Rolling Stone: A must-read article on how the Obama Admin Turned "Yes We Can" Into "No We Can't"

[FourScore]

No We Can't
Obama had millions of followers eager to fight for his agenda. But the president muzzled them - and he's paying the price

by Tim Dickinson

"Staff are replaceable. A mass of dedicated volunteers is not." — David Plouffe

...As a candidate swept into office by a grass-roots revolution of his own creation, Obama was poised to reinvent Washington politics, just as he had reinvented the modern political campaign. Obama and his team hadn't simply collected millions of e-mail addresses, they had networked activists, online and off — often down to the street level. By the end of the campaign, Obama's top foot soldiers were more than volunteers. They were seasoned organizers, habituated to the hard work of reaching out to neighbors and communicating Obama's vision for change.

As president, Obama promised to use technology to open up the halls of power and keep the American people involved. "If you want to know how I'll govern," he said, "just look at our campaign." His activists wouldn't just be cheerleaders; they would be partners in delivering on his mandate, serving as the most fearsome whip Washington had ever seen. "At the end of the campaign, we entered into an implied contract with Obama," says Marta Evry, who served as a regional field organizer in California for the campaign. "He was going to fight for change, and we were going to fight with him."

The problems started before Obama was even elected. While his top advisers worked for months to carefully plot out a transition to governing, their plan to institutionalize its campaign apparatus was as ill-considered as George Bush's invasion of Iraq. "There was absolutely no transition planning," says Micah Sifry, the co-founder of techPresident, a watchdog group that just published a special report on OFA's first year. In what Sifry decries as a case of "criminal political negligence," Obama's grass-roots network effectively went dark for two months after Election Day, failing to engage activists eager for their new marching orders. "The movement moment," he says, "was lost.

The blame, insiders say, rests squarely with Plouffe. "That was totally Plouffe's thing," a top member of the president's inner circle recalls of the transition planning. "It really was David."

By that point, at the end of the campaign, Plouffe had his eyes on the exit. He was gaunt, exhausted. His wife was about to give birth to their second child. He needed a break. "There was no question of my joining the administration," he recounts in his memoir. So Plouffe, in a truly bizarre call, decided to incorporate Obama for America as part of the Democratic National Committee. The move meant that the machinery of an insurgent candidate, one who had vowed to upend the Washington establishment, would now become part of that establishment, subject to the entrenched, partisan interests of the Democratic Party. It made about as much sense as moving Greenpeace into the headquarters of ExxonMobil."...

SNIP

...In addition, with Plouffe providing less input in his inner circle, Obama began to pursue a more traditional, backroom approach to enacting his agenda. Rather than using OFA to engage millions of voters to turn up the heat on Congress, the president yoked his political fortunes to the unabashedly transactional style of politics advocated by his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Health care reform — the centerpiece of his agenda — was no longer about mobilizing supporters to convince their friends, families and neighbors in all 50 states. It was about convincing 60 senators in Washington. It became about deals.

"There were two ways for Barack Obama to twist arms on Capitol Hill," says Trippi. "You can get the best arm-bender in town to be your chief of staff — and I don't think there'd be many people who would deny that Rahm is a pretty good pick. Or the American people can be your arm-bender. What I don't understand is why the White House looked at it as an either/or proposition. You could have had both."...

SNIP

...Not only did the White House fail to crank up its own campaign machinery on behalf of health care, it also worked to silence other liberal groups. In a little-publicized effort, top administration officials met each week at the Capital Hilton with members of a coalition called the Common Purpose Project, which included leading activist groups like Change to Win, Rock the Vote and MoveOn. In August, when members of the coalition planned to run ads targeting conservative Democrats who opposed health care reform, Rahm Emanuel showed up in person to put a stop to the campaign. According to several participants, Emanuel yelled at the assembled activists, calling them "fucking retards" and telling them he wasn't going to let them derail his legislative winning streak. "We're 13-0 going into health care!" he screamed. "We're not going to be 13-1!"

Emanuel also locked down OFA: When liberal activists approached the group about targeting conservative Democrats, they were told, "We won't give you call lists. We can't go after Democrats — we're part of the DNC." It was exactly the danger that Hildebrand had warned about when Plouffe made OFA part of the party apparatus. In the end, the activists scrapped the organizing effort, leaving the president without a left flank in the health care debate.

"Instead of channeling the energy of the base, they've been squashing it," says Markos Moulitsas, founder of the influential online forum Daily Kos. "When special interests are represented by people like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson, you've got to go after those people. Instead, you had OFA railing against Republican obstructionists, when the Republicans were irrelevant to the debate."

Given Emanuel's background as a legislative insider, it's not surprising that the White House shelved its activist base. "They don't give a crap about this e-mail list and don't think it's a very useful thing," a well-sourced former campaign staffer told tech-President. "They want to do stuff the delicate way — the horse-trading, backroom talks, one-to-one lobbying." The feeling inside the White House, the ex-staffer said, is that "unleashing a massive grass-roots army is only going to backfire on us..."

SNIP

...In the wake of Coakley's loss, OFA has been silent on the health care front. "There hasn't been a single directive from OFA since Election Day in Massachusetts," observes Evry, the former campaign coordinator. "No 'Let's get those e-mails out there.' No 'Let's phone-bank.' No 'Let's target this politician.' Nothing." The failure to secure a bill through Emanuel's fuck-the-activists dealmaking has created a double whammy heading into this fall's midterm elections: no legislative victory on health care, coupled with widespread disillusionment among the party's base...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/31961846/no_we_cant

[xiamiam]

1. how could this be unrec'd..this is the crux of what is wrong..this just irritates me

i happen to be on a progressive site which is as progressive as the dlc...

thanks for posting this anyway

[FourScore]

23. Some people judge by the heading, without ever reading the article.

There are those who despise any negativity about the Obama Admin, even if it is warranted.

I think it is an informative and clear article. I also believe Obama has time to turn some of this around. AND he's smart enough to know that he needs to. I find articles such as this one helpful.

Thanks for countering the first unrec!

:hi:

[Political Heretic]

41. Some people treat the site like its a campaign of some sort.

Rather than a place where substantive criticism should be welcomed and thoughtful debates recommended.

I think some people literally get up in the morning and come the forums looking for every headline that looks like it might possibly say anything bad about their "candidate" (I mean treating it like they are in campaign mode) and unrec it.

I think the see it as sort of an advocacy strategy - if more popular threads are favorable toward the policy and actions of the administration, then they "win."

Honestly, I can kind of understand it.

I'm giving you a rec though for the substantive article - though I'm only half-way through it at the moment. But its good.

[Jakes Progress]

92. The machine or "chine" gets the word out

to unrec and they pile on. Take it as a credit that you stuck a burr under their blanket.

[Mithreal]

126. sure seems like it sometimes

[totodeinhere]

93. There are a few DU posters who can't bring themselves to criticize anything Obama no matter what.

I won't mention any names because I suspect that most of us already know who they are. (And it's against DU rules to do that.) But I think one of the biggest favors we can do for Obama is to tell him when we think he is wrong and to try to influence him to go in what we believe might be a better direction. It's too bad that some Obama sycophants can 't see that.

[PatrynXX]

134. Consider myself a left leaning independent.

So if I'm gonna bitch about Obama, who's gonna shut me up.

Right now though I'm not concerned with myself, I'm concerned with South Dakota and I've hammered him on it.

Freaking Bush Fund puts up $25,000 in matching funds for the help up there and nobody else did except when Keith noticed it.

The Senate is totally broken and we really need to make the point Republicans and some right wing Dems (the so called Effing Retards which Rahm can stick his nose in some hot lava) called for such ouster. So it's ______ to run ads against people you don't agree with? Sorry thought the party was more open than that.

