A Looming Betrayal by: William Rivers Pitt

[Better Believe It]

A Looming Betrayal
by: William Rivers Pitt, Truthout | Op-Ed
July 9, 2011

On Thursday, headlines on both the Washington Post and the New York Times announced that President Obama had put both Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block, as part of some "grand bargain" with House Speaker Boehner and the GOP to cut the deficit and avoid blowing the August 2 debt limit deadline. The deal, as reported, would also include as much as $1 trillion in "new revenue" to be raised by closing off and eliminating loopholes in the tax code. No tax increases of any kind were on the table.

My reaction to this news, along with most everyone else aligned with the left side of politics, was predictable. I was aghast, dumbfounded, sickened, and enraged. The Republican Party has been working hammer and tong to eliminate these vital programs since the day they were first conceived. Sometimes their efforts were out in the big wide open, such as George W. Bush's doomed privatization proposal. If it wasn't their hood ornament, it was at least always on the dashboard, right out front, a core element of their philosophy, and always somewhere in their platform. In all those years, however, the GOP had only managed to nibble at the edges of these programs, having never summoned either sufficient muscle or sufficient will to kill them off entirely.

And now here is a Democratic president, after all those years of struggle to defend and protect the social contract created by these policies, offering them up for destruction because he can't seem to stop himself from agreeing with Republicans. Here is a Democratic president who happily accepts the premise of their devious arguments, and who appears unwilling to summon enough spine to rebuff the debt-ceiling-default tactic being deployed by the GOP in an act of national hostage-taking. Instead, hey, why not, let's rip these programs to shreds and fulfill the deepest, darkest fantasies of the far right.

This is a matter of honor, plain and simple. An ocean of blood, sweat and tears has been spent bringing these all-important programs to life, and even more has been spent protecting and defending them. If this president consents to throw all that over in an act of political triangulation, he will be marked in my book for all time as a failure, a betrayer, and a disgrace.

Please read the full article at:

http://www.truth-out.org/looming-betrayal/1310137478

[northoftheborder]

1. someone's ears should be burning at the Whitehouse

[Enthusiast]

83. He don't give a fuck.

I'm telling you.

[meow mix]

2. k&r

[kenny blankenship]

3. He told us he wanted to bring Change.

We just never imagined the Presidency he wanted to reverse was FDR's.

[Big Blue Marble]

23. He did warn us how much he admired Reagan. N/T

[maddiemom]

41. Obama admires reagan

You're right, he did warn us, when anyone not caught up in right wing spin knew our "most admired" president sent us on this downward course. I was never enamored of Obama, but preferred him to McCain and the truly frightening Palin. That was the last time I'll vote for the lessor of two evils. I've voted since 1968, and have never been as disgusted with a president in my lifetime. You knew what to expect from "W" and several Republican presidents (even Nixon, whom I despised at the time, shines in retrospect). Obama has truly been the proverbial"knife in the back" to Progressives.Most candidates say what their base wants to hear, but few have had the effrontery to lie and expect their party will just suck it up. Increasingly I've done write-ins when faced with the limited voting choices. It's never had any effect, but what's the difference? I'm sure I'll be long gone before any voter revolts and write-ins have any effect:but I have to live with myself and am frustrated about the U.S. (if it survives much longer) that we've left our kids and grandkids.

[Big Blue Marble]

105. Welcome to DU.

My first presidential vote was cast in the cycle before yours. So we both have seen a lot of politics in our lifetime! This
last vote has turned out to be the most painful and unproductive of all. Obama's contempt for liberals is amazingly
foolhardy. Perhaps, his overconfidences is do to the quality of the Republican candidates or possibly a personality flaw.
Whatever its origin, it is damaging the fabric of the Democratic party. Your response is a prime example of its impact.

The sad underlying meaning I take away from of all this latest brouhaha, is that our votes do not matter. We go through
the charade of voting each two years and things only continue to get worse. We have both seen the devolution of
our democracy in the course of our lives.

Yet, here we are. And we must continue to believe that the challenges we face will be overcome. We must hold to
the vision that people matter more than money and power, that civil rights and human rights are still our inalienable
rights despite those who would destroy them. and that what hold us together as society, such as caring for the disabled
and the elderly, is far more important than what keeps us separate, selfishness and greed.

