Dear President Obama: Enjoy your one-term presidency.

[Cyrano]

The one thing I was listening for last night was a vow to veto any plan that didn’t contain a public option. Instead, we were told that things would change sometime in three or four years or so.

I know the Republicans won’t give you a single vote and I know the blue dog Dems are a pain in the ass. Nonetheless, the power of the presidency carries a hell of a lot more weight than you (or Rahm) have seen fit to use.

Like many online denizens, I sent every spare cent I had to get you into the White House. The last thing I expected from you was the way you sold us out last night.

As soon as your speech ended, my search began for a principled Democrat with a backbone to replace you in 2012. I don't know if such an animal exists, but I'm looking.

Sincerely,

A (once again) Disillusioned Democrat

[lamp_shade]

1. Can we let this one SLIDE PLEASE>

[YOY]

6. No. I will but others won't.

Our Third way is the Republican's old way. Their new way is batshit insane and broken. Our old way was never broken.

We cannot keep doing their job for them.

[IRemember]

2. Weiner 2012 sounds good to me. nt

[DJ13]

3. And Kucinich for VP

:toast:

[IRemember]

4. yeah, either/or.. two great men

:toast:

[Laelth]

22. Welcome to DU.

The Democratic Party is literally forcing its left wing out. This makes me very sad.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Bumblebee]

32. What makes me sad is that there are delusional people here who still think

Kucinich is a viable candidate for anything...

[Laelth]

35. He's not. I supported Edwards and then Obama in the primaries.

Unfortunately, Obama stabbed me in the back. Forgive me if I am a little wounded by that.

:dem:

-Laelth

[niyad]

38. welcome to DU

[emsimon33]

52. That's what many of my Democratic friends have said recently

We need someone with backbone. Someone who will not sell out.

[Hawkowl]

57. Howard Dean?

I'd like to see him use the 50 state stragegy and jam it up Rahm's ass.

[tridim]

5. I hear LaRouche is running again.

He might be more up your alley.

I'd suggest watching the speech again, but I don't think you listened the first time so why bother?

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

7. Interesting number the 4 years. Just given enough time to get the "Left" to work for him again. BTW

I RESENT being called the Left! I have been a Democrat my whole fucking life and the party has moved away me to the center and center right. I'm still the same person with the same values.

[Laelth]

25. Hear, hear. The Democratic Party has abandoned me. Not vice versa. n/t

:toast:

:dem:

-Laelth

[Cyrano]

27. I never used the word "left" in my OP. However, as far as I'm concerned,

I'm part of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. And from your comments, I assume that you are too.

We've lost far too much ground in recent years. It's past time to fight harder.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

29. I grew up in a strong Democratic family. One of the first names I remember hearing

was Adlai Stevenson. When Kennedy was running, my parents packed off all 3 kids in the car and drove down to our train station to see if we could even catch a glimpse of him.
When Kennedy was assassinated, we had a shock and cry fest in our home.
We were proud that our party was the party that cared about others and pushed civil rights legislation and took care of the sick and elderly.
Even though I HATED Vietnam and protested against it, I worked for McCarthy and although I wanted McCarthy over Bobby Kennedy, I mourned Kennedy's passing...hysterical in tears and went the next day with my sister to St. Patrick's Cathedral in NY (even though we were Jewish) to honor him.
And then, before I knew it, all my values were being maligned by Reagan and the Democratic Party, trying to prove they weren't "Liberals" started to move away from me.
I have often said that Bill Clinton was the best Republican President we've ever had...well it looks like President Obama might take that place in My History.
I'm exhausted of fighting and feel like I've been abandoned and I'm tired of trying to pretend that we don't have one party and it is owned by large Corporations. The Democratic wing of the party is a bit kinder and gentler but they are in the end the same.

[Cyrano]

42. Our life experiences are similar.

What Republicans do best is wear down people like us. You, me, and all like us need to take a deep breath and not give up. Our enemies (yes, the Republicans are our enemies) will never stop attacking us. And for them, it is literally a battle to the death.

If only Democrats would understand that. And then react accordingly.

