Payback Time: Obama Plans On Punishing All Of The Republicans Who Obstructed Him

[herding cats]

It is being reported that President Obama is planning an active agenda for his final two years in office, and part of his plan is to punish all of the Republicans who have obstructed him during his time in office.

According to Politico,

Obama’s turnaround in recent weeks – he’s seized the offensive with a series of controversial executive actions and challenges to leaders in his own party on the budget — can be attributed to a fundamental change in his political mindset, according to current and former aides. He’s gone from thinking of himself as a sitting (lame) duck, they tell me, to a president diving headlong into what amounts to a final campaign – this one to preserve his legacy, add policy points to the scoreboard, and – last but definitely not least – to inflict the same kind of punishment on his newly empowered Republican enemies, who delighted in tormenting him when he was on top.

….

“‘Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose’ — Barack and Bobby McGee,” says former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry. “President Obama is free to take the risks and use executive authority that will either make him a much more popular president with rising approval rates or get him impeached by a Republican Congress that won’t be able to control itself. We can contemplate the possibility of each result while smoking a Cuban cigar.”

Republicans didn’t really think that President Obama was going to let slide their years of obstruction did they? The odds are that the president’s first act of punishment could be a veto of the bill to authorize the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. During his press conference on Friday, the president said, “On most issues, in order for their initiatives to become law, I’m going to have sign off. And that means they have to take into account the issues that I care about, just as I’m going to have to take into account the issues that they care about.” In other words if Republicans think that they can unilaterally jam their agenda down the president’s throat, they are going to be in for a big surprise.

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/20/payback-time-obama-plans-punishing-republicans-obstructed.html

[okaawhatever]

1. Good for him. I think Obama obstructing the GOP is a good thing. The economy is set to take off,

likely for several years, and the Dems need to make sure Obama and the Dem party get credit for it. If the gop is allowed to pass laws during the next two years they will say the turnaround is due to their legislation/budgets. If Obama blocks things the way they did for the first 6 he should get more credit. While the rank and file Republicans will still give the republicans credit, I don't think the independent voters will.

[yeoman6987]

4. Republicans are not in charge yet

However the President passed a budget nobody is thrilled about.

[Kingofalldems]

19. Don't like the President do you?

[alfredo]

41. As president he has to represent all people, even roaring assholes.

He can add signing statements that can blunt the effects of the bill.

[JDPriestly]

59. The president does not

represent all the people. He represents the people who elected him. He works for all the people and has the responsibility to do what he thinks is best for all the people.

But he is elected by a majority of the people to execute the laws that Congress passes and that become law either because of the signature of a president, perhaps his own signature, or passage over a veto, perhaps his own veto.

The president has other duties, but he does not have to represent all the people. In fact no human being could represent all of the American people. We are too diverse; our ideas are too diverse.

[alfredo]

91. When it comes to foreign policy, he does.

Sure, not everybody agrees, but that's OK.

[aquart]

94. NO. The president represents the American people, every fucking one of us, voting or not.

Whether he acts in the best interest of all of us or just a few, that's something else. But the target on his back is for being the one who stands for ALL of us.

[JDPriestly]

96. How do you define "represents"?

George W. Bush never represented me. He could not have. I was diametrically opposed to too much of what he stood for. Same for Reagan.

Neither of those presidents stood for much of anything I support.

rep·re·sent
verb \ˌre-pri-ˈzent\

: to act or speak officially for (someone or something)

: to have a government position in which you speak or act for (a particular group, state, etc.)

: to speak or act for (someone or something) in a court of law

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/represent

The president represents the US on the whole in foreign and military matters, but not the individual people in the US.

When someone truly represents you, they advocate for you. If you are in court, your lawyer represents you, advocates for you.

A Republican president represents Republican interests while in office.

Reagan certainly did that. So did the Bushes, Nixon and Ford. They did not represent the interests of all the American people but rather the interests of those who paid for their campaigns, voted for them and supported them and put them in office.