We must hold this vision even when we utterly discouraged and sickened with cynicism. This vision is our precious inheritance
and our vital legacy that we will give to our grandchildren's generation.

Again welcome to DU.

[kentuck]

4. And the Obama Re-Election committee is under the illusion...

that all those voters that voted for him the last time will be there again. They believe they can turn to the Internet and fill the coffers once more. They believe the loyalty of his supporters is unshakeable and unending. They are in for a surprise, I think?

[Dept of Beer]

7. Why do you guys hate interlopers?

[russspeakeasy]

35. I don't think they are under that illusion. I think they figure

most of us will consider him the lesser of several evils and he will win.

[Occulus]

95. I don't vote for 'evils', lesser or otherwise

Obama has a long way to go for me to give him a black bubble, and precious little time. My second vote for him is most definitely not a foregone conclusion.

[Enthusiast]

85. Obama is under no such illusion.

His allies will be elected one way or another. Mission accomplished.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

5. This outrage needs to overcome the censorship of the corporate media that refuses to report it.

[Marrah_G]

6. It is so infurating

In Nov 2008 I dared to start to hope that things would change, then every week a new move to the right. I'm devastated, disenchanted and disgusted. I feel duped, punk'd and conned. Now I think we should have known better, all of us. It didn't matter who won the primary, Obama, Hillary, Kerry.....well clearly Edwards would have been way more embarrassing..... Who ever won would have ended up doing almost exactly the same thing for almost exactly the same reasons. None of these people will ever struggle, their children will never wonder how to pay the bills. The middle class is just something they utter to get votes. None of them really care about what is happening to real working families.

[somone]

8. Betrayal is the word

Obama might be the ultimate narcissist, devoid of decency and honor

[zappaman]

19. Wow, really?

I could think of many more narcissists who are even more devoid of decency and honor, thus making someone else the true "ultimate".

[bahrbearian]

74. I think you are probably right.

[Hand_With_Eyes]

9. Does Obam live in some sort of bubble?

Doesn't he hear the noise, or does he just not care?

[truedelphi]

38. Most important political conversation ever:

George Seldes, who was a Chicago Tribune correspondant during the late Nineteen teens and up until 1929
relates the following conversation that he had with Dorothy Thompson -another news reporter and the wife of Sinclair Lewis:

Thompson told Seldes in 1935 that while en route by ocean liner from France to NYC that F. Sinclair, a Big Money Guy, took her away from the table where they were eating to talk privately with her.

"See those folks at the table who were eating with us?" F Sinclair asks Thompson?

"Yes," answers Dorothy.

"Well, all of us are the ones who decide who gets nominated to run for the Presidency and who gets to win that office."

Among those he meant was an important associate of the Gianini family, who established Bank of America.

""We give money on both sides of the aisle, so that no matter what, one of our people is always in a place to do our bidding."

"What about FDR?" asked Dorothy.

"Our support for him was a major misjudgement on our part. We saw to it that he had money and of course, we fully expected for him to say the sort of things that he always said. We just didn't expect him to act on those statements."

Sinclair went on to state that the Inner Circle of Power Brokers was attempting to raise some five to twenty million to defeat FDR in 1936.

But the voting machinery was still non-hackable back in that era. And FDR had millions upon millions of everyday people to vote him back in.

Obama campaigned as a progressive in October of 2008. He made statements that only a progressive would make. But he tipped his hand to everyone when he told "Sixty Minutes" the last Sunday in Nov of 2008 that he thought that Paulson was doing a good job.

The Big Money/Inner Circle of thhe Elite supported this man, and he has been true to them. And what can the average voter do about it? We sure as heck cannot vote for Newt Gingrich or Donald Trump or Bachman or Palin...

[Time for change]

50. That is indeed a very important conversation.

Do you have a reference for it?

[truedelphi]

69. The conversation is reported in the chapter

Abut Sinclair Lewis, in Seldes book "Witness to a Century" (Sub titled "Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious and three SOB's")

I confess to paraphrasing a little bit, but nothing substantive was altered.

Also Dorothy Thompson and his friendship was harmed by his reporting this conversation. Not because he "scooped" her, but because she didn't want to make public mention of this.

