So during a meeting between GOP senators and President Obama yesterday, Senator Bob Corker said the President has not been genuinely bipartisan and was using the Republicans as props.
“I felt like there was a degree of audacity in him being there today, after passing his third large partisan bill,” Corker told me, insisting Republicans had been stiff-armed by the Whte House on financial reform, health care, and the stimulus.
“I told him I felt like a prop afer the actions they had taken regarding bipartisanship,” Corker said. “It hit a nerve.”
Yet the President did not punch Corker out. Restraint of a saint, I say.
Sen. Pat Roberts told the media that the President should have taken a Valium before meeting with Republicans. But how do we know he didn’t? Very few men would not have jumped over the table to choke somebody under the same circumstances. The President either has the discipline of Gandhi, or he was heavily medicated.
Last night at a San Francisco fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer, the President hinted he was done playing Charlie Brown to the GOP’s Lucy with the football.
“The day has passed when I expected this to be a full partnership.” There is hardly any “room for cooperation” in the Republican Party, Obama said.
Do tell.
‘”There is hardly any “room for cooperation†in the Republican Party, Obama said.’
He still doesn’t get it. “Hardly” any room for cooperation. HARDLY?!?! Oh, that’s right, Brown and a couple of others DID vote with the Democrats on one or two things. So, he IS right. Hardly right, but right none-the-less.
Why is that when there’s a Republican President, he has to be treated as if he’s some combination of Jesus and Caesar, but when there’s a Democratic one, he gets all of the respect that a sit-com Dad gets?
You couldn’t even look sideway’s at “Little Boots” Bush, let alone hint at any criticism, without Republicans screaming that you were disrepecting not just the man, but the office.
Obama should have told Corker and Roberts to ‘Go Cheney yourselves!’
I frankly don’t understand why Obama even bothers to meet privately with these schmucks. It’s obvious they have little or no respect for him as person, and seem incapable of showing even the slightest deference to the office he holds. All we heard from these asswipes during bu$hco’s terms was that we liberals should at least “respect the office”. More hypocrisy, big surprise.
If he wants to spend some time meeting with Republicans, I’m all for it, as long as he doesn’t expect it to make a difference to them. It’s good that he be seen trying to listen, even if they are raving lunatics; he is the President of ALL the people, after all. And it insulates him somewhat from charges that he is shutting them out. (Not that it stops them from complaining about being shut out, but that’s the point. Obama behaves like a reasonable person, they don’t. They look bad.) Putting in “face time” with the GOP is good; expecting them to cooperate or even stop obstructing is foolish. I’m glad it looks like he’s figuring that out. Finally.
When I wish upon a star, I want:
1. No body telling me what to do
2. Not to have to pay for anything
3. The whole sand box to myself
4. The right to yell and scream that all my messes are someone else’s fault.
5. Somebody to change my diaper when I poop in it.
Who am I????? (hint I am not a two year old)
NOw what they want is a government so well funded, so strong, so competent that it can raise the dead. This after voting to cripple, defund, denigrate and hamstring government for years.
I agree, how on earth did a mortal man can keep from strangling these guys. It is a mystery!!!!
“I felt like there was a degree of audacity in him being there today, after passing his third large partisan bill,†Corker told me.
Via Webster’s —
audacity, n. [L. audax, bold, from audere, to be bold, dare.]
1. boldness; daring spirit; venturesomeness.
2. audaciousness; presumptuous impudence; effrontery.
So…erm…is Corker complimenting Obama on his bravery for confronting a pack of lemmings in their own nest? Or was he wringing his little paws and complaining that Obama had not given the lemmings the respect they felt was their due for trying to lock-step lead the country off a cliff?
Did he for some reason just get this now or is he stating something he’s known for a while. Thanks for figuring it out just months before the mid-terms after you’ve put our majority at risk (because more progressive policies would have led to a better economic picture than now).
I am probably underexposed to this sort of thing, because we don’t have satellite and can’t receive any signal this far out in the sticks, but…
I think the strategy may be a political version of the “rope-a-dope”. The Republicans draw things out and and disrupt the process. They seem to do this by childish recalcitrance and disinformation. They end up displaying their lack of fresh ideas and their detachment from reality. They bring nothing to the table and offer no solutions to problems that are affecting more and more Americans. Their’s is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury…” to quote the venerable bard. The act may just wear thin by November.
Yo, Cundgulag, I like the Caligula reference.
Maybe Obama can drive the Repuglican snakes out of Congress.. and be similar to St Patrick.
Because the best way to show that you’re an adult is to go act like an adult and let the children be immature.
Remember, not everyone sees the Republicans as petulantly demanding complete capitulation to all of their demands, and then go “Waaah! You’re not being bipartisan!” when met with a refusal.
If President Obama sits down with the GOP he’s using them for ‘props’. If he doesn’t sit down with them, he’s excluding them from government. Of course, he could prove he’s sincere by doing everything the GOP minority wants him too – but that would defeat the purpose of the election, when the majority of voters rejected the GOP formula.
I still don’t think the GOP will win a majority in the House or the Senate in November. Whether Congress will be able to overcome the fillibuster then will depend not on the count but the MIX (Democrat’s won’t have a supermajority). Four GOP senators voted FOR the financial reform package. A number of the GOP freshmen might well refuse to take marching orders from Bitch McConnell.
I am still an Obama supporter, but I made sure last night to send money to Blanche Lincoln’s opponent so there would be one less Blue Dog in DC. I am not seeing the progressivism I’d like, and in fact, I’m not seeing centrism I like, either. I keep hearing that America is a center-right country, but I think that is just a tactic to move the center into the right.
