Jobless benefits is the gun to the head of Congressional progressives

[Stoic]

Repukes and Blue Dogs: "Give us our obscene tax breaks for the rich or we'll kill extending unemployment benefits. Go ahead and kill the deal. We dare you."

Brought to you, with the helpful assistance and collusion by President Obama.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to 2012.

[dennis4868]

1. what do you mean by...

"Brought to you, with the helpful assistance and collusion by President Obama."

Are you saying Obama does n ot give a shit about unemployment insurance? The guy may have just sacraficed a second term in order to get unemployment insurance and had to give in to a tax cut for the wealthy which he has been against for years and years.....If anyone assisted or colluded with the repubs on this its the conservative dems in the senate who voted with the repubs against a tax cut only for the middle class last week. It's getting harder and harder coming to DU these days. Obama gets blamed for everything....even for things that are out of his control (i.e., the fillubuster in the senate).

[chimpymustgo]

2. Obama serves us another shit sandwich, and we're supposed to like it. WAKE UP!

[dennis4868]

6. Well...

when you have shits in the senate (repubs who ALWAYS fillubuster), you get shit legislation even though it may include some good things....by the way, people out there who literally cannot buy food or clothes for their kids right now because they do not have unemployment insurance surely don't think they got a shit sandwich via the Obama deal with the repubs....I know my neighbor who is about to lose him home and had to send his kids away to family members because he could not feed them is not saying shit sandwich this morning.....he is smiling for the first time in months!

[Stoic]

4. It's a terrible deal and he negotiated the deal.

Was he in another country or in the same room when the deal was struck? When will Obama be held responsible for his actions in office?

[dennis4868]

14. Again...

the american people and Obama are being held hostage by a repub party that does not give a shit about the country and they fillubuster EVERYTHING that may help the country....so tell me what you would have done to overcome this? Never before has a political party used the fillubuster like the repubs are using it now....never before has there been a political party whose sole purpose was to DESTROY a president....that combination is DEADLY and there is not anything a responsible and caring president can do to overcome this that would be legal. So yes, it's not a great deal but right now in american politics, a dem president has to take what he can get (even if it is not great).

[originalpckelly]

16. If it were me, I would have brought the issue of the tax cuts up at a different time.

One that didn't have an unemployment benefits extension hanging over its head, to be used by the legislators in favor of tax cuts for the rich. Then you could have made it real damn clear just exactly what was going on. Right now, though, the unemployment benefits extension clouds the picture. This is the problem with voting on more than one issue at a time. You can attach a shitty piece of legislation to something terribly important. I know that this works for people in minorities, like myself, with something like DADT, but it really clouds the issue.

[originalpckelly]

5. He is a pathetic excuse for a leader. All bluster, no muster.

There is a saying, "Those who live by the sword, die by the sword."

I'd like to create my own saying, based upon that one. "Those who gain power by rhetoric, lose power by rhetoric."

He's the one who created all the high and mighty goals. It was clear manipulation of the populace. Unless his negotiators can get a good chunk of what he promised, he sealed the deal on his own presidency.

[dennis4868]

24. NO OTHER PERSON IN OBAMA'S SHOES....

COULD HAVE DONE ANY BETTER....

Have you not realized what the repubs are all about....all fillubuster, all the time if the legislation will help the america people...he had to take what he could get (unemployment insurance)....

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Sometimes, the dude really has a fucking gun, and will really shoot you

"helpful assistance and collusion" is unsupported and insupportable bullshit.

[BzaDem]

7. +1

[originalpckelly]

9. See what you're missing here, is that there would have been riots without the extension.

The younger people of our country are on unemployment. Those are the people who could have caused trouble. They've been bought off with this deal, so what do they care? It's manipulation to protect people from riots.

[BzaDem]

10. Bullshit. They expired for weeks this summer. n/t

[originalpckelly]

12. Unless you celebrate Christmas in July...

I don't think you see the obvious problem with this. Right before Christmas. That's what is so bad about it. I think people would have been angry with that.

[BzaDem]

25. So they would have extended them for a month. Then they would have expired for a year. n/t

[jaxx]

11. What is this thing of advocating for riots?

This is the USA.

