It has been quite awhile since I have posted anything I thought worthy of front thread status, yet as I have watched, listened to, and read about McConnell, Boehner, and Cantor (The Three Musketeers as it were) in the last month, my blood  and blood pressure has begun to boil. The straw breaking this woman’s back was last night when Senator Scott Brown put up yet another Republican brick wall regarding the extension of  Unemployment Compensation Benefits  for the, oh gee, go figure, the UNEMPLOYED.

Last I heard, unemployed was defined as those who did not have a job or were unable to find a job.

Will someone, anyone, please explain to me who died and made Senator Brown’s party (the GOP)  God (no offense Planet God, in no way am I comparing YOU to them).  God forbid, never in a million years. 🙂

So this morning, as I was reading, listening to, and digesting the bill introduced by last night, I became pissed off enough by Senator Brown’s  comments to write to and fax him (no less) a letter.  In addition, to expressing my opinion to Senator Scott Brown, I copied President Barack Obama and my Senator,  Senator Sherrod Brown.  This following is  what I wrote and sent (only one word is missing I think) and, unbeknownst to me, Governor Ted Strickland (D-Ohio) was also expressing some of my own thoughts at the very same time; however,  his insight is  what one would deem  more candid and less politically correct  as it were;  see my post  in OT.

Here is the letter I wrote and faxed to Senator Scott  Brown today.   Although I copied/faxed it to President Obama, I would like to send it to him (revised, addressed to him, being respectfully blunt, yet showing support and encouraging him to “man up” (the new catch phrase of the day), and with signatures. I am talking old-fashioned, hard copy, and with real names and signatures.

User names are great to protect oneself from stalkers, but real names,  real locations, and real opinions give each and every one of us that much more credibility.

Here is my letter to Scott Brown (Ted Kennedy’s replacement, I might add). I have redacted me personal information (love that word redacted) not wanting to put our Author/Editors on high alert.  Those of you who know me, know me. Those of you who don’t, sorry but you must earn my trust. That said, here is my letter to Senator Brown, cc: President Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown:

December 1, 2010

Senator Scott Brown

317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510

Phone: (202) 224-4543
Fax: (202) 228-2646

Dear Senator Brown:

Extension of Unemployment Insurance Benefits

I am not one of your constituents so I doubt my letter will mean very much to you. However, I want to take this opportunity to say “Thank you.”

Thank you for signing on to the obstructionist dog and pony show contrived by your Republican colleagues in the Senate. Have you signed the “secret” letter being circulated in the hallways of the Senate Building, akin to passing notes in study hall?

Have you taken the oath Senator Brown? You know sir, the oath to destroy President Obama so he will not be reelected to a second term in 2012 by obstructing anything and everything introduced by the White House and your “friends across the aisle ?”

Senator Brown, the bill you introduced last night has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with compromise and everything to do with holding Mr. Obama and the American people hostage until Senator McConnell’s demands are met.  “We’ll compromise, but only if you do it OUR way.”  Do any of  you have a conscience?

Moreover, it is the firm belief of many Americans that  your collective agenda has little or nothing to do with what is or is not good for the people, ALL OF THE PEOPLE, in this country.

I would bet my next three paychecks vendetta the Republican Party has against President Obama has never been about the policies being put forth by the White House, but everything to do with the ethnicity of the family living in the White House. Food for thought Mr. Brown, food for thought.

And…you and your colleagues thought none of us had noticed.

Sincerely,

boomer (I truthfully identified myself, not hiding behind my User Name).

Cc:   President Barack Obama (202) 456-2461

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) (202) 228-6321

I am open to any and all comments, however I honestly believe this is and/or inclusions is  something President Obama needs to see sooner rather than later from those of us who put him where he is. The regular people; those of us not beholden to any one or any corporation. Guess one could call us the $1.00, $5.00, $10.00 contributors and supporters. None of us has an agenda or expect a pay back, we just want him to represent the real people and not be seduced by lobbyists or some of his inner circle advisers. God, I wish he would talk to the “no-agenda-real-people” and not the so-called experts.

PS:  The Three Musketeers are assholes, bigoted and racist assholes. God bless the President, but these guys are on a mission. Their mission is to demean, disrespect, and treat President Obama as if he were nothing more than a slave. My deepest apologies President Obama, but it is a fact, plain and simple; a fact. Please do not rely solely on the advice of your inner circle. Sometimes those closest to us are our worst and most dangerous enemies. Sincerely Mr. President, you need to hear the voices of those of us who believed in and elected you to the highest office in the United Sates of America. Please do not let the likes of McConnell, Boehner, Cantor and their  gang diminish your authority and your office.

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Khirad
Member

Sitting in Starbucks today reading my latest book, I thought of this discussion when reading the following.

President Rafsanjani’s masterful purge of radicals also backfired. The new crop of political, social and fiscal conservatives who replaced the militants in 1992 parliamentary elections turned out to be as much of a problem–at least. They obstructed new laws needed for reform.

