"'It's not helpful,' said John Aravosis, the editor of the progressive AMERICAblog.com. 'The base is depressed and they're depressing it even more, and it's not clear why.'
Said DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas: 'They wouldn't be in this predicament if they delivered on their campaign promises, rather than waste the last two years putting bipartisanship above action.'"
"And right now, Obama is turning the Democratic base into Martha Coakley and setting them up for the blame for any electoral failure in fall. The people who showed up to vote for him in 2008 'just weren't serious' if they 'now want to take their ball and go home.' There is no internal consistency to the narrative that the 'professional left' is suppressing turnout by criticizing Obama, but Obama is not suppressing turnout when he scolds the voters who aren't clapping loudly enough for his achievements. But few in the professional punditocracy find their way to that obvious conclusion. This isn't about motivating Democratic voters. It's about setting up a fall guy for November. The headline should really read:
Obama Distances Himself From Democratic Voters"
"It's time for the administration to face the fact that it is they who are responsible for 100% of the problems the Democrats now face in the upcoming midterms. It isn't the left and progressives and actual Democrats who criticized them and warned them and begged them not to sell out on issue after issue who turned people off. No polls are providing evidence that progressive criticism of the President's lackluster results on everything from the stimulus, to healthcare, the wars, climate change, financial 'reform', credit card 'reform', and a host of other issues is fueling the enthusiasm gap. Quite the contrary.
It is a total distortion and misreading of what is going on among voters to make the straw man argument that people are upset because Obama didn't do 'everything' 'overnight'. People are upset because the administration's priorities have not been addressing the problems that real people face like unemployment and foreclosure and that those things that have been done have been an almost embarrassing gruel of half measures and compromises that don't promise to solve the problems we face or prevent future problems."
"The majority of the book looks at the efforts by former DNC Chairman Howard Dean to build a national network that could immunize the party from becoming either marginalized or regionalized. But the epilogue charts out how the style of Obama's governance drained the type of voter enthusiasm that, Dean acknowledges, was critical in those efforts.
'The White House began to believe that they could mobilize their supporters without hearing what their supporters really wanted in terms of specific change,' Dean is quoted as saying. 'The principal problem with OFA is the same one the president's having. You can't dictate to your base what's going to happen. It's got to be a two-way deal, and it hasn't been.'"
"The President refused to challenge someone standing in the way of his agenda. Sound familiar?
The reason the Republicans have been able to filibuster nearly every single piece of legislation, the reason we have a new majority in the Senate, is because Democrats - with Barack Obama at the top of the list - have enabled the Republicans ever step of the way.
Rather than lecturing Democrats about how unreasonable they are to be upset with the President for constantly negotiating with himself, Biden would do better having a talk with his boss, and asking him why George Bush was so effective at passing his agenda, at kow-towing Democrats, and at thwarting opposition filibusters, when Bush had far fewer numbers than Obama has now in the US Senate.
60 is the new 50 because Democrats permit it be so."
"Top Obama adviser David Axelrod got an earful of the liberal blogosphere's anger at the White House moments ago, when a blogger on a conference call directly called out Axelrod over White House criticism of the left, accusing the administration of 'hippie punching.'
'We're the girl you'll take under the bleachers but you won't be seen with in the light of day,' the blogger, Susan Madrak of Crooks and Liars, pointedly told Axelrod on the call, which was organzied for liberal bloggers and progressive media."
We've seen various iterations of this slogan play out here on Dailykos, where we are continuously treated to hectorings, threats, and outright insults about having to support Democrats in the midterms in November. Instead of taking concerns of voters and Democratic activists seriously, these concerns are instead denigrated, made fun of, and told that one is "aiding the enemy" to a sense in voicing these concerns.The message is basically thus--"Don't want things to turn worse? Vote Democratic because the Republican alternative is worse!"
Is that the sort of message that gets activists and voters out to vote? Is it the one that gets these people on your side for the midterm campaigns?
In one short word---NO.
"The artist whose poster of Barack Obama became a rallying image during the hope-and-change election of 2008 says he understands why so many people have lost faith.
In an exclusive interview with National Journal on Thursday, Shepard Fairey expressed his disappointment with the president -- a malaise that seems representative of many Democrats who had great expectations for Obama."
"LOS ANGELES — A ballot measure to make California the first state to legalize the sale and use of marijuana has won the support of one of the state’s most powerful union, officials said Monday, offering the proposition a shot of mainstream legitimacy as well as a potential financial and organizational lift.
