Daily Kos: Was Obama's speech to Congress a trap, and did the GOP idiots fall for it?

[Cal33]

Yes, according to Daily Kos. How could the GOP openly oppose Obama's proposals, and
expect not to have repercussions in Nov. 2012? And Ric Cantor has already opened
his big mouth in loud criticism. Others are expected to follow -- Rush Limbaugh,for
example.

Well, how many of us here at DU have a high opinion of the average right-wingers'
intelligence?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/09/1014998/-BRILLIANT!-IDIOT-GOP-dives-right-into-Obamas-trap!?via=siderec

[Dawgs]

1. Because they know that nothing good will happen for Obama if the economy still sucks.

He will get the blame for a poor economy no matter what he proposes; passes or not. It won't matter what he says in his campaign.

[Cal33]

3. But if they openly criticize his efforts at trying to improve the job situation,

which a few of them have already started to do, they will be seen
as openly admitting that they are AGAINST lowering the unemployment
rate, and FOR keeping the numbers of jobless high. Many people
don't see this yet. After this, some will begin to see. Do the
GOP want to be seen in such a light? I doubt it. They just fell
into Obama's trap.

[Dawgs]

5. I hope you're right, but history has shown us that the President will ALWAYS get blamed...

for a poor economy. It doesn't matter what he tries to do, or how the opposing party acts.

[yodermon]

10. Then by definition, the opposition party can *always* prevent re-election

provided they have enough power to do so of course. All they need is filibuster power and the willingness to obstruct any & all legislation.

[Dawgs]

34. Pretty much. n/t

[quaker bill]

18. Correct, but what they underestimate

is how they could get it worse. Nobody is thinking the economy will be a bed of roses next year. Plans for the campaign have to take that into consideration. This one will not be hopey / changey, brass knuckles will be in order.

[Cal33]

19. Brass knuckles are most frequently used by the right-wingers, and sometimes they need

a dose of their own medicine. I am curious to see if Obama will be the one to administer
that dose.

[elleng]

2. Yes, it was in the nature of a trap, a good one, IMO.

[Cal33]

4. Yes, indeed! He is a master in the art of campaigning!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. "It's a trap!!!"

Somebody had to say it ;-)

[doc03]

7. I don't think so they will cherry pick the things they like

and call the rest another failed stimulus plan and the media will not call them out on it. .

[Cal33]

9. You're right. The MSM won't say anything about it, but Dems. running

for office in 2012 can sure use this as a strong point for argument, and they
should keep up reminding the people (especially the Repub. masses) about it.

[doc03]

11. Stimulus has been pretty much discredited, they don't

even use the word anymore.

[ClarkUSA]

12. "discredited"?? Not by economists. Here are the facts about how the stimulus worked -->

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=simulus+worked&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[doc03]

14. I agree the stimulus worked, but the Rethugs have won the

battle of words again. Liberal=bad Stimulus=bad Green energy=bad EPA=bad government=bad etc.

[Cosmocat]

20. Yep ...

they get united, scream endless about it, the "liberal media" compliantly advances the notion they are putting forward, the general populace peeks up from the texting screen of their cell phones and gets programmed ...

[bbgrunt]

8. maybe. More likely a trap for us.

[ClarkUSA]

13. How?

[GeorgeGist]

15. Triangulation is a Trap.

[PufPuf23]

16. That is wishful and magical thinking that POTUS Obama "trapped" a GOP House

or the Senate.

POTUS Obama followed the path made obvious by his appointments and priorities since the 2008 election.

Who the fuck cares about Limbaugh and Cantor? Sane policy that helps the People and World is policy of integrity, not the obscure twisted phoney compromise of the neoliberals.

The minds controlling the GOP are not on anyone's side except their own and the global elite. POTUS is at best an enabler and at worst and I believe complicit.

The solutions to the economic problems are not that tough if DC gave a flying monkey's butt gas about the People or Planet.

[Cal33]

17. You are correct. If the super-rich were to return to the USA all the money and profits

that they have stolen -- directly and indirectly -- from the middle classes,
our financial crisis will be over. This so-called "financial crisis" was
created and is being deliberately maintained by the super-rich.

The problem is, how to make them do it.

There is nothing wrong with being rich. It's the crooked ones who are
giving all the rich a bad name.

[CTyankee]

21. I largely agree with you and I don't see anything changing.

If the people really got angry that would be one thing. But Americans just aren't. They just "take it." And they've been beaten down for so long, and made to take frustration out on the poor, the "illegal," the nonwhite, the muslim, the government worker, the unionized worker, etc. The RW has learned how to keep the American people busy hating the wrong people...

