Why "accomplishment" cut and paste lists are disingenuous strawmen.

[Political Heretic]

By now we've all seen the cut and paste "list of administration accomplishments" that is pasted by some on cue, whenever anyone dare to do something so sinister as criticize some of the current the politics or practices of the administration.

What's so embarrassing about this, is it's hardly any more sophisticated in than what you would see in a freeper viral email. It is a list, created for one reason only: to make something long enough that it looks impressive and can serve as an argumentation tactic to stifle criticism.

What's worse is that it is, without question, a strawman of the highest order. For one it has never been the case that one set of accomplishments means that anyone should be silent about concerns, or uncritical of setbacks. It's not an either/or.

For another, attempting to silence critics of health care debate that is places the concerns and interests of corporations above others, silence critics of slowly "ending" an illegal occupation in one country only to escalate a war of aggression in another country, silence critics of a bailout plan structured to benefit corporations first, and working Americans as a secondary consideration - attempting to do this by pasting a list of minor, often administrative "accomplishments" as a big "shut up" is hardly more sophisticated that elementary school childish arguments.

So let's compare. First, I'll quote the "list" that has been thrown around for months, as it appears. Then, I'll actually read the list, and make some comments.

The List

# Signed executive orders to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, ban torture and end the CIA’s secret overseas prisons and define treatment of Detainees.
# Reversed restrictions on stem cell research.
# Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Reducing discrimination based on gender, age, religion, or race.
# Signed an executive order reversing the ban that prohibits funding to international family planning groups that provide abortions. Gag rule revoked (Mexico City policy).
# Creates the White House Council on Women and Girls "to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families."
# Signed a Presidental Memorandum extending federal benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers and announced support for the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009.
# Reverses U.S. position on LGBT Issues at the UN: At the "Durban Review Conference," U.S. supports language condemning “all forms of discrimination and all other human rights violations based on sexual orientation.”
# Signed executive order requiring federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change.
# Reversed a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives.
# Signed executive order preventing federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.
# Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners.
# Expanded eligibility for the refinancing portion of the Making Home Affordable plan to help Americans struggling with distressed mortgages refinance at lower interest rates, even if they owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are now worth.
# Established a credit card "bill of rights".
# Expanded loan programs for small businesses.
# Extended and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.
# Expanded eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP).
# Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners.
# Created a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans, and installed Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman.
# Appoints Vice President Joe Biden to Oversee Stimulus Plan Payouts.
# Granted a reprieve to Liberian immigrants facing imminent expulsion.
# Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq.
# Allowing Caskets to be photographed when the return from Iraq with family approval.
# Released nine previously secret internal Justice Department memos and opinions defining the legal limits of government power in combating terrorism.
# On Arab TV Network, Obama Urges Dialogue.
# Gave a speech in Cairo engaging the Muslim and Arab world.
# Bars independent contractors from conducting interrogations of terror suspects.
# Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba.
# Ordered the release of nearly a quarter of a million pages of records from the Reagan White House that were kept from the public during a lengthy review by President George W. Bush.
# Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program.
# Released presidential records.
# Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
# Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors.
# Invites gay families to the Easter Egg Roll as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.
# Created a White House Office on Urban Policy.
# Increased funding for the NEA.
# Appointed an assistant to the president for science and technology policy.
# Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps.
# Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees.
# Investment in all types of alternative energy.
# Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars.
# Support for high-speed rail.
# Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes.
# Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits.
# Created the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers to help auto industry workers transition to new manufacturing opportunities, including jobs in alternative energy.
# Stopped raids on medical marijuana dispensers.
# Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to ever serve on the Supreme Court.
# Appointed more than 60 openly LGBT persons to positions in the executive branch.
# Issues Presidential Proclamation for Pride, proclaiming June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.
# Signed a mercury reduction pact with 140 other nations.
# Signed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act to curb wasteful spending by the Pentagon. Intended to price contracts and budgets lower; may potentially save billions of dollars in defense.
# Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, which serves to protect two million acres of land and creates a new system of land conservation for the Bureau of Land Management.
# Phase out government payments to crop producers making more than $500,000 a year and eliminates subsidies for cotton storage to help trim the U.S. budget deficit.
# Cut funding for a proposed U.S. nuclear storage facility at Yucca Mountain.
# Restored Endangered Species Act Provision requiring U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine if their actions might harm threatened and endangered species.
# Orders The Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration "to protect and restore the health, heritage, natural resources, and social and economic value of the Nation's largest estuarine ecosystem and the natural sustainability of its watershed."
# Signed the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act designating two million additional acres of public wilderness areas the highest level of government protection from logging and other forms of commercial use and development.
# Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act which will expedite the search for cures and treatments for millions of Americans living with paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, stroke, MS, Parkinson's and many other diseases and disorders.
# Established The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women both during and after their military careers.
# Established the White House Office of Health Reform
# Created new and stronger safety standards to safeguard the country's food supply.

Now, let's examine some of these things more carefully

# Signed executive orders to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, ban torture and end the CIA’s secret overseas prisons and define treatment of Detainees.

Then turned around and argued for the continuing right to detain prisoners without rights, without trial, and indefinitely - just not at Gitmo. Sort of defeats the point, and not mentioning that along side this "accomplishment." The second part of that statement by the way, is outdated. The administration is no longer advocating for an end to overseas prisons. They've been in court arguing for them, and for the right to indefinite detention.

# Signed an executive order reversing the ban that prohibits funding to international family planning groups that provide abortions. Gag rule revoked (Mexico City policy).

