Back to the SOTU. Did you ever really notice how silly it is? The up and down of the VP and Speaker. The stony silence of the minority party. It's kind of funny.
Despite that, and within the context of the speech, though, I though Obama did alright. He is a charismatic speaker. He does well up there. I have to give him that. There was nothing in the speech that particularly blew me away, nor was there anything I took issue with. I would rather that he didn't mention the "inheritance" that the previous administration left him but he and his people seem to think it was necessary. It's at the point where the people who do not recognize that Obama was left with a mess are doing so of their own free will. It isn't for lack of information. Those who think Obama is responsible for all of the mess are doing it because they want. But that's their prerogative and they're going to do what they want to do.
The GOP response was laughable. Honestly, who designed the set? A black person behind McDonnell on one side and an Asian on the other. Christ almighty does it get any more transparent than that?
My favorite line was:
"We want cooperation, not partisanship."
Tell me, what about the actions of the minority party would indicate that they are interested in cooperation?
Tell me, when voting results in almost every single Republican voting the same way (that being against whatever Democrats are trying to do), how is that bipartisan?
Anyway, the biggest STFU moment of the entire event was Chris Matthews stating that he forgot Obama was black. What the hell does that mean? I'm not even sure what he was trying to say, but in the current political environment you need to be damn sure that what you are saying is not going to get you put through the grinder.
After the speech the news broke that the GDP had gone through a major uptick compared to the last year. This is kind of "so what" for me as a major increase after a an even bigger decrease is not so impressive as it sounds at first. However, we need all the good news we can get with the economy.
It would be nice if Obama's opponents would be as hysterical over the improvements in the GDP and the Dow as they were when these same economical indicators were sliding, but that would also mean there was an ounce of integrity in the political discussion these days, which I think we can all agree is not true.
In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that matters right now is unemployment. It would make no sense for businesses to start hiring before things stabilize, so it's understandable. However, positive signs are starting to appear, little by little. It would be perhaps too optimistic to think that unemployment will get back in the single digits during 2010. It's always faster to make a mess than it is to clean it up.
The last thing of note for the week that was: Obama's trip to Baltimore to take questions from the GDP. The idea itself, is great. Hopefully this is the start to a tradition of direct confrontation rather than speaking through twitter, politico, blogs, and whatever outlet our politicians can get their hands on.
If you don't think that Obama was impressive during that session, I would really need to hear why. He showed himself to be knowledgeable on just about everything that was thrown at him, and he certainly didn't take bullshit. At the same time, he was comfortable enough to be direct when necessary, and crack a joke afterwards.
The one thing I noticed him struggle on is trying to delicately explain to the GOP that Democrats were the majority party, and so Republican attitude that compromise means "their way or nothing gets done" is not an accurate representation of the democratic process. There were a lot more "mmmm"s and "ummm"s during that exchange. I can understand that since it should be common knowledge.
The biggest point Obama made is on the Republican attitude during Obama's administration. Obama has been demonized beyond the point of rational behavior. This tactic started before Obama stepped in to the White House as President. Everything he has done has been criticized as "ruining the country" and "government take over"; no matter how small the issue. To put it in numbers terms: Obama's actions have ranged from 0 to 100 on how far to the left, yet Republican response to these actions has consistently been in the 80-100 range in how they criticize them.
So, as Obama says, it does not leave the Republicans much room to work with the President when they go and tell their constituents how fucking awful Obama is. When faced with that level of opposition, how can they expect Obama to want to listen to them? What does he have to gain?
We're currently in a situation where health care reform is being compared to Nazi behavior. Why? Here's how it should have been played out. Democrats, with Obama in office and a super majority in Congress should have started off with a heavy effort on single payer, doing everything they could do get it. If they were faced with stiff opposition, then they should have conceded to go with public option, and nothing less.
Instead, the level of demonizing rhetoric has been consistent throughout the process from start to finish. How is that not obvious to every person in the country that all the GOP cared about was stopping any and all reform? There is no room to negotiate, because only one side cares about getting this done.
Now, when public opinion on HCR tanks, the GOP spins it as the nation not wanting it when it's obvious that now the left leaning are also voting against it because the legislation is a joke.
What should happen now is that the whole thing should go back to the drawing board where they can go back to square one, go for universal health care, and say fuck you to the GOP. But that won't happen. Why? Because the Democrats in Congress are pussies.
The final question of the session was a man who just spouted a bunch of Hannity & Rush b.s. I'm pretty sure I learned something about Obama right there. The thing that has driven me nuts about Barry is how he stays quiet on a number of heated issues. The answer should have been obvious: It's because he doesn't really dignify fringe accusations with an answer. I'd say good for him, but in many instances certain people treat silence the same as admission of guilt. However, saying "with all due respect, Jim" would have been much more sincere if his name had actually been Jim, instead of Jeb.
It was an interesting dialogue on Friday. I loved seeing the piss & vinegar back in Obama, as I have been getting rather disappointed in his lack of involvement. This was the Obama that people voted for. Hopefully, this means a change in attitude. If there is one thing he could learn from George W Bush, it is how to handle Congress. I need a shower after that statement.
Despite my optimism in all of this, I am remaining extremely reserved in my attitude going forward. I will definitely need to see Obama continue with the attitude he displayed. It's one thing to talk a big game, it's another altogether to put that in to action. This country needs leadership right now. In a time when the loudest mouths on the right appear to be Rush and Palin, it should not be hard to take control and move forward. The next three years will be a test for Obama, and I hope for his sake that he's up to the task.
Tell me, when voting results in almost every single Republican voting the same way (that being against whatever Democrats are trying to do), how is that bipartisan?
