The vast majority of DU supports President Obama and his policies

[berni_mccoy]

Just this month:

Obama just announced the most anti-war foreign policy doctrine in decades
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5014216

Obama Defends Controversial Policy Of Not Invading Countries For No Reason
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10025015548

President Obama designates Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024982391

Michigan, other states continue to raise Minimum wage (following President's lead)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/michigan-governor-sign-925-hour-minimum-wage-23889299

Senate Republicans block Obama bid to hike minimum wage
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/30/us-usa-senate-minimumwage-idUSBREA3T0PT20140430

For some reason, a small but loud and tenacious group on DU keeps attacking the President and his policies using half-truths and full falsehoods. Again and again. At this point, is it really worth responding to these folks?

The Republicans in Congress have actively blocked every legislative and policy initiative, simply because Obama is President, violating the intent of their purpose under the Constitution, lying like crazy about their agenda to the American people.

Enough.

[Enrique]

1. there are a variety of opinions here n/t

[Frances]

2. Some people are just anti-anything

I have often wondered if the people posting anti-Obama comments are the same people who were anti-Hilary and pro-Obama when the two were competing for votes.

I learned long ago that no one agrees all of the time with people in charge. I certainly don't agree with everything Obama does, but when I compare him to any Republican, I realize how lucky we are not to have had McCain or Romney as President.

[ProSense]

3. Evidently,

the "vast majority of DU" is relative.

Check in if you Support President Barack Hussein Obama
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024536564

[frazzled]

4. At least 80-90%!

As proven by scientific polls conducted by Manny and responded to by his friends!

[Whisp]

6. By his manny friends!

oops, is using the laughing guy still legal here?

[okaawhatever]

22. +10,000 nt

[merrily]

5. Does it matter?

I made that same comment earlier today on Manny's thread about how majority of DU supports Snowden and Greenwald.

I think we may have a tendency to exaggerate the importance in real life of what the alleged majority of Democratic message board posters do or do not support.

[ucrdem]

7. Nice work . . .

thanks!

[MohRokTah]

8. Well, at least the vast majority of Democrats do.

And those on DU who claim he's a Republican are going against the vast majority of Democrats, so that should tell you something about those types of posters.

[MannyGoldstein]

17. The President himself claims he's a 1980s Republican

More like 1990s, I think, but whatever.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

18. Manny, you need a citation for that one

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[MannyGoldstein]

28. OK

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014336360

Night night.

[blackspade]

9. So those of us that disagree with many of his policies should ....

Last edited Thu May 29, 2014, 08:32 AM - Edit history (1)

just shut the fuck up?

Sorry, not going to happen. No half-truths and full falsehoods are needed. The President supplies all of the ammo that we need to mount legitimate critiques of his agenda.

You may not like the critiques, but they are just as valid and important as the laurels that he receives for the good policies that he pushes through.

[berni_mccoy]

12. Disagreeing is fine. Legitimate critique of policy is fine.

But that's not what a small, loud group of individuals engages in here.

[Iliyah]

27. Nope

And I'm one that supports Pres O. Dems - "freedom of speech", the 1st Amendment. But alas, from reading a few posts, as what has happened history wise, freedom of speech can be misinterpreted. Elections have deep consequences.

Go Dems!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

10. Have you addressed the points listed in the attack thread you're referencing? Please...

...link to it.

Thank you.

[berni_mccoy]

11. I do not know what you are talking about?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

13. CUT THE CRAP!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5006297

Isn't that the attack you were referencing? Please, correct me if I am wrong. If I am not, please direct me to your counterpoint for that post.

Thank you.

[geek tragedy]

14. That thread is a joke, it cites stuff like the fact there will be

no single payer under Obama (no fucking shit), Obama releasing a legal memo on why he had al Awlaki killed (now transparency is bad), and a lot of whining over people having to pay for bridges and roads in the west like we in the east already do.

But, it drew hundreds of recs as did a post a few months ago that borrowed a Ted Nugent quote re: President Obama.

[1000words]

21. Don't be mccoy ...

You know exactly what he is talking about.

[geek tragedy]

15. Vast majority of Democrats, yes. Vast majority of DU, fuck no, sorry, this is the place where

talking about the President in exactly the same manner as Ted Nugent can get you hundreds of recs.

Lots of pure hatred of the President here, enough by itself to make it impossible for there to be a vast majority of people here supporting him.

[Cha]

34. Yeah, the poor ODSers in Denial on DU would like this to be a purity board where

only they get the hurl their cheap pot shots at the President.

Just think.. they could spew amongst themselves all day and all night. Rofl.

[BootinUp]

16. What do you burn apart from witches?

[Iliyah]

19. Life

[iamthebandfanman]

23. i take it day by day...

terribly happy hes our president versus any republican, that's for sure.. cant imagine what the last 5 years would have been like under McCain or someone like Romney.. Ack...
but I wont pretend hes the greatest president of all time either.

