Congressional Democrats point finger of blame at Rahm Emanuel

[sabra]

Source: The Hill

Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform.

The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel’s lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.

The share of the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel’s once-impregnable political armor. Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups “retarded” in a private meeting.

While Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities, on Capitol Hill he’s under fire for poor execution of the president’s healthcare agenda in the Senate.

"I think Rahm ran the play his boss called; once Obama called the play, Rahm did everything he could to pass it, scorched-earth and all that,” said a senior lawmaker, who added that Emanuel didn’t seek a broader base of Senate Republicans. “I think he did miscalculate the Senate. He did what he thought he had to do to win."

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/80315-congressional-dems-point-finger-at-rahm

[jgraz]

1. If there's a Democratic political disaster, it's a good bet Rahm is somewhere nearby.

It's nice to see more people realizing this guy is ... well ... fucking ret incompetent.

[mod mom]

9. I don't think he's incompetent, but conniving. He's on the side of the mega rich corporations.

What purpose did calling the base that worked to GOTV for Obama names? Obama would do the nation a great service by dumping the corporate DLC asshole.

[jgraz]

14. Even by his own rules, he's a LOSER

His only goal is to get right-wing Democrats elected. And every time he tries to do this, he loses more seats than he wins.

[mod mom]

17. and don't forget how he railed against Howard Dean after Dean's successful 50 state

strategy. He is out for himself and his corporate masters. I just wrote the WH & VP Biden to express my opinion that Rahm not only insulted the base that did the legwork to GOTV for Obama but has mismanaged the HC debate that has not only injured the party but more importantly those Americans that desperately need HC reform. Rahm needs to be fired!

[jgraz]

24. Remember, in 2006, if we'd only run Rahm's candidates, the Pukes would have held the House

And if we'd only run Howard Dean's candidates, we still would have taken the House without Rahm's "help".

[Ken Burch]

145. This is a huge point.

If we'd stayed with "targeting" instead of the 50 state strategy, we would NEVER have made any real gains in 2006 and 2008. Those gains only occurred because we worked to build the Democratic vote ACROSS the country.

And the only way to get out of the deadlock we're now in is to work for the election of specifically PROGRESSIVE Democrats in more areas(or to AT LEAST, at a BARE minimum, require non-progressives to back the party on all procedural votes). Rahm said "fuck no!" to both of those. And we see today what his "fuck no's" have lead us to.

It's clear that Rahm's loyalty was never to THIS party.

[Doremus]

160. +10000

[PassingFair]

207. This is what the 50 state strategy LOOKED like. This was the path to victory....

[ChiciB1]

201. I Too Wrote, But I Knew It Was Going To Fall On Death Ears... Still I Guess

it lets me vent to some extent! We MUST get it together and RAHM isn't the way! Now Wilder is calling for Kaine's head, which I feel is warranted too, but with Rahm and his attitude toward us and his own party it makes it awfully difficult!

And to those who still want to go along with this situation I wonder where it's going to get us. I'm sure many of you can feel the under current of unrest with many of your Democratic friends and family. I KNOW I do! I even have some very good friends down here from Chicago telling me how MUCH they dislike the whole situation and especially Emanuel!

As I've said so many time before, so many questions too few answers! And Democrats seem to be leaking and losing ground as time goes by! Really sad for so many of us who worked so hard to give these guys a CHANCE!

My husband who retired early so we could care for his mother has recently gone back to work, picking up jobs here and there so we can still maintain what we have. His mother passed away in September, but her home still needs to be maintained because selling it is almost impossible. And we have to keep the utilities on so he can work to fix it up even BEFORE we could sell it!

I once thought we could weather the storm that has hit some many others, now I find our family hanging on like hundreds of thousands of others!

I truly do not think Rahm has a clue!

[FredStembottom]

206. Sympathy and empathy, ChiciB1!

This part of your post is what brings me nearly to tears:

"I once thought we could weather the storm that has hit some many others, now I find our family hanging on like hundreds of thousands of others!"

It took awhile but I convinced my wife about 10 years ago that there seemed to be no stopping the out-sourcing express - that the bastards would do it (and many other very bad things) until a New Great Depression came.

We took action and spent about 5 years setting ourselves up in out-sourcing proof jobs. We stayed in our original stater home. We put no investments in the stock market. etc.

But the Creeping Death of America seems to be coming to us too as our kids simply get too old to be on our insurance and then get quoted astronomical prices with exclusions for the very things they might need help with. That puts them and us into to the one illness away from bankruptcy scenario.

2 other older relatives are insurance-less as well - just hoping for help.

The walking wounded in the streets gets creepier by the day.

It seems that my family only post-poned the American Reckoning.

I thought we had, at least, built a bridge to a better, post-apocalypse America... you know when the populace would rise up and throw off Reaganomics.

But the O administration likes Reaganomics! They move to defend it more everyday!
The economic system that has made us an international laughing-stock!

I am in despair.

[ChiciB1]

211. Right Back At Ya! With Extended Families, Children et al It Hits You In

the face all the time. You worry about your immediate problems, but relatives are in the mix too! My ex-sister-in-law just filed bankruptcy because she can't make it. She was married to my husband's older brother and he divorced her. She had little in the way of savings and went on Social Security. She had an older car that gave out, but she was able to get a loan for another one. Well now since she filed, the people who hold her loan have told her that if she misses just ONE payment they will "repo" her car! She had to go to court to agree to this because the bankruptcy allowed them to do this!

I NEVER knew that could happen! One payment missed and her means of transportation is gone! My son, who is married and has a one year old son, had to go to the doctor because he has back problems. He has insurance, but the meds they gave him don't have a generic, and "one month" cost $302.00! He didn't get it because of the cost. It's called Skelaxin and is a non-narcotic, which is probably a better thing, but Lortab or Vicodin have generics and would cost only $15.00 through his insurance! You can't make up this stuff up!

He HAS to work, and he works landscaping/construction, so having the pain really interferes a lot. He has disk compression and could "maybe" have an operation some day, but that's scary too! I have back problems too, same thing, but I DON'T want anyone operating on MY back!

Yes, DESPAIR is a very good word to use! That old saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" may not be true anymore, I just don't know! He can't afford to be out of work because he has a family to support. He carries health insurance because he has a 1 year old son, but the premiums are VERY high. For now, he's able to pay for it, but if they raise the rates he just doesn't know!

Seems they want to lump us all into one big basket and throw a blanket over it so they don't have to see! I wonder when the s--t will really hit the fan and how it will all come out!

I UNDERSTAND the Tea Party movement, but not the outright weirdos in it, still I realize that many of us are upset and ready to scream and shout too! We should have some counter-action going on, but we don't, so we get Palin shoved in our face every day!