I got a survey-begging letter from the DNC today. Filled out the survey to my satisfaction (not that I think anyone will read it when they see it contains no check) and appended a note telling them I donate directly to my chosen candidates only to avoid supporting DINOs.
My most recent e-mails to BO have all stressed that bipartisanship is not a realistic expectation anymore. I send these comments only in hopes that the issues and positions I raise will be included in some sort of weekly count of comment topics and pro/con statements.
I am taking liberal doses of gardening therapy to get past worrying about all this. Today I found okra, beans, basil, nasturtiums and cosmos quite effective. I do not know what the President does to stay so calm, but I used to sit in my classroom, smile and give jerks the finger behind my desk’s “modesty panel”. It made me feel better, and I was able to talk politely with them while portraying an amazingly calm demeanor. I feel sure President Obama would not sink so low, but I know he has a little interior space where he is either laughing or screaming. I think the guy is laughing.
Hey Cund gulag,
Sorry for parroting your post, was not intentional, I think we wrote both the same dribble at the same time? That dam job of mine delayed my post, but yes the hypocrisy train rolls on big fucking surprise right?
Maha,
Why no junk shot news, I’m curious as to your rating of Mankind’s handling of what may turn out to be the biggest general fucking man made disappointment of the 21st century. This is what we non littering folks have feared isn’t it, the big fucking mess? So far I see no point in defending anyone. Big Corporate fuck up. Even worse corporate response. Bad if not nonexistent government reaction. Bu$hco could not of screwed this up any worse. There may be no recovering from this politically or otherwise for anyone. And if it was me I wouldn’t even try. There is going to be alot of spinning but I’ve lost my way in this event. I can’t think straight. There is no side to take, I see no good guys here. All I see is a breakdown of our ability to even wipe our own stinking asses.
Uncledad,
One guy where I work is a hard core deep sea fishing pro, he is well connected throughout the gulf. The reports he relay are beyond horriffic; grand scale fish kills of palagic species such as tuna, cobia, manta ray, shark, dolphin (dorado), dolphin (mamalian), amberjack,etc. Apparently, the “dispersants” may be making things worse by causing pollution throughout tha water column, and by being a toxic agent alone.
Our quest for “black gold” is killing us quite literally, and by us, I mean the planet.
uncledad,
No problem! 🙂
I didn’t take it as parroting at all. I’m sure I’ve done the same with some of your posts, too, when we’re writing at about the same time.
As for the Golf, Obama has handled it badly, but about as good as he could. What was he going to do, takeover BP? Nationalize the oil industry (I’m not saying either is a bad idea, mind you…) Could you imagine if he even mentioned either of those after the bi-partisan TARP program to save the banks, and Obama’s effort to save the auto industry? Sweet Jesus!
My favorite, though, is all of these anti-government intrusion Conservatives, trying to make Obama look bad, screaming “Where’s the Government? Where’s the President?”
If only more people were conscious of the irony, they would look at them and realize them for the hypocrites that they are.
Ooops, GULF, not, HAHAHA – Golf!
The Republicans gave the President a ‘bad lie,’ but Obama’s trying to make it ‘par for the course,’ as he usually does, and save as many ‘birdies’ in the GULF as possible…
Probably more expectations to go unfulfilled, but whatevs, it’s a baseline anyway:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/27/obamas-options-what-he-ca_n_590856.html
Gulag: You couldn’t even look sideway’s at “Little Boots†Bush, let alone hint at any criticism, without Republicans screaming that you were disrepecting not just the man, but the office.
I recall charges of treason for criticizing a president during war time. But surely that only applies to a white, Republican president.Â
Doug: Of course, he could prove he’s sincere by doing everything the GOP minority wants him to [snark assumed – ds]
we tried that during the stimulus debate. Seems to me that they took every opportunity to get their “ideas” included, then voted “no” as a block. So that worked real good – for their side.Â
As noted by several posts above, the best strategy is to do what we want, but offer them every opportunity to show just how polarized they are. We’ll get through to some voters. Hopefully enough.
CUND Gulag nails it but let me add a bit to this thinking. When are Democratic presidents going to learn that you don’t just ignore and walk away from wrong-doing perpetrated by your predecessor? Look what it did for Clinton! Had he pursued the elder Bush and his cronies for Iran-Contra, arming Saddam Hussein (I.e. Iraqgate), secretly funding the mujahedeen, etc., we might never have gotten stuck with his retarded son for eight years and the world would be a much different place. Instead, Clinton tried to play nice and forgive and forget all of Bush Senior’s wrongdoing. What did it get him? Eight years of investigation and torment from Republicans, including sniffing his underwear for personal indiscretions. If Clinton had come into office, guns blazing, and told the American people that he was going to investigate and prosecute all prior wrongdoing, he would havE had a much different presidency! He would have set the GOP back on their heels and had them playing defense the whole eight years of his two terms, instead of playing offense.
Now, Obama is making the same mistake! He could have investigated Bush and Cheney crimes for eight solid years and never have run out of juicy scandals. He could have relegated the GOP to minority status for the next 50 years. Instead, he is going to be lucky not to lose Congress, be impeached like Clinton asnd serve out a full 4 year term!
“…degree of audacity” says it all. He has the audacity to sit next to me on the bus, use the same door I do, think he has a right to live anywhere he chooses, send his kids to my kids’ school, drink out of my water fountain, use the same public bathroom I do, stay at the same hotel I do…
Did any Republican ever apply that term to Bush? Was the term applicable to Bush? Other than a groan at the mention of his name, he’ll probably be ill-remembered in history as having am out-of-control degree of audacity.