NOW we are getting to the heart of the matter: Goldman Sachs lobbyist is Geithner's Chief of Staff

[burythehatchet]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/geithner-aide-fought-ceo-pay-reform


..........
One of Obama's opponents at that time was Mark Patterson, a lobbyist then for Goldman Sachs, the investment banking firm, which opposed the Frank-Obama initiative. Yet Patterson is now chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the embattled point man in the Obama administration's endeavor to undo the notorious AIG bonuses. That is, a Washington influence-peddler who worked against Obama's effort to limit excessive corporate pay is now a key member of the Obama administration team that is supposed to contain excessive compensation in the AIG case and in general.
.......

[marketcrazy1]

1. LOL!!!!!!!

now THATS change we can believe in!!!! :sarcasm:

[dkf]

2. Oh oh. This is not good at all.

[burythehatchet]

5. At least it makes some more sense now. n/t

[seemslikeadream]

3. WTF

[acmavm]

4. Fuck, just put Wall Street on the public payroll, give 'em a

fucking office in the White House and be done with it.

[burythehatchet]

7. Goldman Sachs OWNS you!

[msongs]

6. "new democrat" acting like the old democrats. nt

[acmavm]

9. Where are the Bots on this? I cannot wait to hear their excuse for

this one.

You know, we're picking on poor naive innocent little Timmy all the time. Maybe they can put it all on this schmuck.

[ihavenobias]

26. I was thinking the same thing. n/t

[Sarah Ibarruri]

59. Geithner might need to go - anything else? nt

[natrat]

63. like wack a mole-if geitner goes another hopeful secretary will pop up

[Sarah Ibarruri]

64. Okay, but slowly it will be modified. It's like any job. Did any of us start a job and

do it perfectly from the get-go? No.

[robinlynne]

102. This is the new givernment where we don't put lobbyists in Washington, remember?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

108. Well, and slowly we'll modify the thing and we do this communicating with the WH....

But to jump up like we've been sitting on a bomb and behave as if we had George W Bush in the WH again is just flat out ridiculous.

[robinlynne]

115. what? we have goldman sachs lobbyists givning tax money to goldman sachs!

That is not something you slowly modify. That is something you purge right away. Especially when 2 months ago, as president you say on naitonal tv you will NOT have lobbyists working in your government because it breeds corruption.

[acmavm]

116. You know what your problem is? You're trying to use logic.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

117. Well, it is being done now! And you know what?

I personally am glad the financial mega-rich are being treated like the crooks and criminals they are. They're scum, and the folks that deregulated those industries so they could steal and cheat even more belong in a cell for the rest of their days.

[robinlynne]

121. You dont get it. the crooks and criminals are Geithner and Paulson.

They are all from Goldman Sachs, the largest receipient of the AIG bailout money.
Geithner's chief of staff: from Goldman Sachs, the man overseeing the TARP funds,. from Goldman Sachs.
The foxes are watching the henhouse. Obama put crooks in charge of finance.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

122. Obama took people with experience in the MIDDLE of the finance markets....

because the biggest problem lies with the deregulation of the financial markets. Maybe he needs OTHER people with experience inside the financial markets, but he does need people with experience inside the financial markets.

Where's he going to find people with experience inside the financial markets? Some of them are going to be TAINTED after decades of deregulation.

I agree that I don't like Geithner either, and particularly because he's defending the bonuses. He needs to go. NO bonuses should be given. However, we must NOT THROW OUT THE BABY WHEN WE THROW OUT THE BATHWATER, and that's what I'm seeing too much of.

I will NOT partake in attacks on Obama, and I will not applaud anyone who sees only this and none of the good that Obama is doing since he took office TWO MONTHS AGO FOR GODSSAKES! TWO FRIKKIN' MONTHS!

[robinlynne]

124. Not from Goldman Sachs, the number one recepient of all the TARP funds and all the AIG funds.

There are many other good economists out there who have no ties to the principal thieves in this story!!!

