.

"The conflicts and corruption surrounding the bailout have even impacted internal Democratic Party deliberations. At an afternoon press conference (video here or at right), Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) recounted how when progressives and Blue Dog Democrats proposed a financial industry tax to pay for the bailout, Democratic leaders sent in Laura Tyson to kill it by saying "the street wouldn't like it." According to DeFazio, Tyson was brought in "under the guise of being a former Clinton economic adviser, forgetting to tell us she's on Morgan Stanley's board of directors."


Wall Street Journal Opinion: In Defense of Obamanomics, by Laura Tyson -

"Ms. Tyson... is a member of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123655553728965955.html

Typical. Ugh.

[Barack_America]

15. The message was intended for everyone.

I just hope that it reaches Senate Dems. They're the ones who need to hear it most.

[EffieBlack]

8. Absolutely PRICELESS!

We got us a President!

He's starting to remind me of LBJ in his keen eye on legislation, his knowledge about who is doing what on the Hill and his willingness to apply pressure where needed.

[Marie26]

48. Pressure on whom?

It looks to me like a liberal Dem got "pressure" & a smackdown because he supported more money for infrastructure, opposed tax cuts for the wealthy & wanted to tax Wall St. to pay for the bank bailout. Meanwhile, when a few Republicans want a million-dollar tax cut for the wealthy, Obama includes that in the stimulus bill, no problem.

A few weeks ago, Team Obama sent a representative to the Hill specifically to kill Defazio's proposed tax on Wall St. financial instruments. And Defazio receives a warning - "We're keeping score." Who's we? Sen. Dodd was also pressured by Obama's Treasury Dept. to *remove* any proposed cap on Wall St. executive bonuses. If anything, this little exchange seems to reflect that it is the Dems who oppose Wall St. who will be pressured by Obama.

[WI_DEM]

11. That's the Obama I like.

[BlooInBloo]

12. He's makin an list... He's checkin it twice... He's gonna find out who's naughty and nice....

Pre-si-dent O-bama'sssss.... IN TOWN!

:rofl:

[Arugula Latte]

21. They say this cat Barack is a bad mother

SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
I'm talkin' 'bout Barack!
THEN WE CAN DIG IT!

Barack!

;)

[TwilightGardener]

17. Who was the asshole congressman who tried to get away with his own hypocrisy?

Obama called him on it--don't fuck with a President with a steel-trap mind.

[TheWraith]

28. Peter DeFazio. Not a bad guy, but indulging in some political theater.

That being, of course, a big part of the problem in DC.

[old mark]

20. The President is just getting started - he is a lot smarter than

most of the congressional pols can even understand, and he has their number. When they get healthcare going you will hear a lot of whining by the GOPs about not being asked to participate....


mark

[butterfly77]

39. I believe that too...

he is just getting warmed up first he has to get through all of the clutter that was left behind..Right now he is digging through the weeds. I am glad that he is keeping score.

[glitch]

22. Burn! What kind of a jackass votes down something and then winges for it? nt

[MrSlayer]

25. DeFazio voted against it because it wasn't big enough.

As opposed to the Pukes that voted against it for stupid reasons.

[renate]

26. I was all "oh SNAP!" until I read it was DeFazio

Pete's one of the really good guys. And it looks like he was being completely consistent in that the reason he'd voted "no" before was that he wanted more money for the stuff he was asking Obama for in this meeting. :(

I guess I can't expect Obama to know each congressperson's specific reason for every "no" vote. And he was funny about it. And nobody's perfect.

[TheWraith]

29. Actually, I don't see it as being a good reason for voting against the stimulus.

Put in other terms, if your house is on fire, are you going to shoo away the firefighters because you don't think they brought enough water? DeFazio was sacrificing good for his idea of perfect.

[Hanse]

30. I like Defazio, but I like pwnage more.

Defazio wanted to play political games, and got burned for it.

Boo fucking hoo.

[chill_wind]

31. DeFazio: Here's what he said after his final vote of yes.

DeFazio: Open Letter on the Economic Stimulus Package


By Congressman Peter DeFazio.