[MADem]

93. You would have preferred a government shutdown, then? nt

[Ykcutnek]

2. I respect him now more than I ever have.

As a Millennial, some of the things he does that seem controversial with older portions of the left don't bother me too much. I don't agree with him on everything, but I do on most issues and I respect how he's dragging all of us into the reality of the 21st Century and treating ideologies of the 20th with the disdain they deserve.

His leadership style is rooted in realism and that drives idealistic people crazy, including myself at times.

[Vattel]

8. What 20th Century leftist ideologies does he treat with disdain?

[cheapdate]

23. Ideologies...not leftist ideologies.

You might have misread.

[Vattel]

55. okay, so where do Millennials and older leftists disagree?

[hopemountain]

48. racism, prejudice of lgbt, class ism, misogyny, injustice, elitism, greed...

for starters.... disrespect of others, pollution, raping and pillaging the earth without regard to the consequences, etc.

[Vattel]

54. those aren't leftist ideologies

[hopemountain]

84. nothing like convoluting the op

[Vattel]

90. Geez, you misread my question but I am the guilty one.

The original poster said that, as a Millennial, s/he is less opposed to certain things Obama has done than some older leftists. In the same sentence s/he refers to old ideologies that Obama has disdain for. Odd that the sentence would begin by talking about disagreements with the left and then end up talking about disagreements with the right, but whatever. I am just curious where s/he feels Millennial leftists and older leftists disagree. Is that okay with you?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

58. what are the issues the older portion of the left have problems with?

Seriously...I'm not snarking. I'm curious as to what the generational divides are.

[whathehell]

72. His willingness to cut Social Security and his apparent empathy for Wall St?

Seriously, if those are the issues the "young left" have problems with,

I have problems with them.

[DFW]

64. I spent an hour with him 2 years ago. Your assessment is accurate

That is exactly the impression I got, and it hasn't changed in the meantime.

It was all off the record at the time, but I think I can say this after 2 years: on Syria, for example, saying why he wanted to avoid getting involved on the ground at all costs: He asked the Russians in 2010 if they wanted to coordinate an efforts to calm things down in Syria. They told us to fuck off (he put it a little more diplomatically, but that's what he meant). Two years later (i.e. 2012) things had degenerated into a nasty, complicated civil war with about five different factions, ALL of which hate us. Much as it pained him to see the Syrian civilian population suffer, he saw no advantage in getting more of our people killed and spending a few billion to achieve nothing. As it turned out, he was exactly right.

[Bagsgroove]

3. Barack and Bobby McGee lol

‘Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose’ — Barack and Bobby McGee,” says former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry. “President Obama is free to take the risks and use executive authority that will either make him a much more popular president with rising approval rates or get him impeached by a Republican Congress that won’t be able to control itself. We can contemplate the possibility of each result while smoking a Cuban cigar.”

God I miss Mike McCurry. Perfectly stated.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

43. That was going to be my contribution to this thread...

"God I miss Mike McCurry." Subsequent press secretaries have been duds.

[calimary]

65. Welcome to DU, Bagsgroove!

Glad you're here! Barack and Bobby McGee! Love it! Hey, I'll take any excuse for backbone I can get. Too bad President Obama is only embracing this mentality in his last two years in office. We could have used this straight off the starting block. He tried too hard to meet them halfway, and for far too long. Shoulda kicked 'em in the teeth in the first week.

[randr]

5. As far as the Senate goes

the Republicans will be far more vulnerable than the Democrats were this year. We have an enormous chance to not only take back the Senate but to ensure we hold it for a far foreseeable future. We need to bring back the leadership of Howard Dean and every state counts campaign.

[lpbk2713]

6. Time for the "we are better than that" finger wavers to chime in.

Gobama.

[Politicalboi]

7. LOL!

Or the "Both sides do it".

[irisblue]

13. we are better then most Republicans and all Liberians

[BillZBubb]

16. What did the Liberians ever do to you?

[Dr Hobbitstein]

21. They inspired Michael Jackson to write that terrible "Liberian Girl" song...

Aside from that, I assume they're decent people.