[robinlynne]

126. Not from Goldman Sachs, the number one recipient of all the TARP funds and all the AIG funds.

There are hundreds of great economists out there with no financial ties to the biggest thieves in the story, Goldman Sachs.
you just can't see it.
you must read the Rolling Stone story. This has noting to dow with Obama. This is all about a group from Goldman Sachs who took over during Bush, caused the change in rules, stole our money, and are still in power running the Treasury Department!!!!!!!!!
Obama needs to fire anyone from Goldman Sachs and fast.
Your story reads as if you have not yet read about what is going on.

there are two threads up right now in latest with the Matt Taibi article which you should read. You will be shocked at who Geithner really is.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

127. Okay, then he'll find one. I think people are angry at the elite.

Don't you think?

[robinlynne]

129. of course! but you need to read the article. Obama cannot let these same people

who caused all of this continue to regulate our economy. That is why bonuses are being paid out, for example. there were MUCH bigger bonuses paid to the top number one crook who created the AIG scandal. Since we know Obama is a good man and good president, we are questioning why he continues the BUSh legacy by maintaining Geithner/Paulson in charge of the Treasury. they are maintaining the status quo to the detriment of our country.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

131. It's going there - you want a French Revolution insant change

It's not going to happen like that. However, we the people are doing that. We support Obama fully in those things we agree on. We are angry with the elite for being crooks and we're demanding they go to prison, return bonuses, go to jail, etc. I'm SURE Geithner is the topic of discussion at the White House and that Obama is NOT happy with Geithner.

Take a deep breath!

:shrug:

[robinlynne]

132. You dont get it. Please read the 8 page rolling stone article. please. the entire TARP

is theft. The moeny is going directly to the crooks. Not the millions. the BILLIONS.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

141. I will, I'll read it. I promise. nt

[robinlynne]

147. cool! and thank-you.

[robinlynne]

134. PLease read this article! linked below:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/1

[Sarah Ibarruri]

151. Read it. GREAT article. Thank you. He has to remove Geithner asap and throw him...

in the local dump.

[robinlynne]

135. What I/we want is an HONEST PERSON in charge of the Treasury in this economic crisis. with NO ties t

to Goldman Sachs!!!!!!!!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

140. Okay okay! Go have a drink for a while! nt

[robinlynne]

136. It is going much further in the wrong direction. because of the people appointed

to take care of our economy. There is no slow here. They are draining billions at a time to give to the same thieves from the last administration.

[acmavm]

88. That's all you got?

I really expected better from you.

edit: Work your way through this and then go find the thread that tells you how much money Obama has received from GS.

The tell me why Bernanke and Paulson are still around.

That's just for today. We'll discuss telecom spying and Iraq and campaign promises another day. They were MAJOR issues upon which Obama has sided against and taken actions 180 degrees opposite from the message he laid out in his campaign of Change.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

146. Look, I hate Bernanke and Paulson. I have no idea why they're around.

I do trust Obama. Not 100% but about 70%. That's better than 0 which was the average I ever trusted the monkey president we just endured for the past 8 years.

[FLAprogressive]

66. I was also thinking the exact same thing. I think you'll find the True Believers in GD:DLC (GD:P)

[leftchick]

112. um

They are everywhere. :crazy:

[leftchick]

111. damn

I dare not post about the bots anymore, as they have assailed the mods with alerts on my threads (anti-obama cuz I link to rational commentary) and I have been effectively made irrelevant. So for you my friend I say, Have At It! :)

[DURHAM D]

14. more like -acting like Republicans... n/t

[enfield collector]

20. too true, at least we knew the rethugs were going to fuck us! n/t

[Octafish]

8. Mr. President, please clean house.

Wall Street has no business in running the White House.

[burythehatchet]

11. Someone must have their thumb on Obama. That is a scary thought but the

alternative explanations are scarier.

[Octafish]

16. Crown Family springs to mind.

They're the Chicago big shots behind General Dynamics.

General Dynamics, Crown Dynasty & Obama

[burythehatchet]

18. I have no words.

:cry:

[robinlynne]

44. Jesus. Didn't Genral Dynamic just take over a huge gov't contract from another company?

[democracy1st]

152. if that was true don't you think it would be all over the rightwing propaganda machine?

[CoffeeCat]

68. That's what I sense too...

I believe in Obama. He's a moral man.

I think the cabal that has taken over our democracy--installed Geithner, Paulson and several
members of his cabinet. I don't think they were Obama's choices.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

60. I think he will - we the people are now shaping the White House and country nt

[LWolf]

98. If that's so, I wish "you, the people"

would do a better job hiring people to carry out your agenda.

