>Walks like a duck, talks like a duck. He's campaigning.
Practically every single goddamn President we've had in the last 80 fucking years has done exactly what he's doing.
>Look at his most recent message, blaming Washington for losing focus on the economy. Really? He's the most powerful and influential man in Washington, yet he continues to act like he's an outsider even after FOUR AND A HALF YEARS of being president.
And yet he represents only one branch of government, doesn't control the second, and only sort of controls half of the third.
>What would I do if I were in his shoes? I would recognize the reality of split party politics and start holding daily meetings with the most influential people representing both sides. If there are intransigent members of the opposing party, I would start working on other members who are not so intransigent or idealistic. Start making deals with individual representatives.
That is EXACTLY what he did with the ACA. And then you assholes start with shit like the "Cornhusker Kickback."
The man can do absolutely nothing right in your eyes.
>Use my considerable influence in Washington and lobby for their support. Get down to the details of sticking points and work them through.
He has so little influence over the Republicans. They're scared shitless of their base. They will not budge on really anything and have said so since the minute he was elected. That's exactly the platform Liz Cheney is running on against Mike Enzi and how Mike Lee beat Bob Bennett.
>None of this is guaranteed to succeed. The gridlock might still remain. But that would be a lot more productive than running back to my comfort zone and telling people that they need to spam the inboxes of their representatives.
That's called "democracy." You familiar?
>And it's a much more honest effort than demagoguing the opposition and acting like they're a monolithic "party of no." That's a left-wing talking point, one that reflects an arrogance and a simple-mindedness that contributes to the hyper-partisanship we see in Washington these days.
The Republicans LOVE being the Part of No! LOVE it. They absolutely revel in it. Simply Google "Republicans no compromise." Congress has tried to repeal the ACA something like 40 times! They have filibustered, by far, more than any other Congress in the history of this country.
>All of this is easier said than done, of course, but I figure the president of the United States ought to be doing just that, not flying around from city to city in perpetual campaign mode. There are times for that, for sure, but Obama is just overdoing it, and I firmly believe it's because he's utterly incapable of doing anything else.
He has accomplished an incredible amount while in office. A zillion times more than I would've expected. You're just sucking on sour grapes because you don't like any of it. And I love it.
To quote the great John Cole:
"I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years."
-Z |
