Well now. Progressives to deliver +1 million petition signatures on Tuesday telling the President..

[warrior1]

https://twitter.com/DavidShuster

Progressives to deliver +1 million petition signatures on Tuesday telling @BarackObama not to cut Social Security:


http://www.strengthensocialsecurity.org/sos

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Good. We have to make him do the right thing.

Why, I'm not exactly sure. But that's what he said.

[BlueJac]

47. Confused

Did you say do the ring wing? LOL. He has been on a different side a lot of the time.

[merrily]

62. Problem is, he never said how we could make him do anything.

Someone really needs to point me to something that made him do something. For one thing, there were calls, emails, letters, polls, demonstrations, etc. galore in favor of a strong public option.

The only thing they, combined, seemed to accomplished was a series of scoldings from the White House about how awful liberals are.

[JaneyVee]

2. Yup. My name is on that list.

[leftyohiolib]

3. yea do that,the sequester has cause a shortage of toilet paper in the white house. 91% of americans

(according to studies, some studies have shown 60%) want background checks and it still wont happen- but congress is gonna care about 1 million signers on a petition. you need to get one 1million people to march on john boner's and mitch mcconnell's houses. other-wise they'll just laugh at you from their protected offices

[Drale]

4. Is it possible that the President is using us to pressure the Repukes?

By putting it out there that he's thinking about this, he knew that the people will get up in arms and call and send petitions telling him not to do it. By doing this he gets the petitions but it also shows the Republicans what the public really thinks about their stupid idea? No matter what certain people on this board and in the media want you to think President Obama is not a stupid man. He knows how to play the game.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

29. No.

[Drale]

33. Um can you elaborate and maybe give some evidence

rather than the NO I HATE OBAMA, HE CAN'T BE DOING ANYTHING THAT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND argument, please?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

41. With your imagination, you've created a scenario which even Obama's handlers don't claim exists.

People are presumed to intend the natual consequences of their voluntary actions.

Before you say that "anything is possible" to support your "Is it possible that the President is using us to pressure the Repukes?", not everything is possible.

Is it possible that the moon is made of green cheese? No.

[Myrina]

45. No, he was done using us the day after the election.

Now he's just doing what the hell he really intended to do all along.

[forestpath]

56. +1

[bowens43]

54. No. He's selling us out.... Again

[Marr]

5. I predict that Mr. Make Me Do It will be unphased. /nt

[JoePhilly]

7. So it is your prediction that Obama is about to make a deal that cuts SS, correct?

[Marr]

11. I don't need to predict anything-- he's already *made* the offer.

Don't you get that? You're already wrong. You were one of the people who insisted he'd never, ever offer such a thing. He has. Repeatedly now. Whether the Republicans accept his offer or not is another issue.

Are you predicting that he'll withdraw his offer when he receives this petition? That's more to the point here. I predict that Mr. Make Me Do It will not withdraw his offer.

[JoePhilly]

13. Um, no.

I've listened to folks here on DU explain for 4 years how Obama is about to make a deal to cut social security. Started before the Simpson Bowles commission held its first meeting.

Every couple months, during any financial negotiation ... the hair-on-fire OPs start. "Obama is going to CAVE and make a deal to cut SS". And each time, I (and some others) say. "Its not going to happen." And it doesn't.

It was supposed to happen during both debt ceiling fights, both Bush tax cut battles, fiscal cliff. Did not happen. And won't happen.

There is no reason for Obama to withdraw the proposal. Politically, the petition is far more useful if he leaves the proposal in place.

The proposal puts Boehner in a box. He can't accept any deal with tax revenues in it. The GOP House can't pass a bill that includes them. Hell, if Boehner tries to accept the proposal even just verbally, the GOP House will try to replace him as speaker.

The other reason Boehner is in a box here is that accepting Obama's proposal would go against the GOP's ultimate goal of killing Social Security. Boehner can't agree to Obama's "reform" because if SS has been reformed, the GOP can't argue it needs to be re-reformed. Boehner can't accept a deal of any kind that does not destroy SS, and chained CPI would not do that.