Either that, or I don't like your agenda.

Either way, it's patently clear that "we the people" is not inclusive of the left.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

109. So evidently there's LOTS you don't like about Obama?

Is there anything you DO like?

And what do you do to make sure things are going in a good direction? (And I don't count accusing Obama of being another Bush, as doing something).

[LWolf]

110. I have not

ever "accused Obama of being another Bush," and I wish you'd stop suggesting that I have.

You are correct in this: there are LOTS that I don't like:

1. His plans to continue the war on terror, his long, drawn-out evacuation plan from Iraq.

2. His health insurance agenda.

3. His education agenda, and his incendiary pick of the despised Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education.

4. GEITHNER and the economic plan.

That's to start with.

What do I like?

I like that the U.S. elected a person of color, although I would have preferred one from the left.

I like the closing the detention center at gitmo.

Federal funding for stem cell research

[Sarah Ibarruri]

118. Sheesh, there's almost nothing you like about Obama

Which candidate did you support in the primaries, if you don't mind my asking?

[LWolf]

119. Ask away.

I feel funny saying "there's almost nothing I like about Obama." There ARE things I like. They just aren't political things, things I want from a president.

I supported Kucinich, with Edwards and Richardson tied for 2nd place.

Biden behind them.

The rest weren't on my list at all.

DK, because he gets every damned issue right, he's consistent, he's persistent, and he doesn't owe anyone but his constituents.

Edwards, because of his focus on poverty, and his apparent willingness to shift left.

Richardson, because of his position on education and on NCLB.

Biden, because he said he would get rid of NCLB in a debate, and because he has enough smarts and experience to hold his own, even if I don't like his relationship with the banking industry.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

120. I loved Edwards, but now I realize he was an idiot ...

I mean, what's so DIFFICULT to understand about the fact that this country is completely and utterly infantile when it comes to adultery, and that they will NOT vote for an adulterer? I mean, did he REALLY not know that? If he didn't, he's stupid, I wouldn't want him as president, and if he dropped the ball in such a big way when so much was at stake, I'm greatful he's not my president.

Kucnich is fine except for his constant support for ANY Muslim over Israel. I'm a modern feminist and lived in Israel. I've read plenty of Muslim current literature. Muslims of all cultures treat women like SHIT, and I'm being polite and putting it mildly. Unless or until Muslims begin to treat women as equals rather than burning them, stoning them alive, treating them like chattel, beating, arresting them for being human beings, and shooting them for trying to become educated, all Muslims can kiss my @$$. I will not give my ear or my patience to Muslims, sorry.

[tonysam]

125. The Only Thing Edwards Did Wrong Regarding That

was not coming forward with it when he announced for president; he could have made it work for him instead of sweeping it under the rug and opening himself to blackmail, which is why he dropped out.

Somebody threatened him, and he suddenly quit just as he was gaining traction.

Unlike Obama, Edwards really WAS a threat to the economic elites.

I don't regret supporting him at all.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

130. Edwards was a presidential candidate

For GOD'S SAKES, he lives in a country where adultery is unacceptable. WHY COULDN'T HE KEEP HIS ZIPPER CLOSED? I don't understand him! I mean, it's like living in Saudi Arabia and persisting in smoking pot and having sex with multiple partners! Insane!!

[LWolf]

144. I was cynical

about Edwards, and now I'm disgusted with him.

I hoped, though, that since he was saying the right things, he'd actually have to at least make an attempt to head in that direction.

Muslims vs Israel?

I am neutral. I have no side in their religious conflict, although I have plenty of disgust for religious warfare, and for warfare in general. I don't want my government taking sides, either.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

145. I actually WEPT when the news came out that he had committed adultery....

NOT that I'm against adultery (or for it, either). It's none of my business who does what, really, unless it's my boyfriend being unfaithful. But to take a risk in a country like this one, where people are so infantilized and so silly that they behave like 4 year olds when someone commits adultery! Why on EARTH would he do such a stupid thing? He knew it would be the death of his campaign if he did that. I took it personally. It was as if he had ruined MY campaign. I had put my heart and soul into his running for president.


:cry:

I am totally against war, but I puke knowing how Muslims treat females - it's monstrous. I just got through reading, Reading Lolita in Tehran and I could barely get through it. And prior to that, I had read, Girls of Riyadh. And one of my best friends in college was Muslim.

