Liberals warn Obama. Senior Democrat: plenty of time to energize liberals next year.

[laststeamtrain]

Liberals warn Obama over looming troop surge in the Afghanistan war
By Alexander Bolton - 12/03/09 06:00 AM ET

Prominent liberal activists are warning Democratic leaders that they face a problem with the party’s base heading into an election year.

The latest issue to roil relations between President Barack Obama and the liberal wing of the party is his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, which liberals fear could become a debacle like Vietnam.

<snip>

“I think the Democratic base is getting a little nervous out there about where we’re headed,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa), a leading liberal within the Senate Democratic Conference who shares concerns over Obama’s commitment of troops to the Afghan war

Senior officials at the White House and in Congress say liberals will rally to their side once healthcare reform and other major initiatives are passed. And some Democratic pollsters say their research shows Democratic voters are solidly behind Obama, even though he has slipped among Republican and independent voters.

A senior Democrat familiar with discussions at the White House said there will be plenty of time to energize liberals next year.

“This is not a time to worry about the base; we’ll have all of the election year to do that,” said the Democratic source. “We’ll have a long list of accomplishments to present for them to rally around.”

<more>

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/70355-liberals-warn-obama

[12string]

1. Accomplishments

If you want to call this sham of a health care bill,and escalating the war in Afghanistan,accomplishments,then you have much to learn.Change my ass.

[Starry Messenger]

2. I'm curious who the "senior Democrat" could be.

He sounds a little cocky.

[laststeamtrain]

3. I disagree. He sounds a lot cocky. That type is cocky.

What do they call that type?

Oh yeah, assholes.

[Starry Messenger]

5. You're right.

I wonder why he wasn't brave enough to give his name. Oh right, he's an asshole. :) I love the picture in your sig by the way.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

10. This senior official like so many in the Democratic party

continue to placate (and they are barely doing that right now) the liberals and assume we will be there for them come election time. Placate at your own risk.

[xxqqqzme]

26. sounds very rahmian arrogant to me.

[mascarax]

30. Rahm? It was pretty open...

He still likes Blue Dogs too, right?

[katandmoon]

4. Enjoy your one-term presidency, Mr. Obama.

[MissDeeds]

9. Oh I don't know

At this rate he'll pull in a lot of votes from the right.

[mkultra]

15. you two are a hoot.

good luck in fantasy land.

[waterscalm]

24. sounds about right.

[mkultra]

28. sorry to dissapoint you

but the minority in this party wont be setting the agenda.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. Energizing liberals is a breeze.

Do everything antithetical to their ethos and expectations of a Democratic majority and then sneer "Good luck with President Palin".

[frylock]

21. that's about what it boils down to anymore..

really not much different than the threats issued by the republicans.

[PVnRT]

22. ...sounds about right around here

[Birthmark]

7. "We’ll have a long list of accomplishments..."

Good luck with that, "Democratic source," Good luck.

You'll need it.

[laststeamtrain]

8. Fired up!

Ready for some drone attacks on civilians.

Body counts ARE accomplishments. (In the world of imperial thuggery.)

[rusty fender]

11. Rachel Maddow on "Charlie Rose" said that the 18 month withdrawal

part of Obama's Afghanistan plan will keep the left supporting Obama, but Hillary Clinton already said that the 18 month timeline is subject to "conditions on the ground." That was a fast backtrack, although I knew that the timeline was thrown in there just to get liberal support.

[mkultra]

12. the liberals that have "fallen away" didnt support Obama to begin with

they are trying to overvalue their opinions. Many of them are the hidden armchair bigots that remain in the democratic party. Hopefully, we can finally purge them from our tent.

[Umbral]

31. Liberals = Bigots. Under the Bus, Under the Bus!

That was a short trip, let the purging begin!

[polichick]

34. Really! Thanks for responding to one of the most idiotic posts I've ever seen here...

...so I don't have to.

[ClarkUSA]

13. 85% of self-identified liberals strongly approve of Pres. Obama's job performance

That's just a recent Gallup poll. Other polls have his "strongly approve" rate among Democrats even higher.

I'm a liberal and I support Pres. Obama. He's ending the Iraq war/will end the Afghan war in 2011. What he's accomplished in 10
months easily explain his appeal to a large majority of liberal Democrats...