One of the three "SOB's" is Mussolini. Mussolini was the darling of all Europe in the Nineteen teens - artists, writers and poets flocked to Italy to get to know Mussolini. Then he veered to the right, and he had many of those people expelled from Italy.

It is a very interesting book. In addition to Seldes' serious observations about the major players in the political world, there are more light weight, fun encounters with people like Charlie Chaplin.

[Time for change]

78. Thank you

It sounds very interesting. I think I'll get that book.

[truedelphi]

106. I got my copy for five bucks at a thrift shop and I expect

Amazon has similar deals for used copies.

My copy was in mint condition.

[bahrbearian]

75. Wow, makes sense

the voting machinery is hackable , will they be using it this time?

[Honeycombe8]

84. One of your statements is incorrect. Obama did NOT campaign as a progressive in 2008.

Maybe you and some others wanted to see it that way. But he campaigned as a CENTRIST, a MODERATE, someone who would COMPROMISE, work across the aisle, etc., etc. He supported the Afghan War. He mentioned the public option, I think, but it was NOT in his plan he put on his website, as I recall. The public option was not a big deal for him.

A lot of things that he has done, the ideology that he has shown, since becoming President...these were very much in keeping with the Obama that ran for the nomination and then the Presidency in 2008.

I think that because he was against the Iraq War, and that he wanted health care reform, that some people thought he was progressive. The Republicans sure hit that home, repeatedly, referring to him as an arugala-eating far left liberal. But he never was. Remember how he revered Ronald Reagan, in some of his comments, and how that angered Bill Clinton?

I voted for him. I voted for the centrist and moderate that he was. Of course, he went overboard...he's become something else, really. Or maybe it's me who has become something else. I no longer think we should stay in Afghanistan. I no longer think (and haven't for a long while) that we should compromise with the Republicans, because of what they've done in the last three years.

I wonder if some people are now trying to say he campaigned as a progressive, because they're ashamed they voted for a left-of-center Democrat, and that he actually IS what he said he was. Kucinich was a candidate who was a progressive. Hillary Clinton was a centrist/moderate. Obama was a centrist/moderate. If he'd been a progressive, he never would've been elected. Maybe some thought he was just pretending to be cooperative with the opposition. He wasn't.

My first inkling of bad news was when he picked his staff and cabinet: sooooo many Clintonites, and then Rahm Emmanuel, who was and is a close friend of his. Then he kept trying to appoint Republicans, some of whom spit in his face...and he kept going back for more. That was a bad sign. Little did I know HOW bad.

(edited to make clear I have nothing against people who were in Clinton's cabinet...just that Obama had campaigned on change, and hiring so many of the same ol' same ol' didn't signal change; it was a surprise to many that he appointed so many, not just a few. I don't think he appointed or hired one true lefter/progressive, not even one.)

[JDPriestly]

109. Obama was and is well-meaning.

But he needed to reunify the country, to expose the Ayn Randists and Chicago School of Economics folks for what they are -- selfish to the extent that they are willing to weaken our country just to practice their crazy economic and personal philosophies.

We have to get back to become a country in which individuals can pursue their self-interest without our sacrificing our unity and common purpose, our soft power.

Obama is just an anachronism.

His desire to compromise would work if Americans were philosophically willing to work together as a nation for our common goals, but the fact is that a large segment of Republicans reject any plea to sacrifice or to protect our national interests above their own personal interests.

The unwillingness of the Republicans to pay taxes to pay off the costs of the two wars that Bush started is the proof of their unwillingness to be a part of the group, to strengthen the nation.

The Republicans would rather take money from the funds the elderly have set aside for their final years than actually bring home the fortunes they have stashed in secret bank accounts around the world that have a strong country. They would rather invest in cheap labor nations rather than employ their fellow Americans to insure a society in which families can feed and clothe their children with dignity.

And so, we are a divided nation, with the wealthy among us wallowing in selfish pride while the poor suffer in silence. The rich laugh at the toothless smiles of the poor while buying breast implants for their teenaged daughters. What whores they are in terms of their values.

So, Obama's intention to compromise, well meant and beautiful as it was in spirit, is totally misplaced today. His job is not to offer compromise. He will not get it.

