President Obama: “I am a progressive Democrat, I am proud of that. I make no bones about that"

[MrWendel]

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/10/1483180/-President-Obama-I-am-a-progressive-Democrat-I-am-proud-of-that-I-make-no-bones-about-that

By First Amendment



Yes you are, Mr. President!

The President addressed the Illinois State Assembly today. He spoke about many subjects and ticked off his many great accomplishments. If Republicans weren't playing obstructionists for basically his entire term, he could have accomplished even more.

We were marred in the Great Recession, as he took the oath of office. If it were not for this President’s leadership, things could have been much, much worse.

We’ve come a very long way since those dark days and there’s still work to be done, but we have made incredible progress. I couldn't be more proud of our President!

I'll really miss him.

(More in link)

[tazkcmo]

1. Suddenly

Suddenly, one can't sling a dead cat* in D.C. without hitting a progressive.










*No cats were harmed in the writing of this response.

[Baitball Blogger]

39. LOL!

[HassleCat]

2. Generally, yes

No president will have a perfect record, or even a perfectly progressive record, but Obama can claim the label just for ACA, if nothing else. Please don't jump all over me and start in with "...didn't fight for single payer..." and all that. He is the first president in a long time to even attempt progressive action.

[tazkcmo]

4. I appreciate President Obama

He's smart, charismatic, good looking, diverse within his very DNA just like our country and I even liked and agreed with him on some stuff and disagreed maybe on slightly more. Most disagreements were about not going far enough and I acknowledge the progress. Some we were polar opposites. All in all, history will speak well of him and I'd love to have a root beer with him but I'd prefer my president more progressive.

[Hortensis]

22. Want a "more progressive" president?!

Elect more Dmeocrats to Congress. We have entered what should be a progressive era, correcting the mistakes of the conservative era that's snatching at us from the grave and moving forward.

We can vote Big Money out of government.

And IMO President Obama did very well considering the massive, entrenched forces who opposed him. Yes, he made the mistake of thinking he came in with a mandate for change. But he learned, maximized the power and capabilities he did have, and began America's new era of progressive advance.

[mgmaggiemg]

3. cool post...thanks ;)

[rbrnmw]

5. kick for a great post

[Skittles]

6. alrighty then

[onehandle]

7. The response will be lackluster. The 'Not Hillary' Party became The 'Not Hillary or Obama' Party. nt

[Gothmog]

8. I am proud and happy that this man in our President

[earthshine]

15. Proud? How is this YOUR accomplishment?

People around here have a very low threshold for their pride.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. The Term "Proud of X" Directed Toward Another Is Common Parlance

But, you knew that didn't you?

[earthshine]

34. No, I took you literally.

The words I don't take literally are the ones you weakly proffer now.

[ProfessorGAC]

35. You Took Me(!) Literally

I wasn't the one who posted it originally. So, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

You are just making a point without merit.

If you are unable to tell that "I" wasn't being literal, because "I" didn't say it in the first place, your opinion has little weight.

[Aristus]

41. Check out the post-count.

Just here to cause trouble...

[earthshine]

42. Sorry, here to stay. Been here since 2004.

I feel that people's vacuous, self-stated "pride" in their elected officials blinds them to their limitations, and thus blocks us from finding better ways.

To be emotionally attached with pride to politics is sheer foolishness, and lends itself to taking things personally when other disagree. Of course, this is not just Obama lovers.

I voted for him twice, but really wished there were better choices.

This is a man who blew enormous amounts of political capital trying to compromise with obstinate repubs, who laughed at him. He is still trying.

Obama expects us to think he is a progressive. I will never see him that way.

See you around Aristus!

[Kurovski]

9. I'd love it if he were slightly less polite in the closing days of his presidency.

I mean, if it won't cut too deeply into his post White House income.

[liberal_at_heart]

10. He is a Reagan Democrat. I will say this. I think he genuinely thought he could get

Republicans to compromise if he compromised. It just didn't work that way. I wish he would have realized this earlier in his Presidency and would have fought harder for average Americans rather than compromising with Republicans.

[pnwmom]

12. Utter and complete nonsense.

You know very little about Reagan's Presidency. He doubled the national deficit in a massive give away to the rich, and appointed Scalia to the Supreme Court. His goal, as discussed for years, was to end Social Security by driving up the deficit so high that all government programs except defense would have to be eliminated.

[earthshine]

16. He was obsessed with compromising with them ...

... instead of actually being a leader to the people. He thumbed his nose at his base. His press secretary spoke of their disdain for the "professional left." Who do they think voted for him?

