Does anybody still support Obama? (NRR)
crazypoprock
1,037 Posts
Just curious...I mean obviously the right can't stand him but he's really let down progressives and his democratic base. If he compromises on the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy it will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Obama has certainly been dealt a tough hand but he just caves on everything! Thoughts?
Comments
Of course Obama is a nightmare for fiscal conservatives, but I would have to think that the ideological liberals out there were greatly dissapointed with the healthcare reform.
This is what I am talking about.
We (the left) can easily defeat Obama by running a candidate in the primary against him or a 3rd party candidate in the general.
I never supported the health care plan that passed, but...
It is the best health care plan we have and a huge accomplishment.
Nixon, Carter and Clinton all tried to get health care passed and couldn't.
It is easy to hate on the health care bill, but the fact that soon almost all Americans will finally have access to health care is a huge accomplishment.
There is a whole long list of his accomplishments, that are never talked about, or not liberal enough for many, but very important.
He caved on the Bush-era tax cut to get tax cuts to the middle class AND extension of unemployment benefits AND 2% reduction in payroll taxes (which should be added stimulus). Also this deal with help procure support for the ratification of the START treaty, which is crucial from the defense perspective. The "line in the sand" bullshit would have gotten nothing.
BTW, hate to break it to you but there's no one out there that could seriously challenge Obama in the primaries.
Agreed. But a left-leaning third party candidate with enough clout could certainly swing things in key states. Again, I'm not down for that.
You sure about that? What suggests this will be true, especially after the lame duck session gets replaced by the GOP majority in the house?
Caving on tax cuts for the rich is not a great compromise to achieve unemployment extensions.
And so much for both party's supposed devotion to deficit management!
Wonder how the Tea Party will spin this.
Sure Obama is stuck between a rock and a hard place but he has the bully pulpit and public opinion on his side...he really should stop offering olive branches to the republicans and start showing some spine...I mean do we really want to support him just because there's no other alternative? That's pretty weak.
Not sure what you mean by serious.
Anyone who runs against him and damages his standing with his base will greatly increase the chances that he loses in November.
It's 2 years away. Who could do it? John Kerry? Chelsea Clinton? Russ Feingold, Ron Wyden?
If someone chooses to challenge Obama what they need to do is build a ground game in Iowa and one other early state. A 40% polling in Iowa would produce huge headlines and allow the candidate to continue.
It is not about beating Obama, it is about eroding away support from the people he needs most if he is to win a second term.
It's what RKennedy did to Johnson in 1968 and TKennedy did to Carter in 1980.
Politics.
Most people didn't vote for Obama. They voted for who they thought Obama was.
If you look at what has always done in his life and what he has always said, he is not interested in "showing some spine".
He is interested in getting stuff done. Even if it looks like the Health Care bill and not the single payer that everyone knows is better. The goal is to get it done. He is not offering olive branches, he is getting things done. Or at least trying.
This seems about right.
People can be "disappointed" in Obama all they want, but I'm not sure what they were expecting. He doesn't have magical powers. Imagine that.
There isn't a single Republican out there who is even worth considering as an alternative as far as I'm concerned. That party has gone batshit crazy and will remain that way for a long time. I think it's at least 50/50 that Palin will be their nominee in 2012, and a party that could nominate a delusional, ignorant sociopath like her just has no business running things.
You know Bloomberg is a Republican right? Are you talking about a general election challenge?
So please school us on how he's going to pass his legislative agenda by being a tough, bad ass with a Republican-led house and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate.
You are aware that he's been the mayor of the overwhelmingly Democratic New York City for close to a decade now right? He isn't your typical republican...and he would run as an independent. He has the spine and management skills that Obama lacks. I'm not saying I'd vote for him...I just think he could win.
Intercourse the penguin!
Also, just because the country was in better shape during prior presidencies doesn't say much about anything. If you let Carrot Top coach the 1992 Dream Team, they probably still would have won a gold.
How can you not be proud of Obama and what he stands for if you supported him in '08? What has changed?
I ride and will be volunteering/donating in '12.
This photo is burning a hole in my soul. i cant look at it beyond 5 seconds.
Yeah, I really wish I'd never seen it. That harpy looks like she subsists on a diet of orphan faces.
I know this J*h*ny...just playing devil's advocate! And for some reason I like him even though he goes against many of my core beliefs.
I would have liked something substantial on climate change. I also disagree with extending tax cuts to those folks pulling in a quarter-mil annually, but can also be OK with offering that as a compromise. Extending unemployment benefits for 13 months, while somewhat of a stimulus for the economy, also seems to be delaying the inevitable for some folks. Quibbles? Not really, but I still ride for Obama--pretty much everything he does has a solid logic behind it, even if we can disagree on the decisions. Can't be mad at that.
Can you imagine if we had privatized Social Security, something that never seemed even remotely like a good idea from jump and seems even more idiotic in retrospect.
Two years is a long time and a lot can happen.