Can you imagine if all of the progressive energy spent on bashing Obama was directed at McConnell...

[wndycty]

. . .he wouldn't be able to get away with shutting down the Senate, however if fashionable here to bash the MOST EFFECTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT in recent history than it is to stand with him and fight the GOP.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. It is.

Duh!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Is this the Universe that only one action is possible?

:shrug:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Yes.

2+ thoughts are impossible.

[leveymg]

21. 90% of propaganda is limiting choices down to two mutually unacceptable choices.

I hate "either/or" scenarios and propositions like this.

Saw another earlier today here, the false choice proposed between supporting a cave-in on extending Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and allowing the unemployment benefits to expire.

I really gets my craw when people try to frame issues to further pre-ordained ends - it's a form of push-polling, and I don't like it.

[mcar]

2. Too true. Fighting the Republicans

What a concept.

[MrsCorleone]

22. We can't fight the Republicans!

I mean, we have a Democratic Administration to destroy and all!

[bluestateguy]

4. But it so much easier to Blame Obama First

The Usual Script:

42 Republicans play obstructionist, and maybe one Democrat goes along with them for the ride.

"Betrayal! Obama sold us out! Obama gave in! The Democrats are all cowards!"

Notice how there is nary a peep of criticism for the real obstructionists.

[wndycty]

6. Of course not. . .

. . .we love to hate our own more than support them.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. "Notice how there is nary a peep of criticism for the real obstructionists. "

Who?

The Repubs?

No shit!

This isn't Politics 100.

[griffi94]

15. have to disagree

for 8 years folks here at DU made plenty of noise about the gop.
i'm glad to see that a lot of those folks hold democrats to the same standard. my party right or wrong is imho a lot of what enabled this mess in the first place.

sadly on major issues effecting the working class, candidate obama and president obama, seem to be polar opposites.

[MrsCorleone]

25. Yep.

It works every time.

Distract distract distract.

[Hello_Kitty]

7. Okay, so we bash McConnell and the rest of the GOP for, say, wanting to extend tax cuts to the rich

We really organize to condemn the GOP for budget-busting and non-stimulative tax cuts to the rich.

And then the blue dogs and President Obama compromise with them to extend the tax cuts, as it's appearing they planned to do all along.

What was accomplished by that? I mean, besides progressives looking like idiots and having it thrown in our faces by right wingers that our Democratic leaders sold us out?

[wndycty]

12. So start the bashing of Democrats/Obama and don't lay a glove on Republicans?

:kick:

[Hello_Kitty]

18. So you're pretty much acknowledging the Dems are going to cave.

Honestly, at this point what difference does it make what progressive do anymore?

They'll extend the Bush tax cuts to the rich (honest, just temporarily, we swear!) and y'all will line up dutifully to defend it. Just like you did with no public option in HCR, the continuation of torture and rendition, etc.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

99. Well, any form of compromise to you is "caving"

And yet it is the very principle on which our country is founded.

[badtoworse]

65. Repub's represent a different constituency and have a way...

different agenda. Does anyone here seriously believe they care what we think? McConnell would just thumb his nose. On the other hand, the people WE elected should be fighting for us, but aren't. The Repub's play smash mouth football and we're playing touch.

If you just look at getting what your constituents want, the Repub's are way better at it than our team is. Sorry, but that's the way I see it and even sorrier I don't have a good answer.

[LoZoccolo]

8. K&R! n/t

[zulchzulu]

9. It's like soldiers whining at the general when the enemy lobs a bomb in the trench

Seriously... some fucked-up, back-assward thinking...

[patrice]

11. Can I PLEASE K & R this a bzillion trillion? Emotion obliterates practical problem solving behaviors

[madinmaryland]

132. How many is a brazilian???

[polichick]

13. That would be a waste - Republicans don't care about Dem voters...

The prez asked that Dems hold his feet to the fire - there shouldn't be a problem with people expecting him to fight for Democratic principles.

[robinlynne]

14. We did. We gave Obama the power to make change. We backed him every step of the way.

It is our duty to make the president do the right thing. We gave him the necessary support to do so.
he seems to believe in bi partisanship, even after the R party showed itself to be a group of thieves, murderers, and traitors.

[Radical Activist]

108. Wrong. The people have power to make change.

No, You can't claim in the past tense that we "gave him" the power necessary. He told us on election night that this was going to be a difficult struggle that required us to help the effort.

