tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post6177447592198283293..comments2023-10-24T09:06:30.200-04:00Comments on No More Mister Nice Blog: Steve M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11963290427258439242noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-58596661697284890612014-07-23T09:53:24.396-04:002014-07-23T09:53:24.396-04:00Yes, I read it, and yes, I got it. Did you miss t...Yes, I read it, and yes, I got it. Did you miss this line? "And this was a Democratic Party that included Blue Dogs such as Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson" -- and a bunch of other lily-livered Democrats who, rather than stand behind the President and help him fight for more legislative wins while they could, ran away from him as fast as their triangulating little legs could carry them. If the Democrats had shown even half of the unity and determination the Republicans did and do, we'd have gotten a hell of a lot more accomplished during that narrow window of real power.<br /><br />The unprecedented Republican opposition is the major problem; the gutlessness of many in the Democratic party is not, however, without a share of the blame. Never Ben Betterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17814767173601107270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-41680961262212134382014-07-22T14:23:08.921-04:002014-07-22T14:23:08.921-04:00@Never Ben Better: did you actually read this post...@Never Ben Better: did you actually read this post? If so, I don't think you really got it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-80444019337217146542014-07-22T11:17:47.794-04:002014-07-22T11:17:47.794-04:00When faced with the levers of power:
Rightwinger:...When faced with the levers of power:<br /><br />Rightwinger: "Power! Yippee! Grab it and go for it!"<br /><br />Leftwinger: "Power? Ick! How do I know where it's been? Don't touch it; you might get some of that on you!"Never Ben Betterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17814767173601107270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-43504925146141283552014-07-22T06:55:19.352-04:002014-07-22T06:55:19.352-04:00'What's the Matter with Thomas Frank?'...'What's the Matter with Thomas Frank?'<br /><br />Too many DC MSM Green Room visits?Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06609452382111686086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-85288879244351805282014-07-21T23:28:19.289-04:002014-07-21T23:28:19.289-04:00@Unknown, I don't think that's it. I thin...@Unknown, I don't think that's it. I think instead it's this: people on the liberal-to-left side of politics LOVE finding ways to prove they're disenchanted, disillusioned, and so forth. That helps them/us confirm their anti-authoritarian streak. "See? Told ya he was gonna fuck it up." Expressing a moment's satisfaction is being a sellout or a quietist. Anger and disaffection are the order of the day, every day. It's wearying, but it runs deep in the lefty psyche.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-13356416664155886422014-07-21T20:37:27.200-04:002014-07-21T20:37:27.200-04:00I can't believe I am saying this, but I think ...I can't believe I am saying this, but I think that some wing nuts really got one thing right. Some liberals were indeed looking at Obama as a messiah figure who would fix everything. Never mind reality and the fact that he doesn't control the senate or hour or judiciary. <br /><br />What else could explain the desire to pin everything bad that happened on Obama even though there was nothing he could do about it?<br /><br />The worst part is there are several legitimate complaints about what Obama messed up (e.g. Not focusing on judiciary appointments enough) but out left wing thought leaders se super lazy and only believe right wing ideas. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00914869622208210224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-21631039465695190012014-07-21T19:29:31.297-04:002014-07-21T19:29:31.297-04:00Every one of these pundits just assumes that Democ...Every one of these pundits just assumes that Democrats are monolithically in agreement and happily await orders from the President. I don't remember that part. I remember the part where corralling wayward _Democrats_ was the key feature of every high-profile battle in Washington _when Democrats had the majority_. I remember confrontations with Landrieu, and Lieberman, and Nelson, and Stupak, and Kucinich, and Mike Ross. I remember people like Boxer and Feingold being gun-shy about taking a hard line on undoing the Bush tax cuts. Frank has been playing the woulda-coulda-shoulda game for years. And what it always boils down to is "You're doing it wrong" and "Everyone I know agrees with me," ergo "It ain't that hard," ergo "If you can't figure it out, you must be taking a dive." Tiresome, and then tiresome some more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-64059758964962354342014-07-21T17:18:44.242-04:002014-07-21T17:18:44.242-04:00Danp beat me to it, but yeah: to get the 60 votes,...Danp beat me to it, but yeah: to get the 60 votes, they had to get Byrd to the Senate. He was in poor health, so this was not easy. Fortunately he made it there for the ACA vote in December.<br /><br />Steve M. also didn't mention the break over the holidays. <br /><br />I've heard my dad say that Obama had all the levers of power for 2 years! That's what watching Fox will do to you.<br /><br />In hindsight, you can say that maybe the Dems should have pushed harder to get Franken seated sooner or should have crammed more legislation in 2009, but that would have looked pretty bad at the time. Dems assumed (wrongly) that they'd get more in the long run by playing semi-nice. (of course, there were some fools like Rahm who wanted to give up on the ACA after Brown won the MA Senate race. Wotta maroon.)<br /><br />Really, the biggest mistake was taking the eye off the ball in the Brown/Coakley race. They should have found a better candidate than Coakley or at least should have spent some money on better consultants and more Obama campaigning. If the Dems had held that seat -- which they should have -- they would have had several more months to get things done. Alas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-26073272681307497882014-07-21T16:59:07.884-04:002014-07-21T16:59:07.884-04:00Another thing in 2009-2010 was the debt hysteria t...Another thing in 2009-2010 was the debt hysteria that infected so many Democrats in the Senate and "liberals" in the high-class media. Obama's enemies were bad enough, but his supporters included Max Baucus. I was reminded by <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_07/anachronism_on_deficits_and_de051305.php" rel="nofollow">this nice thing from Kilgore</a>.Yastreblyanskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335868257729063363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-75477620938478815092014-07-21T16:18:42.541-04:002014-07-21T16:18:42.541-04:00And how many times did they wheel Robert Byrd'...And how many times did they wheel Robert Byrd's corpse into the Capitol to vote during those 184 days? Not too many...Danphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06368147966029831819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-26146919746250553432014-07-21T16:13:23.369-04:002014-07-21T16:13:23.369-04:00The Green Lantern Theory of Politics is what got i...The Green Lantern Theory of Politics is what got in Frank's head, as far as I can tell.Tom Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17575511424823512042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-72343026869374205192014-07-21T15:58:28.335-04:002014-07-21T15:58:28.335-04:00Just so.
No idea what got into Frank's head.Just so.<br /><br />No idea what got into Frank's head.Philo Vaihingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17150326435392881297noreply@blogger.com