Does anyone in the White House read liberal blogs?

[Kalyke]

Or even Democratic (big "D") or left-of-center blogs?

The murmur of Obama's complicity in dealing with Republicans and/or Big Corporations has turned into a deafening SCREAM over the past few days.

Are his aids insulating him that much? Surely, they know that if Obama loses his base, he loses the election and they lose their jobs (even if they could find another cushy one somewhere). It still seems so odd that he doesn't know how much the public has grown weary of his capitulations.

[CakeGrrl]

1. Gibbs referred to the Professional Left, which,

contrary to some interpretations here, does not mean the average DU member. I take it to mean they were referring directly to TV, radio and website-owning liberal pundits.

So yes, someone in the WH probably has an ear to all media, if not the President himself.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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

[TwilightGardener]

3. I wouldn't equate liberal blogs with "the public".

[EFerrari]

9. WTF? No matter how convenient it would be to try to isolate

the lefty blogosphere, it can't be done. It's a losing proposition. In fact, the stuff they warned about two years ago is just spreading towards the center.

I don't understand why Obama seems to be chasing a right wing that loves to kick him and inviting criticism from his own side. It's self destructive.

In 2010, our turn out was less than in 2006. Someone has to do something or 2010 will be a bigger problem.

/typo

[Recursion]

Same reason W kept trying to work with Democrats

And just like most people on DU blithely ignore that fact, most extreme Republicans ignore Obama's bipartisanship. But, it works around the margins (Obama is also saddled with a GOP that has decided they don't want to be a minority in government but rather an extension of statuary hall).

[EFerrari]

23. Wait -- when did Bush work with Democrats?

I must have missed that part!

[Recursion]

36. NCLB. Medicare Part D. His attempts at immigration reform

He was triangulating, if you didn't notice. That's what triangulation looks like from the other side, if that's any comfort.

[TwilightGardener]

27. Er...I think it was more that Democrats were working with W., rather

than the other way around.

[Recursion]

38. And that's my point: you think that

You don't see that W bucked a lot of his party's base to do things like NCLB and Medicare's prescription plan.

[Hannah Bell]

52. bull. those had no democratic content except the front which hid the winger crap.

[TheWraith]

15. DU and FireDogLake are not representative of the Democratic base. nt

[EFerrari]

22. That sounds so familiar to me.

[myrna minx]

42. lol n/t

[Catshrink]

54. ...

DUer Gregorian did this a while ago.

[girl gone mad]

31. Of course they are.

[TheWraith]

33. Which is why DU and FDL are filled with anti-Obama screeds...

...while he's got an 87% approval rating from Democrats?

Right. :eyes:

Seriously--anyone who thinks that DU or FDL represent even the mainstream of the left, let alone the Democratic Party, needs to completely reevaluate their preconceived notions.

[Recursion]

39. DU I would at least call more or less representative of "the Left" in all its fractiousness

Which is what makes it still worthwhile for a moderate like myself; I like to see where the Left is going and hitch my wagon as far as I can to it.

FDL is just a weird, weird place.

[sendero]

48. Just proves..

... that Democrats, on balance, are as stupid as Republicans.

[RKP5637]

It's a bizarre party that wants to ostracize part of its base. There are

many WTF moments anymore. I'm concerned about 2012, I have a gut feeling things might be worse. Is the economy suddenly going to surge, unemployment go away, life get better for many ... I doubt it, this will take time and this administration has been caught right in the middle of Bush's miraculous F'ups (well, plan.) Every supporter that can be found is needed for success in 2012.

[EFerrari]

21. BushCo sure did seed the field, that's for sure.

But the Obama administration don't seem to have too many problems watering the seedlings. Keep the Bush tax cuts for the rich, "austerity" measures that only continue the transfer of wealth upwards, no jobs program, no foreclosure moratorium.

I'm worried about 2012 BECAUSE times look to be getting worse, not better, for Democratic voters.

[Recursion]

44. The GOP is worse about it than we are

That's why the Republican base literally went insane this year.

[TwilightGardener]

26. It's not a matter of trying to isolate the base or the blogosphere.

I don't think they can be ignored without punishment. That said, I don't buy the assertion that the entire public is "tired of his capitulations"--while many here see it that way, most people have little to no idea what is going on. It's easy to think that everyone is as interested as we are in the political process, but I'd estimate that 80% of the vote-eligible public aren't watching, or reading beyond headlines. I know, I used to be one of those. Many days I wished I still was.

[EFerrari]

30. I agree that only some of us try to stay up with things

-- I know I do it to give myself some kind of illusion of control if only through knowing a little bit.

And, there is a real pull to check out. Things are very difficult for a lot of people.

[Kalyke]

13. That's why I included left-of-center blogs/sites in my post.

All of us: liberals, left-of-centers, progressives, etc., are part of "the public."

And the remainder of "the public" who are also growing tired of the capitulations are just picking up the vibes from the far left and the far right: no one like Obama. The right hate him because he's not a white man or because he's not as loony as they are and the left hates him because he caves into the Republicans.

Hopefully, that clears up what I meant in my initial post.

