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Heartstrings

(7,349 posts)
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 10:25 PM Mar 2019

Trump supporters say, "We suffered 8 years under Barack Obama". Fair enough. Let's take a look....

The day Obama took office, the Dow closed at 7,949 points. Eight years later, the Dow had almost tripled.
General Motors and Chrysler were on the brink of bankruptcy, with Ford not far behind, and their failure, along with their supply chains, would have meant the loss of millions of jobs. Obama pushed through a controversial, $80 billion bailout to save the car industry. The U.S. car industry survived, started making money again, and the entire $80 billion was paid back, with interest.
While we remain vulnerable to lone-wolf attacks, no foreign terrorist organization has successfully executed a mass attack here since 9/11.
Obama ordered the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.
He drew down the number of troops from 180,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan to just 15,000, and increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
He launched a program called Opening Doors which, since 2010, has led to a 47 percent decline in the number of homeless veterans. He set a record 73 straight months of private-sector job growth.
Due to Obama’s regulatory policies, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 12%, production of renewable energy more than doubled, and our dependence on foreign oil was cut in half.
He signed The Lilly Ledbetter Act, making it easier for women to sue employers for unequal pay.
His Omnibus Public Lands Management Act designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness, creating thousands of miles of trails and protecting over 1,000 miles of rivers.
He reduced the federal deficit from 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2016.
For all the inadequacies of the Affordable Care Act, we seem to have forgotten that, before the ACA, you could be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition and kids could not stay on their parents’ policies up to age 26.
Obama approved a $14.5 billion system to rebuild the levees in New Orleans.
All this, even as our own Mitch McConnell famously asserted that his singular mission would be to block anything President Obama tried to do.
While Obama failed on his campaign pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, that prison’s population decreased from 242 to around 50.
He expanded funding for embryonic stem cell research, supporting ground breaking advancement in areas like spinal injury treatment and cancer.
Credit card companies can no longer charge hidden fees or raise interest rates without advance notice.
Most years, Obama threw a 4th of July party for military families. He held babies, played games with children, served barbecue, and led the singing of “Happy Birthday” to his daughter Malia, who was born on July 4.
Welfare spending is down: for every 100 poor families, just 24 receive cash assistance, compared with 64 in 1996.
Obama comforted families and communities following more than a dozen mass shootings. After Sandy Hook, he said, “The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old.”
Yet,
he never took away
anyone’s guns........
He sang Amazing Grace, spontaneously, at the altar.
He was the first president since Eisenhower to serve two terms without personal or political scandal.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
President Obama was not perfect, as no man and no president is, and you can certainly disagree with his political ideologies. But to say we suffered?
If that’s the argument, if this is how we suffered for 8 years under Barack Obama, I have one wish:
may we be so fortunate as to suffer 8 more."

