thank you president obama

[rdking647]

despite the teeth gnashing among some progressives about the budget deal here a new perspective

http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2011/04/obama-saves-major-democratic-values-and.html

Obama save funding for PP. saved the ability of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases
etc...

Progressives need to face the reality that the US is not a far left country.. the far left is in the minority. The country is centrist or maybe even center right..
screaming and crying because you didnt get what you wanted is futile. America doesnt want a far left agenda.. demanding it and complaining you didint get it and demanding that teh president cave into your demands or you will vote for someone else will just guarantee a far left takeover.. It seems that is what the far left wants.. Its almost as if they have become tools of the repukes.

A kucinich or a sanders or another far left candidate is doomed to failure..

personally Id rather a centrist candidate who ca actually win rather than a far left one who will guarantee a repuke win

but some on the far left seem to be willing to sacrifice planned parenthood,woman's issues,gay rights,the environment etc in the name of far left ideological purity

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

1. This was a win for Democrats despite what the anti-Obama brigade says.

The Repukes utterly failed in their overarching power grab.

and they didn't even get the cuts they promised either.

Boehner has betrayed them in Teabaggin' eyes.

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. Balderdash

Show me one person on the far left who is willing to "sacrifice planned parenthood,woman's issues,gay rights,the environment etc in the name of far left ideological purity".

You can't, because the chimera that that author rails against doesn't exist.

[FLAprogressive]

15. Agreed, what a dishonest OP.

[w8liftinglady]

3. I am glad he stood strong for Planned parenthood. It is DESPERATELY needed in Texas

[Logical]

4. I think it was a tie at best. n-t

[BlueCaliDem]

8. Nope. Not by a long shot.

Republicans didn't get what they wanted, and the TeaBAggers sure as hell didn't. This is a big win for the Democrats and the president.

[sabrina 1]

11. Republicans got 8 billion more than Democrats said they would

give them. I'll say this for the far right. They know how to bargain. They are told 'you can only have 30 billion'. They ask for 100 billion, with no expectation of getting it, but hoping the other side will freak out and 'compromise'. And that's exactly what happened. They got eight billion more from the already overburdened American people to help pay off the gambling debts of the corrupt Wall St. gang.

I bet there was plenty of celebrating this weekend for them.

[bluestate10]

21. A lot of that 8 billion came from pentagon budget cuts which President Obama

had in his budget, but which republicans did not include.

[rdking647]

36. and we need to cut a hell of a lot more

we need to cut hundreds of billions..
the only way we can finance out massive spending is by selling borrowing the money.
who is going to but our bonds if we keep spending at the rate we are?

[sabrina 1]

54. The spending is for war. And for tax cuts for the wealty.

And for bailouts for corrupt, failed, Wall St. bankers. Yes, we do have to cut those things. We the people cannot afford to pay for their wars and their gambling debts anymore.

But what cannot be cut, are the already measly social safety nets that are there for the most vulnerable Americans. That I hope will be completely off the table.

And, prosecutions need to begin of those who disappeared 15% of this country's wealth. Where is that money? Why is no one being held accountable?

[Logical]

13. You are wrong. But love positive attitude. n-t

[Raine]

25. "Big win"

:spray: don't let harsh reality get in the way. :-(

[MNBrewer]

35. Democrats DID get what they wanted???

[sabrina 1]

5. Is there something 'far left' about caring for the poor and the

elderly, about supporting SS and Medicare? About opposing tax cuts for those who actually caused the economic problems we have? About opposing bailouts for rich gamblers on Wall St?

Because if so, you would be very wrong. A vast majority of Americans polled on those issues, support SS and Medicare, are opposed to bailing out corrupt Wall St. Bankers and are for taxing the rich. So that would mean that this IS a 'far left' country.

And btw, this president was elected based on the positions he took on those issues, a majority of the people agreed him THEN.

I rarely take seriously articles that use rightwing framing.

[gadjitfreek]

6. If this country is "center-right" and it means

that we should not give one goddamn about our fellow citizens and just let them rot...then this is not a country I want to live in.

