The blame for bad results in Nov. will lay on Dems and Obama

[quinnox]

They blew it quite frankly. They had a chance to pass health care with 60 votes for months and they never could finish it off. Obama deserves a large share of the blame for not using the bully pulpit more often, (I'm tired of excuses being made for him) and the Dems in the Senate deserve a large part of the blame for dragging their feet.

I saw a thread saying if the American people are so dumb to put republicans back in office then they deserve what they get.

But in my opinion a big reason they would do this is the failure of the Dems to enact the real change that was promised. I can't really blame the American people for trying something different when the team in office can't get it done.

What a shame, the Democrats had a golden opportunity and it went down they drain due to their own incompetence, unless a miracle happens and they get their shit together and it turns out to be not as bad as it looks in the Nov. election.

[FrenchieCat]

1. Talking past tense about nine months into the future

must be your fault. You should admit that, at least.

Self defeatists usually defeat themselves.

[quinnox]

3. I'm not optimistic

maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't look good.

[FrenchieCat]

13. So you want to infect the rest of us?

I'm an optimist, but more than that, I'm don't sucumb to someone telling me the future,
either those media assholes, or someone here.

My plan is to work to not allow loses to happen, and facts are actually on our side,
and the HCR thing ain't done yet, so please don't talk about it as though it is.

Laying a foundation for blame this far ahead of time is the wrong thing to concentrate on,
and the Republicans had 8 years, and so if you think that 12 months in, you can see 9 months out,
I think you should get into the stock market business, because 9 months is a long term investment
in political time. just 9 months ago, the media was telling us how the Republican party was dead as a doorknob. I'm sure you remember it well.

[quinnox]

15. What can I say, I hope you are right

I'm not trying to infect or cause anyone to be down, but I wanted to post my honest feelings on this. I am a loyal Democrat, but I also don't want to pretend nothing is wrong.

[FrenchieCat]

20. Things are always "wrong"....what's new about that?

The point is that it is our own attitude that will infect others.....
and help rationalize why folks should stay home,
when their asses should be out there talking to others,
and fighting like mad...especially considering the vast amount of time that we have.

It's like you've surrendered, put your hands up in the air, and walked out of the house,
and the police hasn't even gotten there yet....and in fact, worse than that,
the crime you are admitting to having committed hasn't even happened yet.

This is what helped defeat us in MA apart from the fact that we didn't even notice,
and then we were too slow and too late to react. At that point, we said one week ahead
of time that all was lost. And still there were enough of us out there that called,
and did what we could, and at the very least, the margin of loss wasn't as high as what
had been predicted just a week before.

Look, We've got 9 months......
This project can't be about who can blame who the fastest,
cause we are all in there, and we will all be affected.
If you think we ain't got shit now (although I beg to differ),
just wait till once you assisted in "willing" a Republican takeover
with your doomsday talk.

So I'll ask you, was there something you wanted to share with us that you were going to do
to make a difference, or is that not part of your thought process here?....cause if not,
it should be.

If you want some suggestions on how you, yourself as an individual can make a
difference, let me know.

[quinnox]

24. I wish I was that powerful

but I don't think my willing anything will change something. I don't know, maybe you have a metaphysics angle on this but I don't think my pessimism will cause bad things to happen.

I understand you don't like to see negativity about the Democrats and Obama but come on, not all of us have such a bright outlook as you do and we can post about this as well.

It would be a boring discussion indeed if all that was allowed was happy talk and no counter view points.

[FrenchieCat]

29. Folks have been negative about Obama here at this site since Inauguration.

If you think it did anything to help anything he has tried to do,
you would be wrong.

The holding feet to the fire/hanging out the dirty laundry for all to see discussions
has been going on since BEFORE inauguration day. And None of it has helped.
In fact, the negativity just helped the media do what they have been doing,
talking Obama down, giving him credit for nothing, and reporting the negativity.
Negativity + Negativity does not equal a win, ever.

We are not talking about happy talk; we are talking about setting a tone.
There is a difference between me writing letters to the WH and making my point
and then moving on, and folks getting stuck on the same point each and everyday,
and in fact, never letting go, ever.

Most of us started with expectations.....the ones most of us determined within our own mind
as to what Obama "should do" and "could do"....and it went downhill from there....

The President campaigned on working in a bipartisan manner and restoring civility and
honest debate to this country, and yet many of us "expect" this President to act
unilaterally partisan, to ram legislation past Republicans, all the while trash
talking them and kicking their asses.

The President ran as a non-ideologue moderate Democrat with progressive tendencies,
yet many "expected" a Tall Tan Kucinich, who would end all wars, nationalizes the Banks,
padlock insurance companies, cut our defense budget while establishing a Department of Peace.
Of course, Kucinich lost the primaries, let alone the general election.

