Obama is the centrist our parents warned us about

[StrictlyRockers]

But the lib in me still loves him.

Link to tweet

?s=20

[hlthe2b]

1. I don't get the Obama disdain.

at all.

[hlthe2b]

26. Keep walking that line...

I'm not fooled.

[greenjar_01]

45. Same

[Hekate]

105. Somebody really has issues

I wonder if he never got his pony.

I am almost 73, and in my opinion Barack Obama is the best POTUS of my lifetime. Imagine what he could have accomplished with 8 years of a Democratic Senate.

[Cha]

6. Yeah, really.. trying to label President Obama a "centrist" &

"our parents warned us about it.. " WTAF.

[JI7]

11. Obama is a liberal and actually cares about getting things done rather than playing

socialist warrior on the internet

[Maru Kitteh]

13. X a fucking Bazillion.

[StrictlyRockers]

20. Way more than a bazillion.

I mean, comparatively.

[Cha]

33. Snap!

[Sunsky]

35. +1000

couldn't have said it better.

[betsuni]

46. Exactly.

[Cha]

24. No President Obama is NOT a "centrist" & no Parents Warned us

about it.

[grantcart]

76. Obama engineered the largest increase in the role of the Federal Government

since FDR.

The ACA establishes federal control over all of the health care industry, roughly 1/6th of the economy.

Centrism? No just patronizing nonsense.

[Celerity]

29. Obama: 'I am a New Democrat'

https://www.politico.com/story/2009/03/obama-i-am-a-new-democrat-019862#ixzz3o9jykSUe

President Barack Obama firmly resists ideological labels, but at the end of a private meeting with a group of moderate Democrats on Tuesday afternoon, he offered a statement of solidarity.

“I am a New Democrat,” he told the New Democrat Coalition, according to two sources at the White House session.

The group is comprised of centrist Democratic members of the House, who support free trade and a muscular foreign policy but are more moderate than the conservative Blue Dog Coalition. Obama made his comment in discussing his budget priorities and broader goals, also calling himself a “pro-growth Democrat” during the course of conversation.

The self-descriptions are striking given Obama’s usual caution in being identified with any wing of his often-fractious party. He largely avoided the Democratic Leadership Council — the centrist group that Bill Clinton once led — and, with an eye on his national political standing, has always shied away from the liberal label, too.

snip



New Democrats

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats

New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a moderate ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they support cultural liberalism but take fiscally moderate or conservative stances. New Democrats dominated the party from the late-1980s through the mid-2010s, although they still wield noticeable power within the party structure. Their organizations include the New Democrat Network, the New Democrat Coalition, and The NewDEAL.

snip

[StrictlyRockers]

63. Thanks for posting. Very helpful.

A good read, actually.

[George II]

130. Another important fact to keep in mind about Obama - HE GOT ELECTED! Twice!!

[TheBlackAdder]

44. That's the meme my Trump-supporting neighbor plays & Obama wasn't a Democrat or Republican too.

.

For awhile, it seemed like he was coming around to how fucked up Trump was and then sprung those on me.

He was also saying that Biden will triple the amount of taxes he pays on his retirement income.


I stopped him there, because I work in the financial sector and there has been no panic to that effect.

.

[Cha]

4. Bull.. you don't Get President Obama AT ALL. No rec. & no Rt.

[StrictlyRockers]

5. So, I am wrong to love him?

Ok then.

[Cha]

10. That's not my point.

President Obama was no "centrist" & my parents sure as hell didn't "warn me about it."

I can't even believe this.

[aidbo]

28. He himself has said as much.

"The truth of the matter is that my policies are so mainstream that if I had set the same policies that I had back in the 1980s, I would be considered a moderate Republican," he told Noticias Univision 23 in a White House interview.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/272957-obama-says-his-economic-policies-so-mainstream-hed-be-seen-as-moderate-republican-in-1980s

[StrictlyRockers]

64. Yeah, exactly. I take the man at his word.

People can call him a liar if they want to. I love him too much to do that.