If you think you can give any politician power by just voting and then sitting back to wait for the results, then you'll always be disappointed by any President. That's not how it works.

[robinlynne]

112. I didnt mean just by voting. you misinterpreted. I (we) do a hell of a lot more than vote.

[Uzybone]

16. circular firing squad

we are too damn good at it. Its so cliche, but damn I really thought we would be better than this.

[leftynyc]

17. Some of us are capable

of doing and thinking more than one thing at a time. Give it a try.

[pamela]

19. I miss the days when DU bashed Reps instead of Dems

I was so frustrated at the beginning of Obama's term when DUers started focusing on criticizing him instead of the repigs. I kept thinking "If you think an Obama with a 60% approval rating isn't left enough for you, just wait until his approval rating tanks. He'll move even further towards the middle/right." It was an incredibly stupid strategy then and it's too late now. I use to think we were the smart ones. Sadly, I was wrong.

[Hello_Kitty]

26. We're not the cause of his approval rating sinking or him moving to the right.

Do you seriously think that if Pres. Obama got no criticism whatsoever from the Left that things would be any different?

[displacedvermoter]

28. Can you tell me how Dems criticizing decisions on an

internet forum led to Obama's tanking approval rating. Obama's supporters here on DU are always saying that outside of the DU bubble, all Dems love Obama. So the criticism of Duers like me shouldn't really make much difference.

[MrsCorleone]

33. When the criticisms are amplified across the so-call progressive blogosphere,

as it has been, as well as on the TV networks and progressive radio, it profoundly changes voter sentiment, exactly as the conservative think tanks and PR firms planned.

It worked on the Hispanic community in 2006. It worked on the Teabaggers in 2009. It worked on the LGBT community this year. It's working on the rest of progressives pre-midterm and now.

[displacedvermoter]

39. When a so-called Progressive President repeatedly

kowtows to the right and now seems even more intent on further kowtowing, that does far more damage to voter sentiment than anything a knucklehead like me could accomplish by posting on the Internets!

[MrsCorleone]

53. Yep.

Multiply out the postings about the "kowtowing" meme, put out by the think tanks by way of the M$M, and you got yourself a movement of knuckleheads discouraging Dem voters and ensuring a Republican 2012 win. It worked in the midterms.

The PR is quite brilliant. Tragic as it is.

[Radical Activist]

111. The netroots could have pushed the press and changed the national debate.

Are you saying that all the writing in the netroots has zero impact at all? It's all nothing but a useless circle jerk to you? How sad.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9567343

[Bobbie Jo]

59. +1000

Exactly.

[704wipes]

92. I miss the days when Dem presidents BASHED Republicans

FDR called them economic royalists
Harry gave 'em hell
LBJ told them they had played too much football without a helmet

Obama just mopes along with his attitude, "oh gee maybe I haven't compromised with them enough yet..."
Fuck that shit, it's definitely self-defeating at this point. Hell, it was self defeating after 6 months.
Maybe the Democrats have been borged by the GOP.

[Radical Activist]

110. I guess you didn't hear any of Obama's speeches before the election.

You don't remember Obama giving any speeches critical of Republicans? Something about them sipping a slurpy while the rest of us were trying to fix the country's problems? Maybe you'd prefer to repeat Cenk-style talking points than think for yourself.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

100. +1196848138138483

[Radical Activist]

109. The cannibalistic netroots

just kept doing the same thing they did under Bush. It's time to grow up and use a more sophisticated strategy than complain about the President non-stop. What a waste.

[pmorlan1]

131. Me too!

I miss the days when the Democrats weren't acting like Republicans and I was excited and happy to support them because they supported Democratic principles. Ahhhh for the good old days.

[joeybee12]

20. Trust me, I can spew bile at more than one target at a time...nt

[displacedvermoter]

23. MOST EFFECTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT

in recent history!

Since Clinton? Since LBJ? Since FDR?

How recent and effective just how?

It is not fashionable to hold Obama's feet to the fire, it is what we -- as Democrats, as Progressives, as Americans -- have an obligation to do. How do you recommend I direct my anger at McConnell, who is a cad, no doubt, but he is not even remotely inclined to listen to me. But the candidate I and my family voted for, sent money to, and had hopes for, he should listen to me.