The President was elected after he voted for the Wall Street bail-outs,
that was done due to the de-regulation brought to Wall Street in the last 30 years,
and although he cleaned up the entire Bail-out process once he got into office,
provided less funding to banks than what was originally legislated,
has gotten most of the money back that was given to the banks,
has proposed fees for the money that hasn't been returned as of yet,
and has proposed Wall Street re-regulation reforms,
he is still called out as a corporatist fighting on the side of the Banksters,
and yet with some the focus becomes "bonuses",
an issue that the Teabaggers felt was more important than the fact that
the last Republican administration is who gifted us with the economic meltdown.

The President campaigned on ending the War in Iraq, and yet no progress achieved in Iraq
is lauded as an accomplishment...instead, all energies are focused on the fact that
we are still in Afghanistan.

The President ran on a platform that included refocusing our efforts and escalating the war in Afghanistan,
and yet many of us "expected" this President to de-escalate the war in Afghanistan and
start bringing our troops home.

The President did NOT run on bringing forth a proposal of Single Payer healthCare,
and yet many of us "expected" this President to bring forth a proposal of Single Payer
healthcare from the get go, and started trashing the process as soon as Single Payer
health care was not set on the table.

The President was elected to some degree because of his eloquence and his potential power
at the bully pulpit, yet every time he speaks, we discount his words,
and say we don't want words, we demand "action".

The President asked that we give him help and support in order that he could get things done,
and instead, we "expect" him to do what needs to be done on his own...
and the only time he hears from us is when we loudly yell that we don't want whatever he is proposing,
and we don't like how he is doing just about everything.

The Corporate media is known for reporting twisted news,
writing negative headlines against Democrats,
being ran by corporate interests simply interested in deregulation
and lower corporate taxes, yet we buy everything that they say and print,
in particular if it is against this President and this administration,
plus we are willing to believe unnamed sources before
we believe this administration.

We say we hate the Republicans, and firmly believe that they fucked us hard,
and yet we do nothing to oppose them, as we in essence lend our voice to their choir,
and even seriously propose joining hands with the "teabaggers" in order to gain strength in
demanding and achieving What, I don't know.

The President offers us some of the most progressive budgets in decades,
and yet some of us work hard to find things in the proposed budgets
that we are against, and discuss that more than what is good in the budget.

The President reforms defense procurement, and increases pay for the military,
all which we ignore, and meanwhile complain that the defense budget is growing,
without looking at the details of it, ever.
Sure there were no overall cuts, and indeed that budget has grown,
but then again, this President never ran on cutting the defense budget in the mids of two wars.

The President proposed a nearly trillion dollar stimulus at the beginning of his administration,
yet most of us complained the entire time that it was too small,
while the opposition complained loudly that it was too big,
while no one gave the President credit that it was possibly as much as we could get,
and is the largest single all emcompassing piece of legislation that signified more
change than most Presidents have accomplished in their entire term(s) in office.

The President clearly states that he will not govern by polls, and yet, many of us
follow polls breathlessly, and don't seem to want to understand that there is a reason
that so much focus was placed on his initial sky high poll numbers
simply so that from that point on, any comparison of polls numbers would always make him
look like he was falling. If you didn't catch that, then I'm sorry.

As a Nation we lauded ourselves for electing the first African-American President; noting
with great pride the fact that many of the people of this great country did not allow
skin color to play a negative role in their vote choice, and yet, we have not, at any point,
allowed the first African-American President to govern, because we have been dictating
his every words, and his every moves starting at inauguration and hence since.

I give these examples, and there are actually many more of a disconnect going on between
some of the expectations that we had/have and what politics as the art of the possible means.

I believe and respect the need to hold the President's feet to the fire,
but as I have said many a times, we cannot burn his feet until he cannot walk.
That was true right after the inauguration, and that is still true today.

If we really want to understand what has happened, we should not simply look and point fingers
at this President, or even to some degree at this Congress (all who were duly elected by us),
but we should also look at ourselves and realize that we too are imperfect,
and that we have our own failings; failings that aren't helpful to this nation.....
and that in the end, although we may think we are helping this country move forward,
we may not be as effective as we should have "expected" ourselves to be in getting there.

Whether some of us are talking loudly about a one-term Presidency,
primarying the Prez 3 years from now after fighting him every step of the way in his first year,
claiming that we will be staying home in 2010 and possibly 2012 to teach everyone a lesson,
Publicly calling this Prez a wimp, a tool and a puppet; charging that he does not lead,
and saying that he equals Bush; these actions and words have NOT helped advance this country,
and will not come close to bringing about the change that we "expected".
Instead, it will bring the exact opposite,
and if we don't understand that, than we must share, at the very least,
any blame we eagerly choose to dole out.

[quinnox]

32. You are very eloquent in defense of Obama and the Dems

I agree with you that the expectations some set of Obama were unrealistic and were a self fulfilling failed prophecy.

For the record I have never talked or agreed with primarying Obama or called Obama those names you mentioned.

Like I said, I hope you are right. I would love for Obama and the Democrats to get important issues like Healthcare and other things that can help we the people done. I still think Obama can be a great president, but in my opinion some serious changes and a different battle plan need to be made, and quickly.

[FrenchieCat]

35. It is actually not a defense that I articulated,

it was simply the truth.