[Hekate]

106. Your OP is not a loving thing to say. It's dismissive, & belittling. nt

[Cha]

120. Exactly, Hekate.. Mahalo nui loa for saying that so

Eloquently!

[JI7]

9. You're so cool

[JI7]

12. No true liberal warns people about Obama.

[mcar]

19. This!

[Skittles]

14. "I am......warning you about centrists"

SAID NO PARENT EVER

[milestogo]

131. ...

[smirkymonkey]

16. What the hell is going on here lately?

Is this still DU?

[mcar]

21. It's DU during election season

It's never made any sense to me why we put up with it.

[Cha]

23. Right.. It doesn't make sense to post that "that Obama is the centrist our

parents warned us about"

we need Unity now Not division.

[mcar]

32. Reading on Twitter that some are still pushing the

"we need to reelect Trump so everything will fall apart" idiocy.

Fortunately, it seems way fewer than in 2016. But they are still out there - and here as it seems.

[Cha]

34. Yes, I've seen that, too.. They're FULL OF SHIT. Getting trump

back in will be the END of America.

[smirkymonkey]

25. No, it's ridiculous why we let these posts stand.

I think we need a "No Tolerance" policy with rubbish like this. I'm tired of it and we don't need it here.

[BannonsLiver]

62. It's quite bizarre

We’re 2 months and change away from an election and here is someone who wants to relitigate the Obama era. It’s beyond pointless.

[Cha]

80. No.. her post is Excellent.

[greenjar_01]

47. Been a particular flood today

New ones, sleepers, usual suspects.

A real smorgasbord of bad faith and stupidity.

[AmericanCanuck]

17. Obama is 100% progressive

He took pragmatic positions to make his agenda pass. That makes him smart.

Get off attacking Obama please. He was the best POTUS one could have.

[Cha]

22. Thank you for that, AC.. That's exactly right.. & for someone

to post otherwise just to stir the pot is NOT what we need at this POINT in History!

Well said!

[Keth]

27. ...

it sucks that we limit the President to two terms and an election by a dated electoral college. I think every other elected official in the U.S.A is by popular vote. President Obama needed a well deserved rest after getting us back on track after the Cheney and Bush disaster. If only he could have served another term, we wouldn't be in this 'crisis to democracy' mess. Or if Secretary Clinton wasn't cheated out of her win.

I don't really think about labels. Centrist. Liberal. Whatever. President Obama was the best!

p.s. I love him, too.

[tritsofme]

30. What kind of crap is this? Who needs to be "warned" about Obama?

[Cha]

31. Nobody Needed to Be "Warned" about "Obama" except

for those who wouldn't vote for him.

[BannonsLiver]

42. Purity dead enders

Like those responding with “I love Obama but...”

They don’t love him. Quite the opposite. Not that anyone should give a shit.

[myohmy2]

36. pity...

..he had the opportunity to become the incarnate of FDR....
.
...maybe next time...

[hlthe2b]

37. That shows a lack of understanding of the time..

When F.D.R. took over the Presidency in 1933, the Democrats controlled 64 percent of the Senate seats and 73 percent (!) of the House seats, counting independents who were sympathetic to the party. And those numbers only increased over the next couple of midterms — during their peak during 1937-38, the Demorats actually controlled about 80 percent (!) of the seats in both chambers. Obama, by contrast, came into his term with 59 percent majorities in both chambers. That’s not much to complain about by the standards of recent Presidencies, but is nevertheless a long way from where F.D.R. stood during his first two terms, or for that matter where L.B.J.’s numbers were during the 1965-66 period, when the bulk of the Great Society programs were implemented.

[betsuni]

52. Thank you! Obama had 60 Senate votes for all of four months and ten days in his first two years.

And the Republican Party wasn't a radicalized cult that wouldn't compromise in FDR and LBJ's time.

[myohmy2]

70. Obama...

...had the biggest republican fuck-up since the great depression to play and barter with, he had the pukes by the balls...if he wanted to, if he was a true Bernie, he would have taken this country into a whole new and better direction...

...such opportunities to benefit the 99% come but once in a lifetime...

