I posted this as a comment in another diary and really had no intention of posting this as my own diary. But ... reading the comments by so many ... and seeing the history and comments of some people who absolutely do NOT have the Democratic party's best interest at heart, I figured I'd put it up just to put in my two cents.
I have felt for a while now that there are quite a few "ringers" on this site, and one in particular who, it seems to ME, pretends at progressivism to trash the president.
1% Want To Steal Your Social Security, Pres. Obama Is Helping Them
Practically since the modern social safety net was created wealthy, powerful right-wingers and organizations have been trying to kill it. In recent years, those right wing forces have had a lot of help from Democrats in making their twisted dreams a reality. Organizations like the billionaire Koch family created and funded Cato Institute and hedge fund billionaire Peter Peterson's namesake foundation have led the fight against Social Security.
The extreme right wing's attacks and deceptive campaigns over the course of decades are now close to fruition with the help of neoliberal Democrats.
President Obama has come very close to helping right-wingers realize their long-desired goal; only the incredible intransigence of congressional Republicans has saved the social safety net thus far.
The Bully Pulpit: An Administration Failure Zone
Americans are deeply confused about the economy. In his inaugural address, Obama warned that "the nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous." In private, he professes to understand that the growing concentration of income and wealth at the top has robbed the vast middle class of the purchasing power it needs to keep the economy going. He is well aware that the Great Recession wiped out $7.8 trillion of home value, crushing the nest eggs and eliminating the collateral that had allowed the middle class to keep spending despite declining wages -- a decrease in consumption that is directly responsible for the anemic recovery. But he doesn't explain this to the American people or attempt to mobilize them around a vision of what should be done.
Instead, even as unemployment rises to 9.2 percent and at least 14 million people look for work, he joins the GOP in making a fetish of reducing the budget deficit over the next decade and enters into a hair-raising game of chicken with House Republicans over whether the debt ceiling will be raised. Never once does he tell the public why reducing the deficit has become his No. 1 economic priority. Americans can only conclude that the Republicans must be correct -- that diminishing the deficit will somehow revive economic growth and restore jobs. ...
The word failure and Obama used in the same breath. A recurring themse.
Can President Obama Be Changed?
As one who is a frequent critic of the President's policies, who has taken his share of disapprobation from partisans of the President, I want to seriously ask a question:
When has passivity and failure to stand up for your principles, at key moments when "mandates" are being approved by the public at large, ever been a winning strategy for those principles?
Seriously?!?!
Do partisans of the President really feel that he is such a weak figure and poor politician that he cannot win an election if progressives stand up for their principles and attempt to drive his "mandate" to the left?
There's that failure word again.
Can You Fool 99% of the People 100% of the Time?
One of President Obama's political heroes, Abraham Lincoln famously said, "It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time." The question for today's politicians is, can you fool 99% of the people 100% of the time? That is, can you create and implement policies that blatantly serve a tiny fraction of the people at the expense of all of the people and get away with it?
As President Obama's populist rhetoric heats up into campaign mode and important measures of his own and his party's performance lag, the question arises, will the voters notice amidst all of the rhetoric that the job market is not improving and income inequality is growing?
Ah, the republican talking point. The job market is not improving. No matter the evidence, is is NOT improving. Rovian much?
Technology for Fun, Profit and Total Control
A diary about how the administration wants to spy on you.
Squat and Spread Your Cheeks
Thanks to five out of nine Supreme Court justices at the urging of the Obama administration that's what 14 million Americans a year can expect to hear when they get arrested and sent to jail. That includes several hundred thousand people per year arrested for minor infractions, everything from having unpaid traffic tickets to, oh, what is it that protesters get charged with... disorderly conduct, public nuisance or irritating an idiot that has mistakenly been issued a badge, a gun and a can of mace.
Spread your cheeks. At the urging of the Obama administration, people with unpaid traffic tickets will be anally probed. But of course, he's just trying to make the Democratic party better.
99% Spring - An Occupy-Like Movement For People Who Want To Be Told What To Do?
Could the intent of MoveOn.org in organizing this be to, at a critical time for the Occupy movement, as it is gearing up for a major spring event, the May Day General Strike which is part of a much anticipated "spring revival" of Occupy activism - to draw away participants and momentum from Occupy and channel the activism ultimately to benefit the Democratic Party? It seems a fair question given the circumstances.
This is a doozy. Using charts and graphs it proves that move on and Obama are trying to end the occupy movement. Holy shit.
Warriors vs. Journalists, Obama vs. Truth
This past week, several stories appeared which indicate the degree to which true investigative reporting about US efforts in the Global War on Terror is at odds with the desires of the Obama administration and the lengths to which the administration will go to create their preferred narrative and suppress reporting that fails to fit. At the same time, the President and other administration officials have made public statements, unsupported by documentation, that they refuse for alleged "national security reasons" to release to the ACLU and journalists.
This diary will continue some of the themes developed in a previous diary, President Obama's Propaganda Wars regarding the Obama administration's attempts to "dominate the information spectrum."
Okay. Obama versus truth. Honest to gawd. Is this guy Karl Rove?
Obama Administration Facilitates "Turnkey Totalitarian State"
This past week two related stories broke, James Bamford's article on the NSA's "Stellar Wind" project in Utah which will dramatically enhance the governments ability to store and process intercepted ...
So, Obama hates the truth and is also a totalitarian. I guess Obama is the devil, right?
Native Americans in "free speech zone" cage to protest Obama decision
This morning President Obama will give a speech in Cushing Oklahoma to announce his decision to fast-track the Keystone XL pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Cushing to the Gulf. Native Americans ...
Oh, and now Obama is caging Native Americans. Next, he'll be putting all progressive on reservations I guess.
President Obama's Propaganda Wars
In the last week or so two news stories have broken that are both quite important and remarkably underreported. First is the story about the issuance of an official accusation by the UN Special ...
Obama the propagandist. I guess in a totalitarian state, it's to be expected.
President Obama's happy numbers and the reality-based community
A few days ago the BLS released some new employment numbers and as soon as they were released, the spinning began . Bloomberg reported that the new numbers augured well for President Obama's re-...
Do NOT feel good. Be very afraid of feeling good. Obama is coming to take your children!!!
Eric Holder promotes assassination policy
Ah yes ... just for laughs. Assassination is a fun word.
Mr. Obama please unhand the internets!
Do you want Mr. Obama to win the elections this fall? Then please help him by contacting him to tell him to stop doing one of the most boneheaded things a politician can do these days - alienate ...
Obama the bonehead. This diary goes back a ways. I guess he was starting out slow.
You may have already lost far more than an election
In the past several days I've noticed a few diaries and comments that are suggesting that now that the 2012 election is drawing near it is imperative that we circle the wagons and support our guy. I'...
Really. Don't worry about Obama. Don't vote for Obama. Don't give to Obama. It's the progressive thing to do.
Obama continues Bush's "State of National Emergency," Congress Abdicates Legal Responsibilities
Obama is Bush. Of course he is.
Why a primary challenge to Obama doesn't matter
Obama's sponsors are the folks who are going to again provide huge amounts of cash to his campaign. In 2008 only about 25% of the 750 million dollars that Obama raised came from small donors. This time around, Obama is looking to raise a billion dollars and he's asking his big supporters to collect $350,000 dollars each.
This one is a doozy. Remember how proud we were about the number of small donors to the Obama campaign? Well, it seems that a Red State like dismissal of that was in order in this diary.
I have not linked to these diaries. There are there to see. I'm just trying to point out that there is no question ... in MY mind ... that this character is a plant. That's all.