Obama was never going to be perfect,
and we have a big tent and a majority
precisely because we are not all in lockstep....
and therefore have to include within our ranks
those that we might not normally agree are on our side.

Politics is the art of the possible,
and currently you have been sold a notion
that all could have been possible, only...if,
and so you buy it, and since you don't "see"
anything done from your vantage point,
it bolsters your view that all is lost,
because "they" blew it.

Is Obama perfect? No
Has Obama done everything exactly just so? No.
Should he be judged by us or voters harshly? No.
Why? Because he hasn't failed, he just hasn't done
everything in 12 months time.....
and that's not solely all about him and what he could have done,
and didn't do.

As a liberal invested in making sure that this country progresses in the right direction,
I don't want to lose....
Otherwise, my ideals become simply an intellectual exercise
about much to do about absolutely nothing.

which considering what has been accomplished to date,
we actually should be much more optimistic,
and we should be fired up and ready to go in the search for more,
not less......if we were "fair" about what has been accomplished,
understanding that we have more of a mighty task still ahead!

Those not willing to fight, or waiting for someone else to fight ,
I say that it's a shame to be all too willing to hand back this government to the Repubs,
simply to make their point that all is not exactly as wanted, and therefore we should all pay a price.

Those who don't know what you are fighting for exactly, i.e., what is the point?
I'll provide some context.....

To be clear, Pres. Obama had one overarching priority to accomplish in his first 12 months more than any other, and that was to insure that we would not be falling into an economic abyss that would be impossible to ever get out of as nation. That's why he was elected above all else, and why after the September 15th crash his poll numbers went up, and basically never came down to election day.

Well, he has been effective on this to a great degree, even if he didn't perform instant miracles.....and with all of our debates, discussions and arguments on the best way out of this mess, He is leading us out ...and although it will continue to take patience, and it is certainly not everyone that is in a place better than when Obama first took office, still, the wheels are moving a positive agenda in most aspects (and there are many)......slowly, but more important, surely. And please know, he's got 3 years to go, regardless of anything else.

Let's work hard to safeguard what certainly "could be" instead of holding ransom the future,
based on what we believe we should already have.
None of it was supposed to be easy, and as we all can see, it won't be.

Still.....





Economy in U.S. Grew at 5.7% Pace, Most in Six Years
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The economy in the U.S. expanded in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace in six years as factories cranked up assembly lines and companies increased investment in equipment and software.

The 5.7 percent increase in gross domestic product, which exceeded the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, marked the best performance since the third quarter of 2003, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Efforts to rebuild depleted inventories contributed 3.4 percentage points to GDP, the most in two decades.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acQASpga4OhM&pos=1

U.S. Retail Sales Rose 0.5% in January
WASHINGTON—U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in January, posting a broad-based increase in a sign of promise for the economy at the start of the first quarter.

Retail sales last month increased 0.5%, the Commerce Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 0.3% increase.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703525704575060922363790634.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


Jobless Claims Drop Markedly
February 12, 2010
The past week saw a huge fall in the number of persons making an initial filing for jobless claims. The U.S. Department of Labor reported:
In the week ending Feb. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 440,000, a decrease of 43,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 483,000.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/188235-jobless-claims-drop-markedly

Blue-Collar Jobs in Demand for 2010

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-blue_collar_jobs_in_demand_for_2010-1099

Volcker Op-Ed: Look out, big banks. Change is coming

Paul Volcker, chairman of the president’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, contributes an important op-ed to today's NY Times. And the message to big banks is clear: Your "too-big-to-fail" ass has been saved for the last time: ......
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/opinion/31volcker.html?pagewanted=1

Volcker Speaks on the Volcker Rule

February 12, 2010, 5:55 am In a video interview with The Financial Times, Paul A. Volcker, former head of the Federal Reserve, explained his thinking behind the package of reforms that includes the Volcker Rule, which would ban banks from engaging in proprietary trading.

“What is addressed in these proposals is what banks can do,” he told the newspaper, “and what non banks can do.” He noted that banks have deposit insurance and access to the Federal Reserve.
“Proprietary trading in all its forms was an important part of the crisis,” Mr. Volcker said. The term refers to trading in securities, options and bonds that a bank does on its own account, with its own funds and for its own profit, as opposed to risks it takes for clients.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/volcker-speaks-on-the-volcker-rule/

"...Love him or hate him, or anything in between, recognition of the overall effect of the broad points of Obama's emergency economic policies --- quickly passed at an historic moment of looming disaster --- is due. At least along with any honest appraisal of those policies."
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7679

and well, the Barack Obama Admin and Dems in Congress did some other Hopey-Changey things as well.


One down, two more to come

.....because even with the wrench thrown in by Republican Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts, this Democratic Congress is on a path to become one of the most productive since the Great Society 89th Congress in 1965-66, and Obama already has the most legislative success of any modern president -- and that includes Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson. The deep dysfunction of our politics may have produced public disdain, but it has also delivered record accomplishment.

