Barack Obama might have been named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year...
By louisehartmann
But he’s also making a run at capitulator of the year. Fallout continues one day after the White House proposed turning the austerity knives on Social Security Insurance in their latest “fiscal cliff” proposal. To make matters worse, Democratic leaders in the House signed on to the President’s proposal, while at the same time acknowledging there is “understandable resistance.” Founder of the DailyKos, Markos Moulitsas, weighed on the latest White House offer saying, “Capitulation is never a strength. A deal will obviously require concessions by the president, but you make those to FINISH the deal, not in the middle of negotiations, and not until after you've branded the opposition with the concessions they're demanding.”
But once again, another negotiation on Capitol Hill has been completely on Republican grounds. Our lawmakers are debating just how many wealthy people will get a tax cut, and how hard seniors and the poor will get hit with cuts to insurance programs like Medicare and Social Security. Yet, no one is talking about progressive reforms, like a financial transaction tax on Wall Street, a single-payer health care system to reduce healthcare spending and the deficit, breaking up the big banks, raising the minimum wage, and making hedgefund managers and vulture capitalists like Mitt Romney pay their fair share in taxes.
To see just how progressive institutions across America have been damaged by thirty years of Reaganomics and union-busting, one doesn’t have to look much farther than the current ludicrous debate on Capitol Hill. The progressive counter-balance in America has been damaged, and now all we have is center-right Republicans debating far-right Republicans – and neither side seems to give a damn about the Middle Class.
We have a lot of work left to do.
Comments
#2
Alright! Fantastic! Finally! ...that Hartmann is now telling it like it is...(now that Obama won, of course). And I won't even say..."I told you so!" Obama is starting to change colors...chameleon-like (no racist pun intended). He hides beneath the rock, comes out and makes a lot of bravado statements in support of the majority and then, zappo, scurries back under his rock and reneges on his position. He'll never really stand up to the Republicans. I was totally hoping I would be totally wrong. But, nope, he's at it again...can't we all just...get along...I got it...let's compromise with the uncompromisers...again! Well, at least, I didn't get suckered into voting for him again this last time. Maybe I'll put that on my tombstone! Maybe too many others will have to put on their tombstones "Would like to have stayed a while longer...but I voted for Obama and not Jill Stein". And, of course, it's not just Obama..it's the damn Democrat party itself....a smoke and mirrors sellout to the American people. They're all corporatists! Republicans...Democrats...doesn't matter...same, same! Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
So, if the Democrats sell us out to the Republicans again does that mean that, come the 2014 election, formerly voting Democrats will repeat their previous actions and stay home in protest of the sellout of their representatives. And the Republicans take back all the power again? Almost like it was all planned from the beginning. After all, the ruling elite controls both Republican and Democrats...all they want is to fool the people long enough to defuse any built up notions of exploding into making a scene. Smoke and mirrors!
#3
I think Obama is only thinking about his legacy - just as Reagan was known as "The Great Communicator", Obama wants to be the "Great Compromiser". At any cost. Unfortunately, he will only be remembered as "The Great Sell-Out".
#4
I call him "caveman" or "Alley Oop" (a variation on the cave-man idea). For a few weeks it looked like he might be quitting those caving ways, but it seems like he's back to his old, spineless ways. At least I don't feel like I was fooled. I have the luxury of living in a state that is not a swing state and I voted third party.
#5
The principles of President Obama are apparent when noting that he positively quotes Reagan more than FDR, HST, JFK, and LBJ combined. As soon as Obama appointed Geithner, Summers, and some other Wall Street cronies to his first administration, it was obvious that he would not be another FDR.
#6
What if Obama tells the fascists that he'll cut so much SS from the budget and they bite? Then he can say, SS isn't part of the budget. There's nothing to take.
Lawyers lawyer.
#7
I am so disappointed in my president. He promised not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. Does he not realize that cuts in Social Security and Medicare, especially when coupled with the rising cost of living, will reduce already struggling seniors to the brink of sub standard living?