[burythehatchet]

10. ..by the way, the article also paints Dodd in a very poor light.

[Supersedeas]

34. as if we didn't know

[WI_DEM]

12. Of Course!

[FudaFuda]

13. Can't be. There are no lobbyists in this administration. n/t

[emilyg]

22. Thanks for the laugh.

[rucky]

23. And Cheney wasn't with Halliburton while he was VP

I'm sure there's no potential conflict there, either.

[SammyWinstonJack]

82. .

:evilgrin:

[chill_wind]

15. Yep. Old DU thread here in January:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4939466#top

K&R

[burythehatchet]

17. Excellent! Thanks for the link! So either the President is so smart that we cannot

even imagine what he's up to, or he is a very smartly packaged marketing tool.

[chill_wind]

19. Goldman Sachs$$ has loved Obama. With boatloads of cash

and so has the rest of Wall Street.

Top Contributors

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

[burythehatchet]

25. check out Octafish post #16 link. I'm going to shut down the puter now because

I don't think I can face this particular realty at this particular moment. :(

[Myrina]

56. ding ding ding!

We have a winner, I'm afraid. :(

[blindpig]

58. I'll take door #2, Bob. n/t

[blindpig]

49. Yep, but that river in Egypt is deep.

To be honest, the writing was on the wall long before for those who would look. A search of back issues Black Agenda Report will suffice for evidence.

The problem is not personalities or parties, it is the whole system, a dog and pony show in which the people are given the illusion of a say in things while in fact having no say at all. Our votes are irrelevant, gotta get their attention by other means.

[EFerrari]

21. Robert Scheer wrote an article that talks about Goldman Sachs

connections: Perp Walks Instead of Bonuses

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-scheer/perp-walks-instead-of-bon_b_176145.html

[burythehatchet]

24. Scheer also appeared with Amy Goodman and the videos are up...thx for the link. n/t

[barbtries]

27. i think geithner

should go. i'm not so knowledgeable about him, have read some pros and cons, but this news really seals it for me. geithner and his chief of staff should get out of dodge now, and let us get on with the task of recovering the country.

in fact i tend to want to see anybody even slightly associated with the goldman sachs brand far, far away from the coffers of the US government. i tend to believe that they are pretty much every single fucking one of them greedy criminals without redeeming qualities.

[robinlynne]

28. I jsut read that Goldman Sachs was the number 2 highest donor to the Obama campaign.

[burythehatchet]

29. While that is not good thing, it is understandable; I just want their stooges

out of the government.

[chill_wind]

30. Yes You Did. And yet he calls the Wall Street hustlers financial terrorists.

Which sounds all the right notes....

"Obama said "it was the right thing to do to step in. Here's the problem. It's almost like they've got - they got a bomb strapped to them, and they've got their hand on the trigger. You don't want them to blow up, but you got to kind of talk them - ease that finger off the trigger."

The scandal, he said, is "a symptom of a much larger problem. And that is the system and culture that made them possible - a culture where people made enormous sums for taking irresponsible risks that have now put the whole economy at risk.'"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/18/MNUT16IU25.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1

Yet "that system" and "that culture" largely financed his candidacy and its tentacles continue to firmly entwine.
He'll have to come to terms with deciding what to do about those terrorists-- who helped pay such a big chunk of his way-- and who are ongoingly aiming their weapons at all of us - and not just at his political survival-- for real.

[amborin]

36. maybe O was just referring to the people in the London office:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8276691&mesg_id=8277454>

[chill_wind]

38. Nope.

He was talking about AIG and "the culture" as a whole.

Obama calls AIG bonuses 'outrageous'

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/18/MNUT16IU25.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1

[amborin]

39. did you read

the ny times article about AIG's London office?

[chill_wind]

40. I did. Thanks for posting it.

eom

[pleah]

31. And some people keep goose stepping along and refuse to see what is

right in front of their eyes. Nothing has changed as far as I can see. Throw a few bones to the people and hope they aren't paying attention to what is really going on behind the scenes.


End the wars! End the to big to fail banks (bullshit), brake them up, put regulations back into place.
The blackmail of the people must end and soon.

[readmoreoften]

32. "Throw a few bones to the people..."

