Clinton: "We can only do what Paul Ryan lets us do." Sanders: "We can do what the people demand."

[Attorney in Texas]

That is the difference. Clinton is campaigning so she can run the status quo, and Sanders is running so he can campaign for the ascendancy of the people's will over the status quo.

The reason Obama was a rock star in the 2008 campaign and the first 18 months of his presidency is that he campaigned directly to the people and he began running his administration through that direct link to the people.

This is what Teddy Roosevelt did, and what FDR did, and it was through the Kennedy family's direct connection with the people that LBJ was empowered to pass the progressive JFK-LBJ legacy in the wake of JFK's assassination.

After a mid-term set back in 2010, Obama stopped governing directly to the people and began governing to Congress. This is where Obama's presidency stalled, and this is where Clinton wants to pick up the reigns of the Presidency.

If Obama had kept nonstop campaigning from 2008 through 2016, he could have taken his best ideas directly to the public which -- in many cases -- overwhelmingly favors those ideas. This would put the naysayers in Congress in the position of (a) passing Obama's most popular ideas or (2) defying the will of the voters. Either the Obama's most popular idea gets passed or those who frustrate the will of the people face repercussions at the ballot box. This is the power of the bully pulpit.

Imagine if Obama dedicated 2011 to campaigning for a livable minimum wage with the same intensity that he campaigned to be elected in 2008. Imagine the pressure Congress would have felt. Imagine the backlash if they drew their line in the sand to resist a daily presidential rally in support of legislation that was supported by a majority of Republicans as well as large majorities of Democrats and independents.

Imagine if Occupy Wall Street was not a protest against the inadequate financial regulations passed by the Democrats and the Republicans, and -- instead -- Occupy Wall Street was led by the sitting President against those in either party who would defy the will of the people at the behest of the 1% Wall Street banksters.

Clinton frets that Paul Ryan will not pass a progressive agenda, but FDR's Congress didn't want to pass the New Deal, either. Those "fireside chats" weren't because FDR was chatty by nature; they were FDR campaigning for his agenda even AFTER he won his election. FDR went AROUND Congress to the people who elect Congress and he made the electorate into a body capable of enforcing the will of the majority (instead of capitulating to the naysayers in Congress who do the bidding of lobbyists for the 1%).

This is what the Sanders campaign is all about. It's not about Sanders; it's about transforming the electorate into a political body empowered to accomplish the progressive goals that large majorities of voters favor.

[72DejaVu]

1. We can all make nasty comments on Paul Ryan's FaceBook page

That'll do the trick!

[ms liberty]

14. The adults are talking. Go do your homework.

[72DejaVu]

16. Go count your delegates.

[jillan]

47. I will after the primaries are over.

[72DejaVu]

57. Cool.

It won't take but a few seconds.

[PonyUp]

35. Tell him "NO WE CAN'T" or "CUT IT OUT". n/t

[cascadiance]

2. And Paul Ryan is an excuse to accomplish what the corporate elements of both parties want...

... so that each of them use the other as an excuse to keep the more corporate infused and corrupt status quo in place to reward those that buy them...

[zeemike]

18. Yep that is how it works.

And what blows me away is how many people have been sold that bill of goods on the left.

And that is why Trump and Cruz are out there...to make the status quo look like a win for progressives.

[cascadiance]

22. Trump and Cruz are also out there to make protesting against H-1B visas look "xenophobic"...

... since the rest of their campaign exploits those feelings amongst Republicans, whereas Bernie shows how to protest the globalist corporatist exploiting nature of H-1B, H-2B, and other guest labor programs that screw both American workers as well as the foreign workers they exploit as well, without needing to appeal to xenophobic feelings. If Bernie loses, both American AND foreign workers ultimately lose!

[kath]

36. Yep - 2 wings of our Corporate One-Party Rule, playing GoodCop/BadCop.

[randome]

3. I'd say they're both wrong.

Obama showed that a smart President can do as much as possible with Executive Actions.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[elias49]

39. "a smart President can do as much as possible with Executive Actions."

...can do as much as possible...?

What the hell does that mean?

I can do as much as possible to be a rock star. So what?

