(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
In an interview with AP reporter Ben Feller, President Obama gave his “vision” of how his second term would be different. If he really believes that this will happen, he has a big problem with the reality of what has gone on for the last three and a half years:
“Obama also offered a glimpse of how he would govern in a second term of divided government, insisting rosily that the forces of the election would help break Washington’s stalemate. He said he would be willing to make a range of compromises with Republicans, confident there are some who would rather make deals than remain part of “one of the least productive Congresses in American history.” [..]
Obama’s view of a different second-term dynamic in Washington, even if both he and House Republicans retain power, seems a stretch given the stalemated politics of a divided government. He said two changes – the facts that “the American people will have voted,” and that Republicans will no longer need to be focused on beating him – could lead to better conditions for deal-making.
If Republicans are willing, Obama said, “I’m prepared to make a whole range of compromises” that could even rankle his own party. But he did not get specific.”
Pres. Obama doesn’t need to “get specific” because we all know it would mean implementing the “Grand Bargain” that would destroy the social safety nets and making the Bush tax cuts permanent. He has already told the New York Times that he’s frustrated that he and the Democrats have not gotten credit for their willingness to accept cuts in Medicare and Social Security.
Transcript of the entire interview is here. h/t David Dayen at FDL News Desk
The problem here is 99% of Americans are getting screwed by Obama’s insane fetish with bipartisanship that hasn’t worked. Obama has been the best thing to happen to the Republican Party since Ronald Reagan.
2 comments
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ambivalent at best.
I can’t bring myself to root for the backwards thinking troglodites.
But a Republican win may be the best thing that could happen.
Democrats and Obama are so anxious to be bipartisan and sell out on social security and medicare. If the Dems win, I have zero doubt they will compromise those programs out of existence.
If they are not going to fight for us, and they’ve already told us they won’t, they don’t deserve to win.
Perhaps if the Dems get their asses kicked by a successful corporate funded campaign of fear, lies and bigotry, well then maybe they finally learn- Strong & Wrong crushes Weak & Wrong. It’s about leadership.
Then the question becomes are there enough Dems in the Senate to filibuster and save the New Deal until the next round of elections. If they don’t it will be a brand new every man for himself world. And progressives will have fear on their side next time around.