The way Obama is letting Paul Ryan off the hook is annoying as hell

[BernieSandersIsGod]

Outside of that speech on the debt he gave, he really hasn't kept up the attack. He's left it for others to do.

[JoePhilly]

1. Obama Bad Obama Bad Obama Bad ... nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. When your adversary is digging a hole for himself,

your best course of action is to just stand back and let him do it.

[DFab420]

3. bitch bitch bitch.

There are plenty of congressmen and senators who are on the attack. President Obama doesn't need to be constantly attacking..

[msongs]

4. Fighting back is not Obama's character nt

[Vincardog]

6. FIGHTING is not Obama's character unfortunately we have to let him COMPROMISE our values away nt

[Cronus Protagonist]

7. Ding Ding Ding

True dat.

[ClarkUSA]

12. See reply #10.

“People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position and no victories for the American people,” he says. “And we will be able to feel good about ourselves and sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are, and in the meantime, the American people are still seeing themselves not being able to get health insurance because of preexisting conditions or not being able to pay their bills because their unemployment insurance ran out.”

Obama declares: “That can’t be the measure of how we think about our public service. That can’t be the measure of what it means to be a Democrat. This is a big, diverse country. Not everybody agrees with us."

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2010/12/07/politico-obama-slams-liberal-complaints-against-him/

True dat.

[ClarkUSA]

10. Which reminds me, President Obama said this about a small minority of Democrats -->

“People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position and no victories for the American people,” he says. “And we will be able to feel good about ourselves and sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are, and in the meantime, the American people are still seeing themselves not being able to get health insurance because of preexisting conditions or not being able to pay their bills because their unemployment insurance ran out.”

Obama declares: “That can’t be the measure of how we think about our public service. That can’t be the measure of what it means to be a Democrat. This is a big, diverse country. Not everybody agrees with us."

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2010/12/07/politico-obama-slams-liberal-complaints-against-him/

[Vincardog]

11. Obama fights to dilute the Democratic platform so he and other corporatist can get corporate $$$$$$$

I don't want people to being able to get health insurance because of preexisting conditions
I want EVERYONE to receive HEALTH CARE because it is their RIGHT

As for not being able to pay their bills because their unemployment insurance ran out.
What is he doing about that? How is compromising on job and recovery killing social cuts going to help ANYBODY?

[ClarkUSA]

13. lol! Prove it. BTW, you just contradicted yourself.

:rofl:

[Vincardog]

17. Pardon me. the ONLY ones Obama has the will to fight are his supporters.

[ClarkUSA]

19. Wrong. I'm an Obama supporter and so are a huge majority of liberals. He ain't fighting us.

What he's fighting are his opponents and those who are what he called "sanctimonious purists" :

“People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position and no victories for the American people,” he says. “And we will be able to feel good about ourselves and sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are, and in the meantime, the American people are still seeing themselves not being able to get health insurance because of preexisting conditions or not being able to pay their bills because their unemployment insurance ran out.”

Obama declares: “That can’t be the measure of how we think about our public service. That can’t be the measure of what it means to be a Democrat. This is a big, diverse country. Not everybody agrees with us."

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2010/12/07/politico-obama-slams-liberal-complaints-against-him/

Or as VP Biden put it more succinctly, "whiners."

True dat.

[Vincardog]

22. Call me all the names you want. Evidently you can't defend his corporate leanings

[ClarkUSA]

28. That's a strawman fallacy. I never called you any "names". Prove "his corporate leanings".

BTW, what'd you think about DINO Bill Clinton comforting and commiserating Paul Ryan last week at a right-wing venue?
DINO Bill Clinton hearts Paul Ryan: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=bill+clinton+paul+ryan&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Did you enjoy listening to Mitch McConnell quoting Bubba to back up GOP claims that Medicare had to be cut in the current budget deal?

I'm asking because I don't recall you saying anything about any of these events last week yet you seem OUTRAGED at Pres. Obama even though he has slammed Paul Ryan's plan to his face live on TV already.

[Vincardog]

30. Big Bill was spouting exactly the corporate line I oppose

[ClarkUSA]

35. Then you must be pleased that Pres. Obama has already slammed Paul Ryan to his face on live TV

See Reply #9 for the facts:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=683837&mesg_id=683846

You have yet to prove Pres. Obama's "corporate leanings" BTW.