[eagertolearn]

200. I believe that most of us who fought so hard for what we thought

Obama wanted to do are a little shocked that he turned out so different, but I'm still hoping that by us clarifying to Obama why we voted him in that he might somehow get back to the fight for what is best for all people. I know he is in an establishment that has been rearranged so that change is difficult but many of us who fought for him are not "radical lefties".... we are evey day people who work within the systems that need major changes and we thought that he was going to seek our opinions on what needs to be changed and he didn't. We have to keep reminding him what he said he would do and encourage him to stick with it even if it means 51 votes and him not getting a second term. My husband is a doctor and I am a nurse and health care is sinking fast. Most of those who believe they have health insurance that is safe will soon have a rude awakening when they find their businesses can no longer afford it and they will pay more or have minimal benefits. People don't get it and right now either does Obama. He needs to keep talking to the people. This article makes so much sense. Something just didn't seem the same, like the driver was missing for the bus, and now I know that is exactly what is wrong. We have to get together and speak up...our job wasn't done when we elected Obama.

[totodeinhere]

203. Thank you my friend. You are so right.

My mother has health care issues and is getting the runaround from her insurance company. She had thought that she had good insurance but now she knows different.

[eagertolearn]

204. This is happening more and more. I work with mostly medicare patients and their

insurance companies have talked them into these privatized medicare plans that they say are a better deal (because they pay a little less up front) but when they need health care they suddenly realize they have to pay a little bit for everything. Most don't have any extra money to pay for these things. It's a mess. By the time our elderly retire they can't be worrying about the cost of living going up. These things, like medicare payments, must be controlled. Sorry about your mothers struggles with insurance companies. I hope this is not interfering with her recovery.

[D23MIURG23]

101. Every post gets a few. The compulsive unrecers just cancel each others influence

by putting every post in the hole by 3 recs.

It doesn't end up mattering in the end.

[autorank]

172. k*r It should be rec'ed but there is a key point missing.

I just read the whole article in hopes of finding this: people stopped supporting the president
because he has not delivered on real reform. Tim Geithner, Rham Emanuel, bailouts, corporate centered health care bill (no single payer!), etc. etc.

The narrative on how the grassroots movement was squelched was great and the article is excellent in that regard, as is the OP. k*r!!! But it's not only about process. It's about substance. The dismantling of the grassroots organization is more a reflection of reasons people left than it is a cause.

Just my reaction. It interesting, though, to see it from the inside.

[Divine Discontent]

173. some here love the man no matter the mess. it's quite irrational. and frankly, scary.

[Fumesucker]

2. K&R just to offset the unrec that didn't read it either.. n/t

[maryf]

3. decent article worth a K&R nt

[Fumesucker]

4. This went exactly as intended and planned..

In the end, the activists scrapped the organizing effort, leaving the president without a left flank in the health care debate.

[xiamiam]

5. we had so much bottled up hope and willingness to progress forward

and rectify much of what humiliated us re the last administration...we were not included or heard after the inauguration..

what has resulted is even more of a feeling of hopelessness..at least before we were united in our belief that if we stood together, we could change the course...

[Fumesucker]

6. Reach out to the right while stiffarming the left..

It has become blatantly obvious, starting with Rick Warren at the inauguration.

[Vinnie From Indy]

13. I agree with both your posts

I think the Obama folks truly believed they could serve two masters.

[begin_within]

66. He should be reaching out to the left while stiffarming the right.

[niceypoo]

183. He believes he can be all things to all people

And in the process is taking his base for granted. All we get is talk.

[DireStrike]

118. It was sooner than "After the inauguration"

As Obama was setting up his transition team and making appointments, good leftist leaders were passed over again and again for the absolute worst of the cover-my-own-ass insiders. A couple of times a week there would be a furor over an appointment on DU. There was almost no presence from our ideological position, or anyting remotely near it, in the administration.

They got what they wanted on election day and then tossed us out.

[Hestia]

94. I posted this link earlier this week, and agree thoroughly. My personal

thought is that Rahm saw how effective the 50 state strategy is, and stomped in the group. Why in the world would OFA then HQ at the DNC? Why, it is almost as if the republican's said, get rid of the organization and we'll play nice. But thugs being thugs then stabbed all parties in the back...can't y'all see that happening?

[laughingliberal]

142. That's what worries me the most

The thought that it was not ineptness but a desire to get that right wing bill the Senate wrote all along. Stifling the voices and power of the left insured there would be no public option. Judging by the weak support voiced by once the debate got started and his praising of Baucus "gang of six thungs" while they worked to undermine any chance of real reform, it seems Russ Feingold was correct when he said this was the bill the President always wanted. If half of OFA had been sent out mobilized for the public option, it would have made the Senate bill impossible. I remember Ben Nelson whining on Ed's show about the ads running against him in his state by supporters of health care reform. We could have had him, Conrad, Lieberman, Bayh, and the whole lot of them on the run and scared to vote against us. The White House can't be so stupid they didn't realize that. Only explanation that makes sense is they did not want us mobilizing for the public option.

It all kind of makes me sick to my stomach.

[bemildred]

7. Entirely predictable, same old same old.

Insurgencies from the left or the right are seen as threats and must be defunded, squashed, ignored, and discouraged by any and all means. The last thing anybody in government wants is an energized and involved electorate.

[Mithreal]

131. Same think will happen to the movement on the right, agreed.

[bertman]

154. bemildred, that comment earned you a heart. You are so right. Sad to say. nt

[Bullet1987]

8. It seems the only arm-bending Rahm is doing is against liberal Democrats

Not Republicans and not DLC Dems. And if he is, he's failing miserably in both regards.

[Lorien]

10. +1nt

[JDPriestly]

35. Rahm has to go --- for starters!

[bjobotts]

159. Agreed. He's got to go

[Lorien]

9. It sounds like Rahm is the guy whose really in charge

and since he's basically a republican that ain't a good thing. If they don't muzzle him quickly then November will be incredibly ugly.

[cbayer]

11. FourScore,

Please be advised that our posting rules require that you limit copyrighted material to four paragraphs with a link to the original source.

Thanks,

cbayer
DU Moderator

[dgibby]

12. Talk about squandering your birthright for a bowl of porridge!

What a flustercluck!.

[bvar22]

14. Gee, where did it all g wrong?

The DLC New Team

(Screen Capped from the DLC Website)

[defendandprotect]

77. WHO picked that new team?????

Obama . . .

And Obama and staff are also taking advice and direction from Kissinger!!


PS: And these are the people we're aware of --

many others around who are no less criminal -- but we aren't all aware

of the names.

[Greybnk48]

15. This article says it all. What a waste.

For the record, I still back Obama. But I feel great disappointment with this administration.

[The Wielding Truth]

108. Ditto. We had so much. Now that Plouffe is back, it should be saved.

[bullwinkle428]

16. So much potential, utterly squandered.

K&R.

[Mari333]

17. this really struck me

The blame, insiders say, rests squarely with Plouffe. "That was totally Plouffe's thing," a top member of the president's inner circle recalls of the transition planning. "It really was David."

By that point, at the end of the campaign, Plouffe had his eyes on the exit. He was gaunt, exhausted. His wife was about to give birth to their second child. He needed a break. "There was no question of my joining the administration," he recounts in his memoir. So Plouffe, in a truly bizarre call, decided to incorporate Obama for America as part of the Democratic National Committee. The move meant that the machinery of an insurgent candidate, one who had vowed to upend the Washington establishment, would now become part of that establishment, subject to the entrenched, partisan interests of the Democratic Party. It made about as much sense as moving Greenpeace into the headquarters of ExxonMobil.

[JDPriestly]

37. Translate: Plouffe saw that Rahm was rising and Plouffe did not

want to have to fight with Rahm about the direction and management of policy in the new administration.

We have had over a year of Rahm and, if Obama wants to accomplish anything really important during his tenure in office, he needs to admit to himself that there is no room for Rahm in an Obama administration.