#8
I can't help but feel Obama is using the Republicans as an excuse to do what he actually wants. Why else would he capitulate to them so often and repeatedly allow them to dictate the boundaries for every negotiation? People have said that both parties are working for the same corporate interests and that they are essentially playing "good cop bad cop" with the public. To make matters worse the cycle only continues because they insulate each other at election time since voters are afraid of wasting their votes on a third party
.
#9
Two economists were interviewed by Moyers; Bruce Bartlett and Yves Smith. Both agreed that Obama is to the right of Reagan,and way right of Nixon. Other comments were also interesting/revealing: Obama wants to reduce "entitlements," as he stated at a luncheon attended by George Will before O took office, that O wants to go down in history as the pres who reduced entitlements; that Boehner cannot agree until the eleventh hour because he will be faulted as comprimising "too soon." Bartlett said that coming to any compromise on this is bad for the middle class, that the best is to let the tax cuts expire, and that their effect would be minimal anyway. O is a fiscal conservative and to call him a socialist is ludicrous. Smith agreed more or less, can't remember exact words ... enlightening interview for me ...
#10
Excuse me what the hell does SS have to do with Budgets or the Deficit??? And how much can be cut; and what if anything does that do to the Deficit. WTF? What's going on? Am I going insane or is the news? Is or is not SS a separate account?
I have NO TROUBLE with responsibly fine-tuning Social Security based on the realities of demographics. Tying SS to a more realistic Cost of Living Index, may even make sense ... as long as it provides the overall safety-net, within realities of keeping a healthy Sr. Retirement program. I can deal with that too.
However, as part of the Deficit-Reduction ??? ??? -- Any diddling with Social Security seems trivial and irrevelient. What am I missing???
#11
President Obama is selling us out. He PROMISED during his campaign NOT TO PUT SS OR MED ON THE TABLE and, yet, there they are. He has lost his moral compass and is just like the GOP. Whatever it takes!
Get off of it Obama and say NO! A BAD DEAL IS WORSE THAN NO DEAL AT ALL. GROW A PAIR AND STAND UP FOR US AS YOU SAID YOU WOULD.
#12
I don't know about anybody else but I do not make enough SS to live on. Only reason we are doing OK right now is because my husband has income. When that disappears I will be one of those loney people you see with a shopping cart pushing along all their worldly goods. NOT!!! I will find a current Dr. Kavorkian and take care of the problem myself. Cannot see myself living in a society that is run by people like BONER, CAN'TER! AND, NOW, OBAMA! Since I do not believe in an afterlife and believe that what we have here on earth is it, do not think that is the end that I want to have to endure.
GROW SOME CAJONES, OBAMA, AND KEEP YOUR WORK - FOR ONCE!!!!!!!! YOU ARE NOT THE MAN OF THE YEAR IF YOU CANNOT PULL SOMETHING OFF BETTER THAN THIS.
#13
With any luck, Harry Reid will vote all of this down and we will just let the fiscal cliff swallow us up.
#14
Look out for the mass exodus of Senior Citizens to Mexico where they will still be able to get their meager SS checks and then spend them more frugally down there....not to mention the cheap prescription drugs all without needing a prescription...just walk into any pharmacia and get them even without a prescription. And the doctors are just as capable as those golf club swinging witch doctors in the US...maybe better...and cheaper. I noticed a lot of people from not only the US but from a lot of other countries living in communities around Lake Chapala just south of Guadalajara. The communities looked about like any nice community one would find in the US. It is generally warmer in the winter as well. Overall, a very nice place to live. I think Jesse Ventura has the right idea...although he lives down near the southern tip of the Baja peninsula part of the year..nice ocean views....and "off the grid" with solar panels...you can even see them on Google Earth. But I won't tell you exactly where his place is..sorry...you'll have to figure that out yourself...like I did.
#15
What the hell is going on, Obama has the ball but he's trying to score at the Teapublican end of the court?.... maybe it's just an electrolyte imbalance?...... what's up with that?