I don't think the calvary is coming any time soon, and I REALLY don't like saying that!

:hurts:

[FredStembottom]

216. Your family stories are too familiar!

And all within just the last year. Extended family getting hit one after another.

If they just let it all continue and millions go broke and homeless - which seems too possible now - what is going to happen?

Rampant burglary?
Riots?
????

:crazy:

[liberation]

26. No... no... no.... he is not "incompetent" at all...

I'd say by getting their center-right agenda passed and supported, the Emmanuel dynamic duo are rather competent. The incompetent ones, at the end of the day, is us liberals... who are still too damn stupid to figure out that continue enabling center-right assholes is not the best way of furthering any remotely liberal agenda. Until we know that, we are less than useless. For f*ck's sake, they even get to be cocky enough to call us "fucking retarded" to our own faces... while they continue to feel pretty entitled to our votes.

[freddie mertz]

87. Tell it! Great post. nt.

[superconnected]

105. +1

[MissDeeds]

136. +1

Pretty pathetic, isn't it?

[No Elephants]

140. +1

[bitchkitty]

142. True talking. n/t

[mdmc]

147. 1

[yava]

159. Right on, insults for votes!

[ooglymoogly]

161. If they have any ability at reading tea leaves

they will have learned that, that is not the case as in MA. They are also vastly underestimating the elderly vote that runs across all demographics and these folks don't like hearing that almost half of their medicare budget, one half trillion dollars, will be used to pay for this boondoggle for the insurance thieves; And they just cant figure out why Beefcake Brown won by promising a chicken in every pot.

[pundaint]

192. Brown had very little to do with MA. It was a multi-level Democrat Fail.

Democrats only had the choice of candidates who supported a bad health-care bill. Many of us were voting against the bill, and voting against a center-right candidate who would be harder than a Republican to unseat in two years. Now we have a better chance at a Liberal Senator than before, and a better chance of defeating a bad bill.

[ooglymoogly]

218. So many factors and they are missing them all.

I held my nose and voted for the democrat. But I couldn't help seeing what was going on. No one was excited, there was no groundswell, folks are just tired of being taken for granted for bad choices.

[Canuckistanian]

173. +1

It's a pretty sad state indeed.

[donheld]

180. indeed

[pundaint]

191. Yes, vote for results, not jerseys! Fire all incumbents who don't deliver.

And support the hell out of Liberals who will run.

[ChiciB1]

208. I Really Don't Know How To Answer What You're Saying About Him

being competent and us liberals being "too damn stupid" to figure things out. From my perspective, and my interpretation from what you said may be wrong, but having us MOVE "center right" means capitulating to me. I'm not AGAINST working with a moderate agenda, but moving to the right as much as I've perceived the WH & Congress Critters have, makes me wonder if I should call myself a "true" Democrat anymore.

The Democratic Party today looks very little like the Party I've always loved and worked hard for. Yes, I consider myself a liberal, a Noam Chomsky type, but I've always known that compromise was needed. I've realized that the activism and movements of the 70's are long gone, but it does seem to me that we crossed over some line that has left me wondering IF I'm not actually a Socialist. I'm a Bernie Sanders type, and most of all a Paul Wellstone type, and this type of Democrat makes me feel they've been closer to "we the people" than anything I'm seeing now!

The Democratic Party of today seems to have forgotten us for the most part, and so many are really bought and paid for exactly like Repukes! The few real hard core Democrats who want to get out there and fight and do the people's work seem unable to get anything passed. THEY HAVE BEEN FORCED to compromise, and therefore we find ourselves where we're at! To use a phrase from Dylan Ratigan, the Corporate Communists have the ball and keep passing is around in their tight little circle!

I DON'T want to compromise when this is the outcome. I can BEND, but don't ask me to BREAK! I came to this party when I was 11 years old along side my military father, and his values and compassion have stuck to me like a tar baby! He died in his late 60's of a massive heart attack, but if he were alive today, I think he would still die of an attack, but one brought on by the stress he sees so many in the nation are having to live through.

How many of you go out and talk with people you don't really know? Perhaps at the grocery store or at barber shop or people in a doctor's office, who actually tell you they are happy or comfortable about what is going on?? Most I talk to say they think this is going to get WORSE rather than better! Recently I was talking to a group of older people in their late 70's and 80's and some of them actually told me that this economy is actually WORSE than the Depression! An eye opener for me because many remembered experiencing the effects of that time way back when!

This is getting too long, but I'm suspecting that the Blue Dogs are more at fault than many of us perceive. We expect Repukes to be this way, but these Blue Dogs seem to be just as much at fault for the situation we're in.

Yes, compromise is a good in a sense, but GIVING IN is something that's just too difficult for me to do! Giving in, and then "hoping" that by doing so we will climb back up isn't a strategy I can embrace!

JMHO! Guess I didn't have to use that since someone gave me an "EOM" heart, but I suppose it says more about them than me.

[Mithreal]

81. +1

[truedelphi]

57. I don't know that Obama would ever dump Rahm.

The Obama and Rahm families are quite close.

And if he did, it would be someone who was Rahm-like.

So very many of Obama's appointees are people who are allied with Big Corporations.

[Mithreal]

78. I think you are right. No matter how radioactive, Rahm is there to stay. Inseparable, they are.

[dflprincess]

109. Close enough that Obama has even brought on Rahm's brother Zeke

as a health "care" advisor. One of Zeke's goals is to do away with Medicare so that pretty much tells us where Obama is coming from.

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[whathehell]

90. You bet...I can't stand that guy.

[No Elephants]

141. Maybe calling ANYone names serves no purpose worth serving?

[DailyGrind51]

199. You're correct! The DLC buys the Milton Friedman "free-market" doctrine as much as the GOP!

[Mithreal]

45. Did you see this story? It's loaded with insights especially about the damage done.

In addition, with Plouffe providing less input in his inner circle, Obama began to pursue a more traditional, backroom approach to enacting his agenda. Rather than using OFA to engage millions of voters to turn up the heat on Congress, the president yoked his political fortunes to the unabashedly transactional style of politics advocated by his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Health care reform — the centerpiece of his agenda—was no longer about mobilizing supporters to convince their friends, families and neighbors in all 50 states. It was about convincing 60 senators in Washington. It became about deals.

"There were two ways for Barack Obama to twist arms on Capitol Hill," says Trippi. "You can get the best arm-bender in town to be your chief of staff—and I don't think there'd be many people who would deny that Rahm is a pretty good pick. Or the American people can be your arm-bender. What I don't understand is why the White House looked at it as an either/or proposition. You could have had both."

http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/2010-02-08-08-57-52-news.php

"Staff are replaceable. A mass of dedicated volunteers is not." —David Plouffe

Rahm is RADIOACTIVE. Too bad President Obama doesn't seem to see it.

