Rachel Maddow Nails It, Too

[filkertom]

In case you think we all just instantly wuuuuv Obama.

Comments

[ericthemage.livejournal.com]

Obama is trying to appease Republicans who would claim that he ignores Republicans, just like they did to Democrats these past 8 years. They'll probably continue to vote no on everything he proposes, just to say in 2 years that he refuses to reach across the aisle.

[wouldyoueva.livejournal.com]

It's one of our dirty little secrets in our country that government DOES do some things better than the private section. And sometimes you need big government to force big business, and even big labor, to behave.

I do believe it's important to have government involvement. Maybe it's because my father was able to go from being a hobo riding the rails to someone who helped build one of the largest dams in the world because of programs like the CCC, and the WPA. Maybe it's because I'm part of government, and got to see that, as bad as it can be sometimes, Medicare DID provide health insurance at a fraction of what our own health insurance cost. NOAA is doing research that needs to be done but private industry can't or won't fund.

We've known for decades that we can put the power lines underground and avoid blackouts due to wind and ice. At the local level, government is not willing to make a condition of approving development plans that the wiring go underground. That pressue has needed to be applied from the top down.

You would think Obama could wait 100 days to start ass-kissing.

And now I understand why other women have girl crushes on Rachel Maddow.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I have heard the speculation that Obama is trying to extend a bipartisan hand to the Repubs so that he can eventually say something like, "Look, I tried working with them, and they think partisan posturing and tiny little victories on meaningless points are more important than doing something good for the people of this country. They still think the tax cuts that helped get us into this mess are somehow going to get us out. And they have no productive ideas at all. I tried to work with them, and this is what we get. So now we're going to do things my way." And then he jams through everything he possibly can.

I'm not holding my breath. But it would be nice.

[timewalker.livejournal.com]

That is the only thing that makes political sense. So yeah, probably not. *sigh*

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

[updated to correct spelling, and remove some whaffly language]

Obama's facing a conservative majority in the Senate (half the Democrats are conservative) and conservative leadership in both houses. It's outrageous that the House Democratic Leadership is conservative, since the House Democrats, taken one by one, are not, but there it is. It's not 1932 yet--things aren't so awful that progressives can just steamroll the Congress. I wish we could. Obama may or may not want to do what we want, but right now it would be nearly impossible for him to do it, and he's going to have maneuver to do anything.

I think the next progressive project, now that Bush is out, has to be to break the conservative Democratic leadership in the Senate.

[starsongky.livejournal.com]

We're among those lucky Kentuckians who never lost power, though it did flicker several times. There's a transformer pole right behind our house with lines running directly across our treeless backyard. There are a couple of trees at the property edges outside our fence, one's short enough not to reach the lines at all and the other's too far away from them. Fortunately, since about half the limbs snapped under the weight of the ice, crushing a big section of fence under it.

My mother-in-law wasn't so lucky, she's been here most of the week because her power's out (electric heat) and they have no estimate when it'll be on again. Hubby went to pick up her mail a few days ago and ran into a maintenance guy putting antifreeze in her toilets to keep them from shattering.

[newjerseybadger.livejournal.com]

Yah, this is good. I like it. Is it op-ed?

[danceswithlife]

Just a fairly regular part of Rachel's show on MSNBC M-F at 9pm Eastern (can be watched online at MSNBC.com about an hour after the show ends every evening). Even more than Keith Olberman, she is sometimes (at least once a week--lately, more often) critical of Obama. I don't always agree with her criticisms, but I'm glad she's there to remind us that this guy isn't superman, and needs to be watched closely--as does the Democratic congress.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Obama reaches out to repubs, tries to compromise with them, and they throw it back. To repubs bi-partisan translates into "do whatever we want". I'm disgusted and disappointed with our President. I appreciate the fact he tried to work with them, he should have, but he needs to learn his lesson. He met them half way, now it's their turn.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

I hope he's trying to break the conservative dominance of the Republican party. As the current situation wears on, it's going to become harder and harder to be hard right--if Obama offers them an out, some of them will take it. I pray I'm right!

[boy-pastiche.livejournal.com]

can i repost this?

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

YOUR name is "TOBY"!

[wormquartet.livejournal.com]

Heh. That was damned interesting.

-=ShoEboX=-

[dbcooper.livejournal.com]

I am, for reasons discussed previously, a Republican. Of course, for those same reasons, it costs me nothing to say:

Screw the Republicans. Screw anyone who believes in grabbing more votes by not spending money we need to spend on the roads, bridges, electrical grid, and other vital civil engineering work that has gone without maintenance for far too long. ESPECIALLY screw the Republicans who voted as a bloc against the bill that Obama specifically had the Democrats water down for them.

Screw every member of another party who aligns him or herself with anti-maintenance types.

You want post-partisan? I'll give you post-partisan. Make the next executive order one that requires every Congressthing to stop using stuff they stop funding. They don't fund power grid improvements? Hope they like batteries--and they can't even turn their Official Desk Lamps on. (Those who voted for the grid will turn theirs on for solidarity.) They don't fund roads and bridges? No car. They ride the buses to work. (I'll even accept House and Senate "loser cruisers.") What's this? No public transportation funding? Fine. They walk. In the DC snow. Uphill both ways, if possible--and I don't give a steaming heap if they're decrepit; their constituents have to suck it up regardless of age, so now they will too.

Yeah, I know. It's a fantasy, but still, I'd love to deliver that as a speech to a joint session...particularly with the reduced danger of extraordinary rendition. ;)

And yes, if Obama abandons the principles that got elected, screw him too. There, I said it. We didn't just elect him for his congeniality, after all--refreshing a change as that was.