There were also massive investments in green technologies, clean water and a smart grid for electricity, while the $70 billion or more in energy and environmental programs was perhaps the most ambitious advancement in these areas in modern times. As a bonus, more than $7 billion was allotted to expand broadband and wireless Internet access, a step toward the goal of universal access.

Any Congress that passed all these items separately would be considered enormously productive. Instead, this Congress did it in one bill.

Lawmakers then added to their record by expanding children's health insurance and providing stiff oversight of the TARP funds allocated by the previous Congress.

Other accomplishments included a law to allow the FDA to regulate tobacco, the largest land conservation law in nearly two decades, a credit card holders' bill of rights and defense procurement reform.

The House, of course, did much more, including approving a historic cap-and-trade bill and sweeping financial regulatory changes. And both chambers passed their versions of a health-care overhaul. Financial regulation is working its way through the Senate, and even in this political environment it is on track for enactment in the first half of this year. It is likely that the package of job-creation programs the president showcased on Wednesday, most of which got through the House last year, will be signed into law early on as well.

Most of this has been accomplished without any support from Republicans in either the House or the Senate -- an especially striking fact, since many of the initiatives of the New Deal and the Great Society, including Social Security and Medicare, attracted significant backing from the minority Republicans.
snip
Democratic ideologies stretch from the left-wing views of Bernie Sanders in the Senate and Maxine Waters in the House to the conservative approach of Ben Nelson in the Senate and Bobby Bright in the House, with every variation in between. Finding 219 votes for climate-change legislation in the House was nothing short of astonishing; getting all 60 Senate Democrats to support any version of major health-care reform, an equal feat.
snip
specific new policies -- such as energy conservation and protection for public lands -- enjoy solid and broad public support. But many voters discount them simply because they were passed or proposed by unpopular lawmakers. In Massachusetts, people who enthusiastically support their state's health-care system were hostile to the very similar plan passed by Congress. Why? Because it was a product of Congress.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902516.html

Obama proposes federal climate change agency
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration proposed a new climate change agency yesterday to provide Americans with predictions on how global warming will affect everything from drought to sea levels.

The initiative, modeled loosely on the 140-year-old National Weather Service, would provide forecasts to farmers, regional water managers, and business operators affected by changing climate conditions. It is being proposed as skeptics have become increasingly effective in attacking the credibility of global warming forecasts.

The agency would be part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors climate and conducts research. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also directs similar operations.

“We currently respond to millions of annual requests for climate information, and we expect those requests to grow exponentially,’’ said Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator, adding that with recent scientific advances, “the models will continue to improve, and we will be able to provide more and more information.’’
(snip)
The agency launched a web portal yesterday at www.climate.gov to provide a single entry point for access to climate information, products, and services.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/02/09/obama_proposes_federal_climate_change_agency/

Obama ends Bush-era farm policy
The Obama administration on Thursday gave more job protections to temporary farm workers from both the United States and other countries, ending a Bush-era rule that critics said paid foreigners too cheaply to allow Americans to compete.
"This new rule will make it possible for all workers who are working hard on American soil to receive fair pay while at the same time expand opportunities for U.S. workers," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said in a news release.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0210/labor_aims_for_fair_pay_4e8e13d8-0e35-46a3-920c-5d87cbaa8712.html

here is one extremely consequential area where Obama has done just about everything a liberal could ask for -- but done it so quietly that almost no one, including most liberals, has noticed. Obama's three Republican predecessors were all committed to weakening or even destroying the country's regulatory apparatus: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the other agencies that are supposed to protect workers and consumers by regulating business practices.

Now Obama is seeking to rebuild these battered institutions. In doing so, he isn't simply improving the effectiveness of various government offices or making scattered progress on a few issues; he is resuscitating an entire philosophy of government with roots in the Progressive era of the early twentieth century. Taken as a whole, Obama's revival of these agencies is arguably the most significant accomplishment of his first year in office. <...>
<more>
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com /

Presented two Budgets that, considering the state of our economy are more Progressive than any budget in 2 decades!

Specifically addressing FDR’s mistake in reducing spending in 1937, Orszag indicated the Administration will not make drastic cuts that will threaten the fragile recovery. The path to deficit reduction is based on reversing the fiscal policies of the last 8 years including allowing the Bush tax cuts for those earning over $250,000 to expire, ending the fossil fuel subsidies, ending the Iraq & Afghanistan wars, implementing the Fiscal Commision, and instituting the 3 year freeze. In addition, Orszag said strict adherence to PayGo will prevent irresponsible spending as it did in the 90s. This is also the thinking behind the freeze in that departments will have the ability to raise spending provided they find reductions to pay for it. These tactics are expected to reduce the deficit to 3.9% of GDP by 2015, just above the accepted target of 3% of GDP. Even so, in order to set the country on solid ground for the long term, Orszag acknowledged the need to reform health care in order to reduce the costs of Medicaid and Medicare. Health care has the potential of consuming over 10% of GDP by 2050, which is not sustainable.
http://obama-mamas.com/blog/?p=1162

Tell the truth, and we'll kick GOP ass in 2010. Repeat their lies, and well you know that it says more about you than it does about anything else.......yep, IMFO!

