THIS TIME Dems and Progressives, let's HAVE OBAMA'S BACK AFTER THE ELECTION TOO.

[RBInMaine]

Last time around in 2008, IMMEDIATELY after the election the GOP hunkered down, got their big money people together, invented the TeaNutParty, decided to obstruct this President at every turn to try to defeat him in 2012, and started having their rallies, and obstructing healthcare, and on and on and on until they powered up a win in 2010 while too many Dems stayed home. Too many progressives FAILED to stand up to the TeaNuts and COUNTER PUNCH ! They failed to COUNTER ORGANIZE. Too many got trapped in a bubble of purity and could not see the MASSIVE amount of PROGRESSIVE work Obama and the Dem majority did, even if it could not always be entirely pure because of the nature of the governing system. This President made HUGE progressive accomplishments on equal pay, healthcare, DADT, saving the auto industry, the stimulus, getting out of Iraq, and on and on. And while the TeaBaggers were organizing, where were we? When they were rallying, where were we?

THIS TIME WE NEED TO STAY ORGANIZED POST-ELECTION AND SMASH DOWN THE TEABAGGERS AND THIS TIME WE NEED TO SET THE TONE AND SET THE NARRATIVE: THAT THIS PRESIDENT WON, THAT PEOPLE WANT SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS, THAT PEOPLE ARE TIRED TO GOP OBSTRUCTION AND TEABAGGER DIVISION AND EXTREMISM AND LIES, AND THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO ALLOW THE KOCH BROTHERS AND NORQUIST TO RUN THE COUNTRY. WE NEED TO KEEP WHAT WE DID IN THIS CYCLE GOING AND KEEP ORGANIZING AND HAVE THIS PRESIDENT'S BACK. WE NEED TO KEEP BUILDING SO THAT IN 2014 WE CAN TAKE BACK THE ENTIRE CONGRESS AND IT STARTS BY MAKING SURE THIS PRESIDENT IS SUCCESSFUL. THANKS VERY MUCH.

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Amen

And this includes being in the moment.

By that - I mean stop the "who in 2016" nonsense.

We have an awesome gift - a lame duck President who has done something only FDR did - win a second term with both the popular and electoral majority against the odds.

This is gift. So is our Senate. And if we the people get up in he grill of the House - we can get some great things done.

[faithfulcitizen]

47. Amen & Hallelujah!!

[demgrrrll]

2. I have been thinking the same thing.

[Tigress DEM]

68. They (the remaining Republicans) have 2 choices now...

1) Come to the table willingly with ideas and reasonable proposals and get some credit for doing something for the American people

or

2) Continue the whinny brat behavior and stand in the corner until you're willing to get to work or until your constituents REPLACE you with someone who WILL work to get America back on track.

[JNelson6563]

3. I'm in!

[catbyte]

40. X 1

[TheAmbivalante]

4. A cadre of DUers are thinking just like you

The prize isn't another Democratic President after Obama, it's a Dem House in 2014 followed by another Democratic President.

We're discussing a new House Forum. Who wants in? Shoot me a note.

[Always Randy]

18. count me in on '14

[Granny M]

5. +1

We need to be on 2014 starting yesterday.

[still_one]

6. I agree, however, keep in mind that because of the redistricting that occurred, repukes will most

likely control the house

The positive thing is that because we have the Senate and the executive branch, we can mold the court for decades to come

[graham4anything]

7. YUP. Been posting the same thoughts. Plus a zillion to you for posting this 2014 is coming

We must remain vigiliant and united for 2014 and 2016 (and we must elect a woman President in 2016

And I do hope we have Elizabeth Warren as a 3 or 4 term firebrand liberal voice leading the senate for the next 2 decades. She is Teddy's voice now and she can be the voice of the senate (and hopefully after Reid retires, becomes Leader in title too.

Remember she can get passed what Obama and Hillary send to the senate

We must win the house

And we must hope for 4 more SCOTUS picks by Obama in the next 4 years

Btw-let's get Puerto Rico statehood and that will mean at least 3 more electoral votes (minimum) or more
Immediately after.