by Teri Carter, Lexington Herald-Leader



I miss this man and his family soooo much! ❤️💛💚💙💜💓💗

86 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Trump supporters say, "We suffered 8 years under Barack Obama". Fair enough. Let's take a look.... (Original Post) Heartstrings Mar 2019 OP
If I had a dollar...for every gop who's said that. BOOKMARKED. Chin music Mar 2019 #1
Suffered equals black guy was president for 8 years The Genealogist Mar 2019 #2
I believe that's true of at least 96% of Trump's Deplorables. nt oasis Mar 2019 #18
This. This. BadgerMom Mar 2019 #21
+1 uponit7771 Mar 2019 #23
Agreed, thanks for posting this. Marked as a favorite onit2day Mar 2019 #82
Yep. They suffered because there was a black guy in the Oval Office calimary Mar 2019 #45
Honestly on point. Chin music Mar 2019 #47
The 8 years under BHO flew by! GWC58 Mar 2019 #51
Yes erpowers Mar 2019 #65
Seething with anger for eight years because a black man was President was stressful. brewens Mar 2019 #70
Very true statement... BlueJac Mar 2019 #71
Just fucking exactly! FiveGoodMen Mar 2019 #74
it is my hope Larrybanal Mar 2019 #79
That's it exactly. Pure and simple. n/t Different Drummer Mar 2019 #83
Flat out fucking racist shitbag deplorables. roamer65 Mar 2019 #3
By 'suffering' they mean they had to look at black man who was Volaris Mar 2019 #4
BOOM! calimary Mar 2019 #46
It was pure natural grace, pause, and introspective governance for each of us Chin music Mar 2019 #49
And you as well. Chin music Mar 2019 #48
Excellent essay. Ohiogal Mar 2019 #5
Can you imagine what he would have done if the GOP hadn't obstructed him BigmanPigman Mar 2019 #6
In my mind "third term" Obama is President. LakeArenal Mar 2019 #7
A Beautiful photo of a beautiful family! Niagara Mar 2019 #31
Terrific photo. VOX Mar 2019 #35
Bumps for future use... Heh-heh-heh! nt procon Mar 2019 #8
Yes, poor widdle magats "suffered so much.." Cha Mar 2019 #9
Poor dears. Chin music Mar 2019 #50
If you ask them to explain exactly WHAT they were suffering over Ohiogal Mar 2019 #63
Ikr.. they just know they suffered Cha Mar 2019 #64
I'd sure welcome his brand of "suffering" again... Rhiannon12866 Mar 2019 #10
The only thing they suffered from 2naSalit Mar 2019 #11
Yes. sheshe2 Mar 2019 #16
Never forget that either. 2naSalit Mar 2019 #19
"Turtle" McConnell is much more a snake. nt oasis Mar 2019 #20
When I ask my mother about why Obama was so terrible she says AJT Mar 2019 #12
I have heard them say Ohiogal Mar 2019 #14
You know, that is a mark of Obama's character, and Michelle's too. PatrickforO Mar 2019 #39
Bookmarked. Poor suffering racists. Hekate Mar 2019 #13
For Republicans, it was All about Race dlk Mar 2019 #15
Yes, Obama was 1/2 black. Perhaps what Dems forget or don't realize, is the length and CharleyDog Mar 2019 #26
It would be nice if we had a fairness doctrine again. PatrickforO Mar 2019 #40
Forgot about the Horizion explosion and contamination of the Gulf. Pepsidog Mar 2019 #17
AND wisdom MyOwnPeace Mar 2019 #72
A large chunk of the right is seriously delusional lancelyons Mar 2019 #22
link to original in Teri Carter's Archive Hermit-The-Prog Mar 2019 #24
How many times have I heard, "Hillary will destroy our country" rickyhall Mar 2019 #25
Or, "Think of how bad it would be under Hillary." LastLiberal in PalmSprings Mar 2019 #34
I always wondered rickyhall Mar 2019 #44
Do you have a link for that? I couldn't find it. pnwmom Mar 2019 #27
Here ornotna Mar 2019 #32
Thanks! pnwmom Mar 2019 #38
Thanks for sharing! nt Stellar Mar 2019 #67
What they really suffered from was pure envy and spite because they choose to go down cstanleytech Mar 2019 #28
+1 EveHammond13 Mar 2019 #29
Thank you, Heartstrings Niagara Mar 2019 #30
Excellent post!! InAbLuEsTaTe Mar 2019 #33
He will be samplegirl Mar 2019 #36
Lexington is a very nice place to live. Mr. Evil Mar 2019 #37
Your sig line rules n/t VWolf Mar 2019 #80
Agreed. n/t Different Drummer Mar 2019 #84
My rascist brother claimed he suffered under Obama but I haven't talked to him in 4 years yaesu Mar 2019 #41
And for all his efforts, the RW called him a Kenyan-muslim-socialist-marxist-communist-radical... VOX Mar 2019 #42
it's certainot Mar 2019 #43
Negatory: it was Obama, so those are all BAD things quakerboy Mar 2019 #52
Anyone who says they were "suffering" under Obama... JHB Mar 2019 #53
Suffering: Being bested by an ivy league anti-gun, non-fundamentalist black professor. lindysalsagal Mar 2019 #54
well, he did make white males look pretty bad. pansypoo53219 Mar 2019 #55
Great post Hangdog Slim Mar 2019 #56
He was the greatest President of my long adult life. NNadir Mar 2019 #57
Bookmarked, thanks! Luciferous Mar 2019 #58
K&R BumRushDaShow Mar 2019 #59
Saved... chwaliszewski Mar 2019 #60
How can any sane person equate the two?? kentuck Mar 2019 #61
I have a childhood friend, small business owner, who was screaming at me Dustlawyer Mar 2019 #62
The "programmed cult" will STAY programmed and active forever FiveGoodMen Mar 2019 #75
K&R smirkymonkey Mar 2019 #66
None of this matters to them. progressoid Mar 2019 #68
How dare he do these presidential things... Stellar Mar 2019 #69
Thanks Obama! George II Mar 2019 #73
Thank you underpants Mar 2019 #76
I about blew a gasket zipplewrath Mar 2019 #77
If only BlueMTexpat Mar 2019 #78
Suffering means that white assholes had to hide their racism. Initech Mar 2019 #81
They know they suffered because Fox News told 'em they did. n/t Different Drummer Mar 2019 #85
They did suffer... SummerSnow Mar 2019 #86

The Genealogist

(4,723 posts)
2. Suffered equals black guy was president for 8 years
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 10:30 PM
Mar 2019

That is what is at the heart of all their suffering. They couldn't stand the idea that a black man was president.