[Zorra]

214. He´s not incompetent. He´s a corparasite that is doing a brilliant job of

deliberately destroying the Democratic Party.

[thunder rising]

2. impregnable political armor? His backside was shot full of holes.

[saracat]

3. LOL. Sounds like WH is prepping to throw Rahm under the bus.

Rahm, while not my favorite person, followed orders and the appointment of Zeke alone caused huge problems and certainly indicated a lack of support for meaningful HCR, the public option in particular. This is is window dressing for damage control.JMHO

[thunder rising]

5. It would certainly appease me for a while. Who is a good replacement?

[Vincardog]

8. Dean

[thunder rising]

15. That would have me sending money and singing "Yes We Can" again!!

[No Elephants]

143. Not sure Dean would make a good chief of staff. He would have been great at HHS, though--and

that would have left a Dem Governor in place.

Sigh. I don't want to re-visit Obama's appointments. Starting with Rahm, they made me sadder and sadder and sadder.

[KakistocracyHater]

166. actually chief-of-staff should be filled with a genuine 'big picture' thinker

like Howard Dean demonstrated he had with his 50 State strategy, it's something not seen in a long time & he would be !!!!awesome!!!! in CoS position.

[tavalon]

88. Howard Dean

[politicalmajority]

108. Dean Can Replace Either Rahm Now or Obama in 2012

We want Dean! Yes we can!

[rpannier]

123. Good Question

I'm not sure Howard Dean is the guy.
Obama needs someone who knows the Senate, the Senators, where the bodies are buried and is not afraid of going after weak links in the process.

The person also needs to be supporting the Administration and its agenda 100%

But, we're getting ahead of the process

Emanuel is not out the door and may not be in any danger of having that happen.

[whathehell]

93. ...From your keyboard to God's eyes!

[The Stranger]

4. Why not put the blame where it belongs -- on the fucking Republicans?

This is unbelievable.

[thunder rising]

7. Rahm was too weak to strong arm Republicans. He only whacked away at what Blanche Lincoln called

the "extremists" in the Democratic Party. Forget him, and that's not the F word I'd like use.

[dflprincess]

116. He was too busy strong arming and insulting the Democratic wing of the party

to spend much time on Republicans.

[truedelphi]

210. Rahm must have a signed contract somewhere

That he would see to it that the Obama Administration did not hinder the take over of our economy and society by the Industrialists and Corporate Big wigs.

He is certainly helping to ensure that in the end, the American voter is choosing only between two candidates both from the Money Party, and with only minor differences on the opposing side.

[grantcart]

129. You do realize that all of the recs on this thread are for a column that said that

RE was too tough on the Republicans and should have been more accomodating.

[skyounkin]

131. That was my read on it too.

That Rahm didn't give into enough demands for the rethugs....

[No Elephants]

149. No, that is not what all the recs are for.

[Enthusiast]

13. Rahm deserves no criticism?

You're kidding, right?

[FiveGoodMen]

25. Who's got the House, the Senate and the White House right now?

[roguevalley]

33. you can thank the incompetence of bush and mccain and the hard work and

vision of howard dean putting the structure in place for that, not the little asshole rahm,

[liberation]

99. It is worse than that: Rahm actually wanted to undo the 50 state strategy from the get go

... and now he is all to happy to reap the benefits from that strategy, and waste the political capital it provided with his piss poor approach to politics (or anything that could be remotely construed as "public service" from Emmanuel's part)

[kenfrequed]

119. Feh

The blue dogs and DLC don't want a Democratic Majority. They want a narrow majority or a minority as it gives them more cover and whining BS excuses as to why they can't get anything done.

[FiveGoodMen]

113. Intent of my post was to say that Dems are in charge, so they get the blame for not doing anything

I wasn't giving rahm credit for winning the majorities.

I was blaming the majority party for doing nothing.

[tavalon]

95. Dean delivered all three with a nice little bow on top

And he didn't get shit for his effort.

[FiveGoodMen]

114. Dean should be the one in charge now.

(He should have been our candidate in '04)

Please see post above in case we misunderstood each other.

I wasn't defending rahm in any way.

[tavalon]

184. Yeah, I was for Dean early on in that primary

I went reluctantly to Kerry.

[No Elephants]

151. NO, not Dean alone. All of us. Fool me once.....

[tavalon]

183. Oh, that's the truth!

But we do better with a leader who helps us coalesce. Dean did that. As a candidate, Obama did that. As a President, Obama isn't nearly as shiny and our Turdblossom (D) is a divider not a leader.

[frylock]

115. the republicans..

apparently.

[bvar22]

39. Lets see:

The Democrats OWN:

*A 20 (now 19) vote MAJORITY in the Senate

*A large MAJORITY in The House

*The White House

*A HUGE MANDATE for "CHANGE" from the American People....

and somehow all the problems are the fault of the REPUBLICANS??!!!
LOL

That is like a 5 year old blaming the baby in the crib for all the finger paint on the wall.

The REAL problem lies elsewhere, and until the REAL problem is identified and dealt with, blaming The "Obstructionist Republicans" is a rather transparent diversion.

[pjt7]

47. SPOT ON POST

BVAR22

[laughingliberal]

54. +1000 nt

[SomeGuyInEagan]

80. + 1 million (or so, give or take)

[Enthusiast]

100. The Obstructionist Republicans are

part of the act, the smoke and mirrors.

And the corporations get their way no matter what happens. If we don't vote they get GOP replacements. If we do vote they get their way on every piece of legislation by Democrats.

For the American people it is a NO WIN situation.

[No Elephants]

152. And, it will stay that way as long as we voters do not change our behavior.

Time to stop pretending we're helpless victims, with nothing whatever to say about our own fate.

[Enthusiast]

193. Actually

we are helpless victims. Or at least almost. Like I said. If we choose to stay home because we are unhappy with the performance of the Democrats we put in office, they will simply be replaced by Republicans that are as bad or worse.

In light of the recent Supreme Court decision the election process will be dominated by corporate money as never seen before. If we are unhappy with the way our elected representatives neglect us now just wait until the election process is completely dominated by corporate money.

Do you have a suggestion?

[No Elephants]

150. +1

[ChiciB1]

202. AND, Lets' Not Forget... Despite The Repukes Doing NOTHING...

somehow they are gaining and/or getting their way as OBSTRUCTIONISTS! I wonder how many here REALLY think this is what we would be saying after one year of total control in D.C.!