[vlyons]

8. Cut out the all caps

All caps for an entire paragraph is very difficult to read. Online it's considered the same as shouting and impolite. You're probably a very polite person and perhaps unaware of this bit of online etiquette. But really, it's very hard on the eyes. I'm 65 with vision problems.

[Amonester]

59. My sister is 63 and has vision problems also, but she replied to the first e-mail I sent her...

asking me to re-write it in all caps because she was not able read it otherwise.

I obliged to her request and ever since that day, I always have to remember to use the caps lock key only for her.

[ywcachieve]

9. I have always been in President Obama's corner...

never wavering in my support of him.

[tavalon]

10. This time, Team Obama needs to not leave us fallow

Quid Pro Quo.

[RBInMaine]

52. MASSIVE Progressive Work - Sorry if it wasn't pure enough. Please get real.

[tavalon]

57. I was working right beside you in 2012 as well as 2008

I watched the administration turn it's back on it's amazing ground troop organization in 2008. I'm asking that they not do the same in 2012. I guess I didn't communicate that well. We're here, we're ready, use us. Don't go back to politics as usual.

[robinlynne]

63. excuse me?

[NewJeffCT]

11. the big money people were ready before the election

with the Teabaggers. They had realized that McCain would lose to either Obama or Clinton so already had the wheels turning months before the election...

Meanwhile, after Obama won, Democrats and progressives all took a deep breath and celebrated after 8 years of Bush, and by the time that was done, they were already fighting an uphill battle.

[HereSince1628]

12. As long as we can still keep his feet to the fire.

[TM99]

21. Agreed!

He is now someone who needs to be unconcerned about being elected.

If he is to be an FDR, then he now needs to act like an FDR.

Let's see GITMO finally closed. Let's see real student loan reform. Let's see him support Reid and Senate Democrats with Filibuster reform. Let's see him cut military spending and work on increasing taxes. I don't want to see Social Security and Medicare on the potential 'chopping block' for the sake of compromise. Let's see DOMA gone. Let's see at the very least medical marijuana reform on a national and not just a state level. Let's make sure that if there is to be no single-payer medical coverage that asshole Republican run states can't bypass the ACA and still screw individuals and families with real medical challenges and needs from possible reforms and coverage.

And for the love of all that is holy, stop trying to be bi-partisan with Republicans. I was one. I left them with my vote for Obama and my registering today as a member of the Democratic Party. The GOP today is not the GOP of yesterday. They have demonstrated finally that they are incapable of being a loyal conservative opposition that may not always agree with liberals but are not actively obstructing all good that this country now needs. They are filled with hate, intolerance, fear, and many are bluntly sociopathic. They are willing to screw us all in order to get their way for a very select few. There are willing to destroy this country. You can't work with a group of people who are incapable of working with you. The GOP is now that kind of group of people.

If he has my back, then I have his. It is a two-way street.

[flpoljunkie]

29. Welcome to DU and the Democratic party, TM99. The president must lead and we must have his back.

[deutsey]

34. Yes

We need to organize in order to counteract the right and to keep the pressure on Obama.

[riqster]

13. Damn skippy (nt)

[adieu]

14. Hear, hear!

[Meaniepants]

15. you are correct. kinda.

It didn't help that when 70% of Americans wanted single payer healthcare but would have settled for the public option, neither were on the table in negotiations. When you want to meet someone in the middle and the middle is public option you start with single payer. My expectation after everyone lost their retirement and homes to the banksters was to see some perp walks not the fox protecting the chicken coupe. geithne r and summers knew where the bodies were buried and made sure they weren't found . Now we will be given a choice between Republican austerity and Democratic austerity. Like there are no other options. We can go the way of the German and the Nordic countries and fire the old bank mangers and hire new ones. It really pissed me off when Jamie dimon walked into Congress wearing cuff links with the presidential seal on them and told US how things were going to be done.

[radiclib]

24. Is that true about the cufflinks? Yow!

Last edited Thu Nov 8, 2012, 09:50 PM - Edit history (1)

What arrogance.
Great points, meanie, and welcome to DU.