 

onit2day

(1,201 posts)
82. Agreed, thanks for posting this. Marked as a favorite
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 02:25 PM
Mar 2019

A big lie about Obama is that he abused Executive Orders. Not even close to being true and the stats are easily traceable.

calimary

(81,304 posts)
45. Yep. They suffered because there was a black guy in the Oval Office
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:28 AM
Mar 2019

and he wasn’t the janitor.

To them I’d say - suck it!

They’re sadly too stupid to understand that they’re REALLY suffering now.

GWC58

(2,678 posts)
51. The 8 years under BHO flew by!
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 02:15 AM
Mar 2019

The 2 years Herr Drumph has been in office has felt like 8 years. Good Lord, I only hope this ditz allows us to make it to NOV 2020. I do NOT TRUST the man-CHILD! 😡

erpowers

(9,350 posts)
65. Yes
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 10:08 AM
Mar 2019

You are right. When they say they suffered for 8 years under Obama they mean they had to have a black president for 8 years.

brewens

(13,591 posts)
70. Seething with anger for eight years because a black man was President was stressful.
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 11:00 AM
Mar 2019

Poor little snowflakes.

 

Larrybanal

(227 posts)
79. it is my hope
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:27 PM
Mar 2019

that america survives 4 years of the moron we have now and if he is reelected then america deserves to take our rightful place in the middle...somehow "we are # 7" just don't have the ring to it

Volaris

(10,272 posts)
4. By 'suffering' they mean they had to look at black man who was
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 10:31 PM
Mar 2019

Demonstrably better than them for 8 years.

calimary

(81,304 posts)
46. BOOM!
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:30 AM
Mar 2019

Hell, we should all be so lucky to “suffer” like that again. For eight MORE years, or preferably longer!

I miss him too. We were respected and admired as a nation by the international community during his tenure. And our word actually meant something since our President wasn’t a pathological congenital liar.

There sure isn’t any of THAT anymore.

Chin music

(23,002 posts)
49. It was pure natural grace, pause, and introspective governance for each of us
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:49 AM
Mar 2019

And we were infinitely better off.

Ohiogal

(32,005 posts)
5. Excellent essay.
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 10:48 PM
Mar 2019

I am beyond sick and tired of hearing right wingers say that, including members of my own family.

Thank you for posting this. I fervently hope for a return to sanity in two years. Maybe sooner.

BigmanPigman

(51,608 posts)
6. Can you imagine what he would have done if the GOP hadn't obstructed him
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 10:49 PM
Mar 2019

every damn time he tried to reach across the aisle? I hate Boehner!

Cha

(297,285 posts)
9. Yes, poor widdle magats "suffered so much.."
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 10:57 PM
Mar 2019

under President Obama's brilliant leadership"



Really Awesome list of what Obama did.. Mahalo, Heartstrings!

Cha

(297,285 posts)
64. Ikr.. they just know they suffered
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 09:32 AM
Mar 2019

'cause they're miserable, brainwashed people.

fox told them they were suffering

sheshe2

(83,786 posts)
16. Yes.
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 11:19 PM
Mar 2019

Inauguration night. A secret meeting of GOPers. Mitch vowed to make him a one term President.

FU!

AJT

(5,240 posts)
12. When I ask my mother about why Obama was so terrible she says
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 11:04 PM
Mar 2019

he wanted to let everyone in, he hated white people.

Yep....racism.

Ohiogal

(32,005 posts)
14. I have heard them say
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 11:12 PM
Mar 2019

“He gave away free stuff to lazy people who don’t want to work and we paid for it with our hard earned taxes.”

(as if Don the Con never wastes one dime) ...



PatrickforO

(14,576 posts)
39. You know, that is a mark of Obama's character, and Michelle's too.
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 12:58 AM
Mar 2019

They experienced a lot of overt racism, and I mean a lot. Yet he always seemed to rise above it, and I certainly never, ever felt he hated anyone. In fact, with the Obamas in the WH, I always felt safe, and that there was a nice future.

Now we have the orange traitor in there, totally incompetent, totally corrupt, wrecking everything that benefits us and giving the treasury to oligarchs. The US has become a fascist oligarchy under the party of Trump.