Obama's job is to reunite the country. And that is why he must, for the good of the country, finally draw the line with Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. Those programs, the remnants of the New Deal are a reminder that we once were a nation that pulled together. We once were a nation in which volunteering whether to work in a defense factory for low wages or to serve in the military were highly respected decisions and in which we did not fight wars merely to protect the interests of our wealthiest citizens, but in which we risked our lives and treasure only when absolutely necessary to protect the interests of all of us.

[StarsInHerHair]

110. if he campaigned as a limp-wristed bland "centrist" he would not have won

you're lying; he made a few freudian slips, but he sure as hell campaigned as a progressive.

[JDPriestly]

108. Please post this as an OP. It is essential for us to remember

at this time.

And if a candidate truly becomes a maverick, he is swallowed up in controversy, in scandal, fictitious or real.

I think the one man who could rise above the power-makers would be Bernie Sanders, although we have a number of other good possible candidates.

We cannot stand by and allow this travesty of democracy to continue. It weakens us.

I heard a program on KPFK in which the forms of national power -- hard power which is military power -- and soft power -- which is diplomatic power and internal strength == were discussed.

Contrary to popular belief, the power of the United States in WWII was not solely the result of our amazing resources, industrial capacity and military prowess, but mostly due to the unity of the people. And that unity grew from the firm conviction of the majority of Americans that FDR was on their side and that they could trust not only him but their fellow Americans. FDR made lots of mistakes, but Americans could trust him to put their interests and the interests of their neighbors above profit for the special interests at least to a great extent. He had proved that with his New Deal programs.

I know this because I was raised by two people who were teenagers during the FDR era and who loved to talk politics and American history.

Americans were willing to risk their lives and treasure for their common purpose, for each other during the Depression and WWII. And it is that unity, that inner strength whether in an individual or a nation that results in success.

Obama has not inspired that kind of unity, that kind of common purpose. He asks for "shared sacrifice," but has not bound us together or given us reason to trust each other and the willingness of each of us to sacrifice a bit for the other.

In fact, the theory of the Chicago School of Economics to which Obama seems to adhere and the theory of Ayn Rand which is so popular among Republicans are totally opposed to the idea of mutual sacrifice.

So the price of following or even having the "free market above all" theorists, or the Ayn Rand followers in leading positions such as in the White House, the cabinet or Congress is that while the individuals who ascribe to those philosophies may feel themselves to be quite powerful and quite superior, they do not place common national goals above their individual interests. In fact, they think that putting the needs of the other, of the group, or the nation even occasionally above their own is a sign of weakness.

I read Ayn Rand way back when I was a student, and of course, that is the flaw in her thinking. You cannot have a functioning family, much less nation if you take her teachings literally.

Unfortunately, Obama is captured in this culture, in this nation that is divided to the extent that mutual sacrifice would be viewed by a rather large minority as totally foolish. Yes, wrong, philosophically wrong.

And so, it is that unwillingness to place one's own interests below the interests of the group, of the nation, that is dividing us, weakening our soft power. We cannot trust each other. We cannot trust our leaders. This is the hard lesson we have learned since 1980 and Reagan's presidency.

Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are the symbols of our soft power, of our national strength and resolve to truly be one nation, to make sacrifices for each other and work together to provide a minimum of comfort and health for each other.

Abandoning or even just weakening those programs will divide the country and diminish our soft power. That will make us vulnerable to our enemies as well as to ultimate disintegration as a country.

Obama has done nothing to bring us together, nothing to rebuild the soft power that George W. Bush and his predecessors since Carter lost.

As you suggest in your post, truedelphi, our democracy is a sham. But many of us are not ready to admit it. Apparently, Obama does not admit it.

And regaining our national unity will be quite a challenge, but our soft power will continue to erode until we do.

[Raksha]

116. Thank you for this story, truedelphi.

It's a new one on me. As old as it is, it deserves to go viral almost 100 years later. As you say, elections weren't hackable at the time, but the PTB could do a hell of a lot with corruption...as they still can.

[Raven]

10. Not just a betrayal of seniors, the poor, the disabled...

it is a betrayal of every person who has a senior, a poor person or a disabled person in their family and will be called upon out of love to step in...all at the peril of their own children's future. This betrayal will be generational.

[emilyg]

32. A betrayal of the Democratic party.

[truedelphi]

40. Thank you for writing all that out. Sad but very true. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

91. This is true. I have a sister on Medicaid in a nursing home (disabled). What will

we do, when her services are cut? Medicaid recipients get bare bones treatment, to begin with.