By "bones" do you mean "beautiful words"? Or are these bones just really, really dry and meatless?

[pleah]

35. I know it has only been

a couple of months, but, it seems to be a little of both.

I want to see some actual restrictions and regulations in these taxpayer give-aways. I want to see real prosecutions of war crimes.

Letting up on pot raids and promises of labor laws and promises of health care reform, and so on, I am all for it and I really believe Obama means it. But, if you can't do something about the hogs at the trough gobbling up all our money then the rest isn't going to mean much. imo

[amborin]

33. The Nation has an interesting article on GS's role also:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8274140&mesg_id=8274140>

[Iwillnevergiveup]

37. Truth be told

I'm still not over Geitner's non-payment of taxes. Ever since then, he's looked like a nervous little weasle to me. Probably doesn't get enough sleep at night either - a heavy heart tends to do that to ya.

[bjobotts]

41. I complained about this during the campaign,Obama surrounding himself with "Chicago boys"-

Disaster capitalists like Rubin and Summers and now Geithner. They have their heads straight up Wall street's ass. They represented the last thirty years of deregulation and the promotion of wealth into the hands of the filthy rich. They cannot even 'see' what is good or right for "the people" just elitist million and billionaires. They must have gotten Obama a lot of influence for him to include them in his economic plan due to their past history of complicity in causing our current disaster. They just don't know any better...and certainly can't help themselves to new ways of dealing with the economy.

[sasquatch]

42. ¡Muerte al Sur!

:patriot:

[valerief]

43. No one is clean. We can only hope for "less dirty." nt

[earth mom]

45. Edwards warned us about the status quo and few were listening or cared.

It can not be more obvious that the status quo is being propped up at all costs and at great taxpayer expense. :grr:

[SammyWinstonJack]

85. .

:thumbsup:

[Triana]

46. what the god damn f*ck!!!

I am SO SICK of damn WALL STREET running/ruining/raping our Federal Treasury.

This is rediculous - it's rediculously OBVIOUS that WALL STREET IS now our Fed. Treasury - we pay taxes into it to support THEM - and no one/nothing else. PERIOD.

THEIVES - and right under Obama's nose. HOW IS IT that he allows this?

EXPLAIN.

[upi402]

47. I agree, that's why Kucinich was not allowed to play in any reindeer games

He was blackballed because he would have talked about this stuff. And not ONE "Democratic" nominee protested and boycotted the venues who used bogus reasons to omit Kucinich.
So sad that we have to make a victim's choice. So glad we have smilin' Ted Bundy and not Joseph Stallin. And that lunatic Ghandi.... what a fruitloop!

[Triana]

94. *sigh*

People are so damn stupid - and stupid seems to be in the drinking water the closer you get to DC.

[fasttense]

48. Obama is a politician just like FDR and JFK were politicians.

If he hadn't been a very good politician, he would never have won the election. FDR and JFK were politicians too. But they listened to the protests of We the People. They took the protesters' ideals to heart, acted on those ideals and they improved America. (Well, JFK had plans to act on those ideals before organized crime bosses murdered him, and Johnson did follow through on the plans.)

What is different today then in FDR's and JFK's times is that We the People ar NOT out in mass protesting. Neither of those 2 great Presidents would have succeeded if liberal activists had NOT been out in the streets protesting almost every day.

You want the bankers, Goldman Sachs and Wall Street to quit destroying America? Then you have got to ACT. You have to get out in the streets almost every day and show Obama what you want him to do.

Without the protesters, there is no movement to change. Obama can't do it alone. Make him do what you know he wants to do.

[burythehatchet]

51. First rate thinking, friend. I totally agree. In fact, I think Obams wants, needs

and HOPES for it. That's why when I see these insidious "you're undermining the President" posts I want to scream.

[dixiegrrrrl]

101. Evidence that you are correct on this:

late in the campaign, when it was clear he would win, Obama told a story, I read it in a newspaper column.
The story was about how FDR would support a populist law by telling his rich cronies that while he, FDR, was personally against the idea, "the people" were being so loud FOR the idea that he dare not go against them.
And so the law would get passed, and FDR had a win/win.

I think Pres. O told this story publicly for a reason.

I know the Congress critters and Obama are relentlessly quoting how mad the American public is right now.

