Obama: "Shake it off-Stop complainin'-Stop grumblin'-Stop cryin'-WE HAVE WORK TO DO"

[kpete]

"Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. We are going to press on. We have work to do."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-readies-words-congressional-black-caucus-14597453


"The future rewards those who press on. With patient and firm determination we will press on. I don’t know about you CBC, but the future rewards those who press on. With patient and firm determination, I’m going to press on for jobs. I’m going to press on for equality. I’m going to press on for the sake of our children. I’m going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on. I expect all of you to march with me, and press on. Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes, shake it off, stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying, we are going to press on, we’ve got work to do. CBC. God Bless You and God Bless the United States of America."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/25/1020005/-Obama-Kicked-Booty-Tonight?via=siderec

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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

[snagglepuss]

10. That caught my eye as well. I appreciate humor but given the circumstances

this seems rather insulting and disrespectful.:shrug:

[enlightenment]

2. Because all those people are

just sitting around with their feet up?

Funny - seems like most are struggling to make ends meet; working 16-hour days at multiple, low-wage jobs; wondering if they can afford to buy food for their family . . .

It's early where I am, and I'm not quite awake - but that statement really rubs me the wrong way. If the President intends to lead, he needs to be very clear where he is leading. He needs to give people a real goal, not just a vague promise. And he needs to realize that telling people to 'stop whining' is not a good way to influence people to follow you.

meh.

[hfojvt]

31. dang it all

here I was, sitting with my feet up, and clicking on your post.

Then I got up to see what the dogs were freaking out about. Another dog, of course, but one on a leash.

But I generally don't struggle to make ends meet either, even though I am firmly in the bottom quintile.

Yeah, for the President to tell us to stop whining. My 'whine' for the last three years has been to ask the President to "fight for us!" "Fight for us!" "fight for us!"

Sometimes I even do it with my feet on the ground.

[L0oniX]

35. We'll see if he whines about not getting donations from the little people.

[ProSense]

3. Still with the BS

title: Obama Tells Blacks to 'Stop Complainin' and Fight

If anyone doubts the MSM's intent with these articles, why are they still using this false quote:

"If Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House," the caucus chairman, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, recently told McClatchy Newspapers.

They've even taken the name "Bill Clinton" out of brackets.

CBC Chairman Cleaver: McClatchy article used "dated quotes which were taken out of context"

CBC members react to President Obama's speech

Here is the exact quote, which indicates he was addressing the CBC.

[EFerrari]

39. LOL, "he was addressing the CBC" -- as if that makes it any better.

Give it up.

[emulatorloo]

41. Yeah, well, the CBC liked the speech

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=781290&mesg_id=781290

[EFerrari]

47. LOL, according to the White House, they did. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Are marching shoes like comfortable shoes? nt

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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

[ProSense]

9. WTF? n/t

[Dreamer Tatum]

5. ..."but first I gotta go on another vacation." nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. ...

:evilgrin:

[newspeak]

19. You know I've been highly critical of obama, especially his

fekkin cabinet choices; however, little boots has one of the highest vacation records. He was on vacation when he was handed the august pdb report.

[Dreamer Tatum]

24. Yeah, let's run against George Bush. See how far that gets us.

People are tired of that shit. Doesn't mean you have to let it go, but you probably do
have to let go of thinking people give a rat's ass about Bush anymore.

[ellisonz]

52. He has a wife and two young daughters. He is a human being. Not superman.

Not to mention the President is on-call 24/7

[Autumn]

8. Is it really whining to want a better life?

I've done thing right. I have worked hard all my life, until my job was gone. My standard of living is about one fourth of what it was four years ago. I've always voted for any Democrat. My taxes went up so the wealthy and the middle class could keep their. What the fuck does he want? Blood?

[Myrina]

11. I'd have got up and left.

What a punkass speech. Where the hell have his marching shoes been for the past 3 years? I've seen him in golfing shoes with Boehner alot ... and what about all the grumbling and crying we all had to listen to from him trying to get us to eat the GOP-generated shit sandwiches he's agreed to?

:puke: Sorry man, this is the wrong group of people to get self-righteous with.