:shrug:

[laughingliberal]

51. Really? It was the Republicans who supported the back room deals for an HCR bill they wouldn't

even vote for? Really? It was the Republicans who called the progressives who raised money for ads to call out the Senators who would not support a public option, "fucking retards?" Really? It was the Republicans who showed up on a Sunday night and ordered Harry Reid to blow Joe Lieberman?

I still, perhaps naively, believe the President was serious about the health care reform program he campaigned on. I believe it was Rahm, early on, who decided the industry campaign contributions were more important than any real reform. His brother, who is also an adviser, has long been in favor of privatization of Medicare and the Senate bill was set up in such a way as to get that ball rolling. Maybe I'm wrong and this was Obama's plan all along and he lied about it to get elected. But I lean towards Rahm being the impetus for shifting the bill towards the corporate blow job we got. He is, after all, the one who recruited most of the Blue Dogs who are ruining our party and he is the one who bashes the progressives to cave to the Conservadems.

As I said, this center right agenda may have been Obama's plan all along but I would like to see what happens if Rahm is out of the picture. And he can take his evil twin with him.

edited spelling

[GinaMaria]

127. + infinity

Your post blows away that blame republicants cover.

[No Elephants]

154. Rahm has not been fired--er, I mean, has not decided to spend more time with his family.

Doesn't that tell you anything about Obama--who hired Rahm in the first place?

Presidents hire Rahm for a reason. They know what they are getting when they hire him. His reputaton precedes him. Especially when Obama was not the first President to hire him.

If Obama were not pleased with Rahm's performance, he would have fired Rahm the first time Rahm sneered at the left. That was quite a while ago. Rahm is still chief of staff.

[mdmc]

68. The GOP is out to defeat universal health care and Obama

they did what they were elected to do.

You can't blame the loyal opposition for being in opposition, can you?

[No Elephants]

155. Sorry, no. When this started, health care reform had something like 70% public approval.

And the Republicans did not have the numerical power to do squat. Conserva Dems and Purple Snakes did what they were PAID to do. They did not do what they were elected to do; and neither did Republicans.

[mdmc]

204. imho you can't blame republicans for the behavior of the dlc

Rahm made this bed, now we get to sleep in it.
The GOP beat back socialized medicine and protected for profit health insurance. They did what they came to do.

[pundaint]

196. No, our elected officials are being paid to represent the People's interests, not to use our

Government for continuous campaigning. When an entire Party say's "NO" to everything they are no longer fit to govern, or even participate. Nobody, or at least darn few, elected Republicans to shut down government, misrepresent every issue, abandon their own principles when they are adopted by the Majority Party, or to keep the world safe for CEO's.

The Republican Congressional contingent, are not people of honor by any standard, and loyal is a ridiculous adjective for those cretins.

[mdmc]

205. I disagree

It seems they are using what little power they have to push their issues. Kudos to them as they fight for their beliefs.

I know we wish the dems would do the same..

[freddie mertz]

91. Problem is, the Republicans are beating the Dems at this game.

That is the problem that the WH team is not yet solving.

Maybe they are beginning to notice, at least.

[tazkcmo]

134. The Pubes aren't beating the Dems.

The Dems are beating themselves. The Pubes are just doing what they've always done.

[No Elephants]

144. The Purple Snakes were the problem. If they behaved, the Rethugs would have been wholly irrelevant.

Nonetheless, Rahm did Obama no favors with his sneering (and ludicrous) reference to the "left of the left."

Denying that is deny reality and denying reality in these circumstances is unhealthy.

[rhett o rick]

187. So you like Rahm? Just curious, are you one of those Conserva-Dems? or Blue Damn Dogs? nt

[pundaint]

194. The bill is a bad bill. The Republicans have deserted their jobs and need to be fired. The people

who wrote this bill have deserted the interests of the American People and should be fired. The Republicans quit, and the Democrats are responsible for this bill. Two different offenses, one remedy: vote the sob's out, except for those brave Dems who voted against the bill because it left insurance companies involved.

[DJ13]

6. Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities

.......but not with the liberals he was calling retarded.

And his supporters wonder why many liberals want him out of the WH?

[peacebird]

10. I want Rahm out of the WH and would love to see Dr Dean take the lead on HCR for Obama

ASSUMING that Obama wants *real* meaningful HCR and not a big handout to the insurance companies that it.

[bvar22]

44. I am finding that assumption less credible each passing day.

"ASSUMING that Obama wants *real* meaningful HCR and not a big handout to the insurance companies that it.'

[peacebird]

56. sadly - me too....

[whathehell]

96. Amen +10

[Enthusiast]

103. It will NEVER happen.

President Obama does not want Dean and he doesn't want HCR. Well, he might want HCR but he certainly knows he is not allowed to have it. Unless, that is, it is reform in name only.

[No Elephants]

156. Please see Reply # 154. Just sayin'

[RaleighNCDUer]

38. Yeah - I noticed that, too.

He attempted to quell the controversy by making it all about the word 'retard' instead of about his insult to the Democratic base.

How very DLC of him.

[CreekDog]

117. He called us dogs and then apologized to the dogs

you called it right. :eyes:

[No Elephants]

148. I noted that, too. Another example of why I don't trust the Hill.

[elmerdem]

11. 'didn’t seek a broader base of Senate Republicans'

that sure in the hell wasn't his mistake. Who the fuck did they quote? Evan Bayh? Lieberman? The problem was he tried to seek Senate repubs in the first place. Chuck 'bi-partisan' Grassley, Olympia 'bi-partisan' Snowe? This is fucking nuts. The problem is that he didn't go for real reform through reconciliation right away. This should have been passed in April & people would have already benefited from it & the republicans would look like the dicks they are.

[xxqqqzme]

22. He can't go for real reform.

It is not chiseled in the stone tablets @ the DLC (contributed by corporate donors).

[shraby]

23. I noticed that sentence too..it sounds like a Republican

putting his two cents into the article.

[jwirr]

27. Yes, that is the problem. If they (Rahm & Obama) had realized from

the start that the repugs were NOT going to play ball we would have real HCR right now.

[No Elephants]

157. They did realize that from the start. Why would they ever have thought otherwise? You think DU

knows more about Republicans in Congress than former Senator Obama, former Rep. Emmanuel and all the Democrats who are available to advise them, like Pelosi? Obama and Rahm are not stupid or incompetent. To the contrary, they are very smart and competent.

At what point are we finally going to stop making excuses for Democrats, simply bc they do not call themselves Republicans, and hold them responsible for their own acts and omissions?

Sometimes, if you want to figure out what smart, competent folk aimed at, take a lot at what they hit and work backwards from there, instead of assuming they aimed at something they missed by a mile.

