"Obama's Critics Owe Him a New Years (Fact-Based) Apology" by Frank Schaeffer

“The left of the left — at least as represented by some of its commentators hovering around the Democratic Party — has a choice: make a New Years’ resolution to rejoin the reality-based community, or head for its own version of Tea Party la-la Land negativity.”

Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/obamas-lefty-critics-owe-_b_802911.html

What about that reality?

President Obama has some choices to make.

I worked my ass off for my local Dems here in AZ and we lost our shirts because all the Repubs had to do was say "I'm against Obama" and they won.

President Obama is the head of the Democratic Party. The losses are on him.

The Democratic party looked like a joke in the campaign. That's why they lost.

Go ahead make some shit up about why they lost, that will really help in the next election. :eyes:

"I'm beginning to think that some people on the Left of the left (and there are lots more of them than just Krugman) have such an ego claim to having been smarter than President Obama that they really would rather the news stay bad to prove them right."

I get that feeling too.

I'm sure this thread will sink with all the un-recs.

and for doing exactly what he's criticizing, being gratuitously divisive.

I haven't read the op-Ed yet but will.

Anyway quote talks about" left of the left" commentators. Not democrats.

This piece was already posted in GDP but I guess it didn't piss off enough people there. lol :)

I appreciate your take on things. Still haven't read it, I am on a mobile thingy and HuffPo is annoying to deal with on it.

"Sandra Bullock:" "Michele Obama" "Stephen Colbert" "NFL" "Tennis" "South Korea" "L A Restaurants"

That's down at the bottom of the home page today, right before the Links section.

Only time I go these days if there is a DU thread that links to something.

(I missed it).

I like Frank Schaeffer and have interviewed him in the past. It's okay if we don't agree all the time.

:)

Seems to me it wouldn't be that hard to list "left of the left" commentators who get broadcast as widely as the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Will, Rove, Gingrich, Buchanan, Scarborough, Van Susteren, Hannit--whew! Better stop there. Because in the quest for equivalency, I hardly think one voice (maybe two?) has quite the market penetration of the above partial list on the other side of the political spectrum.

No, this looks like Grade A hippie punching, or a personal vendetta against a Nobel Prize-winning economist. And if I'm going to listen to economic punditry, I'll go with the guy who has a degree. Maybe I'm just funny like that, but there it is.

:hi:

and "rather the news stay bad to prove them right"?

Really?

will always be labeled "the left of the left". I will be interested to see when the administration and its ardent supporters criticize "the right of the right".

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This isn't just saying nice things about the President, it's demanding uncritical loyalty. And Schaeffer seems to think he just invented hippie punching or something. His article is full of the same tired-ass bullshit centrists and moderates and DLCers have been throwing out about the left for 20 years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902516.html
A Very Productive Congress, Despite What the Approval Ratings Say


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-broderick/obama-and-the-age-of-unre_b_796258.html
Obama and the Age of Unreason

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/12/the-tory-president.html
The Tory President

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/12/obama-is-suffering-because-of-his-achievements-not-despite-them.html
Obama Is Suffering Because of His Achievements, Not Despite Them

Go to your local Democratic Party office, request a list of independent voters, knock on doors and talk to them about President Obama's accomplishments. Stop wasting your time trying to get people like me to feel less disappointed because I'm going to vote for him and a straight Dem ticket in 2012 like I always do. You need to go sell Obama to the voters in your neighborhood. I'm serious about that.

My own former congressman (NY)- he was in the progressive caucus (defeated by Nan Hayworth). I no longer have a representative in the House, but I voted.

There are people that want to prove themselves right.

I love it when the apologists invoke "the reality based community" and ignore reality.

I love how he gets full credit for whatever good happens and none of the blame for the bad stuff. How does that work? He's the head of the national Democratic Party. The recent electoral losses are on him.

Good job, guys. Pick up a shovel and dig your own grave. Wouldn't want the Republicans' arms to get tired, after all, they've got some primary fighting and some dragging our entire political discourse to the right to do.

This time was definitely an exception. People need to stop with the hero worship.

become a lamb, and then of course demands that he be a leading voice of the lambs. This guy has done so much harm to this nation with his family's bigoted business, which by the way has always involved the bashing of the left and liberals, that if he were a decent human being he'd always be apologizing, always asking to learn, for he was more wrong than most ever are, and helped to build a network of intolerance and radical conservatism. Now they don't like him, so he wants to get money from the moderates by bashing the liberals.
His family stock in trade is sermonizing against liberals. He sermonized against me when he was an open right winger and leader of the political religious right, and he continues to do so. There was never a glich larger than a change of booking agents might engender. Same act, different town.

