Obama is Back to Organizing ... Against Us
Because caving to Wall St., the insurance industry and the right-wing is how you inspire voters. https://t.co/33REiFNgLJ
— Jim Earl (@jimearl666) April 6, 2019
I'm wondering who those democratic allies are in his mind? The republicans? Because we know that they are not two separate parties with separate agendas. Democrats support women's right to choose while republicans don't. The DP is okay with LGBT while the GOP thinks they are icky. A few other issues, but other than that both parties work for their donor masters.
Obama: I worry progressives may undercut Democratic allies
Former President Obama expressed concern about the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, saying he feared it could end up undercutting allies.
Speaking at a town hall event on Saturday for the Obama Foundation in Berlin, the former president spoke about the need for compromise in politics, citing the Affordable Care Act as something that he said signified progress even though it did not achieve all of his aspirations for U.S. health care.
"One of the things I do worry about sometimes among progressives in the United States —maybe it’s true here as well — is a certain kind of rigidity where we say, 'Uh, I’m sorry, this is how it’s going to be,' and then we start sometimes creating what’s called a 'circular firing squad,' where you start shooting at your allies because one of them has strayed from purity on the issues. And when that happens, typically the overall effort and movement weakens," he said.
"So I think whether you are speaking as a citizen or as a political leader or as an organizer … you have to recognize that the way we structure democracy requires you to take into account people who don’t agree with you, and that by definition means you’re not going to get 100 percent of what you want," he added.
Still, Obama said his perspective has changed throughout his political career.
"You should take some time to think in your own mind and continually refine and reflect, 'What are my core principles?' Because the danger is if you don’t know what your principles are, that’s when you compromise your principles away," he said. "You can’t set up a system in which you don't compromise on anything, but you also can’t operate in a system where you compromise on everything
."
Funny.. I don't remember him not having a problem with compromising on everything he wanted to get passed. In fact he didn't just compromise with the republicans, but he usually offered such a weak hand and then compromised from there. People said that he "caved" to the republicans because he had to if he wanted to get anything passed, but I don't believe that. He did it because that was what he wanted all along.
He was recently on the Hill lecturing the new kids in congress how it's important to "pay as you go" if you want to make changes that helps the little folks that you are supposed to represent.
In case anyone is nostalgic about the things that Obama's presidency accomplished you can see it here. When you say that you miss Obama...
Comments
The guy who lost 1,000 seats
and campaigned for TPP right up to the election, is going to tell us what we need.
There's core principles,
and there's core income stream.
Kumbaya, my friends.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
He's citing the Affordable Care Act as a compromise?!
Sit DOWN, Barack Obama, and f*ck off with that misrepresentation! The ACA was not some hard-fought middle ground between Congress and the American people. It was designed by corporate interests for corporate profits. Okay so Congress members fought about it; however, part of that was theatrics bullshit and not substantive debate, and there was not much daylight between those differences.
Gee, what a coincidence that he's spewing compromise and unity right now.
Lots of people are on Twitter defending the ACA
Of course we are hearing about how it was republican obstructionism that kept democrats from passing whatever the hell they wanted because they used reconciliation. But Lieberman put his foot down on it and other things that would have made it so much better. And it's not like there wasn't something that democrats could have done to make him fall in line after he helped McCain's campaign against his own party's.
Then there was Baucus who had an insurance insider on his staff that helped him write it. Liz from WellPoint IIRC. After she got it passed she quit and went back to her position. Gee what a surprise huh?
Oh yeah. Obama kicked out every person from the single payer coalitions and only met with insurance and pharmaceutical companies before congress even started working on it.
But sure Barry, keep telling yourself that you did the best you could on it.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
Every Dem failure is on the GOP
I can't think of a single issue that the Democrats shit the bed on that subsequently didn't end up being rugswept as GOP obstruction.
Is anyone on Twitter mentioning the ACA's origins in the Heritage Foundation? Snoopydawg, I tip my hat to you for wading into these shit swamps for us.
Boy that's one way to shuck responsibility isn't it?
Blame everything on the republicans. And that's exactly what lots of democrats have been doing to rationalize the disastrous Obama presidency. I have seen people saying that the ACA was Romney care or a republican health care plan. I'd forgotten that the heritage foundation created it.
I'm well prepared when I go swamp wading.
.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
"We tortured some folks"
Barack Obama in a nutshell.
Love that Snoopy cartoon!
The only thing between the bankers and the pitch forks was
Barack Obama. Not only did he bail them out, but he also refused to prosecute them and gave them everyone's homes. He also managed to leave the White House 20 million dollars richer than when he went in. Including Trump, he is by far the worst President of my life time.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Obama spoke to 15,000 fans in Cologne and praised
kids and young adults for getting involved and demanding action re climate change.
“The fight against global warming is too important to be left to older folks, including me,” Obama told listeners Thursday evening, according to German news service DPA.
https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/deutschland/2019/obama-klimaschutz-darf...
Everyone seemed so thrilled to see and hear the great Barack Obama in person. Such uplifting words, what an inspiring guy! — Now if only Obama had held some influential position or other, where he could have, I don’t know, maybe done something about global warming himself.