It wasn't the Purple Snakes Rahm and Obama were scolding all summer. Not Stupak, Nelson or Baucus. They scolded only the folks who were saying "Public option, public option, public option." Obama took single payer off the table during the primaries and called the public option only a detail last summer. Yet, he praised the Senate bill to the heavens.

The flip side would be that they ARE too dumb and inompetent to get what they really want on the issue they identified as the single most important one facing our nation, after physical safety.

Either way....

[Jefferson23]

12. Obama hired Rahm, and Obama was no where to found fighting for

meaningful reform...NO WHERE.

I don't care if Emanuel is replaced, but I highly doubt he will be.

[thunder rising]

16. The move would not be unprecedented, Samantha Power ring a bell. But they were liberal sacrifices.

[Jefferson23]

121. Yep, we can't have any of those around in the administration!

[damntexdem]

18. And the finger they point should be the middle one, straight up.

The only thing I ever thought that Sarah Palin was correct about: Rahm should be fired.

[pjt7]

20. Rahm is a little weaselish

that's just who he is & it reflects very poorly on Obama.

[liam_laddie]

32. You could drop the "-ish" in header

and have an accurate description of that mother*/#%er. With an emphasis on "little."

[whathehell]

98. He reminds me of "Louie" from "Taxi"......Minus the humor.

[No Elephants]

162. Minus the humor and any and all other endearing qualities.

You always knew that Louie was an act, that right underneath the surface, was Danny DeVito, good guy, having a great time playing Louie, who was without any redeeming value whatever. That was the genius of Danny DeVito as an actor in that role.

Rahm is like Louie without Danny DeVito.

Actually, let's skip all that. Rahm is a nasty, arrogant turd. Much simpler.

[whathehell]

168. Oh, believe me...I don't want to give Rahm ANY redeeming qualities

..I guess I just think of the Louie character when I think of a little guy who is aggressively, unapologetically bad -- as I said, minus the humor.

[pjt7]

21. Rahm is a little weaselish

that's just who he is & it reflects very poorly on Obama.

[RaleighNCDUer]

46. Right cure -

wrong diagnosis.

It's notable that Rahm's apology fit with HER criticism, not with the Democratic base who he insulted.

[bc3000]

19. I don't think he's incompetent - he's just not on our side.

[polichick]

48. Rahm works for the prez - is he on our side? nt

[mdmc]

71. He sure is "working" for the pres..

And it is all working out quite well.. All hopey changey.. just my humble, f---in retarded opinion, of course..

[No Elephants]

163. Please see Reply # 154.

And, while you're in the neighborhood, please glance at #157, too.

[vegiegals]

28. Glad to see this was reported on.

[groundloop]

29. All this "blame" stuff is only providing a distraction to slow things down

I don't care much for Rahm either, but if the entire Democratic Party gets tied up figuring out who did what to whom it's just wasting valuable time. Plus, this just kind of smells of a few lame senators trying to find a scapegoat for their imcompetence. Again, I'd be more than happy to see Rahm replaced, but this isn't makeing progress.

[The Wizard]

53. It has less to do with incompetence and

more to do with Swiss bank accounts.
Rahm is on the take as well as several senators who use a couple of Dinos like Nelson and Liebermann as convenient excuses for not legislating on the people's behalf.

[laughingliberal]

59. Sadly, I believe this is probably true. I would like to see Rahm fired and see if it results in

any change in the administration's direction, though. For God's sake, even Bush finally had to wake up to the fact that Rumsfeld was a liability to his administration.

[No Elephants]

165. Rummy furthered the objectives of the Bush administration, but Bush needed a scapegoat.

These people all serve at the pleasure of the President.

The second the President doesn't like what they are doing, they are gone, but they are also gone if a scapegoat is needed, even if they did exactly as the President wanted.

[laughingliberal]

58. So, if someone is gumming up the works, we should leave them there to keep gumming up the works?

I think the Senate has been made the scapegoat for writing a center right wing HCR bill. I believe if Obama had come out fighting for real reform he could have gotten the Democratic Senators on board. My only question is was this bill Obama's plan all along, as Russ Feingold told us, or was he swayed by Rahm's advice?

[No Elephants]

164. Slow WHAT things down?

[TMED]

30. I'll bet he's a crummy ballet dancer, too

Can you imagine how many poor ballerinas' feet he must have stepped on, before realizing that he should try something else? Say, politics?

Just sayin'.

[mzteris]

89. you don't win scholarships

to Joffrey being a "crummy ballet dancer".

:eyes:


My personal opinion is that his being a ballet danseur is one of the reasons some people dislike him.

[AllyCat]

31. Emanuel is a jerk, but when will Dems stop blaming and start standing up?

I'm tired of everything being everyone else's fault. We know the Repukes are morons and then we play nicey nicey with them. Rahm is a punk, but everyone listens to what he says. Formulate a frickin' PLAN and barge on through!

[laughingliberal]

60. I guess this may be because we think the playing nicey nice with Pukes is Rahm's strategy

and it's pretty hard to get any change to this as long as he sits next to the President.

[liberation]

107. Just a reminder, the Chief of Staff is in charge of executing the President's policies and vision...

... not the other way around.

I am getting tired of people erecting Obama as the new Teflon Don. This whole "the buck stops at Obama's desk only if it carries praise, and lands elsewhere otherwise" is starting to get tiresome. Obama has only thrown a couple of bones to progressives in the form of a few very very very milquetoast speeches, every single item in his agenda has been eider moderately-conservative or right out conservative. Yet people still act as it is just a "fluke" a part of some sort of weird 3D Chess which implies doing your opponents bidding and playing dead in order to achieve some mystical political victory the likes of which this world has never seen.

And liberals delude themselves with only a couple of aforementioned milquetoast speeches (with ZERO in terms of specifics, and without any effort whatsoever to even pretend to have any sense of support towards liberal policies) as their excuses to pretty much deny every evidence to the contrary coming from the Obama team. Under that context, Rahm's "fucking retarded" estimation of liberals makes absolutely perfect sense, and I am sadden to say that he is completely correct in that regard.

Obama is the boss now, and yes... from a liberal stand point he has sucked and will continue sucking for the foreseeable future. He can get elected with the votes of those moderate conservatives whose validation he seems to crave so much. I will only support liberal candidates from now on, Rahm and the rest of the DLC merry men and women can go pound sand for all I care. I am a liberal, I love my fellow human being, I love education and culture, I don't believe in war, and just because I support a more just society without having to resort to violence or oppression... it does not mean I am in the habit of having other people laughing at my face. Good luck to these charlatans getting re-elected without the army of useful idiots who propped them to victory, and which they just turned into apathetic cynics during the past year.

Shortsighted corporate policies, till the bitter end... it will be a pleasure to see Rahm throw another of his legendary hissy fits when his hubris manages to sick yet another Dem ship. LOL.