[ChiciB1]

102. Wishful Thinking, Unfortunately! Not Only Do We Have RA-UUUMMM, We

also have Zeke & Ari! As a liberal who worked hard for Obama, I've felt betrayed for a long time. I've been called names, I've been attacked and I KNOW there are those here who WISH people like us would just GO AWAY!

I entertained the idea of "going away" and mulled it over for several months. I've even joined other blogs which are VERY GOOD too, but then I thought....'why should I slink into the background simply because a group here thinks I'm not fit to be here?' So, I decided to donate again to DU and it was nice to hand out hearts to people who probably don't even know I exist, but who I respect. I DID enjoy that!

I want NO FIGHT with them, but I'm perplexed as to WHY we get called out as "turn coats" simply because we don't follow the leader like some Pied Piper! I DO realize that we are going to continue to be attacked, and I think attacked with more fierceness than ever. However, it is unfortunate that a COS can get away with calling people of his own party "retarded" and still get "respect" from so many!

Now I may be "techie challenged" but I do know an insult when I hear one, and INSULT is what he did! We are more fractured than ever, and I personally believe that there should be some SERIOUS finger pointing and calling out! I don't think I've EVER heard a person in such a high position call his own party "retarded" and still be able to dictate policy! I could be wrong about this, but I don't recall it happening. I only say this because perhaps there will be some who will quickly google something and show me HOW WRONG I AM! It's really a shame!

The mere fact that Ra-UUUUUM's name keep coming up as one who is a fly in the ointment should be sending a clear signal, but alas.... it doesn't appear to be so!

[Oilwellian]

166. There are many here who agree with you

And we've been DU'ers for a very long time. ;-)

I knew we were duped the moment Obama named Ra-UUUUM as his COS. He was well hidden during the campaign as was Obama's now obvious love for the DLC. Putting Kaine in to run the DNC was the stake through the heart of the Democratic Party. Intentional? You better believe it.

[defendandprotect]

And Obama doesn't know the difference between Howard Dean and Rahm Emmanuel????? ???

[freddie mertz]

18. The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight Stikes Again.

How did they become so clueless, so fast?

At least two of them should be gotten rid of.

Including Rahmbo.

[Missy Vixen]

19. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

I think I am more disappointed by the aftermath of this election than I was with Drinky McDumbass. At least I knew there would be nothing but heartache in both of his administrations. This administration has made it clear that they're more than happy to cash our checks, take the CC and PayPal donations online, but they're not lifting a finger for any kind of progressive policy during President Obama's term.

November is going to be worse than 1994, and that's saying something. Of course, 1994 brought us the "Contract on America", and the rise of Newt Gingrich. This administration has squandered majorities in both houses of Congress and the White House for their own reasons.

I wonder how Obama and his administration is going to feel when the volunteers who put him in the White House either stay home or refuse to help him in November.

[tavalon]

39. The sad thing is that we will be blamed for the losses in the midterms

We are actively being stiff armed and ignored but we will be the ones who will be blamed. Not Rahm or Plouffe, Axelrod or Obama, us. It's a fuck you liberals, no matter what.

[NewJeffCT]

53. You're right on that

The loss will be blamed on the base and people in the White House will claim they don't understand why we're not inspired to vote en masse.

[tavalon]

55. They will say that we're just fickle

when we would have been, could have been, the most loyal troops ever to be found. They squandered their wealth, defined as the human wealth.

[suzie]

65. The "base" still supports Obama pretty wholeheartedly, according to the polls.

The 101st Keyboarders and 404th Chairborne who think of themselves as "The Base" screech daily about how much they still hate Obama.

Yawn.

[NewJeffCT]

86. the polls have shown

that the base did not turn out in Virginia, New Jersey or Massachusetts

[pundaint]

170. Not true, some of the base voted against Obama in Mass. Unfortunately, the administration

appears to believe that denying the truth negates it. That base is not Obama's, it is Change's base Coakley was not Change, it appeared that she would only support the Administrations anti change policys. As Obama abandons Change, the Change Base remains loyal to Change. Obama has about two months to catch up with Change, before Change demands new representation. My optimism is gone, hope is hanging by a thread, but I am still firmly a part of Change's Base.

[Mithreal]

132. Skinner posted about civility, please read

Now that they have the means to do so, the moderators are doing their part by tightening civility enforcement a bit. Some behaviors that have been common in the past are now more likely to get your post deleted. One such behavior is the use of unflattering names to refer to groups of DUers. This has had a particularly corrosive effect on discussions of Present Obama's legislative agenda, where it has become common to refer to people as "Obama apologists," "Obama haters," and the like. This type of name-calling is both inflammatory and unnecessary. Instead, use more respectful and specific phrasing like "Obama's critics" or "Obama's defenders" (Or better yet, "critics of President Obama's ___________ proposal" or "supporters of President Obama's ___________ proposal").

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Skinner/347

[laughingliberal]

148. The base supporting Obama will not save the House this November

The article did mention the organization already has a presence on the ground in all 50 states gearing up for 2012. I have no doubt they will work hard for that. But, I am worried about November and I see no efforts to get the organization geared up to help with the House races.

[Enthusiast]

187. Why say that?

Why continue to say that when it has been pointed out a million times that it is the POLICIES and direction we hate, not Obama.

Why intentionally obfuscate?

[CrispyQ]

121. In November, they are going to learn that they can't have it both ways.

Liberals cannot be irrelevant when it comes to policy, but critical for winning. Even on this site, fellow DUers will tell us that we are the fringe & not to be listened to, but in another post they will place the blame of losing on us, if we suggest that we will stay home in November.

I'm sick of the 'vote for the lesser of two evils' argument, too. You know what voting for the lesser of two evils has gotten us? A party that has moved further & further to the right.

[Mithreal]

133. Truth. Rahm would have there be one Dem party, of by for corporation $s.

[tomp]

20. obama, emmanuel, plouffe serve the powers that be.

they have betrayed their base and should no longer be supported. if this isn't obvious to you, you're either not paying enough attention, mentally incompetent, or the enemy.

[Kermitt Gribble]

28. +1

"if this isn't obvious to you, you're either not paying enough attention, mentally incompetent, or the enemy." - amen, brother!

[gulfcoastliberal]

32. Couldn't say it better myself! It's so transparent that left/right is used to divide & conquer.

The USA is effectively a one-party state controlled by the elite rich. Carroll Quigley said just that in Tragedy & Hope.

[Earl Grey]

84. Exactly

They are kind of like pick pockets in that they use one hand to distract you while the other one is lifting your wallet.

In this case they keep us fighting about the "wedge" issues like abortion, guns, religion. Issues that by the way, neither side ever does much to act on. In the meantime, they and their corporate masters are robbing us blind.

[Luna_Chick]

141. Yep, reminds me of the Coyote/Roadrunner cartoons

The ones that would show Coyote and Roadrunner meeting one another at work in the morning, punching in a time clock, being so chummy just before the start of the shift. Then they're sparring as usual, each fighting for something completely different, constantly at war. Then, at the end of the day, they punch out and leave together, both paid to fight it out by some unseen employer. Left, Right, the Corporatocracy that owns them both and pays them each to duke it out in public. Same damned thing, owned by the same dark shadows.

[Donnachaidh]

60. +100 n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

21. Jeez, who'd have thunk we'd be dissecting the failure of the Obama admin

barely one year into the building of the New Eden?

It's like I said months ago. Obama is the furthest-left President that the Powers that run the world will let us have.

Already this morning I notice that a couple of the more staunch holdout Obamites around here are starting to have twinges of buyers' remorse.

Well, shit--we don't matter. We're just fill for the potholes in the cash superhighway between Washington and Wall Street.

[RainDog]

22. it's sad. and a waste

it's also a way to alienate an entire generation of voters in one election cycle.

great job, Rahm!

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

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

[tavalon]

46. My kid is mentally disabled

but he's a fuck of a lot smarter than Rahm. I've taken to calling Rahm our Turdblossom.