[99th_Monkey]

4. Well put. I'm personally done with being badgered into silence by "No We Can't" candidates

and their fear-based message "vote for me, or that GOP boogie man will get you"

OR.. "we must aim low, then negotiate down from there"

Fuck that shit. I'm voting my conscience in harmony with both my head
and my heart.

[beac]

5. Agreed.

I have said something similar when being told "But, but... Congress won't work with Bernie!"


Also, a little chuckle for the idea of a "chatty" FDR.

[tularetom]

6. I have a great deal of respect for President Obama as a human being and a man of integrity

That said, I'm very disappointed at his reluctance or outright refusal to engage with Congress from the very beginning of his presidency. He advocated some very strong positions as a candidate and then negotiated them away, even during the first days of his term when he had majorities in both houses of Congress.

Unlike Bush Jr, he had a mandate. He had support up the wazoo, he could have gone around congress directly to the people and enlisted public support for legislative action. Instead he remained aloof, above the fray, and ultimately lost his moral authority.

I don't know why he chickened out. But I do know that the last thing I want is a president who admits, going in, that she can't change anything, and therefore won't even try.

[Art_from_Ark]

19. He admitted that he didn't think of himself as a gamechanger

He was a "mainstream as could be", more like a "moderate '80s Republican", although the qualities he attributed to that group were actually more in line with the (non boll-weevil) Democrats of the time.

[Go Vols]

34. Yep

and I didn't much care for R's then either.

[handmade34]

7. I beg to differ...

Obama did not give up on the people... he has done as much as one man can after the people gave up on him...

[GoneFishin]

10. Nonsense. If you want to know what he looks like when he sincerely tries, review how he rammed

TPA and TPP through over the objections of millions of people.

Saying "it's too hard" is not the same as doing his best.

[bigwillq]

41. The people did not give up on Obama

They elected him twice and a large chunck still support him

[GoneFishin]

8. Fireside chats could easily be replaced by 'The Weekly President's Chat' live stream. Totally doable

technologically, and it could by-pass the media gatekeepers and prevent them from manipulating the feed or displaying warped crawlers on the bottom of the screen.

[Fawke Em]

23. Obama already does that, but it's just not talked about by our "illustrious"

corporate-owned media.

The next president needs to make a hard PR push to make these chats known to the general public - social media would be a good start.

[Empowerer]

27. He already does that.

At some point, people also have to take responsibility for getting their information. Folks spend hours every day online, posting pictures of their food, pet videos and selfies in front of the bathroom mirror. They link to endless articles that fit their political point of view. They manage to figure out where the new Star Wars is playing the night it opens. The President's Weekly Radio Address is broadcast live on television, streamed online, and discussed in the media every week. Should he ride around the neighborhoods shouting his weekly address through a huge speaker on the roof of his limousine?

[Fawke Em]

30. Why are you trying to turn this into accusing me of accusing Obama of not doing enough?

I placed the blame squarely where it belongs: on the corporate media for not touting it more.

That said, my point is that MORE needs to be done to get the word out to newcomers. I knew he gave weekly addresses because I was around, old enough to vote eight years ago and followed him from the beginning when there was considerable more marketing on these addresses.

I just looked up what the White House does and they really don't do a lot of drip marketing on this - they basically do one Tweet and leave it and the stats aren't very high on those. It's just a matter of priorities and, since I'm only the content manager for my company and not Obama's PR decision-maker, I'm not privy to their priorities list.

[cui bono]

9. Agree for the most part, except that Obama stopped withthe people when he appointed banksters

to his admin. That was the end of his courting us.

.

[jillan]

49. And when we were called retards (aargh!!) by his chief of staff.

Rahm should have been shown the door at that very moment.

[riversedge]

11. Good grief. Sander fans are in a contest today to see who can post the sillest post.

[Fawke Em]

24. Who's Sander?

[jillan]

50. ......

[Cali_Democrat]

12. Why do Bernie supporters keep insisting he represents "the people"?

He's behind Hillary in national polling. He didn't represent the majority of the Democratic Party and he certainly doesn't represent the republicans

To say he represents "the people" is ridiculous.