Some Dems in blue areas will run as protectors of SS, others in reddish / purple areas will run on "we worked to find some compromise". And the GOP will have nothing to say at all.

[Marr]

16. I'm familiar with this convoluted theory, yes.

It's ridiculous. I think it's really this simple:

Obama made an offer he considers acceptable. Period.

No Gordian knots, no superhuman 5-steps ahead strategy; he offered a policy item the Third Way/DLC has been proposing for a very long time.

[tblue]

25. If this is some kind of ruse

it's awfully insensitive to people who depend on SS and a livable COLA. Awfully cruel to toy with vulnerable people about something that crucial. (I don't think he's toying. And people are right to be frightened. This is what he is willing to sign into law.)

[Marr]

27. Yep-- also an incredibly stupid ruse.

I fail to see how proposing SS cuts makes your opponent look bad. They never even had to ask for it. They can even, if they so choose, refuse to approve the thing and campaign as the guys who 'saved Social Security from Obama's cuts'.

[randome]

31. Eh. Paul Ryan tried that. It did not work out well for him.

[JoePhilly]

28. Or ...

he intentionally made an offer he knows Boehner can't accept because it's bad for Boehner politically.

No Gordian knot. No super-human anything.

If Obama truly wanted these cuts, why tie them to additional tax revenues.

If Obama wants these cuts, shouldn't he make it as easy as possible for Boehner to accept them?

[Drale]

30. I made that argument a few posts up

He made the offer to make the Repukes look bad. He knew it would get Americans in an uproar and that would give him proof that the people don't want anything even close to the Repukes plan. Boner can't accept Obama's offer because of the "we will make Obama a one term president" mentality that went extremely extreme when he was re-elected.

[Marr]

32. Well, if he was going to make political hay out of a certainly DOA budget proposal...

don't you think he'd propose... oh, I don't know... only popular things? Things that people actually want?

I mean, assuming, as you do, that he's cynical enough to propose budgets that he knows are doomed from the outset simply for political gain, don't you think he'd make them block popular things? Seems sort of common sense to me.

As for making it easy for Boehner to accept it-- he has. It's an 80/20 split in favor of cuts, with the Democratic Party's most sacred cow tossed in. He's barely left even a fig leaf of cover for his own party's supposed position. He's made it as easy for Boehner to say "yes" as he possibly can.

[JDPriestly]

38. There is self-deception, and then there is being fooled.

It's important to avoid both.

I think that the "offering" of the "deal" is just theater.

This "deal" is only being "offered" for show.

This is a "done deal" not an "offer" in my opinion.

Obama and Boehner negotiated this for months and months before Obama put his foot in his mouth by leaking it.

It is naive to believe otherwise. Sorry. But read here and find out why Obama is doing this and why the chained CPI will not affect his own retirement.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/7-chilling-facts-about-retirement-america-should-make-obama-tremble-cutting-social-security?page=0%2C3

[Marr]

39. I have to agree with you.

This thing has been more about salesmanship that policy for long time now. They need to build as much political cover as possible for an extremely unpopular policy goal.

[Volaris]

44. he will just say "Chained CPI, as i have said before, is NOT a cut."

That petitition should have said "We don't CARE if Chained CPI isn't an actual cut to SocSec, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO IT."

[datasuspect]

6. if they try to do it in person

they'd probably get arrested.

[randome]

10. That was the first thing that came to mind for me, too.

I hope whoever is delivering the petition knows they can't just walk into the White House front door and demand to see someone.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

8. Petitions are GREAT! But don't stop there when you want...

to change or stop something.


Find contact info for your representatives at
http://www.opencongress.org/people/representatives

Find contact info for your senators at
http://www.opencongress.org/people/senators

Contact the President at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/write-or-call

[Berlum]

9. Done

k and r

[forestpath]

12. Signed. But whoever delivers it will probably be arrested. NOTHING gets past PBOS's bubble.

[michigandem58]

14. An audit of those "+1 million" signatures

would be good for some laughs.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

17. And what is that supposed to mean?

[michigandem58]

18. I just signed it

as "Fake Signature". [e-mail]

And I didn't even have to read it!