[tavalon]

40. It's been a hard year

There have been some successes but mostly there have been betrayals, made all the more poignant by the lack of necessity for such betrayals. They seemed better than this and we deserved much better treatment.

I'm grateful for the breathing room but I really wanted FDR or even JFK but instead we got the Clinton Administration part 2.

[Hardrada]

99. Shrub Administration Part 3

Remember how Bush II always governed in campaign mode. So does Obama.

[daleman]

120. Completely agree!!

Time for the president to actually lead....if he can. Enough excuses about obstructionism and time of the Dems to get their act together...they don't need the republicans...they need to agree among themselves and GOVERN!! They are appearing to be the minority party....they appear weak and inept.
I am sick of this crap. Lead and make a difference or else it is the same old same old. Where is the outrage among the base? Let's start holding our congressman accountable!!

[tavalon]

45. Yep, even a beautiful SOTU couldn't bring us back into the fold for long

People are beginning to understand that speeches don't policy make and we are being cut out of the process, completely. Six months ago, you couldn't shake the rabid Obama supporters off with a stick. Now, it's pretty hard to even find them. I'm very disheartened. I blame OFA for this debacle and yes, I also blame Obama. He's made some very poor decisions in who is running the ship with him and how that ship is being run. If I wanted Clinton Redux, I would have voted for HRC. I wanted something new and different and he promised both and is delivering neither.

[Jackpine Radical]

50. Yes, even some of the DU die-hards seem to be abandoning the ship.

And I was a wannabe-believer for many months. I kept up the "Have Faith" line for a long time. It's not that easy to push me over board, but they did it. Right up to the rail & over. I hung on to the outside of the rail for a while until they beat my clutching fingers bloody.

[laughingliberal]

150. It is rather heartbreaking. nt

[amborin]

24. K&R now Obama has his election team up&running for 2018...wish he'd work for the PO

[AllentownJake]

25. OFA was a failure and waste of money

and they scrapped something that was working to create it.

[WhiteTara]

26. well that was enlightening. I wondered

where the disconnect occurred. Too bad there was only one "Plouffe" in the campaign and so many "Rahms". Or was Obama more Rahm than Plouffe?

[JDPriestly]

38. How about Plouffe for 2012?

Joking, but then . . . . .

[tavalon]

47. Screw that!

If we are actually going to talk Primary Challengers, I'll take Dean, thank you very much!

[JDPriestly]

57. I was joking.

My joke was intended to suggest that Obama was the front. The man we really liked was Plouffe. We really should get past these attractive faces that front for the smart guys.

[tavalon]

83. Wow, I went back and read my post and it sounds so snippy

I didn't mean it that way, I swear.

[Mari333]

29. kicking..this needs to go viral

[ChairmanAgnostic]

80. More importantly, it needs to be read in the Oval Office.

But Rahm controls the messages that he gets, and Obama will never see it.

[Enthusiast]

188. What?

Why should they read it? We're just a small fringe of retards.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

194. Why does your post both strike a nerve AND sadden me?

[Enthusiast]

201. I don't mean

to sadden you. Sorry. But the White House knows all this. Why they continue along their path baffles me.

[Goldstein1984]

30. After reading this article, it seems very clear to me that Obama is

like Hamlet, "most dreadfully attended" by those who surround him.

What strikes me most in this article is the decision, apparently made for convenience in a state of fatigue, to step away from the grass roots movement that got Obama elected and join forces with the DNC; a move guaranteed to alienate the the grass roots segment of his campaign.

That split is evident on DU, where the diehard Obama supporters also tend to be the ones who support policies, such as extrajudicial extermination of U.S. citizens, that they condemned under Bush/Cheney. The split between the mainstream DNC/DLC/Centrist/Neocon Democrats and progressive/populist/left democratic voters isn't to be taken likely. It could prove a decisive factor during elections in 2010 and 2012.

[FourScore]

31. This statement of yours is really what it's about...

"The split between the mainstream DNC/DLC/Centrist/Neocon Democrats and progressive/populist/left democratic voters isn't to be taken likely. It could prove a decisive factor during elections in 2010 and 2012."

[Individualist]

49. +1

[ChiciB1]

105. BINGO FourScore! n/t

[arcadian]

61. "the ones who support policies, such as extrajudicial extermination of U.S. citizens"

Do you have a link to this? I want to know who these DUers are.

[Goldstein1984]

67. Just watch to pro-Administration posts in threads

A few days ago, NJMaverick (I was unable to locate his journal right now, so this will be a paraphrase) justified killing U.S. citizens associating with terrorist organizations oversees as equivalent to killing Confederate soldiers without due process during the Civil War.

There was this post: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7672387#7672410

There are lots of examples, usually associated with defending the Obama Administration's continued Bush/Cheney style militarism.

I wanted to respond quickly, so I'll search for a few more examples and post them if I can still find them.

[Name removed]

116. Deleted message

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

[ChiciB1]

106. Not Really Hard To Find... REALLY! n/t

[sybylla]

64. Well, there are a couple of ways you can point fingers there

A good leader surrounds himself/herself with talented people - and doesn't design the whole management structure so that its success relies on every individual's success. That's a house of cards waiting to fall the moment one of those very talented people can no longer hold up their part of the structure.

So, I agree it's sad that OFA fell apart when Plouffe left. But I've got no interest in pointing fingers at Plouffe for that.

As for the shift to the DNC - Plouffe's departure decapitated OFA. The easiest and most viable system remaining standing to support what was left of it before it fell apart completely was the DNC. Now, as someone who's on the fringes of the party insiders, I want to say that OFA never became completely incorporated into the DNC - at least that was not the plan at first - and at least until the Coakley election was still acting as a separate organization in a couple of ways.

Many Democratic Party members were quite upset that the Obama administration wanted to maintain a separate organization that might duplicate activities (waste of resources) or work at cross purposes either intentionally or accidentally.

What might have made more sense in these circumstances is for OFA, or at least the philosophy of OFA, to take over the DNC. Instead, we got Tim Kaine and a whole passel of missteps, poor communication and confusion.

[Goldstein1984]

76. As one of those who believes the Democratic Party has become

a slightly-to-the-left-of-center subsidiary or division of the Republican Party, I welcomed the separateness of the OFA. During 2008, I was working for a poorly managed ethanol company rapidly descending into bankruptcy, so I was focusing most of my attention of finding a new job while I still had the old one, and an observer than a participant in the Obama campaign.

I might add that, as someone who left the Democratic Party in 1999 when its drift to the Right had become obvious through Clinton's neoliberal free trade and deregulation policies, I was actually thinking of OFA as seed material for a new party that might become what I think the Democratic Party once was.

When I registered to vote in 1974, the opposition to the Vietnam War and participation in the Civil Rights Movement were, to me, linked with the Democratic Party. I think today's Democratic Party has about as much in common with the Democratic Party of that era as today's Republican Party has with the Party of Lincoln.

Alaska has a lot of democratic voters who no longer call themselves Democrats, and I think the party still has a lot of members who remain there purely out of historical inertia and because they don't see anyplace else to go. Obama should harness that dissatisfaction. Let the Conservadems migrate to the party in which they really belong, and give the Democratic Party back to the working class.

[Earl Grey]

87. Agree

I think a lot of people that would have been Repubs in the '60s and '70s have become Democrats since the GOP started going batshit crazy in the '80s. If our leadership would move closer to true Democratic ideas and policies it might force the Conservadems back to the GOP and pull them a bit more back to the center as well.

[sybylla]

91. Unfortunately the party has become confused with the legislators who call themselves Dems

We have a lot of Dem legislators who are conservadems (for a variety of spineless reasons none of which I agree with) and really don't hold to Democratic principles.

And we have party organizations in each state who, though they are part of the DNC, have their own platforms - many of which are far more progressive than the candidates who use our name.

