It's time to STOP saying "folks aren't patient enough"

[Ken Burch]

It's never really been about what ACTIVISTS expect.

It's about what the people expect.

And what they expect is for a new administration to be different FROM THE START.

They expect boldness and courage.

They expect confidence in convictions.

When an administration shows neither, it doesn't survive.

The disappointment is the people's disappointment...not the ACTIVIST's disappointment.

Even if you think you can dismiss the activists...you CAN'T dismiss the people. Nor can you DISS the people.

They want full employment put first(even before "market values").

They want the bankers to be disciplined and humbled for their arrogance...and NOW.

And they want healthcare policy that DOESN'T enrich Big Forma.

That's why we're losing the people.

It's not rocket science.

It's just about getting real and being strong.

And NOBODY has the right to tell the AMERICAN PEOPLE they aren't being patient enough, when we OWE them a Second New Deal to end this recession(and we didn't owe the banks a damn thing).

If you fight you win, if you fudge you fail.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I could not have said this better.

So what happened to Obama?

He seemed so strong, so eager to get started being President.

I just don't get it.

He still has time to turn it around, but I don't know if he will....or if he can.

K&R

[Ken Burch]

2. It's getting harder and harder to AVOID believing he was brought in

to stop us getting a populist nominee of some sort.

He has until this November to prove who's side he's REALLY on.

He needs to admit that bipartisanship never existed and that centrism could never have worked.

He needs to get his mind out of the suites and back in the streets.

[SammyWinstonJack]

25. +1

I believe that is exactly what he was brought in for. And it worked and now we are screwn. x(

[snake in the grass]

54. By November it will be too late.

He really needs to come to work now.

[Greyhound]

3. Never mind. K&R

[EmeraldCityGrl]

4. I'm starting to develop some really crazy scenarios regarding Obama.

Something is very, very wrong. One thought is he's having a crisis of confidence.

That the job of POTUS has really frightened and overwhelmed him. If that were

the case he's simply not a strong enough an individual to lead this country.

Another thought is that there are power brokers pulling his strings and he

is struggling to find some way to communicate to us that he simply doesn't have

the power we believe the Commander in Chief inherently has. I especially think this

when he say's "this is not about me, this is about you." No, it's about YOU fighting

for the working people of this country. It's about you doing the people's business.

He seems disengaged, he lacks fire in his belly. What I thought was a calm, unflappable

pragmatic personality is beginning to look like disinterest and a tendency to focus on the

mundane and small issues rather than the big policy changes he promised before the election.

I can't put my finger on it, but whatever it is it's scaring the hell out of me the more I see it.

[johnaries]

5. Sorry, but folks AREN'T patient enough.

You can see it in every aspect of modern society. It's called "instant gratification" and it is pervasive. It' why people get over their heads in credit crd debt, because they can't wait to buy what they want until they can afford it.

And I've got news for you: Real, lasting change TAKES TIME.

So, Mr. Wrightnow, take a deep breath and try to exercise a little patience. Rome wasn't built in a day, ya know. :)

[fasttense]

11. So, you want the American people to give President Obama

the benefit of the doubt and wait?

I say the President has all the benefits he need.

[sendero]

13. Yawn..

... in order for time to improve anything, one has to be moving in the right direction to begin with. Obama is not. I feel to see how more time will fix anything when we're DOING ALL THE WRONG THINGS.

[choie]

24. sendero, you're absolutely right

(for example) How is keeping detainees in Guantanamo without trial moving in the right direction? If Obama was a republican, you can be sure that those same people who are making excuses for his actions or lack of action, would be screaming.

[treestar]

44. To think Obama is moving in a wrong direction you have to be a republican

sorry but I don't see how else one can spin that one.

Saying he is not going fast enough is one thing. Or that he's not going far enough. But to claim it is the wrong direction one has to be a right winger.

[PufPuf23]

79. The Senate HCR is a nightmare

Try the calculator that Frenchie provides (from Kaiser).

Many will end up in medicaid if not qualified by age or otherwise for medicare.

Look at the requirements for medicaids regarding assets.

Look at the movement by commission to decrease medicaid, medicare and SSI.

Look at Zeke Rahms proposals for ending enrollment in medicaid and medicare.

It calls for bleeding many older Americans into poverty to get health care.

Obama changed his mind from his campaign to be mild.

[jgraz]

6. And you have to stop saying it RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!!111oneoneone!!

NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW !!!!!!!!!!!