In 1993, halfway through the second republic, disappointment was tangible when President Rafsanjani ran for a second term. Public apathy was so high that only 57 percent of the electorate showed up at the polls–for a leader who was widely seen as more of a politician than a cleric and who had once been heralded as Iran’s political healer.

Of course, this would happen going into the re-election of Iran’s most “liberal” president and his unprecedented majority faction in the parliament. The conservatives and radicals struck back with everything they could and obstructed so much that he, too, was practically a lame duck as soon as he was elected again in 2001.

While an imperfect comparison in many ways – in both these examples I see an electorate who while they voted for them again, also blamed them for not achieving the change they desired (and they did have valid complaints). I can only hope Obama is at least elected again.

While the GOP may not have quite the same mobilized goon squads as at the reactionary’s disposal there, I couldn’t help but be struck by a pattern I’m sure is quite familiar to political scientists across the world.

I don’t think it hyperbolic to compare the GOP to the reactionary tactics in Iran. Their xenophobic rhetoric, smears, blackballing, and obstructionism would be very familiar to us. Just be thankful Republicans don’t have the Basij and we don’t have Supreme Leader Pat Robertson.

Chernynkaya
Member

Hi all. I had to chime in on this. For the past several months, I have been at HP haranguing the masses to GOTV for the midterms. To that end, I have been defending the Obama administration, and I must say, tirelessly. I did so mostly out of conviction for his Administration, but partially because the alternative is unthinkable. I have also ranted passionately against the Reptilians, because I believe, with every fiber of my being, that they are literally the enemy of all that is good and decent in America. I make no apologies for that hyperbole. I feel, in my extremely small way, I made a minimal difference—at least so I have been told. And, in general, I will likely continue in my “mission.”

That being said, I am opposed to this deal. I am opposed less so on the actual merits of the compromise—although on those too, to a lesser degree—as I am on the very fact of compromise with terrorists.

For the past two years, I have really seen who the Republican¬s truly are. After all this time, after all I’ve seen and heard, it is too much to ask that I accept compromise with these so-called humans.

When the “loyal opposition” is not only disloyal to the country as a whole, and represents the most venal, xenophobic and illiterate of this nation, you cannot negotiate.

When they want ONLY to destroy Obama, above any good they could do for the people they represent, you cannot negotiate.

When they hate American values and are determined to turn our country into an oligarchy, you cannot negotiate.

When they believe in the Rapture and pray for Armageddon, when they deny science and want a theocracy, you cannot negotiate.

When they call the unemployed lazy drug users, tell the poor to dumpster dive, urge Ugandans to execute gays, disparage minorities in racist signs and immigrants as crazed beheaders, you cannot negotiate.

When they call for the overthrow of lawfully elected officials, preach sedition and “Second Amendment remedies,” you cannot negotiate.

We cannot negotiate with these people, any more than we negotiate with Timothy McVeigh– Even if it means the hostages suffer, because we know that there will always be more hostages. If you have to negotiate for UI, there is no stopping the immorality of the hostage takers. That’s really my bottom line.

About the 13 months of desperately needed Unemployment Insurance, you will see I have probably gone off the deep end, but here goes:

Should we trade a deal on DADT for longer time in Afghanistan?

How about ending unemployment (more jobs) but give up Social Security? Or Medicare?

Should we trade a strong EPA for jobs, or national parks for deregulation?

These are FALSE CHOICES, and ones we should never be forced to make. Obama just made us choose between something that should NEVER have been negotiated¬¬– unemployment insurance. Those should never have been a trading chip in the first place, but since it was, now every other program we hold dear is jeopardized.

In my fevered state, I more than anything want to defeat Republicans. I guess that, right there, is what separates me from the president.

I am no purist– I actually think health care reform was a huge accomplishment. Ditto fin/reg. It’s not all compromise I object to, just this one– the LAST STRAW. For two years, I have become frustrated to the point of incoherence at the success of the Reptilian Party. And at the corresponding income inequality highlighted by the obscene salaries of Wall St and banksters.

I recognized that Obama was dealt a terrible hand, that he was the adult, and that his heart was in the right place. But, in aggregate, I’ve had enough! There is only so much maturity and reason I can muster in the face of it all. The trouncing we took by the Tea Baggers (!) has sent me into pure Id Ville.

At his point, I want a President who will fight mean and hard. I want someone on MY side as ruthless and brutish as the Reptilians. The time for calm sanity in the face of the most toxic group of legislators in memory is OVER. It’s about psychology now, not policy. In a war, I want the Terminator– no, I want Alien or Predator–not necessarily what makes sense. And I am itching for a fight– a really take-no-prisoners one.

Obama just signaled that he will negotiate with terrorists. And that means the Repubs will continue to get whatever they want. I cannot abide that.

But about the merits of the deal itself—it is a tough call for me.
First of all, I wish Dems would stop using ONLY the deficit to repudiate this deal. We keep on allowing the Right to frame any debate!

We are now all decrying the deficit. When did that happen? A few months ago, all Democrats and progressives were rightfully insistent that the deficit should not be addressed at the expense of jobs; and that job creation is dependent on government spending. Job creation will do more to decrease the deficit in the long run, but that argument seems lost. Now, even Howard Dean has used the deficit as a hypocritical reason to oppose the tax cut deal.