So many times I thought to myself, "He wants to be one of them."

[hfojvt]

11. Obama urges us not to get cynical

it is rather hard not to be cynical when people do NOT tell the truth.

For Obama to promote the idea that Republicans are operating in good faith seems either ridiculously naive or simply dishonest to me. I am hard pressed, unfortunately, to name even ONE Republican politician that I believe is operating in good faith. It is possible that they exist somewhere. but I have never seen it in the ones that I have seen up close, except maybe at the local level.

I think that needs to be said. The people need to be informed of that, whenever possible. Instead of pretending it is not true. How else do you hold them accountable?

It's also hard for me to believe, though, that Obama is operating in good faith. When I got a letter asking for campaign money and where it claimed that Obama was working for me around the clock (or something like that). Well, I tore that letter into little pieces and mailed it back to them. It's not about him losing to the Republicans. For the most part, he hasn't even fought for the bottom 80%, nor has he been honest in many ways.

Just the way I see it.

I cannot help noticing, too, that when he listed all the ways he was a "progressive Democrat" that he did not bother to mention - progressive taxes. From the start of the campaign through his first SOTU to ATRA, I have been sickened by his embrace of Reaganomics, trickle down lite. I hoped the Democratic Congress would pull him to the left on that, but that didn't happen and the Congress was too short lived.

[LanternWaste]

29. Not difficult at all. All rationalizations aside, it's simply a choice one makes.

"it is rather hard not to be cynical when people do NOT tell the truth..."

Not difficult at all. All rationalizations aside, it's simply a choice we make for ourselves. It's removing the rationalizations and biases than may be difficult...

That's a paraphrase from a young marine who lived through the Guadalcanal campaign when asked how he felt about the Japanese people (Studs Terkel, The Good War).

[earthshine]

14. I agree 100%

I voted for him twice. I have severe buyer's regret.

Progressive? He used to brag about being the ultimate centrist. Now, he wants to be a progressive? I am so ready for him to leave!

Seems to me he puts his efforts into meaningless speeches and trying to be the "cool" president.

At first I supported Hillary in 2008. But, soon after, I found her to be vile.

[boomer55]

26. ding ding ding!

[AZ Progressive]

17. Oh, so now he's a Progressive again?

I guess he's changing positions like Hillary

[MrWendel]

18. The whining

about not getting everything 100% your way and compromising (like actual presidents do), does sound a bit Tea partish.

[ladyVet]

19. Well, there's compromising, and then there's rolling over and showing your belly. nt

[MrWendel]

23. How many...

of Obama's proposals were passed by the congress exactly? Because Saint Bernard can obviously get things passed with this congress right? What exactly can he do with them that Obama couldn't?

[LanternWaste]

27. And many, many people pretend they have the wisdom to know the difference.

And many, many people pretend they have the wisdom to know the difference.

[Vinca]

20. He has done some very good things, but I wouldn't call him a progressive.

Not as long as the TPP is one of his pet projects.

[Odin2005]

21. If you are a progressive. Mr. President, why are you supporting the TPP?

[CharlotteVale]

36. I have the exact same question.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

24. I like the President and voted for him twice.

However, it's a stretch for me to think of him as a progressive. Maybe if he'd had more cooperation on the Hill, he would look like it. But he keeps on using drones and really didn't slow down the Military Industrial dudes at all...............

[redstateblues]

31. Bernie said he would use drones. Must be progressive

Drones.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

32. Hmmmmm

Not sure I like anyone using drones......

[MrWendel]

25. This...

"Progressive than thou" bullshit is why I call if Teapartish.

[redstateblues]

30. It's like the fucking thought police

Patrol this place and decide who is liberal enough. Anyone that isn't is called a Republican. Like you said- bullshit.

[Bluenorthwest]

33. Obama got elected as a religion spouting opponent of the basic rights of others. That's not

progressive, that's atavistic and bigoted as well as being a stroll into theocratic territories in which politicians instruct the public on spiritual matters. He got pulled into the future by actual progressives and it took a great deal of effort to do so. He's a recent supporter of equality and thus only recently even a candidate to be called progressive.

Voted for him twice, but that first time was a difficult thing to do because he was so far to my right on important family issues.

[MrWendel]

40. What..

alternate reality are you from? What Obama was this?

[GOLGO 13]

37. He's 100% PROGRESSIVE & 0% liberal.

A modern President that we still need after 2016.

[mcar]

38. Yes you are, Mr. President

Thank you for your service.