[spicegal]

16. I have always had his back. And it pained me to read some of the nasty comments from the left.

Regardless of political party, Obama is president of all the people. He is required by the law to abide by the rules laid out in the Constitution, and while he's at it, not venture so far to the left that he wouldn't get reelected. Obama's heart is in the right place, and his ideas are sound (not extreme). If the GOP does their usual obstruct at all cost, he will need to take his case to the people, and we will need to get behind him.

[DallasNE]

17. "Bubble Of Purity"

Well said. They wanted single payer and when the didn't get it, packed up their bags and left. Huge mistake. Ironically, it is the Tea Baggers that now impose a bubble of purity. How well did that work for them in the Senate this election? Oh, the Democrats picked up 2 seats in spite of having to defend twice as many seats as Republicans.

[radiclib]

25. Who packed up and left?

The doctors and nurses who were shut out of the hearings and forced to leave? I seem to remember something about a "public option". Who abandoned that? The single-payer folks?

[robinlynne]

64. right you are.

[LaydeeBug]

19. This time, let's hope he has OUR back this time around too

lest you forget he started talking torte reform on live TV last go 'round.

[RBInMaine]

53. Another glass half-empty purist? Sheesh. It was MASSIVE progressive advances. Sheesh.

[Grateful for Hope]

20. K&R

[gademocrat7]

22. I am staying "Fired Up!" "Ready to Go!"

The tea party must be made irrelevant.

[jhrobbins]

30. I absolutely agree with that...

and I think we need to have SCOTUS revisit the corporations are people thing. That shite has to change.

[oldbanjo]

23. Based on what was done by Congress the last

time, Obama should start looking into filing sedition charges against the 14 Congressmen that tried to destroy this Country. Then he could file charges against Trump tor his tweet "that we should start a Revolution in this Country". Like Leno said a Revolution starts with you cutting the heads off the rich, Trump is stupid to suggest such a thing.

[Doctor_J]

26. Much of this will depend on the president

If he reaches out to Grayson, Sanders, Baldwin, and Sherrod Brown, things will be peachy. If he reaches out to the teabaggers and McTurtle, figuring that the liberals can be taken for granted, then he will live with the consequences of that decision. Repuke politicians are good at serving their base. Dems often have a problem with that concept.

[gkhouston]

46. ^^ This. n/t

[TahitiNut]

27. I support Obama because he LISTENS!

He listened when it came to Marriage Rights. He listened when it came to equitable taxation.

For him to LISTEN, we must SPEAK! You don't hire someone and then stop telling him what you want done!!!

[woodscolt]

42. Can't argue with that

Politicians listen when the mainstream news reports. I can't even count how many factual stories they have buried or just not highlighted. This one for example
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/tax-cuts-and-economic-growth/

This should have been top news on every news outlet not just a blurb on a blog... seeing as jobs and the economy were the biggest concern during this election. Rachel Maddow had the story but I did not see it highlighted on any other mainstream news source not even NPR. Since the majority of people get their information from the mainstream news and the politicians use them as a barometer I say hound the news outlets.

[Dustlawyer]

28. This time, we need to write our Congressmen and Senators. My excuse last time is that

it wouldn't do any good. I live in Texas ya see, but this time, I will let those stick up their asses know where I am coming from! They will know I am here for shore!

[deutsey]

32. Agreed

We need to remain engaged and even in the streets, both to fight off the right AND to keep the pressure on Obama.

[tiredtoo]

33. Here is a copy of an email just sent off to my senator

"Senator Debbie Stabenow

Congratulations on your victory. Now it is time to get to work. This is a request that you work with all in our government to cure what ails us. You should start by insisting the Bush tax cuts for the rich be allowed to expire. This money can be used for two things, cut down on the deficit and more importantly invested in rebuilding our infrastructure. This action will increase jobs in our country and have the affect of increasing tax revenue.
Also I am suggesting action to break up the trusts namely ALEC and the Chamber of Commerce.
Again congratulations and I will be watching for your response.
Respectfully yours,"

end quote.
and here are some address's, phone numbers.
Contact the Whitehouse
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20500
[phone]
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Contact your Senator
http://www.senate.gov/
Listing of Senators names, address and phone numbers
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Contact your Representative
Directory of U.S. Representatives
http://www.house.gov/representatives/
Phone number of house of representatives
Washington, DC 20515
[phone]

I sent similar letters to the President and my representative in congress. Also contacted head of Michigan Democratic party requesting information in regards to avoiding another mid-term debacle like in 2010. Have not received any responses yet but expect to do so.
Hopefully we will all work together to get this done.