And Republicans are saying that the Dems have agreed with them that tax cuts work to create jobs. (They don’t, but that’s how they are able to frame this tax cut deal because Larry Summers gave them the ammo.)

Here’s what Repub Paul Gigot said on Meet the Press (UGH!)

“I love the symbolism of two Democratic presidents¬¬–not one, but two–endorsing Bush tax cuts, saying, ‘We need them crucially to help the economy.’The president, I think, is implicitly admitting that tax rates matter. After a couple of years, as you showed on the–with the, the discussion with Austan Goolsbee and Tim Geithner had said, “They don’t matter.” We–now they’re saying, yes, they do matter, and then implicitly admitting that tax cuts matter more for growth than spending.”

And this:
I heard Pat Toomey on Morning Joe. He disputed the notion that Obama will be able to make the case in 2012 to repeal the tax cuts for the rich, when they are supposed to expire AGAIN.

Why? He is completely logical– He just WON an election where voters were told repeatedly that Toomey was FOR tax cuts for the rich. He WON on that platform. And we are supposed to trust that in two years, the Repubs won’t be able to win again on that? Of course they will win again– Rush and Fox will tell those pukey peasants to keep supporting the rich, and they will.

So, do I think the tax cuts for the Middle Class are beneficial—sure. But the 2% payroll holiday is awful, IMO. It sets us up. In two years, the Repubs will argue that the deficit is worse—and so we must cut “entitlement” programs. Or, logic be damned, the economy is too weak to raise taxes.

Believe me, my heart goes out to the unemployed and especially to the 99ers. I am fortunate to not be in their shoes, although until last week (YAY!)– my son was unemployed, with no benefits. I am sorry, but sometimes people must suffer to make headway for society.

Social justice always comes at a price. Ask the Indians during the salt protests organized by Ghandi, or better, ask the civil rights workers fire-hosed by cops. Where would justice be if nobody was willing to suffer for it? We will get nothing without sacrifice-bitter sacrifice. I HATE THAT. I know, I know—easy for me to say form my safe position. I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t think the stakes were so very high.

13 months of unemployment insurance is a meager bribe to keep us off the streets. Necessary but insufficient. I am willing to be shown the error of my thinking, but it seems to me, ransoming these hostages was a bad deal for what is at stake in the bigger picture.
There is no shortage of blame for this:

First, the venal, hypocritical Repubs, who filibustered extension of UI benefits.

Second, the spineless Dem leadership¬, who refused to take this up before the election.

And of course, Obama, who, given #s one and two, could have said: “I have NO CHOICE– I have to let all the cuts expire.” Instead, he said he had no choice but to negotiate with hostage-takers.

Bill Clinton once said, “When people are scared, they vote for strong and wrong over weak and right.” Well, I am officially scared. I certainly won’t vote for wrong, but I get his point. I feel as if there is no one but Bernie Sanders speaking out on our behalf.

BTW, Obama is NOT weak. He showed that bucking just about everybody on this. But he is soft—too kind-hearted for these times. There is a difference.

(Rant over—Whew!)

Haruko Haruhara
Member

Cher, you’re back!

Don’t ever leave again!!!!

Chernynkaya
Member

Hi buddy!! Good to be here for sure.

Khirad
Member

Okay, I really did read it all. And, what more could I say?

But Haruko beat me to what I wanted to say first.

Chernynkaya
Member

No comment required! Hiya,K. Thanks!

whatsthatsound
Member

Nicely delivered, Cher! You’ll have 3000 fans HERE too, in no time! 🙂
Seriously, it’s great to see you in this neck of the woods. And I am most definitely in agreement. The president who supposedly plays chess while his opponents play checkers is getting his butt kicked again and again by the relentless onslaught of take-no-prisoners-never-give-an-inch Republicans. He may be a chess player, but he’s no boxer, telegraphing every punch. I agree with you, enough is enough. Someone wrote, and many have said, he treats his enemies like his friends and his friends like his enemies. Not sure I’d go that far, but I go pretty close.

Stick around, Cher! I’ll be putting up a post in the next few days.

Questinia
Member

I’m still prone to thinking that his chess moves may not be evidenced for a couple of years. He’s strategizing that well in advance.

whatsthatsound
Member

well, “strategizing” or not, he could have done a better job of holding BP more accountable, informing GM that, “ahem, we own you now so keep the jobs at home and make electric cars so we can save our environment”, curbing the greed and excesses of the banks he bailed out, etc. etc. Meanwhile, the very real casualties of these circumstances should hardly be comforted, I would imagine, by the assurance that his methodology will reveal itself if we just hang on a couple more years.

Chernynkaya
Member

Amen, Whatsie.

Questinia
Member

True that, wts.

bito
Member

GM did cancel moving plants abroad, build the electric Volt. “He” didn’t bail out the banks. Not sure what more could have been legally done to BP.

