Timeline of the last 30 years, under Republican and Democratic administrations

[Ardent15]

1980: Ronald Reagan comes in to get "government off our backs", and for 12 years, the Reagan-Bush people are total assholes.

Then Bill Clinton comes in, says "I'll run the Republicans out of town!", which he does, only to ignore the base of the Democratic Party.

Then the Republicans come in 1994, and a whole army of douchebags relentlessly slams Clinton.

Meanwhile, the Left is ignored, Clinton goes to the Right, and Gore tries to pull a Bush Sr, and wins, but Bush/Cheney steal the election. So we have 8 more years of total clusterfuck Republican rule.

After that, people are willing to vote for anything that isn't a Republican. So Obama comes in, and promises hope and change-and the Left and the Democrats all unite to support him.

Once inaugurated, he then starts attacking the Left in ways that the Republicans are too primitive to do.

It's the same pattern-unite the Left under Republicans, beat them down under Democrats.

Judging by the record, it seems that the next Republican administration will be worse than Bush II-because Bush II was worse than Reagan and Bush I, and Obama is worse than Clinton.

It's a pattern, a vicious cycle, and it would be amusing if it wasn't destroying our country-and the world.

[Orrex]

1. Well, Clinton gave us NAFTA and some nightmarish welfare reform

Obama's got quite a way to go before he exceeds the combined societal damage of those two maneuvers.

And under Clinton/Gore the pharmaceutical companies got the green light to market their product on TV, too.

[Ardent15]

2. Oh Obama's well on his way

Between education "reform" and the TARP bailouts, he's already surpassed Clinton IMO.

[Orrex]

4. Education reform is pretty unequivocally bad, but IIRC TARP happened in 2008

Don't see how we can blame him for that one.

[Ardent15]

5. Go dig up AllentownJake's diary

He's done some excellent work on how Goldman $achs has fucked us over, with the blessing of Obama.

[girl gone mad]

12. He does deserve blame for TARP, etc.

First, he lobbied hard to get TARP passed while he was campaigning. It would not have passed if he hadn't made phone calls imploring congressmen to get it done.

Second, he is personally responsible for signing off on the second half of TARP. He could have put a stop to it if he had wanted. It was written that way. That was one of the many bogus promises that was made to get it rushed through in the first place.

[JackRiddler]

20. dupe

[JackRiddler]

21. TARP mainly paid out under Obama. Other bailouts greater than TARP were

conducted mainly under Obama, with encouragement from the administration (in the case of the Fed bailouts). Re-appointing Bernanke is an approval of Fed policy. Appointing Geithner (who headed the NY Federal Reserve during the Bear Stearns, Lehman-repo and other dubious actions) is also approval. And of course Obama voted for TARP.

Which isn't to blame Democrats more than Republicans. They both serve the banksters.

[Captain Boomerang]

3. Maybe this is the reason for Bircher's building boats.

At first I thought it was a Captain Stubing of the Love Boat thing for the wealthy, but I could be wrong.

[Greyhound]

6. K&R. One step closer to the abyss.

[Starry Messenger]

7. k & r

[jaxx]

8. Describe the perfect president.

Since all the foibles have gotten air time, I'd like to know what the absolute ideal is.

[skeptical cynic]

9. Martin Sheen?

[lib_wit_it]

10. ...without the MS.

[jaxx]

13. Very good. A cardboard cutout that can be made to jump through hoops.

It seems that is the ideal.

[skeptical cynic]

16. If that is the ideal, then we've had ideal presidents...

from a corporate perspective since 1980.

[jaxx]

18. It's not my ideal.

Mine is someone with a brain who steps on the hoop and keeps doing what is right while the opposition loses it's mind and screams do it my way. Sorta like now.

[skeptical cynic]

19. All I see is more of the same

In some cases, worse.

[William Z. Foster]

23. sounds good

So we have the ideal president. Good, we can all agree on that. Now can we discuss the political direction the administration is going, and to which his talent is being applied?

[William Z. Foster]

11. not about that

No one is talking about foibles or perfection.

Are you saying that mo criticism can be made of our leaders because no one is perfect? What sort of sense does that make?

[jaxx]

14. I must have missed your post.

Either you didn't read mine, or you don't have an answer.

[William Z. Foster]

22. that doesn't even make sense

No idea what you are saying here.

[theFrankFactor]

15. More of This and We Might Get Something Done - A Revolution Maybe!

I have been hounded around here by people who call themselves Democrats but only in the sense that they believe you are a to be a passive "receiver" of top down "Democratic" policy. To actively resist, call out, and rally a bottom up movement is agitating, and doing it with passion is a sin punishable by banishment.

Let me tell you about how this disgruntled Democrat feels when others in my party "get it" and care enough to point at the party with no clothes on and say "Your ass is hanging out!". Encouraged! Elated! Hopeful! Excited! Proud!

And why is that? Because I hate Democrats and all we stand for? No, actually, no. Because I DON'T! I want to be part of a passionate, savvy, effective, mature, intelligent force for good in the world! Not a subservient, apologetic, lap dog party that can't take criticism and acts like Republicans.

Can you imagine if more and more of us felt like Ardent15? If the vast majority of Democrats made our representatives AFRAID to throw us overboard? If they knew they couldn't feed us SHIT on a silver platter and us eat it up but rather knock it out of their hands and say "No, we don't eat shit." "You work for us!"

That would make me very, very happy and I can't imagine what kind of a Democratic loyalist would want it the other way 'round.

[pecwae]

24. Good lord.....

what a great post!!!

[asdjrocky]

17. And Jimmy Carter, though I love him-

introduced politics to evangelicals.