The Inconvenient Truth: A Record of Accomplishment the AP Neglected

Some of you may have seen the analysis piece run by the AP today assessing the President's first year in office. Unfortunately, the AP seems to have adopted the GOP's talking points rather than looking at the facts. Most notably, the analysis utterly ignores both the breadth and depth of the President's accomplishments. Despite inheriting an economy that was in the deepest recession in generations and a foreign policy that left our standing in the world in tatters and the nation less secure, the President has had one of the most successful first years in recent history. As a result of his leadership, and largely without Republican support we have:

-Passed and implemented a Recovery Act that as multiple reports have verified not only saved the economy from the brink but also funded up to 2 million American jobs.

-Provided tax cuts for 95 percent of working families.

-Rebuilt an economy that is growing for the first time in over a year.

-Cut job losses from almost 800,000 a month to 20,000 a month.

-Made the largest investment in green technology in history.

-Made the largest investment in education in history.

-Lifted the ban on stem cell research and restored science to its rightful place.

-Raised fuel standards after years of stagnation and objection.

-Ended predatory credit card practices.

-Made equal pay for equal work more than a platitude with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

-Expanded health coverage to 4 million more low income American children with the expansion of SCHIP.

-Expanded benefits for loving couples that work at the State Department.

-Lifted the discriminatory, inhumane and unwise ban on immigration of those with HIV/AIDS.

-Started a process to end the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy to allow patriotic Americans to serve and be true to themselves while we fight two wars.

-Begun to responsibly wind down the war in Iraq.

-Implemented a new way forward in Afghanistan in the face of withering criticism from the right and the left.

-Enhanced American security by repairing our alliances and by restoring the rule of law and our standing in the world.

-Successfully managed the outbreak of the H1N1 epidemic.

-Prohibited lobbyists from serving on important boards and commissions.

-Banned federal lobbyists and political action committees from contributing to the DNC.

-Enhanced transparency by making all visitors who enter the White House and the names of those with whom they met publicly available.

And there is more change on the horizon because of the President's efforts this year:

-We've helped pass bills in Congress that will make college loans more affordable and create a cap and trade system that will make this generation a steward of the environment for generations to come.

-For the first time in over 100 years of trying, both Houses of Congress have passed comprehensive health reform bills.

Yes, there are things that still need to be done and change left to be made. But there has been great progress this year. But while we know that the press is likely to tell a particular story that fits a preferred narrative, the facts in this case tell a very different story.
http://www.democrats.org/a/2010/02/the_inconvenien.php

Report Card on Civil Liberties

Obama pledged to reject the Bush administration's fast-and-loose adherence to constitutional rights. How is he doing?

During his inauguration speech, President Barack Obama declared, "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." These were words many Americans who voted for Obama longed to hear -- an acknowledgement that American security could not be purchased by shredding the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

Interrogation
On Jan. 22, 2009, two days after having taken office, Obama issued an executive order instructing all agents of the U.S. government to follow interrogation procedures outlined in the Army Field Manual, which bans the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques." The executive order states plainly that individuals in U.S. custody shall "in all circumstances be treated humanely and shall not be subjected to violence to life and person (including murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture), nor to outrages upon personal dignity (including humiliating and degrading treatment)."

This is a marked change from the Bush administration's guidelines, which held that the "executive branch's constitutional authority to protect the nation from attack" trumped all legal and treaty obligations governing how detainees should be treated. The Bush administration's definition of torture "was so narrow as to allow almost anything," according to Ken Gude, an expert on human rights and international law at the Center for American Progress.

"This is the one area where I think we've seen the most change. There will be no gray areas; we've got a pretty clear standard," Gude says. By instructing adherence to the Field Manual, the administration has signaled "there will be no attempt to redefine language to allow things that people would generally consider torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

Verdict: Change we can believe in.

Rendition
The same executive order that banned "enhanced interrogation" techniques also ordered the CIA to close the infamous "black sites" where detainees were interrogated and held without trial. It also prohibited the transfer of individuals to other countries to face torture, or transfers with the "purpose or effect" of undermining the United States' obligation to "ensure the humane treatment of individuals in its custody or control."

On April 9, CIA Director Leon Panetta issued a memo to Congress confirming that the black sites had in fact been closed but that the CIA retains the authority to detain individuals solely "on a short-term transitory basis." Gude explains that there is a difference between "extraordinary rendition," the process by which detainees were rendered to CIA "black sites" or to other third countries where they would likely be tortured, and "rendition," which is the transfer of detainees outside the normal extradition process. The purpose of extraordinary rendition, Gude says, is to keep suspects outside of the justice system, while the purpose of rendition is to transfer them into a country where they can be tried for their alleged crimes.

"The Obama administration has ceased the process of extraordinary rendition, but rendition exists as an option," Gude says, adding that it is not necessarily a bad thing. "There are times when it's not feasible for governments to follow the traditional extradition process, simply because cooperation between the United States and another government is not always possible."