I can’t help but think “its the economy, stupid.” Why can’t people realize that in this deal, along with some really bad portions (nature of a compromise?)that a 900 billion “helicopter drop” was put into the economy? That this deal was quite Keynesian”by ignoring short and mid term deficits and getting money flowing in the economy and hopefully creating demand? Long term debt can be, will be addressed, but not until the employment picture stabilizes.

Chernynkaya
Member

I await that with baited breath! Seriously–I do.

Questinia
Member

“It’s about psychology now, not policy”.

Absolutely! We have been the carnival suckers at the peanut shell game. There is no negotiating with people who would gladly bring back an American version of the Spanish Inquisition, a newly minted McCarthy Era bankrolled by the Kochs. We need to turn the tables in a very simple non-ambiguous way, one that uses the undoing that only a well waged psychological war can undo. Fight black and white with black and white. At what point do we stop cunctating?

So good to see you, Cher!

Chernynkaya
Member

Hey, Q! I am needing some serious Psy-Ops about now. Ready to blast heavy metal, head banging music into the Repub caucus– or something.

Speaking of psychology, how cringe-worthy was it to watch Boehner cry again? Why would someone tear up at the thought of his pursuit of “the American dream?”

It’s because he feels sorry for himself. He is recalling how hard he worked; at all the hardships he suffered. He is full of self-pity. Republican­s LOVE to feel victimized­.

Well, boo-effin-­HOO!

I have met two kinds of self-made people in my life. One kind remembers how hard it was to become successful­, and they reach out and give others a hand. The Boehner kind remembers how hard they had it and say, “Nobody helped me (a lie) and so I’m not gonna help anyone.” They think they are better than the average guy, when the fact is, they are shallow pieces O’sh­it.

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”

Questinia
Member

Boehner cries because he’s histrionic. Many of the GOP are. Beck, Limbaugh, Palin. Their theatricality is all about attention and they unfortunately tend to get it in this histrionically obsessed culture.

Did Boehner cry before the elections at all? Seems he got post-partisan depression.

The fact that he is macho, i.e. smokes Camel cigarettes, has a put-on baritone voice supports the histrionic tendency. It’s all a show. If you ask him about details and depth he’ll go nowhere.

kesmarn
Admin

Someone on the Dark Side also posited that the Repubs cry in a calculated way to try to convince the public that they really aren’t heartless. 🙄

She added that going the same route for the Dems would never work because the Dems are not perceived to be brutes in the first place. So crying tends only to be a negative for them, in that it sends out the “weakness” vibe.

Chernynkaya
Member

An excellent observation.

Pepe Lepew
Member

Seriously, I wonder if the bawling has something to do with his drinking.

I’ve known drunks that cried at the drop of a hat, maudlin, weepy, pathetic crying. I think the liquor destroys self-control cells in the brain.

escribacat
Member

I think you nailed it, Pepe.

javaz
Member

T’was the night before Christmas,
And all through the House,
John Boehner was crying,
Because he missed golf.

With the title of Speaker,
And Boehner in charge,
Golf games are no longer,
But he can still visit bars.

He lights up a Camel,
And orders a drink,
The tears run unchecked,
Because his skin’s turning pink.

Oh, dash it all, dash it all,
Dash it away,
Being Speaker of the House,
Means all work and no play.

He started out long ago,
Working as a common man,
But now Boehner’s crying,
“I’m losing my tan!”

Chernynkaya
Member

Pepe:

Damn– BINGO!

javaz
Member

I can’t help but imagine the different reaction from the MSM and FOX would be if Nancy Pelosi or any Democrat for that matter cried like Boehner.

But I especially think that a woman candidate/politician crying would be scorned out of politics.

bito
Member

j’avaz,
Pat Schroeder, she was knocked out of her race in a heartbeat when she cried. “those women are just to emotional to be ‘real’ leaders.”

javaz
Member

I forgot about that!

Chernynkaya
Member

Bito–In a couple of instances, I think we have BEGUN to start to move away from that attitude– IF the woman in question has a tough reputation. Hillary broke down during her campaign, remember? She said something to the effect that she knew how high the stakes were. No one that I can recall criticized her for that. That was a tiny bit of progress. I think the same would hold true for Pelosi, but I can’t imagine that occurring. She has such stones, it would have to be a cold day in hell. But others, say someone like Boxer– or even Palin might take some grief.

We are still pretty sexist though. Which reminds me– an article on the sexism of Morning Joe here:

http://www.tnr.com/article/79832/morning-joe

kesmarn
Admin

Cher! So good to see you back. I knew that across the miles you would sense that the Russian “La-la-la” guy video had been posted here within the last 48 hours and return!! 😉

Now I’m gonna go back and read your comment!

kesmarn
Admin

Later: beautifully eloquent, as always, Cher.

A few days ago, I made the comparison here of these times to the 1930s and the labor movement. Could there have been a dicier period in which to call massive sit-downs, lock-outs and strikes? Could people have possibly had more to lose? Everything was on the line. Literal survival itself. But American labor organized, risked and suffered, and won big concessions.

What does it take? At what point of suffering will the American voting public finally come to their senses and say: “I think these people are not our friends…” Well, duh!