[Ken Burch]

31. NO...what you have to do is treat the people with respect, right now

Nothing I've said is childish.

And you know perfectly well that telling people to "be patient" serves no purpose and just gives the RIGHT the advantage.

[jgraz]

42. No, you need to develop a sense of humor, right now.

Just a dumb joke, no comment on you intended.

[Ken Burch]

64. OH puhleeze...it's about the meme that those who are trying to engage Obama from the left

are the equivalent of spoiled children and thus undeserving of respect.

And it's about the assumption that those who keep saying "patience, patience" are the "only grown-ups" and the only ones who deserve to be taken seriously.

Comedy is great. Snark that seeks to disenfranchise isn't.

[jgraz]

67. Um.. Ken? I'm one of the "spoiled children". Ask anybody.

Like I said, it was a dumb joke. I should have realized how it would be taken. In my defense, look at the posting time. :blush:

[Ken Burch]

73. OK....I get what' you're saying...

Sometimes it's hard to know where people are coming from. Sorry.

[jgraz]

75. Y'know, at 2:30 in the morning, it seemed HIGH-larious.

Now I'm not sure why. :shrug:

[Ken Burch]

76. Happens to us all.

Have a nice week!

[midnight]

7. Yes.... I will have that second new deal- toot sweet.....

[elocs]

8. So, by simply NOT saying it does that mean it is not true?

Because if that's the case I want to have people STOP saying I am overweight, then I will be thin.

[Ken Burch]

29. Actually, as the OP demonstrates, it ISN'T true

The people, not the activists, needed to be rewarded with clear and IMMEDIATE signs that this was a clean break. Those of you in the "be patient" faction are against acknowledging that.

[MisterP]

34. lefties and libs are just a "focus group" to cons: we can't have America's best interests in heart

because we're too far from the centrist consensus, we're emotional, we support our policies to feel good and stroke our own ego instead of out of concern for the public, we're clueless as to how politics is done, we constantly exaggerate how bad Bush and Obama's deeds and "shortcomings" are, we're out of touch, and we're smelly peasants who ought to be expelled from the Senate balcony, kiss the politicans' ring, and then go home

did I forget anything?

[treestar]

45. They got that

One has to completely ignore everything he has actually gotten done to say that.

[HipChick]

9. Give Bush 8yrs to fuck the country up,and just give Obama 1yr to fix it ...

seems like unreasonable expectations to me..

[sendero]

14. No.

... one year to FIX ANYTHING of IMPORTANCE. ANY SINGLE FUCKING THING.

[HipChick]

15. Not one single thing eh...CRS is contagious...

[sendero]

16. Name something...

... name one thing of significance.

Escalating war, botched HCR, banksters before workers, bullshit state secrets and surveillance rights, economy working great for wall street and sucking for everyone else.

I guess it will take the midterms to make you true believer get it. But maybe then you will.

[Robb]

17. We're leaving Iraq.

Talk of Af escalation all you want, but we're leaving Iraq.

Now sputter why it's suddenly not important.

[sendero]

19. Leaving Iraq..

... maybe. Escalating Afghansistan, absolutely.

A wash at best.

[Ken Burch]

27. We should have JUST LEFT on day 1.

It was stupid and pointless to drag it out. And there's no reason to assume our leaders won't cave to Cheney and decide to stay after all.

Only an immediate pull out could've been trusted.

There's no such thing as a middle ground on war.

[treestar]

46. That really is unreasonable

Explain why your military expertise would have had this happen faster.

You're making me think you've never had to deal with anything more complex than making a sandwich.

[Ken Burch]

51. It was already cleat that we play no positive role IN Iraq

The overwhelming majority of Iraqis always WANTED us out.

The whole "Draw down" thing was nothing but a sop to the Scoop Jackson types. And it gave the Right a chance to keep pushing Obama NOT to get out.

[PufPuf23]

78. We are leaving Iraq under the PNAC plan

Large fortress embassy; permanent bases with 50,000 troops.

Until forced out by violence or threat of violence, the Dod will have at least staging areas for bombers and heavy lift aircraft.

We are follwoing the PNAC plan in Africa and South America and the Far East as well as the arc from Georgia to Pakistan.

Results have been slow and setbacks many but perpetual war is the consciousness of a nation as militarized as the current USA.

[timtom]

84. When? After they're all dead or maimed horribly beyond repair?

[HipChick]

18. I'm not naive enough to be a true believer...

but understand how politics work..It wouldn't have been that much different under Hilary..HCR prob would not have seen the light of day...

