Obama’s intransigent backbench

[xchrom]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-obamas-intransigent-backbench/2013/04/09/8d2c0b8a-a153-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, red in the face, took off his jacket and rolled up a shirt sleeve — but there was no relief from the discomfort of his affliction.

The poor guy is suffering from triangulation.

The man triangulating him, President Obama, has proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare as part of an attempt to find a middle ground in the budget debate. For Sanders (I), a liberal member of the Senate Democratic caucus, the betrayal stung so badly that he literally took to the streets, joining left-wing activists for a protest Tuesday afternoon outside the White House.

“When Barack Obama was running for president in 2008, he said that he would not cut Social Security. We want the president to remember what he said and not go back on his word!” Sanders shouted into a microphone, as cops watched warily.

[LWolf]

1. I'll stand with Bernie on this one. nt

[Tom Rinaldo]

2. What the establishment still won't admit is that we represent the majority on this

Even at the height of their popularity the Tea Party Right never came close to representing the majority of Americans on anything. At the time though the establishment media was willing to pretend that they did. They pretended that fighting budget deficits through slashed spending had become the will of the people and that that was a more important issue to the American public than adding jobs to the economy. It was false from day one but the media ran with it.

Now just 6 months after a decisive national election in which the triumphant political party ran on defending Social Security and Medicare benefits, in the face of pervasive national polling for years that shows the American people do NOT support cuts in Social Security and Medicare and that they WILL support higher taxes if that is the only way to preserve those benefits - now our protest is pigeon holed as leftist special interest groups acting out.

Sorry Dana, on this one we represent "We, the People", not the talking heads who talk about the sober necessity of slicing the economic safety net for the majority of Americans while the richest among us keep shipping more of "their cash" and our jobs oversees.

[ananda]

3. I stand with Bernie too.

..

[AzDar]

4. Bernie!

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Anyone who thinks Milbank is out to assist Obama or Democrats ought to recall why Milbank was

removed from the Countdown guest list, he took a long, interesting Obama quote and edited out most of it, leaving enough remains to 'quote' Obama sounding like a self important jerk about the crowds in Berlin. When thousands of people called Dana out for this dishonesty, he called that 'whining' and refused to publish the full quote.
Anything Dana Milbank writes should be considered suspect, including that which he claims is a quote, for his ethics are thin and his agenda is heavily loaded.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

6. There's that fucking propaganda again: "left-wing activists"

It is NOT JUST "left-wing activists" that oppose cuts to Social Security!