[tiredtoo]

35. and a ps to this note

This type of letter is being sent to all elected officials that represent me no matter which party they are in.

[Amonester]

60. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you! Bookmarking this thread.

That's how it's done, folks. Not once or twice then forget about it: it's done on a daily basis.

It's called: "homework" in activist parlance (I know many of you do your daily homework already and I'm not reminding you).

[MBS]

36. Thanks for saying this.

I'm in!

[Sunlei]

37. I agree!! let us please keep the heat on any Congress who obstruct.

[inamatteroftime]

41. Roger to That!

[RBInMaine]

56. ABSOLUTELY. Labor, MoveOn, etc. need to KEEP ORGANIZED and KEEP PUSHING to win the national debate.

[Gman]

38. Are you kidding me????

It was less than 36 hours after the election was called in 08 that this place was ripping Obama mercilessly over picking Rahm Emmanuel for his COS. It won't last here.

[Buzz Clik]

39. Agreed. There will be some who remain supportive, but...

... this place became intolerable very quickly in 2008.

[faithfulcitizen]

48. yep, it did and I left.

[tiredtoo]

49. And ?

yes some here were ripping Obama. however we should play it different this time. there were many things done by Obama that i did not like and he will probably upset me again. However again, as the election shows, people power trumps big money. Knowing this we can/should keep pressure on all elected officials stating our wants/needs/desires.

[Hydra]

50. And you thought that was a good decision?

How about Gates and Geithner? Arne Duncan?

Romney's defeat was important and we should celebrate it, but the RW Juju is still strong and has infected our entire framing. The President needs to start looking at what works, not chasing the idea that he can win over the RW.

[robinlynne]

65. because he picked Rahm Emanuel!

[6502]

43. Your right! I still have my login on dashboard.barakobama.com...

... I'm going to start there to see where things will go from here!!!

You're 1000% right!

We have to start banding together in a kind of mesh of interests so that we all support each other going forward.
So that we call have each other's back.

(Wow... Obama's use of imagery really comes in handy!)

[lin_e65]

44. I agree...

My congressional district elected a Repug. I am already writing a letter to the local newspaper challenging his refusal to debate his Democratic opponent. Now is the time we organize to restart the "Speaker Pelosi" Project!

[KurtNYC]

45. yes.. get behind the President and PUSH

The TEA party was astroturf pimped by the MSM. They had Koch money, permits, stages, audio systems, media tents, chairs, Port-A-Johns, news coverage, the cooperation of local officials, a well planned media strategy, and did the bidding of their masters...

None of that sounds like us.

[RBInMaine]

55. THANKS. We can have a REAL movement, not the astroturf phoney Teabagger. BUT, they DID organize.

[cui bono]

51. As long as by "have Obama's back" it means we are allowed to criticize him.

Your heading originally got me pissed off because it brings up the divisiveness on here when anyone who criticized Obama was demonized. I had to reread the post to be sure you weren't saying no criticism allowed.

I'm in on fighting the GOP and their obstruction, and I hope Obama will be too. And I reserve the right to criticize him if he goes back to caving before the negotiations even begin.

This time... this time we need to hold his feet to the fire and make him put forth true progressive ideas - and stick to them - so he can be a better president for all of us. And that involves criticism, protests, demonstrations as well as encouragement.

[amborin]

62. +100

[One of the 99]

54. Well said

I've often felt that after the '08 election the left went home thinking the job was done.

[donheld]

58. He must have our back now too.

[Deep13]

61. Honestly, the real issue is will he have ours?

Let's be honest, despite all the RW talk of socialism, Obama is a center-right president like the Republicans used to be. So, I'll have his back to the extent he has mine.

[Cha]

66. KNR BOOKMARKED! Thanks RBINMaine!

[FrenchieCat]

67. Yeah.....

Last time, we just argued with each other, while laughing at the Tea Party,
and the media that grewed them!