Nuclear, Clean Coal, Drilling and Tax Cuts. It's called taking their ball and running with it.

[berni_mccoy]

Do you really think a Democratic version of these things is the same thing as the Republican version? If you do, then you don't understand politics.

Obama has taken the right wing's pet projects away from them and he's not going to give them back.

He started with Tax Cuts. Republicans *love* tax cuts. The Democrats gave out 25 tax cuts last year. Not a single Republican cheered. Obama even ad-libbed... "I thought I'd get some applause from you on that one." Why didn't they cheer? Because now the public knows Democrats like tax cuts too and they know *who* gets the tax cuts from Democrats: the poor and working class... families... students... that's who gets them from Democrats. Who gets them from Republicans? That's right: fat corporations and the top 1%. Obama has cornered the Repubs into voting against tax cuts and publicly decrying the tax cuts given by Democrats. He even put the nail in the coffin by saying we didn't raise a single penny on anyone's income tax last year. Repubs are going to have a hard time calling Democrats tax-and-spend in this year's election. And they are going to look awefully bad for voting against the 25 tax cuts the Democrats gave out.

And what's with bringing up Nuclear, Clean Coal and Drilling for energy? Let's look at Obama's language on this:

And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy. You can see the results of last year's investments in clean energy in the North Carolina company that will create 1,200 jobs nationwide, helping to make advanced batteries, or in the California business that will put 1,000 people to work making solar panels.

But to create more of these clean-energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives, and that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.

It means making tough decisions about opening new off-shore areas for oil and gas development.

It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean-coal technologies.

And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.

He put that out there as a warning shot against Repubs. If Repubs don't get onboard with a progressive energy plan that includes solar, wind and renewables, Obama's shown them he's going to take these balls away from them as well. Repubs would never consider climate and energy in the same sentence, let alone in a policy bill. Repubs idea of clean coal is finding a way to keeping it clean from regulation. The Democratic concept of clean coal is very different. The Republican idea of drilling involves unregulated access to ANWAR. The Democratic version means taxing the hell out of the profits of oil companies and controlling exactly where these rigs will go and ensuring the Oil Companies abide by environmental protections.

Just as with Obama and the Democrats have retooled the meaning of Tax Cuts, they will do the same thing for Energy. And Republicans cannot overcome their petty partisanship to join hands. They failed to do with the economy and HCR. They won't bring themselves to the table for Energy either. Obama owned them on Taxes and the Economy last night. He'll own them next year on HCR, Energy and Jobs.

[berni_mccoy]

1. Lottsa recs, but no kicks?

[NYC_SKP]

5. 5 recs before, 3 now, because a faction of DU hates positive threads about Obama.

It's a fact.

:mad:

[Yuugal]

2. K&R

I don't agree because I think Obama will sell us out to the big corps just like he did with single payer, but here's a kick for you. As for not understanding politics, only the future will tell who is right. I was around for the 90's and saw how Clinton did more good for the other side than he did for us on so many issues and how we are still suffering from bullcrap like NAFTA. Many people back then were saying the same stuff you are saying now: being big business' friend will be different when we do it democratic style. How did that work out for us?

Nafta? Bank deregulation? Ending AFDC and turning it into Slave-fare?

If there were no DLC people in his admin I would trust him. As long as the Rahm-scammer and others are around.....no dice.

[hansont]

3. Read George Lakoff's works. Using Republican frames actually reinforces their world view, we lose

Republicans understand this, Democrats are years behind in the power of frames as propaganda. Even if we, in the short term, use the terms differently, we give up power over energy policy over to Republicans by using their frames.

The decisions of most people is heavily subconscious. If you can bias language they loose their point of reference.

[NYC_SKP]

4. kick

rec