Obama needs to realize that his capitulation amounts to a serious miscalculation of representation. He may think he's appeasing the 47% who unknowingly voted for more poverty. In reality he's simply representing the handful of billionaires who spent billions to convince the 47% to vote for more poverty, more union busting, and lower wages. Will someone please tell him what DEMOCRACY smells like. A BILLIONAIRES VOTE COUNTS NO MORE THAN MINE! Raise the damn cap, drop the retirement age, and make the payments a true cost of living amount. Who in the middle class can stash money for retirement anymore anyway, and why should anyone work their ass off to make someone else rich and then retire in poverty?
The point about branding the opposition with the concessions is critical. The media consistently presents the situation as simply Obama wanting to raise taxes. You never hear that the Republicans simply want to cut Social Security and other well run nonprofit programs. It's the nonprofit part that really pisses them off, case in point, the Post Office privitization attempt. It all really has nothing to do with the deficit. It just piggish individuals wanting more from the vast majority of us who have nothing left to steal.
#16
I will not even bother to denounce Obama. But on second thought, I will try to voice my disgust for this president. He is a Republican in a blue suit. He does not care a damn about how is inactions will affect the poor who's lifesaving programs will be cut. I did not vote for this guy because after four years it was apparent he was for Obama and not the citizens of our country. He was there to make sure Wall St. Banksters were not charged with any crimes. If the budget actually goes over the mythical cliff he will get what he really wants. but could not do it without losing his image of the president who puts the Citizens of America first. He can now enact Austerity measures into the economy without having to do anything, which is what he has done for the last four years (nothing). He will get his tax cuts while cutting back on social programs to put into effect the cost cutting measures of austerity, as they have done in England. He is a conservative who was elected as a Progressive by the voters. This guy is a better actor than Reagan ever was. He cannot be trusted to do anything he has promised to do if elected and re-elected! He is a coward who is more concerned with his legacy and book deals than he is with the people who will suffer because of his inactions. I truly believe this whole fiscal cliff scenario is a conspiracy by the White House and the Republican House leader to push the poor and middle class over the cliff. Does anyone really think the wealthiest Americans will suffer because their taxes will go up? If you do I have a bridge to sell you at a cheap price. Every social program from housing programs for the poor to the food stamp program and everything in between will get the ax. Not to mention the people who will be looking for a new job in a jobless economy. And this president is still pushing another Free Trade Agreement to send American jobs to Asia. I am just glad that my hands are clean; I did not vote for this guy in the election, I voted for Dr. Stein. We ended up with the least of the two evils when the Democrats put him back into office. Imagine the richest nation on earth with the greatest military had to choose between the least of two evils for president. A really sad situation for Americas living during this period of time in our history...
#17
I'm afraid you are completely right about the damage the 30 years of Reaganomics has cost the country; but, I must add, look at the cost to the country from the bone-head move to discontinue funding of our psychiatric institutions.
I'm no fan of psychiatric institutions having a brother who after a tragic accident at birth was confined to one, but the release of patients from these facilities of last resort certainly contributed to every psycho murder spree we have had from the Batman movie to Sandy Hook. Or, on the other hand, helped to conceal the real culprits behind these heinous crimes.
Thom, without facts to back up the claims I cannot support or discredit any of the conspiracy theories I've heard. The dangerous fact that remains is that because of the US Government's corrupt handling of everything from the Kennedy murder, to Vietnam, to 911, I cannot in good conscious without the facts dismiss the ridiculous conspiracy theories I've heard so far concerning Sandy Hook.
I'm no particular fan of far-out conspiracy theory's; but, since the grassy noel and the Kennedy Warren Commission fiasco, I like every other devout American accept nothing the Government feeds us as facts without rigorous research and logical personal analysis.
With all due respect it seems to me that the only legitimate rational for Reagan's abandonment of psychiatric facilities would be to explain an untold number of "lone psycho murders" as lone nut theories instead of legitimate investigations. In short, to cover Reagan's own, and the Republican Party's own, nefarious activities.
It is truly sad that every "lone nut" murder spree we now face is legitimized by the same "lone nut" explanation of the original Warren Commission instead of legitimate investigations. Instead of reinstating our previous psychiatric institutions we dozily accept the explanation that legitimately disturbed people are committing these atrocities and there is nothing we can do about it but sacrifice our constitutional rights.
Thom, I'd be shock and disappointed if someone of your intellect would be swayed by this neophyte propaganda.