Bingo
Can anyone tell me what exactly Obama did that addressed climate change? The Paris agreement was so weak that it did nothing to stop the oil companies from digging up more oil. In fact Obama opened up so many areas to drilling that the country became one of the biggest exporters of oil and natural gas during his tenure.
His SOS spent 4 years roaming the globe and pushing countries to frack, frack, frack. Remember when people made fun of Palin's policy on "drill baby drill"?
Every time Obama lectures people on important issues he should be met with this chant... "you had 8 years to do that!"
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
BP and the massive “Deepwater Horizon” oil spill in the Gulf
Obama could have treated that crisis as an opportunity to mobilize public opinion and raise awareness of the multiple threats to the environment from fossil fuels.
Instead, Obama did that thing again that he does so well, of standing between the bankers — or in that case BP / the oil industry — and the pitchforks.
Obama's mom was working for a bank, his dad was
(just edited some formatting)
faceless, his classmate didn't realize something special in him.
I think he didn't have a lot of knowledge about Europe and its history, nor did he had it about African countries and their history. I remember another photo of him on one of his frist trips to Africa that stuck with me and showed that he was a stranger in a strange world he didn't and couldn't understand.
The only difference between me and other people's feelings here might be, that I don't blame people for lack of knowledge, lack of personal experiences, or their hidden characters flaws like wanting to stay in the limelight and making a buck, because we all have them in one way or the other. And most people don't change their opinions about someone due to what they learn about someone through book- or blog knowledge, but through sufferings in their own personal lives that might be related to that somebody. Of course being a President one can't be that generously forgive all those flaws, but then why do you believe that any president would be different than any ordinary human being?
When people complain of Markos Moulitzas, for example, I am reminded of Obama (and Biden in a way).
There are three images of Markos that stuck to my mind. One is a young little boyish guy proud of his uniform and his military service. Another one is showing him as a cool youngish boy punk with pinkish hair-do etc. The third is saying he loved his (military service?) time in Germany, because he couldn't get enough of German pastry. (the photos are somewhere, but I am too layzy to search for them in my mess, the pastry stuff is paraphrazed according to my memory of a comment he made and it stuck with me too).
So, a republican punk with a pride in his military service, showing of a bit as a cute daddy, who loves German pastry and his kids... I really can't get exited about it and have a hard time to understand, why your juices get cooking over him.
Markos isn't relevant, imo, neither in a good or in an extremely bad way. Who cares about his money? Other than he himself and may be his wife, I guess it's not many and complaining about it has a taste of being a tad bit too competitive and jealous, which makes it less convincing. Markos used his platform to use you. I don't even believe he did this consciously, when he started out. But he didn't stop his commentators from being used. Using them came in handy for him. And that's a plonky cheap-ish thingy.
Obama and Biden are similar. I haven't heard anything in the German mainstream media about Obama's speeches other that Deutsche Welle and Deutsche Presse Agentur about Obama in Germany. DW is like VoA, just that they don't represent a voice for or against anything. It's dpa's role to cover anything as a wire service. And why would you listen to someone who has no voice for something or against something?
That's all folks.
(I was fourteen when I cried over this excellent musical's songs and dances the first time)
(Nothing New on the Western Front. Who wouldn't want to cry over that?)
PS: I hate to be manipulated by smart-ass movie makers, but I couldn't help it this time).
Hey, “All Quiet on the Western Front” was required reading
at Punahou, I think the summer before sophomore year.
The “catch” (as in “Catch-22”) with voices who are for or against something is the way the natural selfish desire to “be right” or “help their side win” turns them into, at least, unreliable observers and narrators — if not, ultimately, liars.
All the usual mechanisms (tribal or in-group loyalty, cognitive dissonance, confirmation bias, etc.) come into play.
Sooner or later (usually sooner), principles tend to give way to naked partisanship. “Lies, deception, even winking at or encouraging violence are now fine or perhaps even a sacred duty, as long as it undermines ‘them’ [the designated Other or ‘enemy’].”
Some Green, Left, and other German establishment party politicians and pop-culture figures appear to have reached this stage regarding so-called “Antifa” vandalism and bodily attacks on AfD targets. At least that’s how it looks to me — YMMV (Y2005?).
thanks, great response, I saw in a documentary
about behavior of lions (with great camera work and video editing skills), that even they tend to be tribal and their families stick together. Not to speak of Penguins....
Who do I blame now for that? Am I against tribalism and for family's desire to stick together or vice versa?
Ok, I going to take a nap. May be the answer comes in my dreams.
I think something got lost in translation
The German news quoted: “The fight against global warming is too important to be left to older folks, including me”
What he really said was:
“Hope you kids can figure something out because we’re not about to start trying now. We’ll be dead anyway when the shit really hits the fan so it’s your problem. Oh, and we’re not going to step aside and let you try to solve the problem. In fact, we will fight you every step of the way.”