Until then, fuck that shit!

...for what will happen. As in, hasn't actually happened yet. Kind of like finding Saddam's WMDs.

And what's with the whole Krugman's-a-bitter-Hillary-PUMA thing?

I'll give Schaeffer points for better railing-against-a-caricature than one usually finds these days, but that's still what he's doing.

The left did a great job. Got rid of a lot of "real" Democrats too.


Defeated in general election

Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), 57, 3 terms
Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), 50, 2 terms

John Adler (D-N.J.), 51, 1 term
Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y.), 51, 2 terms
Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), 48, 3 terms
John Boccieri (D-Ohio), 41, 1 term
Rick Boucher (D-Va.), 64, 14 terms
Allen Boyd (D-Fla.), 65, 7 terms
Bobby Bright (D-Ala.), 58, 1 term
Christopher Carney (D-Pa.), 51, 2 terms
Travis Childers (D-Miss.), 52, 1 term
Kathy Dahlkemper (D-Pa.), 52, 1 term
Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.), 67, 4 terms
Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio), 44, 1 term
Chet Edwards (D-Texas), 58, 10 terms
Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.), 69, 7 terms
Bill Foster (D-Ill.), 55, 1 term
Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), 52, 1 term
John Hall (D-N.Y.), 62, 2 terms
Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), 52, 1 term
Phil Hare (D-Ill.), 61, 2 terms
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), 39, 3 terms
Baron Hill (D-Ind.), 57, 2 terms
Steve Kagen (D-Wis.), 60, 2 terms
Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), 73, 13 terms
Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio), 61, 1 term
Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), 60, 1 term
Ron Klein (D-Fla.), 53, 2 terms
Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.), 66, 1 term
Frank Kratovil (D-Md.), 42, 1 term
Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.), 42, 1 term
Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), 54, 1 term
Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), 62, 4 terms
Michael McMahon (D-N.Y.), 53, 1 term
Walt Minnick (D-Idaho), 68, 1 term
Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.), 70, 2 terms
Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), 37, 2 terms
Scott Murphy (D-N.Y.), 40, 1 term
Glenn Nye (D-Va.), 36, 1 term
James Oberstar (D-Minn.), 76, 18 terms
Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), 72, 14 terms
Tom Perriello (D-Va.), 36, 1 term
Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), 58, 9 terms
Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), 63, 2nd term
John Salazar (D-Colo.), 57, 3 terms
Mark Schauer (D-Mich.), 49, 1 term
Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), 57, 2 terms
Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), 78, 17 terms
Zack Space (D-Ohio), 49, 2 terms
John Spratt (D-S.C.), 68, 14 terms
Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), 57, 10 terms
Harry Teague (D-N.M.), 61, 1 term
Dina Titus (D-Nev.), 60, 1 term
Charlie Wilson (D-Ohio), 67, 2 terms

Yeah, very useful stuff.

:eyes:

It doesn't address the reason people like me are upset. It just relies on a litany of strawman arguments.

I am upset because Obama seemed to not realize what he was up against. He gave up the public option to win insurance company support, but they supported his opponents anyway (the tea party was originally funded in large part by health companies). He modeled the health reform on Romneycare to win GOP support, he didn't get any. He put tax cuts in the stimulus to get GOP support, he didn't get any.

Bipartisanship is nice and all, but if you are compromising and not getting anything in return that isn't compromise.


The push back on the 9/11 bill was done by Jon Stewart, who is a member of the critical left as Schaeffer would probably label us.

Every START treaty before this last one was passed nearly unanimously. Winning 13 GOP votes isn't a major victory IMO. That just means 13 GOP senators have enough shreds of integrity left to value our safety from nuclear weapons over political pandering.



All in all, not a good article. If you want to criticize the left, at least be honest about why the left is pissed off.

a shit about what he "thinks" regarding the left .... whatever. He can talk to the hand cause I aint listening :shrug:

Yeah it's a hell of a plan. Insult your political base, and then get angry at them when they don't support you.

Yeah la la land. That's what I would call where the anti-war, pro-environment, anti-corporate, pro-people, pro-social justice folks live. Yeah, nothing like all those fools who are against pointless wars, greed, unregulated capitalism, and the destruction of the environment. What stupid assholes. They should get with the program. :eyes:

is that the president's most vociferous defenders lately are right wing a-holes.

Either they don't notice that or they don't think it's a bad thing.

If they think the voters were telling the Democrats they want more "bi-partisanship".?