[burythehatchet]

106. I remember that

:hug:

[annabanana]

113. This appears to be the best road to change..

We have to make it impossible for him to do anything else. It's us or the pitchforks.

[acmavm]

57. Yep, that's the missing part of this equation. Protests. In the entire history

of this country no great change has ever occurred without protests by the American people.

I'll just say The Boston Tea Party, The Haymarket Riots, John Brown's insurrection, the suffragettes marching for the vote in 1913, the coal riots, the packing house workers demanding better working conditions and exposing the criminal ways of the meat packing industry, Martin Luther King Jr., Viet Nam, and the protest against the attack on Iraq.

We've lost our way. We've become gutless and spineless.

[blindpig]

65. And yet we are counseled patience.

Patience while Rome burns, in the face of overwhelmingly objectionable actions.

How long?

There is no leadership on the Left, it should be obvious that it cannot come from the Democratic Party.

[natrat]

69. fdr made a deal with the bankers not to prosecute, obama is on his knees in front of the bankers

[northernlights]

50. "DOW ZERO"

"Sachs' chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, who took home at least $70 million in 2007, has argued that shareholders are "less sophisticated and have less understanding" of compensation issues than corporate board members"

If shareholders are too stupid to understand compensation issues, then I suspect they're too stupid to invest. I'd dump every penny I had in stock...if I had any. :cry:

[billyoc]

52. Wow, I see no adminstration defenders chiming in here.

Good.

[acmavm]

54. Yep, I asked where they were back in post #9. See, this is the thing about

the people here who have turned into zombies when it comes to Obama, they want to pretend that everything Obama does and has done is the definition of political perfection and innocence. That he makes no mistakes, that he has never done anything opportunistic or selfish at the expense of others (including political opponents), that he is either a Lib or a Prog (and he is not close to being either), and that he has no skeletons in his closet OR IF HE DOES we are not allowed to talk about them, that we don't have pay attention to what he (and by extension his administration) is up to, we just have to trust him. And they expect the same ridiculous mind-numbing train of thought to extend to all the annointed and appointed in his administration. In other words, go all 'freeper-like' over our own president. Post thread upon thread patting each other on the back for their mindless support and spouting the same friggin' line over and over and over "he's only had 4 months..."

Well that "he's only had..." shit is old and doesn't work. It doesn't take years to recognize a major fuck-up in action. And this bail-out shit has been one clusterfuck since Obama jumped on it during the campaign (which I would say went a long way toward winning him the White House) to now with that bunch that he appointed from Wall Street to run this mess. Forget the first bailout, bush** would have done that just to piss off everyone no matter what happened. He wanted a 'legacy' so bad he thought he could buy himself a little peasant love by going against his party. BUT to have the same fucks who were around and involved in the last 8 years of republican corruption, and even those who participated in and profited by it (Paulson, Bernanke, GEITHNER), to let them run this mess since the election is just absolutely a betrayal of the platform he ran on, which was CHANGE. We have not changed our way of doing business because until the public entered the fray, the fucking clowns at AIG were looking towards and very Merry Easter and a lucrative future indeed. They were going to get those bonuses come hell or high water. UNTIL THOSE WHO DISAGREED SPOKE UP.

The people who were angry were not all disgruntled and bitter republicans, they were democrats like me, like my friends, they were independents, they were people all across the country. That is how something was done about this bonus bullshit. NOTHING WAS DONE NOR WAS ANYTHING GOING TO BE DONE BY THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION UNTIL PEOPLE GOT PISSED AND SAID IT WAS TIME TO STOP THE WHOLESALE GIVE-AWAY TO THE VERY THIEVES AND LIARS WHO GOT US INTO THIS MESS!!!!!!!!111

So, don't ever shut up. Don't ever let the words 'trust me' influence the way you think. And don't ever let anyone bully you into thinking that you don't have the right to speak up when you see something very very wrong, because in this country, regardless of what anyone else here says or thinks, you most certainly do. You have an obligation and a duty to speak out. The last 8+ years tells us that.

[indimuse]

55. well said!

:) thx.

[FLAprogressive]

67. I would K&R that post if I could. The True Believers are just as bad as Freepers.

[burythehatchet]

70. I stumbled into GD-P this morning....holy shit!

I had questioned why we even have that forum anymore, now I'm so glad we do. That's where they masturbate each other.