Every administration does this. Reagan Bush put it in place, Clinton reverses it, Bush Jr. puts it back in place, Obama reverses it. It's not much of an accomplishment politically. A real accomplishment would be to have the political courage to make it law instead of executive order.

# Creates the White House Council on Women and Girls "to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families."

Point(A) Here's an example of things in a list simply so that the list will look longer. These are fine things, that are incredibly minor in scope. We elected a president because we were angered by our international aggression an violence in dishonest name of a global war on terror, because we saw the excess of corporate greed and its destruction of the middle class and working class, because we recognized that we desperately need true health care. We did not elect a president to create a White House Council.

When we are talking about colossal life and death issues like overseas war and health care or economic disaster at home - making a list that includes tiny, administrative actions like this just so that you can pad a list and make it look visually longer is idiotic and childish.

# Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners.

Which has totally failed to work.

# Expanded eligibility for the refinancing portion of the Making Home Affordable plan to help Americans struggling with distressed mortgages refinance at lower interest rates, even if they owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are now worth.

This program is also fraught with problems, and was completely mishandled from the getgo. It was a side-project to the Wall Street bailout, when bailing out borrowers should have been the top priority (both for humane reasons and also for strategic economic reasons) and would have been in a society not so completely dominated by corporate interests.

# Established a credit card "bill of rights".

Which has been mostly meaningless.

# Expanded loan programs for small businesses.

Vague.

# Extended and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.

Every president does this.

# Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners.

See Point (A)

# Created a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans, and installed Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman.

OOOOO A TASK FORCE! WOOT.

# Appoints Vice President Joe Biden to Oversee Stimulus Plan Payouts.

Um, this is not an "accomplishment." And see point (A) about things listed to PAD A LIST.

# Granted a reprieve to Liberian immigrants facing imminent expulsion.

See point (A)


# Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq.

....so that he could escalate the war in Afghanistan. Not exactly an "accomplishment" in my book. Not exactly what the peace-movement was fighting for, either.

# Allowing Caskets to be photographed when the return from Iraq with family approval.

See point (A)

# Released nine previously secret internal Justice Department memos and opinions defining the legal limits of government power in combating terrorism.

And marched into court and argued for the right of the government to continue its secretive practices, its overseas detentions, and more. Oh, and also said we should all "move forward" and ignore high crimes committed by our government leaders rather than investigate and prosecute those who broke the law and betrayed the spirit of the Constitution.

# On Arab TV Network, Obama Urges Dialogue.

Wow. See point (A)

# Gave a speech in Cairo engaging the Muslim and Arab world.

A speech is now listed as an "accomplishment?"

# Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program.

See point (A)

# Released presidential records.

And has denied FOIA requests, went to court to protect its own secrecy, and back peddled on its pledge of openness and transparency. Will not release visitors logs records - a practice started with Bush. Will not disclose information on things like meetings with Wall Street executives on regulator reform, or with Big Pharma on healthcare.

# Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.

But hires people with clear-cut lobbying ties anyway, despite its initial pledge that it would not do so.

# Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors.

"Pushed for" is not an accomplishment.

# Invites gay families to the Easter Egg Roll as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.

Oh. My. God. This actually got put on a list.... of accomplishments. See point (A)

# Increased funding for the NEA.

See point (A)

# Appointed an assistant to the president for science and technology policy.

See point (A)

# Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees.

Instead, just hired lobbyists.

# Investment in all types of alternative energy.

This is not only vague, its largely untrue.

# Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars.

See point (A) - Also, we are not going to prevent a climate change disaster by giving consumers a tax credit. We are going to address climate change by forcing corporate industry to curtail polluting.

# Support for high-speed rail.

See point (A)

# Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes.

See point (A)

# Created the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers to help auto industry workers transition to new manufacturing opportunities, including jobs in alternative energy.

Yay! He created a council!

# Stopped raids on medical marijuana dispensers.

See point (A)

# Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. If confirmed, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to ever serve on the Supreme Court.

She also happens to be a completely benign pick, maintaining the same basic corporate mainstream judicial philosophy posing no threat to the interests of the ruling elite. But yay, she's Hispanic!

# Appointed more than 60 openly LGBT persons to positions in the executive branch.

This isn't an "accomplishment" - its normal.

# Issues Presidential Proclamation for Pride, proclaiming June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.

We are calling meaningless Proclamations accomplishments now?

# Signed a mercury reduction pact with 140 other nations.

Boy, thank god I voted for him! I was concerned about our endless wars, our imperialistic aggression around the world, our plunder capitalism driving our economy into the ground at home, the destruction of organized labor and the shrinking middle class, our failing health care and global climate crisis... but thank god that mercury problem got addressed!

# Cut funding for a proposed U.S. nuclear storage facility at Yucca Mountain.

See point (A)

# Orders The Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration "to protect and restore the health, heritage, natural resources, and social and economic value of the Nation's largest estuarine ecosystem and the natural sustainability of its watershed."

See point (A)

# Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act which will expedite the search for cures and treatments for millions of Americans living with paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, stroke, MS, Parkinson's and many other diseases and disorders.

See point (A)

# Established The Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record, a new system for updating medical records of servicemen and women both during and after their military careers.

See point (A)

# Established the White House Office of Health Reform

It's really doing wonders too.

# Created new and stronger safety standards to safeguard the country's food supply.

See point (A)

Acting as though list of largely minor, or administrative, or incomplete, accomplishments somehow invalidates the deep concerns and criticism of people when it comes to health care, wall street, Afghanistan and Iraq, and the broader economy is asinine.