[emsimon33]

53. Excellent point!

[bettyellen]

8. oh please. Naive short sighted. WTF did you think you were getting or CAN get- a revolution?

total pisher nonsense. call us when you been around the block a few times.

[Windy]

10. exactly. And its always the same whiners who are no better than the rethugs

No matter what the man says, they will be against him. They don't pay attention when he speaks nor do they take the time to understand what he is doing or has done and the complexities of government. They are pollyannas.

We finally have a president who actually gives a damn about this country and its citizens. I, for one, am very happy with my vote last November.

[Cyrano]

14. I spent the last eight years watching George W. Bush get anything and

everything he wanted (except the death of social security).

The Republicans know how to kick ass and take names.

The Democrats want everyone to "just get along."

Sorry, but this is the real world. We need a president with a huge pair and the guts to use them.

Until then, we will go on bowing and scraping to the Limbaughs and Fox "News" creatures that contaminate our society.

How about a "No more Mr. Nice Guy" declaration from the entire Democratic Party from the President on down? How about we at least try to level the playing field? How about we learn how to win, not just elections, but legislation?

[tridim]

24. Now I know you didn't watch the address.

Republicans kicking ass? :rofl:

[frylock]

55. where the fuck have you been?!

does USPATRIOT ring a bell? how about IWR? are you actually going to sit here and deny that republicans are able to railroad their shit through congress while dems worry about working in a bipartisan fashion. what does that have to do with last night's speech?

[noiretextatique]

15. nope...we cannot expect a revolution, like the reagan revolution

or the bush 2 revolution. and you know why? democrats don't have the guts or the will to push their agenda the way republicons did.

[bettyellen]

56. i think having him as president is a blessing- but he' incredibly pragmatic because he has to win ..

a battle or two right now, some small moral victories before he can have the chance to do more. he's building his brand.
it breaks my heart he has so much oppostion from his own party- but it is what it is. and he's dealing with that fact like a grownup. much more so than some pie in the sky folks here.

[Hawkowl]

58. Yes we CAN'T

That should have been Obama's slogan. Because that has how it's turning out to be.

[emulatorloo]

9. I just got back from a wingnut board were I learned Obama is an evil Socialist Liar

Then this one tells me he "sold us out"

[marmar]

11. Setting aside who should be the candidate in 2012......

..... this post is very strident.

[scheming daemons]

12. Dear Cyrano: Enjoy the next 8 years...

...even as you try your darnedest to put the GOP back in power.

[Champion Jack]

16. Exactly

[mamaleah]

26. You hit it square on the head! n/t

[WI_DEM]

13. He will easily be re-elected, but go ahead and vote for the green or whatever

candidate. I guess we saw different speeches last night.

[sharp_stick]

17. Nominee for MMPW

The new DU competition is underway with this brilliant entry. The most moronic post of the week award is off and running.

Every week we expect a tight tight competition between two or three deserving "members" of the DU community. This candidate offers all the hyperbole needed with none of the nasty little facts getting in the way.

A shame however that they failed to use the term "corporatist" three or four times as it is so in vogue these days among the crowd vying for the crown. It may cost this poster as there are more than two full days left and I'm sure there is someone out there working up a lather for a spirited attempt to produce a bile infused screed that will make this post appear sane in it's shadow.

Damn I love the unrec feature.

on edit: There is no actual competition as I think I would go nuts having to read all the nominated posts.

[BlooInBloo]

61. :)))))

[Winterblues]

18. a principled Democrat with a backbone

Isn't that what you believed Obama to be? What makes you think the next person you choose will be any different, Their say so? Remember a Politician is not known for the absolute truth...A politician is a politician and will say what it takes to get elected..I only hope when Obama's first term is up America is in better shape than when he began..I believe that will be the case, even if I am disappointed that I won't see all the changes I think are needed.

[Cyrano]

28. I second everything you said. But anyone who doesn't believe that

last night's speech was a letdown, is ignoring reality.

But I'll tell you what. If we're both still around three or four years from now, let's have this conversation again.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

20. Maybe You Should Add...........

.........that you've stomped your little foot and will hold your breath until President Claus brings you everything you want.