[Vincardog]

50. prove Pres. Obama's "corporate leanings": Did you see him fight for Single Payer health CARE?

Did you see him fight to allow MEDICARE to negotiate DRUG Prices?
Did you see him fight to allow US Citizens re-import drugs from Canada?
Did you see him hold BP's feet to the fire over the deep water horizon affair?
How about this: You show me one place where he has fought for the rights of the PEOPLE over CORPORATE interests?

[awoke_in_2003]

59. Don't forget deregulating GMOs

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x297463

I wonder how much Monsanto paid President Obama for that.

[SkyDaddy7]

55. Thank-you for doing what you are doing! nt.

[Vincardog]

61. You are welcome

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

23. WRONG! Proud to be a liberal! Proud to support President Obama!! n/t

[Cronus Protagonist]

27. I have no health insurance and no unemployment insurance; all I got was a t-shirt

...saying:

"I have a purist position"

Meanwhile, my healthcare is costing more, rent is going up, groceries cost more and my income has been falling since Bush's regime. Bush's wars are still on, we've added another, we're getting radioactive fallout from Japan and the Obama administration halted testing for it, I'm afraid to drink milk and billions of dollars have been given to Bushes cronies.

This purist wanted change. Maybe I should have asked for spare change instead, because Obama hasn't given me much of anything else.

[ClarkUSA]

32. I have no interest in commenting on unverifiable rhetoric.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

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

[Vincardog]

33. +1

[Mimosa]

43. Who's got health care?

I seriously fear the future. :(

[great white snark]

44. Census Bureau reports that 253.4 million Americans have it.

85% of the population.

[awoke_in_2003]

58. yeah, americans will get health insurance now...

they will either pay for policies that they cannot afford (and offer shitty coverage) or be fined. I remember when candidate Obama ridiculed the same Clinton plan.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

20. As long as there are Blue Dogs/Corporatists in the Democratic Party, I'm afraid that's what we got!

It's not just Obama; it's the entire apparatus!

Obama doesn't control the government himself. He's not a dictator! There are two other branches of government, ya know... (or maybe you don't!)

[Vincardog]

24. I do not care for straw men

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

29. Neither do I. Please respond to the issue at hand. Obama cannot control the entire government.

That's the truth. What is more, the Democratic Party is NOT a monolith. That is a fact. The bottom line is that we face a political environment that is NOT conducive to progressive politics, at least when it comes to dealing with the Congress we have. Why is that so hard to swallow? It's not a straw man. It's the truth! It's the reality of where we are in this country.

[Vincardog]

31. How exactly does acquiescing to those 'truths' advance liberal objectives?

[ClarkUSA]

36. Provide examples. And do include the truth about Congressional obstructionism.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

38. Elect more liberals in the House and Senate and see what happens.

You can't get more progressive policies with Teabaggers and Blue Dogs. Again, why is that so difficult for you and others here on DU to understand?

[dionysus]

63. or reality, or facts, for that matter. n/t

[ClarkUSA]

8. Those who have never said anything good about Pres. Obama keep pushing that false meme.

But they would be wrong.

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

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

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

5. Don't understand. What happened? n/t

[CakeGrrl]

14. Gee, no mushroom clouds flew up from DC today! Obama must be selling out!

UN. Believable.

:eyes:

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

18. LMAO!!! n/t

[ProSense]

9. Eerily familiar.

How is Obama letting Ryan off the hook?

President Obama on Medicare and Turning 50

White House Economic Director blasts Ryan plan, defends Medicaid

[CakeGrrl]

15. I'm sorry, who announced that Paul Ryan was off the hook?

I've never seen so much impatience.

If some can't SEE and FEEL shockwaves because the newspeople told them so, then they don't think ANYTHING is going on.

If the Ryan plan passed the Senate, please fill me in on when that occurred.

:crazy:

[ClarkUSA]

16. How is he doing that, pray tell? He hasn't pull a DINO Bill, after all.

DINO Bill Clinton hearts Paul Ryan: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=bill+clinton+paul+ryan&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[CakeGrrl]

21. Thanks for the reminder. Bill isn't exactly putting Ryan ON the hook, is he? n/t

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

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

[ClarkUSA]

26. Nah, DINO Bill agrees with Republicans that Medicare has to be cut. McConnell quoted him, in fact.

Furthermore, I don't recall those outraged on this OP bring at all outraged at DINO Bill last week.