I’m a fan of Obama. He’s much more Martin Luther King than Mohammad Ali, though. Will the MLK strategy work in this situation?
I guess we’re about to find out.

My instinctive feeling is that the Repubs will keep on pushing until they get some really serious push-back. And supplying that push-back means not only Obama discovering his inner Ali, but more importantly, the American public “manning up.”

Because opposing these guys is one job that we can’t outsource.

Chernynkaya
Member

Hello my dearest kes. I saw that La-la guy posted here the other day, and damn if I didn’t start laughing again as if I had never seen it! He is a gem, no?

Anyhoo—I am as usual, at my wit’s end at the apathy of Americans. Honestly, we simply must go back to the streets as we did in the Thirties and the Sixties. There were fewer distacting toys then though. Less noise, I guess.

Personally, I got pretty active locally leading up to the Midterms, and here in California, it payed off. But who knows–we are a solidly Blue state overall anyway. My point about that is, it is the only thing that acts as an antidote to despair. I am grateful for the many organizing organizations that helped me channel my anger.

We are at a time when we so badly need someone to organize us nationally.

The real game changers, and I hate to face this, were the Baggers. Astroturf for sure, but also real. I am serious when I say what we need is as strong antidote to the Baggers from the Left, and as whacky and as unreasonab­le, and as ideologica­l as they are. That’s seems the only way we get any attention. (I am now realizing how brilliant AdLib’s idea of street theater really was.)

Maddow quoted Gandhi the other night: “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” That sums up the brief history of the Baggers too. And I am not too proud to learn from that. The forces that will literally destroy America never take a day off, but we on the Left are not as angry or as active. This tax deal may have changed that. I sincerely hope so. If it infuriated me—who has been very patient and reasonable­– who knows how many others it ignited?

kesmarn
Admin

The “La-la” Guy is eternally amusing, Cher. 😀

Quick note before I have to leave for work (unless I get a last minute reprieve).

Yes, the Baggers have certainly been a lesson to us all. To give the devil his due, I have to say that the RW is positively brilliant at channeling and harnessing the power of ignorant outrage. There’s no end to their creativity nor their funding.

It would be refreshing to put a candidate out there who could match them point for point on issues. How about a 95% tax rate for the wealthy — no deductions, no loopholes, no offshore tax havens? How about nationalizing the banks, energy and healthcare all at the same time!?
Go for broke, the way they do when they talk about getting rid of Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance!

We might be surprised at the reaction we’d get.

Khirad
Member

I think it was like the siren song that brought Cher back.

No one can resist the trololol.

kesmarn
Admin

It is truly magical.

Chernynkaya
Member

Khirad: It is like a dog-whistle to me! Only certain, ahem, “special” people can respond to it.

whatsthatsound
Member

Therein lies the rub, Cher, in your one sentence, “The forces that will literally destroy America never take a day off, but we on the Left are not as angry or as active. ”
They don’t HAVE to take days off, because that’s their job. They make ridiculous amounts of money for rigging the system in their favor. They’d sooner take jobs at McDonalds than volunteer to wreck things. Everything they do to further the oligarchy further enriches them, while everybody else has to work all day and then try to figure out a way to protest on their own time.
The system is screwy! So, because making things worse is their job, but making things better is something the rest of us have to do on the side, we are at a distinct disadvantage, and so we need, ahem, “representatives”, whose job it is to argue our case. Great concept, except all too often that is decidedly NOT what our so-called representatives actually do. They take our votes and then nuzzle up to the full time country wreckers. Yack!

escribacat
Member

Here’s a possible explanation for the president’s actions–it’s possible he doesn’t act based on the desires of the liberal wing because he sees himself as the president of all, not just the president of the 20% of Americans who call themselves liberal. He obviously knows how to fight and win — how else could he have overcome the Clinton machine during the election? Remember what he said to the 48% who didn’t vote for him: “I’m your president too.”

If this is what’s going on in his head, it clearly could be his undoing. You can’t be all things to all people — he’ll end up being no thing to no people. He’ll never overcome the hatred that the rightwing has for him and he has only disenchanted many on the left. But I also understand the logic behind it. He wants to lead the entire nation, not just his political party. Unfortunately, the nation isn’t going to let him.

Chernynkaya
Member

Hi e’cat! Well, about leading the entire nation– I feel the entire nation actually yearns for some exhibition of steeliness. (I am so sick and tired of the false meme that Obama is weak, because he most definitely is not.) But a dose of fury, of even ideology–heck, of bellicosity– is missing.

The electorate does not respond well to (perceived) weakness, and will not rally ‘round an alpha male who appears unable to defend his territory, or worse, seems not to know that he’s under attack.

It’s loathsome that aggressive loudmouths with idiotic ideas can co-opt political discourse, while an intelligent but resaoned voice is drowned out in the din. It also says a lot that the electorate can be swayed by things that they don’t believe in, if they’re said with gusto. We have many bellicose candidates waiting in the wings, and there will be lots of gusto in the run-up to 2012.