If you insist on splintering the Democratic Party, you should just practice saying the following phrase: President Palin.

Sweet dreams.

[Laelth]

21. Ted Kennedy said:

"The last thing this Country needs is two Republican Parties. Judging from Obama's speech last night, that's exactly what we have.

:dem:

-Laelth

[scheming daemons]

30. Ted Kennedy would've given last night's speech a rousing approval

...and you know it.

[Laelth]

33. I suspect he would have, yes.

Ted Kennedy was a good team player. He would have loathed parts of this bill, but he probably would have voted for it. At the very least, he would have the dignity to stand and applaud, even if he didn't vote for the bill in the end.

Personally, I am not a good team player. Like Howard Dean, who was booted out for not being a good team player, I am a goo-goo. I want good government. I want good legislation, and the President's proposal, as he described it last night, will be worse than doing nothing if it becomes law. Pick up Ted Kennedy's 2007 "Medicare for All" bill and run with that. If you do, I'll be right behind you, but I can not support a massive Federal bail-out of the health insurance cabal paid for, principally, by a new tax on the struggling middle class.

No way.

:dem:

-Laelth

[KittyWampus]

43. And Ted would keep on fighting and working for change from within the Democratic Party

[Mudoria]

31. Don't know what to say, but here is something for you..

[UTUSN]

34. The O.P.'s title will be correct when adding "With MY (o.p.'s) help!1" n/t

[DevonRex]

36. You're a Democrat?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

66. More than most here.

[closeupready]

37. This is premature. I understand your disappointment. I was, too.

But try to hang in there as long as you can. Stuff like this only serves to hurt you most.

[TheKentuckian]

39. "The one thing I was listening for last night was a vow to do something stupid"

What the fuck is gained from threatening a veto? It didn't do Clinton a bit of good nor did it buy him any loyalty from the permanently outraged.

Hell, Clinton's effort to allow gays in the military was turned into a baseball bat to bash him with. People forgot over the years that DADT was a forced compromise that actually gave gays a better deal than they started with.

There is a group that will see to it that no effort at a good deed will go unpunished and will spin anything out of context. I think that more credit can be gleaned from certain quarters by doing jack apple shit than by going to the mat and coming up short of demands.

For many here, it seems it would have been preferable for Obama to punt on health care rather than to actually accomplish what can be done. That or go down in flames, more or less as an advertisement for Single Payer.

Search all you like but you'll find few if any takers and that army you think is behind you will barely be a troop. You are living in a world of pure imagination.

[Xicano]

40. Unfortunately Cyrano you are correct and we Dems need more like yourself

I can't count how many times on just this board alone I've read people complaining the same complaints I have about today's Democratic party. That they have been too corrupted by corporate money to resemble the Democratic party. This is the same complaint that is being made when I hear complaints about corporations being recognized as individuals. The Democrats appearing to have no backbone is only them supporting corporate agendas over their base, we the poor and working class.

So, most of them simply don't give a shit about us beyond stringing us along just enough to try and keep up the appearance they do give a shit about us. And it is by no accident that today's wealth is more concentrated than it was during the roaring twenties.

The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans now have a larger share of total income than they ever have in records going back nearly a century — an even larger amount than during the Roaring Twenties, the last time the US saw such similar disparities in wealth.

In recent years, the fact that differences between rich and poor are the greatest they’ve been since the Great Depression has become a popular talking point among liberal-leaning economists.

But an updated study (PDF) from University of California-Berkeley economist Emanuel Saez shows that, in 2007, the wealth disparity grew to its highest number on record, based on US tax data going back to 1917.

According to Saez’s study, which Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman drew attention to at his New York Times blog, the top 10 percent of earners in America now receive nearly 50 percent of all the income earned in the United States, a higher percentage than they did during the 1920s

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/08/15/concentration-of-wealth-in-hands-of-rich/

In my judgment we the Democratic base need to be honest with ourselves and recognize the fact that it isn't the Democratic leadership with the problem of having no backbone, it is us the base who are the ones with no backbone. We have no backbone at the ballot box to can those who have failed to do what we sent them to Washington to do. In our acquiescence to swiftly replace our leaders who don't deliver, we have only ourselves to blame about the things we complain about here on this board.