On the other hand, the American Civil Liberties Union's Jonathan Hafetz who has acted as counsel in several cases involving terrorism detainees, cautions that even the CIA's limited detention authority may still lead to problems. "The suggestion that the CIA has authority to conduct extrajudicial handovers to foreign governments is ambiguous and troubling, as is the statement that the CIA can still conduct 'transitory' detentions."


Verdict: Change for the better, but questions remain.

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=report_card_on_civil_liberties


And the fact that this government has been more transparent than any others,
Obama administration wins high marks for ‘transparency’
According to the report authored by Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters and U.S. PIRG, "The cumulative effect of the administration's actions has been to adopt the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an administration to govern its own activities."
http://www.peoplesworld.org/obama-administration-wins-high-marks-for-transparency/


and has reformed procurement policies via the defense Department,

Obama backs defense procurement overhaul
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/04/obama_backs_def.html

Military procurement reform sweeps through Senate
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/07/military.procurement/index.html

Obama signs weapons procurement reform
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/22/Obama-signs-weapons-procurement-reform/UPI-75731243011243/


while raising the salaries of our Armed Forces,

Congress approves 3.4 percent pay raise for military
http://blog.al.com/live/2009/10/congress_approves_34_percent_p.html

and passing a GI bill of Rights:
New GI Bill sending veterans to school this fall
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-07-31-gi-bill_N.htm?obref=obinsite


while giving 95% of Americans a tax cut, the biggest tax cut for middle class Americans
ever passed......
BIGGEST. TAX CUT. EVER.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_02/016948.php

Leaving Iraq

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2010/01/05/Leaving-Iraq-Logistics-move-staggering/UPI-25521262732688/

Afghanistan, shift in priorities

"For the first time the focus is less on killing Taliban and more on sparing Afghan civilians" NYT story about the new Afghanistan strategy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/world/asia/13kabul.html?WT.mc_id=fb_nyt1331&WT.mc_ev=click



"DADT....
"This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," Obama said. "It's the right thing to do." When the president made the remark, cameras showed Defense Secretary Robert Gates standing and applauding, along with many Democratic lawmakers.

Marc Ambinder reports today that the president's directive wasn't just rhetoric -- the administration is already moving forward with a plan to implement the new policy.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

The Senate Armed Services Committee, for the first time in 17 years, convened a hearing today on whether the U.S. military should allow Americans to wear a uniform, regardless of their sexual orientation. It went pretty well, though there are some lingering concerns about implementing a change in policy.

The nation's top two Defense officials called on Tuesday for an end to the 16-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time in its history.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

Gay military rights advocate Lt. Dan Choi Back on Active Duty

"Gay military rights advocate Lt. Dan Choi has been reportedly called back into active duty. Photographer Jeff Sheng, who recently turned his lens on active gay and lesbian service members, confirmed the news in a blog posting on Bilerico.com.



Choi was to appear at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change conference but could not attend due to his being called to serve."
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/02/09/Dan_Choi_Back_in_Active_Duty/

Lt. Choi: Other Openly Gay Soldiers Are Being Called Back To Service During Time Of War
Lt. Dan Choi — the DADT advocate who was discharged from the military after he came out as gay on The Rachel Maddow Show — appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room yesterday to discuss his recent call back to training with the National Guard. “Essentially, my commander says, we’re going to war and we need all of the capable soldiers that we could get to train with us,” Choi explained.

Choi said he knew other gay soldiers who were in the process of being discharged but “had been told by their commanders” to come back for the time being. “I know of some of them that are out there. And there’s a lot of people that are in their units that I — I think they realize, look, we’re in a time of war, we’ve got to have everybody that we can.”
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=178920&mesg_id=178920

---------------



If the midterm elections in November turn out to be more like 1994, when Democrats got hammered, than 1982, when Republicans suffered a less costly blow, the GOP will probably be emboldened to double down on its opposition to everything, trying to bring the Obama presidency to its knees on the way to 2012. That would mean real gridlock in the face of a serious crisis. Given the precarious coalitions in our otherwise dysfunctional politics, we could go quickly from one of the most productive Congresses in our lifetimes to the most obstructionist.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902516.html

[SteppingRazor]

7. I don't know that it's helpful to always wear rose-tinted glasses, though.

I mean, let's be honest here. I've been watching the Senate races really closely for a while now, and I've gone from the Dems possibly picking up a seat or two in my first analysis, soon after the inauguration, to the GOP possibly picking up six or seven seats. Certainly, I don't think it helps to be self-defeating, but neither does it help to ignore the dangers.