Without strong leadership, socially and fiscally responsible ideas will not stand a chance, and we will almost certainly devolve back into a feudal society. We will then be the ones held hostage to the greedy whims of our corporate Lords. I hope Mr. Obama wakes up and finds his righteous anger before then, and gives us some of the reason to hope that he can clearly command when he wants to. The stakes could not be higher. We can make do without a chicken in every pot, but we can’t manage with one in the Oval Office.

AdLib
Admin

Cher! So wonderful to see you!

Trying to see the big picture from a psychological standpoint, consider the radical personality change required of Obama to become the most effective-as-possible president.

His entire life appears to have been built on a belief in reason. As a community organizer, it was ingrained in him to eschew conflict and bring people together for their common good.

I think it has been very hard for Obama to accept that some of his core principles, including his faith in people, just won’t push his goals across the finish line in DC.

FDR went through radical changes from being a modest POTUS to a ground-shaking one. It is not beyond possibility that through this baptism of fire and that of the next two years, Pres. Obama becomes more of the political competitor and athlete he is on the basketball court.

He does have it in him and he’s seen that trusting in the intelligence of the public to dismiss lies from the GOP and in there being a shred of integrity in the GOP to do the right things are both losing propositions.

I think the next two years may be very transformative for Obama, in a good way and could chart a course for a remarkable and course-changing second term.

Chernynkaya
Member

Hi, AdLib—I am relieved you are glad to see me. I really like your take on the Prez. The community organizer would make a perfect analogy if it weren’t a fact. It does explain a lot about him. Obama has spent the last two years preaching the benefits of bi-partistanship only to be rebuffed by the Republicans at every turn. You would think by now that he would have gotten the message.

The Republicans understand that they can win the spin war and have no fear. This past election was one of the most depressing events since ’04. If Obama refused the Tax bill for the rich, the spin will be that Obama is killing the middle class and that will be the perceived truth.

In the racist and toxic environment of Washington, bipartisanship is impossible–and even wrong. I know the public disagrees about this, but only on the surface. They really want action. They really want a King. Republicans sensed his desire for finding “common ground” and have exploited it consistently. In the end he has won nothing politically and is labeled as a socialist, and worse, for adopting the very same plans the Republicans once championed.

President Obama is appealing to “our better angels” at a time when the devil –
” that rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.”

I have to give the devil his due. By the way, a really excellent article on framing, by George Lakoff here:

http://www.truth-out.org/untellable-truths65905

AdLib
Admin

Thanks for the Lakoff article.

Let’s face it though, the general American public has always preferred a “King” to a man of quiet reason. Consider the authoritarian kings we’ve had in the White House in the last few decades, GW Bush, GHW Bush, Reagan and Nixon.

For too many poorly educated Americans, the exercise of power equals leadership. The more the use of power, the stronger the leader. The more belligerent, the more hostile, the more intolerant…the stronger the leader.

There is a parent complex to many voters, they want a “Daddy” authority figure who will decide what’s right and wrong and protect them. They do not understand nor relate to a President who is conscientious and treats them and their rights as deserving the most respect.

They want a strict “daddy” who knows what’s best and brings them a pony for Xmas.

In short, too many American voters have the intellects of 5 year olds when it comes to politics.

They voted against the Dems in a tantrum this Nov, “”I don’t care who wins, I’m mad at you Dems cause I didn’t get my pony, you’re not my best friend anymore!!!”

How can a nation commit to long term plans for repairing our economy and addressing economic inequity if they’re as fickle as spoiled 5 year olds?

There has to be pain, there has to be sacrifice to rehabilitate our nation and yet these whiners refuse to accept both and they have an enabler in the forms of corporations and the GOP who keep them deluded by nodding their heads that yes, they can have it all and only meanies would ever ask them to sacrifice.

What I think we need in addition to election and lobbying reforms is for many in the American public to grow up and start thinking like adults.

bito
Member

But AdLib, the voters have spoken!

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bito
Member

Well, if ain’t 9302! 😉

Chernynkaya
Member

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I can’t believe you remember that– wow, did that just give me a belly laugh.

Bito– GREAT to see you.

Chernynkaya
Member

Boomer, in my rant-mode, I was negligent in telling you how great your post was. Really riled me.

AdLib
Admin

Boomer, thank you so much for posting this. Here’s my swing at a letter to Pres. Obama:

Mr. President,

We are among those who supported you in your 2008 Presidential campaign, some of us supported you before then and all of us continue to strongly support you today. You have imbued the office of the Presidency with a level of conscience, competence, respect and honesty that has been sorely missed for many years and we thank you sincerely for that.

Despite the lack of ongoing recognition we believe you deserve, you have made a great amount of profound accomplishments in less than two years as President, to the benefit of the majority of Americans and their futures.

You exhibit many strengths including character but we would like to offer and hope you are willing to accept our perspective from the grass roots on one aspect of your remarkable character.

It was your experience and sensibilities as a community organizer that seemed to be the heart of your successful campaign for the presidency but we believe that it is a sword that cuts both ways.

While your openness to others and focus on finding common ground was what attracted many voters to support you, we submit that it appears to be an Achilles Heel that Republicans have and continue to exploit to undermine support for you and the ongoing success of your agenda and presidency.