[irisblue]

28. crap! spelling gets me again

libertarians, we are better then then

[hughee99]

22. Yes, those awful people who would prefer to see

This president spend last two years in office pushing things to make the country better rather than exacting revenge against individuals in office.

[Danascot]

9. Not necessarily either/or

"... either make him a much more popular president with rising approval rates or get him impeached"

Could be both.

[99Forever]

10. Excellent.

I would be thrilled if this happens.

[mountain grammy]

11. At the press conference, a reporter asked a question about the keystone XL

including saying that the president had lately been minimizing the benefits of the pipeline. The President corrected her, saying, I've not been minimizing the benefits of the keystone XL, I've been describing them. Bravo, Mr. Pres.

[former9thward]

12. Odd, the the OP and its link did not suggest anything that was punishment.

Vetoes are not punishment. They Rs expect that and will use them to campaign on.

[ohheckyeah]

18. From the article at the OP link:

last but definitely not least – to inflict the same kind of punishment on his newly empowered Republican enemies, who delighted in tormenting him when he was on top.

[former9thward]

29. Its not punishment.

What exactly is the punishment?

[bvf]

35. Right, but Congressional Republicans will see it as such.

That's a bonus. Fuck 'em.

[OldRedneck]

14. About goddam time

In 2008, I hoped I had voted for a Southside Chicago tough guy. Finally, he shows up.

Take no prisoners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stainless]

15. It's About Damned Time!

For Obama to go after obstructionists in both parties.

[hue]

17. Is WI included in the bucket?? WI needs an end to this 1% take over!! HELP!

WI needs the federal investigation to uncover the slimy, corrupt RW psychopathic oligarchy operation here! We need indictments, fair trials & appropriate sentences!

[ewagner]

75. I'm with you hue....

we Cheeseheads have conceded far too much to the right wing...now, the state is run by Robin Voss and Scott Fitzgerald for their paymasters...

gotta fix that.

[KingCharlemagne]

20. As was said in the Vietnam War era, "Payback is a

Last edited Sat Dec 20, 2014, 09:48 PM - Edit history (2)

motherfucker."

I wish President Obama would say, "Fuck you" just once to those motherfuckers.

[freshwest]

38. You never saw this clip?

For BOG Members: Gee, Obama caught saying what he really thought in 2011. I heartily approve!

CNN: President Obama caught on open mic

Uploaded on Apr 15, 2011 by CNN

The White House is downplaying some behind-the-scenes remarks made about the budget battle that were caught on tape.

The description is wrong. The narrator acts as if this was a 'gotcha' moment, when it is anything but.

Even the video doesn't fit the description when it says, 'The White House is downplaying...' since they said they had nothing to apologize for.

This leads to their meme that 'Obama is weak,' or 'arrogant.' How very GOP of them!

But then, CNN was taken over by the tabloid guy who's done nothing but feed viewers BS for years.

This is same crew who had talks with Beck about bringing him to prime time on CNN this week.

[KingCharlemagne]

42. I don't have cable, so had not seen this particular clip (although I have

dim memories of the whole brouhaha).

Boy those CNN types can make a mountain out of a molehill (but note they never once mention McConnell's plan from Day 1 to obstruct and subvert the normal functioning of government).

Still, it was nice to see Obama get pissed and show a moment of candor. Obama has every right to be arrogant relative to those racist Republican pissants.

Thanks for posting!

[Duval]

24. K&R nt

[Cha]

25. Mahalo herding cats!

[global1]

26. PBO Needs To Get In Front Of More Issues That The People....

support before the Repug congress takes hold. That way anything that the Repugs twart will be blamed directly on them.

[Fred Sanders]

27. "Punish" is the wrong word, he does not strike me as the punishing kind. He is a teacher and he will

be doing some teaching and lecturing and some caning for the unruly, perhaps.

"Punishing" Republicans by vetoing XL pipeline legislation that has to be approved by law by the Stste Department? How about just plain old "good policying"?

When your name is Politico, everything has only a political angle, even when there is none.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

85. I love the idea of punishing, myself. They can be thankful it will be only political punishment

They can be thankful we don't act like Karl Rove and they aren't framed innocently and sent to prison for no god damn reason.