Anyway, the biggest STFU moment of the entire event was Chris Matthews stating that he forgot Obama was black. What the hell does that mean? I'm not even sure what he was trying to say, but in the current political environment you need to be damn sure that what you are saying is not going to get you put through the grinder.
After the speech the news broke that the GDP had gone through a major uptick compared to the last year. This is kind of "so what" for me as a major increase after a an even bigger decrease is not so impressive as it sounds at first. However, we need all the good news we can get with the economy.
It would be nice if Obama's opponents would be as hysterical over the improvements in the GDP and the Dow as they were when these same economical indicators were sliding, but that would also mean there was an ounce of integrity in the political discussion these days, which I think we can all agree is not true.
In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that matters right now is unemployment. It would make no sense for businesses to start hiring before things stabilize, so it's understandable. However, positive signs are starting to appear, little by little. It would be perhaps too optimistic to think that unemployment will get back in the single digits during 2010. It's always faster to make a mess than it is to clean it up.
The last thing of note for the week that was: Obama's trip to Baltimore to take questions from the GDP. The idea itself, is great. Hopefully this is the start to a tradition of direct confrontation rather than speaking through twitter, politico, blogs, and whatever outlet our politicians can get their hands on.
If you don't think that Obama was impressive during that session, I would really need to hear why. He showed himself to be knowledgeable on just about everything that was thrown at him, and he certainly didn't take bullshit. At the same time, he was comfortable enough to be direct when necessary, and crack a joke afterwards.
The one thing I noticed him struggle on is trying to delicately explain to the GOP that Democrats were the majority party, and so Republican attitude that compromise means "their way or nothing gets done" is not an accurate representation of the democratic process. There were a lot more "mmmm"s and "ummm"s during that exchange. I can understand that since it should be common knowledge.
The biggest point Obama made is on the Republican attitude during Obama's administration. Obama has been demonized beyond the point of rational behavior. This tactic started before Obama stepped in to the White House as President. Everything he has done has been criticized as "ruining the country" and "government take over"; no matter how small the issue. To put it in numbers terms: Obama's actions have ranged from 0 to 100 on how far to the left, yet Republican response to these actions has consistently been in the 80-100 range in how they criticize them.
So, as Obama says, it does not leave the Republicans much room to work with the President when they go and tell their constituents how fucking awful Obama is. When faced with that level of opposition, how can they expect Obama to want to listen to them? What does he have to gain?
We're currently in a situation where health care reform is being compared to Nazi behavior. Why? Here's how it should have been played out. Democrats, with Obama in office and a super majority in Congress should have started off with a heavy effort on single payer, doing everything they could do get it. If they were faced with stiff opposition, then they should have conceded to go with public option, and nothing less.
Instead, the level of demonizing rhetoric has been consistent throughout the process from start to finish. How is that not obvious to every person in the country that all the GOP cared about was stopping any and all reform? There is no room to negotiate, because only one side cares about getting this done.
Now, when public opinion on HCR tanks, the GOP spins it as the nation not wanting it when it's obvious that now the left leaning are also voting against it because the legislation is a joke.
What should happen now is that the whole thing should go back to the drawing board where they can go back to square one, go for universal health care, and say fuck you to the GOP. But that won't happen. Why? Because the Democrats in Congress are pussies.
The final question of the session was a man who just spouted a bunch of Hannity & Rush b.s. I'm pretty sure I learned something about Obama right there. The thing that has driven me nuts about Barry is how he stays quiet on a number of heated issues. The answer should have been obvious: It's because he doesn't really dignify fringe accusations with an answer. I'd say good for him, but in many instances certain people treat silence the same as admission of guilt. However, saying "with all due respect, Jim" would have been much more sincere if his name had actually been Jim, instead of Jeb.
It was an interesting dialogue on Friday. I loved seeing the piss & vinegar back in Obama, as I have been getting rather disappointed in his lack of involvement. This was the Obama that people voted for. Hopefully, this means a change in attitude. If there is one thing he could learn from George W Bush, it is how to handle Congress. I need a shower after that statement.
Despite my optimism in all of this, I am remaining extremely reserved in my attitude going forward. I will definitely need to see Obama continue with the attitude he displayed. It's one thing to talk a big game, it's another altogether to put that in to action. This country needs leadership right now. In a time when the loudest mouths on the right appear to be Rush and Palin, it should not be hard to take control and move forward. The next three years will be a test for Obama, and I hope for his sake that he's up to the task.
Ah Chuck... you can blame it all day on Republicans, fact of the matter is they have 256 seats in the house, and 59 in the Senate. You could effectively close the door, not let any republican in on what was being said about any bill and get it passed, the key is having all the democrats agree. They only need 51 votes to pass the bill.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a republican problem that there are conservative democrats. They listen to their own constituents that say "hey, you'll be out of a job at the end of 2010 if you vote for that" -- Which incidentally works well for the progressive democrats, they don't care about the conservative (shocking) democrats, they want their bill made into law.
Republicans didn't stop it.
Fillibusters didn't stop it.
Tea parties didn't stop it.
Rush and Palin didn't stop it.
The problem isn't the 41 Republicans, it's the 9-12 or so democrats that want to keep their job and will do so by sitting on their hands.
The fight is between democrats and progressives, the republicans could be (and for all intents and purposes, are) absent from the equation.
I get this vibe that people view republicans votes against the HCR simply as unity because they don't want health care reform. Would you vote for health care reform if your ideas weren't considered? From what I understand what has been happening is what I explained above -- the door has been shut on republicans. There hasn't been even talk of TORT reform added to the bill until this week.
I agree for the most part about what you said though, I would like to see Obama do battle with the GOP more often, at least it appears the Republican ideas are being heard... even if they're being immediately dismissed.