#18
Recall Biden saying, "Number one, I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security," - August 14, 2012
What in the world are Obama and the house dems doing???!!!
Though I've long referred to Reagan as the all time "Great Capitulator" for his stunning beyond all reason reversal of "No negotiations with terrorists of any kind", to become chief supplier of American military weapons to those Iranians who chant, "Death to America", my dear President Obama is carving out a new political name for himself, pick whichever is your fancy:
The Serial Caveman, or The Serial Capitulator.
What a bitter disappointment, I'm here left clinging to hope that our next president will be more like FDR, and not at all Reagan. Obama is too eager to grovel for republican approval. His legacy looks like it will be to simply further Reagan's legacy. I'm just hoping he doesn't tip the Supreme Court further to the right.
Hey Joe Biden, it's time to give your boss an attitude adjustment, PLEASE!!!
#19
I don't agree... THIS is a chess game. NO ONE should be reporting on the negotiations, but - alas - that's the way the game must be played. President Obama is not going to sell us out. But he DOES need to get the best deal for everyone, combined.
I'm on Medicare & Social Security. I get $1037.00/month. Yes, I'd love to have an income increase, but as long as President Obama maintains control for ALL Americans, I can live on what I get, along with my stipend, which is only $2000.00 more. I can't live in the best of places, or go out to eat or order in very often. But I can still afford my prescriptions, buy what little gasoline I need each month to get to my Dr. appointments, and afford my animals who keep me company. We all need to be thankful we have what we do, and that we have a President who cares about those of us who aren't millionaires.
My mom lived on $767.00 a month in a retirement community. I helped her when I was still working, but when I became disabled at a much too early age, she had to learn to fend for herself. She did alright, too. She played piano at private parties until she died at 77. She didn't make a lot of extra money, but to someone like her, $150/month extra income meant a whole lot. It made the difference from being able to buy & send out Christmas Cards every year. You'd be surprised what something so simple as that can mean to a senior.
Let the President negotiate to the best of his ability. And if you think a President Romney would do you any better, I feel sorry for you.
#20
Duplicitous.
Absolutely duplicitous. Says one thing, does another. Pure and simple.
The corporate fascists central casting office found a guy who looked the part, but could be depended on to do just what they want. And his name is Barack Obama.
#21
2014 to be lost because of this?
That's exactly what the corporate fascists want. So don't be surprised.
#22
Monica saved Social Security from Clinton
Ever see this about how the bad press about L'Affaire Lewinsky stopped Clinton from destroying Social Security in he late 1990s? http://www.counterpunch.org/2004/10/30/how-monica-lewinsky-saved-social-security/
But this time the DLCers are making sure Obama gets it done! And this proves ONCE AND FOR ALL that Ralph Nader was correct all along -- both parties are corrupted and no longer independent of their private sector masters.
#23
If Obama does sell us out to the Republicans, I think it would be high time to start talking about impeaching him as a traitor to his constituents. Isn't it also a crime to defraud those on Social Security, dipping into the till of those who spent their working lives paying into Social Security...it should be.
Quote ken ware:" I truly believe this whole fiscal cliff scenario is a conspiracy by the White House and the Republican House leader to push the poor and middle class over the cliff."I certainly agree with that.
#24
Haven't we seen this movie before? So much for Obama's promises: to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (which he wound up signing anyway, imposing martial law on the citizens of this GREAT country); to make healthcare affordable (NOT!); to keep Social Security & Medicare "off the table" (which he now is cutting). It's an Obama trademark: vow to do one thing, then do the opposite.
#25
No kidding, Thom, we've got our work cut out for us.
I share your anger and outrage, everyone, and feel your pain. But I will confess, I voted for Obama. I voted the lesser evil this tims. I did it without enthusiasm or confidence. I was too freaked out by Romney & Ryan to vote for anyone who didn't have a decent chance of beating them.
Early into Obama's first term, I sized him up as a weak leader at best. I wanted badly to be wrong, but on a gut level I knew I wasn't. Like many others, I sorta hoped he'd become more assertive during a second term in office, once freed from the burden of re-election. But my expectations were low. With this latest turn of events, I am as outraged as the rest of you and feel very betrayed... But surprised? Nope.