The American Taliban who have attacked this country can be thankful Obama is a man who has had to learn patience...

[hopemountain]

86. you are exactly right, fred sanders! nt.

[jtuck004]

30. Then gonna stuff the banks so full of money they explode. That's teach 'em n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

51. HA!

[napkinz]

31. :)

[yuiyoshida]

52. I love this gif...

Always wondered how it was made,..

[Joey Liberal]

32. This is the Obama that we voted for!

He's the come back kid!

[woo me with science]

34. When do we get the Bill of Rights back?

And, no, the vast majority of these outrages and assaults on the Constitution had nothing to do with Republican obstructionism.

The use of the word "Centrism" for THESE policies is Orwellian as hell
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025246398#post11

"Centrism" to me carries a deliberate connotation of being "in the center"..in other words, not extreme in either direction. Ditto for the word "moderate," which is constantly used to describe Third Way politicians whose policies are anything but moderate in the traditional sense of the word.

Austerity and attacks on safety nets in a country that has already devastated its middle class are opposed by over 80 percent of Americans across party lines, yet these Third Way economic positions are nevertheless described as "centrist," as though they fell in the mainstream of American opinion. Policies coming out of our government now routinely bear little resemblance to what people have repeatedly stated in polls that they want, and neoliberal politicians lie their way through campaigns because they realize how unpopular their positions really are...yet we persist in calling them "centrists."

Secret laws, secret courts, "Kill Lists"/indefinite detention without due process, and mass surveillance in the United States of America are extreme violations of our Constitution and should not be considered "moderate" positions in any sense of the word. They are extreme, even fascistic policies, yet the politicians who espouse them are permitted by us to describe themselves as "moderates."

I think we need to start using the words, "corporatist," "extreme," and even "fascist" to describe what is happening in this country under the corporatist/neoconservative/neoliberal/Third Way agenda. We are witnessing a malignant merger of state and corporations and the active dismantling of important Constitutional protections. The corporate state is pouring our tax dollars into propaganda and marketing for their agenda, and IMO the vast majority of Americans, while aware of their own economic pain, have little understanding of the peril facing our democratic institutions and basic Constitutional protections.

We use words that suggest the current neoliberal and neocon policies are business as usual in America...just another flavor of policies that Americans can trust still fall safely within the boundaries of a democratic, constitutional, representative political system. They are "centrist" or "moderate." But they really aren't...and I think we need to adjust our labels to drive home the seriousness of the crisis we face.

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Obama DOJ drags feet at accountability on Deepwater Horizon
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/04/22/doj-sits-on-its-thumbs/

Obama DOJ Allows Bank of America to Deduct $12 Billion of $17 Billion Settlement
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5427407

Exporting Corruption (Asset Forfeiture), DOJ Looks for Lucrative Overseas Partnerships
http://www.forfeiturereform.com/exporting_corruption_doj_looks_for_lucrative_overseas_partnerships

Obama/Holder Leak Investigations Outrageous and Unprecedented
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/05/obama_s_justice_department_holder_s_leak_investigations_are_outrageous_and.html

The DoJ under Obama/Holder refused to prosecute anyone for torture...but Holder had no problem prosecuting a CIA agent who leaked the name of a torturer
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022846735
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/us/former-cia-officer-pleads-guilty-in-leak-case.html?_r=0

Too Big to Jail: Letting criminal banks and bankers off the hook
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024906501
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017201343
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025558689
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014571503
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025503531

Obama Justice Department Sues Telecom for Challenging National Security Letter
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014170619

Obama DOJ Argues ‘No Constitutional Right Not to Become an Informant’
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10025309330

Operation Choke Point- The DOJ using banks to shut down industries they don't like
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024880788

Obama/Holder DOJ Looks To Overturn Ruling That Would Apply Fair Sentencing Act Retroactively
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023334909

How Eric Holder Facilitated the Most Unjust Presidential Pardon in American History
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023253563