[originalpckelly]

13. No, I'm saying that would have happened.

Eventually, someone would have decided to get pissed off. All they're doing is kicking the can down the road. The longer they take to resolve this problem, the worse it will be.

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. "It's manipulation to protect people from riots."

That pretty much says it all, ladies and gentlemen.

The new Democratic Platform: "It's manipulation to protect people from riots."

I think that should be the primary challenger's campaign slogan.

:wow:

[originalpckelly]

18. I think the current slogan works better:

"Stockholm syndrome, you'll get used to it."

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. No, really, you're on to something. I can see the teevee ads already

(Black and white close up, ominous music) "Barack Obama: Making deals that protect you from riots!"

"Barack Obama: Can we afford four more riotless years?"

"Want a good riot? Vote (Insert Primary Challenger)!"

[originalpckelly]

22. This is the point where I could just needlessly be angry...

or I could say I love you. I choose the latter. I love you. :P

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. I love you too

We both think the other is wrong. There's nothing wrong with that.

Cheers. :hi:

[MineralMan]

26. No, there wouldn't have been riots. Just more misery.

Not riots.

[jaxx]

8. Throwing the unemployed under the bus?

I thought liberals were for the people.

[Stoic]

28. These people aren't liberals.

Not in this or any other universe.

[KharmaTrain]

17. They Also Had The Votes...

The sucky part of a representative democracy...it requires the votes of both the House and Senate for legislation to be enacted. He don't have a rule by fiat nor should anyone want this to be the case.

The breakdown was and has been the Senate. The byzantine rules and weak leadership by Harry Reid that allowed McConnell and his ilk to not only block bills that were passed in the House to even be read on the Senate Floor but also enabled shitstains like Ben Nelson, Liebermann, Lincoln and others to play swing vote for their own benefits.

The obstruction was painted by the corporate media as being Obama's fault and his attempts to be "above" the partisanship and corruption that is today's beltway culture failed miserably. In an attempt to get something/anything done he showed what a poor negotiator he is and how weak his hand is in the legislative process.

The bottom line is the Senate would not pass anything without resolving this tax scam...and the GOTB has the votes to extend the cuts while the Democrats tried and failed on both the $250k and $1 million level. The same went for a bill to extend benefits...the 60 vote to proceede weren't there. Arm twist some say? When you're the deciding vote and know you can play one end against the other, arm twisting does little good.

Yesterday's decision is a sell-out...but letting the tax cuts lapse (allowing the rushpublicans to flood the airwaves on how Obama raised your taxes) and letting several million people fall off the economic abyss was political dynamite too tough for President Obama to handle.

[originalpckelly]

20. My God, who's in the majority?

Mitch McConnell controls only whether or not something comes to a vote. He does not control what is decided to be voted on. Harry Reid could have offered only a package that extended unemployment benefits and middle class tax cuts. Let the Republicans clearly be shown opposing that. Go out into the media and talk about how the horrible Republicans are holding Americans hostage. Eventually public opinion will turn and people will threaten the Republicans election chances, forcing their hand.

[KharmaTrain]

27. Definte "Majority"

Just like there were Blue Dogs in the House, there were several in the Senate. Ben Nelson being the most prominent but also it included Lincoln, Landrieu, Webb and Pryor...all from "red" states who were never Progressive and their political survival, in their opinions, were to be the "check" on this administration. Thus instead of the 59 or 60 votes, this administration was lucky if it had 45 or more votes for any Progressive legislation. Reid's weak leadership enabled them to play both ends against the middle and arm twisting wasn't going to work. Without any moderate rushpublicans to counteract these "swing votes" nothing would move. Folks like to mention about how LBJ cracked the whip, but he also had republicans like Jacob Javitz to work with, this administration had no such luxuary.

Right now all the missteps of this administration are the story and its their approval ratings that are going to take a hit. People are seeing weakness and this is working in the rushpublican's favor. Unfortunately we also see an angry electorate that doesn't nuance very well...and bumpster sticker slogans and promises are what sells.

While I really wish that reality would catch up with the rushpublicans, the weaker this administration appears the more they can lie and distort and now their talking points are parroted by critics on this side of the sandbox.

Cheers...

[MadHound]

19. And when it boils down to it, it is a faux threat.

We can pay for unemployment extension in other ways.

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