With all due respect, there is a proposition that seems to be immutable in your presidency, that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel if effort is continually made towards reaching out to Republicans, that this is what the American public wants most. The results of November’s election would seem to affirm that what the public claims they want and what they really want are not necessarily the same thing. Ultimately, we simply want their lives to be better and though we may decry the system and players in Washington, what we want most is results.

It is difficult when one has lived by certain meaningful principles, to ever accept that they can’t always be applied in one’s life. However, historically, it has often led to the downfall of many good and altruistic people to remain committed to principles that are simply not effective in the cold reality of that time.

As a man of logic and reason, we’re certain you can appreciate the evidentiary reasons we present this conclusion. For two years, we have all witnessed the stark evidence of how the Republicans agenda to cripple your presidency has flourished despite any and all of your efforts and attempts at bipartisanship. It accelerated up to this year’s election and continues to grow even more aggressive as we near the next Congress.

The results of the election has fully validated their strategy. The easy question to answer is, would Republicans seek to reverse a strategy that resulted in their getting what they wanted? What can you offer them that is more desirable to them than gaining more power?

What has been returned to you in exchange for reaching out to Republicans is racial and hostile statements about you, aggressive campaigns to de-legitimize you as an American citizen, a patriot and supporter of legit capitalism and a steady stream of vile and vicious propaganda spewed by the Republican media of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, etc. intended to destroy your presidency.

To be frank, weighing on one hand all that has occurred over the past two years that validates bipartisanship as a viable path versus all that has occurred to affirm that efforts at bipartisanship are futile and are instead used to harm your presidency and the people of this country, the logical conclusion would seem to be apparent.

It really seems to come down to this, are you willing to accept that a core principle of yours simply won’t work at this particular moment in time?

The choice seems to be between fighting to validate your proposition that bipartisanship can work versus fighting to achieve the strongest achievements that would most benefit Americans.

No one wants to accept that our better angels can’t prevail at times but there have been many critical moments in history when the only path to victory is to fight for what is best for the nation.

In our opinion, this is the case right now. We and millions of other Americans are ready and waiting to support you in an unflinching campaign to fight for the principles we share against the corporatist, Republican machine. We see the mercenary nature of their philosophy, affirming Jim DeMint’s “Waterloo” statement earlier in your presidency, Mitch McConnell publicly announced recently that the Republican’s main goal in the next two years is to make you a one term president. Mr. President, they continue to prove this day in and day out, we take them at their word and we urge you to do so as well.

There is no room for compromise with such an army pursuing such a goal. Good will is only viewed as weakness by them and causes them to redouble their intransigence, as we’ve just witnessed on the Bush tax cuts.

Mr. President, maybe sometime in the future, the environment for changing the partisanship in Washington will be more hospitable, we certainly hope so. However, right now, in the most hostile partisan times we’ve seen, what we need is not bipartisanship but leadership in helping the unemployed, those losing their homes, the uninsured, the nation’s economic stability and restoring our democracy to the people from the plutocratic hands of the wealthy and corporations.

The Republicans are at war with you and the majority of the American people, Mr. President. It is a war that we seem to be losing. We are looking to you to stand up to those committed to our defeat. We need you to fight for us now, strategically and aggressively. This is a time of battle, whether desired or not. Once a conflict is engaged, the victor is the one that decides to either seek peace and respect with the defeated or oppress and prey on them.

The road to bipartisanship winds through a battlefield. To get there safely and successfully, we need to defend ourselves from harm along the way and pursue an aggressive strategy that provides for our victory over those who seek to defeat us. We need you to boldly lead that charge and we sincerely believe that in doing so, you can bring us to a profound and long term victory.

Thank you very much for your deepest consideration of our beliefs and request and thank you for all that you do each day to serve the best interests of all Americans.

bito
Member

Co-signed.
Kalima posted a Tomasky blog today and he highlighted that while McConnell and Kyl were meeting with the President and smiling about bipartisanship, they were getting signatures on their “hell no” letter. That is the type of character the President has to work with to find a compromise.
Please, Mr. President, start signing executive orders. Nothing will pass in the Senate.

choicelady
Member

Hey boomer – GREAT work! I do mobilize people around CA (and a few hangers on who’ve moved to other states) to do this regularly. Since they are largely people of faith, I ask them to mention that. It still has weight with politicos if not with other progressives.

I’d like to suggest using the FAX since mailed letters can and do languish in the Capitol mailroom being scanned for anthrax etc. and can be delayed for WEEKS sometimes. The FAX also bypasses the cranky legislators who take email from ONLY their constituents. They cannot block the FAX by ZIP.

It was one of Obama’s mantras that he cannot do things alone. He actually practices democracy – leaves legislation to Congress, legal decisions to the legal process. So it IS up to us to raise our voices. Democracy is messy, slow, and demands constant engagement. What I read and hear from HP bloggers etc. are the whinings of people who never wrote, called, sent a FAX, did an email to anyone about anything. Thank you boomer1949 – you’ve raised your voice for democracy. Do let us know if Brown has the civility to reply – even a form letter – or whether he thinks if you’re not a constituent, you don’t deserve an iota of his attention. The results will be illuminating.