"Obama's claim to a fertile first year doesn't rest on health care alone. There's mounting evidence that the $787 billion economic stimulus he signed in February—combined with the bank bailout package—prevented an economic depression. Should the stimulus have been larger? Should it have been more weighted to short-term spending, as opposed to long-term tax cuts? Would a second round be a good idea? Pundits and policymakers will argue these questions for years to come. But few mainstream economists seriously dispute that Obama's decisive action prevented a much deeper downturn and restored economic growth in the third quarter.

When it comes to foreign policy, Obama's accomplishment has been less tangible but hardly less significant: He has put America on a new footing with the rest of the world. In a series of foreign trips and speeches, which critics deride as trips and speeches, he replaced George W. Bush's unilateral, moralistic militarism with an approach that is multilateral, pragmatic, and conciliatory. Obama has already significantly reoriented policy toward Iran, China, Russia, Iraq, Israel, and the Islamic world." http://www.slate.com/id/2236708/?from=rss

Appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East peace

Order the closing of Guantanamo Bay

Prohibit use of torture

Obama Orders Secret Prisons and Detention Camps Closed

Obama Sets Bold New Principles for U.S. Energy, Climate Policies

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

Omnibus Public Lands Management Act

Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Act of 2009

Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 or FERA (PDF)

Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009

Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 (Kerry-Lugar includes funding for Obama's global poverty initiative)

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009

End of 22-Year Discriminatory Travel Ban

Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

Stopping Conflict-related Sexual Violence Against Women and Children

The UN, Women & Girls

New policy steps towards Cuba

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia

Strategy to address the international nuclear threat

For the Media: "30+ Reasons Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize"

Russia on Nobel Peace Prize: Obama thawing 'second cold war'

World Reaction to Obama Winning the Nobel

Turkey, Armenia sign historic accord

Why the Stimulus Worked

Green jobs for real people: The story behind the recovery numbers

Obama's Plan: Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation (PDF)

Requiring Strong Supervision And Appropriate Regulation Of All Financial Firms (pdf)

Strengthening Regulation Of Core Markets And Market Infrastructure (pdf)

Strengthening Consumer Protection (pdf)

Providing The Government With Tools To Effectively Manage Failing Institutions (pdf)

Improving International Regulatory Standards And Cooperation (pdf)

House Panel Moves Derivatives Toward Obama’s Proposal

FACTBOX: Major U.S. financial regulation reform proposals

Obama says Senate bill on tax havens would stop abuses

Statement by President Barack Obama on House and Senate Introducing Legislation to Crack Down on Overseas Tax Havens

Obama to chair historic U.N. council nuclear meeting

G20 to Become Forum for Global Economic Cooperation

Next comes Obama's budget, health care reform and more.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8730317&mesg_id=8730317

New Obama Policy Bars THOUSANDS of Lobbyists From Federal Advisory Panels
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/26/AR2009112602362.html

Approved Stem-Cell Research
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/first_wave_of_stem_cells_f3696ffa-5f62-465a-991c-1575e4a149b6.html

And the list goes on... :)

[amandabeech]

35. End the Afghan War by 2011?

PM me when the last soldier puts his boots on the plane.

If I'm still alive.

[ShortnFiery]

48. Faux Liberals with six-figure paychecks.

:evilgrin:

[bvar22]

14. The Democratic Party will have plenty of "Accomplishments".

*The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party SHUT OUT of the Obama Administration…...Mission Accomplished!

*WARS fully funded and EXPANDING. Bill sent to our children…...Mission Accomplished !

*Trillion Dollars given to friends and campaign contributors on Wall Street. No Strings Attached...Mission Accomplished!

*Military Spending INCREASED....Mission Accomplished!

*Trillion+ Dollars given to the Health Insurance Industry Cartel. Token, easily avoidable, symbolic only strings attached....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Kill the possibility for a REAL "Public Option" or REAL Universal Health Care for at least another generation, and begin the "Entitlement Reform" dismantling of Medicare (-$500 Billion)....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Block ANY re-regulation of BIG BANKS and Credit Cards....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the Bush War Criminals and Torturers from JUSTICE....Mission Accomplished.

*Throw the Dirty Hippie Peaceniks, Liberals, and GBLT under the bus....Mission Accomplished!

*Reinforce the worst Police State provisions of the Patriot Act....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the very richest. Tell the Working Class that they CAN will be forced to compete with 3rd World Slave Labor.....Mission Accomplished!

*EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) killed in the crib....Mission Accomplished!

*More Anti-LABOR "Free Trade"....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Jobless Recovery....Mission Accomplished

Oh YES!
I can't wait to vote for MORE of THIS!

[Vidar]

20. Excellent list.

[polichick]

33. Pretty damned shameful. nt

[amandabeech]

36. Great Post! n/t

[Raine]

41. Completely on point

some "accomplishments". x(

[harun]

42. Great list

Include:

*Do nothing to reduce college tuition and books to keep higher education off limits to the poor....Mission Accomplished!

[ZombieHorde]

52. Your list is kind of a bummer. I am not feeling energized. nt

[LastNaturalist]

16. I read that Kratovil, Minnick, and Bright vote with the GOP 83% of the time.

Now I fully appreciate conservative Democrats representing conservative districts, but 83% of the time? I'm not as liberal as most on here, but these 3 freshman Dems hardly have me fired up to re-elect their asses.

[LastNaturalist]

17. My point was, Obama is not the problem in firing up the base.

.

[tsuki]

43. Friends don't let friends vote for Blue Dogs. Blue Dogs are not

conservative Democrats, they're Republicon Democrats. They obstruct.

[WI_DEM]

18. The fact is more than 90% of Democrats approve of Obama according to most polls

Since DU is not really a democratic site it doesn't surprise me that there is a great deal of griping about Obama here.

[frylock]

23. the dems need independants as well..

and it's not looking very good on that front.

[amandabeech]

37. But how many of them will show up in 2010?

A lot of folks got involved for the first time in 2008, and it is far from clear that they will show up when Obama is not on the ballot.

As to the rest of us:

Dems gripe constantly.

Don't use griping as an indicator of how many of us will eventually show up and hold our noses.

We've been doing it for years.

[polichick]

38. I don't believe that number - in real life I don't know a single Dem who...

...isn't disgusted (and almost every one I know worked on the Obama campaign).

[cliffordu]

19. That would be a fucking miracle and I'll believe it when I see it.

[Phx_Dem]

25. ROFLMAO! Democrats warn Obama?

Would these Democrats be the ones in Congress who watered down the stimulus bill because it was too big, and the ones who eviserated the public option because they already have insurance and don't give a shit about anyone else, and the same Democrats who publicly deride and demean the President just to get attention? Those Democrats?

If they all lose their fucking jobs, they'll have only themselves to blame and Obama will cruise to relection regardless. The joke's on you, assholes.

[Sebastian Doyle]

39. Perhaps you should read the headline again?

It said "LIBERALS warn Obama".

The things you describe were done by fake "centrists" who call themselves "Democrats" but don't reflect any sort of Democratic values in their votes.

But then Obama himself is looking like he belongs in that camp as well :evilfrown:

[branders seine]

27. We'll roll out some really impressive bumperstickers next year.

"That will rally the damned liberals."

[waterscalm]

44. LOL.

[IndianaGreen]

29. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can win elections without independents

and independents are abandoning ship.

[polichick]

32. Hey "senior Democrat" - FUCK YOU. nt

[Raine]

40. "Election year" is too late

they better start worrying NOW. :mad:

[yurbud]

45. that is breath-taking in its arrogance, cynicism, and pretty much open admission that

they are serving someone else.

[ShortnFiery]

47. And it's that ARROGANCE which will take them down. No amount of brow beating

nor intimidation will convince me to vote for anyone other than a liberal democrat. It's still has the stench of "economic fascism" even when our legislators RULE OVER US using their democratic "soft whispers" and velvet glove. When time for Congressional voting comes, the CORPORATIONS always WIN. :thumbsdown:

[yurbud]

49. It's time for the progressives to either push the corporatists out of the party or start a new party

[GreenPartyVoter]

46. Harkin is a leading liberal?

[Zodiak]

53. On the Senate side, yes.

He is not as flamboyant about it as Dennis Kucinich, but a sober analysis of his voting record reveals that Harkin is a true blue progressive.

[Autumn]

50. “This is not a time to worry about the base;

we’ll have all of the election year to do that,” WRONG, NOW is the time because by the election I will send you a great big FUCK YOU. You silly fuckers have worn me out. Energize, my ass.

[GrantDem]

51. In other words...

Fuck the base. They'll vote for us anyway.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/07/rahm-emanuel-warns-libera_n_253717.html">Sit down and shut up.