Obey Calls Out The White House As He Leaves

[Project Grudge]

'An immediate issue is President Barack Obama’s must-pass war funding bill, which Obey has been slow to move; he’s demanding answers first from the White House and party leaders on where the jobs funding Obey wants will come from.

“I know there’s a time problem with that,” Obey said of the war funds. “But there’s also a time problem in terms of issuing pink slips to teachers whose jobs we saved last year that could be lost this year if we don’t recognize our responsibility.”
.....

His unhappiness with the Obama White House has grown with the increased military commitment to Afghanistan at a time of high unemployment at home. Obey stands out as one Democrat who believes the great flaw of the stimulus bill last year was that it was not big enough, and as much as he knows the supplemental funding must move sometime, he won’t commit even now to do so by Memorial Day.

“I’m uncomfortable with the whole God darn thing, and I’m certainly uncomfortable with the fact that we’re not paying for it,” he said.
..........

“I do not want to be in the position, as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, of producing and defending lowest-common-denominator legislation that is inadequate to that task,” Obey said. “And given the mood of the country, that is what I would have to do if I stayed.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36840_Page2.html#ixzz0n7vjxwuF



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I know I should consider the source, but this sounds like a strong rebuke aimed right at the White House. He's right; it's unpaid for and there are people hurting.

[FrenchieCat]

1. We all have our beefs!

What's new?

Perfection wasn't attained according to many of us, and.....?
If Mr. Obey had votes in the Senate that no one knew about,
he should have told us then.


edited to add.....and

FUCK POLITICO!

[Hardrada]

2. O fer Chrissake! Give it a rest!

What are you anyway? A Jeanne D'Arc to Obama's Charles VI?

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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

[frylock]

12. this will be alerted on and then deleted..

bank it. there is to be no criticism of frenchie's whining about whiners.

[elocs]

5. Since Obey is a member of the House it would be odd to have votes in the Senate.

That would be news indeed.

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. I admire Obey for his leaving if he feels he can't support the administration's

policies. I disagree with him, but I do admire his forthrightness. I kinda get the feeling that this isn't the only reason he's leaving. Massa initially blamed the WH, and Rahm Emanuel personally, for his decision to leave. I'm just sayin', I don't think this is the whole story.

[AllentownJake]

8. I doubt Mr. Obey has a scandal

and Rahm is still an asshole, I hope he leaves to run for Mayor of Chicago and loses in a primary and goes back to Wall Street where he belongs.

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. Do you know something that hasn't found it's way to print yet?

Or is this just more speculation on your part? Your wishes for Rahm aside, I won't say what I wish for you. It's against the rules.:rofl:

[AllentownJake]

10. 40 years in congress fighting the good fight for working Americans

A real democrat, not this party with no principles we have seemed to have embraced lately.

Rahm is against an audit of the Federal Reserve amongst other good policy decisions and is a cancer on the executive branch.

I wished Rahm would go into the Private Sector where he can be as much of a prick and have no effect on public policy as he wants to playing with the other scumbags, no ill will personally, I just want him out of government...what you may wish for me seems entirely more personal and I'm just a person who disagrees with you on the internet...not someone remotely involved in public policy decisions. Sounds rather fascist to me on your part.

:rofl:

[Tarheel_Dem]

14. Like I said. Let's wait and see where Rep. Obey winds up before we celebrate...

him taking on the White House. Retired and displaced Congress critters never go very far from the halls of power. Let's hope he doesn't wind up on K Street. Besides, his own press release talks about him being old, and not wanting to explain to his constituents about the inner workings of the Senate. In his own words:

Over the past few years, whenever a member of the press asked if I was contemplating retirement, I would respond by saying that I did not want to leave Congress until we had passed health care reform. Well, now it has. And I can leave with the knowledge that thanks to Speaker Pelosi and President Obama and so many others, we got the job done. I haven’t done all the big things that I wanted to do when I started out, but I’ve done all the big things I’m likely to do.

Frankly, I had considered retiring after the 2000 election, but I became so angered by the policies of the Bush administration that I decided to stick around as long as he was here. In 2002, after a year-long reapportionment struggle, which devoured my time and the time of my colleague Jim Sensenbrenner, I publicly stated I would not be around for another one. That is exactly what I would face if I returned to Congress next year. I simply don’t want to do it.

I hope that in whatever years I may have remaining, I will still find occasion to help move the needle forward. But for now, after 48 years, it is time to pass the torch.

http://www.obey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=924

Sounds like he planned to do this 10 yrs. ago? And from news accounts, it also sounds like he was facing a really tough reelection fight with Duffy. Coupled with the fact that the Citizens United ruling erased the line between people & corporations, I doubt he wanted to dial for dollars. I expect we'll see a few more retirements.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Teachers' jobs could be saved

He's right about that. Thank you Cong. Obey.

[AllentownJake]

7. I hope Obey takes them to the woodshed on Afganistan on the way out nt.

[Scuba]

11. Atta boy Dave. We'll miss you.

[frylock]

13. knr