Stand UP for democracy in general and policies in specific. It’s the only way we make change. Boomer set the standard for us all!

PatsyT
Member

Boomer
It is just this kind of passion,
this kind of candor,
this kind of wit,
That will cut through to the quick.
Go Boomer Go!
Never let up!

whatsthatsound
Member

Okay, because Boomer is pulling the hard sell 🙂
But remember, I’m a bit less enamored of our current prez than most here, so I’m not sure my ideas would fit well in your letter. Feel free to use or discard anything you like, boomsie!

Dear President Obama,

The midterms have just ended, and already your opposition is thinking of nothing but replacing you with a Republican in 2012. The grassroots electorate that pulled together and hired you for an incredibly difficult task would like very much to not see that happen. In fact, we feel that it would be an unmitigated disaster for the country if the Party of No, the Party of Outsourcing, the Party of corporate rubber stampers in SCOTUS, returns for a long reign just as they did after reducing President Carter to a one liner.
And make no mistake, sir, that is what they are doing to you. “Weak, indecisive, unpatriotic”, these were all terms that they made stick to President Carter because he dared to use the word “malaise”, and didn’t do a good Rambo impersonation. In your case, they are managing to make even harsher words stick.
They want you to fail, Mr. President. I’m sure by now you must realize that. There is no working with them; rather, there is only appeasing them. And that wins you no points with anyone, sir. They take your appeasement, throw it back in your face, and laugh about how weak it makes you look to your base. When they win, you lose. When you appease, you lose. When you lose, WE lose! And we are the ones who elected you.

I dunno, boomer. I’m not sure this is anything like what you were looking for. But there you have it, my two yen’s worth. I could write more, but I’d first just to hear what you think.

kesmarn
Admin

boomer, I do hope this really reaches Brown’s very own hands and eyes.

Even granting that he may or may not be swayed too much in his opinions, the mere fact of holding the paper in his hands and reading your heart-felt words has got to mean something.

If we never make the effort to communicate with these people, they’ll just assume that the world is their echo chamber of approval!

VegasBabe
Member

In an article on HP, soon to be ex Governor Ted Strickland calls dems “intellectual elites” and makes it clear to the POTUS and all REAL dems that they are at war with the likes of McConnel, boehner, et.al. The question becomes whether the honest to goodness dems will ever open their mouths and begin the fight that is necessary to protect all of america’s citizenry and perhaps most important, does Obama possess the cajones to FIGHT. And continue fighting until his agenda reaches fruition for, as far as I have seen, NO PART of his agenda is harmful to the american public. Texas GOP rep Leo Berman submits a bill that demands presidential candidates produce evidence of american birth yet ignores the documents Hawaii has produced which have been verified by not only Hawaii’s governor but it’s public health director. AT SOME POINT, Obama needs to address this type of bullshit and threaten legal action of his own if not suits! And these same reps from the same party, anxious to allow the rich tax breaks CAN’T seem to offer the same consideration to fellow americans hurting right now…steps away themselves from potentially being members of “TENT” communities. So many CLAIM they have NEVER voted rethuglican but I’m not stupid. So many have, right here in our midst, and will again. I have never, would never and those who have, who will again, have absolutely no real care about this country and/or it’s constituents. It is about what it’s always been about…party first!

whatsthatsound
Member

Give ’em hell, Boomer!

bito
Member
AlphaBitch
Member
AlphaBitch

BOOMER! You go girl! I love to fax things; it wastes paper, for which I am really, truly sorry. But it also means some schlub (like myself) has to get up when they hear “incoming” and get the damn thing. I always read them, unless it starts with huge letters and “Caribbean vacation”. I want SOME pair of eyes – and maybe not the trained assassins on the internets tubes – to SEE my anger. And it can only be tossed, not “deleted” or “vaporized” before ONE MORE pair of eyes can perchance see it. Fax away, dear one. Love you for it!

Kalima
Admin

Well done boomer! If a few million more people would take the time to write down their real feelings in a letter to the people that piss them off instead of mumbling behind their hands or trashing the President on a blog, maybe a message would be received loud and clear that the GOP and the TP don’t speak for, or represent the will and wants of the American public/voters.

bito
Member

Excellent work, boomer! an A+++ for your effort, now can you you go there an slap these clowns silly, or at least rob their cupboards of their Christmas food and turn off their utilities? SOB’s

After his objection, Brown offered his own proposal for a year-long extension as long as the Office of Management and Budget finds funds from already approved appropriations to pay for it. But Democrats turned down the plan because, as Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) noted, “we have to deal with the immediate crisis” and “the families that are struggling today.” This, of course, was the governing philosophy of both parties when they passed unemployment extension seven times under the Bush Administration. In fact, before yesterday, Congress went 40 years without allowing extended unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate was above 7.2 percent. The unemployment rate today stands at 9.6 percent.

FORTY EFFING YEARS!!!

Scott Brown Single-Handedly Blocks An Extension Of Unemployment Benefits