Amd he's not, clearly, listening to the desires and frustrations of me and many others likeme.

[wndycty]

27. Did Clinton get health care passed? No it failed. Clinton gave us DADT

. . .Obama is very close to repealing it. I am not hating on Clinton at all, but Obama is getting shit done even if the alleged base not does appreciate it.

Obama has a damn strong record.

[displacedvermoter]

32. Did Obama get effective health care passed?

Did he get something passed that will not effectively kick in until 2014, and that was so poorly received that it went a long way towards the November 2010 ass kicking. Promises not met, and hopes that were dashed for many people give many folks little to appreciate.

How is Obama's record on holding his predecessor and his gang accountable. Pretty damn weak. How's his record on holding the current crop of GOP snakes accountable, not real good as he falls over himself "reaching out" for "bipartisanship". Really weak.

Getting shit done is one thing. Getting worthwhile shit done, is another matter.

[wndycty]

38. If you think adding 30 million people to healthcare rolls, getting rid of lifetime caps, preexisting

conditions is not effective then there is not much I can offer you.

You are determined to be unhappy.

[displacedvermoter]

43. Again, many of these wonderful things won't happen until 2014

by which point many needy people will be dead. And still another 25 - 30 million people will remain off health care rolls regardless. And, as many smarter people than me have pointed out, enrolling people in insurance programs is far from the same thing as giving them health insurance.

I am determined to be realistic, sorry.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

102. So it should never happen then?

How many died when Kennedy blocked health care reform decades ago? How many died when Clinton failed to get it done during his presidency? And how many will live after 2014 because of Obama's bill?

You are not being one iota realistic.

[eilen]

94. I had a patient this week

who fell.

She fell yesterday. She falls a lot lately. She has MS. She used to get a monthly infusion of a medication that kept her MS in check, that prevented her from falling.

She has worked her whole life, since she was 15. She is in her mid-50's now.

She is unemployed. She has no health insurance. Even though she was able to get the drug she need through the pharmaceutical company's charity programme, she cannot afford the infusion. She needs an infusion facility to insert the iv, run the drug safely and administer a bag of saline afterwards.

Medicaid will only cover after a $500/month spend down. She receives $1100 a month; $600 of which pays the rent.

She has to wait until July to apply for Medicare/Disability as that is her 2 year mark of being completely disabled.

Oh, she has many stairs up to her house. She uses a crutch, when her legs don't collapse like jelly under her.

Now she has some broken bones, a contusion and a collapsed lung.

This healthcare reform bill has failed her. This government, this country has failed her. Our "healthcare" system is barbaric.

[totodeinhere]

115. What a tragic story. And sadly there are many other stories just like that. n/t

[totodeinhere]

107. It won't add 30 million people. Many of those, especaiily those with preexisting conditions, will

not be able to afford their premiums. And government subsidies to help them will be inadequate and will require too much red tape.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

101. Yes. Unquestionably so. (nt)

[polmaven]

83. I agree on the health care issue,

but please....as far as DADT goes, it was MUCH better than we had, and it really was, with the Congress he had, the best that could be done. The country's opinions regarding LGBT have changed dramatically over the 17 years since passage, and it can now be repealed.

[paulk]

88. it's really not correct to say that Clinton gave us DADT

he wanted gays to serve openly - DADT was a compromise forced on him - by other Democrats (Sam Nunn) - and it was still a better policy than what preceded it...

[patrice]

24. People are thinking too narrowly, too pre-determined by lables, instead of creatively about HOW the

President, as BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDD!!! as he is, ***can*** be used as a foil to build autonomous strength on OUR issues.

Priorities are messed up by revenge. We are enslaved more by being against Obama than we are freed to DO WHATEVER WE CAN, even use him by working with him, for OUR issues. Us and our stuff should come before ANYTHING, repeat ANYTHING, else. And right now, I just don't think that's what's going on. There's some other agenda ahead of doing what works best to get us where we want to go as far and as soon as possible.

Maybe it would be a good idea for people to play chess a little bit, or poker, or a role playing game like Villagers and the Werewolves, something like that to get the idea of what complex high stakes negotiations are.