So when you say Democrats or Democratic Party - remember that most people place multiple entities under that heading without a clear understanding of who believes what or exactly what the true platform is or even who the real Democrats are.

One of the more frustrating things for me is that it used to be conservadems would at least support the Dem platform and legislative efforts in DC(think borg). Now, they all have Joe Lieberman Disease and think that their conservadem vote should be worth something tangible every time there's a vote. It's all about them, not the good of all, masquerading under the guise of doing what's right for their district."

[CrispyQ]

122. You said:

I think the party still has a lot of members who remain there purely out of historical inertia and because they don't see anyplace else to go. Obama should harness that dissatisfaction. Let the Conservadems migrate to the party in which they really belong, and give the Democratic Party back to the working class.

Instead, what will they do? Shift further to the right. Every time the dems take a hit, that's what they do - shift to the right. Then they take another hit, cuz they've lost more of their base & they shift further to the right again. It's a losing proposition but they don't learn.

If they would do what you suggested, they wouldn't need that dirty, fucking corporate money. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

79. and rahm, pissing on our backs

[LiberalLovinLug]

81. Also reminds me of Othello and his trust of Iago

"If imputation and strong circumstances
Which lead directly to the door of truth
Will give you satisfaction, you might have't" (Shakespeare - Iago to Othello)

[Goldstein1984]

85. Rahm = Iago

Yes. That is an excellent comparison.

[Lorien]

146. Perfect analogy

unfortunately.Wormtongue might be another literary comparison.

[Lorien]

145. +1

I'm actually very worried about the next two elections. It feels like the Obama team is watch Faux news and ignoring articles like the OP completely. We simply can't take four more years of repugs...even though it feels like little has changed, the alternative is even uglier.

[laughingliberal]

151. So sad to read the Rolling Stone article & try to imagine what we could have accomplished

if even half those 13 million had been unleashed to call out the Conservadems about opposing real health care reform. It just make me sick to my stomach.

[Ildem09]

163. I agree

I've been discussing the differences between the democratic coalition for sometime. the delineation not only among the different special interest groups, but also, among age, education and social status. the entire coalition is being strained by the collective inefficient politics of Washington, leaving everyone in the coalition to start blaming each other.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

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

[Jefferson23]

34. This statement from the OP encapsulates my impression of what has happened too.

"There were two ways for Barack Obama to twist arms on Capitol Hill," says Trippi. "You can get the best arm-bender in town to be your chief of staff — and I don't think there'd be many people who would deny that Rahm is a pretty good pick. Or the American people can be your arm-bender. What I don't understand is why the White House looked at it as an either/or proposition. You could have had both."...


For me this speaks volumes as to the decisions that Obama has made, he was no where to be found fighting for health care insurance reform
and offered no plan of his own. Where was his fight the smears campaign against the outrageous lies and distortions the RW brought forward?

And any arm twisting behind the scenes focusing on the Blue Dogs seemed to be non-existent.The lack of surrogates out there fighting was telling
enough.

Thanks for posting this piece.

[realFedUp]

36. ....sweet-talkin' guy...nt

[amandabeech]

107. , . . sta-a-a-y away from h-i-i-im, n/t

[cliffordu]

42. What price? His poll numbers are still just fine compared to most other presidents

at this stage of their terms.


The teabaggers and a dozen liberal bloggers are up in arms about him, but NONE of the people I know who aren't hard core Blog reading political junkies are disappointed with him.

They blame the fucking republicans.

But that's alright, go ahead and pile on Obama, it's an easy thing to do.

[FourScore]

51. Did you read this, cliffordu?

I am an avid supporter of Obama as well. This is not a "pile on". It is a very reasoned article that articulates quite clearly what happened to the "change" we were promised once Obama was elected. It's quite specific. I think it really explains the workings of his "advisors" more than any faults by Obama himself.

I think there is still time to do damage control and win back the grassroots supporters. It just needs to happen.

[eilen]

56. How many times are you willing to be duped to

work and donate money for "hope" and "change"? I'd like to see some actual change before I put myself out there again.

[rpannier]

124. Here's the numbers

Here is the list of presidential approval ratings after 1 year in office:

-- Barack Obama, 47 percent
-- George W. Bush, 86 percent
-- Bill Clinton, 52 percent
-- George H.W. Bush, 71 percent
-- Ronald Reagan, 49 percent
-- Jimmy Carter, 57 percent
-- Gerald Ford, 52 percent
-- Richard Nixon, 59 percent
-- Lyndon Johnson, 74 percent
-- John Kennedy, 77 percent
-- Dwight Eisenhower, 69 percent
-- Harry Truman, 49 percent

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/gettysburg/2009/12/gallup-poll-obamas-approval-ra.php

on edit: I realize the Muckraker is a crappy publication. So I am only posting the data numbers from gallup

[krawhitham]

43. "millions of followers eager to fight for his agenda" ??

I must have missed that, he had millions of followers eager to bitch and moan. They did little else

[FourScore]

52. Uh-huh. Riiiight.

[krawhitham]

62. Once he was in office his followers thought he would wave a magic wand and make it all better

And the feeling you get from this "followers" is that they still think he can wave his magic wand and make it all better but chooses not to

It takes time, he has made great strides in ONE year, it will take 7 more to get the job completed

[FourScore]

63. I think you missed the point of the article.

It's about how an opportunity to mobilize his grassroots supporters was squandered by his advisors.

Try reading it again.

[liberation]

68. Don't bother...

... some Obama hardcore fans have their own narrative and are not interested in facts or reasoning. Somehow I am starting to develop the uneasy feeling that I have seen this movie before.


What I find ironic is that the same people who supported Obama because he used the "yes we can" as one of the most effective campaign slogans in recent history. Are the same ones who feel that using the "no he can't" or "it is what it is" are perfectly reasonable excuses for the uselessness of this administration regarding liberal policies. And for the life of them can't understand why some of us pesky liberals may have an issue with such approach to politics...

[SaveOurDemocracy]

69. One would have to, first, READ the article in order to...

miss the point.

I believe many of Obama's most ardent supporters here refuse to read beyond any headline read as a 'negative'.

[rudy23]

72. Oh, come on, say the P-word.

We've heard this somewhere before.

[laughingliberal]

152. Not true. We raised a lot of money to run ads to pressure the Conservadems to support the public

option in August. Ben Nelson was on the Ed show whining about it. We would have had them afraid to vote against it. For this, we were called, "fucking retards." Did kind of kill that fighting for Obama's agenda thing.

[NoodleyAppendage]

44. Emanuel MUST go! He's a cancerous boil upon the populist movement. n/t

J

[Metta]

48. Chickens come home to roost. This is a cowardly, narcissistic and arrogan administration.

Happy karma to them and God help us all.

[NOLALady]

54. Too bad

we didn't get a McCain/Palin administration. Now THAT would have been a class act!

[FourScore]

59. I'm sorry you feel that way. eom

[rudy23]

73. There it is----the OTHER P word.

I think the Obama administration LOVES having people like Palin to threaten us with, so we'll be cajoled into accepting their center-right administration.

[Umbral]

111. Thanks, I knew there was a reason so many were pretending to take her seriously.

I just couldn't put my finger on it.

[earth mom]

143. Bingo! nt

[totodeinhere]

95. I would hope that you could come up with a better standard of comparison than that.

Nobody is even remotely suggesting that we would have been better off with McCain/Palin and I think you know it. But that doesn't mean that those of us who voted for Obama cannot now criticize him when we think he is wrong.

[laughingliberal]

153. Of course Obama is a better choice than McCain/Palin

However, that's a pretty low bar to clear and I thought we could expect more.

[pinto]

157. Cowardly, narcissistic and arrogant. How so? I think an assesment as broad as this

would be good to have some specifics. Thanks.

:hi:

[4_TN_TITANS]

58. That seems to sum it up...

We dropped Obama off at the White House door and he said 'thanks, see around sometime'. That is some serious misplanning to dump such an energized base.