[sabrina 1]

10. I agree, but that's what the 'left' are trying to tell us now.

It's interesting, because it used to be the right making those claims, which was at least understandable since they were defending their own awful policies, but why is this coming from the 'left' now? Especially since they are completely contradicted by the American people themselves.

The article is not credible, seems to be an attempt to defend the indefensible.

[RKP5637]

17. The center keeps moving rightward, so once a moderate and fair is now far left. n/t

[rdking647]

37. your free to leave

[sabrina 1]

55. 'You're either with us or against us'?

Why does that sound familiar?? :eyes:

[dflprincess]

23. What is now called "far left"

used to be mainstream Democratic values. But that was before the "new Democrats/DLC/3rd Way" (pick your name) types took over the party.

[rdking647]

39. how do you plan on paying for them?

you cant raise taxes high enough..........

[sabrina 1]

59. Nonsense, everyone knows how to pay for them.

But we know who is pulling the strings in DC and we also know we do not have anyone willing to take them on, yet.

[TheKentuckian]

7. There is no far left.

[Terra Alta]

9. I'm progressive and I'm not willing to sacrifice any of those things.

I just want a President who acts like a Democrat instead of one who panders to the Republicans.. especially on things like SS and Medicare.

[RKP5637]

22. +1000 +++ n/t

[DirkGently]

27. Apparently those things now represent the "far left." On some planet.

[msongs]

12. wow most of the cliches and false arguments all in the same OP. nt

[sabrina 1]

16. No surprise when you follow the link. I thought the framing

sounded familiar. I try never to go that site but glad I did as it explains why.

[tularetom]

14. It may not be a "far left" country yet

But the more the middle and working classes get fucked over the sooner it will become a far left country.

And when the balance tips and the masses finally wake up to what's been going on it won't make any difference what party controls congress, the WH, state governments, cities and counties, the peasants with pitchforks will be coming for all of them.

I can't remember who said it but I firmly believe it to be true - "Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable".

I'll be 70 years old this year - hope I'm still around to see it.

[RKP5637]

19. I think the tipping point is going to be reached. Hopefully the American masses are

going to wake up. Maybe it will take them grubbing on the street for survival, but eventually they might wake up. When one segment of a society suffers eventually all do IMO. Like an unchecked cancer, it will spread.

[rdking647]

33. so your willing to accept a president romney?

because abandoning Obama is what will be the result. happen..
if teh far left sits out 2012 the only chance for the dems is if the repukes nominate someone bat shit crazy like palin,.bachman or trump. if the nominate anyone normal the dems lose.
game over

[emilyg]

43. Tired old line.

[sabrina 1]

51. That's up to the president. He can decide, as the OP has

apparently, that the 'far left' is irrelevant, or he can start fighting for the things he stated he would fight for in his campaign. People will vote the way the feel, as they did in 2010. And in a way, that has worked out to be pretty effective. The Republicans who won, Walker, Scott et al, have gone so overboard, we now have the start of a new labor movement. An expected result of what seemed like a defeat, turned out to be a victory for the people.

But either the 'far left' is irrelevant or it isn't. If it is, as the OP seems to think, then it doesn't matter what they do.

[PSPS]

18. What a crock

You know right away that someone is watching too much cable TEE VEE opinion/"news" punditry when they say "the country is centrist or maybe even center right" and "America doesnt (sic) want a far left agenda." But it does show how the corporate media, and its consumers, have shifted the political discourse.

Is having a dignified retirement "far left?" Is abhorrence of torture "far left?" How about tax fairness? Is wanting people who prosper the most from the country's resources to pay their fair share in taxes "far left?" Is demanding justice for criminal behavior "far left?" I could go on, but you get the point.

On the other side, the "center" has now shifted so far to the right (in the media narrative and, thus, in the minds of its consumers) that it is apparently now considered "centrist" to want to wrest control of women's bodies away from them, to continue pilotless drone attacks on civilians, loot the treasury and, they hope, the trillions in the Social Security trust fund, and on and on.

I'm sorry, but this piece is nothing more than the same old DLC nonsense -- "We're just like the republicans, just less racist."