They are the party of Lincoln no more; now, they are the party of treason.

dlk

(11,569 posts)
15. For Republicans, it was All about Race
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 11:14 PM
Mar 2019

It had nothing whatsoever to do with Obama’s policies. They couldn’t stand the thought that the most powerful person in the world was a black man. It’s really that simple.

CharleyDog

(757 posts)
26. Yes, Obama was 1/2 black. Perhaps what Dems forget or don't realize, is the length and
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 11:43 PM
Mar 2019

depth and pervasive hatred generated and taught on
RW sites is hatred of Democrats. Black Democrats, worse. But hello, Democrats are equated as the devil, pure evil, and conspiring with the dark forces that will summon satan. After all, they kill live babies after they are born. They are pedophiles. They hate America, People really believe this. What can be done about this, I don't know. But it will take this country down if we can't stop the hate.

PatrickforO

(14,576 posts)
40. It would be nice if we had a fairness doctrine again.
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:01 AM
Mar 2019

I'm not sure how that could happen with social media as pervasive as it is. Hard now to get into other peoples' bubble. We Dems tend to keep track of what the opposition is saying, but rank and file Republicans? Nope. They just believe what Rush and the other hate-shock-jocks spout out, and what the talking propaganda-heads on Fox say every night.

Tough to break through that.

Pepsidog

(6,254 posts)
17. Forgot about the Horizion explosion and contamination of the Gulf.
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 11:21 PM
Mar 2019

Obama was beset with one crisis after another. Thank Goodness for his cool head, impeccable judgement and brains that saw us through those difficult days.

MyOwnPeace

(16,927 posts)
72. AND wisdom
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 11:41 AM
Mar 2019

to surround himself with more wisdom as his aides, assistants, advisers, and cabinet members.
Far better than crooks, thieves, scoundrels, and idiots!

rickyhall

(4,889 posts)
25. How many times have I heard, "Hillary will destroy our country"
Wed Mar 13, 2019, 11:38 PM
Mar 2019

OMG a black man followed by a woman, heaven forbid.

34. Or, "Think of how bad it would be under Hillary."
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 12:43 AM
Mar 2019

In addition to racism, the Repukes are misogynists, causing half of the Republican party to hate themselves while the other half tries to take over complete control of their lives and bodies.

cstanleytech

(26,293 posts)
28. What they really suffered from was pure envy and spite because they choose to go down
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 12:13 AM
Mar 2019

a darker path long ago and because of that the party of Lincoln did not have the first president of color and instead they had they have Trump who is Lincolns exact opposite.

Niagara

(7,627 posts)
30. Thank you, Heartstrings
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 12:26 AM
Mar 2019

I actually received this exact item in my email yesterday. I didn't realize it was sitting there waiting on me to open.

Kicking!

Mr. Evil

(2,845 posts)
37. Lexington is a very nice place to live.
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 12:55 AM
Mar 2019

I know this because that's where I live. I've read some of Teri's articles before and she is always spot-on. Mitch McConnell is not loved here. Most people here (and everywhere else for that matter) knows he is a cold, calculating snake. The only "suffering" anyone has had to endure the past four decades is solely the responsibility of republicans.

yaesu

(8,020 posts)
41. My rascist brother claimed he suffered under Obama but I haven't talked to him in 4 years
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:18 AM
Mar 2019

so I have no idea how much he is in love with tRump.

VOX

(22,976 posts)
42. And for all his efforts, the RW called him a Kenyan-muslim-socialist-marxist-communist-radical...
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:19 AM
Mar 2019

Along with numerous, endless, shameful racist epithets. They claimed that Michelle Obama was once a man, who underwent gender-reassignment surgery. Just incredibly mean and destructive stuff, whipped up and amplified by the usual suspects: Fox, Alex Jones, Hannity, Rush, etc., etc.

Not to be caught napping, the same deplorable assholes claimed Obama was going to invade Texas in 2015 (“Operation Jade Helm”), which turned out to be a concerted disruptive effort by Russian operatives, one which likely made them decide to meddle in the U.S. election process:

https://www.texastribune.org/2018/05/03/hysteria-over-jade-helm-exercise-texas-was-fueled-russians-former-cia-/
The Texas Tribune
May 3, 2018
Hysteria over Jade Helm exercise in Texas was fueled by Russians, former CIA director says

A former director of the CIA and NSA said Wednesday that hysteria in Texas over a 2015 U.S. military training exercise called Jade Helm was fueled by Russians wanting to dominate “the information space,” and that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to send the Texas State Guard to monitor the operation gave them proof of the power of such misinformation campaigns.