[FLAprogressive]

71. GD:DLC is where all the True Believers post....it's like Free Republic reversed

[ProgressIn2008]

83. Heh. Well put. Obama true believers are just freepers of another kind.

I cringe at blind ideology and yes, it is cult of personality. On the other hand, that type of fan has always been around and will, unfortunately, always be with us.

Some people seem unable to be citizens. They just want to be fans.

[FLAprogressive]

86. They're as bad as the Clinton worshippers that exist around here.

[acmavm]

91. Some people seem unable to be citizens. That is what I was trying to

say but it took me so long to say it.

Thanks. That's what I was looking for.

[disndat]

76. The people need to know

if Obama's campaign took its biggest money from Goldman Sachs, it is the reason why he has Rubin, Geithner, Summers on his financial team of advisors.

[acmavm]

79. This whole thing does't look good for the administration. His supporters

say he is to busy dealing with the economy to do anything else.
The dirty little secret is that Obama has delegated this economic crisis recovery to the same people who put us here. And they're doing the SAME shit that put us here.

So, change anyone?

[disndat]

95. Obama's done some fantastic

things. Things that I've never expected to see in my lifetime, like gay rights, health care reform, free to choose, even Michelle's vegetable garden in the South Lawn, so don't throw out the baby with the bath water. At least he is insisting on no tax hikes for the middle class and below, so that the taxpayers won't be harmed by the bailouts in the future, but yes, we must keep Obama's feet to the fire, like receding Geithner's and Summers' roles into the background.

[acmavm]

96. I know he's done some great things. But they are not the things he campaigned

on. Not the big ones.

But right now this economic fiasco fuckfest is defining his presidency. Who is it he turns to to fix the corrupt messes of the last 8 years? The people who corrupted the government and the financial sector for the last 8 years.

Why does that not right right?

[SammyWinstonJack]

87. !

:applause:

[DeschutesRiver]

107. Very well said and I sadly concur

I am reminded that I am not a follower or blind faith type. I am a participating citizen in my country, and I don't agree with Obama at the moment. In fact I am something that I didn't expect to be - discouraged. The news of the last week or so has been adding up in my mind, and I can't explain away the things that are bothering me.

Nor should I. I need to demand explanations as well as promise to listen to them if they make any sense. And to keep speaking up loudly if they don't.

[TornadoTN]

73. That's because this is completely indefensible and sickening

The "True Believers" are as bad as the most fervent Freepers. They get tunnel vision and it skews their reality. There was even one post here after the inauguration that said "I wouldn't mind a dictatorship if Obama was the Dictator."

I really like Obama and I've worked hard for him. I'm glad he's President. But there are some serious issues with his handling of the financial crisis and the people that are involved in it within his administration. This is just one issue, but it's a major one and I sincerely hope that Obama will see the light on this and end the cronyism that has raped this country for 30 years.

I'm mad and disappointed.

[Seen the light]

99. It's strange isn't it?

Apparently, THIS is the worst thing the administration has done since Jan. 20 lol.

[Dinger]

53. Clean House Now Mr. President

I'm asking nicely.

[defendandprotect]

61. As some say: "'Politics' is the shadow cast over government by corporations" --

Where, oh where, is talk of re-regulating capitalism . . . ???

Every day that goes by where we haven't re-regulated is another day of crime.

[burythehatchet]

62. If you have not become familiar with the term "inverted totalitarianism", now

would be a good time. It will all make perfect sense.

[avaistheone1]

72. Goldman Sachs dirty hands and dirty deeds are all over this bailout

debacle. Henry Paulsen contributed a shortfall of $100 billion alone during his leadership of Goldman Sachs. How convenient that he would lead Treasury and lead the bailout exploits.

[Honeycombe8]

74. Well, that stinks. But then....who else is gonna staff the admin. who understands the

ins and outs of these complex matters? Obama is brilliant, but I doubt he understands the intricacies, or how to fix them when they're broken. Only an insider truly understands how the insiders play the game, I would think. But finding an insider you can trust is another matter. I wouldn't think a LOBBYIST is the way to start.

[burythehatchet]

75. It struck me this morning: The financial crisis is Obama's Vietnam.

Although I did not live in America when LBJ became President, I read that his policy in Vietnam was an amplification of a failed policy. That is how I see this playing out.