I'm in my 50's. Will my SS benefits be cut? What will I do? Esp if I have to kick in more to help my sister in a nursing home.

Will I not get the Medicare that my far right Republican father is now getting? (and which he votes against, every time he votes for a Republican. Which is all the time.) What will I do, when I get sick? It's a little late for me to make up the benefits that I counted on.

What a betrayal. Even if I get grandfathered in, this is wrong. To fix the deficit on the backs of the elderly, the weak, the vulnerable. It's very wrong.

I am so mad I don't know what to do.

[bvar22]

11. Everybody Chill Out!

Obama has Got This!
He has always come through for us in the past!
Besides, its all Joe Lieberman's fault!!!
:cry:






Who will STAND UP and FIGHT for THIS American Majority?
You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their promises.

[Hand_With_Eyes]

14. Obama has caved in the past

Example:

Obama extended the depression by two years (More tax cuts for the rich, Oh Boy!) for a narrow, temporary extension of unemployment benefits. It's almost like he is cutting off his own nose to spite his face.

[coalition_unwilling]

100. Care to explain how Obama extended the depression by two years? I'm no

big defender of Obama by any means, but even I know an ignorant slander when I read it. If anything, the extension of unemployment benefits will have acted to maintain a certain (in my opinion, inadequate) level of consumer spending and demand. Unless you have some brand-new economic theory you're propounding, such maintenance of demand curtails any move toward depression.

In other words, while the extension of unemployment insurance benefits was linked to extending tax cuts to the rich in legislation, neither measure had much to do with whether the economy is in a depression (it's not) or whether it's moving towards one (probably not).

[senseandsensibility]

17. President Palin! Ponies!

3 dimensional chess! Did I leave anything out?

[Fuddnik]

21. What about the children!?

[Bandit]

89. Obama's will be taken care of nicely..thanks for asking.

None of the rest really matter.

[QC]

24. He doesn't have a magic wand!

That's a classic, so juvenile and dismissive all at once.

[mochajava666]

79. That is one of my favorites, too.

[Mimosa]

43. No, it's President BACHMANN!

I'm scared. Really scared. NOT.

[woo me with science]

107. It's a feint! It's CHESS! nt

[Hand_With_Eyes]

12. Obama's pattern:

Abandon core chunks of hard fought Democratic programs for temporary concessions from the GOP. The GOP know that all they have to do is make threats and Obama will 'take them at their word' and give away the farm without a fight.

[Autumn]

13. As usual K/R. Will is absolutely right

It is indeed a matter of honor. Touch this and Obama can campaign till he's blue in the face and it will end up with the same result, a republican in the White House. If he does this I hope he announces he will not run and allow a Democrat to run.

[robinlynne]

53. Now THAT is a good idea!!!!!!!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. After the betryal, will it be added to The List?

[MineralMan]

16. And Will Pitt ignores the fact that the WaPo story

to which he refers was made up of whole cloth, and contained not a single attributable fact in it.

You go, Will! Feh!

[zappaman]

20. +1 n/t

[EFerrari]

33. Wrong. Both House liberal Dems and Senate Dems have mobilized.

Are they all deluded, too?

[MineralMan]

37. My comment was in reference to the use of that WaPo

story. That story was pure speculation, and had no actual information about what President Obama was actually going to do. It was seized by many as reflecting President Obama's intentions, when it did nothing of the sort. Thanks for your comment. I'm always happy to explain my thinking.

[EFerrari]

39. Chained CPI and other reductions were in fact being discussed

and we know that because Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse confirmed it.

The story was not a fabrication. Not made up wholecloth, not pure speculation.

[Faygo Kid]

42. That's exactly right. This isn't fabrication or speculation. It's a clear and present danger.

When he appointed Alan Simpson to cochair the Catfood Commission, it wasn't speculative. It was fact. When he recently proposed extending the "payroll tax holiday" to further weaken Social Security, it wasn't speculative. It was a fact. And this is a fact: He has put cuts to Social Security and Medicare on the table, and for what? Does anyone here now believe he will actually let the Bush tax cuts expire, for example? He needs to be a little more FDR and a little less Neville Chamberlain.