[sendero]

20. Damning with.

.. faint praise. I agree with that but so fucking what?

[Ken Burch]

40. And it's not ABOUT saying "Hillary would've been better".

Both are too much under the influence of the defeatist-surrenderist wing of the party.

[Skittles]

71. this argument is really, really tired

[uponit7771]

82. Tired is 1yr to fix 8yrs of fuck up

[timtom]

85. It's my feeling that the discontent with Obama

is not about fixing stuff immediately. It's about clearly moving in the right direction.

This he hasn't done.

[Skittles]

90. CORRECT

absolutely CORRECT - we'd feel better giving him "time" IF WE FELT HE WAS GOING IN AN ACCEPTABLE DIRECTION

[ROakes1019]

10. Obama's problem

I've been increasingly disappointed in Obama. I have an opinion about what his problem is, as though my opinion matters. He wants to be a memorable President and the way to be memorable is finally to heal the nation and bring Dems and Repugs together. For such a smart fellow, he doesn't seem to understand that these two parties are so diametrically opposed ideologically that they simply can't meld into "not a blue America, not a red America, but one America." Add to that obvious fact is the extreme anger by the current minority at losing power. I think many Repugs really do believe in their "every man for himself" and "the invisible hand of the market will make everything all right" and helping those less fortunate goes against everything Ayn Rand advocated. Wrong as those people are, they at least believe in what they fight for. But many of the political "losers" simply can't stand not being "the authority." They're the kind of people who have to be in control--of their children, their wives, everyone "beneath" them. As for Obama, perhaps growing up with a mixed heritage, he had to struggle to find his identity; and he found it by accepting everybody regardless of everybody's beliefs. I've come to believe that he is incapable of being tough and fighting for anyone, even those he sees as less fortunate. He's a kind of sophisticated Rodney King--why can't we all just get along? We can't all get along because the powerful will never give up any power to the less powerful. The less powerful must fight for every scrap of power they get. In a strange way, Obama just isn't black enough. He doesn't come from the arduous fight for civil rights. I say this as a 71 year old white woman living, unfortunately, in Mississippi. What my mother have to fight for was equality as a woman, as a single mother teacher. She was very bitter and hateful and, having faced a similar discrimination as a college teacher, I have finally begun to understand. People are all not naturally good; in fact, as my daughter says, there're a lot of sociopaths out there. So that is my opinion.

[Skittles]

72. Obama has been trying to pet a rabid dog

a fucking stupid thing to do

[Robb]

12. HOW DAR YOU TELL ME TO SHUT UP!!111!

HALP, I"M BEING OPPRESED!!!

[Bluenorthwest]

22. Tell you what, your majority community says my 20+

relationship does not exist, we are strangers under your tax laws, we are not allowed equal protections, and your majority keeps special treatments unto yourselves that do in fact oppress us. Your community steals from us, understand?
So joke all you want, it does not change wrong into right.

[Robb]

23. Don't forget who you're talking to here.

I don't need to defend my human rights credentials to anybody, especially you, especially on that issue.

I find it hugely amusing that a poster who complains about posts telling people to shut up then posts telling people to shut up. I'm not so myopic as to miss hypocrisy when it walks in front of me, no what side of an issue it appears on.

Your community steals from us, understand?

Make it about me, and you lose. Make it about the issues, and we all win.

Congratulations, btw, for being in a relationship for 20 years. That's commendable no matter who you are.

[Ken Burch]

28. Telling people not to try to silence others isn't telling them to shut up.

ANd the "you have to be patient" crowd aren't fighting for a position OR being progressive.

It's the COUNTRY that can't wait, not the activists.

Stop pretending only the people on DU are let down. The COUNTRY wanted more action.

[Ken Burch]

26. It's about respect. Everyone has the RIGHT to be treated with respect

Telling people to shut up disrespects them and serves no good purpose.

[treestar]

48. Saying you are not being patient is not telling you to shut up

[Ken Burch]

50. And., again, it's the PEOPLE, not me.

You've got to let go of this silly idea that this is about the hurt feelings of impatient DU'ers.

[LatteLibertine]

21. I'm tired of the "I'm fighting for you"

nonsense too. It rings utterly hollow. Real policy and behavior towards Wall Street and the big banks suggest otherwise. The same maybe said for; lawyers, the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry. I've "hit the pause button" on my donations until they PROVE to me they represent my interests and those of the mass of United States citizens. That includes going to the polls and voting. No more supporting them solely on rhetoric while they wash Goldman's Sachs.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TexasObserver]

32. Recommend

[treestar]

33. Is not your post enough on its own to show you lack patience?

We always need patience. Nothing ever happens right away.

Would you say that to a doctor if your physical therapy would take months rather than days to heal you?

Could it be more complex than you think it is? Especially when you don't actually have to be the one doing it.

I have people get upset at me too but those courts are not going to schedule a case earlier because a client is upset.

Or in an ER with a sprained ankle, are you going to yell at the docs because they look at the heart attack first, even if he came along later?

It's just too easy to judge.

And then there is perspective. When it is what we don't want, it happens too fast - like Bush getting us into two wars.

[azmouse]

35. What do we want? Patience!

When do we want it? Now!


I remember Al Franken using this on his radio show.

[EFerrari]

37. LOL. That's classic.

:)

[Ken Burch]

39. I favor an incremental approach to becoming patient.

n/t.

[treestar]

43. It took Bush over 2 years to get us into war in Iraq

Yet his base never slammed him 24/7.

That's what Republicans have on us. They keep at it longer.

[Ken Burch]

49. We ARE keeping at it

That's what we do when we PUSH the president progressives elected to BE progressive(which MEANS being populist as well).

[neverforget]

65. The Republican base wanted a war and they got it.

[donheld]

68. How long did it take him to get his first round of tax cuts for the rich passed?

Just asking.

[EFerrari]

47. That's very forward looking of you. n/t

[Ken Burch]

55. But I'm willing to adopt a "pared-down" form of patience if necessary.

n/t.

[EFerrari]

57. And that's why America matters.

(When this speech writing team burns out, we can step right in. lol)

[Ken Burch]

58. I HOPE so. It would be a bit of a CHANGE.

n/t.

[EFerrari]

60. LOL

:applause:

[flyarm]

36. White House adviser Plouffe fails to mention most of Obama's pre-existing conditions promise

Guantanamo, indefinite detention, state secrets, exigent letters, improper surveillance, an OLC with no director, failures at National Intelligence, retroactive legalization of illegal activities, no FISA fix, wholesale incorporation of Bush policies, backroom deals, heavy influence by industry executives and lobbyists.


wow some "change" we can believe in..activists or not!




and now this.................

White House adviser Plouffe fails to mention most of Obama's pre-existing conditions promise right after NYT & CBS report it may be dropped

http://www.americablog.com/2010/01/white-house-adviser-plouffe-fails-to.html

A day after former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe is elevated to a more senior adviser status at the White House and the DNC, Plouffe pens an op ed in the Washington Post in which he seems to suggest that much of President Obama's promise to ban pre-existing conditions is now being jettisoned. Plouffe wrote in the op ed, which was certainly cleared with the White House, if not written by them:

Parents won't have to worry their children will be denied coverage just because they have a preexisting condition.
Their children? The original promise - even the bad Senate bill - protects everyone, of any age, from being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Now it's just children?

And before anyone argues that Plouffe was simply using children as an example - that the legislation could still cover everyone - look at what else happened in the last two days. CBS News reported that the pre-existing conditions promise was now looking unlikely. But even worse, the NYT talked to folks on the Hill and health policy experts, and they were told the compromise package might just protect kids under the age of 19 from being denied for pre-existing conditions. No one else.

It would sure be one hell of a coincidence if Plouffe, on behalf of the White House, is now talking about kids being protected from pre-existing conditions when the growing chatter in town is that only kids may now be protected from pre-existing conditions - that the rest of us are about to get tossed under the Martha Coakley bus.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

38. It is, however, popular among the "Father Know's Best" school of political ideology. K&r

[HughMoran]

41. .

[madamesilverspurs]

52. Patience IS appropriate.

---

[Orsino]

89. The only way to quick reform...

...would be putting a dictator in place.

I would never denigrate people's pain by telling them to be "patient," however I will instead recommend that we all persevere.

[billh58]

53. The fallacy in this OP

is that it is written from the perspective of an "activist," and presumes to speak for "the people." Outside of DU, most Middle Americans are more concerned with the economy, jobs, and the value of their homes than most ANY other "activist" issue. In many areas of the country, the economy is slowly improving, and people are getting on with their lives. We're not out of the woods yet, but we are headed in the correct direction.

DU "activists" argue with each other over their respective degrees of "Leftness," or how Liberal they are, and who coulda, shoulda, woulda, done a better job after one year. The reality is, that DU does NOT represent the average Middle American voter, and those who presume to present their own biased agenda as being the "voice" of Democrats, or the American people, are being not only unrealistic, but disingenuous as well.

It is always sobering to remember that around 45-50% of "the people" who vote, routinely vote Republican. So when you presume to speak for "the people," take that fact into consideration. Also try to remember that no one speaks for anyone in the privacy of the voting booth.

[yurbud]

56. Congress acts with lightning speed to move money from our pockets to the wealthy like...

the tax cut for the rich, various bailouts, wars, etc.

Every time we ask for real health care reform or anything else, we need to remind Congress of the speed of their corrupt and destructive actions and that it would be nice to see them do the same for actual voters for a change.

[BlueIdaho]

59. Congress is not there to make your life better

They are there to make their lives better. Its the most exclusive club in the world and frankly you don't belong.

[donheld]

61. Damn right! a million recommends

[Ken Burch]

63. Thanks for the support.

n/t.

[Terra Alta]

62. Thank you!!!

You said it far better than I could have!

After eight long years of Dumbya, I voted for Obama in November 2008 thinking he was going to bring the change he promised. I've been patient enough; it's been over a year now since he was inaugurated and nothing has changed. "Hope and change" my butt, it's more like "more of the same". Obama needs to start being a real leader or he's going to find himself out of office after 2012.

[TxRider]

66. K&R!

Well said. I hope some in DC get the message.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

69. Unrec

Let me know when you find the perfect candidate.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

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

[Overseas]

74. Millions crossed parties to vote for our President because they knew how badly the Republican Bush

Gang had ruined our country.

They knew we needed significant, deep change. Millions crossed over to pull this country out of the Republican ditch, so they've been profoundly confused by the dumb and severely old-fashioned bipartisan games being played when they voted for the party of FDR.

[PufPuf23]

80. New Deal/Great Society not "New Democrat/Third Way/Neolib" nt

[gleaner]

77. Great message ......

You said it very well, and I appreciate your post so much. Today I unreced a pro Obama "Isn't he wonderful and aren't we lucky to have him." I have never unreced a post before but I have had enough. I'm tired of feeling fear for the future every day of my life. I'm tired of worrying whether we will have enough money to buy my husband's heart medicine. I'm tired of watching fraud elevated to a virtue and people who try to be and live honestly mocked and called names because we won't sing the praises of the man who sold us out and is now trying his best to destroy both our values and our lives.

I was not patient to start with from the first time he betrayed us and I will never be patient with him again. Let him go on buying his friends. They will be laughing at him while they are counting out his money. I would call him a joke but he isn't. He a lethal enemy to this country and that isn't funny. K&R.

[uponit7771]

81. "It's just about getting real and being strong.", WTF does that mean? Obama Promise meter = resutls

...not vague phrases that could be interpreted many ways

[DailyGrind51]

83. PATIENT? You should see my medical forms where I sign my life over.

Right before my name, it says "Patient:"

[deacon]

86. Bullshit. Obama isn't being given a chance. You can't snap your fingers and undo 8 years of bush.

It's a multi headed crisis he inherited. The problem is all the knee jerk reactions fueled by the MSM who jump for hysteria to hysteria and the GOP that wants Obama to fail.

His priority list is horizontal, not vertical, with all issues with a number 1 next to it. When you face a crisis you have to do what you have to do to stop the bleeding. The MSM and GOP have no use for tourniquets. The MSM wants controversy and the GOP wants the white house back at all costs.

It's a damn shame. People need to remember what bush/cheney did and the GOP did. It wasn't that long ago they were in power. yet the MSM and GOP seemed to have successfully made people forget the worst president ever and shape the current events into everything happening now is all Obama's fault.

[Ganja Ninja]

87. I could be more patient if it looked like the people that are suppose to deliver

the change were people that are interested in change. We don't need a weatherman to tell us which way the wind is blowing. We can smell the farts coming from this administration.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

88. A lack of urgency is what brought down HCR

and a failure to seize the moment. President Obama had the momentum, he had the good will, he even a had a plan in place that he campaigned and won on. And then he dissipated all that positive energy with compromise, incrementalism, bi-partisanship, listening to lobbyists, and a focus on maintenance of the status quo. Plus missing every single deadline that was ever set.

It wasn't being impatient that hurt us on this issue, it was being TOO patient that killed us.