I don't think weve had a president (beside maybe carter) that wasn't a sell out of some type... in the last 50-60 years.
its like weve been trying to relive a weird version of the late 1800s and early 1900s all over again. icky.

fdr was, and still is, our last genuinely 'left' president..
whether people wanna accept that or not

[Art_from_Ark]

37. LBJ was certainly very much on the left side

Perhaps even moreso than FDR. Vietnam might have been what he is mainly remembered for today, but he was responsible for literally pushing through epoch-making *progressive* legislation in his Great Society, like

The Voting Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act
The Higher Education Act
The Wilderness Act
Medicare

LBJ was also very passionate about trying to end poverty in the United States.

[cali]

24. There are lots of us who support the President and SOME of his policies

and think others are plain awful.

I don't buy my ideas- or politicians- wholesale. It's called discernment.

[okaawhatever]

25. Some people just aren't happy unless they're trying to make everyone else as miserable as they

are. I'm convinced those individuals have been posting overtime here on DU lately. Bashing anyone and anything to get everyone worked up. I support the President, but then I judge a lot of what he does by his campaign promises and not some fantastical version of what I think a Democrat is.

[Iliyah]

29. election time

hate time, hate hate hate. Instead of coming together for the better good of the people of America.

[okaawhatever]

30. +100 nt

[hrmjustin]

26. I may not agree with everything he does but I support our president.

[Flying Squirrel]

31. All I know is, there's no way I'm voting for him again.

[rbrnmw]

41. I'm not going to vote for him again either.

I will however be voting democratic in 2016

[Cha]

32. Thank you for listing all these Progressive Policies of President Obama's,

berni. The ODSers will continue to Proceed.. no matter what. It's their raison d'être.

[nikto]

33. I can only add up all the issues for myself

Let's see...

Out of OBAMA's POLICIES
I SUPPORT:

--Getting out of Iraq/Afghanistan
--Raising minimum wage
--NOT bombing Syria
--Setting aside land for Nat'l Parkland
--Obama's Support of Same-Sex Marriage/Gay Rights (although it was a tad wobbly in 1st term)
--Federal support for renewable energy sources
--Policy of not invading countries for no reason, so much as it has been stated
--Promoting growing gardens (Michele)
--Supporting voting rights via Justice Dept actions
--Letting stupid Donald Trump have it that WH correspondents' dinner (OK, not a policy, but I loved it )

I feel the ACA is maybe the start of a good thing, but needs to add a Public Option,
or transmute to Single-Payer, within 5 years or so, 10 at most, or it could be disaster.

I DO NOT SUPPORT:

--Public Ed privatization/Charter Schools/Race-to-Top/Arnie Duncan
--Drone Killings
--NSA meta-spying of citizens/evesdsropping on Merkel, etc
--Obama's recent statement in support of "American Exceptionalism"
--Non-prosecution of Wall St investors/"Too big to Fail" (for banks)/Geitner's/Paulson's app'ts
--vast numbers of deportations of undocumented Immigrants (increased over Bush)
--Promoting TPP and similar Trade deals that greatly favor elites
--Busting Medical Cannabis dispensaries in California (Holder & DOJ).

=============================================================================================
I may have forgotten something, but that's basically how I sum up Obama's polices for me.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

35. Empirical evidence suggests you are wrong.

Judging by number of posts, a majority do, but not a vast one.

[Rex]

36. Those vocal minorities! Got to crush them under your heel and fast!

It seems funny that the people that use half-truths and falsehoods, don't tend to limit it to one topic. I don't think they even notice.

[BootinUp]

38. more adjectives suggested

vocal, unrealistic, and with questionable motives.

[Number23]

39. "is it really worth responding to these folks?" I said something similar and got a post hidden

That I was surprised that people still read the words of one of the more, errr.... PROLIFIC doom and gloomers here and an exceptionally well known member of my Fan Club alerted and got the post hidden.

No matter how hard these folks bray and act as though they represent some sort of majority (moral or otherwise), they don't. And I agree with you completely that ignoring these people is the best way to deal with them. Either that or use the smiley which apparently brings them bed wetting seizures of agony, judging by the growing campaign to behead anyone who uses it.

[ProSense]

40. A lot can happen in 30 days

Presidential Proclamation -- National Foster Care Month, 2014
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024910923

New price transparency rules for hospitals
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/204868-new-price-transparency-rules-for-hospitals-under-o-care

Employers Must Notify Laid-Off Workers of Health-Care Options, New Rule Says
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024910841

"Obamacare saved consumers billions, new report finds"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024968196

ACLU: An Important Review of Big Data
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024910850

President Obama to Pardon/Commute "Hundreds, Perhaps Thousands" of Nonviolent Drug Offenders
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/21/1293503/-President-Obama-to-Pardon-Commute-Hundreds-Perhaps-Thousands-of-Nonviolent-Drug-Offenders

U.S. Approves Two Huge Solar Projects On Public Lands In California
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024547836

President Obama Announces New Truck Efficiency Standards
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024521194

Obama’s Move On Solar Is Equivalent To A Year Without 80 Million Cars
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024929575

President Obama designates Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024982391

EPA Hails Big Victory At Supreme Court
http://betterment.democraticunderground.com/10024885861

EPA Is On A Winning Streak In Court Battles Over Clean Air

By Rebecca Leber

For the third time in three weeks, a panel of judges has ruled against industry groups’ attempts to overturn Environmental Protection Agency protections against air pollution.