[FrenchieCat]

14. No one is talking about "ignoring" anything......

But posting a thread laying out who is to blame for something that hasn't yet happened
is ridiculous in my opinion. What does that accomplish exactly? How does this make
anyone want to work towards an opposite end. How is it constructive? Cause I don't see it. :shrug:

[SteppingRazor]

16. Well, I don't know that any discussion here necessarily "accomplishes" anything, but...

it may be useful to point out that Democratic woes are the fault of Democrats. In that sense, it's actually useful, because if Democrats are at fault, then it's a much easier situation to solve. I think it's sort of an optimistic outlook, if our elected representatives can get their act together. If the Democrats were facing problems at the polls completely because of outside factors that they could not control, that'd be a much scarier proposition. As it stands, Democrats can improve their position in November by breaking up gridlock and getting things done between now and November.

By signaling that their fate is in their own hands, in other words, a statement like that of the OP is actually a welcome one.

[quinnox]

19. thanks, you nailed it

You understood where I am coming from totally.

[FrenchieCat]

23. Many house members did what they were supposed to do......

as we have a boatload of bills that they passed and originated from the President,
and are backstopped at the door of the Senate.

So it is the Senate who are killing us......
and so that is who we should be aiming at.

As for attempting to make a doomsday post full of blame into something welcome and positive,
that ain't why other websites that cannot be named are sending posters out to literally sell
an Eeyore mindset to progressive sites. That isn't why the media is talking nonstop of how we are going to get our ass kicked (they are definitely working towards that end).
They want us to feel defeated before any vote is cast....before even, the first commercial airs,
before the Health Care reform is actually put away never to be seen again.
They actually provide the talking points to their posters....because yes, they want to infect
the websites....and whether you know it or not, we actually do matter in these things. Those who
claim that posting on an Internet site don't affect anything are wrong, and underestimate
where those folks that are the activists that would make the difference reside.

[SteppingRazor]

26. Totally agree, as far as the House/Senate comparison.

The Senate is most definitely the problem, and it's not just because there's a bunch of DINOs or whatever. The use of the filibuster by the minority has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, and holds have become a dumb joke. The Senate, in other words, needs to get its house in order, but I don't see any reform getting through even the Rules Committee, much less to the floor, due to a combination of both the Senate traditionalism and the desire to protect minority power and the ignorance of most of the voting public -- most people are totally unaware that the constant use of the filibuster is a relatively new occurrence.

[FrenchieCat]

30. So perhaps we need to make them aware......

we all know the media trolls our sites to pick up on the juicy tidbits that they can
exploit on their 24/7 sensationalistic Infonews reports.

If we provide them with 150 threads about Palin writing on her hand, of course they will
report it and allow such non news to take up two days of news time.

So why are WE focusing on what Palin, a dumbass, has written on her hand?
Why? how does talking about that help solve our problems? It doesn't.
we just allow the media to define who we are, and for the last few months,
they have been calling us losers, and it is therefore, exactly how we talk about
politics, like we are going to lose, e.g., this very thread.

They also say that Obama hasn't "done" anything, and we sit there and repeat it adnauseum....
because the truth is that we get our instructions from the media, instead of being
the grassroots that we are supposed to be. They literally order what we will talk about,
and then...surprise, that's what we talk about. So who's to blame for that? Barack Obama,
and the Dems?

[DJ13]

2. The party leadership (& Obama) had to make a hard choice

Either follow through on the change Obama campaigned on and create a new political base akin to the Reagan Revolution for the GOP, or take the corporate cash and try to buy the next election with ads.

Money wins out over principles every time.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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

[Jennicut]

5. Finish health care with 60 votes....with people like Bayh who just quit on the party?

The blame belongs to the conservadems too and some will lose their seats anyway so nice strategy they made there.

[ananda]

6. As it should.

Obama and many Dems are not dancing with the ones that
brung em to office.

[tabatha]

10. Unfortunately, some of

the people in the senate were not put there by the same people that put Obama in office.

It is as simple as that.

[asdjrocky]

8. Yep.

We gave them the majority they needed, and they pissed it away.

[tabatha]

11. Nope.

It was not a majority of progressives.
The majority included jerks like Bayh, Lieberman, etc.

[Malikshah]

9. Usual suspects. Usual shit-stirring.

Get's real old. Hell, it was old years ago here...

[ProSense]

12. What if there aren't bad results?

Will you praise Obama?

Since mid-terms have historically resulted in significant majority party losses, how will you determine which is and is not part of this trend? Why do you expect this mid-term to be any different, especially given the tough times we're in?

[DrToast]

17. Obama was too committed to the Gang of Six

He should have shut that down once they blew past the first deadline.

[SteppingRazor]

21. I certainly agree he was too committed to bipartisanship.

The Senate Finance Committee's role in health-care was always a lame fuck-around. A complete waste of time. The Senate should have rolled with the HELP committee's bill and passed something way, way back when, before the August recess, through reconciliation if they had to.

[Ozymanithrax]

18. If shit happens in November, it is the electorate, not the Democrats...

Congress and the Senate do not elect themselves.

Many people who vote will never ever read DU or Free Republic, they don't watch Fox or MSNBC. The don't particularly give a shit about politics. They don't give a daman about the wars because they don't know anyone in the military. If they have health insurance with the aid of an employer, they are happy to have it, even if it isn't the best. If they don't have Health Insurance, they hope they don't need it, and self medicate unless an ambulance is needed. What they care about is their jobs, their retirements, and where their next meal is coming from.