I'm NOT saying Obama is a saint, I'm not saying he doesn't have traits that I find anti-thetical to what I think would be best. I'm reading Russ Baker's Family of Secrets right now and I have to admit that there is a definite attraction to the idea that this situation is so horrendously evil that it justifies destroying a half-way decent President in order to destroy the plutocracy, BUT I always come back to how well we would NOT be able to accomplish that goal, ending the plutocracy, as weak and disunified as we are. We'd not only fail at destroying the plutocracy, we'd make it stronger - AND - many people will be hurt in all of different possible scenarios at this point, essentially due to our own weakness and lack of unity. I also always come back to the FACT that it really is possible to make some relatively revolutionary strides forward with President Obama IIIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFF we get ourselves strong enough - And - goddammit acting out of bitterness and revenge IS NOT STRONG/SMART enough to get anything I want to see done!

The kind of changes we NEED to make go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay deeper than conventional X vs. Y vs. Z and that's about all I'm seeing so far and if we don't change that, NONE of the suffering and death are going to be worth anything, because nothing's going to REALLY change.

:rant:

[JoePhilly]

34. +100

While critical assessment of Obama is ok ... here on DU, and in some other parts of the Democratic / left / progressive / liberal world ... it goes beyond constructive and becomes destructive.

Just today ... the GOP is demonstrating that their power comes not wasting tons of energy fighting each other, but by banding together to show that they CAN.

Sadly, we seem unable to make such a display, even when it would help us.

Take HCR ... our infighting weakened the Democrats. The GOP would have lock stepped it. Even with the warts, they would cheer every small victory ... gain what ground they could, and then work forward from there.

While I like the chess metaphor in some ways for Obama, in this case, football is a better comparison. The GOP is happy to run for 2-3 yards. Pick up some first downs, move the ball. We on the left seem to demand an endless series of 80 yard touchdown passes.

[patrice]

55. "80 yard touchdown passes" Yes! People talk about his job as though they know EXACTLY and precisely

everything in every detail and all of the possible combinations of events, everything thats involved in doing the work of being President. And they use what they assume they know about being President to make summary judgments about him and the future. It's irresponsible.

It's ridiculous and absurd and yet we're all supposed to "respect" it. While anyone who has been around the business world knows that it is ridiculous and absurd and yet this stuff goes on anyway. Why is that? I'M SORRY!!! but I'm forced to conclude that there is NO constructive intent ON THE ISSUES in it. In many, many cases its about anger and bitterness and revenge ALL hallmarks of DANGER - and then there are for real BAD people around milking it for all it's worth for THEIR OWN THING what-the-hell-ever that is and people around here just don't appear to stop and ask any questions about what the hell is going on here, even though it's the VERY same thing they claim to be so angry about going on right under their own noses - and no one recognizes it? WTF???

Sorry about the rant, but I'm pretty upset about this. I mean people ARE entitled to their opinions, but please let us all just be up front about the contradictions in what it is that we SAY we are and what we are doing. And all of us, myself included, ask ourselves some good hard honest questions, before we HURT a bunch of people much more than "we" already have and then use what "we've" done as justification for itself and more of the same. It's just plane crazy and yet this appears to be the most probable scenario at this point.

[JoePhilly]

68. No problem on the "rant" ...

Ranting is often therapeutic, particularly if you write it down because you can go back and re-read it and make some determination as to whether you went over the edge, as it were. So in a sense, it helps one organize what can appear to be disorganized thoughts and emotions. So rant away :-)

My sense is that many of us on the left are idealists. We can imagine a future that does not yet exist. And so the GAP between now and then creates a tension for each of us, but it varies based on which aspects of the "future" we yearn for.

That tension causes you and me to potentially select different priorities about what the "most important thing" should be ... DADT? Tax Cuts? Afghanistan? So on ...

On the right wing ... my view is that they tend to place their personal priorities UNDER those of their ideological "leaders". That's why the Tea Party is staying quiet on social issues this time ... they want to down-play those so that they don't scare moderates, and then focus on financial issues, and if they get majorities, THEN those social issues will bounce back.

We on the left don't do that. So every issue we care about must become the TOP issue, and if if MY ISSUE does not move fast enough, then the fight starts.

I hope we figure out that politics is a zero sum game ... and if we want to make progress, then we need to select priorities that win enough votes and which allow us to bring in our "more progressive" planks over time.

[polmaven]

84. Yes!!!

You have hit the nail on the head....:thumbsup: Thank you, Joe.