Call me when we have a real "left" candidate, let alone "far left." Ever since Reagan, the only choice we've had is right and far right.

[rdking647]

26. ok explain to me

how you win the presidency with a leftist candidate.

you need 271 electoral votes.
you have hard blue state and hard red states.
the battle is over the middle "purple states"
in the last 4 elections there have been 17 states that have been blue all 4 times
15 have been red all 4 times
that leaves 19 states as battlegrounds

of those 19 battleground states you have ohio which just elected a right wing governor
arizona... which is now almost a right wing satellite

and among the blue states you have wisconsin,which despite the left being as mobilized as and motivated as they could be,still didnt manage to defeat prosser.

explain to me how a "left" candidate could conceivably win???

[sabrina 1]

57. We did win with a 'leftist' candidate.

A majority of Americans voted for someone who sounded like a left-leaning Democrat. The problem is not winning, it's what happened after they got to the WH. And that is what may lose the election in 2012.

And I will know who to blame if we end up with another eight years of rightwing rule. And it won't be the voters.

You are making no sense. We won Congress, the WH and the Senate with 'left' ideas. And then the WH turned right and Congress went along.

So, you can stop trying to blame the voters. Independents are the critical demographic and they did not show up last November because of the swing to the right of this administration.

This is not a 'far right' country. All polls show that on Social Issues, this is a country that supports SS, a National Health Care system, Medicare for all is very popular across party lines.

This garbage that gets dragged out every election cycle is what is losing elections for us. We have to do something about te appeasers in this party. They are truly a liability at this point.

[MNBrewer]

20. This "compromise" is an unmitigated DISASTER for the Democrats

The Republicans wanted a complete dismantling of Federal social spending. What the Democrats gave them was a partial dismantling of Federal social spending.

How on earth is that a loss for the Republicans, and a win for the Democrats?

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

How do you completely dismantle Federal social spending? One cut, one program at a time.

This was a LOSS for the Democrats, pure and simple.

[rdking647]

28. the deficit is to large

whether you agree with that or not,the majority of americans do buy into that thinking. so cutting the deficit is what americans want... denying that is sticking your head in the sand

[Terra Alta]

30. We do need to cut the deficit, that's true

but not at the expense of the poor and elderly in America. Bring home our troops and reduce the defense budget, that would save trillions. Just don't mess with SS or Medicare.

[rdking647]

34. current us deficit is 1.5t

if defense was cut to zero that still leaves a deficit of 900b

[Terra Alta]

40. raise taxes on the richest 1%. End the war on drugs.

there's other things we can do than to cut Medicare and SS.. which is simply unacceptable.

[rdking647]

46. how high will you raise taxes?

the top 1% of income earners pays 38% of the total income taxes. (2008 figures)
in 2008 the US took in about 1.1 trillion in income taxes.
that makes the top 1% paying about 418b in income taxes..
If the effective tax rate was raised to what it was before the reagan tax cuts (about 12% higher) that would bring in only about 50b
if defense spending of 650B was but in half and combines with higher taxes thats only 375b... out of a 1.5T deficit..

now what do you cut????

face it,reality shows that "entitlements" need to be cut...

denying it is as crazy as the idiots on the right who deny Obama was born in hawaii

[sabrina 1]

58. You're working too hard to try to pave the way for

cuts to social programs. If that happens, expect a total defeat in 2012. That will answer the question once and for all, who does this party represent.

They asked for the job, now let them do as they claimed they could do. No excuses. They know how to do it.

And if I were you, I wouldn't waste any more time trying to defend the indefensible, unless you want Democrats to lose the next election. We tried to warn against this swing to the right last year also. But it's almost as if some people wanted Democrats to lose, and they did.

[MNBrewer]

32. Too large for what?

And.... why are they trimming around the edges? Why hold military spending sacrosanct? THAT'S where the Federal budget is hemorrhaging!

[demmiblue]

24. The last line is laughable. Lol! n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

29. "Far Left"?

Riiiiight.