#26
This is why Occupy is non partisan and doesn't have loyalty to politicians and why politicians and political leaders are not those who make the changes and social progress and improvements in the world but the people organized into social movements who do. When a politician is elected he ceases to be one of us, he ceases to be of the people. He rarely adequately represents us anymore as he has very different vested interests now.
To us, the people, no deal is better than a bad deal. To a politician a bad deal is better than no deal. He only cares about getting along with his colleagues in government. He's not gonna fight for us. He only wants to hold hands with them now.
#27
I'm not apologizing for the way I voted. We find ourselves stuck in the same no-win scenario, election after election. The really good candidates, like Jill Stein or Rocky Anderson, are marginalized, to the point where a vote for one of them amounts to little more than "sending a message..." except that no one is listening.
Like Thom says, all we have are Republicans; center-right versus far-right. We the people are stuck in a virtual, make-believe democracy that clearly does not serve us. Throughout my adult life, since the early 1970s, I have watched this country deteriorate under a steady procession of inept and corrupt "leaders" who win our votes under false pretense, then keep selling us down the river one policy at a time. Change we can believe in?! Not.
We are becoming the doormat of the world. Had enough, folks? - Aliceinwonderland
#28
I think Obama was just personally ambitious from the start, biographical accounts say as much. He wasn't in government to serve. He didn't finnish a single term in the Senate before he tried for the Presidency.
When he was state senate majority leader here in Illinois he distinguished himself by not making any enemies with corruption in Illinois politics legendarily rife. Then as now he looked out for himself, the people be dammed.
#29
We were stuck with him 'cause there was nobody who wasn't worse.
#30
I was exited when he ran for Senate. I told my friends to vote for him.
Did you know that, legend notwithstanding, JFK did very little to help the Civil Rights Movement? He didn't want to upset the southern Dems.
Bobby Kennedy told the civil rights demonstrators not to engage in civil disobedience, to limit their expressions of outrage and their tactical methods to voting for good political candidates.
#31
nora: very good read at that link...thanx! I had no idea about this...if it hadn't been for Monica...we'd all have been screwed instead. Saint Monica!
#32
With respect to 'capitulator of the year' and associated criticisms that progressive ideas are not being pushed: North Americans are not very good at costing policies. Until you actually cost out a policy, you are just a chattering magpie and your opinion doesn't count.
I lived in Australia for 10 years. Believe me, politics there is a very different animal. Why? Because both sides of politics have costed out their policies using independent and trustworthy companies such as Access Economics. When you have your policies costed out, then the decision as to which way to vote becomes a matter of which policy priorities you agree with most. Politics is less about the cult of personality and more about the cult of policy.
So Thom, it's all very well and good for you and Bernie to bellyache about why politicians are not adopting your progressive ideas, but until you show people just how you plan on paying for your ideas, nobody is going to take you seriously. And you may very well be able to pay for your ideas, but you need to get a candidate to adopt your policies, cost them out, and then run with them. It would appear that Obama is not that individual. Once you have independent costing, nobody can dismiss you as a crackpot.
Remember the Tom Cruise lawyer character in A Few Good Men. Cruise's character was originally given the case because he was a deal maker. They knew he would never stand on principle and go to court. He would cut a deal and avoid a fight (until Demi Moore changed him). Obama is that very same deal maker, always looking to avoid a fight. I submit that when you properly develop policy and cost it out, you can more easily have the fight that Americans want to see.
#33
Both political parties continue to give us the propaganda of the USA being the beacon of democracy and the best nation in the world in virtually all facets. Those of us who have lived and worked overseas know that this is a farce and many in the rest of the world view us with amusement at best.
We have the highest percentage of our population in prisons, the most expensive medical system that is only 37th in quality, the highest percentage of income inequality in the developed world, more money spent on the military than the next fifteen nations combined, the weakest gun control laws, and a corporate media that gives us fluff and modern day Horatio Alger stories.