[Uzybone]

120. actually you mean 101 yard touchdown passes

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

29. Use some energy here. Phone Sen. kyl 202-224-4521

Tell him you want the START treaty passed. Stop underestimating your power.

[wndycty]

30. Thatis what I talking about!

:kick:

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

35. I know you are. Lets start pushing back hard, don't you people

know what it is be an activist, it's not just bitching to each other it's about tying up their phones.

[wndycty]

36. Plus 1,000,000

"it's not just bitching to each other"

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

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

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

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

[Hello_Kitty]

48. But you weren't defending Obama, you were trashing progressives.

And basically, like I said upthread, you've tacitly acknowledged that the blue dogs and Obama are going to cave on tax cuts to the rich. Which leaves progressives where, really, on that issue? What credibility do we have to attack the GOP on something when our Democratic leaders are acceding to it? Do you understand how idiotic and hypocritical that makes us look?

[wndycty]

52. This may offend you but you do know both Obama and I are progressives. . .

. . .I know you have your purity test, but we are both progressives ourselves.

[Hello_Kitty]

76. Recently I was on a radio show as part of a panel with some conservatives.

When the topic of the Bush tax cuts to the rich came up guess what one of them hit me with? Yep. How many Democrats in Congress support extending them and how President Obama is signalling a willingness to compromise. Oh, and Peter Orzag wants to extend them for 2 years (temporarily! honest!) too. So the gist was that the tax cuts to the rich couldn't be too bad since so many prominent Democrats, including the President, were either supportive of them or willing to compromise to allow them.

Pray tell, wndycty, how would you have had me respond to that as the sole liberal on the panel?

[wndycty]

82. You could have said progressives are not a monolithic group and that you don't want to compromise

. . .you could have gone on to say that maybe the President, Orzag and others are tempering their desire to repeal the tax cuts because they are vote counting and negotiating and trying to get something done.

I don't want to put words in mouth, but you asked.

[Hello_Kitty]

85. Disagreeing with the compromise is criticizing the President and other Dem leaders, no?

That's actually pretty close to how I answered. I also noted how Stockman and several Republican economists wanted to end the tax breaks, and how Boehner said he would accept tax cuts for the middle class only on a recent Sunday morning show.

But the point is that when the administration compromises and capitulates on issues that are important to progressives (and ending Bush tax cuts to the rich is hugely important to most of us, albeit maybe not you) it puts us in an awkward position. Remaining silent on that while focusing only on McConnell and the GOP looks lame and hypocritical.

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

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[patrice]

37. And tell all of your friends and family!

[Andy823]

31. Yep, looks like

The right wing trolls are doing a great job of dividing those on this site, aren't they? Seems like there are a lot of "gullible" people here who either have hated Obama all along because their candidate lost, or who are not smart enough to realize that yes, there have been mistakes made, and yes president needs to go more standing up to the right, but he is still a millions times better than any damned repuke that may become president!

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

57. He is our president and he needs to hear from us as well.

Phone him often. All I have been asking is that we need to let him and others know what we want, OFTEN !

[n2doc]

41. And you DON'T think that we bash McConnell here?

You are a complete fool if you think McConnell would care one whit if every member of DU were to call, email and write him saying nasty things about his agenda. We are not his base.

I guess if your timeframe is the last 9 years then Obama is the most effective democrat...I am sick of delusional folks saying how wonderful a job Obama has done, then in the next breath saying that he couldn't do much because of the Senate. Make up your friggin minds folks and look out the window. The USA is in dire shape, and we need strong leadership, not cave ins, to get us out of this.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

46. Fuck his base ! Tie up his phones !

[Phx_Dem]

44. +100000

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

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

[wndycty]

49. Very interesting point

:kick:

[political_Dem]

47. But, that would be talking sense. Instead, the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

All practicality has flown out the window.

:sarcasm:

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

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[Unvanguard]

58. We never seem to get it, and always prefer to go after our own.

I'll never understand it.

[DrToast]

60. Obama won't even go after him. What do you expect?

[Unvanguard]

61. All the more reason for us to do so, surely? n/t

[DrToast]

62. If you do that means you disagree with Obama's strategy. Therefore criticism of Obama is justified

[Unvanguard]

63. Who said it was unjustified?

I thought the premise of this thread was that we would be better off directing our anger and frustration at Republicans rather than Democrats, not that Democrats are perfect.

