A Failure Of Leadership, Or Just A Betrayal? - Obama, The Democratic Party, ACA, Single Payer, Public Option, Liberal/Progressive Policies
Monday, March 14, 2011
It doesn't matter how much greater the majority was or is -- Obama had enough to accomplish the goals that he and Democratic politicians were put into office to achieve and he refused to. He didn't even need 60 to pass healthcare with a public option -- He passed his insurance and pharmaceutical grand giveaway through reconciliation.
Obama and Democrats fight when they want to, when it comes to an issue or keeping an office that they want. When Democrats needed to extend unemployment benefits and Jim Bunning threatened to filibuster if it came to the floor of the Senate, Harry Reid called the GOP's bluff (after 2 previous times that Reid caved to the threat); Bunning, Mitch McConnell and Republicans in the Senate folded and unemployment benefits were extended.
The same could have been done with the DISCLOSE Act (forcing a filibuster), although "disclosing" isn't the problem -- Private money in our public elections is the problem.
Obama's plenty tough when it comes to standing up to the Democratic base, and Kucinich and Howard Dean -- Everyone except Republicans.
Just to show you where Obama's and the DLC's real heart lies, there are so many things he and the DLC/DNC could have done, could be doing, to get real Democratic legislation through, but don't.
Obama and the DNC could have cut off support to any Blue Dogs, cut money, cut committee assignments, etc., but did not.
There is plenty that a President and a Speaker of the House and a Senate Majority Leader can do to pressure representatives and senators into voting as you want them to vote. We saw that Obama had no problem doing it when he wanted and needed Blue Dogs like Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu's votes -- He literally bought them.
There is nothing that the Blue Dogs are doing that Obama and the DLC doesn't want them to do.
Before the midterms of 2010, I asked, facetiously, if Obama's 'most ardent supporters ' believed that if Democrats lost control of Congress, would Democratic politicians be as effective at preventing the Republicans' agenda from moving forward as Republicans have been at stymieing Democrats. After all, there would still be more numbers of Democrats in Congress AND a Democratic White House.
Not one of Obama's 'most ardent fans' replied.
And after the 2010 midterms, Obama had the audacity to say that voters wanted Republican policies, and more caving to the right.
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