[bowens43]

96. keep telling yourself that

and keep making excuses for the jellyfish in the oval office

[Tennessee Gal]

18. Update your information, Will. nt

[EFerrari]

34. What is not current in that column?

[kath]

22. Good piece, Will. Except in the 3rd paragraph you forgot to put "Democratic" in quotation marks.

[asjr]

25. Sorry, but I can't join the doomsayers

raging up the hill with pickaxes and swords to condemn a president who has not actually said to us that he is going to give up Medicare and Social Security. Maybe some here have private information. If so let me know what it is. I am patient. I will wait until I know what is happening.

[chervilant]

57. hmm...

I'm reminded of that brilliant Monty Python bit: "it's just a flesh wound!"

[ejbr]

61. +1 n/t

[bowens43]

97. You know what is happening...

the same thing that has happened on nearly every issue that was important to those who worked so hard to get Obama elected, he's siding with the republicans.

[rug]

26. The power of the colon.

[KG]

30. !

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

36. LOL

Sounds like a dissertation topic. :party:

[Overseas]

27. Our President should not need to compromise one iota. Wall Street owes him.

He should be able to get them to pressure the idiot Republicans enough to give up their stupid posturing about the debt ceiling.

Unless that would interfere with their plan to capitalize on the defaulting.

[L0oniX]

55. Wall Street owes us all. I'm for taking everything those greedy bastards have.

[creeksneakers2]

28. Obama is in a tough situation

He needs to get the debt limit raised and he needs GOP votes to do it.

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

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

[Enthusiast]

87. LOL

Yeah, that was the story they wrote complete with actors and sets.

[_ed_]

92. You've been duped

The corporate masters at Wall Street have already issued orders to Obama and the Republicans that they will not allow a debt default. What you're seeing in DC is an elaborate charade.

[bowens43]

98. no , he doesn't.

Who will be hurt if it it's raised? Take a guess.

Well I'll tell you, the republicans money sources in big business and on wall street.

There is no way they are not going to raise the limit.

Obama should try to grow a spine for change and say no deals. period.

[creeksneakers2]

104. They think we're the ones who are going to cave

Both sides can lose in a game of chicken

[WillyT]

29. HUGE K & R !!!

:kick:

[sulphurdunn]

31. I was a for real warrior and activist once.

Now I'm old and sick and fat with stuff to lose. I Don't know if I have the guts or the will to help do what needs doing. But,

both political parties are now controlled by reactionary right wing minorities. It's time to cut loose from them and form a party that represents the interests of the majority. The survival of our country, global civilization and the biosphere depend on it. It's scary to imagine, but real change must begin in America. There has never been a more critical moment in human history than right now. The present order and the status quo are the enemy. They must be defeated. I never thought I'd hear myself say things like this. God help us all help ourselves. Mors aut victoria!

[Pooka Fey]

45. + 1

[chervilant]

59. Yeah, well...

I'm old and sick and fat, too. I have been un- or under-employed for better than three years. I have virtually nothing to lose.

How long are we going to whinge on this and other 'left-leaning' blogs about the ignorance, stupidity and utter incompetence of the sock puppets du jour infesting our nation's political offices?!

We can ill afford all these lovely pity parties, wherein we post clever and witty bon mots slamming pathetic people like Obama. Our global economy is crumbling faster than an oreo cookie in a toddler's mouth. Earth is SCREAMING in agony from the multiple burdens of our unfettered hubris. An uncomfortable majority of our nation's depressed and disenfranchised children report that they don't expect to reach old age. In fact, many of our children think the world will end on December 21, 2012!

And, yet, so very many of us remain ensconced in front of our puters, in our comfortably air-conditioned homes, pouring out our anger and angst through our keyboards. Oh, lest I forget, some of us--the luckier ones who still have a job--open our checkbooks and give to 'noble causes.'

Time for change. PAST time for us to get off our collective asses, and hit the streets.

Freedom Plaza, October 6. Please pledge to be there, now. Locate long term parking options and travel routes, now. Make a list of non-perishable foodstuffs you can use over the long haul, now. Encourage your friends, neighbors, and fellow activists to be there for the duration, now. Network with others who've made the pledge, now.

FOR OUR CHILDREN AND OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN, NOW!!!