...sorry...

[betsuni]

73. He had a filibuster-proof majority in the senate for only four months and ten days.

How is that having Republicans "by the balls"?

[BannonsLiver]

78. This is what it boils down to for the dead enders

[betsuni]

79. ...

True.

[myohmy2]

118. yes...

...yes he did...

...exactly...

[betsuni]

125. And four months and ten days is enough to "have taken this country into a whole new

direction"? You have to have the votes, that's how government works. Doesn't matter how much one wants something or is very emotional. It's not a movie with superheroes.

[DFW]

86. Obama was definitely not a "true Bernie"

Thank goodness for small favors!

[Solomon]

88. Saw that. When did Obama ever claim to be a Bernie?

[DFW]

89. I wasn't aware that he said any such thing

I was only referring to the post above mine. The most time I ever got to spend with Obama was an hour, so it's not like we got to touch on every subject under the sun, but the subject of Sanders never came up once.

[betsuni]

90. A "true Bernie"

Yes, Obama knows the difference between Republicans and Democrats.

[hlthe2b]

91. You seem to have contempt for Obama. Why are you here?

[betsuni]

93. +1

[myohmy2]

117. no contempt for Obama...

...you seem to have contempt for me...

...why are you here?...

[hlthe2b]

127. THis discussion is about your comments/attitudes expressed toward Obama

NOT YOU.

[myohmy2]

133. what I say...

...is me...

...I like Obama...voted for him twice...

...but he could have done better...

[George II]

129. You certainly seem to have contempt for Obama in post #70:

Obama...

...had the biggest republican fuck-up since the great depression to play and barter with, he had the pukes by the balls...if he wanted to, if he was a true Bernie, he would have taken this country into a whole new and better direction...

...such opportunities to benefit the 99% come but once in a lifetime...

You forget that on Inauguration Night in 2009 McConnell was already plotting with republicans to block just about everything Obama and the Democrats tried to do, and had a very short time of all-Democratic control, i.e., "had the pukes by the balls"! He did an amazing job considering all the resistance he faced throughout his two terms as President.

Most of us here feel that Obama was the best President in our lifetimes (and I'm 72!)

And why throw in that "if he was a true Bernie" stuff? In 2009 "Bernie" was a relative unknown and Obama was PRESIDENT. Clearly he was NOT "a true Bernie" - here it is 2020 (11-12 years later) and Obama had a highly successful administration and "Bernie" is still a Senator from a relatively obscure, sparsely populated state.

I'd put Obama's accomplishments up against "a true Bernie" any day.

[myohmy2]

134. don't...

...be so sensitive...

...consider it constructive criticism...

...most of us here feel Obama was good but could have been great...

[George II]

137. Just repeating your words bashing Obama. MOST of us here feel that Obama was great. It's a pity....

....you don't think so.

[Hekate]

107. Christ on a Trailer Hitch

What a load.

[sheshe2]

112. Hmm

myohmy2 (1,750 posts)

70. Obama...

if he was a true Bernie, he would have taken this country into a whole new and better direction...

What exactly is a 'true bernie'? I don't understand your point. Obama has always been his own man.

[JI7]

123. Sanders has been in Office for Decades. Long Before Obama yet it was Obama who got more done

Sanders has done very little in his time in office.

If we are talking about making progress, Biden has done a lot more.

[George II]

135. Plus, Obama ran for President twice, won twice. One can't get anything done as President if....

....one is never elected President.

[Cha]

50. Don't try to rewrite history.. Not with the Fucking HATEFEST TEA

PARTY & other Assorted Factions sitting home Not Voting.

[myohmy2]

71. hi Cha...

...how are you doing?...

...hang in there...

[George II]

132. My guess is that Obama wasn't interested in becoming "the incarnate of FDR". This is 2020....

....times have changed.

The fact is, Obama was elected - that means more people in America wanted him than any of the alternatives, both Democratic and republican.

I don't know why you insist on bashing him here.