[1776Forever]

12. I am amazed at this comment - Where did that come from? I'm not AA but I am truly aghast at this

comment. I would argue that this will not help the cause. Yes we all need to work on getting President Obama back in 2012 but I don't think this comment helped. Is that what President Obama thinks about those who are loosing their homes, their children's future, their health care, things that they have worked for all their lives? I have been there and yes I cried. I am speechless:wow:

[ProSense]

18. Let's

"I am amazed at this comment - Where did that come from? I'm not AA but I am truly aghast at this comment. I would argue that this will not help the cause. Yes we all need to work on getting President Obama back in 2012 but I don't think this comment helped. Is that what President Obama thinks about those who are loosing their homes, their children's future, their health care, things that they have worked for all their lives? I have been there and yes I cried."

...contrast your comment above to what the President said:

So I don’t know about you, CBC, but the future rewards those who press on. (Applause.) With patient and firm determination, I am going to press on for jobs. (Applause.) I'm going to press on for equality. (Applause.) I'm going to press on for the sake of our children. (Applause.) I'm going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I am going to press on. (Applause.) I expect all of you to march with me and press on. (Applause.) Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. (Applause.) Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC. (Applause.)

See the problem?

[1776Forever]

29. OK that takes some of the "sting" out of the comment. Thanks for posting. n/t

[jaxx]

13. Good speech to the CBC.

And those who are taking it personally.....are you the CBC?

[Autumn]

14. Is that a requirement? It's a speech by a man I chose to vote

for. I'm entitled to have an opinion on the words he chooses to use.

[Swede]

16. He was talking to the CBC,not you.

Once you get that,your outrage should dissipate.

[Angry Dragon]

50. So you are saying that the President gives different speeches

depending on what color you are??
What age you are??
What sex you are??
Who you like to love??

I will remember that .............

[jaxx]

17. Why would you think he was speaking to you?

An opinion is one thing, but the CBC was the venue and the guests.

[Autumn]

21. Okay I see. I only need to listen to what he says, if

he is addressing ME personally. So the one time he did address me personally, at his campaign rally in Pueblo where I shook his hand and we spoke to each other he lied. Got it.:crazy:

[Swede]

22. Don't be obtuse.

He wss speaking to the CBC. Are you a black congressmember?

[Autumn]

23. No. Am I fucking required to be black congress member

to have an opinion on what he says in a fucking speech that is released to the public? During his campaign I really liked the fact that he was an eloquent speaker and would say what he meant. Now he seems to cloud and parse words better than Clinton did, and I would never have thought anyone could do that.

[newspeak]

27. wait, just a minute

during the health insurance bill debate weren't democrats basically shut out? Hasn't he spent more time listening to the repugs than the CBC?

[court jester]

48. "Shut out"? Doctors and Nurses were ordered arrested by Democrat Baucus...

It is amazing how far down the rathole this little fact has sunk...And how fast.

If a Republican had single payer doctor and nurse advocates arrested at a *hearing* people would still be calling for marches here.

Unbelievable.

"Advocates of single-payer universal healthcare — the system favored by most Americans — continue to protest their exclusion from discussions on healthcare reform. On Tuesday, five doctors, nurses and single-payer advocates were arrested at a Senate Finance Committee hearing, bringing the total number of arrests in less than a week to thirteen. We speak with two of those arrested: Single Payer Action founder Russell Mokhiber and Dr. Margaret Flowers of Physicians for a National Health Program. ..."

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/13/baucus_raucus_caucus_doctors_nurses_and

Five protesters were arrested this morning at a Senate hearing on health-care reform. The protesters — some, who identified themselves as doctors and nurses — were be charged with “Disruption of Congress,” according to the Capitol Police spokeswoman. The Senate Finance Committee hearing was a roundtable discussion between senators and experts on the best way to pay for health-care reform

http://www.healthcare-now.org/five-more-single-payer-protesters-arrested/



Obama makes a great case against mandates...Then he was elected

http://youtu.be/9R-z-fFnuh0

[jaxx]

25. If that makes your day, go for it.

Or if you decide to look at what he said in reference to the CBC complaining about PBO not getting jobs for African Americans while they stand around, you might know where he was coming from.

[Autumn]

28. Maybe if all they do is stand around the CBC should be disbanded

If that's the case it sounds like a waste of tax dollars. Damn who knew. Learn something new here every day.

[jaxx]

32. What a silly answer.

If you are a black member of the House of Representatives, you too can be a member of the CBC. It has nothing to do with money.

[Autumn]

34. want to see a silly comment?