[sulphurdunn]

77. Iceland

[mochajava666]

81. +1

[marions ghost]

121. I'm with you

but third parties will be killed in America. The PTB will not allow it.

[murielm99]

44. This is your best yet, Will.

I have been sharing it with anyone who will listen.

[DesertFlower]

46. i'm angry and i feel betrayed. nt

[shireen]

49. +1

me too. :(

[Riley18]

47. Agree with every important point. The betrayal goes very

deep on this one. The other failures on his part pale in comparison to the destruction of the very lifeblood of the working people.

[blkmusclmachine]

48. These monsters want everything we got. There's nothing they won't steal.

How are we gonna stop them? :grr:

[hifiguy]

51. As only Nixon could go to China

only a nominally "Democratic" president will be able to torch the New Deal and the Great Society.

[johnaries]

52. "chopping block"? Really, Will, how naive have you become?

Obama has clearly said again and again he does not want to change the benefits from either Medicare or SS.

I used to have a lot of respect for Mr. Pitt. Sadly, he has destroyed any respect I used to have.

[BulletproofLandshark]

56. As if Obama would never say one thing and do the other.

Talk about naiveté.

[ooglymoogly]

64. +1 nt

[mochajava666]

82. +1

[Trajan]

111. Even IF Obama did not change the benefits from either Medicare or SS

I would still possess more respect for Mr. Pitt than his detractors here and elsewhere ....

Will works hard toward attaining his AND our goals, in real life ....

He isn't just sitting at his desk, as his detractors might be, issuing empty statements .... He is out there, using personal resources and shoe leather to get the message out

I would rather ally with someone who is dedicated to our cause, even IF he were wrong (beside the point now), than those who would cast them down a hole ...

Fuck that .... Will is dedicated to speaking for us, and I would think his fellow DUers would provide at least a modicum of support, even if they disagree with him ...

Obama has a mixed record, and that is a fact ....

[emsimon33]

113. Hmmmm...when hasn't Obama said one thing and done the opposite?

ANSWER: Most of the time.

He'll sell out the American people any time he can.

Forget campaign promises.

Obama is a cheap shill.

He fooled me once: Shame on him. But if he folls me twice, shame on me!

[indepat]

54. Why is this bunny beginning to suspect BHO doesn't give a rat's ass what

any body left of far, far right thinks? :shrug: :patriot:

[Hassin Bin Sober]

58. k&r

[DeSwiss]

62. K&R n/t

[Hamlette]

63. don't be silly. Since when did we start believing that rag WP? Not since Watergate, that's when!

[alarimer]

65. Republicans are upfront about being assholes; It takes a Democrat to really stab us in the back.

None of these people can be trusted. I KNEW Obama was too good to be true. I have never for one minute trusted anything he said. Turns out I was right not to.

[Enthusiast]

90. He actually was "too good to be true".

After Bush, millions of us wanted to believe.

[OwnedByFerrets]

66. And through it all, it seems as though his ears are of stone

Why not just come out and say it. SS and Medicare are NOT on ANY table. I havent heard it yet.

[sabrina 1]

70. I keep asking those who defend him that question. I have searched

to find a firm statement from him on Social Security and Medicare, but I cannot find one. It's always the same kind of deceptive language.

Here is an example of what he does on SS:

SS is not a major driver of the Deficit

'Not a MAJOR driver'. It's NOT ANY KIND OF driver of the deficit!! SS has zero to do with the deficit, it never had and it never will.

I suppose he thinks that we will miss what he believes is a very subtle way to plant the connection between SS and the Deficit in the minds of the people, while he goes on to say how he won't 'cut' or is it 'slash' SS benefits.

They really do think we are stupid.

[marions ghost]

123. yep

:thumbsup:

[Enthusiast]

93. That is a point that seems to have escaped

"the defenders". That and the 'in your face' creation of the whole 'Simpson-Bowles gut social security right wing think tank'.

[grahamhgreen]

67. Obama has betrayed the party yet again, IMHO. He is like a republican Trojan horse.

[iamthebandfanman]

68. i know, right? the perfect plan

get a democratic president into office by putting a nitwit as your VP nominee ..
then call him a huge liberal, a leftest, a socialist

then have him do nothing..

and blame those very liberal leftist ideas, hoping to ensure that the country doesnt decide to give it a try again... little does the general public know they never got any liberal policies.