[Jefferson23]

122. Absolutely, I don't get the focus on Emanuel.

[No Elephants]

167. Which Dems are you talking about? The ones who think Rahm should have

kowtowed to Republicans more, or the ones Rahm called fucking retards?

[AllyCat]

212. Right because tthere are only two options here.

[SlingBlade]

34. Yep. But whatever happed to, The Buck Stops Here ?

Rahm Emanuel is a classic corporate Clintonite, That should not surprise ANYONE

His appointment by Obama was roundly criticized here on D.U by those in the know
who have seen this all before, Like a Deja-Voo all over again.

Yet here we are, Scratching our heads and wondering WHY things are as they are.

Hummmm. :argh:

And we love to point out how stoopid Re-Pukes are.
Stones,Glass,Houses etc.

[saigon68]

35. He was and is a little coniving corporate fixer

A Pox on him.

He will get his walking papers after Nov 2010

[SlingBlade]

41. " He will get his walking papers after Nov 2010 " ...

As will any hope of real change.

This has been a colossal slap in the face to the millions upon millions of
dedicated young people, Many with their first taste of the political process.

They will no doubt return to their cyber worlds more cynical than ever and rightly so.
Yet another generation lost to the world thanks to the DLC, The Democratic Party
and all who had a hand in back stabbing our future, Our Young. :argh:

[Enthusiast]

106. I suspect it was all part

of the plan. With the SCOTUS decision they really didn't need to do this. They have the country by the ass anyway. Just a bit of overkill.

[saigon68]

153. It is a sad comment indeed

After 2004 and beyond I really had hopes for a little change.

None coming however as the corporate crooks get ready again to FEED at the PUBLIC TROUGH.

[laughingliberal]

61. He needs his walking papers before Nov 2010. It just might save a few seat for us

if they decide to start governing like Democrats.

[No Elephants]

169. Who's wondering why?

[sallyseven]

36. He is not a democrat. He is an opportunist

I find him to be obnoxious, mean spirited and very Republican. Obama needs to get rid of him. He is steering him in the wrong direction. He is just a brain fart in action. Look at his record BLUE DOGS IN CONGRESS.

[Lorien]

70. Yep. And Blue Dogs are nothing more than repugs without the rabid theology. nt

[Bluenorthwest]

37. So he is crude, rude, and a failure at his job

What is it he has going? I don't get why he is worth the image problems his personality brings with it.
And he should personally thank the DUers who used his nose thumbing photo with ever snide comment they made about 'the left'. They really drove home how wonderful the man is.

[laughingliberal]

62. Yes, that picture did wonders to drive home how the administration viewed us, did it not? nt

[closeupready]

40. It is absolutely his fault - and Obama's.

They both share blame for this disaster.

[howmad1]

63. Seems to me Rahms' goal.....

.....is to make Obama the first "one term" black president in the history of this country. He sure is working hard at it.

[closeupready]

72. He certainly does a certain cavalier attitude, doesn't he, almost as

though he's thinking, "Eh, who fucking cares - I'm just doing this gig for me." I certainly hope that is not the actual case.

[ima_sinnic]

42. if Glenn Beck would criticize him, he'd be gone "like that" (Van Jones ring a bell?)

... but Rahm is too valuable for the repukes--he's their wet dream. No way is Beck going to kill the golden goose.

[laughingliberal]

65. That is exactly right. If he was a liberal adviser, criticized by Beck, his bags woulda been packed

months ago. But a corporate ass kisser who hates liberals? He's golden!

[still_one]

43. and why not Obama? /nt

[Dinger]

49. Hope This Is The Beginning Of rahm's End In The Obama Administration (nt)

[KansDem]

50. Okay, then can his ass, appoint someone else, and get moving!

Hubba-hubba!!! We got to be on a plane to health-care reform in an hour!*

________
*Reference to an old "Rockford" episode...

[fascisthunter]

52. he's a good person to blame

but many should also share in the blame

[polichick]

55. Nice how Rahm apologized to people with disabilities but not to liberals...

Big Ed was right - what's important about that episode is what it said about the way this White House views vital members of the Democratic party. Both Rahm and the prez coddle Blue Dog/corporate sellouts - to hell with what's best for the country.

[democracy1st]

64. Pres doesn't even realize this fool is screwing him over talk about out of touch!

[laughingliberal]

66. My hope is that out of touch is the reason

My fear is that center right governance was Obama's plan all along. Won't know as long as Rahm remains there.

[MissDeeds]

139. If he is that out of touch

we are in very, very deep trouble. That would mean he's totally clueless, or a damn fool. I agree, "the center right governance was Obama's plan all along".

[polichick]

69. You're joking right? The prez knows what Rahm is doing...

He just doesn't disagree.

[mdmc]

73. I am certain that Obama will win re-election in 2012

He knows that the left has no where to go, except to the dem party.
He knows that if he hangs out in center right town, the GOP will have a hard time not looking fascist.
The corporations are all good with Obama. He will have money to run. He will have a weak GOP contender.. He will win big..

When will we, the working people, win?

[polichick]

76. He'll probably win if there's no primary challenger...

But he won't have many foot soldiers.

[mdmc]

79. He will have a primary challenger - there is no way the anti-war movement

will be silent.

But none the less, Obama will outspend, win both the primary and the general. I see no way around it.
He won't need me to go down to Pike County PA to get out the vote this time.

He is a sure thing in 2012

[No Elephants]

178. We need to work to see that there is a primary challenger, including

telling the DNC to cease its policy of supporting incumbents to the hilt during primaries. Let Democratic voters speak--even if you think that is a mistake. If you don't, DNC, then it's democracy that you think is a mistake, in which case, change the Party's name.

[politicalmajority]

112. No I Will Just Sit at Home and Watch the Election Results

If Obama stays the course with Rahm Emanuel through 2012 and continues treating us like "fvcking retards," I will just sit at home and enjoy seeing them lose big time in the most humiliating way in the American history.

[No Elephants]

174. We, the working people, will win when we alter our own behavior, not sooner.

One definition of insanity is continuing to repeat the same behavior and expecting a different result.







If Democrats behave like Republicans....... :shrug:




Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free, now now.
And feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing, that's all that Bobby left me, yeah,
But feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
Hey, feeling good was good enough for me, hmm hmm,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

[No Elephants]

172. Please see Reply ##s 154 and 157.

[mdmc]

67. House Dems are f---in retarded

God Bless them!

[Riverman]

84. Yeah I am, So what Our Yew! Retards of the World Unite!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

74. "Fuck Rahm" and all that...but...

...if you can't govern with a majority you're worthless.

Someone please explain the purpose of a non-functioning majority to me.

