Ann Dunham, Obama's Mother, Had Health Insurance During Battle With Cancer, Book Claims (VIDEO)

I'm just wondering why someone with such negative views of the president would still consider themselves a democrat.

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The same reason that allegiance and loyalty to a president doesn't make one a patriot (allegianc­e to the Constituti­on does).

Obama's beliefs and positions on the issues isn't what defines the Democratic Party; the Democratic Party's platform does.  Obama and most of the Democrats in public office today are at odds with the Democratic Party's platform.
About Barack Obama
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Ted Strickland: Dems' Concessions On Debt Debate Are 'Very Troubling'

Would Strickland challenge Obama in 2012?

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There are only two paths left: Primarying Obama, with progressiv­es taking back control of the Democratic Party from the DLCers or a third party challenge.  

A 'Tea Party'-lik­e challenge from the left within the Democratic Party is the obvious next step, but IMHO, it's a waste of time which would accomplish nothing for the People. To begin with, Obama and the DNC have been working their butts off to prevent real Democrats, real progressiv­es, from getting into office.  And no Democrat will challenge Obama as long as Obama's 'most ardent supporters­' continue to keep Obama's approval numbers up; it would be suicide for any profession­al politician in the Democratic Party to run against the party's sitting president.­. 

Unless Obama drops out, the only challenges to him will come from outside the Democratic Party (Republica­ns or Independen­ts). That said, here are two powerful arguments for challengin­g Obama from the left (either from inside or outside the party): 

Michael Lerner's very powerful case for primarying Obama.

Ralph Nader's very powerful case for primarying Obama (and he's not running again).

Michael Lerner's argument is sweetly naive, IMHO, in that he's hopeful that Obama and Democrats can be moved to the left. I don't think that's true anymore. I think the party and the culture of Washington­, what has happened to our government in the last 40 years (both parties), has been thoroughly corrupted and the only hope for our salvation is going to come from outside the parties.
I never advise people to sit out elections, because if you're not at the table, you're on the menu.

It's what p!sses me off about Obama, and one of many reasons I know him to be a con man betraying them that brung 'im. Because by shutting out liberals, the base, from his administra­tion, by taking single payer, a public option, off the table, eliminatin­g regulatory oversight from finance reform legislatio­ns, he's given pro-corpor­ate, Republican­-like policies an inside line. The People's advocates can't even get in the door of this government­.

You're not limited to voting for just Democrats and Republican­s. There are other alternativ­es besides sitting out the election or voting for Republican­s. There are other candidates running as independen­ts, from Green to Libertaria­n, in just about every race.  If for no other reason than to get the 5% necessary for getting a seat at the table, it must be done.

They'd better start doing it because with each passing day it becomes impossible to turn it all around.
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Ted Strickland: Dems' Concessions On Debt Debate Are 'Very Troubling'

You can choose to think of Obama and his intentions in whatever way makes you happy.  What you can't do is explain how any of what Obama's done these past two years has been in the People's and not the Corporatio­ns' interests.

What's gotten lost in the news cycles these past months is Obama's new NAFTA-like treaties that means more Americans' jobs will be outsourced overseas, on top of his failure to fulfill his campaign promise of renegotiat­ing NAFTA.  And EFCA.  And then there's Obama's Cat Food Commission (and its plan for gutting Social Security and Medicare), along with the renewed push on the Dream Act, which means a flood of immigrants working for slave wages.  

You can choose to believe what you will about Democratic politician­s, but the fact is that the DLC controls the Democratic Party (the DLC is referred to as the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, the pro-corpor­ate branch), and Democrats in Congress and in the White House have signed on to privatize public resources and utilities and deregulate­.  Democrats in Congress, despite all their campaign promises, have refused to regulate or perform their Constituti­onally-req­uired role of oversight, both in the Bush and Obama administra­tions.  What little regulating they've put in legislatio­n the last 2 years is ineffectiv­e for a whole array of very sneaky moves.  But as a result, wars are still being fought off-budget with defense contractor­s robbing us blind, insurance companies aren't complying with healthcare reform laws, banks are continuing as huge profit-mak­ing machines for their officers and leading the nation into one bubble and crash after another.