[grahamhgreen]

76. That pretty much sums it up, unfortunately.

[sce56]

71. I started a thread yesteday about this with my response back to the latest campaign email

Here is my response to BarackObama.com I wish all those here that feel the same way I do respond back as well that way they know we will not just roll over!
Like you said at least we knew where Shrub was coming from not the same with Obama



With the President putting Social Security and Medicare on the table he has lost all of my support! I would rather see a Republican in the white house than a Faux Democrat and if I don't have a good choice than I will not vote for the Democrat for first time in my life!
- Hide quoted text -


On Fri, Jul 8, 2011 at 6:42 PM, Jeremy Bird, BarackObama.com <[e-mail]> wrote:

2012
Ricardo --

The President's 50th birthday is coming up on August 4th.

Help grow this campaign today But he doesn't need a post on his Facebook wall.

The President has been clear that while he focuses on the job he was elected to do, he's relying on us to get this campaign off the ground.

The best gift any of us can give him is real organizing to bring more people into this campaign.

So here's a challenge: Do you think you can bring 50 new people into this campaign for President Obama's 50th birthday on August 4th?

You decide what sort of organizing is right for you:

-- you can collect 50 "I'm in" commitments;

-- you can inspire 50 donors to give;

-- or you can get 50 people to attend a campaign event or events.

You can even do some of each. It's your choice.

If you accept the challenge, click below to get started. Once you start reaching out to people, we'll help track your progress for you, invite you to a conference call to share tips and encouragement, and let you know as you reach milestones on the way to 50.

Sign up and start making calls to supporters in your area, or choose another action to help grow this campaign. You can start right now:

[BigBearJohn]

72. I am very proud of you for writing this. I am 100% in agreement.

and how often has that happened?

[democracy1st]

73. KNR!

[roberto IS beto]

80. Desperation of a 1-term President

I think that Obama realizes that he will be a one-term President, and he is rushing in as much help as he can to his Harvard friends on Wall Street.

[emsimon33]

114. Good observation.

He wants to be part of the club that Clinton joined once he was through throwing us under the bus.

[roberto IS beto]

125. I think Bill joined that club early.

Hilary, however, still seems to have some heart, backbone and integrity.

[Renew Deal]

86. Is it time to admit you were wrong?

I guess it's better to wait a couple weeks before you do that.

[WilliamPitt]

88. Not yet

But maybe close. We shall see.

[Hubert Flottz]

94. "a failure, a betrayer, and a disgrace."

I feel the same way. We went to all the trouble to help Obama get his job and this is the thanks we are about to get for it.

He could have been a great president a man who saved the country...but from day one he has let his chance slide away. Going along to get along never fixed anything. I'm disgusted and pissed off too. This CiC is not a man who fights for his country like he promised us he would do.

[emsimon33]

115. I feel the same way.

[Moostache]

99. and the right wingers STILL hate him anyway....

In trying to appease them he only emboldens them, and rather than spend what little political capital he has left placating HIS base, he wastes it by courting THEIR base...Obama presidency = Epic Fail like some bizarre take on a Greek tragedy.

[jerseyjack]

101. DO SOMETHING ! Don't just bitch about hit here.

Email your congress office. Call the bastards. Call the White House. I did it. You can too.

[Zorra]

103. With all due respect,

writing a piece for a progressive publication that a significant number of people are going to read is doing something.

[Bluebear]

124. +

[bertman]

102. You nailed it, Will. REC. nt

[emsimon33]

112. Yes, the Obama legacy: A failure, a betrayer, and a disgrace.

If Obama allows Social Security and Medicare cuts, then he can kiss a second term and a favorable mention in history good-bye.

I'll actively work against him.

[Raksha]

117. K & R

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

118. It does feel like Bill on the eve of NAFTA

sometimes it takes a Democratic president to enact the horrid rightwing agenda items Republican presidents can only dream of.

[divvy]

119. Oh my goodness .... wasn't he just chirping about Obama's virtues?

I did not read it too closely, it was the recent one where he criticized the "whiners" and was so proud of his 10 year connection to DU.

[Zorra]

120. _^_

[Rex]

122. Curious.

What do your symbols mean?