Holder and Obama Dishonesty On Mandatory Minimums, the Drug War and Mass Incarceration
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023492539

US & NSA Accused of (Holder defends) Criminal Privacy Violations in Dozens of Nations
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023086724

Obama DOJ defends NSA's Associational Tracking Program; No justification even in Patriot Act
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023455121

US declares socialists Freedom Road a terrorist organization
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2010/09/raid-s29.html

ACLU sues as DOJ ignores surveillance transparency law
https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/aclu-sues-doj-ignores-surveillance-transparency-law

Obama Justice Department has launched twice as many Espionage Act prosecutions against domestic leakers as all previous administrations combined.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022276941

The only official punished by Obama DOJ for the illegal NSA program was the one who discussed it. The same is now true of torture.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/obama-war-on-whistleblowers-purpose

DOJ Drone Memo revealed: Government can overrule 4th amendment
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11784727

Heavy Redactions in DOJ Memo leave doubts on Data Surveillance Program
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016101952

Justice Department And NSA Memos Proposing Broader Powers For NSA To Collect Data
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023114180

DOJ's outrageously aggressive prosecution of internet activist, Aaron Swartz
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/al-franken-eric-holder_n_2934627.html

Under Obama DOJ, Bradley Birkenfeld, UBS Whistleblower, Finds Himself in Federal Prison
http://www.cnbc.com//id/41257962

Obama/Holder DOJ sided with Rove in politically motivated prosecution of fr. AL governor, Don Siegelman,
Then, the person who handled the paperwork, got onto the Supreme Court.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Elena-Kagan--Willing-Acco-by-Michael-Collins-100622-971.html

[MannyGoldstein]

77. The vote was closer than I expected.

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service

Mail Message
On Sun Dec 21, 2014, 06:35 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

When do we get the Bill of Rights back?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5986390

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is spam. There is one sentence of commentary, and scores and scores of links in a huge, run on post that took me forever to scroll though on my phone. Most of those links have NOTHING to do with the OP, and are just a cut and paste job of the worst, most biased CT around. This poster has been doing this on thread after thread, pushing the envelope. I get that the poster hates BHO, but spamming the board with these types of posts makes reading the threads difficult. Please hide, and show the poster that it's one thing to disagree, but it's another to make actually reading the thread a laborious task. That is the definition of trolling: making the DU experience unpleasant.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun Dec 21, 2014, 06:43 AM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Post is too long, possibly irrelevant (I was too bored by it to really check), but is this censorable? Can't the annoying poster just be put on ignore?
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: DU has to get a grip on these conspiracy theory types.It's really making this site look nutty.
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Hide it? This post deserves a DU Medal of Honor.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Yes, it is long, rambling, with a lot ridiculous links, and the poster shows misunderstanding on what Centrism means in a dynamic political system. But I do not see a reason to hide it. Just don't read it.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Knowledge. Too laborious to read? Nonsense. Laborious is living without these protections. Struggle your way through them and learn.
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[project_bluebook]

36. I will believe it when I see it

and I haven't seen it yet. Signing the repug spending bill, AKA, Shafta Americana bill, doesn't inspire much hope.

[Ryan Fitzomething]

37. Let's Hope He Carries Through

There used to be Republicans that I admired. None today, however.

[Voice for Peace]

39. I'm very glad for his new approach but

this:

He’s gone from thinking of himself as a sitting (lame) duck, they tell me, to a president diving headlong into what amounts to a final campaign – this one to preserve his legacy, add policy points to the scoreboard, and – last but definitely not least – to inflict the same kind of punishment on his newly empowered Republican enemies, who delighted in tormenting him when he was on top.

I would bet money if I had it that Obama is not motivated
by the urge to inflict punishment, even on the Republicans.

[alfredo]

40. I used to box with my neighbor. When he got mad, he'd flail around. That opened him

to jabs, body shots, and uppercuts.

I wonder how easy it will be to make the Teapublicans flail around totally out of control?

[randome]

44. Look at them flailing over Cuba.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[alfredo]

46. Congress is out of town, away from the cameras.

I want them so mad they impeach him or charge him with treason. You know, silly shit.