[Cal33]

22. Correct. And the mainstream media, always obedient to the right-winger corporatists,

have been brain-washing the American public for the past century. I think the
right-wingers have been very successful, since roughly half of our population
believe even the most outrageously irrational of their lies and propaganda. They
have succeeded in the dumbing down of Americans.

[certainot]

24. democracy was designed to counter money in politics, the dif last 20 years is talk radio and

the left's complete ignorance of it's effectiveness and the fact that there is NO organized challenge to those 1000 coordinated think tank mega soap boxes has made the difference, since reagan killed the fairness doctrine.

[CTyankee]

25. I hate to seem to blame ourselves for the fix we are in but I do wonder why

we just take it and take it. We complain about it here on DU and we do volunteer to work for policy changes in this country, but our traditional ways of doing so just don't seem to work any more. I've been reducing my time here on DU because I really feel I have nothing very interesting to offer any more and because I am tired of my own bitching! I always end up in the the same place, frustrated and mad as hell (my husband tells me "you go on DU in the morning and you're pissed off for the rest of the day!" and he's RIGHT). I am limiting my time watching political TV shows for the same reason.

I'm reading more books now about other things...

[Literate Dragon]

28. Just take it?

You mean like this?

http://news.yahoo.com/longshoremen-storm-wash-state-port-damage-rr-144921214.html

Or maybe like this?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/wisconsin-protests

Or perhaps this is what you were talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-XOinT9b4A

No, I don't think the people just "take it." That's the impression you get from the MSM, granted. It's a lie.

[CTyankee]

29. Oh, yes, thanks! There ARE some wonderful bright spots!

And maybe they will spread until every community, every city will have enough to make a difference.

However, do not forget how we got in this in the first place. We elected Bush to a second term and he was able to get us all the way to a Supreme Court that managed to impose the Citizens United decision on us, an unmitigated disaster. It also allowed us to continue the ruinous war in Iraq, which Kerry would have ended, saving us billions of dollars. We elected a majority of Republicans in the House in 2010 because the MSM distorted the reporting on the health care reform bill and we got the debt ceiling crisis and god knows what else is coming down the pike. Wisconsin and Ohio voted in two Republican governors and they instituted THE PLAN that had been in the works all the time to break the unions. How did THAT happen?

NOW, we are waking up? Great, better late than never, I agree. But you also have to agree that we the people had elections and did what we did collectively, as a nation. I'm glad there are individual pockets of resistance now, but where WERE these people THEN?

[Cal33]

31. I wish there were more of such incidents, and yes, they should be

more in the news. But since the MSM suppresses such news, how
else will they become known? Do Dems. have enough money to
start their own news media? NPR and Current TV are the
beginnings. We should help them grow and multiply.

[certainot]

23. the 'left' should care about imbaugh, talk radio kicks internet ass every day

the left ignoring talk radio, the right's most effective weapon, the last 20 years is why we're in this mess.

it's the biggest political blunder in history, considering the time lost dealing with global warming.

[Safetykitten]

26. Oh....ya know with the trap, lay in wait, gonna pounce, they will fall for it shit.

Really. It's 2011. He gives a speech NOW on unemployment? Oh, wait, it's not about actually doing anything, which is reality, the speech is actually a plan. A devious plan to trap the republicans.

This is just beyond sick now.

[Cal33]

27. You are the only one saying this -- nobody else. It's generally well known that

one action can have several effects.

"it's not about actually doing anything, which is reality, the speech is actually
a plan. A devious plan to trap the republicans."

[PurityOfEssence]

30. Chess!!! It's Grandmaster maneuvering at its best!!

Tiresome candy-assed molly-coddling.

The avalanche cometh...

[Harmony Blue]

32. It is not necessarily at trap

but it sets up a situation where the Republicans are on the defensive. We will have to wait and see how the Democrats use this chance, or if it squandered.

[Cal33]

33. I hope Dems. will not squander this opportunity, as they have done so often

in the past. Maybe the Dem. candidates need coaching lessons
when the campaigning becomes becomes serious: learn how to
tease, toy with, and throw their own words into their faces
in front of large audiences.

[Honeycombe8]

35. I don't think he's playing a game. I think he really is trying to help the jobs problem...

and the time for action is way past due. I think his advisors/staff, though, have thought ahead as to how they can use the GOP stonewalling to their advantage, if that's what happens.