Framing: 'he caved' & 'we were screwed' v. 'they held the poor hostage' & 'they blackmailed us'

[muriel_volestrangler]

Yeah, nearly everyone on DU is pissed off at the deal about taxes and unemployment benefits. But is it really a good idea to make the message "Obama caved", "Democratic politicians can't stand up for anything" and so on? Or how about reminding people, relentlessly, that this has all happened because the Republicans held the tax system hostage to obtain cuts for their super-rich supporters?

Blame the Republicans. Call them 'blackmailers', 'hostage-takers'. Say they threatened to leave those made unemployed by the greed of the banks penniless unless millionaires got tax cuts. Say they wanted to see the middle class lose out if the bankers didn't get tax cuts on their record bonuses.

Why make the left look weak and useless? That's just going to hurt future election prospects. No-one wants to elect people their own 'supporters' call victims. Emphasise the greed of Republicans. Remind the Tea Partiers they just elected the Friends of the Banksters, whose first act afte the election was to give money to the richest 2% in the country. Call the Republicans 'economic terrorists', who threatened to blow up the plane if it didn't divert to where they wanted it to go.

[Ineeda]

1. K&R

[mdmc]

2. Q: Why was the GOP given this power?

A: Cause we didn't address middle class tax cuts before the bailout of the for profit health insurance industry.

We should have extended the middle class tax cuts with our super majority before we took all that money away from people by increasing their medical costs.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. I agree - this should have been addressed before the election

because there was already a majority of people supporting the middle class tax cuts with no cuts for the rich. Then, if the Republicans had blocked that in the Senate, or voted against it in the House, there'd have been some good ammo for the election - "the Republicans blocked your tax cut because they demanded their rich backers got tax cuts 100 times as large!". I think the Tea Party-leaning voters would have thought twice before supporting the Republicans, and more independents (and Democrats) would have come out to vote for a Democrat.

[bluethruandthru]

18. Our party is horribly ineffective at framing issues and thinking strategically.

The R's beat us at this time and time again.

[bvar22]

24. "horribly ineffective".....or

complicit? :shrug:

Most of the "Dems" and their Single Source Large Campaign Contributors will benefit from the Tax Cuts for the RICH.

[Mimosa]

12. ^ Amen, MDMC! ^

How can EVERYTHING be blamed on repiglicans when we had a Democratic president and a Democratic House and Senate? Unless the Dems wanted to screw us over too?

[mcar]

17. Let's remember that PO wanted the issue voted on prior to election

It was the cowardly Dems in congress who refused to do so. That's how we got into this position.

All the people slamming the president now for "caving" seem to have forgotten this.

[LeftishBrit]

3. k&r

I know what real betrayal by a leader of a 'left' party looks like. We had Blair for 10 years. Now we have Clegg. Leaders of two different, supposedly anti-Tory, parties. Selling out their principles for power. This is different from the situation of blackmail by the Right.

In the 80s, we had the other extreme from Blairite selling-out, and it led to remarkably similar consequences: Labour politicians fighting each other, while Thatcher was delighted to divide the already-divided, and conquer. 11 years of Thatcher - a nightmare, from which we've never recovered.

[nashville_brook]

5. Obama doesn't represent the left, so, however weak he is doesn't reflect on us

[seabeyond]

6. two YEARS tax break got ONLY an extension. fuck, that is worse than mere dealing with

a blackmailer. i could not believe they got two years. or that all we got was extension. that is a piss poor swap.

[ibegurpard]

7. sorry, i'm not carrying his water

[SidDithers]

8. But outrage is more emotionally rewarding...

and gets more notice.

K&R

Sid

[hobbit709]

9. Rule number one in deal making

Don't let the other side know what all you are willing to give up before you even start talking.

It's hard to call someone's bluff if you put all your cards face up on the table BEFORE you call.

[Catherina]

10. No one's making the Left look weak and useless. Obama is representing the DLC that way,

not the Left. The left is strengthened and furious.

The answer to your question is no because this is worse than no representation. I'm not covering for them so they can continue fooling people. Shame on them.

Their lies and duplicity are being ASSANGED.

[mmonk]

11. He does cave.

Reality is always the best framing. I'm sure he has thought he has acted and "received" good concessions for the economy in negotiations. But that is beside the point.

[LWolf]

13. Obama is not the left.

"He caved" might make HIM look "weak and useless." THE LEFT isn't caving.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

14. Why? Because...

packaging UI with tax cuts for the top 2% = dumb

We became blackmailed by our own rhetoric about 2 million unemployed left to starve to death at Christmas if they don't get their benefits extended. I've been through this process. Each time I got kicked off because the Republicans wanted to grandstand, benefits were extended within a week or two *retroactively*. (Full disclosure: I face losing my benefits if they are not extended.)