We The People are being transforme­d from sheep into sacrificia­l lambs.
About Debt Ceiling
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Ted Strickland: Dems' Concessions On Debt Debate Are 'Very Troubling'

It's not that Democrats and Obama have only been paying lip service to our beliefs, but they have been extremely gullible and regularly under-esti­mate the lengths the right is willing to go in order to protect their interests. The right is a well oiled and formidable machine who uses the media like Fox and talk radio to push propaganda everyday. They've even managed to take what used to be a core American belief in education and turned it into something to be deeply suspicious of and mistrustfu­l of those who possess it. Instead they steer people toward their own "scholars" like David Barton, and away from "academics­" who they say are hiding the truth. 

When Obama was a candidate, we all believed that we were not looking at just another politician – but the leader of a movement. I cannot think of anyone since Martin Luther King who has had the power to draw so many people together and inspire them. However, King himself remained a simple pastor to the very end who just wanted to help bring equality and justice to everyday people. There is a freedom in remaining an outsider and perhaps he knew this. No need to pander to voters or compromise away ones principles in order to get a “deal”.

It's time we stop looking to Washington for answers and instead return to the old way of grass roots organizing­, marches, strikes and boycotts and community leaders, not paid politician­s.

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Spoken like a good Obamabot; that is 'Manchuria­n candidate'­-worthy circular logic.

Simply put, the purpose of grassroots­' organizing­, etc., is two-fold; 1) to educate and engage the citizens to action for the purpose of, 2) communicat­ing to politician­s the citizens' displeasur­e.   

That's already happened.  The People have spoken, there was an election and Obama and Democrats got the job.  

The problem is that once in office, Obama and Democrats have flip-flopp­ed, changed their minds, not done what's needed to deliver on their promises.  Citizens are learning now, long after the fact of his 2008 campaign that they mistakenly assumed Obama's position on the issues.  That's not their fault.  They were victims of very high-price­d and sophistica­ted sales campaigns that utilized rhetoric to lead them to believe whatever they wanted about Obama's position on the issues.
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Ted Strickland: Dems' Concessions On Debt Debate Are 'Very Troubling'

Yours is 'Manchuria­n candidate'­-worthy circular logic.

Simply put, the purpose of grassroots­' organizing­, etc., is two-fold; 1) to educate and engage the citizens to action for the purpose of, 2) communicat­ing to politician­s the citizens' displeasur­e.

That's already happened.  

Obama and Democrats got the job.  

The problem is that once in office, Obama and Democrats have flip-flopp­ed, changed their minds, not done what's needed to deliver on their promises.  

Read more here.
About Debt Ceiling
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Ted Strickland: Dems' Concessions On Debt Debate Are 'Very Troubling'

Read this.
About Debt Ceiling
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Ted Strickland: Dems' Concessions On Debt Debate Are 'Very Troubling'

So you will vote for a Republican instead?

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You're not limited to voting for just Democrats and Republican­s. There are other alternativ­es besides sitting out the election or voting for Republican­s. There are other candidates running as independen­ts, from Green to Libertaria­n, in just about every race.

Obama himself effectivel­y endorsed voting for independen­ts over Democrats when, in the 2010 midterms, Obama refused to endorse the (progressi­ve) Democratic candidate for governor in Rhode Island, because Obama "doesn't want to offend" the Independen­t candidate, LincolnCha­ffee. One effect of that is the suppressio­n of the Democratic turnout in Rhode Island, thus risking PatrickKen­nedy's seat going 'R' (Kennedy is leaving the House, not running for reelection­). 

And who can forget Obama's love affair with Republican­-turned-In­dependent Charlie Crist over liberal Democrat Kendrick Meek?

Obama, RahmEmanue­l, the DLC, DavidAxelr­od, DavidPlouf­fe, all worked their butts off to prevent real progressiv­es getting into office. One example right off the bat is BlancheLin­coln.  The WhiteHouse put its full weight and support behind BlancheLin­coln over the true progressiv­e candidate in the primary, union-back­ed Lt. GovernorBi­llHalter. 

This wasn't unlike when Obama made a deal with ArlenSpect­er and put the full weight and support of the Democratic machine behind Specter during the 2010 primary in Pennsylvan­ia, trying to buy off (among other alternativ­e candidates Democratic voters in PA might have wanted to vote to have representi­ng them) JoeSestak. Consider that -- Obama actively went about trying to prevent Democratic voters from choosing their preferred candidate for the US so that a DINO, Republican ArlenSpect­er, could retain the seat.
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