Flashback Lawrence O'Donnell on the "masterful rope-a-dope" that gave us the sequester

[Enrique]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x708395

"What you are now witnessing is the most masterful rope-a-dope ever performed by a president against an opposition party in Congress. It began months ago... Joe Biden then lead negotiations with House Republicans about how to find a compromise position on the White House position of doing nothing but raising the debt ceiling and the Republicans position of cutting $4 trillion in spending while raising the debt ceiling. Biden and House Democrats then rope-a-doped the Republicans into weeks of discussions over trillions of dollars of spending cuts. And during that time, Democrats appeared to be increasingly willing to go along with trillions of dollars of spending cuts -- possibly as much as three trillion. Then Biden and the President insisted that there be at least a trillion in tax revenue increases and Republican Eric Cantor fell for the Obama ultimatum and walked out of the talks doing exactly what the President wanted him to do because Cantor was thereby proving to the country once again that President Obama was willing to be much more flexible and reasonable in these negotiations and compromises with Republicans than Republicans were willing to be with the President. Specific policy issues aside, President Obama has already won the public contest of who appears to be more reasonable and he won that weeks ago."

[sabrina 1]

1. There it is again. That ridiculous talking point that the sole purpose of a Democratic president

is to 'win a popularity contest'.

Specific policy issues aside, President Obama has already won the public contest of who appears to be more reasonable and he won that weeks ago."

Note the 'specific policies aside' bit in the beginning. Iow, policies, bad ones, good ones, don't matter and if takes bad ones to win this popularity contest, then so be it.

Are they kidding? It HAS to be a talking point handed out to be regurgitated over and over to cover the fact that 'reasonable' to this WH means that BAD policies are apparently what are needed in order to win this popularity contest.



I've got news for Mr. O'Donnell. The winner of the popularity contest happened in November. There are no more popularity contests. We didn't elect a Miss Congeniality to fight for us, we elected someone who appeared reasonable when he was promoting GOOD, Democratic Policies, when he was saying he would never 'cut SS'. He would not have won that popularity contest had he said that he WOULD cut SS.

Where do they get these people? I know three year olds who would laugh at this 'logic', this labored painful attempt to put lipstick on a pig.

More news for Mr. O'Donnell, we don't care who wins the popularity contests, we care who fights for good policies.

And even more news for Mr. O'Donnell, the way to win popularity contests in politics, is to push for legislation that benefits the PEOPLE.

And to think I used to think that was an intelligent man.

[Enrique]

3. we should collectively ask the 2016 primary candidates

if elected, are you going to spend eight years "making the GOP look extreme?" Speaking for myself, I'm not interested in that.

[sabrina 1]

5. It is so ridiculous it is almost like something from a comedy show.

I can't help wondering if they are serious, or if they think we are stupid and someone thought this would be a good emotional ploy, that the 'left' would be distracted with the thought of 'sticking it to Republicans'. It is possible that someone is that stupid, I suppose.

I don't know anyone who IS interested in such trivial childishness.

[patrice]

2. And this week he made them OWN that sequester + the loss of Infrastructure *J*O*B*S* + loss of

Universal Pre-K.

Even if some people around here don't seem to think that it matters that it is CONGRESS WHO WRITES THE LEGISLATION and those same people are apparently looking for a KING to solve their problems, it is a good thing that the GOP now OWNS the sequester forever, since PRESIDENT Obama was strong enough to give them a chance, in order to get those JOBS and in order to get Universal Pre-K which would help millions and millions of working-class poor families and single mothers, he gave the GOP a chance in order to get these things for us and the GOP wouldn't even take what they REALLY wanted, because they couldn't stand the idea of PRESIDENT Obama making the JOBS happen (just like a whole lot of other people who claim not to be GOP can't stand the idea of PRESIDENT Obama accomplishing anything). The GOP and their friends and allies on this board couldn't stand those JOBS and they couldn't stand Universal Pre-K, so they turned down something they did want, the CPI, in order to hurt everyone and to protect the Sequester.

The GOP OWNS the sequester now and PRESIDENT Obama is going to MAKE THEM EAT IT.

[Enrique]

4. maybe so

maybe that will make the people that lost those J*O*B*S feel better, their financial catastrophe played a role in reducing the GOP's approval from 9% to 7%.