What we need to do is turn the Republican base against their leaders. How can we do that? Say "NO deal." Let the Democrats bring a vote to extend UI benefits every day and let the unemployed Republican base turn on their leadership. The Republican leaders will capitulate and extend benefits to appease their base. They always have. In fact, the threat that they would not was disingenuous. But Obama doesn't like his job, so he takes the path of least resistance.

Now what? Democrats say "NO deal," and the Republicans hang UI over *our* head. How could Obama allow this to happen?!!

[zbdent]

15. I actually had a LTTE published (earlier this year) where I pointed out that

Boehner and the Republicans held a gun to the heads of the X million uninsured, holding them hostage.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. Well done

LTTEs like that are a good tactic. :thumbsup:

[zbdent]

16. good luck getting the "liberally biased media" to air

those types of accusations.

Right now, the "liberally biased media" is still slavishly kissing the asses of the 'baggers ...

[EstimatedProphet]

19. There's no question at all that repubs are at fault

I think the question really is: why didn't Obama see that?

Obama is making himself look weak and useless. We're not doing it for him. He is the one that came out and said that consensus is the end goal. What he should have done is go on the air last night and tell the public just what you are saying we should be telling the public.

[blondeatlast]

23. Totally agree. that "our side" can't communicate what you and MV

did quite simply and eloquently is what I'd REALLY like to discuss beccause it is easily the Deomcrats (and the Left in general)'s greatest weakness--and the country is going to hell in a handbasket because of it.

[spanone]

20. they are blackmailers and we caved...how's that?

[October]

26. Spot on, I'd say. /nt

[karynnj]

21. Thank you for this post

I scanned the posts because I was tempted to try to start a thread with similar sentiments - but you did it better than I would have.

The deal has something for both sides - and the parts Obama gained are critical for the economy.
I would argue that Obama NOT putting debt reduction ahead of the needs of the unemployed and the need for more stimulus is incredibly important. Think about it - at the national and state level, a game is constantly repeated - when the Republicans are in they cut revenues and give tax cuts - making every one happy. When Democrats are in, suddenly, they are told that the "adult" thing to do is to deal with the raising debt - no improving services. Obama REFUSED to play this game. The economy needs stimulus - and it will get some. Given the tax cuts to the wealthy, the Republicans are in no position to claim the good parts of the deal raise the debt - everything in the deal does.

If you believe -as most do - that the condition of the economy is the key to 2012 - Obama won as much stimulus as he could get from the Republicans. This gives the economy the best chance of continuing its very fragile, too slow recovery.

It was also interesting that earlier in the day, Obama was speaking of restarting the economy. Others in the JK group noticed that Obama used "Kerry's line" from Meet the press - of this being our Sputnik moment - when another person noted that Dr Cho had used the same phrase erlier, some time last week. Three mentions suggests this is a real theme - and a very positive one. As Kerry said on MTP, you need to invest in technology and industry - not just cut spending.

To me, the combination of Obama's speech in NC and this plan shows that he will not accept the role that Democrats have in the past of taking the debt MORE seriously than the republicans do. That could lead to balance when both sides work on the issue.

I was furious yesterday when Begala, in his constant effort to deify Bill Clinton, spoke of Obama looking weak with this - unlike when Clinton vetoed the budget and the government was shut down. Ignoring that that led to interns, rather than the regular people, delivering mail in the WH, Begala ignores that this is NOT 1995, when the economy was quite good. This is 2 years into an incredibly fragile economy with people hanging on by their teeth. Not to mention, not having a deal would mean that NOTHING else passes - including unemployment extension. It also moves the issue into the even less favorable 112th Congress. (I honestly did not thing Begala could ever again be less useful than he was in 2004 - but he is right now.)

The media is spinning this as a Republican win and that Obama is weak - any Democrat repeating that is not helping.

[October]

27. Right, blame everyone BUT Obama. He has a mouth, no?

We've been well aware of the right-wing media...for more than a decade -- why aren't the Dems aware yet?

[PassingFair]

25. He did cave, we ARE screwed.

That our administration let this become an either/or situation
is not acceptable.

[H2O Man]

28. I believe it is fair.

It happened. Saying so does not "make the left look weak and useless." The left needs to make an accurate identification of who is responsible for this crime, and that definitely includes those democrats in DC who are not even close to being on the left.