"complaining about PBO not getting jobs for African Americans while they stand around,"
The CBC standing around, that's a load of :puke:

I will not shut the fuck up because I am not an African American, I will not shut the fuck up because I am not a black member of the House of Representatives, I WILL speak my opinion on what Obama says in any speech he gives.

Now I am done talking with you. Have a nice day.

[newspeak]

30. yeah, well I thought for over two years

it was more like talk to the hand when it came to any progressive group including the CBC. Or were they all included in that meeting with the health insurance corps and big pharma when it came to deciding on the pro-corporate health insurance bill?

[jaxx]

33. No comment for going off topic.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

36. No, but you should understand the context and venue.

Obama framed his speech through the lens of the Civil Rights struggle:

Throughout our history, change has often come slowly. Progress often takes time. We take a step forward, sometimes we take two steps back. Sometimes we get two steps forward and one step back. But it’s never a straight line. It’s never easy. And I never promised easy. Easy has never been promised to us. But we’ve had faith. We have had faith. We’ve had that good kind of crazy that says, you can’t stop marching. (Applause.)

Even when folks are hitting you over the head, you can’t stop marching. Even when they’re turning the hoses on you, you can’t stop. (Applause.) Even when somebody fires you for speaking out, you can’t stop. (Applause.) Even when it looks like there’s no way, you find a way — you can’t stop. (Applause.) Through the mud and the muck and the driving rain, we don’t stop. Because we know the rightness of our cause — widening the circle of opportunity, standing up for everybody’s opportunities, increasing each other’s prosperity. We know our cause is just. It’s a righteous cause.

So in the face of troopers and teargas, folks stood unafraid. Led somebody like John Lewis to wake up after getting beaten within an inch of his life on Sunday — he wakes up on Monday: We’re going to go march. (Applause.)

Dr. King once said: “Before we reach the majestic shores of the Promised Land, there is a frustrating and bewildering wilderness ahead. We must still face prodigious hilltops of opposition and gigantic mountains of resistance. But with patient and firm determination we will press on.” (Applause.)

So I don’t know about you, CBC, but the future rewards those who press on. (Applause.) With patient and firm determination, I am going to press on for jobs. (Applause.) I’m going to press on for equality. (Applause.) I’m going to press on for the sake of our children. (Applause.) I’m going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I am going to press on. (Applause.)

I expect all of you to march with me and press on. (Applause.) Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. (Applause.) Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC. (Applause.)

The speech was well-received by this audience, particularly by those members who were themselves a part of the struggle. However, when someone just posts "Obama tells black people to stop complaining" while omitting or brushing over the ACTUAL speech, then yes, people are not responding logically and instead choose to cherry-pick Obama's words to make him sound like he's dissing African-Americans. Instead, he's invoking the Civil Rights struggle in his call to arms for the African-American community, which is totally and entirely different.

[emulatorloo]

38. Many are engaged in "willful misinterpretation" and negative spin

A good rallying speech that was received well by the audience is being desperately spun by folks with an agenda. Looks as if they are becoming more desperate.

[Number23]

44. You got that right.

Looks as if they are becoming more desperate.

The president's still sky-high approval in the black community appears to be distressing to some people.

[Pirate Smile]

15. People outside the event are trying to distort the event to cause problems. We get enough of that

from Republicans. We really don't need all the people on our side trying to do the same thing.
“@PoliticalTicker: CBC members react to Obama's speech on jobs, the black community - wp.me/p4HKM-Kcy

Washington (CNN) –
....
“These Republicans in Congress like to talk about job creators. How about doing something real for job creators?” he said, prompting cheers and applause. “You say you’re the party of tax cuts. Pass this jobs bill, and every worker in America, including nearly 20 million African-American workers, will get a tax cut. Pass this jobs bill, and prove you’ll fight just as hard for a tax cut for ordinary folks as you do for all your contributors.”
The audience erupted with laughter when he joked that Republicans have not always been against the kind of infrastructure spending he has proposed. “You all used to like to build roads, right? What happened?” the president asked, tongue firmly in cheek.

After the speech, several CBC members said they were pleased with the message. Rep. Donna Edwards , D-Md., said it was a “call to action.” She said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle know where the battle lines are drawn on the issues and complaining about that will not accomplish anything — they must fight for what they want.
“He showed he’s going to fight,” she said.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said the president “took his gloves off” and that it was the right approach.