[patrice]

7. Of ALL of the issue areas, which ONE should make all of the other issue cohorts pay in order to get

what that ONE issue area wants?

Jobs at the expense of Universal Pre-K?

Universal Pre-K at the expense of Social Security?

Social Security at the expense of the Dream Act 2.0?

Which issue area does the Democratic Party fall on its sword for? NAME YOUR PRICE.

Guess what? We don't get them all. But we do have to get as MANY of them as we can, because we are Democrats, not single issue Republicans. And getting as MANY as we can means, not just whichever ONE the Outrage Party is beating President Obama up for this week and not just the ONE issue they were beating him up for last week, nor the ONE they will be beating him up for next week and FOREVER, because it isn't even really about the issues for too many people. It's about the POWER to do social, political, and economic VIOLENCE ON ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES.

...............

FOUR Fingers!!!!

[sabrina 1]

6. And there is that other talking point, they have so many. 'He isn't a king you know'. What exactly

does that mean? Who said he was a king? He doesn't need to be a king, he is the president. The president has a lot of power, although lately you would think the president is pretty powerless if we were to listen to the excuses.

None of these talking points MEAN anything, they are empty, devoid of logic and have zero to do with the issues facing people.

Does someone think they sound good, that people won't notice how ridiculous they are?

I think we need to have a real discussion about these talking points. I don't trust people who repeat propaganda. People should be capable of using their own words, their own thoughts IF they are informed enough to back up their positions.

Talking points are for the purpose of providing followers who care more about personalities than about issues with something to say when they have no effective arguments.

[patrice]

9. sabrina, there are talking points & then there are talking points & if it is okay for you to assume

that I am not being honest here and I'm only parroting whatever political line, then it is okay for me to assume exactly the same thing about you, because I don't believe I have ever seen one original thought from you, you know, something that isn't an echoe from what calls itself, but may or may not actually be, "the Left".

I actually have a more reasonable stance in assuming that you are the meme-bot here, because you are the one who initiated that accusation against me, a very meme-bot-ish sort of thing to do, without actually trying in even the slightest degree to treat me like the person that that which calls itself "the Left" (HA!!!) SAYS it respects ever so much that it must destroy any and all progress that others actually have achieved, destroy it all in the name of fascistic base-building for what calls itself "the Left", no matter how many people "the Left" hurts in the process, just as long as "the Left" gets a political payoff out of it.

If, and I doubt it very sincerely, your motive is supposed to be PEOPLE, you're ever so eager to hurt people in order to "prove" yourselves and in the process you treat me, A PERSON, like an object and don't even ask yourself if you might be, in fact, INCORRECT in your assumptions about me. Well, pardon the FUCK me, if your contradictions about what we are supposed to assume are your motives, PEOPLE, are just HONESTLY tooooooooooooo much for me.

I sincerely and honestly doubt YOUR honesty and you don't appear to have the courage to ask yourself if you might, just might, be even slightly wrong about anything in even the smallest degree.

Wow.

MEET THE "NEW" (HA!! Ha!) BOSS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE OLD BOSS.

You APPEAR to be a fake.

[sabrina 1]

10. I'm sorry ...

truly I am ...

[delrem]

11. Someone might wonder why you've now turned to attacking "the left".

Have you thought about that? About the fact that, to verify your own position in your own mind, you have to create a "the left" bogieman on a Dem forum?

Fact is that Obama is offering things like chained CPI in a negotiation in which, for several years now, the Republicans have offered nothing. zilch. He's making an offer which he just finished PROMISING that he wouldn't make, before the election, and it's an offer which is HIGHLY UNPOPULAR, and which would be even more unpopular if the Dems did their jobs and defended SS as being something that ought not even be included in partisan budget negotiations, explaining why this is so. It isn't that hard an argument to make. Plenty have made it on DU. You should read those arguments. It might give you an idea of why a feeling of betrayal is in the air, once again. It might give you an idea of why images of camels overladen with straw, backs broken, are so common.

[frylock]

13. they don't even bother to hide their contempt for "the left" anymore

[Number23]

12. Dayuuummm!!!

I was just about to high five your post on the sequester when I caught this little gem. Beautifully said. So appreciate your outrage and you are certainly not alone in feeling this way.

You have been absolutely on fire this week.

[otohara]

8. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong...But said with such

conviction.

After tonight's episode, LO is just background noise.