[Fawke Em]

25. Name recognition to people who aren't overly involved doesn't really mean much. eom

[sabrina 1]

43. Well now that the PEOPLE are getting to know him, he is now even with Hillary in National polls.

Since Iowa ant the debates it looks like Sanders is gaining in Name Recognition and the PEOPLE like what they are seeing.

The #1 Google Search last night was 'How do I donate to Bernie Sanders'.

After NH when he wins there, those polls are likely to sky rocket as more Americans find out who he is and what his message is.

Hillary is the Corporate choice of candidate so are all the Repubs.

Bernie is the ONLY one not beholden to Corporate cash and Super Pacs funded by Corporate Money.

[jalan48]

13. Hillary sounds like a follower, not a leader. I want a leader to deal with the Republicans.

[Attorney in Texas]

38. Clinton's campaign is about HER BEING something. Sanders' campaign is about US DOING something.

Clinton wants to be the first woman president. That is a laudable goal and a grossly overdue milestone that we, as a nation, must pass (in my heart, I hope it will be Elizabeth Warren who breaks this threshold).

While Clinton's goal is important and commendable, it is a personal goal about Clinton herself and it is a goal about what she wants to be.

Sanders' goal is also important and commendable, and it is a public goal for us to accomplish rather than a personal goal about Sanders and his goal is about what he wants to do for America.

Here is a contrast that highlights the distinction: Sanders would be the first Jewish president, which is also a laudable goal and an overdue milestone, but you never hear Sanders focusing on his desire to BE the first Jewish president -- his focus is relentlessly on US and what we can DO.

Ask yourself, what would Clinton say about the importance of Sanders' campaign as one which could result in the first Jewish president? The fact that this is not a big issue in the election is testament to the fact that Sanders' campaign is about us and not about him.

[AzDar]

15. Ayup.

[dflprincess]

17. So the president is really just a figure head

and the Speaker of the House is the leader of the country? Is that what she's telling us?

[Art_from_Ark]

20. Kind of sounds like that, doesn't it?

Bully pulpits are for Republican House speakers, or something

[Protalker]

29. The House votes on the money.

The reason the president was stopped cold was he lost the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014. Executive orders can be changed by next administration. Off year elections gerrymandering matter.

[sabrina 1]

44. The House and Senate were lost because the people lost faith in Dems who when they were given

the power, began the excuses 'we need a BIGGER majority in the Senate' and 'we're NOT going to prosecute war criminalss' and 'we won't be trying to get Single Payer' iow, we'll provide you all with a few crumbs, but don't expect us to use the power you gave us for major, needed changes.

The sooner people stop denyiing the reality of our two party system at this point in time, the less time will be spent explaining it.

[Attorney in Texas]

42. That's what Clinton's "No We Can't" campaign theme seems suggest. Sanders knows better.

[amborin]

21. Shocking! "Paul Ryan, May I?" Hillary says we do what Paul Ryan allows!

This is who Hillary is. Plus, she's republican at heart.

[billhicks76]

26. Obama Was Supposed To Do This But Someone OBVIOUSLY Got To Him

He may have been a moderate but he campaigned on no NSA spying and no lobbyists appointed to regulatory commissions and immediately flip-flopped on both. Why do they think everyone craves Bernie this much...it's because we know he wont screw us like the others did.

[questionseverything]

28. yep one day he was going to filibuster the telecom immunity bill

a day later he was voting for it

we lost the 2010 house because the aca had no public option, the benefits did not start right away and it cost too freaking much and was mandatory

it was exactly what he campaigned against

[billhicks76]

32. YES>>>EXACTLY!!!!!

What's weird is that he flip-flopped while on the campaign trail. Supposedly, he and Hillary had just left the trail and met in Europe at Bildergurger. Right after is when it became clear he was going to win. It all seemed very surreal. It was almost as if it had been decided that Obama would be first and then Hillary in 2016. And you could see on her face that she feels she deserves it like a deal had been cut.

[questionseverything]

54. yes the change was instant and dramatic

we joke that ,"they must of shown him the aliens" because all the sudden he was not the same guy we had followed in illinois for years

interesting bradblog podcast today

http://bradblog.com/?p=11547

according to bev it is now illegal to examine ballots in nh

[sabrina 1]

45. Exactly. Once Dems were given the power they said they needed to get things done, then people got to

see them do nothing but make more excuses 'we didn't have ENOUGH people in the Senate etc' the picture became clear finally to the people.