[JCMach1]

70. Other way round, we got dropped off on the way to the Big House

And we certainly can't enter the front door! Well we might slip in for a quickee on occasion, but Uncle Rahm is there to make sure we keep it on the down low...

[Marr]

75. Unless you never really intended to pursue their agenda in the first place, of course.

It's an excellent article. Interesting to see it dissected clearly after the fact. I know how it felt at the time-- it was like they were going out of their way to send the message, "you are not part of us-- go away".

[unapatriciated]

71. Thanks and K&R

[Ardent15]

74. K and R nt

[change_notfinetuning]

78. Once again: The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of Deceit! One short year. Sad!

[Earl Grey]

82. Great post!

This is the crux of the problem. We were a huge, motivated force during the campaign. Since then we've been discarded, thrown off the bus so to speak. The campaign was about engaging the pent up fury of the populace, the administration has been about politics as usual.

That said, the President is still very popular with most of the country, he could turn this around if he wants to.

[Hestia]

96. I don't think it's mentioned in this article, but his entire campaign staff was

dismantled and the staff "sent off" like good little children. Who in the heck was responsible for *that* decision? That's where it starts to look like it was on purpose - "see, they can't keep up the momentum. It was a fluke. It'll never happen again." Can't you hear it?

[FourScore]

140. Welcome to DU, EarlGrey!

I see this the same way you do!


:hi:

[change_notfinetuning]

88. The best advice for Obama is he needs to sit down with real people, not the

Washington insiders and lobbyists he railed against in the campaign but whose asses he's kissed since then. He is so isolated from reality and real people, so far removed from people he thinks he knows, so out of touch with the people who put him in the White House, that he acts more like "W" and every other Republican every day.

In short, he needs a Republicanectomy.

[SlingBlade]

89. YES THEY DID !. Note to Changeaholics

When you've lost Rolling Stone, You've lost the nation.

Stop playing apologist and do something useful.
Join the rest of us and let them know that THIS is unacceptable.

[katty]

90. there's blame all 'round but Rahm is a 'FU all' kind of guy

it's going to be my way-end of discussion.

[democracy1st]

97. K & R

[Lasher]

98. K&R, will read later.

Thanks for sharing this excellent find, Four.

[BrklynLiberal]

100. It almost appears that Rahm Emmanuel is a "Manchurian Candidate" type put ino place by the oppositi

No one could have done a better job of undermining and deleting all the energy that got Obama elected....

[totodeinhere]

113. The buck stops with Obama.

Rahm Emmanuel serves at Obama's pleasure. Don't let Rahm become the fall guy. The responsibility lies at the top of the food chain.

[Lorien]

147. Indeed. Little else makes sense at this point

He was put there by the corporate elites at the very least, but the effect is destroying the party from within. Obama can't be blind to this; he's too smart to be unaware of what's going on.

[Techn0Girl]

192. Jimmey Carter was a nuclear engineer ....

but very naive and politically unskilled during his Presidency. It takes more apparently than just innate intelligence.

[GinaMaria]

103. It's not an uncommon mistake to make

when working on large change or transformation programs. Change Agents are engaged early on. They have enough enthusiasm to change more than you have planned. Unfortunately, they need regular, consistent engagement and work to do or you will lose them. They need to contribute. They are passionate about the case for change. Ignoring them is a huge risk. Once lost, it is extremely difficult to regain their commitment. I learned this the hard way myself as have others. Do not abandon your champions.

The good news is that it is still possible to revive change champions, or engage new ones. Team Obama will have to work hard and engage with them more regularly than if they had maintained them to begin with. It's difficult but possible. This seems the best way to revive Obama the candidate too. I hope he and his team read this article. They can turn this around.

[ramapo]

104. I don't need the aggravation

Gave the article a quick skim. Whatever. The important thing is what does Obama and the spineless Dems do now. They have a few months to actually accomplish something. If they don't...well what was the point of it all?

[hisownpetard]

109. Well-written article, very informative, very true and very sad.

[mistertrickster]

110. This is a brilliant analysis--nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

112. I read this earlier today and cried

It sure explains a lot.

Damn these power hungry fools. They may very well have cost us the midterms and the presidency in 2012.

[emsimon33]

114. Much of the credit for those "seasoned" foot soldiers goes to Dean and the 50 state strategy

I was in Virginia and I know what great work people like Susan Mariner and other DNC coordinators did to prepare the way for the Obama team.

[theFrankFactor]

115. One Might Say One Would Have to be Willfully Ignorant to Unrec This

K&R

P.S. this message sounds familiar.

[saracat]

117. But in the end the buck stops at the oval office. K+R

[Fresh_Start]

119. what is heartbreaking is many of the ppl who showered

Obama's presidential bid with their passion are now appropriately disillusioned.
They won't give their all again for anyone because now they see the ugly political machine at work

[KoKo]

129. Think about how the John Edward's voters feel..and their money for that down the drain...

We all have much to feel bad about these days.

STILL...we must keep going...and the more info we have allows us to weed our flower beds and try to put in "better insects" the next time to keep our little plots blooming.

[bullwinkle428]

156. I think of the MILLIONS of young people (25 and under) - just countless

numbers right here in Iowa, "where it all began"! Kids that were so energized by something that seemed so much more than the typical "politics as usual". I shudder to think how much the impact of their absence will mean later this year, as well as in 2012. :scared:

[big david]

123. very accurate and truthfull article

your star player is only as cood as the team around him

[GreenTea]

125. Always though Obama would outsmart the slimy lying republicans thugs - But he hasn't & he won't

Very sad for us!

[Lorien]

149. They certainly offer up every opportunity to be tarred and feathered

but every opportunity then passes by. :shrug:

[Mithreal]

127. Easily one of the better reviews of the OFA tragedy.

It started to become a serious mess here during GOTV and never hesitated making the wrong calls. It continues even now in WA state making inept choices. Damn shame.

[KoKo]

128. Glad to see this get on DU Front Page. It deserved some more views.

It's a very interesting read.

[valerief]

130. I thought it was 'No we won't'. nt

[burning rain]

135. + 249.

.

[David Zephyr]

136. Hey! I wrote that back in September of 2009

and back when it wasn't easy to be a Democrat and criticize the President.

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6475551

That said, I do support him because I think he's getting on the correct track...finally. Let's hope so.

This was a very good read, but it's a little late in coming now.

[KoKo]

139. Obama is smart enough to learn quickly from this...articles are giving him cover to do what's best..

Check PM.

[Robeson]

137. Pretty much lays to rest the myth that Obama is just a helpless victim of Congress...

...there are consequences for decisions made, and not made.

[Peregrine Took]

138. Good one. I just emailed that link to a bunch of folks. n/t

[Lorien]

144. Man, this stuff is truly depressing

there was so, so much promise on inauguration day. I still keep hoping for a turn around, though that seems somewhat foolish at this point. ;(

[bertman]

155. REC. nt

[bjobotts]

158. President Rahm Eammanuel was never voted into office and is destroying the change we believed in.

[Shining Jack]

160. K&R

:(

[ProSense]

161. Maybe he should be impeached?

Or maybe this is another ridiculous article. They're all about some alternate reality used to justify why a bunch of people who do nothing but complain are demoralized. Here's how the article ends:

The good news is, OFA's last-minute blitz in Massachusetts underscored what it's still capable of. In just 10 days, the group generated more than twice as many calls on Coakley's behalf as they did in support of health care last year — an effort credited with helping to cut Republican Scott Brown's final margin of victory in half. Yet asked if the lesson from Massachusetts is that OFA should recommit itself to being a Democratic turnout machine this fall, Stewart is noncommittal. "We're still figuring it out," he says.