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the EPA’s standards cracking down on soot pollution from vehicles and power plants, siding with the EPA over the National Association of Manufacturers. According to the court decision, “EPA’s decision and explanation are at least reasonable,” given the authority granted by the Clean Air Act.

“Today’s court ruling strongly upholds Americans’ 44-year legal right to breathe clean, healthy air based upon what health and medical science tell us is protective, rather than based upon jaded economics or political interference,” John Walke, Clean Air Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told ThinkProgress. “That right to breathe clean air is under attack in Congress, however, with Republican Senator John Thune just this week introducing a bill to eliminate Americans’ right to breathe clean air and replace it with a weak substitute that polluters and extreme politicians find more to their liking.”

According to Walke, the latest court decision marks the fifth time the industry groups have lost legal challenges to the Obama administration’s EPA air pollution health standards. The four other cases upheld standards that crack down on smog, lead, sulfur dioxide that forms acid rain, and nitrogen oxides that contribute to smog.

Last month, the Supreme Court upheld a regulation that limits pollution crossing state lines and the Court of Appeals sided with the EPA on cutting mercury and air toxics.

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/09/3436221/epa-winning-clean-air-court-battles/

Ben Chou’s Blog

Water Resources Development Act Looks Promising for Making Water Infrastructure More Resilient

The U.S. Senate and House conference committee’s report on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), or the Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA) as it’s known this time around, has been approved by the House and Senate after months of negotiations. As my colleagues Alex Adams and Scott Slesinger have written about, the conference report helps to address some of the problematic provisions that were in the earlier bills passed by the Senate and House. The conference report also includes several provisions related to water infrastructure funding that will help communities become more resilient to droughts, floods, and a range of other extreme events.

As I’ve written about previously, integrating climate resiliency measures into EPA’s State Revolving Funds can better protect public health and critical infrastructure from climate change risks and extreme weather events. Many of the solutions that we’ve been advocating for, such as increased investments in water conservation and maximizing the use of green infrastructure techniques to manage stormwater, are included in the conference report. Several provisions in the report help to modernize these funding programs, specifically the Clean Water SRF (CWSRF), allowing these funds to be better utilized to prepare local communities for climate risks:

• Beginning in FY16, CWSRF project applicants are required to maximize water use efficiency and reuse, as well as energy efficiency. (Sec. 5002)
  
  
• Projects for managing and reusing stormwater, recycling wastewater, and that reduce the need for wastewater treatment through water conservation and reuse measures are now specifically called out by Congress as eligible for funding assistance, codifying a practice that is already allowed under EPA guidance. (Sec. 5003)
  
  
• Wastewater treatment projects applying for assistance must develop and implement a fiscal sustainability plan that, among other things, certifies that the applicant has evaluated and will be implementing water and energy conservation efforts as part of the plan. (Sec. 5003)
  
  
• States are also now specifically allowed to provide additional subsidization through loan forgiveness and negative interest loans for projects that address water-efficiency and energy-efficiency goals, mitigate stormwater runoff, or encourage sustainable project planning and construction. (Sec. 5003)
  
• Apart from the CWSRF, the conference report authorizes EPA to fund municipalities to undertake watershed pilot projects, such as green infrastructure initiatives to reduce stormwater pollution; integrated management plans for surface water, groundwater, and stormwater resources; municipality-wide plans to reduce stormwater discharges to impaired waters; and efforts to increase the climate resiliency of wastewater treatment infrastructure. (Sec. 5011)

These improvements to the Clean Water SRF come on the heels of ground-breaking legislation recently passed by the Illinois General Assembly, which will soon be signed by Governor Quinn. SB 2780 significantly expands the amount of funding that the state can provide to water efficiency, green infrastructure, and other solutions that make our water and wastewater infrastructure more resilient to climate risks.

These recent actions demonstrate that legislators from the state-level to the federal-level recognize that climate change is threatening the health, safety, and well-being of communities across the country. This threat requires greater investments in sustainable solutions like water efficiency and green infrastructure, which provide multiple benefits from making water supplies more resilient to reducing water pollution, among many others. We look forward to working with EPA, Illinois, and other states to implement these infrastructure funding changes, which will help make our nation more resilient to the climate impacts already being felt and those looming in the years and decades ahead.

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/bchou/water_resources_development_ac.html

ACLU: New Department of Education Guidance Offers Clear Protections to Transgender Students [/b
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024886020

White House statement on Adam Smith amendment to close Guantanamo Bay detention facility
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024983568

[berni_mccoy]

43. Thanks ProSense!

[PowerToThePeople]

42. I think your title is false.