It's not a judgment about Obama's tactics. It's a judgment about the optimal tactics for us.

[wndycty]

64. Thanks for getting the OP. . .

. . .a lot of shit that is happening is counterproductive.

[DrToast]

70. Obama To Netroots: Hold Me Accountable

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/07/obama_to_netroots_hold_me_accountable.php

[wndycty]

71. Holding him accountable is one thing, just bashing him at every opportunity is another

:kick:

[DrToast]

67. Bashing McConnell is a waste of time. What do you think that's going to accomplish?

Do you think McConnell's worried that the good people of Kentucky are going to say, "You know, those liberals are right. McConnell should be supporting Obama's agenda."

Do you think any Republicans give a shit about what we think? They don't.

Now, do you think Obama gives a shit about what we think? I don't really know the answer to that one, but I would sure hope so.

[Unvanguard]

73. That's right. Mitch McConnell doesn't care what DU thinks of him.

But Mitch McConnell, and all of the Republicans, care about what the American public thinks of them.

The political problem for the Democrats, from Day 1, has been that they have been blamed for essentially everything bad that has happened over the last two years. Criticism of Obama and the Democrats from the left only feeds into this message. Yes, Obama needs to fight more, and in so doing, pin more responsibility on the Republicans for obstructing things the American people support and that will help them. But if we spend all our time criticizing him, instead of pointing out those things that he has not spent enough effort pointing out, the basic problem will never be remedied.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

66. Obama has his strategy and I have mine and it's not criticism

of Obama it's a huge push back against right wingers, just trying to stir people to action.

[KansasVoter]

69. Jesus, David Axelrod, is that you???

[wndycty]

72. No its just a DUer who has been here since 2001 and gives a damn . . .

:kick:

[KansasVoter]

74. So, anyone who is not happy with Obama does not give a damn! Brilliant!

[wndycty]

75. Re-read, I said I give a damn, I didn't say or imply that others don't . . .

. . .project much?

[patrice]

77. Please don't buy into false either-or BS. There are more than 2 things going on in this situation.

Just being "for Obama" or "against Obama" forces false limitations on something that is much more complex than just those 2 possibilities.

Free yourself from labels; they're really only words and the world and the people in it are really much bigger than words.

[Clio the Leo]

78. I KISS you for this!

MMMMMMMMMWWWWWWAAAAAA!!!!!!

[bergie321]

79. It's not Republicans

Who are giving away all of our negotiating points before negotiations even begin.

[704wipes]

93. +1000

succinct

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

104. You're right. It's public opinion that is. (nt)

[KansasVoter]

80. I have bashed the GOP MUCH MORE than Obama!

[pokercat999]

81. Ask yourself this: Does it really matter? Are any of them

listening to Joe Six Pack? I think you know the answer. If you can't bring some really serious money to the table YOU ARE WORTHLESS, regardless of party.

[jefferson_dem]

86. Yes, imagine.

Shame on my Democratic friends who seem to have forgotten who the real political enemy is...

[creon]

87. failure is an orphan

Success has a thousand fathers and failure is an orphan.

[Raine]

89. Obama won't listen to progressives

who supported, donated, and voted for him so WHY would a repuke like chinless. :shrug:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

90. Yes, imagine that

Being angry at the Republicans. Not to say that President Obama and the Democrats in Congress are perfect by any means but I mean, c'mon, the way it's been around here since the midterms, somebody who just happened to be stopping by might wonder if they really ended up on a DEMOCRATIC site. I mean, of course we'll all find SOMETHING we don't like about our Democratic leaders but for crissakes, they're NOT the enemies! Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, et. al ARE and we ought to be spending the majority of our time supporting, at least at some level, our leaders and Democratic allies and fighting against THE REPUBLICANS!!!!!
:banghead:

[Name removed]

91. Deleted message

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

[Denzil_DC]

95. K&R n/t

[WorseBeforeBetter]

96. DU has been bashing McConnell since 2001...

but we now have a Democratic president who thinks he can work with that motherfucker. The problem isn't with DUers, it's with Obama.

[eilen]

97. I could give a shit about Obama, bashing Obama

and that dickhead Mitch McConnell. So far as I'm concerned they are lying asshats who are willing to trade off the lives of hardworking and struggling/poor Americans to feed their corporate masters. Neither one of them are on my team and my team, the people I pull for and believe in are the faces I see everyday-- the old, the young, the middle aged--employed, unemployed, retired. The people that are being screwed over royally by the assholes in charge.