Gee, I wonder why. :sarcasm:

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

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

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

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

[phleshdef]

39. He sat Ryan down in the front row of a huge audience & spanked him in front of the entire counrtry..

Verbally spanked him anyways. I don't think he really needed to do more than that. Ryan has caught plenty of hell for it ever since.

[Cronus Protagonist]

41. I agree

That was a very bad-ass slap-down.

[AtomicKitten]

64. He did and it was awesome.

[Mimosa]

42. Links on OPs would be helpful.

Not all of us follow speeches. ;)

[TheDebbieDee]

45. I heard someone on The Young Turks today say that

President O bites his tongue often because his comments (and those of the FRB Chairman) may negatively impact international financial markets and Wall Street........

Something to think about.

[ClarkUSA]

46. FYI: "Obama’s a... counterpuncher: He waits for his overconfident opponent to make a mistake"

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of "The Hunting of the President". He disagrees with you and everyone who high-fived this OP:

The right has depicted President Obama as a leader easily pushed around. So why has the president been outflanking his conservative detractors so regularly of late? Partly because Obama’s a political counterpuncher: He waits for his overconfident opponent to make a mistake, and then strikes decisively.

There Ryan was, the man with a plan, the star of GOP talk shows. Except he was tricked into going first. He revealed this absurd scheme to slash taxes on millionaires and privatize Medicare -- handing out vouchers so Alzheimer’s patients could shop for health-insurance bargains.

The next thing you know, Ryan was crying that Obama was a big meanie for denouncing the plan to his face.

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/01/lyons_netanyahu_obama/index.html

Lyons goes on to list how President Obama has publicly dispatched and neutralized Donald Trump's and PM Netanyahu's lies as well.

[louslobbs]

47. .

'

[louslobbs]

48. K&R ClarkUSA's posts.

Lou

[Eagle Mall]

54. That's how he decimated the mighty Clinton Machine. He will do the same to the GOP.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

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

[CakeGrrl]

52. Oh, will one with tenure do?

I love the new ways people find to insult an educated man.

:rofl:

:crazy:

[lunatica]

51. Why interrupt your opponent when he's destroying himself so effectively?

Obama doesn't need to keep pointing out the obvious. Paul Ryan is doing a great job destroying himself.

[Jennicut]

56. When one makes a fool of themselves all on their own, you really don't

have to do much. Ryan is imploding all on his own. The majority of the public is not on his side. No much else to say. Let him hang himself and the Repubs by his own hand.

[woo me with science]

57. The messaging could be better overall. Dems need a clear and consistent set of points to make.

I saw a segment on C-Span's American Journal that was infuriating. I don't remember who they were, but a Democratic and a Republican representative were arguing over the Ryan plan.

The Republican kept framing Ryan's plan as "saving Medicare" and "making sure benefits are still available to people in the future." He kept repeating that the Dems want no changes and that doing nothing will cause the plan to go bankrupt entirely.

The Democrat explained that the Ryan plan will use vouchers and increase allowed benefits only by the cost of living, while medical costs are rising much faster. However, he never went the next step to give actual out-of-pocket costs projected by the CBO.

I was sitting there screaming at the TV, "Tell them their costs will DOUBLE!"

Telling people that their benefits will increase with the other guy's plan, if only by the cost of living, is less effective than telling them, "Seniors pay $6000 out of pocket per year right now for medical care, but Republicans plan to have you pay at least $12,000."

[Tarheel_Dem]

62. Why must Obama be the only one carrying the load?

Democrats Break Down Impact Of GOP Medicare Plan District By District

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 3, 2011, 5:04PM

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/democrats-break-down-impact-of-gop-medicare-plan-district-by-district.php?ref=fpb

What you and others seem to be interested in is the POTUS being nothing more than a partisan political hack at all times. He has a job to do for ALL the American people. Debbie Wasserman Schultz should be the one out front doing the partisan political heavy lifting. It's her job.

[Arkana]

65. He's Rocky, not Clubber.

Ryan has managed to blast his feet completely off with this Medicare mess. His town halls end in disarray. He's a figure of terror to anyone on Medicare.

And Obama is not the only Democrat in the world--there are other Democrats who SHOULD be taking up the charge.