“This is the first day of the beginning of a season of pressure” on Republicans in Congress, Jackson Lee said. “I think that this is now, for his own sake, a sense of reckoning that although his temperament as president of the United States for everybody – is to include everyone – there’s a time now that the marching has to begin, because he’s got to save this country and we’re willing to save it with him.”

Rep. Greg Meeks , D-N.Y., said it was important to see the president transition from governing mode to campaign mode and that he must keep the pressure on Congress, travel to districts where people are hurting and show them that he feels their pain.

“He needs to fire up the base and that’s what tonight will do,” Meeks said.

[emulatorloo]

42. Too many hidden agendas around here. N/ t

[Major Hogwash]

43. President Obama threw down the gauntlet. Now we'll see if any of them want to pick it up.

And complain that nothing's getting done, or roll up their sleeves and do something about it.
It's one thing to complain, it's a whole 'nother ballgame to just sit on the sidelines and tell the coach how to manage the rest of the team.

[ecstatic]

45. I agree. It's sickening nt

[woo me with science]

20. He should have taken his own advice two years ago,

but that would have meant being on the side of working people rather than corporations.

:eyes:

[ixion]

26. "Now watch this drive!"

[sad sally]

37. Why does the President drop g's sometimes?

complainin', grumblin', cryin', strugglin', marchin'...even threw in a y'all.

Is it because this was a familiar group (as opposed to the UN where no g's are ever dropped), was it because he was joking? Is it to make him seem like an average person?

Certainly he's not the first politician to do so - Bush was famous for it, Palin uses it all the time, even Pawlenty tried it with not too much success.

Petty observation? Maybe...

The language of power in the anti-prestige age
How Presidents avoid sounding elite.
Published on March 2, 2011 by Julie Sedivy, Ph.D.

You're not likely to hear this on NPR, or the CBC, or—God forbid—the BBC:

"The last few days have seen protests spreadin' throughout the Arab world, and leaders there are becomin' increasingly nervous about the possibility of large-scale unrest landin' on their doorsteps. Containin' the uprisings is provin' to be an unexpected challenge for dictators who have become accustomed to holdin' on to power for decades."

---

In the political world, too much prestige is a liability, and strategists counsel candidates to downplay their Ivy League credentials—and, if they did have the poor taste to acquire a Yale degree, to be sure to emphasize the fact that they earned only middling grades.

---

But Obama's non-standard language is very selectively applied. His State of the Union address was delivered with impeccable radio broadcaster enunciation. And in many of his speeches where he does drop g's, if you pay close attention, you'll hear that there's a pattern: when he talks about policy and legislation, he'll use the buttoned-up ing form. The non-standard in' turns up when he's expressing concern for regular Americans or when he's bonding with the audience.

---

"Because the truth of the matter is, they're not premiers of anyplace, they're not sultans from wherever. They don't fly in to the Mayo and suddenly decide they're gonna spend a couple million dollars on the absolute best health care. They're folks who are left out. The vast majority of ...the people we're talkin' about, they work. Every day. Some of ‘em work two jobs. But if they're workin' for a small business, they can't get health care."

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sold-language/201103/the-language-power-in-the-anti-prestige-age?du

[Raine]

49. I noticed that too. I've noticed it with many politicians

from both sides, seems like they to it to connect with the "common man". I find it condescending no matter who it's coming from or directed to. x(

[ellisonz]

53. It's Hawaiian Pidgin.

No grumbo be humble or ho bruddah like grinds or geev'um da kine.

http://www.shakadivers.com/pidgeon.htm

He hides it because 1/3rd of the country is convinced he's Kenyan and most Americans don't know squat about the culture of Hawaii.

In fact, that article doesn't mention once that he was educated in a culture in which "standard American English" is not the dominant daily means of communication. Ho brah.

[emulatorloo]

40. See also CBC members react to Obama speech

They liked it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=781290&mesg_id=781290

[WinkyDink]

46. I have never been fond of being told what to do. Sue me.

[cherokeeprogressive]

51. The CBC wears bedroom slippers. That's what The Man said. I heard it.

What do you think me meant by it though?

Does the CBC wear bedroom slippers? Really?

[unkachuck]

54. "...we've got work to do."

....okay, but wait a minute....I'm on break....