When the current occupant in the White House stops sending our young men and women to get blown up.... maybe when he sends his own kids in that fucking hell that is Afghanistan or Iraq.

I am anti-war. I am anti-domestic spying. I believe in freedom for people. I believe in a society that cares for the least among them, helps them to their feet. I'm waiting for the jerkoffs in DC to believe in it too and to stop kicking us when we're down.

[Name removed]

98. Deleted message

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

[Aramchek]

103. some can't help but chew off the hand that feeds them. delusion is a helluva drug.

[Radical Activist]

105. McConnell appreciates all the help blaming Obama

and keeping the attention away from his own actions. It works out very well for him.

[totodeinhere]

106. No, because McConnell doesn't care what progressives say.

On the other hand, I used to think that Obama was one of us. If he is, then presumably he will listen to us.

[glitch]

113. Presumably progressive energy is more likely to sway President Obama.

Perhaps we have been mistaken in that belief.

[Steely_Dan]

114. It Matters Not...

...who or what party is involved. Really...just think about it. I don't care if the person is a Republican or Democrat or is his name is Obama or McConnell. All I care about is Democratic principles. If you do not support these principles, you are going to get bashed by those that do. President Obama doesn't get a pass just because there is a "D" by his name.

-P

[MzShellG]

116. Amen. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

117. Oh, where have I heard this before?

I think the first time I heard it was around 1970, and the version at that time was, "Why aren't you protesting against the Viet Cong?"

[Rosa Luxemburg]

118. over tax cuts and jobs Obama needs to be more clear

he's done a lot of good things but swimming with the sharks (GOP) is not a good idea!

[Fruittree]

119. I wonder that all the time -

this site is almost more anti-Obama than the right wing sites. Why can't we all unite in attacking McConnell, Boehner, McCain, Bachman, etc and make them back down - make them the focus of blame? Instead the focus always seems to be on blaming Obama even for things that he has only limited control over..

[Union Scribe]

121. What about the energy spent scolding progressives?

How might that be better spent?

[treestar]

122. Poor put upon progressives!

They are not getting everything they want fast enough!

So they shoot themselves in the foot by helping republicans!

Oh the poor, poor victims of people disagreeing with them! And pointing out they are helping Republicans!

[Union Scribe]

123. So your energies aren't better used elsewhere?

It's only progressives who are 'wasting' their efforts talking on discussion boards? By the way, random bursts of hostility that don't address posts they're replying to are not the best way to communicate with me.

[blue neen]

124. Too late to recommend, but here's one anyhow.

+1

:dem:

[Canuckistanian]

125. The "MOST EFFECTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT in recent history"

I'll even go further than that. He's the most effective Democratic President in the whole 21st century.

And as soon as he starts fighting that mean old GOP, I'm right there with you.

[mstinamotorcity]

126. Because it is

easier to point your fingers at someone other than ourselves.

[dorkulon]

127. We didn't vote for McConnell; we expect him to be an ass.

We did vote for Obama. We expect him not to be.

[Raine]

133. EXACTLY ... repukes are doing exactly what they

are put in by their voters to do. What I don't find acceptable is Democrats doing what the repukes who didn't elect them tell them to do. They not only ignore us but go on Faux and insult us. :mad:

[Tutankhamun]

128. If it's true that, as the OP says, McConnell wouldn't get away

with shutting down the senate, then it's clearly true that if Obama would take a real stand, McConnell wouldn't get away with shutting down the senate. The reason being that if Obama took a stand and stopped giving in to the craven obstructionist Republicans, all that liberal criticism of Obama would instead be directed at McConnell and the Republicans. Then, if the OP's premise holds true, McConnell wouldn't get away with shutting down the senate.

If Obama would take a stand. _If_ he would. If...

[harun]

129. Truth != bashing.

[BeyondGeography]

130. Sorry, but Obama needs to find the bully in the pulpit

If he ripped McConnell a fraction as much as people here do, the only thing you'd have to defend him against would be hero worship.

[LittleBlue]

134. I thought that was why we elected Obama.

We live in this thing called a representative democracy. We can't actually fight members of the other party directly, that's why we elect Democrats.