[azureblue]

87. That's already happening

They were so sure they had Obama on the ropes and they could push him around, that they got lost in their rhetoric and failed to see (because they are ideologues) that Obama was just waiting for the right time. He knows the weaknesses of his detractors and he is already using those weaknesses against them. See, that's the problem with being an ideologue - you will make declarations that don't have much to do with reality, and are often made in a vacuum. So, once some time has passed, they have a way of coming back to bite you in the butt.

[alfredo]

92. He's pretty good at Rope a Dope.

[Skittles]

45. oh NOW he gets tough?

[ancianita]

47. I feel you.

[Helen Borg]

67. No, just tough talk.

[Skittles]

69. he always gives great speeches

[azureblue]

88. have you ever boxed?

or been in a martial arts fight? Or chess, for that matter? The secret to winning is to wait for your opponent to show you his moves, and for them to gain false confidence. If you want to win, you do it in a way that will reduce the chances of getting yourself hurt, so you protect yourself and learn, plot your response, and wait for that single moment of weakness. President Obama has these yahoos all sussed out, and it's my belief that his plans are to get them to fighting one another until they destroy themselves. At least, that's where things seem to be headed.. Cuba is only the beginning. I think we'll see Obama moving swiftly on issues that he wants to address before he leaves office, and he will move from one to the next so quickly that the fake outrage cycle won't be able to keep up. And I think the GOP leadership knows this -that is why they went full bore for impeachment, hoping they can hog tie the President until he is out of office. But they have a problem - he hasn't done anything impeachable, and their years of ranting about the President have made them in a a bunch of boys who cried "Wolf". The clue is how crazy and increasingly ineffectual Fox news has become. They are spewing crazy talk night and day, getting more desperate, and in the process, sounding desperate and crazy, and the Foxholes are taking notice that maybe it's time to bail before Fox sinks.

[Skittles]

97. omg not chess again, boxing, martial arts or whatever the fuck

just stop

[yuiyoshida]

49. do it to it...

Kick some ass, Mr. President!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

50. He could start with a raid on Bush and Cheney to send them to the Hague.

[PeteSelman]

53. I thought this guy was supposed to be smart.

Kiss their asses and bend over backwards for them when you have all the power but look to punish them when you have no power.

That's ass backwards.

[still_one]

56. "According to politico" is all I need to see to doubt it, along with quotes from former "clinton

press secretary McCurry"

[MFrohike]

57. All smoke and no fire

That's a comment on the articles, not the president. They speculate he's going to somehow punish his enemies by maybe vetoing a bill, with no mention of which enemies will be affected. Great work, guys. Real credit to journalists everywhere. Oh, when you speculate that he's going to start going after the other party, it's a good idea if your strongest examples of his combativeness don't involve him opposing his own party. It sort of undercuts your whole Team Red vs. Team Blue narrative.

Yeesh, what crap.

[defacto7]

60. Well, That sounds like

a good start! Yes, a very good start..... . . . . . . . . hmm.

[MadDAsHell]

61. "An active agenda" to punish political enemies...

That's what my 2012 door-to-door GOTV effort gets me for the final 24 months??

[Bucky]

62. When you read something that starts with "According to Politico"...

You need to break out the salt grains before reading any further.

[AndreaCG]

63. Exactly what I was thinking

[Helen Borg]

66. Yeah, sure...

[greymattermom]

68. All he needs to do is give them what they asked for.

Less government spending. In THEIR state or district.

[ChosenUnWisely]

70. If only President Obama acted like this starting on January 20, 2009

oh well, not much can be done over lost and wasted time.

Too little too late if you ask me but my expectations of the results matching the rhetoric from this administration are pretty low now anyway.

Guess we should be happy for the crumbs we do get in his last few months in office.

Yeah Team!

[IHateTheGOP]

78. Sadly, you are right on

It took him a long time to realize the resolve, and lack of patriotism, of his adversaries.