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Global Warming? He could start addressing that by
curtailing the environmental destruction by Lake Michigan to make way for his mausoleum. He's already had several dozen trees cut down in an area that is a stopping point for many migratory birds. I hope the lawsuit against his tower puts an end to this project.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
Obama's kill list victim is trying to get released from the list
Guess if Kareem loses his case against the government then this will be called the Obama doctrine. 'Killing US citizens without due process is legal.' I didn't hear much flack when Obama killed the US citizen who was a Muslim cleric and then his son for no reason I heard. That the Trump justice department is trying to defend Obama's actions is incredible isn't it?
US must respect rights of citizens on secret 'kill list', court hears
Which administration made assassination of people illegal? Was it Ford who did that? Guess the Obama doctrine rescinded that order.
"I sure wish Obama was still president." I might have to slap the next person who says that to me.
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
His name was Anwar al Awlaki
and most people seem to have forgotten all about his murder. Jeremy Scahill wrote an excellent book called Dirty Wars on the global, out-of-control covert wars that Barack Obama expanded and legitimized. It covers the al Awlaki hit and the surrounding lack of accountability on the part of Washington.
Regarding the rose-tinted glasses of missing him, Barack Obama was as equally a big a disaster as Bush on foreign policy, partially because he forged the way for Donald Trump when it comes to abuse of power in this disgrace called the war on terror.
Movie too
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2532528/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1
Compensated Spokes Model for Big Poor.
Yes!
The film is a condensed version of the book, and I recommend it for anyone who doesn't want to read the book (and fair enough; the book is long, very uncomfortable to read, and Jeremy Scahill's writing isn't the simplest or easiest to follow).
Thanks for supplying his name
I read some of Dirty Wars, but I kept getting so angry I stopped. Obama was Bush on steroids, but he never got called out on it. From increasing the drone wars to countries that had nothing to do with 9/11 and Al Qaida which was the reason for the original AUMF, to invading Libya, Syria, Ukraine and gawd only knows how many countries in Africa. Africa is now host to the biggest US drone base anywhere. Deported more immigrants than any other president. Locked children up and petitioned the courts to let him keep them locked up longer. He sent kids to court without a lawyer which Trump is continuing. He.....
Read the article I linked and then one of the comments has a very long list of other things Obama did. I'd love to post it on ToP, but if they refused to admit his crimes when he was in office I doubt they would now. Obama killed the anti war movement and lost both houses just so he could hide behind the GOP obstruction. Perfectly played.
Caitlin wrote an essay titled, "Trump isn't Hitler, he's Obama." Or something close. And I've been saying all along that Trump is Obama's legacy. And you're right that he left Trump with too much power. The democrats must not have thought it was enough because they gave him more power to spy on us. I love the Resistance don't you?
“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt
"Democratic allies"
If I had to guess: Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Chase Bank, Raytheon, Boeing, Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Insurance, Big Tech, Big Telecom, the State of Israel, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the US's toadies in the UK and Australian governments, etc. etc.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
You forgot Angie Baby, but she is at least an
equal opportunity 'Kaffeeklatscher', so those are the allies that can mess up the perceptions, right?
I guess I need to add
Macron and Trudeau, as well. All of the neoliberals currently in power, although they're in trouble with their respective constituencies. It looks like the UK's May is on her way out. Fingers crossed for Corbyn.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
Rose Ann DeMoro was on it!
https://twitter.com/RoseAnnDeMoro
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Embed of Rose Ann DeMoro's tweet
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
As my spouse observed at the start of Obama's first term...
"He's the type of negotiator who comes to the strip poker table with his shirt already off". This was in response to Obama's deal making with Republicans over budget issues. He later drew a red line in Syria... yeah THAT went well.
As for "core principles", it appears he forgot his core principle of community organizing and speaking up for the little guy.... he is ignoring the pleas of residents in the neighborhood next to his proposed Presidential "library" to protect them from gentrification. The big bucks are already swooping in and buying up real estate in anticipation of that project. Soon those who live there will not be able to afford their own housing. Yeah, real nice "core principles" Barry!
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
From the Jackson Park preservation group...
There have been a variety of interesting developments. We note them below.
Major grant to Protect Our Parks
Of great interest is the $100,000 grant given to Protect Our Parks by the Reva and David Logan Foundation to help fund its lawsuit against the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District. That lawsuit concerns the siting of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. The fact that this was described as an “initial” grant makes it even more significant.
In the statement announcing the grant, Logan Foundation board chairman Richard Logan commented “We believe that this ‘land grab’ is both legally and morally wrong, and that the City of Chicago, the Obama Foundation and their partners need to reconsider their choice of location for this project. There are so many sites in the city that could benefit from the kudos, the opportunities for employment and the neighborhood regeneration without taking public land and destroying historic city parklands.”
http://jacksonparkwatch.org/updates/
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
Perfect!
That's why I get so angry when people buy the "He would have gotten away with hope and change if it hadn't been for those meddling Republicans." He came to the "negotiation" table with their policies! All that did was give the Rs cover to push farther right. That's on him because they didn't make him do that.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Cenk's thoughts:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afDIffn6L2I width:500 height:300]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
this time around I am more with him than last time/nt
The man....
who's building some shitty monument to himself on historic park land?
His revolting ego trumps all.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.