How many of you would rather have Pres, Obama live up to the "radical" teabagger label?

[MrScorpio]

And how successful and popular would a "radical" President be?

Hey, the teabaggers have proven time and time again that they don't know what they're talking about, because the President is anything but radical. But that hasn't stopped them from throwing all of that "socialist/communist" BS out there anyway.

But, let's say that Pres. Obama wasn't trying to take the middle road, establishment, consensus building route most of the time... Let's say that he went as far to the left as any one of us on DU could go...

How well do you think that that would succeed?



Now, I pretty much expect a heated discussion either way, so I'd prefer that we'd keep the disagreements civil to prevent a thread lock.

[Bluebear]

1. I don't want "radical". I just want the candidate we voted for.

[stray cat]

18. based on his promises or the dream of individual voters?

[Bluebear]

28. "The bill I sign MUST include a public option."

His own words and promises of course.

[Poboy]

23. To the point, and the correct answer. -nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

2. Ask this guy...

Apparently Hillary knows someone who can get in touch with him. :evilgrin:

[Arctic Dave]

3. +1

[LostinVA]

5. +1

[H2O Man]

4. Other.

In order for President Obama to take bolder positions, it would require the progressive/liberal left to become more organized and active. We would need to put in the hard work required to make more Americans support progressive/liberal demands in a meaningful way. Then, and only then, could and would President Obama become an effective progressive/liberal president.

[HughMoran]

6. Agreed.

It takes two to tango.

[Greyhound]

11. That's the problem with your other post as well, leaders have to lead.

Waiting around for someone to tell you what to do leads to the crap we got.

Principles are what matters.

[bobbolink]

12. I understand your point, and it is well-taken. However, the biggest changes in history didn't

happen from leadership from the top.

Slavery didn't end because suddenly God tapped on Lincoln's shoulder and whispered in his ear. The Abolitionists had been dedicated and active for many years, risking all they had in the cause of freeing the slaves.

Wyoming didn't just suddenly decide to be a leader among states and give women the right to vote... women sacrificed and pushed for the vote for many years. They were organized, and they studied and educated until they changed a lot of minds.

Child labor didn't end because a president looked in a working child's face and said, "This is wrong, and I am going to change it." Many people campaigned and, again, sacrificed, in order to convince the nation to protect children rather than to exploit them.

Johnson didn't sign the Civil Rights Act *before* the demonstrations, and marches and educational efforts and the leadership of Martin Luther Kind and Malcolm X and all the others. He was PUSHED.

We come to DU and complain about ignorant voters, but what are we doing to hear their anger, and help them to understand the actual facts???????

WHEN are we going to do any of that?

After the corporations have buried us?

[Greyhound]

21. of course you are right, but I don't think that was his point.

Now maybe I misunderstood what he was saying, but I took it in view of his previous OP about not trusting the left, which attempts to blame Obama's inaction on an imagined lack of support that he has eschewed at every opportunity.

The people are there, he just plain refuses to go that way.
:hi:

[H2O Man]

27. "not trusting the left"?

I suspect that you might not understand what I said here, or in whatever other post you are referring to.

[Greyhound]

34. I think I may have confused yours with another post. n/t

[metapunditedgy]

33. Remember in 2008 when we were talking about how the networks *underreported* Obama's support?

It took a while to get the full story of how impressive his election victory was.

Now we're hearing that Obama has little support from the left who voted him into office!

[Radical Activist]

24. "Waiting around for someone to tell you what to do leads to the crap we got."

Exactly. That's why we don't look to leaders or expect them to set the agenda for us.

[pscot]

14. He had the organizational tools to bring that about

People were more than ready to sign on to an activist agenda. All he had to do was say the word. That word never came. The energy that swept him into office dissipated, then turned sour. Now Progressives are almost as mad at Obama as they are at the republicans. He has a problem.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Obama's already too radical

Escalating America's longest war (just to go after an estimated 100 al Qaeda members in Afghanistan), the largest banker bailout in history leading to the largest banker bonuses in history, endless imprisonment without judicial appeal, warrantless wiretapping, "extraordinary rendition", extrajudicial execution warrants on US citizens, and now a withering attack on Social Security... these are all very, very fringe-right radical moves.

[Radical Activist]

8. There are some issue where he would have more enthusiastic public support.

People would love for him to get socialist on the banks and lending industry, for example.
Some things would be less popular but he could probably get away with, like a well structured carbon tax.

The most likely scenario is that he would have a core groups of very enthusiastic supporters and no legislative accomplishments. Unless you're saying that the Senate suddenly became radical too (or at least centrist).

[47of74]

9. The reich wing is going to call him names anyways

I wish the President would realize that Hannity, that fat turd Limbaugh, and Bill O'Feelyhands are going to call him a radical left wing socialist no matter what he does. So he might as well be a radical left wing socialist and do right by the American people instead of trying to appease these jerks.

[Lilith Velkor]

22. He should go full-on Chavez on their asses

Stick it in and break it off.

[47of74]

26. Ewwww. If he did that...

...it wouldn't break off. It'd get infected and fall off.

[Lilith Velkor]

31. It is not a metaphorical blade of which I speak.

[Erose999]

35. Exactly. I don't think they could possibly turn up the heat any higher.

He might as well go full-on radical left wing "angry Black man" on them. Send W and Cheney to the Hague. Single payer for all. Immediate withdrawl from Iraq and AFGN. Tax hikes for the top 5%.

[EFerrari]

10. "Let's give them something to talk about"

lol

[bobbolink]

17. Or, "something to cry about."

:evilgrin:

[EFerrari]

19. Can you stream music?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z04r_tlWdRs

:hi:

[donco6]

25. And there she is.

It's so appropriate with this thread. :thumbsup:

[11 Bravo]

13. Other: Considerably farther to the left, but "radical" won't get shit done ...

in the current political climate (except possibly handing the Repukes both houses of Congress, and thereby two possible future SCOTUS nominations, leaving us fucked for generations to come).

[EFerrari]

20. I'll never understand that.

If you don't show up, you can't win.

[JerseygirlCT]

15. I'm assuming that radical is meant in quotes

because what passes as "radical" for the baggers is just about middle of the road, sensible to me.

And yes, I wish he were more of the socialist they keep claiming he is.

[Luminous Animal]

16. Why would I care what a teabagger thinks? They think he's a communist,

that he's a radical Muslim from a sleeper cell, a socialist, not a natural born citizen, Hitler, Stalin, the Joker, etc. If he pushed for the public option and it was included in the bill, not any of that would have changed.

[Bluebear]

29. +

[knownothing]

30. +1

[socialist_n_TN]

32. Well, I voted the first option,

My reasoning is pretty simple. He might not have gotten as much legislation accomplished (then again he might have), but I believe that the legislation would be better for the country.

And since when are "liberal" positions radical? Maybe if he was a Trotskyist THEN he would be radical, but Obama? The MOST left he could be would be SLIGHTLY left of center. The whole deal is that real leftist positions are actually POPULAR. There just needs somebody in authority to actually VERBALIZE those positions. Who better than the President?