Privately, some party leaders complain that OFA isn't doing enough to campaign for vulnerable Democrats. The only true accomplishment from OFA's first year, they say, is the work it's done to build a national infrastructure for the president's 2012 re-election campaign. To reproduce the organizational structure developed by Obama for America in 2008, OFA has quietly deployed paid staff to all 50 states, building a network from state directors all the way down to a corps of supervolunteers, trained in organizing, who recruit an army of neighborhood team leaders. "There's a skeleton of a re-election campaign already set up — beyond a skeleton," says Figueroa, the campaign's former field director. "There's already meat to the bone in every state in the union. Three years away from the next election, that army is already being continually fed. If you're Barack Obama and his political operation, revving the engine, how is that not a good thing?"

The failures of the past year, however, have left a strong sense of betrayal among many who once were Obama's fiercest advocates. "After all the sweat and tears of the campaign," says the creator of a popular pro-Obama website, "we were owed the opportunity to fight for something." Adds another, "We thought we had earned an ownership stake in the future of our country through this campaign, but that ownership stake has been revoked."

Had Obama let his activists lead the charge and gone to the mat for health care reform, would the outcome have been any different? "I can't say that we would have health care reform," says Moulitsas. "But people wouldn't be so demoralized. We'd have an engaged base still willing to fight for that change. And I tell you what: We would not have lost Ted Kennedy's seat."

Never mind health care, at least people wouldn't have been demoralized? Oh brother.

Ignore the fact that OFA was out there making calls on most issues from day one. Ignore that the President spoke to thousand of these activists on several occasions. Ignore that many of the critics were lashing out at OFA and criticizing them for supporting the President.

Just make up an alternate reality to justify criticism and characterize the President's first year as a failure.

Utter BS.

What change: Grab a damn mop.

[Mithreal]

168. -1 ProSense, I mean this in the kindest way.

"Staff are replaceable. A mass of dedicated volunteers is not." — David Plouffe

Do you have kids?

If your child fell down and cut himself and cried, would you tell him to shut the fuck up and put on a bandaid himself? I know you are likely to refuse to understand my metaphor.

How about another one. Your friend tells you that you are hurting others and risking your friendship. Would you tell her to buck up and stop acting like a whiner?

Maybe another. You send your better friends to one of the main OFA offices and although you asked the OFA county organizer who runs that office to help them get started because it is the first time they ever volunteered and its early in the season and every volunteer is precious, the organizer blows your friends off and tells you to forget about it, there will always be more volunteers. Both my friends said they would never go in again but would canvas with me, just not work with him or there ever again. Neither wanted to even canvas because it seemed to scary when I asked, my mistake was expecting anything from paid Obama staff.

I was an Obama organizer. One rather inept person was paid staff and is still lying to volunteers and wasting their efforts, but that's ok since at least people are doing something sometimes which I guess is better than nothing.

It's late, these are a few quick thoughts, maybe they sound unclear, maybe they don't. When you say people who have issues with Obama and OFA aren't the very same ones that are picking up that mop and working to help others become active citizens and effective activists, you are really offensive but what does it matter really, right? Many of us have been doing a lot of mopping, but that doesn't count since you can't see it and anyone who mops would have no criticisms. If you need to feel superior and if that's your thing, fine, but it is going to turn off more people to anything you have to say than motivate anyone wavering. I just have a generally confrontational attitude, am quick to strong feelings, and don't express myself very well when I write sometimes, but doesn't change the fact that I know we need you and everyone else who will fight on the side of the people. If that means pressuring the Democratic Party and President to extreme, then I say we should use every tool available. I know you disagree about the tactics but most of us share the same goals and do what we can to contribute. I am getting better with my mop all the time. Don't assume others aren't carrying Obama's water every day, even those with criticisms.

[ProSense]

171. No,

people whining about what OFA is or isn't doing isn't fine, especially when all the critics are doing is complaining.

"Don't assume others aren't carrying Obama's water every day, even those with criticisms."

Seriously, anyone trying to spin Obama's first year as a failure or claim that all is lost, is not doing so in support of the President.

When I see this: "I really want Obama to succeed, but...," and then realize that commentor is always ready to jump on the latest spin and hang on to it as if it's gospel, that's not support. But nothing.

[Mithreal]

174. It's alright, I didn't really expect understanding.

I choose not to see it as complaining when you tell someone who can do something about a problem. Each of us has responsibility to affect the change we want to see. When someone tells me about a problem, if I can do the least little bit then I absolutely do not see it as complaining, more like another form of call to action. Sometimes people just want to have their ideas affirmed, find comfort, feel they are not alone or the only one seeing the problems or solutions. Telling each other what is wrong and right also seems closer to democracy in a way. I know it must be frustrating for some, seem too chaotic, even too negative sometimes. There are so many positive things in the world that people don't get as fired up about, not really a surprise there.

Really, I don't know too many people here spinning the President's first year as utter failure. People are EXTREMELY frustrated. I just think sometimes you are misreading intentions. I am not saying all the time. I do it often enough myself.

Some people react quicker to good or bad news, sometimes both. I get what you are saying and you know I see things from a different angle. Maybe we are both right on some things and wrong on others. I don't know. I just want this sort of feuding to stop. I think we should continue to fight for the direction of the party and how to interpret and frame issues and debates. There is still plenty to fight over and for. I just really want the feuding between Obama supporters and critics on this site to end. I don't even agree with Skinner calling it between critics and supporters because so many are in the middle. Honestly, sometimes I feel more like a pure supporter but more often a critic. When I am in public I am a supporter but honest about mistakes as I perceive them but here I am pretty exposed and don't feel like I need to have a supporter mask on most of the time. I want open debate, the challenge of ideas and as little censorship and name calling as possible. A lot of us are being absolutely honest open and transparent. This is a place to come and be open, something you really can't be if you are out there actually helping mop up and putting on the most positive face. Maybe that doesn't make sense. Hopefully it does. I get my posts deleted all too often so I am probably too transparent and open but I am mopping. Anyway, frustration is something I am all too familiar with, I feel for you, I am still going to take on your rants sometimes but I do value you in a way even though your comments often irritate me excessively. Take it easy.

[ProSense]

176. And I didn't expect understanding either

"I choose not to see it as complaining when you tell someone who can do something about a problem."

That really isn't the problem with spinning to criticize is it? How does spinning Obama's first year as a failure fall into that category?

No, most of the criticisms are knee jerk and reactionary.

[Mithreal]

178. I agree

some criticism is kneejerk and reactionary.

You asked a very good question.

Prior to the end of the first year, action was focused on particular issues. Now that the first year is behind us, asking if the team is working well together is an issue. The question of overall success of the team and minor and major goals is important, because if the team is not performing to expectation we can now focus on the issue of those who make up the team. I do get it that many questioned the team even before inauguration but the topic is even more important now. So, some positives will be minimized, some negatives highlighted but we need to determine for ourselves the strengths of those arguments and then once we come to a conclusion or some consensus, we can place pressure where it is needed so that the people get what we want and need and the second year is successful and it won't be so difficult to win contested seats in November 2010.

[saracat]

175. What a wonderful , articulate response that details the absolute center of the problem.

thank you, though I know your response was unappreciated by its intended recipient.
I have worked in politics for many years and have been stunned by how incapable the New Democratic Machine has been to learn from the past. The mistakes of OFA are the same mistakes that have always been made by the Democratic party, despite the fact that OFA was billed ad different and new.They have been even worse.Volunteers have been discarded like dirt and experience is thrown out with the trash. Unfortunately, we will all eventually pay a price for this if correction is not made and quickly. but a problem cannot be fixed unless it is admitted it exists and far too many will not admit there is a problem.

[Mithreal]

202. thank you for the kindness, saracat

[t0dd]

162. K&R

[leftstreet]

164. K&R

[Major Hogwash]

165. I don't buy a word of this shit for 1 minute. It's total propaganda. Pure and simple.

If anyone here thinks that the Democrats can't simply act just like the Republicans did from 2000 to 2006, they're wrong.