[RoccoR5955]

77. I wouldn't put it past the fucking bastard!

Rahm should be fired!
From what I JUST heard on National Petroleum Radio News, Obama is willing to start over, as the Cons want him to do. When the hell is he going to learn, that these people are stalling on purpose. They don't want to pass a thing of his. They only want EVERYTHING their way, then they will call it compromise.

[davidddd]

85. David

Agree with you

damentaschen

[orbitalman]

82. Bullshit. I'm from Illinois. Get RID of the bastard. nt

[pundaint]

83. Obama is the president, Rahm is a member of his staff. Rahms actions are the presidents bidding.

The president is the one who needs changing. We need a president to deliver the Democratic platform.

[DFW]

86. Someone who ought to know told me that Rahm won't have his position forever

And maybe not too much longer.

Obama thought he needed a guy who could get things done, so he picked Rahm. I think Rahm sold himself
well, and Obama bought the package. Now that he has opened his package and seen what was inside, he
is contemplating returning the merchandise for a refund or replacement--I hope so anyway.

[No Elephants]

175. Obama knew what was inside and Rahm did not sell himself.

Rahm had been Chief of Staff for fellow DLC member, Clinton. Everyone knew exactly what Rahm was like. After Obama asked Rahm to be Chief of Staff, Rahm said he didn't know if he wanted the job. Rahm did not sell himself to Obama or leap at the job offer.

Rahm may be let go, but let's not re-write history first.

[JohnWxy]

92. I am royally pissed off at how this was handled but I really think emmanuel was doing what his boss

wanted. I think Obama probably told Emmanuel how he wanted to get HCR passed. I think it was Obama who believed in "sweet talking" and trying coddle Republicans would get them somewhere. The President is a good man, but I think he has been reluctant to accept the ugly truth that the REpublicans are quite prepared to see everything the Dems try to do for the country to go down the toilet no matter what it does to the country..so they can 'say' in November: "See, the Democrats are just as incompetent as we are!" (except of course they will want everybody to forget about how they caused all the problems in the first place).


This is a good article. I am really pissed off at how this was handled but really I think Emmanuel was proceeding with a course that Obama had set.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"But liberals take a different view. They argue Emanuel made a mistake by allowing Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to spend months negotiating with Republicans on his committee, such as Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa).


“I’m most critical of the fact that the Senate leadership and, I assume, the White House tried to get a deal with people like Grassley, which was impossible and wasted a huge amount of time,” said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, a liberal advocacy group."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[No Elephants]

177. The Republicans were not the ones who caused all the problems in the first place.

Please see Reply 144 and many others on this thread by other posters to the same effect.

Given the numbers, the Republicans should have been totally irrelevant.

[Triana]

94. I voted for Obama but ... choosing Rahm Emmanuel as his CoS: FAIL n/t

[gulfcoastliberal]

97. I wonder whether it was Obama's or Rahm's idea to order congress to make sure the HC bill had

language expressly prohibiting the states from setting up their own insurance plans. I remember that diktat came from the WH; whose idea?

[No Elephants]

179. Something like that would either have come from Obama or been run by Obama.

There is no reason to assume that people in the WH are doing things that significant without Obama's knowledge and approval.

[GreenTea]

101. More than ANYTHING Rahm Emanuel loves and lust the power!

The arrogance of the corporate DLC Emanuel is always obvious and present.

If one can recall for example when Howard Dean was chairman of the DNC - Rahm Emanuel went to the DNC demanding money, but ONLY for his DLC candidates, insisting that Dems just can't win in republican areas, (of course the DLC Emanuel was to be proved wrong by the excellent Howard Dean)....

Dean, told the out of line Emanuel, that DNC money would be used for ALL democrats, in all 50 states. NOT just DLC candidates that Emaneul was demanding money for. However, being very astute & strong, the no bullshit Dean told the arrogant Emanuel there would instead be a 50 state strategy for ALL Democratic candidates and basically to fuck off Rahm!

The asshole Rahm went nuts & wanted DNC funds for his corporate moderate DLC "democrats" Dean rightly told Emanuel to fuck off and as it turned out Howard Dean was 100& absolutely correct.

Fucking corporate DLC, Emanuel, moderates, Blue-dogs & republicans all eat out of the same corporate gutter.

Ever wonder why the extreme qualified progressive Dr. Howard Dean was passed over by DLC Obama & Emanuel for every and ALL White House appointed cabinet positions & departments?

This slimy shit has Rahm Emanuel's filthy hand prints all over it....

Yet we were left with no other real choice, the corporate DLC have taken over the DNC & the Democratic party and they just toss us crumbs to keep us quite!

I'll always think back to Rahm Emanuel screaming at Howard Dean, chair of the DNC because Rahm demanding more DNC money for his DLC candidates....Again, Dean wanted a fifty state strategy - (and of course Dean was correct).

[craigmatic]

102. Wouldn't it make more sense to blame Obama for the screw up in the senate since he was actually a

member and Emmanuel wasn't? Just asking. There's alot of blame to go around here.

[liberation]

111. Emmanuel was also a member of congress...

... and a lot of people seem to have forgotten at his role as adviser for Blagojevich.

[w4rma]

135. I didn't realize Rahm worked for Blago. I'm wondering if Rahm is a mobster, now.

That would help to explain how he made so much money so quickly with *zero* experience in the field of economics.

[Paper Roses]

104. Howard Dean. No question he would work for us, not for the

big, fat corporate machine in Washington. Rahm should drift off into the sunset.

Dean got a real bum rap during the primary races (the scream). He is a good man with the brain to see beyond tomorrow.

BTW, I think the brouhaha over his shout was beyond stupid. Have none of us ever shouted enthusiastically? In my opinion, someone like Dean is our last hope as we slip down farther and farther.

[Enthusiast]

110. Of course you are correct

about the scream. It was repeated endlessly, and still is! And completely out of context.

[Ken Burch]

171. And the audio of the scream was deliberately distorted by sound engineers

to make Dean sound unhinged when he was simply energetic. Dean is owed an apology by the whole MSM for that. And it is now clear that, if we'd gone with Dean instead of Kerry, we'd have kicked Bush's ASS in 2004!.

(which is probably why the MSM WANTED Dean forced out, of course...)

[Enthusiast]

195. I suspect there were hundreds

of GOP operatives in Iowa campaigning for Kerry.

[kenfrequed]

118. Ok... yes and no.

I wouldn't defend Rahm but this last paragraph:

"I think Rahm ran the play his boss called; once Obama called the play, Rahm did everything he could to pass it, scorched-earth and all that,” said a senior lawmaker, who added that Emanuel didn’t seek a broader base of Senate Republicans. “I think he did miscalculate the Senate. He did what he thought he had to do to win."