If we all took a firm stance such as Cyrano is displaying. We would have investigations and prosecutions against Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld and ilk. We wouldn't have NAFTA, GATT and all the other so-called free trade agreements. We would have universal, public option, healthcare. We wouldn't have lost millions of jobs due to outsourcing. We wouldn't have lost regulations and trade protections.

So, I commend people like Cyrano who do show backbone and the wisdom behind not voting for the people he choses to represent him who have failed to deliver what he sent them to Washington to deliver. If more of our base were like him we'd have a true party for we the poor and working class.


:kick:

[emilyg]

41. +1

[sharp_stick]

45. Yes all would be sweetness and light

the roads would be paved with gold, the lion would lie with the lamb and all that crap.

[SammyWinstonJack]

47. !

:thumbsup:

[Cyrano]

48. Thanks for the support, Xicano.

It often gets discouraging when people misunderstand the nature of criticism.

I want nothing more than to see Obama succeed. I want nothing more than to see a vast (truly) Democratic majority establishing the laws of this country. I want nothing more than to see today's Republican Party viewed as people who inhabit sewers.

I suppose what shocked me the most about this thread was how many people didn't object to Obama's leaving out a solid commitment to a public option for health care. Without a public option as a bare minimum, all the rest is meaningless.

Then again, that's my opinion. I just wish that more people could see the consequences of Obama's position.

Upon Franklin Roosevelt's reelection in 1936, he reveled in the fact that he was so hated by the powers that be. He took pride in the fact that he was so hated by the super rich.

Obama knows history. If only he could take a cue from FDR's convictions.

[Xicano]

54. You're very welcome, Cyrano

You said what needs to be said by more folks more often. We Democrats have become too negligent in policing our party to reflect our values instead of supply side, deregulated, wealth concentrating values.

And we need to make that clear in no uncertain terms to our leaders that they absolutely can expect not to have a job if they don't do what we hire them to do. That is why I am always glad to see folks such as yourself. It keeps my hope up.

I too like Obama. I think he's very intelligent, very articulate, very handsome, has a beautiful wife and adorable kids. I would love nothing more than to see him succeed. But I will not rehire someone who compromises on issues that are at the heart of Democratic values. Its exactly the same position we take in the union I belong to (the ILWU) on certain issues. Certain issues we deem as none negotiable strike issues and we absolutely refuse to negotiate these issues. And I can guarantee you any union officer who's makes a suggestion to compromise on strike issues will never get elected again. The companies know this and never bother us on these strike issues. This is how we the Democratic base need to be with our elected leaders.


Peace,
Xicano



:kick:

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. So, you admit you want something that may not exist?

"I don't know if such an animal exists, but I'm looking"

Out of 300 million Americans, you're not sure there's a single one that lives up to your wishes. Perhaps you're asking for too much, then?

[cali]

46. How Sisyphean of you.

have fun with that.

[LynneSin]

49. Someone call the Whambulance on this one

Seems that the public has embraced the speech that Obama has done last night and his approval rating has taken a nice double digit uptake.

I'm so tired of these posters who expected Obama to solve everything in 1 day with the wave of his magic wand.

[SIMPLYB1980]

50. LoL! Oh the Drama!

[BlooInBloo]

60. Drama kitteh!

[moondust]

51. Where the fuck is my pony?

:rofl:

[Hawkowl]

59. I have your pony right here

And I'm not going to give him back. Because you need a backbone to ride a pony.

[Odin2005]

62. Dear OP, be prepared to enjoy crow.

[bertman]

63. Some scurrilous Democrat's UNrec cancelled out my REC.

[Jack Sprat]

64. Sorry you took so much grief over this

You're in plenty of company, Cyrano. There is no democracy anymore. This is truly a plutocracy and only the wealthy are represented. Our congress is owned and operated by corporations.

[Sultana]

65. Oye

[LSK]

67. Are you not the guy who posted about no Public Option in the speech

5 minutes AFTER he mentioned a public option???

I am still trying to figure that one out...