[Lunabell]

38. Look, I love Obama.

But he is a centrist plain and simple. I didn't like everything he did, but I love the guy and Joe too. The rethuglicans call them radical left, lmao! I'm the radical left!!

[Cha]

82. President Obama got Shit Done.. so he was Progressive. Progress..

Link to tweet

[dansolo]

84. I consider him a Pragmatic Progressive, like me

Grand ideas that have way of passing actually hurt progressive causes, because they convince people to hold out for everything instead of allowing real improvements, no matter how small they may seem.

[George II]

136. Obama was the person that the rank and file Democrats and Americans chose to be their President!

Enough said.

[Renew Deal]

39. What exactly did his parents warn?

That we can be both peaceful and prosperous? Or that we can make progress without getting everything we want all the time? Messages like that are meant to degrade Obama. It's BS.

[BannonsLiver]

43. +1

Dead enders gonna dead end.

[Cha]

69. he said "No" when asked down thread "if his parents warned him?".

Great questions, though!

[StrictlyRockers]

72. Our parents didn't warn us about the dangers of centrism

If you weren't listening to them, that's your problem. Because they said it in more ways than one. And Obama is a centrist.

And I didn't like his position on the NBA players' strike.

[Cha]

103. Don't tell me "what my Problem" is.. I have No Problem

with my Parents.

& I don't care what you don't like about President Obama.

[betsuni]

75. Evidently some mama and papas read "The Scary Centrist Under the Bed" to their children.

It must be very frightening!

[Cha]

77. It's mind boggling.. I never heard of this "warning from parents

about the centrist"... and with a statement like that.. I would like to see some actual data..

What a way to frame something to ensure the pot is stirred.

[betsuni]

81. As if Obama and not Biden were running for president.

I suppose it's too obvious to call Biden a centrist who scares children.

[sheshe2]

113. Did they mean black man instead of centrist?

[betsuni]

126. Some people seem to have projected a hell of a lot of things on Obama.

And built up others with no real accomplishments. It's as if they think superheroes in the movies are real, that strong emotion will overcome anything.

[mvd]

40. He seems like the good old days now

I didn’t always agree with his approach. Far from it. But I consider him the best President of my lifetime - a little better than Clinton and miles better than the Repukes in the WH. I was too young to remember Carter.

[BannonsLiver]

41. Silly purity post.

Last edited Sun Aug 30, 2020, 08:19 PM - Edit history (1)

[greenjar_01]

48. That's a generous reading

[Cha]

54. Yeah, exactly what was Accomplished with the Divisionary "faint

praise"?

[BannonsLiver]

56. Maybe it salves their wounds

Given that you know who is never going to be president.

[Cha]

58. Exactly what I was thinking.. But at what Cost?

This is about UNTIY.. NOT DIVISION.. That's what We're Here FOr. Unity Against Fascism

[BannonsLiver]

60. The red rose is an avatar for stupidity

Whenever I see one on Twitter I know moronic purity laden hot takes are sure to follow. At what cost? Most are too wrapped up in their own world view to understand them. It’s about THEIR wants.

[Cha]

68. Omg.. The RED ROSE! I've seen them on Twitter. They aren't

about UNITY.. They LOST & many of them can't get Over It.

It's Called Democracy.. We had our Elections and we have our Candidate.

[JI7]

49. Here are the Parents that Warn People about obama

[RANDYWILDMAN]

51. loved the guy

To smart for our country at the time.

I wanted him to be more like Chris rock in head of state. The "that ain't right speech' is something america needs to hear from a pol and not a comedian.

I think he did an incredible job when you realize the Repubs worked against him everyday the whole time. He passed the ACA with them kicking and screaming about it and to this day trying to bring it down....

He was and still is a national treasure!!!

[betsuni]

55. Needz moar "neoliberal." I thought that was in the script.

Obama never claimed to be a far Left populist firebrand. Duh.