When the House passed the stimulus package two weeks ago, I cast a reluctant yes but only after an amendment to add $3 billion for transit was accepted. That was progress. But I said at the time the bill needed changes in the Senate and conference committee before I would support final passage.

I particularly opposed the $300 billion in tax cuts added at the outset to capture Republican support and votes that didn’t materialize. Last year, we did $160 billion in tax cuts for the Bush “recovery plan”. We received a quarter of one percent boost in the economy for one quarter. Now we, our kids and grandkids, will pay that money back with interest to China over the next 30 years. I did not want to repeat that mistake with even bigger tax cuts paid for with borrowed money in a “Democratic Economic Recovery Plan”.

The “compromise” voted on yesterday was rewritten substantially to reflect the priorities of three Republican Senators, including $70 billion for one year of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief. We do need to reform the AMT so it doesn’t hit the middle class but we should pay for it and other needs by eliminating the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. We also need to retarget the AMT on those it was originally intended to capture - rich people who avoid taxes.

One of the first things eliminated by the Republican troika was the $3 billion for transit - but that was just for starters. More than $100 billion in other infrastructure investment, school modernization, and aid to education at all levels had to be cut to make room for their tax cuts. Oregon alone lost $457 million in education funds from the House version. Job estimates on legislation like this must be taken with a grain of salt. But using the original Administration multiplier, the final version of the bill cut job creation by between 400,000 and 700,000.

Some say this compromise is the best we could do because of the need for three Republican votes; that’s simply not true. If three Republicans get to rewrite every major initiative on the calendar - universal health care, a 21st century energy policy that addresses global warming, tax reform and more - we are in big trouble and won’t get the change we need.

The Democratic led Senate had three choices. They could have forced a real filibuster. Imagine what the Johnny One Note Republicans’ level of support would have been after endless blather about tax cuts - “It’s yer’ money” - compared to a Democratic plan to invest, rebuild and educate. If the Democratic leadership was in such a hurry to get out of D.C. they couldn’t make time for a filibuster, they could have changed the rules and required a simple majority vote. The Republicans set the precedent for this with their “nuclear option” when they controlled the Senate. But no, they followed the non-binding rules of the world’s most exclusive club and we get half a loaf.

We could have spent that borrowed $325 billion for tax cuts much more wisely to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, a major initiative for renewable energy, educating the next generation of workers and leaders and maybe even a big down payment on universal health care.

There are many good things in this bill but there could have been much, much more!

Sincerely,

Peter A. DeFazio

http://www.blueoregon.com/2009/02/defazio-open-letter-on-the-economic-stimulus-package.html



YouTube page video of his floor speeches on the Economic Stimulus Package.

http://www.youtube.com/user/PeterDeFazio

[saltpoint]

32. But...but...Obama's too INEXPERIENCED for this job!

[tosh]

33. LOL, good memory.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

34. LOL!! How ya like him now??!??!?!

:rofl::rofl:

[underpants]

35. "I WON"

the Dems are hearing what he already told the Republicans

of course they are keeping score-that is called politics

[genna]

36. He can deliver a serious punch with a charming smile

I like the emergence of accountability in Congress. Congressional Democrats can puff themselves up on camera and demand certain things for their particular political career but how they conduct their votes is their specific measure behind the scenes.


I look forward to seeing how he embraces the ConservaDems especially since they think their individual districts and future political career prospects. The national debt, unemployment, inflation, and uninsured are all problems which need to be managed. At this time everyone has a role in managing those problems. If the Congressional Democrats with our majority refuse to stay in their lane (metaphor) and the Republicans say no to every proposal not based on tax cuts, the Obama agenda will be dead on arrival.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

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

[HopeOverFear]

38. That's not what he meant

[Cha]

40. Everyone keeps score floater..

try to keep up.

[Binka]

44. I think he floated into the wrong board Cha n/t

[Cha]

45. Yeah, flotsam and

jetsam in the worst sense, Bink.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

42. Why? What's he going to do? Eat one of my cats?

[babylonsister]

43. Were you as disgruntled when Bush was keeping score on you? nt

[HopeOverFear]

46. HA! Alright now

:fistbump: