Has Obama Completely Abandoned Attacking Republicans on HCR?

[Vinnie From Indy]

As far as I can tell, the main targets of the White House have been Democrats. I am a bit stunned at how quickly the Obama White House gave up attacking GOP members for their stand on most everything. One would think that even modest criticism of the party of NO would yield dividends for Democratic candidates at all levels. Why is this White House not pounding long and hard on the GOP for their obstructionism? Is there no Republican Senator from a purple district that could be pounded on?

It seemed that Obama did very well by attacking the GOP during the campaign. Why has he stopped and turned to attacking Democrats?

[spanone]

1. Obama knows NONE of the thugs are gonna vote for it anyway...why bother

[iceman66]

3. They SHOULD be called out for their obstructionism,

by Obama AND Democratic Congressional leaders.

The Republicans are clearly not acting in good faith here, and our leaders act as if it's just business as usual.

[spanone]

4. it IS business as usual...they never act in good faith and they always obstruct

[Kahuna]

7. Obama hasn't called them out? WRONG! He has. Frequently. But

you're entitled to ignore the facts in favor of scenario you favor.

[Vinnie From Indy]

13. Sure he has offered criticisms, but nowhere near what he did while campaigning

It would seem to me that as our economic situation continues to deteriorate that attackinig the GOP for their obstructionism would a daily thing for this White House. What I see now is a tepid acknowledgement that they are obstructionists and that's about it.

Also, thanks for the permission to ignore facts. I was kind of sketchy as to my authorization in that regard! :)

[Kahuna]

17. He's governing now and far too busy to address every single lie

and criticism even from his own side.

[Tippy]

16. It's up to their constitutans to clean their clocks.

And I believe some will do just that ...Been following a few polls and Congressional Republicans, they are losing support of their constitutants hand over fist...

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. That is exactly the point!

Why is there not a constant drumbeat of criticism against the GOP thugs? It is what won him the election and by not attacking the GOP, he is not doing any Democrats running for office any favors. People need a constant diet of the truth about the GOP and it seems to me that the Obama White House has ceased to make hay from GOP obstructionism in favor of beating on Democrats.

[KharmaTrain]

2. His Problems Aren't The Rushpublicans...

It's dealing with his own party...and the "independent" from Connecticut. My bets are he's also still talking with Snowe and Collins. No need to trash rushpublicans...he's not going for your vote, he's going for theirs.

[Vinnie From Indy]

10. I would offer that Obama owes the Democratic Party this service

It is not just about Obama. He has a bully pulpit and he should use it for bullying. He should use it to continually draw stark distinctions between the GOP and the Democratic Party at every turn. Even the excuse of bipartisanship falls by the wayside in the face of TOTAL opposition to his policies. I thought they were the bad guys?

[KharmaTrain]

14. Why Give The GOOP The Opening...

I agree with Ed Schultz who thinks Obama should fly to Nebraska and hold a rally in Ben Nelson's backyard. Then go to Little Rock and hammer on Blanche Lincoln and then off to New Orleans. This is where the game is now being played. Going after the rushpublicans gives them the opportunity to hit back (not that they won't do so anyway)...and allow them to distort, lie and distract, pulling things further off track.

The campaign this President is waging is for a handful of Senate votes...most are Democrats with Snowe being the lone rushpublican still "in the loop". It's about getting 60 votes to get this thing out of the Senate...nothing more, nothing less.

[Vinnie From Indy]

18. I agree

If he wants this shitty bill passed, he should go to Nebraska and Arkansas. I do think however that it is his role and the role of the DNC to relentlessly pound on the GOP everyday. That is not simply an ideological idea, it is good politics. GW Bush and his cronies went so far as to call the opposition "traitors" and "un-American".

In short, if Obama refuses to continually frame the debate about the differences between the GOP and Democrats, he cedes that ground to the likes of Limbaugh, Beck and the GOP spinmeisters.

[KharmaTrain]

20. I Agree...That's Message Control

I've been critical of how this Administration let the GOOP machine...hate radio and faux noise take the lead on this debate through the teabaggers. They caught the Democrats totally off guard, especially inside the White House and have been playing defense ever since...it's what put them into the position to compromise so much away.

The DNC has been all but invisible since Dr. Dean left (can anyone name the chairman??) and Rahm seems to spend more time trashing liberals and progressives than to be the "Karl Rove of the left". Remember, boooosh didn't do the dirty work, Rove and Cheney did. But it has to be a message war...to come up with "bumper sticker" slogans to counter those in opposition and to simplify both the message and the messangers. It's a tactic the GOOP has down to a science and the corporate media eats with gusto.

Cheers...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. How can one abandon something he never did or intended to do?

Instead of even waiting for their demands, he negotiated by caving, early and often. the slightest bit of spine by the WH early on would have made a huge difference here.

[Jamastiene]

8. He's "reaching across the aisle."

aka giving them everything they want and treating us like dirt.

[elocs]

9. If the Democrat and Republican parties truly covered the political spectrum

you would be just as likely to find liberal Republicans ("liberal" within the context of being a Republican) who might support a Democratic bill or idea as you would find conservative Democrats who would support a Republican position. Both liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats are considered by very many in their parties to be Rinos and Dinos respectively.

Unfortunately the Republican party has been concentrated down to the conservative and and the very conservative and the hard core YOYOs (as long as I have mine, You're On Your Own). Really no middle or liberal wing left to the Republican party to mine for support for Democratic bills or positions.

[jaxx]

11. Who would have thought he'd be spending most of his time fending off

his own party?

Think about it.

[Kahuna]

19. Exactly. And after less than a year. Dems deserve everything they are

about to bring about. What idiots. They learned nothing from 8 years of bushco and repuke control. They are ready after less than a year to abandon support of the party and the president because in less than a year, they haven't received everything they want. They don't even realize that the reason they haven't made progress is their own fault because they fail to have a cohesive message. Nobody wants to hear what every single representative has to say about and issue. It only causes confusion and an opportunity for the gop and m$m to distort the message because the message is never clear.

[tularetom]

12. Yes, and on pretty much everything else as well

I understand he wants to appear above the battles, but his supporters need a psychological lift from time to time and nothing would provide one more than a rousing name calling finger pointing pep talk from the cheerleader in chief.

[Vinnie From Indy]

15. It would seem that directing Americans anger against the GOP from the bully pulpit

would help Democrats at all levels trying to get elected.

[ima_sinnic]

21. feh. the fence-sitting, wishy-washy goal of "bipartisanship" is more important

thanks to the obsession with "bipartisanship," the Democratic and repuke parties have managed to merge into a single-party system controlled by big money and profits. No matter which party is in power, the structure is in place to continue business as usual--no harm, no foul.

We are being played like the total fools we are--watch, in 2012, the "republican's" useful idiot Sarah Palin will run as their presidential candidate because they know that it will drive the huge majority screaming to the polls to vote against her--presumably for the Democrat, Obama. It's a win-win for repukes and the current pathetic crop of losers calling themselves "democrats" either way. Sorry, I ain't playing their stupid game anymore. Only a third party, with teabaggers as well as progressives united against our common enemy--the corporate plunderers and traitors--will change this (along with an end to corporate sponsorship of elections, of course).

[debbierlus]

22. Cmon - THIS IS A ONE PARTY SYSTEM - the Republicans just played their role

The political problem came for Obama because he wouldn't exert pressure on DEMS, let alone Republicans.

The HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY wrote the bill.

The President and the Congress are their bitches.

You seem to still be laboring under the delusion that this is about the people.

CLUE PHONE

[Jackpine Radical]

23. Yeah. Pretty much what I was gonna say.

Why attack the Republicans? They're doing their job. It's those Goddamn progressives that are threatening to jam up the system. (Fortunately, the threats seem pretty much empty.)