[loyalsister]

71. Obama's greatest failure

may turn out to be meeting the demands of a lame duck president. His recent actions (Cuba, China environmental agreement, and especially the judicial appointments that set up an opportunity for SC appointments for the next president is huge.
More to come? I hope so. I think there's a good chance that he truly is the guy who said "people go to church and watch little league in the blue states. And, yeah we have gay friends in red states."
One thing that has become clearer is how little people care about others in this country. His recent actions may be consequential, but I think it may be about more than his legacy. He knows most Democrats are correct. I think he would love to prove his belief that we have more in common than many think. And, he has said that he wants to leave a better world for future generations that include his daughters, all of their offspring.....
I really hope that we will see an activist president. He cares that there is a very real movement happening. I really think he may want to be a part of it in a way he can.

[HoosierCowboy]

73. Let's call it...

...The " Make Rushs' mud veins pop out campaign.

[Thespian2]

74. We will know the answer

if he approves the Keystone XL pipeline and the TPP, both of which will continue the destruction of America. He has already pushed for and approved a federal budget that once again screws the taxpayer and kisses Wall Street banksters, especially Citi, squarely in the ass.
Good start at getting back at those Republicans. Give them exactly what they want.

[IHateTheGOP]

76. Obama, best president in modern times

This president will go down in history as one of the best ever. Period.

[blackspade]

79. I'll believe it when it happens...

That said, the framing is such that he looks like a vindictive black man getting back at his tormentors. That is how it will be framed if/when he vetoes bills.

[bowens43]

80. too little too late, he kissed their asses for years

[madokie]

81. kick 'm Mr. President

and once you have'm on the floor kick the living shit out of them. Make 'm realize that they don't want to fuck with you again. Thats how you stop a bully, whip their ass

[benld74]

82. Gobama GO

[karynnj]

83. I would guess it is far more that he is doing things he things need to be done --- and it is the WAY

he is going about that which has changed. At this point, with full Republican control of the legislature, he has to depend on executive actions and his primary control of foreign policy. I think Curry is on target with his Me and Bobby McGee comment.

However, for the article's main point, I think only those who see governing (as well as politics) as a game see this as "punishing" anyone. In fact, that POV really diminishes what is done.

In the last 2 months, Obama has made big, substantive changes on immigration, climate change with the EPA executive actions and the China pact, and the opening of Cuba. Every one of these things are things that should have been on a Democratic President's agenda. In fact, both the climate change and the immigration changes were impossible for a 59 Senator Congress to pass because of political agendas of some Democrats. The same was likely true of Cuba, where there were no Obama initiatives that failed, but Menendez held up many appointments over wanting harder rules on Cuba.

Going back to Curry's quote - could it be that until the 2014 elections, Obama as head of the Democratic party as well as President, was held back because others argued his moves could hurt the party. The difference now is that for at least a half a year, he has not been accorded the respect of the party as their leader. Many were already looking at 2016. Whether HRC becomes the nominee or not, in a year or so, Obama will REALLY not be seen as the future of the party, but a respected 2 term President. The difference is that in the next election, the platform will be that of the nominee -- and she (or he) can distance herself/himself from Obama.

The takeaway from that is the same -- Obama is free to do what he things are best for the country, the world and his legacy.

[elleng]

89. Good, but 'punish?'

[YarnAddict]

95. Will you still be cheering for this

two years from now, when we are awaiting the inauguration of President-Elect Cruz, or Paul, or (gulp) Walker?

Look, most of us might think the things he has done are good things, but the rest of the country, probably not so much.

The electorate overwhelmingly rejected President Obama's agenda in November, and now it seems like he is just poking a finger in their eyes. You know what the reaction is gong to be in November 2016? The people will vote for a Republican--any Republican--in order to poke a finger in the eye of the Democratic Party.

[harrose]

98. If only he could punish them by throwing them all in jail.

What I wouldn't give to see every single Rethug and conservative in this country rotting in a jail. If I can't have that, I'll settle for just the Rethug congresscritters.

[Hopemeister]

99. This should not surprise anyone

who has been paying attention. The bully is about to experience what it feels like to get bullied and I guarantee you
they're not going to like.