Unrec

[Raine]

31. RIDICULOUS! nt

:thumbsdown:

[myrna minx]

38. "Far left" - lol. unrec. n/t

[rdking647]

42. like I care about ho many "unrecs" i get and

im a realist.. i dont want a GOP presidency.. and i realize that Obama is the only hope dems have..
Obama despite his faults is a hell of a lot better than bush was.. and Im not willing to give the GOP another chance by abandoning Obama

[myrna minx]

45. The people you are chastising are probably rather centrist

-it's the politics that have been dragged so far to the right -case in point this horrible budget. Feel free to gobble up this shit sandwich budget and say thank you - but I won't. I guarantee you've never met a 'far leftist' if you think those of us on DU who are expressing dissent or disappointment are "far leftists". May I suggest a trip to Greece or Paris to meet some "far leftists". :rofl:

[rdking647]

47. and last I checked greece was in a world of hurt

[myrna minx]

48. *Sigh* - my point is that what you think is a "far leftist" does not

resemble what a true "far leftist" is. Center left Democrats who want the public option, end the wars and gay rights are not "far-leftists".

I'm out this silly thread.

[Shagbark Hickory]

41. "Far left" as you put it, isn't in the minority. The far left, doesn't exist.

Nothing wrong with being a centrist and admitting as much.
That's what president obama is and his re-election hinges on centrist voters like yourself, particularly in swing states.

[Bucky]

44. Thugs broke into my house. They tried to smash everything. I convinced them to only smash 20 things.

I now declare a moral victory over the vandals.

[ejbr]

53. +1 n/t

[TransitJohn]

49. The country is left on all the issues...the media is what is 'right'. Bad post.

1/10.

[ejbr]

50. 81%

of Americans want to raise taxes on millionaires. That doesn't sound center right to me, or anything close to what Obama is trying to fight for...just sayin'

I stand corrected. Although the first half is disconcerting, to say the least.

April 10

President Obama this week will lay out a new approach to reducing the nation’s soaring debt, proposing reductions in spending on entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid and renewing his call for tax hikes on the rich.

[rdking647]

62. if you raised taxes

on the top 1% by 50% that would only bring in about 50B. a drop in the bucket compared to a 1.5T deficit

[ejbr]

65. Then we obviously need to raise taxes on more people n/t

[tpsbmam]

52. Bull. LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE Obama won the most votes for Pres. in American history.

CANDIDATE Obama ran on a progressive platform and, I reiterate, won the most votes for President in American history. He won by a decisive margin: 53% to 47% (both rounded off) or almost a 10 million vote advantage.

This America is centrist is a load of horseshit. He ran on a progressive platform and that's what American voters voted for!!

[grahamhgreen]

56. 81% of Americans want to tax the rich, 63% out of Afghanistan. That's how "far left" we are.

The Republicans need people.

[I Drink Water]

60. How did he "save" PP and the EPA?

They weren't in jeopardy just because the GOP said they were. It was a completely asinine manufactured crisis and Obama let them get away with it. Obama let the GOP take PP, the EPA, and the American people hostage and then he negotiated. Someone who cared about America and actual progress would have never let the GOP take hostages like that and then negotiate with them. That is not a leader.

Obama is not a leader, especially for the times. The times do not call for comprising with one of the most wretched and vile Republican party in American history. How is that change?

[jillan]

61. Planned Parenthood was used as a tool by Boehner to get more of what he wanted - and it's still on

on the chopping block.

[Ramulux]

63. What a fucked up misrepresenation

of what liberals in this country actually believe. Obama won the democratic primary and the general election because he ran as a real liberal. If this was truly a center-right country, a guy who bashed NAFTA and supported a single payer heath care system could never be president. The fact that Obama was elected president, disproves your entire nonsensical theory.

[upi402]

64. Baloney! We need to face reality - you're being propagandized!

Firts; watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZi8p7HUH_w
3:47 min

And think of what Dems did in the face of 81% in favor of taxing millionaires.
NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

66. " I want to thank Speaker Boehner.." Says it all.

That's from Obama's statement on the "deal".