We still have not reached bottom, however. The postal union and teachers' union are the last two union strongholds remaining, and both political parties want to destroy them. People who are surprised by Obama putting Social Security on the table with the chained index should remember that he stated in the first campaign that he would be on the ground protecting workers' rights, but he steered as clear of Wisconsin as possible while public employees were protesting in Madison, which is just one example of him not keeping campaign promises about helping average Americans.
Until Americans take to the streets in protest, as occurred fifty years ago, no change will come. If we simply vote for third party candidates, as many of us did, and take no other actions we will continue this gradual decline into third world status.
#34
Progressives have a perfect idea of how to pay for progressive policies. Both sides cost out. The costing out is done, the debate is the method of paying for it or, more precisely who will pay.
What needs to be pointed out to end the sham is that a program cut is a tax, on the lower 98.
#35
Tell me you are not surprised? Can you even remember a time when a President stuck to his guns and lived up to his promises and fullfilled the expectations of the working poor and middle class voter? Even General George. Washington defaulted on his promises to those who fought against the Brittish.
There certainly have been "better times" economically for the working middle class, everyone for that matter; the 50's & early 60's. However, the Government (Right and Left) has always pandered to the Corporate Machine; that which makes huge profits for those that dance for it.
Obama, Romney, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Regan. Carter, Nixion...That's my life time to this point...Not one of them were exceptionally different than the other; they all danced for the Corporate Machine; even Carter. Not one of them helped to build a stable and prospering working middle class.
Fool me once...Shame on you.
Fool me twice...Shame on me!
For all those who voted for Obama...Shame on you.
For all of those that voted for Romney...Shame on you.
There is no such thing as voting for the lesser of two evils. That bull spit rehtoric is what has gotten us into this mess. That and charishing false idols (figure of speach).
We the People sold ourselves out! We have given up our power as The Governing Body - this "was" a Government run By the People, Of the People, For the People - allowing someone else, always with Wall St. ties and a degree in Law or Buisness - to doop us over and over with empty promises.
So the question issssss...
Are we ready to elected one of our own? Someone that isn't a career politician. Someone with a degree in History or Science, or Humanities, or maybe just a single mom with a high school diploma...
What do you think?
#36
The process of assigning a cost should be done realistically and proportionately to the benefit provided. That said, a health insurance CEO making multi-millions per year and providing no benefit in return equates simply to idiocy in regard to those continuing to allow it. A single payer system is well representative of the progressive ideas being pushed by we Democratic Socialists. We don't need, "independent and trustworthy companies," doing the economic or moral math for us. What we do need is a well informed electorate which sadly isn't happening thanks to media outlets like FOX, a company many believe to be trustworthy and independent.
#37
"...a president who cares about those of us who are not millionaires." HUH!?!?
A total of 3,037.00/ month!?!?
Yes, be happy for what you get...'cause you get more than most working 40hrs/week. A person working 40hrs/wk making 3,037.00 per month equates to an hourly wage of $18.98 per hour...Well above the average wage of the working poor.
You may not receive an increase anytime soon...I hope though for your sake your income doesn't get cut.
I do not mean to come off "attacking" but, now I understand you sentiment.
#38
Actually both Thom and Bernie have repeadedly spoken of just how their plans could work using finacial numbers. I don't think you listen to them often enought.
#39
Quote No Fraud:"A total of 3,037.00/ month!?!?"
Yeah, I was thinking the very same thing...not exactly poverty! A lot of other people only have social security..and nothing more. They are the ones who will really be hurt.
Quote Jeff Del Nin:" [In Australia].. both sides of politics have costed out their policies using independent and trustworthy companies such as Access Economics."
Maybe we can get Arthur Anderson , or Alan Greenspan, or Bernie Madoff to cost out our policies here in America ;-}
Why don't we just shut down the Pentagon spending and cut off all those MIC leeches that are stealing from the taxpayers? Try to "cost out" a black budget!
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You're right.
But you need remedial social media 101.
1. Your tweets won't fit in 140 characters.
2. Your titles are desperately vague and boring.
Keep it short, sweet, and concise if you ever want to get tweeted. Completely eliminate the long, unnecessay byline that uses up most of your 140 characters. Or reduce it to "-TH" at most.