The problem was NOT that he didn't seek a broader base of Repukes. That is F-ing spin. And it is spin that benefits both repukes and the blue cross blue shield dogs. What he did was prop up the blue dogs and do everything he could for his absurd DLC allies to fight off change and told the liberal base to shut the hell up.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

120. Expect Palin to take credit if Rahm is out...

With the exception of that one point, the sooner he's gone the better.

[Freddie Stubbs]

124. So, Congress is blaming the WH for Congress' inability to pass legislation

Brilliant!

[liberation]

130. LOL so now DU posters are "congress"

either I am not getting the sarcasm, or the DLC cheer leading squad is displaying the same out-of-touch-with-reality MO which made the Bush fan club such a fun bunch during the past decade. LOL.

[davidwparker]

125. Oh, let me just recommend this.

Rahm needs to go. And take Timmy and Larry with him.

[RollWithIt]

126. Bunch of fucking retarded pussies.....

IMO.

[No Elephants]

181. Gee, I never get tired of "pussies" being used to mean weak and cowardly, while "balls" is used

to mean strong and brave.

Up until then, I was with you.

[pundaint]

198. What kind of dick would use terms like that anyway?

[philkd]

128. Just out of curiosity, where's Biden been in all of this?

Surely he's been quietly twisting arms in the Senate. His role has been oddly not talked about. I think they got desperate for anything after august and that is not a power position to be in. The Senate played the WH and played themselves out of reform.

[amandabeech]

176. Somehow, I don't think that Biden fits in with the Obama crowd.

He's too old in a campaign focused on youth, and his ideas may not get much play. Maybe Biden thought that this bill was not going to make it at this time.

I think that he was right when he said that we shouldn't be fighting the Taleban, just Al Quaeda, which would require that only special forces be in Afghanistan. According to the Pentagon, there are only 100 or fewer Al Queda still in Afghanistan.

It was stupid to send Rahm to the Senate. He was only a rep, and the senators look down on the House and the reps. I don't imagine that he was well received.

[IndianaGreen]

132. Rahm has his good points, on the Middle East conflict for example

but his lack of finesse has earned many enemies within Democratic ranks. However, I will not blame Rahm for the HCR debacle, but his boss. Rahm is doing the President's bidding. Rahm is not a rogue Chief of Staff. Rahm is not another Alexander Haig!

[bread_and_roses]

133. "Didn't seek a broader base of Republicans" - eh?????????????

What else but "seek a broader base of Republicans" has this Admin done from day 1????????? For what else have they abased themselves, neutered themselves? (Other, of course, than their Corporate Paymasters, but that must NEVER be said out loud, so I don't expect to read it on The Hill)

I usually read all the posts before adding my own, so sorry if I've repeated others - my ire got the better of me.

[24601]

137. So much for the Commander being responsible for the unit, including

what the staff does or fails to do.

[Generator]

138. The middle one, no doubt

Couldn't happen to a nicer fellow.

[BootinUp]

146. Hilarious

They are talking about legislation that is closer to passing than ever before.

[No Elephants]

185. No, they are talking about legislation that was never contemplated before.

Just because they call it "health care reform," that doesn't mean it is the same reform that's been contemplated in the past.

This is not the universal health care what Teddy Roosevelt envisioned, but did not strive hard for. This is not what Truman envisioned, when health insurance companies were not for profit organizations. This is not the Medicare or Medicaid of Johnson. This is not even Hillarycare. No one has tried to pass anyhing like this before.

[1776Forever]

158. Finally! What more must be said - The truth will out!

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/390200.html

Truth will out

Meaning

The truth will become known eventually.

Origin

From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, 1600:

LAUNCELOT: Nay, indeed, if you had your eyes, you might fail of the knowing me: it is a wise father that knows his
own child. Well, old man, I will tell you news of your son: give me your blessing: truth will come to light; murder cannot be hid long; a man's son may, but at the length truth will out.


:headbang:

[Canuckistanian]

170. I'm sorry. When you have to apologize to Sarah Palin, you're done.

That alone should be the reason for his resignation.

[troubledamerican]

190. Palin's attack on Rahm created reactionary Dem support for Rahm... = Rove strategy to support Rahm

[Democat]

197. Great point - anyone who apologize to Palin should step down!

Anyone who apologize to Palin should step down right away and let someone with some backbone and brains take charge.

Obama is at the top, so Rahm is really his fault one way or another.

[SanchoPanza]

182. So progressive Democrats and conservative Democrats are blaming Rahm Emanuel for their own failures.

Nobody's fault but mine. Color me surprised.

The Senate still passed the bill. Even if Emanuel drove the process, how exactly did he fail?

[No Elephants]

186. The chief job of the chief of staff is to make sure that the legislation the President wants gets

through Congess to the President's desk.

Has the legislation that the President wanted passed by Congress been on his desk for his signature?

[SanchoPanza]

189. The criticism in the article relates to the Senate.

The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel’s lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.

But centrists and liberal Democrats both take issue — albeit in different ways — with how he approached the Senate.

"I think Rahm ran the play his boss called; once Obama called the play, Rahm did everything he could to pass it, scorched-earth and all that,'" said a senior lawmaker, who added that Emanuel didn’t seek a broader base of Senate Republicans. "I think he did miscalculate the Senate. He did what he thought he had to do to win."

“I’m most critical of the fact that the Senate leadership and, I assume, the White House tried to get a deal with people like Grassley, which was impossible and wasted a huge amount of time,” said Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, a liberal advocacy group.

Moderates/Conservatives: Rahm Emanuel didn't reach out enough to Senate Republicans.

Progressives: Rahm Emanuel reached out to Senate Republicans too much.

Yet, surprise of surprises, the Senate passed the bill.

[maryf]

203. Reality! thanks, nt

[WillyT]

188. Big K & R !!!

:kick:

[ejbr]

200. k & r n/t

[yurbud]

209. ''didn't seek a broader base of Republicans''? that seemed like the ONLY people they were trying...

to please (besides the insurance company execs).

[amandabeech]

213. Did anyone else notice that Rahm may have been the one to tell Obama

to press for jobs and improvements in the economy before health care?

If true, maybe Rahm isn't so bad after all.

[jobwithout]

215. How Can Rahm be at fault

But his boss have none of the blame.

[Johnny Harpo]

217. Maybe Rahm Just Does Not Know Where Enough Of The 'Bones Are Burried' To Be Really Effective...

If one does not know where the dirt is.

How can one make mud? Inexperience? Perhaps.

That said: I think this is just like the problem with 'Timmy' G...The fox has been assigned to guard the henhouse.

[Name removed]

219. Deleted message

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