If they feel good, they will reward Democrats. If they feel bad, they will punish the Democrats. Where do they think they have sat their ass on Maslow's pyramid? That is what is important. I can't begin to guess where that will be. But the electorate will be to blame. They will vote, and their vote will have consequences, and they will punish the next guy for those consequences.

[SteppingRazor]

22. I think another part of it for the apolitical voter is that they just want shit to get done.

Republicans are in control and we're all getting huge tax cuts? Great, get it done.

Democrats are in control and we're all getting health care? Great, get it done.

So regardless of which party is in charge, when nothing gets done, it drives a lot of these independent voters up a wall.

[Ozymanithrax]

27. The biggest impediment to health care are Republicans..

But they will not be punished for failing to "get her done." So it isn't accomplishment, it is how the electorate feels. They will vote as they feel and justify the vote however they need to.

[FrenchieCat]

28. Many in the electorate want change without there being change.

In otherwords, they wait for the media to tell them what to think and what to do,
and then they think it and do it.

Meanwhile, the media obviously tells us what to do, cause we print here everything
they say, and then we quote them at every turn, and we allow their agenda to be ours.
That's why we can sit up there an talking about Palin till we're blue in the face,
cause that's what the media decided we should do, and yes, we do exactly what the order.

As for this "nothing gets done"....that is not what has happened,
but more like that is what we are being told to believe.
and I'll be damned if I go along. I have children,
and I will never allow anyone but my own self to dictate what their future will be
without my input, and without a fight,
and I certainly won't claim defeat 9 months before I was defeated ever,
and I certainly will never teach my children that in life, you don't have to do, you can just
blame others...and if you do that first, early and often,
then that will leave you without blame of not having done lifted a fucking finger.
Hell de fuck naw! I won't do it!
Count me out.

[golfguru]

33. K&R

[backscatter712]

25. OK, Marvin, do all the diodes in your left side ache?

*plonk*

[Impedimentus]

31. The poster is correct.

The first year of this administration will go down in history as a monumental squandering of political capital - a year of lost opportunity - opportunity that could have transformed our nation in the most positive ways. What we have seen is a continuation of EVERYTHING for Wall Street and the BIG BANKS, EVERYTHING for corporate interests and the moneyed elites that control our government and, ultimately, our lives.

Thousands will continue to die because of no, or inadequate health insurance. Foreclosures and bankruptcies will continue to take a terrible on families, including our children. We are given crumbs, like watered-down credit card reform that only accelerated the opportunities for the vampire banks to bleed the middle and working classes dry. Every measure of significant reform - consumer protection, banking reform, health care, has been stalled or emaciated. This is not predicting the future, this is today's reality. My children cannot get health insurance because of chronic, preexisting conditions - they could die from lack of insurance because they and their family are not wealthy (and no, charity and the emergency room will not save them).

We continue to hear lame excuses about 60 votes, and lots of distracting rhetoric (it's the conservatives fault,isn't Sarah Palin awful, this senator said that, beware the Tea Partyists, blah, blah, blah), distractions that real leadership, ethical and moral leadership, would have pushed aside. A great historical opportunity has been squandered. The American people will continue to suffer dearly because of this lost opportunity. The blind cheerleaders and personality cultists will blithely hide in their fantasy world, the rich will acquire even more wealth, while the most vulnerable in our society continue to suffer, and many thousands, ultimately will die. The American dream is breathing it's last breath. Is this "Change We Can Believe In"?

[alcibiades_mystery]

38. Welcome to DU

:eyes:

[Upfront]

34. Incompetence?

I doubt it. I think they are bought and paid for just like the Republicans. Not all but way to many. Other wise I agree. It will be a real train wreck for the Democrats, and the American people. It is a crying shame.

[nevergiveup]

36. The results of the 2010 election will depend on the state of the economy.

If there are signs of a significant recovery and the average guy/gal on the street can actually feel it the Democrats will lose a few seats but it won't be fatal. If the economy is stuck where it is now it will be a bloodbath for Democrats.

[alcibiades_mystery]

37. ROFL

"I'm tired of excuses being made for him."

You done been tired.

:rofl:

[polichick]

39. Yes, who else is there to blame? Dems were given a once-in-several-lifetimes opportunity...

...and spent the year pissing it away on "reaching out" to Republicans and the healthcare industrial complex, and failing to use the power the people gave them.

There's still time to stop the dithering, pull out all the stops and GET IT DONE before the midterm election - we'll see.

[old mark]

40. I think we will win more seats in November, in both houses.

I'm not ready to give up and whine because the GOPers say they won, so Dems should not vote, or because we have a few idiots in congress, some of whom are leaving.

I think that the recent Democratic retirements from congress can become a very good thing for us, and very hurtful to the GOPers.

Of course, this presupposes that Dems don't just whine about how nobody loves us and stay home on election day.

I seriously believe that, like the election in MA, the only way they can win is if we give it away.


mark