And that's why they lost the House and Senate as people are not going to vote for the Corp shills anymore. The Dems can BLAME THE VOTERS, but that message only makes people MORE angry.

[questionseverything]

56. yes losing the public option was bad enough

but to have those at the high end ,age wise, paying triple the premiums for insurance with huge out of pocket costs was devastating

obama campaigned on the public option,no mandate,,,what we got was the opposite

about losing in 2010....we do not really know what the vote counts are, we have not counted our ballots ourselves in years

we pay big corporations, run by 1%ers to count and report our election results,

what could go wrong?

nh has actually passed a law so ballots can NOT be examined

interesting podcast on bradblog today covering some of that

http://bradblog.com/?p=11547

[november3rd]

31. Dude, you nailed it

It's about US, not the President.

[Kermitt Gribble]

33. "That is the difference" - Exactly!

Great post! K&R!

[brooklynite]

37. The people have been demanding tougher rules on guns for years...

...how has Sanders been doing with that?

[Attorney in Texas]

40. Sanders has not been president. Bill and "2-for-1 Hillary" Clinton have had the bully pulpit.

The public desire for tougher gun laws was stronger during the Clinton administration than they are now:



Yet Clinton failed to accomplish the goals which Hillary now trumpets on the campaign trail.

Why, do you think that is?

Maybe it's because the Clinton's have flip flopped on this issue (let's call it politically expedient flip flop number 8,739); here is what Hillary said in 2008 when she ran against Obama by accusing him of being a gun grabber:

"I respect the 2nd Amendment. I respect the rights of lawful gun owners to own guns, to use their guns. But I also believe that most lawful gun owners whom I have spoken with for many years across our country also want to be sure that we keep those guns out of the wrong hands. And as president, I will work to try to bridge this divide, which I think has been polarizing and, frankly, doesn’t reflect the common sense of the American people.”

"I don't want the federal government preempting states and cities like New York that have very specific problems."

“We have one set of rules in NYC and a totally different set of rules in the rest of the state. What might work in NYC is certainly not going to work in Montana. So, for the federal government to be having any kind of blanket rules that they’re going to try to impose, I think doesn’t make sense.”

Sanders' D- rating from the NRA answers my questions about him on this issue. Contrasting Clinton's comments in 2016 against her comments in 2008 also answers my questions about her on this issue.

[sabrina 1]

46. The people have been demanding we get the money out of politics for years, an issue that tops

guns, terror and just about everything else for years. The Clintons, Dems, have been in power over the decades. Why is it WORSE THAN EVER now?

Guns is a losing issue for Democrats. No one I know when you ask them 'what issue is most important to you' says 'guns' or 'terror' The 'goddamn money in politics' the 'corruption in DC because of it, is what people say is the top issue for them.

And polls verify that, it is the one issue all demographics agree on.

But hey, I'm for Bernie so I'm kind of glad the Dem leadership doesn't get it. This is why today after Iowa where people got to know him, to hear his opinions, he is now statistically even NATIONALLY with Clinton.

[Myrina]

48. She's deferring to fucking Paul Ryan? The Romney Flunkie that Biden wiped the floor with?

So basically a HRC presidency would be a Paul Ryan Presidency ... he didn't even have to run again, she just gave it to him.

[JDPriestly]

51. Best OP ever, ever, ever. Thanks.

[fredamae]

52. Yep-Nailed it n/t

[emulatorloo]

53. Sorry, that is not a quotation

[stevenleser]

55. Hillary is right, Sanders is wrong and doesn't understand how government works.

Elections have consequences, including those that allow the other guys to dominate the legislative branch.

If you have to ignore that to support your candidate, you are supporting the wrong candidate.

[Attorney in Texas]

58. Agreed - "Hillary is right." Too far right for my taste.

[Odin2005]

59. Clinton will give in to the Republicans and call it "compromise".

[Vote2016]

60. How did this OP get 2,600 facebook likes?!?

[Attorney in Texas]

61. That's a good question. I have no idea how.

[Vote2016]

62. 2,800 likes now