[betsuni]

59. Did your parents warn you about him, too?

[betsuni]

74. That's it?

A musical interlude:

[Tarheel_Dem]

83. Gee, the Russians must be getting really desperate. And some parents are really dumb.

[RelativelyJones]

85. Actually, we could use a lot more vocal centrists.

People who are appalled by Trump and what he has done to American standing and the rule of law, but also disgusted with those destroying cities and screaming at people who disagree with their tactics. First order of business is to defeat Trump, but that does not mean people like these assholes tearing up Portland, Minneapolis, Kenosha, etc.

[DFW]

87. We must have had different parents

Mine always embraced guys like Obama, never warned me about them.

[Snake Plissken]

92. My parent forgot to tell me that winning elections is something I should be warned about.

[StrictlyRockers]

95. I will not apologize for being a liberal who loves Obama.

And you can't make me.

[Demsrule86]

96. Cute bit Obama was not a centrist...and so the entire post is wrong.

[StrictlyRockers]

99. You're entitled to your opinion.

n/t

[BannonsLiver]

98. That's true

Also true: It’s not credible.

[EllieBC]

97. What kind of garbage is this?

Obama is a centrist our parents warned us about? Who is us?

Why so divisive? This is DU. DEMOCRATIC underground.

[GeorgiaPeanut]

100. Obama was and is a quintessential progressive

If he could run again, I'd vote for him till I die.

Your OP stinks.

[StrictlyRockers]

102. I would vote for him, too.

And your opinion is your own.

[GeorgiaPeanut]

104. Your OP still stinks - calling him a centrist

[sheshe2]

114. Did I miss something?

Is Obama running for President? I wish, yet he is not. Why bash him now?

A centrist? No.

My mom in her late eighties loved him. No dire warning needed.

OP

[betsuni]

122. Seriously, what is the point? Obama's not running for president.

In what world are "centrists" the big threat? Not this one.

[SammyWinstonJack]

108. I thought WE were the people our parents warned us about?

Parrothead here.

[George II]

109. My parents never warned me about Obama, nor is he a "centrist".

[lapucelle]

111. Hypothetical question: Why would a white guy appropriate the BLM label to use on twitter

and then use that account to randomly badmouth the first Black president?

Cui bono?

[sheshe2]

115. Seriously?

Ouch.

[lapucelle]

128. What purpose would there be to spreading this stuff on twitter other than to stoke division?

It's a gaslit world where white folks assume the mantle of BLM to make the insulting claim that President Obama is the danger that BLM allied parents warn their children about.

[lapucelle]

110. I've never heard of Strictly BLM, but

it does seem odd that a BLM representative or group would take a gratuitous swipe at President Obama.

I read profiles.

[Cha]

119. Omg.. That's Perfect! ".. gratuitous", Indeed!

Thank you!

[radius777]

116. The Dem party has always been center-left.

FDR moved more left due to the Great Depression, but was not an anti-capitalist.

JFK, LBJ, Carter, Clinton, Obama: all centrist liberals.


The DLC/Clintonism came about to push the party back to the center - after it drifted overly left during 70s and 80s and suffered landslide losses. Since then, the Dem party in presidential elections has won 6 of 7 popular votes (and the one loss in 2004 was a close loss).

[In It to Win It]

121. I don't think Obama was a centrist. He was trapped in a centrist world

I think he did the best when what he had and that required him execute on policies that one would consider centrist.

I think Obama is a flaming liberal that would sign a Medicare for all bill but he’s stuck is a centrist world.

Remember, we have to deal with moderate democrats that live in “moderate states“ and they want to win re-election. Before our ideas even get to the GOP (to vote down), they have to pass our own party.

We can’t even get the popular liberal ideas past our own party unless we moderate them somehow.

To actually move a bill requires moderation unfortunately... and that’s before it even gets to the opposing party. In our system and with our politics, changes are incremental.

If I recall correctly, Obama had hoped that the Democrats, had we retained power, would take the Obamacare ball and take steps toward a universal healthcare system.

[uponit7771]

124. Please notice the number of LPC posters claiming Obama is a centrist, looks like DU got sludge

[RobinA]

138. I Don't Get

the reaction to calling Obama a centrist. I liked Obama a lot. I voted for him twice. He was a centrist. Big deal.