[Lady Freedom Returns]

19. Bad form. n/t

[michigandem58]

20. Shows what online petitions mean

Nothing.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

23. Still not right. n/t

[99Forever]

46. Sounds like something a troll would do.

What's your excuse?

[Lady Freedom Returns]

48. Was my first thought to. n/t

[randome]

49. I doubt your name means anything.

But your IP address can be used to prevent you from signing twice, I would assume. At least from the same PC.

So a million signatures plus a safety margin for yahoos like you who just like to yank chains probably means a million people signed the petition.

[michigandem58]

52. "UB Careful" just signed it from the same computer

Online petitions are about as worthy as online polls, that's all I'm saying.

[randome]

55. Point. But the vast majority of signers don't engage in trying to screw with the system.

So a million plus signatures probably still means a million 'good' signatures. And for all we know, they throw out the bogus names like yours.

They do linguistic analysis of petitions and can determine the majority of the fake ones.

[tblue]

26. Why would you do that? nt

[Lady Freedom Returns]

34. I guess the answer is post #20

Not a good answer, but an answer.

[bvar22]

15. My name is on that list,

but it won't make any difference.
What Wall Street wants, Wall Street gets from this White House.

However, it DOES make a difference to ME that MY NAME is on that list.


[font color=firebrick size=3][center]"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone[/font][/center]
[center][/font]
[font size=1]photo by bvar22
Shortly before Sen Wellstone was killed[/center][/font]

[font size=5 color=firebrick]Solidarity![/font]

[L0oniX]

21. He won't give a shit ...he threw us under the bus a long time ago. n/t

[HereSince1628]

37. Perhaps, but shoving this back makes it plain that the bus didn't kill us.

There are many seats to be voted on in 2014.

2 years with neither the house or senate behind him will leave Obama's dreams of legacy looking broken.

[duffyduff]

53. Peter J. Peterson and the 80 CEOS are more important to him than everybody else

He's such a transparent tool, I am surprised it's taken everybody that long to see the obvious.

[NightWatcher]

22. And he'll ignore it!!! Thanks for solving that one, Petitioneers

[Greybnk48]

24. I'm on there too.

I'm a bit pissed that we're having to beg for this, to be honest.

[KoKo]

35. Agree a Twice Elected President should not make his voters BEG...

but then it's his "Wall Street Supporters" that he apparently listens more to and seeking their approval over those who worked hard on his campaign, gave what money they could spare and most of all VOTED!

[Greybnk48]

36. I'm really upset about this.

I continue to hope we're proved wrong.

[Faryn Balyncd]

40. While we're at it, here is White House TELEPHONE COMMENTS LINE:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022635705#op



It only takes a few minutes. Very polite.

[rurallib]

43. Those taking comments are volunteers

they deserve all the respect you would expect

[rurallib]

42. must've signed 50 over the weekend

but just to make sure, I signed this one also.

[humbled_opinion]

50. Haven't you heard.........

Obama doesn't have to face an electorate again, he is always mentioning reforming (aka cutting) "ENTITLEMENT SPENDING" as some kind of grand bargain that gives him tax increases... Oh you know those silly tax increases that only affect the rich, RIGHT, yeah that's another one of those gotcha's... When it is only us in the middle working class that pay those costs passed down to us from corporations, heaped on to us by banks and financial institutions it is all out of control.

[HiPointDem]

51. kr

[robinlynne]

57. should be 100 million. let's sign this thing!!!!

[ladjf]

58. Ne touch pas. nt

[merrily]

59. I wonder how many signatures, calls and email he got begging for a strong public option.

Can anyone point to a petition in the last 20 or 30 years that actually changed a President's behavior, or the vote that a Senator or a Representative intended to cast?

[pam4water]

60. Awesome K&R

[John2]

61. My name is not

on that petition but I bet, they can get a lot more. There needs to be a serious movement on the Left. Congress needs to be sent a message period. we have tolerated their nonsense long enough in this country. They have this belief they can just ignore us.