Michael Hayden, speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe podcast, chalked up peoples’ fear over Jade Helm 15 to “Russian bots and the American alt-right media [that] convinced many Texans [Jade Helm] was an Obama plan to round up political dissidents.”

Abbott ordered the State Guard to monitor the federal exercise soon after news broke of the operation. Hayden said that move gave Russians the go-ahead to continue — and possibly expand — their efforts to spread fear.

“At that point, I’m figuring the Russians are saying, ‘We can go big time,’” Hayden said of Abbott's response. “At that point, I think they made the decision, ‘We’re going to play in the electoral process.’”
<snip>

 

certainot

(9,090 posts)
43. it's
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:21 AM
Mar 2019

the talk radio

there's a reason and it's not fox or cycles or astrology

there's a reason the cons manage to beat back every attempt at reform

quakerboy

(13,920 posts)
52. Negatory: it was Obama, so those are all BAD things
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 03:08 AM
Mar 2019

I mean.. What kind of tease doesn't take their guns when they are all worked up and want to have protests and live out their Red Dawn fantasies?

What kind of horrible maniac gives women more rights when that comes at the cost of corporations that fund republican donors.

And worse yet.. Killing the boogeyman that they use to justify multiple invasions and the regular, ongoing killing of brown people, and doing it in a way that makes the previous Republican godking look bad!

I could go point by point, but the gist is: Obama is a monster! A Monster I tells ya.

JHB

(37,160 posts)
53. Anyone who says they were "suffering" under Obama...
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 05:18 AM
Mar 2019

...has no right to accuse anyone else of being "snowflakes."

Nor, for that matter, "low information voters".

lindysalsagal

(20,692 posts)
54. Suffering: Being bested by an ivy league anti-gun, non-fundamentalist black professor.
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 06:21 AM
Mar 2019

Such. Agony. For. Assholes.

NNadir

(33,525 posts)
57. He was the greatest President of my long adult life.
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 08:02 AM
Mar 2019

I keep in mind that in 2008, I merely expected him to be good, not great.

I vastly underestimated him.

BumRushDaShow

(129,082 posts)
59. K&R
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 08:30 AM
Mar 2019

The symbolism is that after 222 years, the Oval Office finally got "integrated" (and not just with cleaning or cooking staff)... and that just caused head explosions and they still haven't recovered!

Dustlawyer

(10,495 posts)
62. I have a childhood friend, small business owner, who was screaming at me
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 09:20 AM
Mar 2019

one day about Obama being the worst President of all time. I asked him what made him the worst and he couldn’t name anything. I told him he has been brainwashed by Fox and RW radio. I told him, “All you hear is negative BS about Obama in your media, most of which were lies!” Told him to try some other media to get a full picture then come talk to me, until then STFU!

That is what we are dealing with, a programmed cult who is conditioned to think that all other media are lying and not to listen to them. They have been made angry and afraid and told that it is the libs fault they are struggling.

FiveGoodMen

(20,018 posts)
75. The "programmed cult" will STAY programmed and active forever
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 12:41 PM
Mar 2019

unless we decide that free speech doesn't include lying.

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
66. K&R
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 10:39 AM
Mar 2019

Bookmarking!

Oh, the suffering! The tan suit! The Grey Poupon! Reaching over the Chipotle sneeze guard!

They suffered, oh how they suffered! We should build a memorial to all the brave Christian martyrs who suffered for the republican cause!

zipplewrath

(16,646 posts)
77. I about blew a gasket
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 12:57 PM
Mar 2019

During the Obama administration, some guy is grousing about Obama. Okay, I can let anything be. He doesn't like him, whatever. But he finishes his grouse with. "And a white man can't get elected any more". I blew up. I ripped out money from my wallet and said "point to the guy that's not white! One guy, one SINGLE guy gets elected that's not white and THAT'S what your pissed about?"

And ya know what, that's EXACTLY what he was pissed about.

Initech

(100,080 posts)
81. Suffering means that white assholes had to hide their racism.
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 01:58 PM
Mar 2019

Now they can be racist assholes out in the open thanks to Chump and Fox News.

SummerSnow

(12,608 posts)
86. They did suffer...
Thu Mar 14, 2019, 03:45 PM
Mar 2019

1. They hated seeing a black man in the Oval office.
2. They hated how he was for ALL Americans.
3. Their fear of white privilege in so called jeopardy was making them nervous. They thought, what next a Latino President a Jewish President?
4. They hated seeing the lives of people made better

So yes, they did "suffer" under his Administration

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