[Honeycombe8]

77. Hmmmm. Maybe. But I don't see that at all. I'm pleased with the stimulus bill.

The stock market is improving, as well. Hopefully, we'll have a few million new jobs this and next year.

But the staffing issue, difficult because of the vetting process I guess and the low pay, is becoming a real problem.

If he gets the staffing done, he will be fine. If.

[burythehatchet]

80. I'm specifically referencing the banking issue (I was less that clear in my post)

The banks are simply re-animated zombies and we keep pumping precious resources into them.

[bvar22]

90. No. Escalating the WAR in Afghanistan....

....without a Military Objective or an Exit Strategy is Obama's VietNam.

Participating in the extortion perpetrated by Wall Street is unprecedented.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

78. Kinda like giving the foxes the keys to the henhouse because they know how to handle chiickens.

[Joanne98]

81. GS is a never ending curse! Fire him!

[notesdev]

84. and also new AIG CEO

Edward Liddy came to AIG from... Goldman Sachs.

Ever get the feeling you've been played?

[burythehatchet]

89. The only CEO who was part of the planning, Lloyd Blankfein. AIG seems merely

to be a money laundering operation at this point.

[Joey Liberal]

92. Geithner has to go

The sooner the better. And this includes his staff.

[upi402]

97. to jail with the rest of them

(was that out loud?)
:wow:

[FLAprogressive]

104. ^ yes.

[AzDar]

93. Jesus wept.

[Runcible Spoon]

100. Get the fuck over the primaries! You bashers will stoop to ANYTHING to bash Obama!

Of COURSE Obama wants insiders on his team!I'm so sick of this incessant whining about proven professionals being tapped. Obama hired the best of the brains on Wall Street to fix this mess. All you haters can do is worship at the shrine of armchair academics. Well genius, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO FIX THE ECONOMY!? Would you rather have McCain in charge?


**insert other generic memes***

Oh, and :sarcasm: :evilgrin:

[FLAprogressive]

103. There's every True Believer argument in a nutshell....of course

you forgot "It's only been X days!" and "Trust him."

[burythehatchet]

105. That was mean :-))

:hi:

[sarcasmo]

114. Follow the money and you always find the truth.

[bluesmail]

123. Halliburton put Darth in VP's Office. (OK, President's).

Goldman Sachs has Geithner in Treasury. Too cozy for me.

[lonestarnot]

128. And Mr. President is keeping him on, what is with that? Is it the spotlight?

[Threedifferentones]

133. LOL

So much for getting the lobbyists out of the WH! I guess he does not count because he only USED to do AIG's dirty work...now he's totally clean! Yeah, right.

Business as usual amongst the rich. I had hoped, but never really believed, that Obama would be different. But, if he really were, his political career would never have gone much farther than Kucinich's.

This is what two terms of GWB will do to you. Anyone who is not an obvious asshole, and can speak intelligently, seems like a real messiah.

[Annces]

137. I think Obama knows he is surrounded by bickerers

And he is trying to do things positive. There is not much political strength on the left.

[TBF]

150. I think Obama has figured out who he really works for. n/t

[Fireweed247]

138. more

Goldman Sachs Government
Their power is likely to grow no matter who’s in charge in Washington. Commentator David Brooks may not have been joking when he observed this summer: “over the past few years, people from Goldman Sachs have assumed control over large parts of the federal government. Over the next few, they might just take over the whole darn thing.”
http://spectator.org/archives/2008/10/16/goldman-sachs-government

Has Goldman Sachs Taken Over the Bush Administration?
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0820-06.htm

[fascisthunter]

139. PUSH Obama to do the Right Thing

if we want a populist government, we need to demand it. This government supposed be working for "We the People". Without all of us pushing Obama, corporate entities and the wealthy will.

[Jennicut]

142. I think Obama listened to some people who told him to go for experience

But this is not the experience we want. I wonder who else would make a good treasury secretary though- is there anyone left in the economics field that does not have ties to the banks?

[democracy1st]

148. Paul Volcker

[sendero]

143. It's clear that Obama has not realized..

... that the same internet buzz that got him elected can ensure he is a one term president.

Does he think nobody will notice this?

[TBF]

149. Now we are doing our homework. K&R n/t