The decision by the executive board of the Service Employees International Union of California will be announced in the next few days, according to officials who have been briefed about it but were not allowed to speak publicly before it was announced."
"CALDERON: The Mexican government is confiscating the guns, the American authorities — you’d have to ask them. I haven’t seen much in terms of stopping the flow of guns. [...] The truth is if it weren’t for the flow of weapons from the United States to Mexican criminals and other parts of the world, we wouldn’t be seeing the levels of violence that we’re witnessing. [...]
The Americans, rather than regulating or establishing an adequate drug or immigration or arms legislation have allowed organized crime to regulate those markets. And the massacre of San Fernando shows the consequences of not addressing issues that need to be regulated such as immigration, drugs, or weapons."
"Chris: I emailed them earlier this week.
I looked at him quizzically, not exactly sure what he was talking about.
Chris: The Truckers. I emailed them and I got responses."
"Leonard Skinner, the basketball coach and gym teacher whose name inspired the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in his sleep early Monday morning, September 20, 2010, at the age of 77."
"Despite repeated assurances from federal officials and President Obama, independent scientists and public health experts have serious concerns about the long-term safety of Gulf seafood consumption.
In particular, experts tell Raw Story, contaminants from the massive oil spill and unprecedented use of the dispersants employed to dissolve the spill have the potential to cause cancer and neurological disorders."
"A small but growing group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have signed onto an open letter, provided exclusively to the Huffington Post, which calls on the American public to respect 'the values we risked our lives to protect' and to avoid endangering the mission -- and safety -- of U.S. forces in the Mideast. Like Gen. David Petraeus, the veterans warn that U.S. troops will face blowback from demonstrated intolerance for Muslims at home.
'America, you gotta have our back,' reads the letter, composed by signatories Roy Scranton, Philip Klay and Perry O'Brien. 'Those who would vilify and target Muslims on grounds of their religious belief not only show a deep disrespect for American values, but put American lives at risk. It's easy to burn a Koran when you won't feel the heat.'"
"JEFFERSON CITY, MO (The Borowitz Report) – A rabid Doberman Pinscher jumped on stage at a Tea Party rally in Missouri on Labor Day and barked at the crowd for nearly twenty minutes before people realized he was not a candidate."
"The repeal of DADT was one of President Barack Obama's key campaign promises—one that he repeated in his first State of the Union address earlier this year. Now it's a promise that may well wither, especially if Republicans gain control of the House in November. But as usual, the White House did little to publicly pressure Collins, Snowe, or Brown. Obama spent the day before the vote at a fundraiser in Pennsylvania and did little to draw attention to the upcoming vote and the GOP's intrasingence. The White House wouldn't even answer the New York Times' questions about the bill. Vice President Joe Biden, according to the White House, did call Snowe. But Obama did no lobbying of his own. Instead, the pressure politics were left to someone who's never been elected to public office: a 24-year-old New Yorker named Stefani Germanotta—a.k.a. Lady Gaga."
"WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama once told Democratic lawmakers they'd be proud to campaign on historic health care legislation. Six months later, the only Democrats running ads about it are the ones who voted 'no.'"
"Remember, this is the man whom President Obama put into office with the explicit understanding that his first priority was to protect Net Neutrality. 'I am a strong supporter of Net Neutrality,' Obama pledged in 2007. 'As president I'm going to make sure that that is the principle that my FCC commissioners are applying as we move forward.'"
"Minutes before the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings kicked off the 2010 NFL season, players from both teams stepped on the field and raised one finger into the air in a show of union solidarity.
The move was a public message to owners that players are united in negotiations for the upcoming collective bargaining agreement, which threatens to derail the 2011 season."
So it seems the whole sports world is abuzz about the decision by the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints players to raise a finger in the air before the season-opening game as an expression of union loyalty -- "We are one" -- in a year in which the players and the owners are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. I watched that gesture during the game and knew it was going to inspire the usual sneering (it started almost immediately, with Al Michaels chirping, "There's nothing like starting an NFL season with a labor statement"), as voices from all corners (including, unbelievably, many former NFL players) denouncing the absurdly brief, silent, and inoffensive demonstration as a tasteless interruption of our God-given right to nonstop mindless entertainment.Forget about people actually supporting unions in a labor disagreement: they apparently don't even want to see them, not if it's going to delay a football game by three whole seconds. There were actually arguments across the media landscape to the effect that NFL players were out of line bringing their labor disagreement into our living rooms, the implication being that any display of union activity is somehow unseemly or ( I love this) selfish. We have a whole reality-show culture celebrating the cause of people eating centipedes and stabbing each other in the back for cash prizes and fame, but football players quietly showing union solidarity is tasteless. If you can explain that one to me, please don't hesitate to write in.