[TwilightGardener]

19. I still wouldn't call political blogs "the public". Most of the public

probably pay little day to day attention to politics. Now, it'd be fair to call them the base. (edit for sucky grammar)

[Kalyke]

45. Agreed, RE: blogs.

But, you still have to admit that those not paying attention think Obama sucks: the left AND the right hate him.

[rko_24550]

55. ...

I'd love to cut your face into ribbons. Too bad you didn't perish on 9/11

[Angry Dragon]

4. If he does not know then he is not as smart as

everybody says he is
If he does know that would mean he does not care

[BzaDem]

5. The problem with your argument is that 86% of Obama's base is solidly behind him

so in reality, he isn't losing his base.

[EFerrari]

12. I fully expect people to continue chanting that number

no matter what losses we take.

[BzaDem]

17. Why do you think losses arent due to Independents swinging against Democrats by 40 points from 2006?

Is it because actually, all Independents are secret leftists who voted FOR Republicans because... because... they are so far left?

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

24. Bluedogs took the biggest hit, not progressives.

So if your point is that the base is much much more to the right than I can imagine, you're saying we're even more screwn than I am. :)

[BzaDem]

32. Do you actually not know what a safe district is? n/t

[EFerrari]

34. LOL

[Recursion]

40. Ha!

Good one

You almost had me going there.

[jobycom]

6. Probably, but only because porn is blocked. nt

[Poboy]

7. They DESPISE us. They have called us names, insulted us, and

ignore us. They see 'the left' as the enemy, and the right wing as a 'working partner' to bend to their will, NOT OURS.
We do not count, we do not matter, and we can just STFU and die.

[DJ13]

8. Surely, they know that if Obama loses his base, he loses the election and they lose their jobs

Ah, but lobbying pays better, so why sweat being progressive when the opportunities to sell out to DC firms would be much more lucrative?

I still say we need a mandatory moratorium of several years before going into any private job from the federal government if your government position dealt with that industry in any way.

[Recursion]

10. We're no more "the Public" than Free Republic is

Yes, people in the White House read all sorts of stuff (Wonkette is actually the most popular one IIRC). And the roar is only deafening if you're not consuming other media.

[Kalyke]

14. We are part of the public.

See my post regarding that above.

And I do consume other media. All I hear is what I put in that post: Obama is hated.

He's hated by the right for not being white or not being bat-shit crazy.

He's hated by the left for not standing up for the Middle and Working classes.

That said, his "base" reads and comments on liberal and Democratic websites. I'm not specifically speaking of the main articles posted, but to the average-guy comments below the main article. Those are the posts that contain the disappointment, the fear, the hatred, etc. And, without his "base," how can he win another election?

(Edited for clarity)

[EFerrari]

25. That's the same kind of contempt for people

that the State Department is furiously trying to hide at this moment.

Nice. Also nice to compare DU with a hate group. :thumbsup:

[Recursion]

43. I'm not contemptuous enough to think I know how the people "really" feel

On both the left and the right, the True Believers deeply, passionately believe that there is a large silent majority of Americans who are secretly liberal or conservative (as the case may be).

And when their leaders (Obama or W, to take the past decade) take office, they rant and rave and gnash their teeth that their leaders are not being sufficiently conservative or liberal, and that if they just were really conservative or liberal the country would rally to them.

They're both wrong.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

11. God I fucking hope not.

I hope they don't read any blogs at all. The vast majority of them are batshit insane and not worth the ink it's printed on. And I fully realize that it's not printed and uses no ink.

[AnArmyVeteran]

41. Damn, I was going to get you on that 'ink' thing till I read your last line. :)

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

51. LOL

You can never be too sure on DU. Always safe to spell it out. :-)

[leveymg]

16. Some -- MoveOn -- were given about 5 minutes before the "f-cking morons" were thrown out.

That door was closed early on. Obama's fully in the bubble now. Few or none of the half-dozen or so senior Obama advisors are actually liberals.

[RKP5637]

20. His bubble will burst in 2012 then if he's fully in the bubble now IMO. n/t

[obxhead]

18. I'm sure someone does.

They have to know what nastiness to call us next after all.

[PeaceNikki]

28. No, but Julian Assange will be releasing all of our posts sometime next yearish, so be GOOD!!

[Iggo]

29. What for?

They cut us loose right after the election.

[craigmatic]

35. I don't think so. He seems to have decided his base is expendible if he can win the mushy middle.

[AnArmyVeteran]

37. All Obama has to do is surf the net. Maybe google his name. Naaaa.

I'd do it if I was president. I wouldn't allow myself to be insulated.

[flvegan]

46. Why would they? They don't give a shit about us.

[Ramulux]

47. Probably, just so they can laugh at us

I can imagine what they must think about us. They know they dont have to listen to a word we say because we have no other electoral choice and we are too unorganized to mount legitimate primaries against most of these shitty democrats. Liberals have no real representation in our government, and Obama is perfectly happy to keep things that way.

[live love laugh]

49. I wonder the same thing. nt

[donheld]

50. Only the cleaning lady.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

53. Remember he was going to keep his Blackberry?

Always assumed he used to to check out HuffPo at the very least although, it's no different over there.
Lots of unhappy Dems with plenty of repuke trolls.