Shoving an agenda down their throats, instead of reaching out to them the way they have, would have caused a flood of complaints from the rightwing pundits that would result in a 2010 asswhipping at the polls.

Asking Markos Moulitsas his opinion about politics is like asking the mortician if the guy he is burying today was a nice man.
He doesn't have a clue.

[Oilwellian]

167. There's only one problem with your comment

A large majority of the country, both democrats & republicans, believes there should be a public option included in health reform. There would be no "shoving an agenda down our throats" and there would be no "asswhipping" because a large majority already supports it. Your logic escapes me.

[Major Hogwash]

205. Not anymore they don't. You haven't been paying attention to the polls if you believe that.

And it is because of the Teabagger's party and the media's attention to every whine the Republicans have made over the last 9 months that those polls have slowly eroded.

If the media had questioned the reasons Bush's admin gave for invading Iraq with the same intensity they have questioned Obama's healthcare plan, we would never have invaded Iraq!!

There never was any "shoving of an agenda down our throats" by the Obama admin.
Yet, that is exactly what Senators Hatch and McConnell were saying - last JULY!!
And the media was complicit in making sure their meme was repeated a gazillion times.

So, "who believes who" is going to be the determining factor for the result of the 2010 mid-term elections.

Obama will get healthcare passed this year, even if the Rolling Stone got most of this trash from someone's garbage can.
Probably the dopes over at the National Enquirer.

But, the logic they used for their article is what is flawed.
It was not Obama's administration that caused healthcare to get derailed.
Everyone knows that, it was not Rahm's fault for the Republicans being able to put it off for another year by demanding 60 votes in the Senate to get anything done.
People can scream for Rahm's head all they want, but he ain't going anywhere.

Obama is not stupid.
He knows exactly what he is doing.

I hope that I cleared that up a little for you.

[Mithreal]

169. sure it is

[Democat]

182. You think that caving in to Republicans is not going to lead to an ass whooping?

Would you rather get a lot done and then get your ass whooping, or do nothing and then get your ass whooping?

[Radical Activist]

177. Some of this is just factually innacurate.

First, the first OFA meetings happened less than two months after the election. I was there.
Second, people were happy to have a little break after the election anyway.

Why are people so eager to hear and believe the worst at all times?

[Mithreal]

180. I welcome that sort of criticism. Please see if you can find more.

OFA was somewhat grassroots, so I have no doubt about what you said and think it may be a fair criticism. And break, yes, also a reasonable expectation but 2 months is a lil long and the story does provide much in the way of insight into what was happening behind the scenes at the time. The story says there really was not much forethought given to what would happen to OFA. I know a lot of volunteers were speculating from election day all the way to the inauguration. It is a lil disappointing to read the story, no doubt about that.

I really don't see this particular case as seeing the worst, more like an autopsy, but of course, OFA is not dead.

Unfortunately your charge is easy to dismiss because it is sort of trivial when compared with the remainder of the story. If a source said it was 2 months, then 2 months it was, can't expect every high level person to know what all the different volunteers were doing. So, anyway, good catch, and it will take significantly more to discredit this story.

[impik]

179. Hang in there. Only three more years and you'll have someone much better in the White House

[Mithreal]

181. Nearly all of us supporters and critics want the same fella we have now, imp.

We just want to push him forward and fight for the needs of the lower and middle class.

That meme never gets old.

[Techn0Girl]

191. I never thought I'd regeret not pushing for Hillary but .....

<sigh>

[azul]

184. Learned hopelessness, corporate empire style, what?

By politicians building up people's hope for change and the hanging them out to dry, citizens get the depressing message that politics is futile bickering and voting is useless. When the likes of Sec of War Gates stays firmly in office, no matter about torture or illegal wars of aggression, and then gets on the cover of Time, we get the chilling message.

It appears that the entrenched interests and militants fear the populist power for change, and the effort is on to scare or depress, and perhaps then medicate, enough politically active people to sideline them while they keep on business as usual? Why else would corporate political bribery be legalized?

[Enthusiast]

185. This result simply can't be

a coincidence and it can't be by accident. And that is all I have to say on the matter. Use your imagination.

[leveymg]

186. Isn't this how run to the Left, Govern to the Center-Right was intended to work?

Isn't this just another game of Bait & Switch?

[fasttense]

189. To see a grass roots effort working for a President after an election look at Venezuela.

I'm not saying Chavez is good or bad. I'm just saying that he kept his grass roots organization going after his election and it has helped him considerably. He's able to get legislation passed, even unpopular legislation. He has protesters out supporting him at a drop of a hat and he is in control.

President Obama could have had the same thing. But he choose not to.

It reminds me very much of 3rd world countries. A dynamic leader will get up there and fight the establishment tooth and nail. There will be threats of kicking him out of the country and when an honest vote is taken, he wins. Then he becomes the establishment, abandons the people who elected him and does exactly as the last leader did.

The rewards offered to follow the status quo must be tremendous.

[StreetKnowledge]

190. When you Insult us, this is what you get.

Rahm lost control of the healthcare debate because the Senate Majority leader is a wuss and he told the people who would have come out very loudly in support to can it, because he figured he could get it done himself. Of course, he could have had both his efforts and ours making his life easier, but he decided to play DLC backroom with them, and it blew up in his face.

Barack, I'm agreeing with Boehner on this one, start over. But first, fire that son of a bitch Emanuel. He's causing your agenda to fall apart, and you can't allow that if you want to be re-elected. Can him, get Reid replaced and allow us to go to work. We've waited a century to get this passed, we can handle brawling one more time.

[laughingliberal]

199. I take issue with one of your premises

I think it may have been the other way around in the Harry/Rahm scenario. I can't get past the fact that Rahm showed up at Harry's office a few hours after Lieberman's announcement on filibustering the bill with the Medicare expansion in it and ordered him to cave. I distinctly remember Harry being pissed off about that. I also recall some stories where Harry complained about the lack of support from the White House in getting HCR done. I don't think Harry would have balked at the President unleashing his organization to support a bill with a public option.

[DisgustedInMN]

193. If anyone that checks out this site...

..should happen to have the Prez's ear, better have him read this article, take it to heart, and make the proper corrections in course, or be prepared to have his Presidency be a complete and total failure. Not only will he NOT be re-elected, but he will steal the mantle of being seen as one of the least effective Presidents of modern time.

I would add to this that now that the SCOTUS has completely opened the flood gates to corporate bribing, Obama is a fool if he thinks they will support him, or Dems in general, in upcoming elections, any more than the "bipartisan support" he's gotten from his Repub "friends" in the Congress, especially the Senate. He's made the choice to kiss corporate ass and they will bend him over and make him their unwilling mistress in return. Welcome back to the real world, Barack.

Whether this rare opportunity to really make a difference for us, We the People, those of us that worked our entire lives to build this great Nation into the superpower it was not, so long ago, has been completely blown by Team Obama or not, is yet to be seen. Even a total reversal at this late point may not be enough to rescue the dream We the People elected Barack Obama to LEAD us into making a reality.

I'll even give the brilliant strategists at the White House a starting place to regain momentum. Fire Rahm Emanuel, Tim Geithner, and Larry Summers. Today. Replace them with people that aren't corporate lackeys. If they don't, the rest doesn't matter, as Obama will be a lame duck his entire one term, and Dems will be out of power for the foreseeable future. If you think Bush was bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

[Skittles]

195. I'll say it again

anyone who was paying attention could see what would happen

[yurbud]

196. ''unleashing a massive grass-roots army is only going to backfire on us (the already wealthy)''

[Mithreal]

206. +1 always does

[yurbud]

197. if you have a government that's actually responsive to citizens, that could lead to anarchy!

in the good sense though.

[closeupready]

198. And so. It. Goes.

:mad: K&R Oh, well, this is what sometimes happens. There is still time to turn stuff around.

[mdmc]

207. $