"How did we get to this point? The proximate answer lies in the tactics the Bush administration used to push through tax cuts. The deeper answer lies in the radicalization of the Republican Party, its transformation into a movement willing to put the economy and the nation at risk for the sake of partisan victory."
"Over at The Upshot, National Affairs Reporter and Louisiana native Brett Michael Dykes has some shocking photos of a massive fish kill that Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser has been distributing to the media. Dykes ably sets the scene: 'What you see above isn't a rural gravel road. It's a Louisiana waterway, its surface completely covered with dead sea life -- a mishmash of species of fish, crabs, stingray and eel.'"
"There's an arrogance to the President's comments, and an inability to recognize how much he is a part of the problem. What's increasingly disturbing is that the President just doesn't seem to get why so many Democrats are so disappointed in him. He seems to believe the apologists' standard line that we're all naive purists who simply don't understand politics.
The comments add fuel to a greater, and growing, concern about the President: that he honestly thinks he's been doing a great job, and that he honestly thinks his approach to problem solving and legislating - compromise first, then reach any deal you can - is an appropriate way to run a country. Inside the White House they call this success. Outside, it's perceived by a growing number of Democrats and Independents as weakness."
One of the independent voters Obama will be trying to charm over the next two years is my sister, Peggy, a formerly ardent Obamican (a Republican who changed spots to vote for Obama).Disillusioned with her beloved W. over Iraq and Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and the disdain for bipartisanship, she gave her affections — and small cash infusions — to Barack Obama in 2008.
Despite being a Washington native, Peggy believed that the dazzling young newcomer could change Washington.
But she has lost a lot of faith now, saying she might vote for Mitt Romney over Obama if Romney is the Republican nominee in 2012. (Sarah Palin shouldn’t count on her vote though. In Peggy’s words, “Are you nuts?”)
Peggy thinks the president has done fine managing W.’s messes in Iraq and Afghanistan. And she lights up at the mention of his vice president, Joe Biden. But she thinks Obama has to get “a backbone” if he wants to lure her back to the fold. “He promised us everything, saying he would turn the country around, and he did nothing the first year,” Peggy says. “He piddled around when he had 60 votes. He could have pushed through the health care bill but spent months haggling on it because he wanted to bring some Republicans on board. He was trying too hard to compromise when he didn’t need the Republicans and they were never going to like him. Any idiot could see that.
“He could have gotten it through while Teddy Kennedy was still alive — he owed the Kennedys something — and then the bill was watered down.
“He hasn’t saved the economy, and now he’s admitting he’s made very little progress. You can’t for four years blame the person who used to be president. Obama tries to compromise too much, and he doesn’t look like a strong leader. I don’t watch him anymore. I’m turned off by him. I think he’s an elitist. He went down to the gulf, telling everyone to take a vacation down there, and then he goes to Martha’s Vineyard. He does what he wants but then he tells us to do other things.
_______
Yup.
"I also get told on a regular basis that if I don't shut my pie hole about all this and vote Democratic that it will all be my fault when tEh crazies get elected. Please explain to me in simple, clear, elementary language how the above seven highlights are my fault. To wit: I voted for a candidate who promised to close GITMO within a year. I voted for a candidate who promised to end DADT and provide equal rights for all Americans. I voted for a candidate who promised immigration reform. I voted for a candidate who promised to put Americans, all Americans, back to work. I voted for a candidate who promised to protect our social contract and expand the economic safety net.
Obama has not only not done any of it, he's made shit worse.
Now, tell me why I should vote for the Democrats in 2010? Because tEh crazies are coming? Fuck that: tEh crazies are here."
_______
You know what has more power than a finger wag and sternly worded letters? A FUCKING SOLID HEALTH REFORM LAW!
Otherwise, the insurance industry (Sebelius' and Obama's masters) is just fucking laughing at your dumb asses.
Sebelius To Health Insurers: Stop Lying About Your Rate Increases:
"WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won't tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law."
_______
Things could be worse, though.
Judson Newton, Missing Bahamas Boater, Likely Found Inside Shark Off Jaws Beach
